Opinions on Iwanako?

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Akko2099
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Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Akko2099 »

At first, I just saw her as a plot device and nothing more.
During my first playthrough, I didn't give her a second thought. But on my third route, I kept wondering if she was going to visit suddenly and have a conflict with Shizune or Hanako (those are the girls I imagined could have had issues with her visiting Hisao )

Is there anything written about her? Did the writers give her something more? a biography or something?
I started thinking about her, even wrote down a few ideas for a fanfic involving her. (Iwanako deciding to go and see him in person, trying one more time to make their relationship flourish or to end it and move on without regrets, I had different results in mind)

If no info then, do any of you know of any Iwanako fanfic? I wanna see her getting together with Hisao or at least getting some closure.
Rin > Hanako > Lilly > Emi > Misha > Saki > Miki > Yuuko > Akira > Hideaki > Kenji > Shizune
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Oscar Wildecat
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Oscar Wildecat »

I'm not sure if there is any official word on Iwanako outside of what little is given in the VN.

As for fanfics:
The "gold standard" Iwanako fanfic is Mean Time to Breakdown by Leaty.

Another good Iwanako portrayal occures in Developments by Dewelar. However, her appearance doesn't occur until late in the story. Bantamweights by Leaty is a recommended companion story that focuses on Iwanako.
I like all the girls in KS, but empathize with Hanako the most.
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Oddball
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Oddball »

There's no more to Iwanako than what you see in the game.

There's not even an official face for the girl. Outside of the opening and the letter she sends Hisao, that's it. She's essentially a ghost from Hisao's past as far as the plot is concerned.
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brythain
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by brythain »

Oddball wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:02 pm There's no more to Iwanako than what you see in the game.

There's not even an official face for the girl. Outside of the opening and the letter she sends Hisao, that's it. She's essentially a ghost from Hisao's past as far as the plot is concerned.
She is thus a generally useful minor plot device—in fact, her letter (and mainly the way Hisao treats it) constitutes a beat in every main route. In fanfic, she can be used to good effect precisely because we know so little about her, and yet it is clear she spent time with Hisao.
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Akko2099
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Akko2099 »

Oscar Wildecat wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 1:33 pm I'm not sure if there is any official word on Iwanako outside of what little is given in the VN.

As for fanfics:
The "gold standard" Iwanako fanfic is Mean Time to Breakdown by Leaty.
Thanks ! I'll check it out!
Oddball wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:02 pm There's no more to Iwanako than what you see in the game.

There's not even an official face for the girl. Outside of the opening and the letter she sends Hisao, that's it. She's essentially a ghost from Hisao's past as far as the plot is concerned.
Yeah I figured as much. That makes her easy to use in fanfics lmao. I'm gonna write my own too.
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Oddball
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Oddball »

Yeah I figured as much. That makes her easy to use in fanfics lmao. I'm gonna write my own too.
Go for it!

Although I will recommend staying away from writing how everybody hates Iwanako because of what happened and her life is hell now. That's just a touch overdone.
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Akko2099
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Akko2099 »

Nah, she's actually a good girl in my ideas. Hisao didn't make things easy, she didn't need to deal with that.

It's a good thing she has almost no personality, I'll try to give her a good one.
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Pavilpal
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Pavilpal »

Akko2099 wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 6:32 pmNah, she's actually a good girl in my ideas.
Agreed, I got a very firm understanding of Hisao and where he was in each route based off this letter and his interpretations of it. So many times he sees someone as only being polite to clear a guilty conscience but I never saw that. I see a girl who's full of fear and regret in that letter, "Perhaps it's better if we didn't?" reads more to me like her terror than anything else. Emi's route was when he realized how much of his isolation was his own work, he had someone who loved him but he couldn't see beyond the wall he was building around himself.

She tried, but I figure she could only endure watching someone she loved destroy themselves for so long. Her talking about her own nervousness is telling of where she's been since then, she attempts to dismiss it as a result of the teacher but I every ounce of this was an admission of heartbreak. The terror from that is fear she might open herself up to being wounded again if they reconnect. She knows he is willing and able to destroy himself, but she can't forget someone she cared so much for. It is a young love, probably her first love.
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emmjay
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by emmjay »

It's not '''''official" art of her, but it is by Mike Inel, who created the beginning-of-chapter animations.
There's also an animated version.
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Siphonata
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Re: Opinions on Iwanako?

Post by Siphonata »

Iwanako from what I've seen is basically the girl who has feelings for Hisao but unfortunately causes the beginning of the end of a potential romance between them. After that, we barely learn anything about her until the halfway point of the various routes because Hisao wanted to move on from her. It is however interesting that Hisao's reaction to Iwanako's letter differs depending on which route the player chose, showcasing what kind of person Hisao has become under the influence of his chosen girl.

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