Katawa Shoujo Forums

To add on what has been said, one's physical disability doesn't not equal one's ability to function. Mental strength and force of will are part of it. I believe it would be incorrect to call Franklin D. Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy disabled. The former had polio and the later had massive back pain, keeping him prostate for several hours each day, and yet they marched past their physical weakness and became heroes. Crippled is defined as "anything that is impaired or flawed". That term doesn't fit those two.

Considering each girl's attitude towards their physical drawbacks and how they deal with them, it's clear, in my opinion, that Hanako is the most "disabled" of the entire cast.

Which is why I hope towards the end of Hanako's path, she grows strong enough to comb her hair back (at least around Hisao in private).

Minister of Gloom wrote:A part of the theme of the game, in my mind, is a test of your shallowness(you, the player's): are you capable of feeling love for a theoretical, imaginary person despite them being disabled? What do you think you would have done in real life? But it's difficult to apply that theme to Hanako. What's exactly the difficulty in loving her? She has virtually no disability at all.

Well, the difficultly would be working though her defenses to get to know her, to have people stare at the two of you wherever you go outside of Yamaku and the town, and to have your family and friends openly question your taste in women. I knew a guy who had a girlfriend with a HUGE scar on her right cheek and he was always defending her (including slugging his little brother for insulting her).

P.S. 2D is always superior, in every way

Like it has been said countless time before, Yamaku houses those who hav eno disablity in any way. Also just the though has inspired many OCs that are attending the school in the fanfic universe.
From my point of view, Hanako has it as one of the worse of in her state. My cousin was recently in a car accident that claimed his left arm; good thing he is a righty. Anyways, he has adjusted easily and doesn't let it bother him; he has always been a good guy. So I see as though life might be difficult from our opinion it might not be. Just look at Rin and Emi for example, their disabilities don't stop them from doing what we think they wouldn't do; Rin painting and Emi running track. I've spoken before about blindness and how it really appears to those with it, the hardest is deafness but I won't go into that.
Hanako is there simply so she doesn't get treated as an outcast because there are others just like her that learn/are not to judge based on physical appearence. I'll admite that physically she has no problem but she has her own problems to deal with. I'll debate more later if it gets interesting here.

neumanproductions wrote:Hanako is there simply so she doesn't get treated as an outcast because there are others just like her that learn/are not to judge based on physical appearence. I'll admite that physically she has no problem but she has her own problems to deal with. I'll debate more later if it gets interesting here.

Well, it seems that Hanako's withdrawn and shy behavior have indeed made her an outcast among the students. Her only real friend is Lilly.

That is her own 'choice' though, nobody has ousted her for looking how she does. The other students are in similar boats disability-wise. They would all more then likely be made fun of in a standard highschool. While she works through her troubles at the school, it is much less likely for her to be teased since there is a kind of kinship because of the circumstances around each person.

Just because there are people physically worse off than her at Yamaku does not mean she would not or should not be ashamed of how she looks. At your RL school or workplace there's always going to be people less attractive than you as well (unless you're a particularly unlucky bastard) but you're presumably not going to become less conscious of the way you look as long as there are a handful of attractive people around you still.

G3n0c1de wrote:

neumanproductions wrote:Hanako is there simply so she doesn't get treated as an outcast because there are others just like her that learn/are not to judge based on physical appearence. I'll admite that physically she has no problem but she has her own problems to deal with. I'll debate more later if it gets interesting here.

Well, it seems that Hanako's withdrawn and shy behavior have indeed made her an outcast among the students. Her only real friend is Lilly.

I would have to agree on that term. It defeats the purpose in some cases but then again I see that as being Hanako's nature from the start. She is getting more open I feel with Hisao and will probably be better off in the future.

Caesius wrote:Just because there are people physically worse off than her at Yamaku does not mean she would not or should not be ashamed of how she looks.

That is probably true, but I feel that one shouldn't be ashamed of such a physical injury. I guess that is something that will have to be unraveled in the final game.

neumanproductions wrote:That is probably true, but I feel that one shouldn't be ashamed of such a physical injury.

I get ashamed when my hair looks stupid from letting it dry weird.

Hmmm.... "Warui Kami Shoujo", the story of 5 unfortunate girls with unmanageable hair and the prematurely balding boy who comes into their lives...

Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:Hmmm.... "Warui Kami Shoujo", the story of 5 unfortunate girls with unmanageable hair and the prematurely balding boy who comes into their lives...

Looks like Misha has a school that fits her exactly now.

You're not going anywhere, thread.


My point is that the kids at Yamaku are going to be as conscious of the way they look as any high school kid, regardless of the fact that they're going to have a bunch of disfigured peers. I'd wager Emi and Rin are the exceptions and not the norm, especially considering they'd think Hisao looks perfectly normal and should therefore be even more conscious of their particularly obvious disabilities.

Imma post this again:

Isn't that the exact opposite of what you have been trying to say, though? I mean, Hanako looks like a normal kid but her disability is emotional/mental, no?

That she look like a normal girl is a (errated) perception that us player have but not the people in the Game, for the Katawa Shoujo world standards Hanako scars (that she can hide due of artistic license behind her hairs and a form fitting school uniform that make people look at other place than her face) are pretty hideous and surely require special treatment, she look a lot less normal that Shizune or Lilly (at least a first glance you can't find that Shizune is deaf /mute if she is not signing and Lilly could wear sunglasses to mislead that she is blind to a causal viever, you could see Hanako scar in a 3D space just because hair are not a mask like in game).
This are indeed physical disability (her burned skin is not working anymore like normal skin) that come coupled with some social disability (she is not normal looking anymore for the social standard) and some psychological disability (she is mentally traumatized).
Of course if someone mangage to fix her shyness she could operate like a normal person more than any of the other girls, yet she is cursed to make the "people on the street" start whispering when she walk outside or she go to the convenience store more than Shizune, Emy (her mecanichal legs are hidden by her sock in many picture that she probably could look more that a limp rather than a legless) or Lilly (who is beutifull despite her blindness), problaby only Rin could really make people uncomfortable when walking on the streets and yet the jury is still out if Rin is more disturbing to see than Hanako (for the common people at least).

For the argument of what her scars look like in comparison to real life I found a photo of a younger kid that has burn scars. I think these are the best resemblance I could find based on my interpretation. Along the lines of the shoulder and such is my best guess since it has been many years and the scars have grown with her body.
http://www.burnsurvivorsttw.org/picture ... nburn1.jpg

neumanproductions wrote:For the argument of what her scars look like in comparison to real life I found a photo of a younger kid that has burn scars. I think these are the best resemblance I could find based on my interpretation. Along the lines of the shoulder and such is my best guess since it has been many years and the scars have grown with her body.
http://www.burnsurvivorsttw.org/picture ... nburn1.jpg

That's... unsettleing.

Don't scars fade with time? And I don't mean fade away, but change color, or become (slightly) less pronounced?

G3n0c1de wrote:Don't scars fade with time? And I don't mean fade away, but change color, or become (slightly) less pronounced?

They do, they undergo fibrosis over the long term i.e become more pale, but the scar tissue would be there.

If you want more info about burns, their long term effects and treatment of complications, visit: http://www.burnsurgery.com/Modules/Burn ... ect_IX.htm