Katawa Shoujo Forums

I'm not a psychologist either, but I thought that there was a lot more to Aspberger's syndrome then simply talking oddly.
For example, focusing on narrow interests, not making eye contact, repetitive movements such as hand flapping (guess Rin's off the hook here), etc.

I suppose there's not really much to add to the discussion in the absence of a real psychologist, or Word Of God from the developers.

Aaaaand word of god is that the school isn't set up to deal with mental disabilites.

So Rin is Rin, and that's all Rin is. Which is to say full of win in a bin, but there you go.

I like the bionic-ear theory, but have to agree that the COLD theory is quite possible, if such a condition existed.

Misha has keratoconus posticus circumscriptus

ZystraL wrote:Misha has keratoconus posticus circumscriptus

Sorry to point that little detail out, but wouldn't people with eye ailments be placed in Lilly's class?

Deimos wrote:

ZystraL wrote:Misha has keratoconus posticus circumscriptus

Sorry to point that little detail out, but wouldn't people with eye ailments be placed in Lilly's class?

It isn't a given, but that does make it unlikely.

I'm going to guess "degenerative inner ear condition," which would explain her volume control!!! problems, and her alleged vertigo, and will use this in my fic until disproven by the actual release or Word of Mod.

Deimos wrote:

ZystraL wrote:Misha has keratoconus posticus circumscriptus

Sorry to point that little detail out, but wouldn't people with eye ailments be placed in Lilly's class?

Not only that, I fail to see any relation to Misha's apparent "symptoms" (already mentioned) using the "conical cornea" approach.

Tsundere Lightning wrote:Aaaaand word of god is that the school isn't set up to deal with mental disabilites.

I'm not sure if the devs said that or not (quotation needed), but if the school doesn't deal with mental disabilities, then why is Hanako there? She's perfectly fine except for her mental instability. I can believe the school wont take people with Downs Syndrome (I think thats spelled right) or severe OCD (like Monk from the t.v. show, except maybe a little worse), but they apparently do take people with non-violent, semi-controllable mental disabilities.

☆♥Aura♥☆ wrote:To explain how Yamaku works, every student is admitted on a case-by-case basis and the guidelines are somewhat vague. There are completely healthy students, physically disabled students and mildly mentally disabled students in the school. Many students do have psychological problems of one kind or another (it's not easy to be a teenaged cripple, or find out you are one), but the board generally does not admit anyone who is really mental. This is because the students need to be able to attend class, and interact with teachers (who are not medical professionals) and other students (deafness/muteness doesn't count here). Anyway, the school is primarily geared for kids with physical disabilities that still permit a semblance of normal life (there are no quadriplegic students, for example), and that's what a clear majority of the students are.

There you are!

And one of the many crazy theories whispering in my head says that Hanako is in Yamaku not for her burns but because it's the only place for her to exist in relative peace. Imagine Flowerchild in a normal school (which would be perfectly acceptable considering her physical constitution) with the "socially dysfunctional" personality that she possesses.
Case by case admittance does provide that sort of loophole - she cannot function properly in the normal society and if her guardians can pay for her education there are no obstacles for her to study in Yamaku.

However I have not found a theory about Misha that completely convinces me, yet.
But the underlined words in Aura's post make me wonder why he included them. Maybe they are a hint or just there to mislead us but they are probably just part of a general statement to clarify things for the masses. Time will tell.

The only contribution I have is that I hope it isn't anything horribly depressing.

Don't kick us Mishafans while we're down, man!

If it's true that perfectly healthy people can be admitted to Yamaku, then it's quite possible Misha is there specifically because she is a friend of Shizune's. Think about it - if Misha has been childhood friends with Shizune or something, and they both know sign language, who better to be Shizune's personal translator than someone who she's already good friends with and gets along with, rather than a hired translator? That also saves the school some money from having to hire one to follow Shizune and instead means they get paid for Shizune's translator in the form of Misha's tuition.

As for the "WAHAHAHA," that could also be as a result of having to exaggerate facial expressions for Shizune since she wouldn't have audio clues necessarily. The difference between a giggle and a smile is not much more than then sound effects you produce while giggling, so Misha would have to exaggerate that into more of a laugh for Shizune to recognize that. This may have, in turn, caused her to exaggerate the volume she uses as a result of the stronger facial expressions.


If you really want to analyze this hard, you could probably make an argument that Misha's disability is Shizune.

darkblade986 wrote:If you really want to analyze this hard, you could probably make an argument that Misha's disability is Shizune.

On the contrary, Misha is disabling Shizune.
Shizune has to learn to live, work and suceed without too much reliance on others. This is the goal of Yamaku: to produce adults who can live in dignity despite their disabilities. By using Misha as a translator Shizune may have an advantage in understanding everybody around her, but she is relying on the ablities of someone else rather than employing methods such as (the admittedly often impractical) lipreading to stand on her own.

And no school would provide her with a free translator when she could do it on her own. Misha must have an issue or reason for being in Yamaku. Maybe she (or her guadian) is insanely rich and just wants (following your idea of her and Shizune being childhood friends) to be near her friend Shizune but that sounds like a bad clichè from a really disgusting anime about the super special awesome power of friendship.

Magil wrote:Don't kick us Mishafans while we're down, man!

But I have relatives living in the country that coined the term "schadenfreude"!

... must ... resist ... cultural ... heritage ... !

Deimos wrote:On the contrary, Misha is disabling Shizune.
Shizune has to learn to live, work and suceed without too much reliance on others. This is the goal of Yamaku: to produce adults who can live in dignity despite their disabilities. By using Misha as a translator Shizune may have an advantage in understanding everybody around her, but she is relying on the ablities of someone else rather than employing methods such as (the admittedly often impractical) lipreading to stand on her own.

Perhaps, but she's still going to need assistance in other matters related to her deaf/mute-ness. Being mute, she can't talk, so she'd need a translator. Lip reading does you nothing for intercoms or other telecommunication means where there are no lips to read. Her deafness could also make it difficult for her to make decisions for personal safety and the like (think railroad crossing).

And no school would provide her with a free translator when she could do it on her own.

Didn't say free - I said they don't have to pay or arrange for one. They would just have to arrange for Misha and Shizune to be in the same classes.

Misha must have an issue or reason for being in Yamaku. Maybe she (or her guadian) is insanely rich and just wants (following your idea of her and Shizune being childhood friends) to be near her friend Shizune but that sounds like a bad clichè from a really disgusting anime about the super special awesome power of friendship.

I could reasonably believe in that argument, despite how cliche it is. I don't know how close friends (and nothing more than friends, *wink wink nudge nudge*) get in Japan, but I don't think it'd be too big a stretch for Misha's attendance to be for Shizune's benefit.

darkblade986 wrote:Perhaps, but she's still going to need assistance in other matters related to her deaf/mute-ness. Being mute, she can't talk, so she'd need a translator. Lip reading does you nothing for intercoms or other telecommunication means where there are no lips to read. Her deafness could also make it difficult for her to make decisions for personal safety and the like (think railroad crossing).

That may be true for a child but Shizune is a young woman who does not necessarily need someone who constantly watches over her. As for the specific things and devices you mentioned: Well, she would just have to use other means. Lilly is the same, not everything is possible for her but they let her wander into town. Why should Shizune get special treatment?

darkblade986 wrote:Didn't say free - I said they don't have to pay or arrange for one. They would just have to arrange for Misha and Shizune to be in the same classes.

You said the school should get Shizune a translator but instead they got Misha (the cheap bastards!) paying for being Shizune's translator. That's getting Shizune a translator for free, right?
(But they could lower Misha's fees if her services really are that valuable.)

darkblade986 wrote:

Misha must have an issue or reason for being in Yamaku. Maybe she (or her guadian) is insanely rich and just wants (following your idea of her and Shizune being childhood friends) to be near her friend Shizune but that sounds like a bad clichè from a really disgusting anime about the super special awesome power of friendship.

I could reasonably believe in that argument, despite how cliche it is. I don't know how close friends (and nothing more than friends, *wink wink nudge nudge*) get in Japan, but I don't think it'd be too big a stretch for Misha's attendance to be for Shizune's benefit.

private schooling expensive
private boarding school even more expensive
private boarding schools with an above average medical staff for the disabled bloody expensive
(Even more if we consider there are not that many competitors in that market.)

I highly doubt someone would send their child to an expensive school just for kicks and giggles or the power of friendship. In the end it's the parents who have the money and the final word in the matter if their child should attend Yamaku. Meaning, their child should badly need Yamaku or they just have too much money and do not care about where their child attends school because no matter what happens its inheritance will secure the child's future.

Never heard about Princess curls? Misha doesn't act like she's high class while not being so, so she's bound to be wealthy.
*coolface.jpg*