Episode 03 - I Like Cute Things

I Like Cute Things (可愛いものは好きだよ、私は, Kawaii Mono wa Suki da yo, Watashi wa) is the third episode of the Little Busters! Animation. It aired on October 20, 2012.

Short Summary
The members of the Little Busters baseball team have morning practice, though Rin is less than enthusiastic. Masato gives Riki back his idiom dictionary, albeit damaged and smelly, in a plastic bag. Haruka Saigusa, a girl from a different class, wantonly borrows the dictionary before Riki can stop her, and upon chasing after her accidentally runs into the desk of Yuiko Kurugaya, a genius girl who is often absent from class. While during a class break when Riki is trying to buy a drink from a vending machine, Yuiko drags him away to a spot with a few chairs and a wooden box she set up among some hedges. They spend time talking, and ultimately Riki loses track of time, later dashing back to class when he hears the bell. Haruka gives Riki back the dictionary and berates him over its disgusting state under the cover. When Masato and Kengo are about to have another fight, Yuiko intervenes, causing Kengo to lose interest. Yuiko and Masato initially fight with the rules Kyousuke previously set up, but Yuiko loses after she severely kicks Masato several times. Later, Yuiko catches the Little Busters during practice and joins the team, proving to be a powerful asset.

Detailed Summary

 * Riki suffers from a chronic disease known as narcolepsy, which forces him to slip unconsciousness and sleep suddenly. Riki wakes up from an energy-less and dreamless sleep. Komari checks up on Riki first thing in the morning, for her first time seeing this she is handling it very well. The original members of the Little Busters never complain when they have to help Riki, and they are always there smiling when he wakes up. In this silent way, Riki knows that his friends are there to support him always and to put his worries at ease.


 * Their team, the Little Busters, still needs for more players to become an official team. Their school is a prep school for college and yet Kyousuke is out there playing baseball during this crucial moment. He doesn’t even have a job lined up yet. Rin is in a daze this morning, mumbling about cats and food. She has a pile of canned cat food in her arms when Kyousuke stops her and tells her they are going to have morning practice today. She doesn’t want to and have to be pushed onto the field screaming every step of the way by Riki.


 * Riki’s idiom dictionary that he loaned to Masato is a lost cause. Masato left the dictionary in his desk and it got mixed up with stuffs, like food. Then the food breaks loose. He tries to save it and he almost lost his grip on it. But, doesn’t it smell good, he asks Riki. But Riki answers it doesn't. Suddenly, A girl with long purple-pinkish hair shows up named Haruka Saigusa.


 * Riki is sitting at his desk and holding the dictionary that is still in the bag in his hands. He has no idea what to do to get rid of that stench. With a heavy tone, he tells Haruka that she should hurry back to her own class because the bell just rang. She doesn’t want to be late again, but Haruka laughs it off and reminds Riki that she is always late to class. The reason why Haruka came to Riki’s class this morning is not because she wants to play, but she wanted to borrow an idiom dictionary from Kurugaya. Haruka then spots the dictionary in Riki’s hands and steals it before he can refuse her from taking it. She then runs out of the classroom, thinking herself lucky while fleeing Riki’s attempts to get it back before it is too late. But she gets away when Riki knocks into another student’s desk.


 * The desk Riki knocked into is Kurugaya’s. He knocks out all of her test papers and on all of them is the score 100 clearly written in red on the top. Riki explains for those watching that Kurugaya is a genius student who always scores in the top ten perfect in the country, but she only comes to class when she feels like it. No one knows what she does, or where she goes during class. During break, Riki encounters Kurugaya when he tries to buy a can of coffee from the vending machine, but they are all out so Kurugaya offers him some of hers. This is an offer that Riki will look back on and know this was the turning point in their relationship. He may have wanted to run away and hide from this meeting right after it, but this sparked a wonderful friendship.


 * To Kurugaya, Riki looks like someone that is easily bullied. And that makes him an easy target for Kurugaya. She is a girl who is very confident, manipulative, she has a great figure and has no problems with showing it off, and she has a crude and yet fine sense of humor. She is very protective of those she considers her friends, but she is also very distant from those same friends if they find out her secret. She likes cute things and she finds Riki to be cute. She teases Riki’s sexual orientation and has him sit in a booby-trapped chair on their first meeting. Kurugaya apologizes for the pranks when Riki isn’t laughing with her. She admits that it may have been in poor taste and hands him the promised can of coffee. She is a good, kind, and caring person by nature.


 * Riki has fallen into another trap set by Kurugaya and this one causes him to be late for class. When he returns to class, Haruka is waiting there for him with a murderous gaze. She asks if he opened it yet, and he replies that he hasn’t. Riki opens it and issues out a death scream. There is pudding, jam, and yogurt in its pages. Masato is leaning over Haruka's shoulder and assessing the damage. Haruka gives Riki a piece of her mind and tells him not to keep pudding in his desk. His desk is for printouts only. Riki doesn’t feel as though he can give her a proper reply right now and instead hangs his head in shame. The reason for this fight is something stupid as always.


 * During lunch, Masato picks yet another fight with Kengo. The reason for this fight is something stupid as always. Masato couldn’t read a pair of kanji and he asked Kengo what it reads as, and Kengo provides a false answer. Masato isn’t going to let this go by without a fight and just as they were about to duke it out, Kurugaya steps into the room and starts one with Masato. Kengo has lost interest and gives Masato a friendly warning not to underestimate Kurugaya. Masato just wants to fight someone, anyone will do. And for now he wants to humiliate Kurugaya.


 * The two are about to fight for real when Masato has the undeniable advantage, but then Kyousuke leaps through the lunchroom window and enters in with dramatic fashion. He wasn’t even aware that the Little Busters were famous until Kurugaya mentioned it. Kyousuke offers to referee this fight and he explains the rules of engagement to Kurugaya about the thrown items and randomly picking one to fight with. Kurugaya accepts these terms and the fight commences. Masato is being annoying in the background by dancing to the sound of muscles.


 * Kyousuke wants Kurugaya to join the Little Busters baseball team. Her moves are inhuman. Masato grabbed a popping pirate game while Kurugaya's weapon is an imitation katana. The fight goes on and a good amount of the battle is a dead heat. Masato scores the first strikes, but the pirate does so little damage and he only has one of them that the battle was decided before it began. Kurugaya ends the battle quickly and efficiently when she corners Masato. Masato won, though he can’t accept a victory like this. He got his ass kicked in the end, but Kurugaya never hit him with her katana, thus making him the winner. He’s so frustrated, but he doesn’t look like he just got the stuffing beat out of him. It’s now time to go training in the mountains, announces Masato. Rin can’t believe her ears and her entire body just gave up. She is now disgusted with Masato and she can’t even find the right words right now to insult him. Masato returns seconds after Kurugaya leaves to go buy a drink.


 * During baseball practice that afternoon, Rin still can’t seem to throw a baseball straight. Komari is still hugging Rin between every pitch. Kurugaya is watching their practice with increasing annoyance. The annoyance levels surpass a certain threshold and he approaches Kyousuke and Riki and asks to be a part of the Little Busters. She wants to be near the cute girls on the team and it is a good way to pass the time. She wants to spend her youth with her friends. She strips off her school uniform and reveals that she had her gym clothes on all along. She is immediately inducted into the Little Busters!

Important Events

 * Yuiko joined the Little Busters as she proved to be a prominent member to the rest of the team.

First Appearances

 * Yuiko Kurugaya
 * Haruka Saigusa
 * Saya Tokido (cameo)

Screenshots


Trivia

 * In this episode, Saya makes a cameo appearance when she is seen in a crowd of pupils after Yuiko beats Masato.