Best analysis of KS

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

And he/she hasn't even gotten to Shizune and Hanako yet:
http://rollthewords.blogspot.com/2012/02/katawa-shoujo-mission-profile.html

PS: c'mon, cheapskates!
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/katawashoujo/wahaha

[Wordyman]

Thank for the plug. Wordyman/wordwarrior is male, last that I checked.

Shizune writeup is coming along, next will be Hanako. Now that I may have an audience, I have to polish my delivery a little.

[danyo]

I enjoyed reading it Even though I already knew everything that was said in there pretty much xD

[hickwarrior]

Hmm, I haven't looked at that perspective, but that does sound about right. Maybe it explains why the H scenes actually 'felt' well done?

[zanzarra]

Q: How does an armless girl masturbate?
A: I don't know, why don't you give her a hand?

This is so full of win.

[CNB]

While I actually do agree with much of what's said in the reviews, I'm sorely tempted to spitefully pick them apart due to the cheap shots he takes at Hanako's route (and by extension, people who enjoyed it). Why is it that Lilly fans and Hanako fans always have to be cutting each other down?

[Wordyman_MT]

While I actually do agree with much of what's said in the reviews, I'm sorely tempted to spitefully pick them apart due to the cheap shots he takes at Hanako's route (and by extension, people who enjoyed it). Why is it that Lilly fans and Hanako fans always have to be cutting each other down?

Sorry, but the only damnable thing I wrote about Hanako's route is that, in Act 1, it feels like an afterthought on Lilly's route. If you use that statement as your starting point, yeah, other things will seem dismissive and offending.

I also wrote that I find the Hanako route concept the best in all the game. Solving her puzzling personality is the biggest challenge the game has to offer, bar Rin's eccentricities, and the latter are not for solving, but for "feeling".

Hanako is the most interesting girl because, right up to the end of her route, you still don't know what she thinks. Unlike the characterization of the other girls, done through the simple procedures of people-are-what-they-do and people-are-what-they-say, Hanako is often characterized by the things she avoids doing and things she never speaks of. There's so much potential under her surface, so much beauty waiting to be exposed. I accused the writing of this route of being juvenile because it leaves so many things untouched, or just glazed over superficially. At the end of the route, I was frustrated because it ended right where it was getting really interesting. Nothing since Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (a.k.a. The Wallflower) left me high and dry like that.

I hope to do her justice when I get to her route breakdown in Mission Profile.

[Guest Poster]

I think most people who liked Hanako's character were disappointed that her arc ended as soon as it did. However, the main issue is...no matter how much we wanted to see more of Hanako coming out of her shell, would it have worked from a storytelling perspective?

My first guess would be no. At least not without dragging things on. Lilly's, Emi's and Rin's arc all ended at the height of the emotional climax as soon as the central conflict was resolved, so the player was left with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Hanako's arc ends with Hisao telling Hanako he'll be relying on her for emotional support to help him through his own difficulties in return for him being there for her... These words, I value you enough to rely on you, are what shatters Hanako's shell irreversably. (since one of her main issues is her seeing herself as nothing but a burden to others) Both admit they don't really understand the other well, but both are willing to take the time and effort to get to know each other better one day at a time.

So what would be next? Probably small things. Many small things. More gentle give-and-takes. Helping each other work out what they want to do after Yamaku. Maybe careful attempts at genuine intimacy. (emotional and physical instead of just the latter) And after the failure of their first sexual encounter under false pretenses, most likely no second attempt at sex for quite a while. (at least not until they were sure that both were emotionally ready for it this time) None of those little things, I think, would be able to match the raw emotional vibe of the park confession scene, so from a storytelling perspective further glimpses of Hisao's and Hanako's developing relationship, no matter how interesting, would cause the route to slowly fizzle out.

[Getchman]

Thats a pretty good review, but you did mix up a few details:
-Emi is the one that keeps condoms in her nightstand, not Hanako. That little detail is revealed if you get her good ending and i beleive she is the one that puts in on Hisao.
-With Hanako, Hisao conveniently is carrying a condom in his pants pocket. He reaches for it awkwardly before he goes any further with Hanako after he fingers her.

I dont want to start a debate over this, mostly because it doesn't really matter all that much to me, so this is just my take on the situation. I disagree with you about Shizune being sexually experienced. First of all, I don't see her letting anyone get that close to her before Hisao came along. Her personality alone would drive anyone away. Also, she is sitting on top of Hisao, they are both fully clothed and her skirt is blocking everything, so how would he be able to know if there was any bleeding, and for that matter, not every girl bleeds on her first time. her position allows her to take things nice and slow, which she does and what really dives home my point is that fact that she is crying in the last few images, she looks like she is in slight pain.

just throwing this out there and feel free to disagree with me if you want

[Tezzeret]

The Rin section was a great read.

[themocaw]

Very interesting review, although I do disagree with your reading of Shizune as an eternal chessmaster who always plans ahead. I actually read her as someone who's impulsive, but skilled at rapidly coming up with a plan on the fly. (Among other things, I don't think it's a surprise that her favorite form of chess is speed chess). Her first H scene reads, to me, as a bit of an impulsive act that she didn't really anticipate until a combination of frustration at her father and the "couch moment."

Doesn't really excuse the lack of protection during the second scene, though. Bad Shizune! Even forgot to lock the door. . .

As for Misha: I can argue that her lack of foresight is the result of her being upset and not thinking straight.

[Wordyman_MT]

Thats a pretty good review, but you did mix up a few details:
-Emi is the one that keeps condoms in her nightstand, not Hanako. That little detail is revealed if you get her good ending and i beleive she is the one that puts in on Hisao.
-With Hanako, Hisao conveniently is carrying a condom in his pants pocket. He reaches for it awkwardly before he goes any further with Hanako after he fingers her.

Good catch, thank you for pointing it out. Looks like my memory is trying to rewrite the actual experience, so I'm going back to the respective scenes. I was starting to feel like overreaching towards the end. Back to the drawing board, then.

If you feel like I'm roasting Shizune a bit, you may be right. She's the character I didn't expect to like, and I still don't like everything about her. If I had to show my true colors, I guess I'm a Rinfag, through and through.

[Getchman]

gonna correct you again, regarding events late into Shizune's path.
She never finds out that Hisao and Misha slept together. If you do decide to comfort Misha, then both feel incredibly hollow and guilty about their actions during and after. when they are talking on the roof the next day, Shizune can sense something is not right, but neither of them will talk to her. Hisao tries to give Misha and Shizune some alone time to fix the growing gap in their relationship, but Misha wont talk to her. meanwhile, Hisao still feel incredibly guilty and tries to avoid Shizune as much as possible without hurting her. Utimatley, that backfires as she cant get Misha to open up to her and she can see that hisao is avoiding her, and comes to the conclusion that she is responsible. Shizune believes that her aggressive personality has driven away her only two friends and the two break up because she no longer feels close to him. She never finds out about Misha and Hisao

Pushing Misha away brings you to the rooftop the next morning as well, but because he has nothing to feel guilty about, Hisao does not avoid Shizune and they both come up with ideas about how to restore their friendship with Misha, and it eventually works