A few questions( possible spoilers)

[Darrien]

So I just finished the entire game to 100% and I have a few questions that may or may not have been answered by someone.

1. Hanakos 2nd Act intro - what does it mean, all the others sort of make sense to me but hers.
2. My last route I did was Rins and I have to say, was entirely lost almost the entire time as she made absolutely no sense to me.

Well I had less questions than I thought I might have. This is my first VN and I have to say it was very well written, albeit my first time through I got stuck with the manly picnic which was rather entertaining. I do wish there were more epilogue information about what happened between Hisao and each of the main female characters as closure but I suppose that is the point of fan fiction.

[Mirrormn]

So I just finished the entire game to 100% and I have a few questions that may or may not have been answered by someone.

1. Hanakos 2nd Act intro - what does it mean, all the others sort of make sense to me but hers.

The first couple of scenes are Hanako's memories of her parents; you can tell that they are within her mind because the shot eventually pulls back through her closing eye. Then you get a shot of her sitting alone in a sparsely furnished room, and the motion of the sun through the window tells you much time is passing. This is a pretty straightforward representation of what Hanako does most of the time when she withdraws to her dorm.

Then you get a scene based on some simple symbolism. The crowd of people that flickers around Hanako as the frantic up and down scales play represent people staring at her because of her scarring and shyness. They move too fast to be indentifiable because they embody the fear and impersonality she feels when confronted with public situations. But then Hanako sees Hisao, a constant and friendly face in the sea of strangers, and his stability and familiarity are calming to her. As the Raindrops and Puddles theme plays (Raindrops and Puddles, by the way, is Hanako's unofficial secondary theme, in my opinion), the two draw closer to each other, and the crowd fades away, representing how Hisao's involvement on Hanako's life helps her overcome her fears.

Then it ends with a scene of Hisao reading with Hanako in the library. Nothing to analyze about that.

2. My last route I did was Rins and I have to say, was entirely lost almost the entire time as she made absolutely no sense to me.

Yeah, Rin is that way sometimes. To be honest, after my first playthrough of Rin's route, the message I took away from it was "So the author is basically telling me Rin is 100% impossible to understand no matter what, I guess." But, if you read her route again, and think hard about what's going on, you might come to realize she's actually just a regular human being underneath all of her curious antics and confusing philosophizing.

I love answering questions about Rin, and I'd like to think I've come to a pretty accurate understanding of her character by now, so if you're confused about some specific sections of the her story, I'd be happy to give my thoughts.

[Murkglow]

If you have problems understanding Rin's path you could always read the thread about it: http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4803

There is plenty of discussion there including a fair bit from Mirrormn.

[Darrien]

I kinda figured that is what the first scene in Hanakos intro meant but the second scene was a bit confusing but I see what you mean now after watching it from that point of view.

[Oogy]

What always kind of confused me about Hanako's cut scene, is that the first two shots are (or at least I think they are), first a shot of Hisao's medicine, and then a shot of his back while he downs them.

I've always wondered why those two shots where there.

[Darrien]

What always kind of confused me about Hanako's cut scene, is that the first two shots are (or at least I think they are), first a shot of Hisao's medicine, and then a shot of his back while he downs them.

I've always wondered why those two shots where there.

You know, had you not mentioned that, I would not have noticed. I wonder what the significance of that is?

[Oddball]

The way I saw it was that first you get to see Hisao's troubles. Then you get to see Hanako's. Then when it comes to the crowd shot, it's not just Hanako looking lost. Both Hisao and Hanako are both in the crowd, facing opposite directions as people move by too fast and the world spins around them.

It's not just Hanako that still feels alone even in crowds and is unable to connect with anyone around her. It's a trait they both share. That's why you don't just see Hanako running up to Hisao, you see them taking steps toward each other.

Yeah, it focuses more on Hanako, but her sense of isolation and despair are more severe than Hisao's, but the point is that it's not just that she needs him. He needs her.

[Mirrormn]

The way I saw it was that first you get to see Hisao's troubles. Then you get to see Hanako's. Then when it comes to the crowd shot, it's not just Hanako looking lost. Both Hisao and Hanako are both in the crowd, facing opposite directions as people move by too fast and the world spins around them.

It's not just Hanako that still feels alone even in crowds and is unable to connect with anyone around her. It's a trait they both share. That's why you don't just see Hanako running up to Hisao, you see them taking steps toward each other.

Yeah, it focuses more on Hanako, but her sense of isolation and despair are more severe than Hisao's, but the point is that it's not just that she needs him. He needs her.

Sounds quite reasonable. I didn't notice at first that the first shot is of a bottle of medicine, so I missed that point in my original explanation.

[Darrien]

After replaying Lillys route today I had one question. Why did she decide to go to Scotland? It seemed that Hisao was adamant that he did not want her to go but she went anyway and after the scene in the hospital, he asked her to stay and she stayed? I am figuring I am missing something very obvious.

[Mirrormn]

After replaying Lillys route today I had one question. Why did she decide to go to Scotland? It seemed that Hisao was adamant that he did not want her to go but she went anyway and after the scene in the hospital, he asked her to stay and she stayed? I am figuring I am missing something very obvious.

The reason she decides to go is because she misses her family a lot, and wants to reunite with them. Remember, her parents basically abandoned her in Japan when they moved to Scotland, and Akira implies that their motives in doing so were not really all that wholesome. Lilly was deeply affected by that abandonment; it caused her to intentionally develop her current persona of reliability and motherliness, in order to never again be such a burden on others that they would choose to leave her life rather than deal with her.

Now, you say "Hisao seemed adamant that he did not want her to go", but that's really not the case at all. When Hisao finds out Lilly was summoned to Scotland permanently, he goes and confronts her, and when he asks what she decision she made on the matter, and she gives a non-committal answer, he says "So you're going, then." He practically makes her decision for her! There's no impassioned plea for her to stay, no confession of love, no plans for a future together, nothing like that. Hisao may get the point across that he's not happy about her leaving, but he does so in a cold and passive-aggressive manner.

It's not until the scene in the hospital that Hisao really opens up to Lilly and asks wholeheartedly for her to stay with him.

[megiddo]

2. My last route I did was Rins and I have to say, was entirely lost almost the entire time as she made absolutely no sense to me.

Yeah, Rin route is horribad.