Musings

[ArcCain]

So I decided to boot up KS again after a very long time. It's been years since I last played and figured I'd start of with Lilly's route. A few hours into the first act however it struck me how hard Shizune and Misha try to rope Hisao into the counsel. I had forgotten how persistent they were and moreover how accommodating they are towards him. They show him around, help him get settled and eagerly try to get him into one of the clubs (the student counsel). Of course that last part is not entirely without motive.

Part of me feels like it is rude ditching them for the others. So much so that I'm tempted going back and changing who I start with. Then again, by this point Hisao himself is fairly open-minded and whilst he appreciates Misha and Shizune's help he also feels very guarded around them, where as with Lilly he is quick to open up. Rin just disarms him with her bluntness--no pun intended, and he even contemplates how fun it is helping her paint which is the first time he's expressed joy since coming to Yamaku. And Hanako catches his eyes since she's so withdrawn and mysterious. Emi of course is a bit of a trap since her choice catches most first timers by surprise and you don't see a lot of her until you are on her path.

Still, all girls catch Hisao's eye in one way or another and it makes me ponder the question of who he'd feel more drawn to spending time with verses who I, the player, want to go for.

Like I mentioned before; now that I replay the game I feel drawn towards Shizune whilst he seems more intrigued with Hanako and comfortable around Lilly and Rin to an extent.

[StillHere3603]

The replay is a gem particularly when it comes to Shizune/Misha. It's interesting how Shizune is set up as the unreasonable antagonist in the first act but only in the biased viewpoints of the other characters. When you actually play her route into act 1, you see just how much work she puts into the festival and that no one really appreciates her for it.

The payoff at the end of act 1 for Shizune in particular is so nice and sets the tone for the rest of the route. When the fireworks go off, It's like the writer telling Hisao and the player that "No you were wrong. Shizune and Misha aren't unreasonable and pushy. They just care that much. Everything that's happened thus far is a testament to their hearts".

It's also the only act 1 ending that subverts your possible first impressions of the girl and that "not everything is as it seems" becomes a constant theme in the route. The pure mystery of her principles and her well intentioned but sometimes faulty methods ultimately has such a great payoff by the end if you're patient enough. Just really well done.

[ProfAllister]

Also worth noting that Shizune and Misha are Hisao's friends in every route (and acknowledged as such). All the others get demoted to off-screen (at best).

[Oddball]

While they do try to help him get used to the place, they're probabaly a bit too forceful when it comes to trying to recruit the guy. Hisao makes it clear that he wants to take things slowly and get used to things before he commits and Shizune doesn't seem to like taking things slowly. Her continuing to push him is actually one of the reasons I ended up doing the other girls routes first.

[OtakuNinja]

Her continuing to push him is actually one of the reasons I ended up doing the other girls routes first.

Yeah, it was the same for me. Though I'm not sure how much of that is coming from Misha's personality. For all we know, Shizune could be joking a lot of the time and Misha fails to capture that in her translation (as seen a few times in other routes, when she fails to read between the lines). Then again, Shizune is pretty used to having to work hard to get what she wants, and I also believe she adds extra force in her actions to compensate for her lack of voice. I suspect growing up with Jigoro does that to a person. Hell, I can't believe I'm sitting here defending my least favorite character. Have I grown up?

On the topic of who Hisao would spend time with without our interference, I think he'd actually stick with Rin or Lilly, for the reasons mentioned above. Lilly makes him feel at ease and guides him at a pace he is much more comfortable with. And Rin, being Rin, makes him open up a bit without worrying about how he's being judged. Although, at times he might just do it out of frustration or to get her to back off a little.

As for Hanako and Emi, I don't think it's very realistic that he'd spend time with them. Or at least grow close to them. At most, I think they'd just tag along sometimes when he's hanging out with Lilly or Rin. Without Lilly's constant intervention, Hanako would never stay close to him long enough to get to know him. And since Hisao's presented to us as a boy without any real interests and motivations, I find it unlikely that he would go running with Emi or spend enough time and effort to get her to open up even if he went running. Even in her route, I feel like it's pretty forced, and after she started pushing him away I think he (realistically) wouldn't break character and make the right choices to calm her down.

[Oddball]

As for Hanako and Emi, I don't think it's very realistic that he'd spend time with them. Or at least grow close to them. At most, I think they'd just tag along sometimes when he's hanging out with Lilly or Rin. Without Lilly's constant intervention, Hanako would never stay close to him long enough to get to know him. And since Hisao's presented to us as a boy without any real interests and motivations, I find it unlikely that he would go running with Emi or spend enough time and effort to get her to open up even if he went running. Even in her route, I feel like it's pretty forced, and after she started pushing him away I think he (realistically) wouldn't break character and make the right choices to calm her down.

One thing that's very consistent about Hisao is that he tries to help people and he tries to ignore his own problems.

based on those two facts alone, I can see him easily drawn to Hanako. She obviously needs help and if he can focus on her problems then he can more easily ignore his own. Especially given the similarities between the two.

[OtakuNinja]

Oh, I can definitely see him being drawn to Hanako, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't even give him the chance to get to know her if he hadn't befriended Lilly first And without Lilly's advice on how to "handle" Hanako, we've seen how short their friendship is.

[ArcCain]

Yeah, the more I think about it I am leaning towards Lilly with Rin as that odd pal you meet every now and then.