Hisao Nakai - Thoughts on our protagonist?

[Potato]

He had his own distinguishable personality

Wait, he did?

Yes, he did...Even if he was dull.

[AaronIsCrunchy]

The Hisao on Rin's route definitely irritates me most, as he's so frequently callous and occasionally properly nasty to Rin. I understand she would be frustrating but there are times in it where I just wish he'd take a deep breath, or even a brief pause before what he says, as even I, a young male with Asperger's Syndrome, can tell he's not going about things the right way. That, and Rin's sad or hurt face just kills me

[someguy1294]

The Hisao on Rin's route definitely irritates me most, as he's so frequently callous and occasionally properly nasty to Rin. I understand she would be frustrating but there are times in it where I just wish he'd take a deep breath, or even a brief pause before what he says, as even I, a young male with Asperger's Syndrome, can tell he's not going about things the right way. That, and Rin's sad or hurt face just kills me

I actually though Hisao was quite patient with Rin for most of the route. By the time I reached 'Demused', I was about ready to slap the adorable little amputee myself, and that's coming from a die-hard Rinfidel.

He had to chew out Rin and let her know that neglecting people that care about her is not okay. Yeah, he got a little nasy, but nothing he said was unfair, and it all worked out in the end. How do you think Hisao could have handled it better?

[d2r]

The Hisao on Rin's route definitely irritates me most, as he's so frequently callous and occasionally properly nasty to Rin. I understand she would be frustrating but there are times in it where I just wish he'd take a deep breath, or even a brief pause before what he says, as even I, a young male with Asperger's Syndrome, can tell he's not going about things the right way. That, and Rin's sad or hurt face just kills me

I actually found the Hanako route Hisao more irritating. He can be very patronizing - consider that in "Shady Encounter", he says something to himself to the effect of "If [Hanako] needs me to be a prince, I will be that prince". Fundamentally, that's pretty damn arrogant of him. Granted, that's kind of the point, since in the bad ending, it's his constant efforts to protect her from herself that cause her to snap and lash out at him.

I do like that the route addressed that - the good end is only available when you discard your need to "protect" her and start actually seeing her as a person.

EDIT: Removed sloppy error

[KrisIsLyra]

I think Hisao is a boring villain protagonist.

[someguy1294]

I think Hisao is a boring villain protagonist.

What.

[someguy1294]

"If [Hanako] needs me to be a prince, I will be that prince". Fundamentally, that's pretty damn arrogant of him. Granted, that's kind of the point, since in the bad ending, it's his constant efforts to protect her from herself that cause her to snap and lash out at him.

I do like that the route addressed that - the good end is only available when you discard your need to "protect" her and start actually seeing her as a person.

Admittedly, the white-knighting thing in Hanako's route is a bit annoying. One of the things that initially drove me AWAY from Hanako was how timid and fragile she appeared to be. At the same time, it made me wonder... what if she really DOES need a prince?

Of course, Hanako proved, in the end, that Hisao needs her support just as bad as she needs his.

[Liminaut]

I feel a lot of sympathy for Hisao through the VN. These are some seriously messed-up girls he's trying to work things out with, and he's trying to recover from some pretty heavy trauma himself. Not only did he just find out he has a rather life-shortening illness, but he went though 4 months of near-solitary in the hospital room.

Take Hanako's path. One the one hand she does have a lot of internal strength, but on the other hand she has catatonic meltdowns at the slightest mention of the b-word. So sometimes Hisao needs to let Hanako work things out, and other times he needs to take care of her and, well, be her white knight. The chance of navigating that maze without going face-first into something bad now and then is about 0.

I have a hypothesis about some of Hisao's white knighting. He's got a big freaking huge problem that he spends most of the VN trying to pretend isn't there, and that's that his heart is dreadfully weak and could kill him at some random time. He can't fix this problem, period. So he tries to fix other people's problems as a way of avoiding his own. This isn't the healthiest of solutions, but it's also natural and understandable. So yah -- he gets my sympathy.

[Guest Poster]

I actually found the Hanako route Hisao more irritating. He can be very patronizing - consider that in "Shady Encounter", he says something to Misha to the effect of "If [Hanako] needs me to be a prince, I will be that prince". Fundamentally, that's pretty damn arrogant of him. Granted, that's kind of the point, since in the bad ending, it's his constant efforts to protect her from herself that cause her to snap and lash out at him.

It's Miki he's with at the moment actually and he doesn't say it, he merely thinks it.

Take Hanako's path. One the one hand she does have a lot of internal strength, but on the other hand she has catatonic meltdowns at the slightest mention of the b-word. So sometimes Hisao needs to let Hanako work things out, and other times he needs to take care of her and, well, be her white knight. The chance of navigating that maze without going face-first into something bad now and then is about 0.

This. Hanako's stronger than she appears at first, but more frail than lots of fans seem to assume. She's not merely shy and avoiding white knighting isn't the same as complete laissez-faire. Hanako most likely will have relapses from time to time even after she and Hisao start dating and during those times, her boyfriend will need to be considerate without coming across as patronizing. It's a fine line to walk.

I have a hypothesis about some of Hisao's white knighting. He's got a big freaking huge problem that he spends most of the VN trying to pretend isn't there, and that's that his heart is dreadfully weak and could kill him at some random time. He can't fix this problem, period. So he tries to fix other people's problems as a way of avoiding his own. This isn't the healthiest of solutions, but it's also natural and understandable. So yah -- he gets my sympathy.

It's actually outright stated in Hanako's route that Hisao's focus on Hanako's issues is his way of keeping his mind off the fact he has no plans for the future of his own at that point.

[d2r]

It's Miki he's with at the moment actually and he doesn't say it, he merely thinks it..

Oh, man, that was sloppy of me. How did I write "Misha" there... :p

Still, that is a patronizing attitude to take. I mean, supporting someone is all well and good, but that's a bit much. I think, though, that as Liminaut suggested, it's meant to be part of Hisao's developing character: he's focussing on Hanako's issues to avoid facing his own, resulting in patronization when he takes it too far. Part of the story arc is moving beyond this.

[AaronIsCrunchy]

The Hisao on Rin's route definitely irritates me most, as he's so frequently callous and occasionally properly nasty to Rin. I understand she would be frustrating but there are times in it where I just wish he'd take a deep breath, or even a brief pause before what he says, as even I, a young male with Asperger's Syndrome, can tell he's not going about things the right way. That, and Rin's sad or hurt face just kills me

I actually though Hisao was quite patient with Rin for most of the route. By the time I reached 'Demused', I was about ready to slap the adorable little amputee myself, and that's coming from a die-hard Rinfidel.

He had to chew out Rin and let her know that neglecting people that care about her is not okay. Yeah, he got a little nasy, but nothing he said was unfair, and it all worked out in the end. How do you think Hisao could have handled it better?

I dunno, that's a pretty fair point actually (fellow Rinfidel here too) - I've actually done the same thing before with my girlfriend (only once, and I felt awful afterwards) so I suppose it's a wee bit hypocritical of me to say what I did. Maybe Hisao did take things the right way (well, OBVIOUSLY he did on the good ending) but a situation where I think he could have handled his frustration better was in 'Things You Hate', where his acceptance of not being able to understand came out as spite. But maybe that was necessary? GAH hypotheticals.

[Potato]

So when did "Rinfidel" become a thing, because that's pretty fucking awesome.

Most irritating Hisao for me is probably Emi's route. Too much internal moping, not enough actually helping anything. Or Rin's, simply for letting things get to the point where he screams at her. Should've put his foot down earlier and harder, in both cases.

[bhtooefr]

To be fair, Emi-route Hisao is the one incarnation of Hisao that's both most likely to be dragged along by a manic pixie dream girl, and least likely to be able to handle it when said manic pixie dream girl's mask slips.

And Emi's the closest thing we get to a manic pixie dream girl.

[someguy1294]

And Emi's the closest thing we get to a manic pixie dream girl.

Shizune comes close, but is disqualified for being abrasive instead of cute for much of Act 1.

[Megumeru]

And Emi's the closest thing we get to a manic pixie dream girl.

Shizune comes close, but is disqualified for being abrasive instead of cute for much of Act 1.

I find her independent attitude cute--in a way. That, and the starry sky event at the end of ACTI won me over.

ACTI Emi is a serious cute/adorable-overload.

Hanako can cause unwanted heart-attacks early on.


Now, on Nakai....

Can't say much except I think that he's your 'average guy'. Surprisingly very-very normal and to an extent, mature in his approach to some problems. He can get angry, get confused, laugh, joke, and isn't even afraid of stating his opinion on some matters--hell, he even hides things and has secrets of his own.

When you compare him to most other VN's male protagonist, Hisao's character is almost a lot more closer to heart than most.