Little Busters! Season One, Collection One

Felines rarely play a significant role in anime plots, so their presence here offers a welcome distraction in this strange story about high school student Riki, who is tasked with recruiting new members for his gang, the Little Busters (preferably females, as the group is overwhelmingly male). Complicating matters is a weird adventure involving Riki and the group's only girl, the slightly odd Rin: the pair begin receiving messages tied to cats, communications that urge them to perform unusual tasks while simultaneously hinting at remarkable secrets of global proportions. Riki also has a problem with narcolepsy, which makes life even more challenging. Little Busters often seems to be comprised of seemingly plot-less journeys, but not unlike the legendary Seinfeld, this series that seems to be about nothing manages to quietly hook the audience with its offbeat humor and idiosyncratic characters. The chemistry between Riki and Rin boasts a winning charm, and the leisurely style offers a welcome contrast to the more violent knockabout of many anime titles. Compiling the first 13 episodes from 2012 on a dual-language set, rated TV-14, this is highly recommended. (P. Hall)