Katawa Shoujo

[Zunar]

Okay, okay, I get it. The fishing trip was nice, I will agree. I was just wondering why he thought that, not saying he's wrong.

[*Emelia K. Fletcher]

fishing and the fact i like shizune's route

also here is difference between endings
good end - everyone happy and have photo taken
neutral end - shizune sits down and can't be ♥♥♥♥ to look happy
bad end - who cares

[Zunar]

I'm not sure if I just didn't pay much attention on my first playthroughs of each route or not, but I feel like every time I go through the routes, I understand and connect with it more. I guess it's like how if you watch a movie several times, you notice new things every time.

Case in point, Hanako's route. I finished her route for the second time today, and...

I can't believe I didn't see it before. Something about it just... almost puts a tear to my eye. All the things that happened, especially with the buildup at the end, they just... flow so well together. I can't even think straight right now, I need to go cry. I go back on what I said about her route being abrupt and lacking romance; those points are entirely moot.

1. Emi - I connected a lot with Emi's route, partially due to the fact that I got her route on my first playthrough. Also, I think she's the cutest looking out of all the girls (I have a thing for short girls). Not just her looks, but her whole personality is so endearing. Her route may seem childish and the most like an average teenage relationship, but that's why I like it. One good example of why I like Emi's route is in the last scene of Act 2, when Emi confesses to Hisao that she has a crush on him. It's so adorable, like she's daring Hisao to reject her. Another chip to add to the pile is that it almost inspires me to go run the track at my school in the mornings, not just for a relationship but to get in shape as well. I connected so well with Emi that I actually wrote a parody post-route short story where Hisao reflects back on his year at Yamaku, for an assignment in Creative Writing class (didn't mention any explicit stuff, of course). Posted it in the stories forum, if you're interested: viewtopic.php?f=94&t=44708
   
   
2. Hanako - To put it simply, Hanako's route is very emotional, particularly near the end. I didn't quite see it on my first run through her route; I think I just wanted to go through the route just to say that I've completed it, and didn't let it soak in. I was also partly affected by the other routes, as I completed about half of them within the span of a few days. Hanako's introverted and shy nature reminds me a lot of how I am most of the time; distancing myself from others, minding my own business... Her shy nature isn't a bad thing though; as Hisao said, her smile is infectious. The fact that she smiles so rarely makes hers so much more rewarding. I almost want to protect her out of pity, being that she has no family (the closest she has is Lilly), and how... unstable she is, but saying that makes me feel like a horrible person. That also makes me feel a slight pang of guilt whenever I go through a route besides her or Lilly's; assuming that Lilly has to leave for Scotland like in her route, Hanako would be left on her own. Also I love her cinema, hers is my second favorite next to Emi's. I could go on for a long while about Hanako's route, but I'll close with one final thing: Hanako's condition doesn't really seem to me like a disability. It's just... a condition. She isn't missing any limbs or senses, and her condition isn't life-threatening like Hisao's is. I guess that's part of reason why they connect so well, because their "disability" is just their scars; both physical and emotional.
   
   
3. Lilly - Lilly's route gets really heartrending near the end and that contributes a bit to the high ranking, but what's even better is Lilly herself. It's so enticing how she works around her blindness. Speaking of which, I think that's why she's a little low. Not because of the blindness itself, but how she copes with it. For example, Emi's prosthetics allow her to cope with her disability in the best way, almost as if she didn't have one at all; half the time going through Emi's route, I forget she doesn't even have legs. In Lilly's I'm constantly reminded of her lack of sight, which makes some things annoying at times. However, her motherly instincts toward Hanako are very endearing; there's a certain charm to having a girlfriend with a motherly nature. Finally, Lilly's route almost seems two-in-one; not only do you get Lilly, but Hanako as well. Sure, there's no action with Hanako, but it seems like the three are kind of a family, which was actually the inspiration for a parody epilogue I wrote for Lilly's route: viewtopic.php?f=94&t=44761
   
   
4. Shizune - Shizune's path is... interesting, to say the least. There are a lot of interesting moments, like the fishing trip and Tanabata, but all in all, I didn't really feel any special connection to Shizune like I did to the previous three girls. There weren't really any emotional moments, and the lack of romance outside of h-scenes was minimal, not to mention that Shizune's dad is a total jackass. Hell, her good ending seems more like a neutral, since they act more like close friends rather than love interests. Speaking of close friends, the last thing disappointing about Shizune's route is Misha. The closest you get to a Misha route is Shizune's bad ending, which is very... disappointing, for lack of a better term. I honestly like Misha's bubbly personality a little more than Shizune's analytical, almost nerdy personality. Not to mention the fact that the Misha scene seems shoehorned in, like it was a last-minute thing just to include Misha somewhere in the mix.
   
   
5. Rin - I don't even know where to start for Rin's route. To put it bluntly, I don't like Rin too much. The route seems to drag on and Rin herself has such an enigmatic personality that I can't connect with her, completely ignoring the fact that I don't like art. I'm not an artist and I never will be, plain and simple. Over the course of her route, so many different things happen that it's hard to get a grasp of who Rin really is. As MK said last page, how can you say so much and mean so little? Another factor is that she doesn't look very attractive. She looks better in the CGs and the cinema rather than the main game. This is going to sound mean and tactless, but her lack of arms plays a bit into that. I would say having no arms would be the worst disability out of all the girls, unless you put Lilly and Shizune together and made another Helen Keller or added Emi in and had no limbs at all.

To sum up each route in one word, Emi's is inspiring, Hanako's is emotional, Lilly's is heartrending, Shizune's is interesting, and Rin's is enigmatic.

[Zunar]

Am I the only person who cries at the end of Lilly and Hanako's routes, no matter how many times I go through them? Though I feel like crying for different reasons; Lilly's ending makes me cry out of sadness, and Hanako's makes me emotionally moved. I typically cry more after Lilly's route and need something to cheer me up, but Hanako's is just a few tears of joy that leave me in an emotional flux, feeling like my heartstrings are being tugged.

[Master1.0]

Am I the only person who cries at the end of Lilly and Hanako's routes, no matter how many times I go through them? Though I feel like crying for different reasons; Lilly's ending makes me cry out of sadness, and Hanako's makes me emotionally moved. I typically cry more after Lilly's route and need something to cheer me up, but Hanako's is just a few tears of joy that leave me in an emotional flux, feeling like my heartstrings are being tugged.

Well when you put it that way, I think the emotions that Hisao goes through, such as what you stated above, it's just how much they put in front of you that really makes a person tear up a bit. I even see movies like that sometimes; and yes, I have shed a tear seeing some movies, as well as Lilly's route, from the clash of happiness and sadness in the air.

[Zunar]

The music adds a ton to it as well. Even just thinking of Innocence, Moment of Decision, or Shadow of the Truth almost gets me teary-eyed. That's how much they affect me.

[Zunar]

I just found this fanfic someone made of a Hanako epilogue. It's fairly long, but it's definitely worth a read. Felt like I was going through Katawa Shoujo for the first time all over again.

http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=6750