Favorite girl.

[vermithrx]

Rin is my favorite. A lot of my reasons have already been stated by others, so I will be brief. She appears to be the most sexually aware (if not active as well) of the girls and the most at home in her own skin, which is alluring. I love the way all her innuendo and the attempt to get a rise of jealousy from Hisao go right over his head.

[Khaos]

After having played all routes this is my opinion:

1. Rin
Artistic, cool, not demanding, awesome sense of humor, creative, deep (and I do NOT mean DEEP), weird...just someone to hang out with and watch the world from that totally different point of view where it's often very lonely. I was laughing so hard at many things she said and her end is really really beautiful, on par with the Shizune-end.

2. Hanako
Triggers my protective instincts and it's really heartwarming and rewarding seeing her slowly trusting Hisao more. Her smile is very cute.
Though I think, her ending is a bit abrupt, they could've at least watched the fireworks from the window of the tea-room.

3. Shizune
At the beginning, Shizune was my least favorite character, but after I played her long and well-made route and seeing that wonderful ending, Shizune (and Misha) really grew on me. And it's a masterstroke to develop a character so well that as a player you actually start liking her even after disliking her on the first view.

4. Lilly
I like her calm attitude and her composure, but sometimes there's too much of this, it's kinda like she's too much of an angel.

5. Emi
She's cute and energetic, however I don't like girls who use their cuteness ot manipulate others, I've known more than one like that in real life...
Also...going to bed early and missing the fireworks? No...

[erisi236]

After playing the Demo a few times, Rin comes out on top for me. An woman with a dry sense of humor like that is one you want to hold on to.

[mallory]

My love for Hanako burns with the intensity of a thousand house fires.

[to lazy to register]

about a year or two ago I would have voted hanako. reasons being would have been shy and purple hair. but I've been off that.

now I'm voting for rin...why? because...rin...can't describe it.

going away from my normal methods of long hair and hair as far away as possible from normal colors (blue, purple, green, pink, anything not brown/black and sometimes red)

but something about rin just being...rin

[Tarage]

In an attempt to understand some of the other girls more, I'm doing the other paths. Here are my thoughts.

Emi: Just as I thought. Sports end. Not too shocking, but at the same time nor horrible. I do hope there is more depth to her character.

Rin: She's amusing. I was going to rant about her lack of emotion but the last scene at least lead to some headway. But why can't I shake the feeling that the H scene is going to involve her using my tackle as a paintbrush... Ugh.

Lilly: She is what she is. I'm not a fan, but I'm not against her either. I'm just kinda bleh.

Shizune: Oh my god... I want to smack her. The "I'm in control of your life" thing was cute for a little bit, but as things keep going, I'm finding myself more and more tempted to tell her to fuck off. Especially when she barged into my room and asked about my meds. I'm having a VERY hard time not putting on autoskip just to get 100% with her. Can someone explain how this level of "I'm the boss so fuck you" is acceptable? There is Tsundere, there is Tsuntsun, and then there is bossy manipulative bitch. Even if I do get in a relationship with her, I get the feeling it would never be a fair partnership. And that, my friends, is cruise control for fail.

I just realized that I'm talking about Hisao as if I was him... good job pulling the player in.

Also, in regards to Shizune, the only way I see any headway in the relationship is if Misha is disposed of. Either by becoming unnecessary for communication between Hisao and Shizune, or if she dies. I don't hate her enough to want her killed, but something has got to give. I'm thinking maybe Misha is the way Shizune can be such a bossy bitch, and without her, she loses that ability somewhat... at least I hope. If she continues this, I'm going to have to say that she is the worst Graphic Novel character I've ever seen. I just can't find a reason to like her.

I'm gonna have to make another gripe about Shizune. She is an absolute failure at the 'Inchou' archetype. On one hand she is a task master, which fits, but on the other hand she is constantly skipping class and forcing others to as well. That completely destroys the theme for me. I'm a guy who goes to school to learn. I get that some people don't like that sort of thing, but I find knowledge incredible. When I learn something new, my mind spins with ideas. Delinquency occasionally is fine, but exactly how many days does Shizune cause Hisao to skip? And why the hell are the teachers allowing this? Ugh... I'm starting to realize I really loathe Shizune...

[Fundefined]

While this scene was well done, the arms and proportion seemed off and not as good as the other Shizune pictures, which detracted from the scene.

[Omnomnom]

Dang, didn't expect Misha to have such a low score compared to the others. Pity, because she (and Shizune by extension) is certainly my favorite of the girls by far.The devs did a great job on her and Shizune.

[Warwick]

Shizune's an acquired taste. Personally, I love her because she's a little bossy and competitive. I'm confident enough in myself to think that I'll be able to match wits with her, as I'm fairly aggressive if someone lights my competitive fire. She's not afraid to speak her mind, even if it's blunt and insulting. In essence, any relationship with her will be totally open, with little that can be hidden from each other.

Also, personality-wise, I think that we're very compatible. Using the Myers-Briggs personality types, I believe that Shizune would fall under ENTJ. Personally, I'm an INTJ, and I think an important aspect of it is that INTJ's "are comfortable with the leadership of another so long as they are competent."

So to wrap up: She's a person that can keep me on my toes mentally and earns my respect enough that I won't mind if she bosses me around.

[ChaosEngine]

Warwick articulated my thoughts way more than I could. I too am an INTJ, and I never really considered Shizune's personality profile, but your summary puts it into great perspective.

Psychic Spy.

[Tarage]

In essence, any relationship with her will be totally open, with little that can be hidden from each other.

That's what I don't understand. Every encounter with her has had some ulterior motive. Every instance of her doing something nice for you is always a setup for you to have to pay her back at some point. I really don't get how that is a good thing in a relationship. It's one thing to be challenging, it's another to be manipulative.

BTW I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just really trying to understand why people like her, and so far I'm still failing.

[ChaosEngine]

Tarage, I see where you're coming from. I think the early-on Risk scene exemplifies this best. It is clear that Shizune has ulterior motives (getting Hisao to join the council), but she goes about achieving them in a creative and, one might argue, manipulative fashion. It becomes increasingly obvious how competitive Shizune is, and the player (as well as Hisao) begins to accept this and challenge Shizune on her own terms. I think it's the amount of effort she puts into fashioning these strategies and plans is what a lot of people, myself included, find attractive. She's smart, skillful, and confident enough to show it.

[Tarage]

Tarage, I see where you're coming from. I think the early-on Risk scene exemplifies this best. It is clear that Shizune has ulterior motives (getting Hisao to join the council), but she goes about achieving them in a creative and, one might argue, manipulative fashion. It becomes increasingly obvious how competitive Shizune is, and the player (as well as Hisao) begins to accept this and challenge Shizune on her own terms. I think it's the amount of effort she puts into fashioning these strategies and plans is what a lot of people, myself included, find attractive. She's smart, skillful, and confident enough to show it.

And I do see that part of it. I also see a part of her who is looking for someone smart enough to take her on. But the manipulation part still hers to me. As competitive as someone is, there is almost no need to have that much control over a single person's life. While it is true that there are many options along the way to tell her to stop, they all result in her path being closed. The ONLY way to get to her ending is to let her do whatever the hell she wants with you, and that's what I'm against.

If it were possible not to have to be a slave and still be with her, I'd be okay with that. But her path was incredibly painful because watching yourself be set up time after time after time is infuriating. Just as I hate girls who are complete slaves to guys, I hate guys who are complete slaves to girls. If Shizune continues to treat Hisao like a pawn, then I'll have no reason to go down her path. And even if Hisao wins her over with the tried and true "I'll be nice to her until she stops the manipulative bitch act", it will still be a shallow victory.

Can someone justify her manipulations?

[Warwick]

And I do see that part of it. I also see a part of her who is looking for someone smart enough to take her on. But the manipulation part still hers to me. As competitive as someone is, there is almost no need to have that much control over a single person's life. While it is true that there are many options along the way to tell her to stop, they all result in her path being closed. The ONLY way to get to her ending is to let her do whatever the hell she wants with you, and that's what I'm against.

If you look at it in the context of the game, then yes. Hisao at the moment is just taking it lying down. However, Shizune is a character that's well written enough to stand alone outside of the game. ChaosEngine and I are saying that we ourselves would complement and match Shizune, not we as Hisao. There are many instances where I wish I was in Hisao's place so I could throw out a quick counterattack against Shizune in the hopes of seeing her Luminescent Blush, but for the moment we'll just have to enjoy the ride as we watch Hisao get walked all over.

[Tarage]

There are many instances where I wish I was in Hisao's place so I could throw out a quick counterattack against Shizune in the hopes of seeing her Luminescent Blush, but for the moment we'll just have to enjoy the ride as we watch Hisao get walked all over.

I guess I just don't get it then. I can't see watching someone get walked on this severely as enjoyable, especially when I'm doing my hardest to put myself in Hisao's shoes. It ruins the feel for me.