Katawa Shoujo Impression

First I’d like to preface my thoughts and impressions with this image that sums up the game very well.

You are a person, and all the baggage that comes with that. Nothing more, nothing less.

I honestly have not heard anything about this project until possibly no more than 1 month ago only to find out that it has been in development for 5 years. Coming from the most unlikely place in the world, I gotta give them their credit for a very beautiful piece of work. Its original creator may not want anything to do with it, but it is what it is. For that, I am glad it came into existence. It has brought out some old feelings I thought I have lost, and made me aware of others that were not there before.

I am not here to give a review of the game itself. The game itself has its high points and shortcomings, and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that have already pointed out what I want to point out. I am here to simply give my impressions of the characters, and what I picked up from their stories. There might be spoilers. Your mindset might be changed, for better or for worse. Please excuse my writing (mostly thoughts as they pop up), and read at your own risk.

I also recommend listening to Comfort while reading. At least I’m writing while listening to Comfort.

-The Heroines-

I want to see what you see.

Lilly – Very elegant and has a large element of longing. Despite being blind, she has a large sense of independence, and taking away from that by pointing out the obvious feels demeaning. Maybe because of her condition, honestly is of utmost importance, but more importantly, a relationship cannot happen without honesty no matter how painful the truth might be. It is the understanding that comes from honesty that builds the connection between her and her love.

What is a person to do when they cannot “see” your face? Touch. Touching and holding a face is a very intimate and beautiful way for her to “see” the person she loves and results in a very tactile and intimate relationship. Try it sometime with that special someone. Close your eyes and gently work your way around the features of the face, committing each sense to memory. My favorite of them all because of the overall experience and intimacy.

You don't have to face your fears alone.

Hanako – Tied with Lilly for favorites. She has her issues to deal with, but protecting her from people only gets in the way of her recovery. She knows she has problems. She knows she has issues. It is because she knows her insecurities that she wants to feel accepted again even if she thinks she’s given up on acceptance. Like anyone else, she doesn’t want to be loved out of pity. She wants to be loved for who she is and not what she has become. It was very painful when I saw her bad ending. It felt like I was the one being burned for being insensitive. After she opens up, it is very satisfying to see her break out of her shell and genuinely smile. Definitely has the best ending out of them all even if the path to it is thorny and clearly a mistake.

You are you. No one else.

Rin – At first I thought she would be confusing because of her random nonsense, but she’s more than what she lets on. Even if it does not seem like it, she is completely serious even when she is poking fun at someone. A feeling of lostness, a missing sense of identity, people have been at this point one time or another. It is a contemplative state. Some go at it in angst, some wander, and others do nothing. They all think in their lostness about what to do. Whether or not they get there depends from person to person. Some reach their goal. Others never see it.

Rin feels like more of a friend than a love interest, a friend in finding oneself and uncertain about change. People change because either they feel they have to or because events force them to. Change is not inherently bad, just different. In the end, exploring one’s is in itself a journey, and what happens afterwards is up for interpretation.

Let me hear your thoughts.

Shizune – Extremely hard to read and extremely hard to connect to. She has a hard time expressing herself properly and ends up sounding harsh or extreme. She is very hard to approach because of the way she drags everyone into her life to fill her own loneliness. It’s certainly not the best way to do it, and difficulties in communication just create that much more misunderstanding. By the end, it feels like she is more self conscious about her actions, but it does not feel like she changed much. Ever stubborn and headstrong, my overall impression about her feels unsatisfied because of the lack of connection.

Never give up.

Emi – I don’t like her as much. She is stubborn to the point of pushing people away out of fear. While not truly insecure about anything, fear of people getting close to her issues makes it hard to connect. Losing a parent and that connection is hard enough to take and remember year after year, especially when part of yourself is missing to remind you about that event. It’s tough to really put her into words maybe because I see her as a shallow character overall.

-Special Mentions-

"These are the eyes of a man who has seen things. A shaman's eyes."

Kenji – The crazy conspiracy theorist. He isn’t what you would call a “friend” in the most common sense, but sometimes, he can make sense. The moment he really seems to shine is enlightening. Too bad it was also short lived.

 

Misha – In my opinion, she’s the true heroine of Shizune’s route. Rejection is hard enough to take. Hanging around that interest after the rejection and seeing that person being taken away by someone else is even more painful. Maybe she reminds me of myself. The difference is that I never had the courage to confess to anyone and face a possible rejection. Each time, I regretted it especially when I know I would never see that person again. That’s not true. I have confessed to one girl once, multiple times. She never accepted or rejected me outright. I still wonder what may be though.

-After Thought-

Overall, I feel very attached and connected to the stories that I had hard time seeing anyone has characters but rather people. More importantly, similar people that I may run into life. The disabilities don’t matter. Disabilities do not define people. Rather, what people do whether or not they are disabled define who they are.

If I could ever find a girl with the same personal qualities as some of these girls, I would be head over heels for them immediately.

There’s more that I wanted to say, but the night is getting the best of me. I’ll just mention this again. KS devs, great job.

——

Start Play: 01-5-2012

End Play: 01-13-2012

Download link: Katawa Shoujo