Katawa Shoujo: After 12 years, it's finally here

[lumber_of_the_beast]

Did they forget to break Rin's path up into acts? I've been on it for a long time, but according to the scene viewer, I'm only halfway through Act 2.

[HakureiSM]

No, it's got all 4 acts all right.

Also I just found the scenes I was missing from Emi's route. Made her even cuter <3

[Suikama]

I just realized that the guy who did the animations is the same guy who made this video


In other news: how far can Hisao fly?

[pineyappled]

Wahaha~ got eaten by a Misha yukkuri.

[Totaku]

Finally finished Rin's route!

This story was strange, odd, funny and complex, but by the end very romantic and touching in it's own special way. I will either write a review of the route in this post or the next one. That's all I'll say.

After this: Shizune/Misha route!

[gammaraptor]

Lol, I got sucked into playing it =D. Hanako ^^

[Suikama]

I just realized Hanako gets more character development at the end of Lily's route than her own. :V

I guess this means

Spoiler:

LILLY ROUTE IS TRUE ROUTE

[VIVItheFujoshi]

I'm do Hanako route...

Spoiler:

and it remind me my classmate, friend and ex-boyfriend, who had a similar trauma(his grandpa died in his birthday, and he loved him so much because was literally his father)...each September, he began to act very strange and had that panic attacks.

Edit: How pretty she looks

Spoiler:

with that hat and casual outfit. Actually, she have the same tastes than me. :3

Edit2:

Spoiler:

"this is me. All of me" (my middle-little brother had a fire accident long time ago and a part of his leg was injuried, thankfully that scars healed well...but looking her, remind me how difficult for my brother was that...and that scars are in A GREAT EXTENCION OF HER BODY! HOW SHE SURVIVED THAT??)

;___;
...
and i ended Hanako Good End!!! sweet story.
next: Lilly.

[pineyappled]

I just realized Hanako gets more character development at the end of Lily's route than her own. :V

I guess this means

Spoiler:

LILLY ROUTE IS TRUE ROUTE

Spoiler:

Miki route is true route.

[Suikama]

Spoiler:

Miki route is true route.

damn straight

High fiv....oh wait :ohdear:

[PX]

Wait, when did we get onto the Rin route?

[Grand Octopus]

I just realized Hanako gets more character development at the end of Lily's route than her own. :V

I guess this means

Spoiler:

LILLY ROUTE IS TRUE ROUTE

LIES.

Spoiler:

Sure, by the end of Lilly's route she seems to have herself together better (which doubtlessly has something to do with the timespan the two routes cover), but you don't really get much of an insight into her during the route other than that she's a stronger person than everyone gives her credit for.  You sure as hell don't get the same understanding of what she's been through, what she's going through and her true feelings towards the "Don't worry Hanako, I will (ahn~♥) protect you" mentality ohgodimsorryHanakopleasedontyellatmeimsorryimsorryimsorry-

[Totaku]

Lemme go ahead and attempt to discuss Rin's route, cause originally I was going to cover it in detail.... But.... Rin's story has such a complex meaning behind that really I chose to stick with just writing a summary for it cause there's only one real way to describe Rin's route....it's like

Spoiler:

Art itself... Subjective

So as usual:
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS MY THOUGHTS AND SPOILERS OF RIN'S ROUTE FROM KATAWA SHOUJO, I HAVE PLACED IT BEHIND SPOILER TEXT AND LINKED THE IMAGES, VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK!

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/1918/screenshot20120107at202.png

Spoiler:

An artist with a gifted talent, conflicting with the problems within herself. Can you help her find where the path she must go?

[/i]

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/8362/screenshot20120107at201.png

Act 2:

Spoiler:

Disconnect

[/b]

Totaku's thoughts regarding Rin's Route Act 2:

Spoiler:

Orginally I viewed Rin as this scattered brained girl with a love and passion for art, and has an abstract view of on how she talked about things in life. I found her amusing that way. When Hisao joined the art class he kind of did it because he was faced with few choices and didn't really know what to do with himself at the time so "Why not" I'd probably do the same thing. Rin seemed mildly content with what she did, and it seemed as Hisao continued to hang around Rin, it seemed like the more like Rin was strange in general. Well I mean she was already odd, but seem.....really odd. Like as if she been acting like she's been on an abstract mindset for a good portion of her life (perhaps because of her passion for art). Because she almost seems to never has a natural discussion.

Spoiler:

However there was few thing about Rin that stuck out in the whole thing during whole act:

Spoiler:

1. Rin was indeed concerned if she could take on the responsibly that Mr. Nomiya was offering her. Cause she would become famous if she managed to pull it all off.

Spoiler:

2. Rin "Hugging" Hisao Dawww (Thought she was concerned if Hisao would kick her after a similar happened between her and Emi)

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/8823/screenshot20120108at338.png

Spoiler:

3.Rin begin hopped up on Medication, when Hisao went to see her when she was sick. MY LORD THAT WAS HALARIOUS AND CUTE! Which also turned into a kissing moment (wether or not she remembered then is unknown)

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/8145/screenshot20120108at347.png
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9371/screenshot20120108at355.png
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9370/screenshot20120108at402.png
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9696/screenshot20120108at403.png

Spoiler:

To be honest, she seems more "normal" under her meds. In a goofy sort of way.

Spoiler:

But yeah this chapter seems to mainly get Hisao to become familiar with Rin and for Hisao to try to figure out what he should be doing (I decided he would continue trying to become like Rin, thus he stays in the art club) And gave us a brief introduction to Rin's problem. Though it wouldn't be clear till much later....

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/5520/screenshot20120108at429.png

Act 3:

Spoiler:

Distance

[/b]

Totaku's thoughts regarding Rin's Route Act 3:

Spoiler:

This picture amused me since it showed how the two charters viewed each other in a metaphor of the art pieces they represented "The Thinker" and "Venus De Mello"

Spoiler:

This chapter we see how Rin decides to take up Mr. Nomiya's deal to pursue getting her work into the Art Exhibition so they all go to the 22nd Corner which is run my Sainoji  in which Sae eventually agrees to allow Rin to do work for the Exhibition but at the extent of sacrificing her school life to spend her next month to prepare work for the exhibition. So Nomiya gets approval from, the school and thus Rin would leave the school for a while.

Spoiler:

Eventually though Hisao wanted to go see Rin to see how she was doing since she allowed for him to come. After several visits, Rin was suffering from artist's block and was given cigerrates by Ms. Sae to use. Eventually when Rin reaches an a point where she can't decide what to do as she needs to find a way to "destroy herself" she asks Hisao to light up a cigereate for her and thus the two decide to sit and share several smokes through the night. Eventually Hisao would take Rin out to walk the streets for a bit to take her mind off the stress of art. However by the time they return, Rin reaches the conclusion that... in order to "destroy herself" to become a better artist she has to completely isolate herself from everyone including Hisao.

Spoiler:

This of course leaves Hisao in deep concern for Rin's well being as he is even still riddled by Rin's complex personality. Eventually he would return a few weeks to check on Rin who apparently has become extremely depressed at this time. Techically isolating herself has made some of her more "personal matter" hard for her especially since she lacks the arms to...do this. So Hisao decides to lend her a hand. Thus we enter another romantic scene.

Spoiler:

Eventually the two would sleep for the night and the following morning Rin would be back to work (fully clothed??? I thought she needed help with that?!) But regardless of her feeling she had with hisao the previous night she was still very determine to "destroy herself" for the sake of art. And even when Hisao begged that all he wanted was to understand her, she pretty much made it clear she had to put art first. Thus before long Hisao would feel that his efforts to reach Rin were futile and stormed out of the building.

Spoiler:

To my surprised, I thought I screwed up this act at the end. Still Rin's mind set. So far she reminds me of what artist go through. Especially when they are in the middle of their "big break". They are really determined to take on challenges to push themselves, But I can't help that I think Rin's pushing herself to an extreme level. This is probably why hisao is so concerned. Cause of the fact she practically withdrew from almost all possible human contact just so she can put art first to fulfill a goal her teacher wanted her to fulfill. Kind of left me in a mixed state here... However the next chapter would brake the ice on this matter.

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Rin's Route Act 4:

Spoiler:

Dream

Spoiler:

[/b]

Spoiler:

This act finally revealed to me about Rin, but it also showed me how unique the whole story was by the end....

Spoiler:

It starts with Hisao taking his exams for the end of the trimester and confronting Rin about a day before the end of the trimester walking around Hisao's dorm because she had nothing else to do since Sae had to prepare Rin's work for the exhibition. Course with Hisao still upset with Rin from nearly the week before. Rin finally admits it was a mistake to isolate herself but Hisao hadn't quite forever her for casting him out of the wait. Eventually after the argument, the two would leave and Hisao would take the next day to realize that maybe Rin really needed her there so he appears on the day of the exhibition.

Spoiler:

It's on that day when I finally see Rin who she is. When the Exhibition took place and Emi came along to see Rin's progress I say that Rin seem to be like her typical self until people started to spark lots of questions regarding her work. This is she broke down in front of the audience and Hisao had to take her out from the crowd to talk to her about what happen and what she wanted to really achive. She finally admits she's lost and confused and thought she found a direction only that she couldn't take it because she is poor at communicating in general. She is more expressive when she is painting. Which finally hit me about Rin. She's a "one of a kind" type. She explains that she was unsure what she's really looking for and if she found the person who would help her find herself. But as Hisao brings up the fact what if she has already found that person, she realize she needs to think about it and decides that the whole art exhibition is not worth the time since she couldn't handle it. Thus leaving.

Spoiler:

No surprise though, this shocked Mr. Nomiya and Ms Sae were shocked at Rin's leave and told Hisao to go find her. But eventually Emi and Hisao end up choosing to leave on their own accord.

Spoiler:

The following day Hisao takes his last test before Mr. Nomiya comes into the room looking for Hisao to talk to him about Rin's whereabouts and insist that he find her. When Hisao meets with Rin he manages to convince her to confront Nomiya despite the fact that she wasn't expressive with words.

Spoiler:

Eventually Rin would talk to Nomiya. And Hisao could hear the argument take place. Rin admits to him he could take it but before too long Nomiya explodes in rage because to his view it seems like Rin did not care after the years he put effort to help Rin unlock her talent. He storms out of the room and then Hisao goes to meet up with Rin and who continues to express how she has no idea what is wrong with her and so she crys out tear and slumps onto Hisao's shoulder which he embraces Rin for the next few hours before she finally awaken. It's during this time Hisao comes to realize that the reason he was so attached to Rin was because wanted to know what turely made het so free as if her mind was in a different world compared to what he view in his life. Indeed he was attached to Rin.

Spoiler:

Eventually Rin would come to realize Hisao truly cared for her in her own very odd way and the two would meet again on the first day of Summer.

Spoiler:

It rain that day and Rin approached Hisao's room all wet and drenched. Hisao who at this point deeply cared for Rin decided to fetch her new clothes and dry her off. Course this ended up turning into another romantic bit where for first time Rin (not being drugged up) sounded quite sane. And was a strange romantic piece that eventually would lead Hisao realizing that because of Rin he may have found the reasons he feels alive.

Spoiler:

Once Rin was dressed and the rain stopped Rin takes her out to the hill where the dandelions grew as they were now in full bloom releasing their seeds. It's there Rin finally admits she loves Hisao and then two spend their day at the dandelion hill and by the end of the day as Rin stood on are rock as Rin spread out her arm against the wind she turn Hisao as asks an interesting question...

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7315/screenshot20120109at832.png

Overview of Rin's Route:

Spoiler:

This entire route is touching on many levels to the point that you can say trying to understand it as well Rin herself is almost futile. She's one of those kind of charters that I can only label as one thing...."Subjective" I had a hard time trying to come up with a way to explain Rin cause she is so abstract in her view in life that she's almost in a way lost and not even attached to this world thus being "free"

The ending leaves me with a very mixed set of feelings. In one case I feel glad Rin stood up for herself even though she wasn't exactly good at it, but at the same time I feel Rin may of been careless about the whole idea. Mainly because she didn't really know how to handle it. It's almost like Rin may be suffering from something else.... not just self conflict here. It's difficult to describe here. The of an artist is a very thick one as even I have had my share of issues, but I learned to adapt. But Rin...well I question will she really be able to "adapt" or will she be depending on Hisao?

This is why good end kinda irks me. It's a bittersweet ending. A happy one in the short term, but one leaves concerns for what the two's future hold for them.

The same can be said for Mr. Nomiya. He was looking out for Rin and wanted to actually have a life since she put so much effort into art. And yet blew him off after the years she's learned from him. I can understand how he feels he felt like he just wasted his time with her at that time. But then again, if Rin did pursues a career in the art, would she have even found happiness? Or would she have just fallen into the path of the artist friend Momiya and Sae brought up that took his life.

Really there is so much that can be considered here. I just don't know. But yes, I'm happy and sad at the same time because this story raises as many questions as there is answers, just like Rin herself.

Rating of Rin's Route

Story: 9

Spoiler:

This one is very subjective, thus is feel like there could be so much that could be many questions as answers, not exactly prefer by any means, but it opens so much considering Rin and Hisao's future.

Characters: 9

Spoiler:

Again, subjective, if you look at view points of Rin, Mr. Nomiya, and maybe Sae, along with Hisao, you kinda see there's a very unique way to show these characters in their plot. Again with many questions and answers like art itself. The main theme may have been self conflict, but really it seems to expand beyond that and you look to question did they do the right decisions? Was their actions justified. It seem it depends heavily on who's point you view here. It can be take in many ways which I love.

H-scenes: 7

Spoiler:

Done with good taste. Rin was going through lots of problems when she isolating herself from everyone so it almost seemed like it was needed since she has "personal issues" that need to be resolved due to the lack of arms. And then the end romantic bit seem to kind of fit considering how Hisao and Rin's romance was kinda odd and abstract to begin with. Overall, it done nicely and felt welcoming.

END OF RIN ROUTE SPOILER

Welp, time to join THE STUDENT COUNCIL!

[pineyappled]

Can you stop posting massive walls of spoilered text?

[Totaku]

Can you stop posting massive walls of spoilered text?

Well I probably would of if more people took my question I asked into consideration.

But before I do that I want to make sure everyone else thinks it would be fine for me to give my analysis of the story from my perspective.

I took that question quite seriously since it was going to contain a lot of spoiler content containg all 5 routes in detail.

Only had 1 yea to do this so I said to myself "go for it."

Now to make sure I have "no questions to ask" and be aggressive in a game of risk.

[HakureiSM]

Can you stop posting massive walls of spoilered text?

It's not against the rules, and it's well spoilered, so nothing wrong with that

[VIVItheFujoshi]

-playing Lilly route...(this is really romantic, she is beautiful (oh wavy long hair, why you do this of me,Kenji fantastic like always)
-act 4 without problems...and suddenly
-Akira Face! XD
(this without spoilers because is so criptic  )

[gammaraptor]

-playing Lilly route...(this is really romantic, she is beautiful (oh wavy long hair, why you do this of me,Kenji fantastic like always)
-act 4 without problems...and suddenly
-Akira Face! XD
(this without spoilers because is so criptic  )

The last act had some nice plot twists, so it was alright overall.

[Amraphenson]

There was just something about Lilly that appealed to me. The elegance, teasing, humor, eye color...I dunno. I found her route very fulfilling.

[Kinzo the Astro Curious]

Not gonna read thread incase of spoilers, but this was a good fun way to take a break before tomorrows exam. Liking it so far, its pro qaulity if not better - only VN I've played is Clannad, and I know I'm gonna get some backlash for this - but this game is way better than Clannad. Much better done so far, lots of nice animation, plenty of character variation in both behavior and cut-ins, and the transitions and effects add really well to whats going on. Very immersive.

4Chan you suprise me. You are capable of more than just destruction.

[Suikama]

LIES.

NOPE!

[Stuffman]

Partway through Hanako's route

Shocked to discover that

Spoiler:

MIKI HAS LINES??

[Jana]

Spoiler:

MIKI HAS LINES!

I thought it was a neat extra addition to that route. :3c

[VIVItheFujoshi]

ok, i ended Lilly route yesterday and i ended crying and happy in same time. Good end, and how say Gamma, with lots of twists indeed. My romantic side said hng and aww all the path.
now in Emi route, 2 act.

Spoiler:

Emi pirate. watch out Jack XD arr arr. (this path began so nice...)

this looks nice, and Nurse slowly gain my heart.
meanwhile, my fujoshi side is tempting me to wrote a fanfic in KS style with Hisao/Kenji, but in serious manner, like if where for the game. But in character, then very funny too. like the Rin part, showing the hidden part of Kenji...more fragile than he look.

[PX]

OH GOD THIS THING IS STILL SPREADING

[pineyappled]

Anyone know where to get a copy of the original Act 1 with lolemi?

[PX]

Yay for old blogs
Although the direct download doesn't work, so pray someone is torrenting

[Garlyle]

You're not a true visual novel until you inspire a completely unrelated fangame

[Grand Octopus]

I don't usually like those kind of games but Katawa Crash is funky as hell. So long as Kuusou RUMBA RUMBA RUMBA RUMBA RUMBA's playing in the background anyway.

NOPE!

:|

[gammaraptor]

OH GOD THIS THING IS STILL SPREADING

So many Touhou remixes like that. It's become a meme..