gaming Katawa Shoujo

[Mephala 2,632]

Please note that Katawa Shoujo contains adult material that is not appropriate for youngsters. However, going to the Options menu allows you to turn this feature off.

 

I know there is a really old thread about Katawa Shoujo, but since it has very little discussion merit I decided to make a more open thread to discussing it.

For those of you who have never heard of Katawa Shoujo, it is a visual novel about a young man named Hisao Nakai who begins attending a school designed for the disabled after discovering a heart condition. At this school, he meets several people, and five of which he can have romantic relationships with. However, each of these girls has their own disability as well, meaning that communication can be difficult in certain cases.

Each girl has a unique storyline with four acts. The girl that you end up with is determined in the first act through a series of choices, and after that, you cannot change, though later choices will determine whether you get the Good, Bad, or Very Bad endings. As a result, it is important to both consider options based on the personality of the girl...as well as save often. XD

 

The five girls are:

Shizune Hakamichi: The deaf and mute Student Council president. Forceful and competitive, but fair and sweet (once you know her). Responsible and orderly. Very SHE IS BAST GURL <3333

Rin Tezuka: A skilled painter...with her feet. Rin doesn't have arms, and is a little odd; philosophical and kinda out there, but also funny and quite deep.

Emi Ibarazaki: After an accident causes Emi to lose her legs, she remains incredibly cheerful as well as athletic. Naive and bubbly, if a little hyper.

Lilly Satou: Blind since birth but confident and motherly, especially to Hanako. Really really likes tea. Can be cutting to certain people, though.

Hanako Ikezawa: Reclusive and shy to the extreme because of a traumatic experience and burn scarring, so I'm sure a lot of bronies will like her because many seem to be into that sort of thing. That's basically her entire personality. Besides explosive temper and suppressed hatred for like, everything.

 

The notable major supporting characters are:

Shiina Mikado (goes by Misha): Shizune's closest friend, fellow Council member, and interpreter. REALLY LOUD. Has amazing drill hair. Cheerful and happy. Does not have any disability; attends as a regular student.

Kenji Setou: Poor vision and probably bipolar. He is slightly insane and radical about the feminist movement, convinced that they will take over the world one day, which he plans for. Also hilarious, Kenji is really unintentionally funny. Basically there to remind people that the game was made (surprise!) by 4leaf Studios.

 

There are also Yuuko, the nurse, and the teacher, but they aren't that important unless you pick certain arcs.

 

So, if you've played Katawa Shoujo, did you like it? How did you feel it handled disabilities? Did you think the dialogue and art were well done, as well as the soundtrack? Who was your favourite character and who had your favourite story? Do you think, as many do, that Misha should have an arc of her own? (I added Kenji because I am adamant that he should. Kenji would be my next favourite after Shizune.)

 

Personally, in response to the above questions, I think they did everything flawlessly (except Hanako, I didn't like her at all, LOL). I'll go into more detail later about why I love Shizune as much as I do despite a weak ending to her arc, etc.

Also, the music is flawless. Seriously, the soundtrack is amazing. Even if you haven't played it you should download it sometime.

 

Also, newcomers, f it seems like Hisao is being an asshole don't worry too much about it, by the way. He's always like that. It can be hard to tell if you've taken an incorrect path.

Another thing: don't use charts to select the options you want. I went through my first playthrough without them and nailed Shizune's story by myself, discovering that I liked her a lot more than I though I would. It's a lot more satisfying to discover it on your own and try to analyze what responses will be best in order to get what you want, and if you mess up, you can always go back and also get different dialogue and options!

[Blue Moon 6,336]

Pfft... Rin is best girl. XD

 

 

Anyway, to answer your questions:

 

I loved this visual novel. It was definitely one of the better visual novels I've played/read. I think it handled the disabilities extremely well. It never felt offensive or objectifying, and all the main characters were very well done. The art was fantastic, and the soundtrack is amazing (my personal favorite tracks were Parity, Afternoon, Out Of The Loop, Generic Happy Music, Raindrops and Puddles, Concord, and The Student Council. Though, there are plenty of others that I like as well).

 

My personal favorite character was Rin (favorite story was her's as well). She was really interesting to me, and I enjoyed the conversations you had with her. And yes, I think Misha should get a route as well (but only if Kenji gets one too).

Edited August 16, 2014 by Blue Moon

[Simon 4,554]

Because of some of the more mature content in Katawa Shoujo, please be sure not to link to any downloads or any inappropriate material, nor instruct users on how to obtain it.  Also please keep your posts appropriate.  You are welcome to discuss Katawa Shoujo, but please do not go into any descriptive details about the inappropriate material.

[duidamasterXD 9,626]

Ooh, I'm playing through this right now . I've finished three of the routes so far, and am currently partway through Rin's. As for the questions

 

Who was/are your favourite girl(s) that you could have a path with? (Character-wise.)

 

Shizune for the time being. She's spirited, funny and a genuinely nice person even if she might have some trouble getting along with people. That said though, I sure do like Rin and it's very possible that she'll take this spot when I'm done with her route.

 

Who was/are your favourite girl(s) that you could have a path with? (Story-wise.)

 

Hanako's route was pretty cool, even if she doesn't appeal to me as much as some of the other characters. It had some great character moments from her, Lilly, and even Misha and Shizune. Very pleasant surprise, especially since I was expecting Shizune to come off as a lot more bitchy in other characters' routes. I really liked the message too, though I could say the same for Emi and Shizune's routes.

 

Should there be a Misha or Kenjo arc?

 

I put "Maybe, if they handled them right". Misha's an amazing character who I relate to more than most people in this game, but I'm not sure if there'd be much to do that wasn't already covered in Shizune's story . As for Kenji, shrug. He's a terrific and hilarious character. If somebody could make a more serious arc featuring him, I'd be sure to give it a go.

 

I'm really impressed by most everything, the art, the writing, the characters, the music, it's been a treat to play. All the more impressive considering that it was an independent project. It's pretty incredible, knowing that a bunch of random people took an idea and a few sketches and turned them into such a powerful story (or stories )

[Pinkie D Pie 1,035]

Okay, so I slowly did a route going through how I felt I should handle, no guides, just launching into it.

 

Somehow in the mix of things I ended up with Emi, which I was quite surprised about but also kinda happy about. Then like just everything went downhill. I have no idea what I did, but I got the bad ending and for some reason it killed me inside. Like seriously, I don't know how I can even handle another play through after that, but I must!

 

I do have to admit that I love this. It's beautiful, amazing, I love the writing, I get to caught up into the story, and I just love sitting there reading and listening to the music, that is until the ending... I'm still looking at you Emi's bad ending, why'd you have to destroy me inside.

 

Well onto the next journey I guess, new choices, new story, new possibilities, can't wait!

[Clarity 3,094]

Yay, another Shizune fan! Every time I Google a Favorite Girl poll, Shizune always happens to be last; my friend also mentioned that 4chan doesn't love her very much, either. She's a very strong, independent person and exerts a powerful, deafening aura despite being deaf and mute—she's really amazing. Even if her route wasn't as much. 

 

Though her beta route

 

 

was much better, according to a video I saw. Misha commits suicide after Hisao and Shizune start dating, and apparently it's heart-crushing. Might watch it someday.

 

 

So after hearing about it from a friend, I decided to play it and didn't really notice that I landed on Emi first. I also got to her bad ending, which probably caused me to put her lower on my favorites list.

 

After I got the Cheating Chart Thing Where You Learn How to Get to Every Route, I went to Hanako's, because she's evidently the most popular by a landslide and I like tragic characters who have long hair (like my waifu Homura <3). The route was pretty good! Hanako? Well...

 

 

Hanako Ikezawa: Reclusive and shy to the extreme because of a traumatic experience and burn scarring, so I'm sure a lot of bronies will like her because many seem to be into that sort of thing. That's basically her entire personality. Besides explosive temper and suppressed hatred for like, everything.

 

From your tone, I'm guessing you don't like her much? Me neither. I don't like shy characters (others dub them "cute") who cannot interact at a normal level and who scream and run away at the slightest sign of social contact. I did all her endings and I'm particularly disgusted at the bad one; Hanako dislikes being alone, but when people do accompany her, she gets hysterically angry... what? 

 

Didn't like her backstory much, either. Don't mistake me as heartless, but I, frankly, found her tragic event disappointing. Just seems a bit too cliché to me, family dying in a fire and everything. All in all, I was a little let down by Hanako's character, but like you mentioned, many people adore characters who are irritatingly shy and have a tragic story so they could hug them and comfort them and everything. Well, you saw how well that worked for Hisao when he did it.

 

 

 

But, anyway... after playing Hanako, I did Shizune. Route was... decent, I guess. Not the best, I won't lie. But Misha and Shizune were great friends to be with, and despite the romantic tension not being very pronounced, it just feels like a regular slice-of-life route, which is what Katawa Shoujo is about. And poor Misha, too. Not that I put any blame on Shicchan for it. Not much to say; Route was okay, Shizune was god.

 

After that, I went for Rin. Rin in Act 1 was incredibly hilarious and philosophical, and I thought that she was, well... no other word for it—cool. Little did I know that once I got on her route, she was much more different than I expected. Rin's route beat all the rest by a landslide (I dunno about Lilly's; only a few scenes into it). The way Hisao asks himself what he wants to do and questioning his worth in the world is very parallel to Rin's. I think—beware because jimmy rustling—that Rin is the most complex and tragic character in the game. Yes, more than Hanako. She just seemed very lost, and it isn't that she's like "I don't want you to understand me because I'm tragic", but it's "I can't let you understand me; it's beyond my ability to do so". It's really hard for Rin to communicate in any way but her art. At least, that's how I see her. She's really hard to figure out in general.

 

 

That's it for the girls (haven't done Lilly's yet, as l've said). About Kenji? Goddamn, he's hilarious. Pls make r00t for him. Pls pls pls. I loved him. Even if he 

 

pushed Hisao off the roof. Well, not pushed, I don't think...

 

 

Misha, too, would be great. The Shizune beta route had a part with her perspective.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Clarity

[An Old Head 4,815]

Rin is best girl.

 

This was my intro to VNs (as it probably was for others) and I'm glad it was. A set up for the larger titles like Fate, which I still need to start...! I liked KS's really cosy atmosphere though, complemented by the music which is really quite amazing for the indie effort.

[Champion RD92 8,653]

I played this recently, and wow, it was such an amazing story. My favorite character has to be Lilly, she is beautiful and amazing and kind, I love her. I also really liked Emi, she was really cute. Hanako was cute too. I haven't done Shizune or Rin's stories yet, I honestly am not that interested in them. But yeah, really really good story. I also like how there are multiple endings for each story depending on the choices you make.

[Vivi_Dovah 0]

It looks like this thread is super old, but I recently played a couple routes in this game and I really really want to talk about it! I was introduced to this game years ago by a friend, but at that time I just thought it was weird and disturbing to make a game focused on dating girls with disabilities, so I ignored its existence for a while. Then I started getting very involved with anime and manga, which lead me to remembering this odd game, downloading it, and now here I am finished with Hanako and Rin's storylines.

 

*LIGHT SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE YET TO PLAY THE GAME*

 

I guess I'll start with Hanako's. I was super intrigued by her at first, then the intrigue began tapering off somewhere in the second or third act? Nonetheless, I started losing interest out of boredom. But in the fourth act or right before it, I regained that love initial for her and I was pretty happy with the way things ended. I got the good ending first, a rollercoaster of emotions but eventually a heart-warming show of Hisao and Hanako finally coming to understand each other. Then I went to retrieve the bad ending right afterwards, and I gotta say it was a devastating comparison. The way they acted was... infuriating and depressing. Hisao was extremely pushy which actually made ME uncomfortable, refusing to leave when Hanako asked him to, essentially demanding to be there and protect her because he believed she was too weak and couldn't do anything for herself. Looking at Hanako's behavior made me depressed because in that final scene, I could honestly see a lot of myself in her. Not so much in her words, but in the way that she lashed out at Hisao for basically seeing her as a child, for not listening when she begged him to stop and to leave, or listening at all throughout the path to unlock this ending. I understood her frustration clear as day, which is why it didn't seem to me that there were as many hypocritical behaviors in her character as other people believe there are. The hypocrisy she displayed seemed to be about as much as a regular person shows, which made her seem very real and relatable to me (although I am nowhere near as shy or hateful of other people). Overall, I enjoyed her story but I would not say there is much replay value because of how easily I grasped all the concepts and development. For those who don't go into it understanding those kinds of emotional wounds or the mental consequences of them, her story could be a complete hit or miss; opening their eyes to the sensitivities of others and realizing the importance of believing in their strength while having the patience to let them find it, or feuling resentment to the childish demeanor Hanako depicts due to unsolved trauma, or simply boredom at the prospect of a very slow and occasionally predictable path. 

 

Okay, so now onto Rin's path! I fell in love with her from the very first interaction in the art room, but at that time I had already decided I would invest in Hanako's story first. So, it took me a few tries to realize I had to reject EVERYONE in order to reach Rin, which seemed to impact me much more than Hanako, whereas you can start with Lilly's friendship to reach her. Rin captivated me entirely, and I found myself deeply caring about her perspective, humor, and especially the ways in which she resembled my own personality. I was even angry with Hisao for his dislike of her personality, and was upset at how often he expressed his frustration with her quirks. As time went on, I grew to like her more, but also began understanding Hisao's frustration at her dodgy answers (if you could even call them answers) and random nonsensical remarks to try to curve a conversation away from an uncomfortable topic. But again, with time, I began to understand her more although most of the theme circled the inability to understand. I found myself relating to her to a point that became extremely uncomfortable, and certain scenes pulled some tears out of places in my heart that I often forget are wounded. One instance was during the time Hisao yelled at her in his bedroom. He accused her of using him, because she had pushed him away in order to further destroy herself and pursue painting; the only thing she felt she could do right sometimes. Her reactions in this scene reflected me in many ways which made me feel for her and resent Hisao to a further extent, with the few words she spoke being misinterpreted, and the atmosphere she gave off of being not uncaring, but of what I interpreted as confusion and a blank mindstate in the face of conflict. I have experienced shutting down while being yelled at MANY times, and it always comes off as having no emotions toward the situation which generally causes the other person to be angrier. In other situations, where I try to defend myself as she did during the reprimanding by Nomiya, everything she says is useless and has no meaning because she speaks timidly and is completely drowned out by the rage of the other party. And now, to bring Hanako back into this briefly. Had Rin instead opted to be forceful like in the bad ending with Hanako, she would have been perceived as crazy and irrational which I have also experienced. When dealing with someone unable to control their anger, there is no way to win, and all of that which I mentioned is only part of why I absolutely adore Rin. In the scene following her argument with Nomiya, she says many things that break my heart and was probably the highest point of relation between her and I, and I will directly quote one particular phrase: "People are doing things I don't ask for and dont want and everyone keeps getting angry at me, I have no idea what is going on anymore and I cant stop feeling like I want to run away from everything...". If every story causes me to reflect this deeply about myself and the people I associate with out of familial bonds or imaginary obligations, I may become more confused and conflicted with myself than I already am and reach a level of dissociation as advanced as Rin's. This entire story has been surprisingly exactly what I needed to experience recently. WIth how desperately I look to be understood through actions, words, art, everything... I have to learn to accept that not everyone will, no matter how much energy or how many different methods I use in trying. But also, that I can't push everyone away thinking that no one will understand me at all ever. There are too many instances to mention in Rin's story that essentially hold up a mirror to myself, which is strange considering that she herself said anything with eyes that isnt alive is creepy, like a reflection in the mirror. Rin is like my mirror, and that is why, just taking a wild guess here, her path will probably forever and always be my favorite. It was executed beautifully by the creators, and I am extremely thankful for the depth and level of self-awareness present here. 

 

When I finish more storylines, I just may come back with my opinions on them as well!