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Personality: Hanako>Lilly>Emi>Rin>Shizuka>Misha
Looks: Lilly>Emi>Shizuka>Hanako>Rin>Misha

I COULD give a deep explenation for my opinion but I don't like typing huge walls of text.

2-D wrote:Personality: Hanako>Lilly>Emi>Rin>Shizune>Misha
Looks: Lilly>Emi>Shizune>Hanako>Rin>Misha

Fix'd

2-D wrote:I COULD give a deep explenation for my opinion but I don't like typing huge walls of text.

I think this thread is made for people like us to blather to our heart's content, so I think it's pretty much safe to do so.

Anyway, In looks, I'm going:
Shizune=Misha>Hanako>Lilly>Rin>Hanako?=Emi
I'm not too sure where to place Hanako if at the same level of Emi or more than Rin, because the burns scars make me really go "woah! that looks odd...", but she's cute and all, so I'm not too sure.

personality:
Rin>Shizune>Misha=Lilly>Hanako>>>>>Emi

Let's see...
For looks, I'll go with...
Lilly=Hanako>Misha>Emi>Shizune>Rin.

For personality. Most likely starting with
Hanako=Lilly>Emi=Misha>Rin=Shizune

Hanako is my favorite though.

As this is one of the few threads that a lot of the devs are reading, I'd ask that you continue with the walls of text.

To be honest, we don't really care *which* girl you like, but *why*.
Everyone is going to have their favourite, and will have differing opinions on how they look, but why you like the writing/art of one character over another is a good gague for us.

If you want to do a simple Hanako>Shizune>Rin>Emi>Lilly thing, then use this thread: http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=382

cpl_crud wrote:I'd ask that you continue with the walls of text.

Oh, okay, sorry then:

Shizune:
She seems to be the one with the strongest will of all five. Relentless and ruthless may be good adjectives for her, since she doesn't back down easily, if at all. Even though she appears to be the brains of the duo, her hardheadedness clouds her judgement, something that I find as a weakness that I'd like to see play an important part of her route in the final release. I have the idea that she thinks she has to push herself because everyone expects her to do so, since that could be the case, it could be played that she really has somewhat of a low selfesteem and works her ass off to be rewarded with a simple "good job" or, conversely, since she thinks people look up to her because of what she can pull off, she may have an inflated ego. What mostly caters to me is the potential of having an interesting storyline with her unfold and get to know what she is not good at.
I didn't like her pushyness, but that's only because I don't like pushy people. The fact that that part of her is a big one in her behavior is a little strange, much more because I find her rather pleasant.

Misha:
............ What is there to say? She doesn't have a route

Hanako:
I have a thing for the shy girls, but it tends to vanish when they seem to be practically nothing more than a blank wall, which thankfully doesn't seem to be the case here. The thing with her is that she doesn't normally look for anything or anyone outside of her routine. It's obvious that she strives to be left alone as much as possible, except for the time she spends with Lilly (or the main guy). Considering those aspects it's logical to think that she doesn't really want to be left alone, but apparently thinks that is the best thing to do. Having known people like that in person, it's interesting to see someone else's take into the matters.
Something that I didn't like was that she seemed she could be constantly condemning herself over something. That's only based in the chess scene in the end where she says "could we play again?", like it was something Hisao would find as a chore more than a source of entertainment. Even though that possible self-condemnation could play an interesting role somewhere in the future, character's that are convinced that something is their fault even though everything and everyone else says otherwise in a convincing manner, I think are hard to bear. I could go on, but that would be just rambling about the possible plot points, and that's not the point of this.

Emi:
I liked her playfulness. It's nice to see a happy-go-lucky girl that actually seems to care about the well being of a character, making her go a little out of what she'd normally do for his/her sake. Even though Emi and Rin could be considered the antithesis of one another because of their behavior, they carry their conversations with relative ease, like a pair of good friends that are quite accustomed to the other's company.
Although the puppy eyes thing did made me laugh, I would have liked Hisao to tease her a bit just to see what her reaction would be, like that time when he said she was too short.
More than that it's a bit hard to say without going into speculation. I feel that this one was the most underdeveloped character in the demo, since she practically came from the left field to snatch the player's attention without regard of what route s/he was heading to, which; to me, seems to fit Emi's personality perfectly; snatching your attention. I find that fun.

Rin:
The first thing that came to my mind is "she's damn weird!", that in itself is a major interest point for me. I don't know if her weirdness stems from a conscious or a subconscious act of wanting to hide either a soft girl or a hard hearted girl that just doesn't really know how to act with people around. Her dialogues (and comedy) were pretty strange and didn't follow much logic at first sight, like an algorithm that throws you a random number. Following that same analogy, an algorithm will always have patterns because of it's nature, but it still is damn good at throwing unexpected things at you. Rin is a weird person that, to know her, you'd have to practically study her to find those patterns but it still will be able to feel fresh.
The thing that I disliked, but interested me a lot, was that at times she felt too engrossed in her own world and what she wants, making her seem selfish more than anything.
I'd like to see that selfishness explored further in the story.

Lilly:
After taking a glance at her, if we discuss potential, she seems to be the plainest of them all. In her behavior, there's nothing that would make me go "woooah... wait a minute...!" but there's also nothing to make me feel uncomfortable. The first analogy I can find is like that of the dappled shade of a tree in a windy day, it's pretty and comfortable to be in at times, but it's not really needed. When considering her interactions with other characters, like Hanako, she seems quite protective and caring, but not to the point of taking her everywhere she goes (like when she goes with Akira) nor to stray too much from what her routine is (like when she was working at the stall in the festival, she didn't go look for Hanako on her own accord until being persuaded by Hisao). Thinking a bit deeper, which makes me go into speculation mode ('cus I really didn't get too much of the info on her), she's more than likely to be more caring than what I currently think, also she seems capable of holding grudges an may be more vengeful than what meets the eye. She would earn a disputedly close second place to the most undeveloped character in my chart, that or she's just taking her time to show her face.

Kenji:
I'm just wondering here, will Kenji become a possible character with which to end with? because that would be funny and slightly disturbing. But hey!, maybe Hisao is bicurious in this moment in life!

It's true that Lilly isn't in your face with her way of charm as some of the other characters are but the charm she has is very well pronounced and well done in my opinion.
she's not the humongous sad girl in snow like hanako or the steamrolling shizune or the big-mace-o-wtf slinging Rin or the ever radiant Emi but for those who dig the type of the seemingly more adult, intelligent, dependable and quite strong willed (in her own way) while still being cute at times she's a hit.

I really liked the part where she simply took the hem of the shirt of Hisao, trusting him to lead her through the store. it seems like a small thing to most I'm sure but it had quite some meaning to me. I guess it's the combination of her being who she is (kind of "too high up" for the common HIsao) but she still seems to enjoy spending time with him.

regardless, I think the devs are doing a good job with her and I'd hate to see them being disappointed with the feedback they get on her, feeling forced to change parts in the future to give her a more widespread appeal.

Hmmm, let's see now. Sorry if I'm not going to read everything that's been said up until now. Or, "tl;dr", as it may be.

I really, really like both Hanako and Rin.
Hanako is obvious. She's the epitome of moe. Which could be considered kinda cheap, but the writers still managed to make her interesting beyond that. Appealing to protective instinct is nice and all, but once you get past that, there needs to be substance as well. You can't form a relationship on the basis of protecting someone. That... that kinda makes it sound more like a romantic mafia-relationship or something. Once she loses her crazy inhibitions around Hisao, what's left? Well, apparently a girl who can focus on reading and painting patterns, as well as a game with a knack for chess and.. playing the tile-game. Dammit, Hisao, how can you not know of that? I thought that sort of thing was normal! At least I thought so ever since I saw that comic on xkcd about skipping tiles of a certain color.
Point is, that's something to work with! With these qualifications, it seems like she might actually be an apt nerd to a degree! Maybe Hisao could play some tabletop RPGs with her. And Rin can come, too? Well, I hope the writers don't drop the ball here. There's something to be found behind the absurd levels of cuteness Hanako emenates, which should definitely be elaborated upon.
It should be considered to make her more fallible in some respects, but not too severely. Anxiety is one of those traits that are flaws, but are often perceived as perks by the target audience. That makes her seem like a possible Mary Sue. You'd risk alienating her fans if you broke her character to give her a flaw, but maybe there could be a moment where her anxiety acts up and Hisao actually ends up getting seriously annoyed at her. Doesn't have to be a big thing, just kind of a reminder that "hey, you know, being like a fragile little flower is not actually a good thing if you think about it".

Rin. Now Rin is the character who really got me hooked here. I really wonder about the way she was written. Like, by whom, with what intention, with what sort of characterization in mind. I feel like I can really identify with her. No, I don't think I'm KA-RAZY. I don't think she is, either. Though the stress really takes its toll on her. She just seems... detached. She doesn't care about social conventions. She just does things. She's observing the world from within her head. That includes observing people and their behaviour, what makes them tick and everything. A philosophical mind! All of these are things I can identify with. (Remember how I was wondering about the kind of person who wrote her? Yeah.)
That said, I'm wondering whether I'm just imagining that. Some of the things she says seem like they're trying too hard to sound crazy. Some of them could be explained by her trying to be witty or so, but, I don't know. Maybe she's just a random collection of space cadet behaviour.
But even in that case, the fact that I (and apparently several others!) can connect with her means something. Like her art, which she produced without thinking about it, but which nonetheless has a structure, just a structure not easily accessible consciously, her characterization is coherent.
Anyway, I'm really curious to see how she develops. She must have other hobbies. I can see her playing videogames, but then again that might just be because that's pretty much the only hobby I have besides drawing and the internets.
please make her more easily accessible without ignoring everyone else in the full game, k ._.

EDIT: So today I pretty much facepalmed in public when I realized that I wrote that Rin could play videogames. WITH NO HANDS. But then again, doing the impossible (seeing the invisible, row row fighting da power) is pretty much the theme behind Team Extreme (Rin and Emi) anyway, so, hey. Maybe she could! I could picture her playing Mario Kart, for instance. Big controller, one foot on the stick, the other foot on the buttons. I must draw this!

Lilly is... pretty nifty! She's kinda similar to Hanako and Rin in certain ways: Like Hanako, she's basically modeled after an archetype, the Yamato Nadeshiko. And like Rin, she's kind of detached, and cool because of that.
Unfortunately... I'm kind of at a loss as to what to say about her. She manages to be interesting despite the played out archetype thanks to her "coolness". And her lack of coolness. A Yamato Nadeshiko is supposed to always be calm and well-mannered, but she actually drops the highbrow-ness a couple of times, it's easy to talk to her about certain things... And on the other hand, when faced with Shizune, she did a pretty good job countering the onslaught. But you could see that she was hurt. Normally, the only time a character of that type will act differently is when they're all ANGRY and stuff, which can be played either for excessive drama or comedy. Mostly comedy. Lilly acts quite naturally, so while she corresponds to much of the archetype, she's still believable. But like Hanako, there needs to be some development to show what else there is to her. Hisao and Lilly don't really seem terribly compatible. When I try to think of what they talk about, all that comes to mind is small-talk, which isn't such a great basis for a love relationship.

Now, I have to defend Emi. I can see why she didn't make a big impression on people. Her arc kinda consists of one choice, and her ending is definitely the least satisfying one. ... Well, of the good endings anyway. But while she doesn't do a whole lot and she mostly just acts cute, I find it to be quite well-written cuteness. I can't put my finger on it, unfortunately. But still, she's a humorous character and very likeable. Somehow I keep remembering her "Whatchadoing?" line. Wasn't there also a tiny little pause before it as she leans closer to Hisao? That part really captures her spirit very well, I think.
But yeah. I like her, but she needs to be developed further in the future, as her general reception indicates.

Now, the Symbiont.
... Shizune/Misha.
I can see the appeal in them. Their dynamic is quite nice. They work like a comedy duo, but it doesn't seem forced. And there's definitely an appeal to such an aggressive girl. I'm not even going to call her out on being manipulative. In light of her playfulness and everything, it's a pretty charming trait, in a way. But by god, is she a jerk. I was already feeling pretty bad about having to choose between Rin and Hanako. But taking Shizune's route seems like it requires you to completely ignore everything else. Heck, it even requires you to piss off Lilly.
Shizune might have noble motivations and everything, but in the end, she's still a jerk. Is what I think. ... And I'm not sure if I'd be happy about the implications if her path in the future included Hisao "taming" her.

Well, so much for my thoughts on the personalities.
Now for the appearances! ... Hmmm.

1. Hanako. Isn't it ironic how she's so beautiful despite the fact that at least a part of her mental condition is probably because she feels ugly? The burn scar makes it seem more like she has war paintings on her skin or something! Which is awesome, but. I was actually almost disappointed when the unlockable picture shows her scarred eye and it looks perfectly normal. I kept picturing what it would be like for her to show her horrible disfigured eye to Hisao for the first time! That eye... isn't disfigured at all. It kinda drains the drama out of the situation if that horrible scar is more of a minor blemish on a flawless body?

2. Rin. Okay, I admit, she doesn't actually look that awesome in most of the images. The 3/4 views of her face actually strike me as kind of... off. I don't know. But on the other hand, her front and semi-profile views are really cute, and on the unlockable picture, she's definitely the most strikingly beautiful to me. I loves me some tomboyish charms, I do. Those clothes benefit her greatly. It's kinda sad that they're always wearing those uniforms... I like how she wears a boys' uniform. Tomboy charm, and sets her apart from the others.

3. Lilly. She'd be higher on the list, but, you know, tastes. She seems kinda conventional and. Uh. Blonde. But anyway, she's still very pretty, obviously. I'm kinda confused about her actual appearance, though. From her 3/4 view, I got the distinct impression that she has kind of a long face with high cheekbones. I'll probably post some fanart at some point that shows how I picture her. Her picture in her epic sparkly duel with Shizune seems to contradict that...

4. Emi. Is... cute. Too cute, perhaps? I have trouble believing that she's about the same age as everyone else. But still, I like her expressions. I think they greatly contribute to making her likable. She just has an amazingly expressive face. Especially when she imitates Mishizune.

5. Shizune. ... Yeah, I dunno. Not a big fan of them glasses and the tidiness and everything. Rin head-shaking beats all.

6. Misha, though listing her last seems kinda unfair. I actually rather like her. As a character. I'm not fond of them drills. They make her unnecessarily wide, I think? Something like that. Funny thing, though. Since she's the first girl you encounter, I analyzed her image and thought that the artist needed to work on making the drawings look less flat, and on making the bodies curvier.
It took me amazingly long to realize that "HOLY CRAP SHE WAS ACTUALLY INTENDED TO BE A LITTLE BIT CHUBBY?!" Distinct builds in an anime style? Unheard of! So yeah, her appearance is a plus after all.

Well, since Crud asked specifically I'll do what I can to organize some of my scattered thoughts about the girls' characters as I saw them from Act 1. I'll go with the one I find is most difficult first:

Hanako.. First off she has the cute factor maxed out. Twinges my protective instincts like mad. She loves reading a lot, which is a positive for me also. Possibly I could see more with a few more repetitions through her path. I believe I only got her path once. The biggest negative in the way she is I see Hanako as emotionally a child. She does not yet show much beyond timidity, shyness and aversion for over what felt to me to be 90% of her path. She avoids all communication she can if Lilly is not present. Chasing such a "will 'o the wisp", insubstantial and ethereal person just holds minimal attraction to me. The Mother/Daughter relationship between Lilly and Hanako does not help. My emotional response is as if I'm trying to seduce a child in front of her mother. (Shudder! Gag! Blech! I feel the need to brush my teeth now.) People comment on Emi's lack of physical development but what strikes me about Hanako in Act 1 is she does not, to me, display either the real desire for or the emotional development to support any sort of romantic relationship. Are there even definite signs from Hanako that she wants a relationship? I can't remember any. Dang it! I'm going to save this post and replay Hanako's path right now.

Hmmph, I can see I rushed through Hanako's path the first time and missed quite a bit. I can see there is a comparatively rapid opening up by Hanako to Hisao once she seems to become hopeful that he accepts her. (Does she open up too abruptly once they are in the tea room playing chess?? I don't know. I think everyone will have their own opinion on that.) I like it when Hisao compares approaching her to "stalking game". She is skittish, wary and the only way a relationship seems to be possible is with Hisao acting as he does and "pursuing" Hanako. In trying to look into Hanakos character and possible mind set I wonder if she does not believe in her own value as a person since she became scared in the fire. Leading to the idea put forward in Hisaos internal dialouge that Hanako might think the only person who could accept her would be a blind person who was unable to percieve how "damaged" she was. If she believes that no one can see the person she was before the fire and the person she still is inside, only her scars on the surface, that would be some explanation for her sense of isolation and separateness from others.

Since the devs have laid out some basic parameters I have an idea of the results in the finished product, but the path they choose to get there is still a mystery. I'd say that that in Act 1 we learn more about Hanako from the discussions between Lilly and Hisao and Hisaos internal dialouge than from actual dialouge by Hanako. How they unfold such a "slow motion" path will be interesting. Will it be a series of "two steps forwards, one step back" every time Hisao tries to draw Hanako out; a major event/drama that brings the two together? I mean it took all of Act 1 to get Hanako willing to be in the same room and make eye contact with Hisao. Then again, a human desire for contact and interaction is a powerful motivation and most humans feel this desire. If Hanako starts hoping Hisao might see beyond her scars and believe in her as a person she might believably open up to him faster than I'd expect. Still waters run deep and all that....

Ehhh, Ok with taking the time to replay Hanakos path and all this is taking a lot of time today… I will try to post again to give my observations on the other girls later .

P.S. Well Crud you DID ask for "wall o' text". It looks like folks have complied.

Well, I neither strongly like nor strongly dislike Emi, but she's interesting so I'll talk about her in this thread. Originally, Emi was probably the least interesting character to me. Before I actually played her route, I thought she just seemed like somebody said "Waiter, I'll have a plain loli to go, and hold the legs." Once I actually saw the scenes she was in and how she interacted with Hisao, I realized that she sort of embodies the concept of tackling one's disability head-on to overcome it. All of the girls can deal with or work around their disabilities, but Emi has sort of spun hers 180 degrees- losing her legs has made her a better runner than ever. She's also the one who, more or less, forces Hisao to come to grips with his condition. There's the minor attack she causes in the hallway, the major one that Hisao brings on himself if you choose to follow her, and then her plans to make Hisao run with her every day. In order to "catch" Emi (both on the track and as a romantic pursuit) Hisao has to fully overcome his condition like she did. It's like she's ahead of him in both regards.

tl;dr: Emi is like the "Lil' Brudder" of KS.

Spoon wrote:Well, I neither strongly like nor strongly dislike Emi, but she's interesting so I'll talk about her in this thread. Originally, Emi was probably the least interesting character to me. Before I actually played her route, I thought she just seemed like somebody said "Waiter, I'll have a plain loli to go, and hold the legs." Once I actually saw the scenes she was in and how she interacted with Hisao, I realized that she sort of embodies the concept of tackling one's disability head-on to overcome it. All of the girls can deal with or work around their disabilities, but Emi has sort of spun hers 180 degrees- losing her legs has made her a better runner than ever. She's also the one who, more or less, forces Hisao to come to grips with his condition. There's the minor attack she causes in the hallway, the major one that Hisao brings on himself if you choose to follow her, and then her plans to make Hisao run with her every day. In order to "catch" Emi (both on the track and as a romantic pursuit) Hisao has to fully overcome his condition like she did. It's like she's ahead of him in both regards.

tl;dr: Emi is like the "Lil' Brudder" of KS.

Maybe Emi cut off her own legs on purpose, because she planned this all out ahead of time!!

...and does this mean you'll be fucking your "Lil' Brudder"?

Not unless I wanted to be a homosexual pedophile who's into bestiality.

Not like there's anything wrong with that! </jerry seinfeld>

My fav = Shichan

Dat's just too cute >.<

My favorite is, quite distinctly Rin, and while I haven't thought about it in some time I've always liked tomboys; girls with short hair, red hair, and green eyes.
That granted, my reason for liking her is pretty personality based.

Coyfish: Rin: I like Rin. A lot. Although she's portrayed as being quite the scatterbrain, she's also quite sagely at the same time. Whether it was intended or if the devs were just hoping that by writing some random things that we'd make up our own meanings for what Rin says, she's pretty deep. She's a lot like me in that I tend to monologue a bit on things and get sidetracked from my original intentions, though I don't blurt it out like she does. I just keep it all in my head. I like that part of her. Rin is also quite frank and seems like a very amiable person. To top it all off, I LOVE her BG music (Parity).

I think, Coyfish put it really well, sort of. I assume the devs' intention was to, rather than make up random things for Rin to say, and readers to interpret, make her say random things for the player to try and make sence of. Suffice it to say that as far as her thoughts would be concerned that would be her intent, not necessarily the devs'. I don't think deep is the right word for it, she says her self that she's really quite shallow, but I think less so than most people. Her motives aren't particularly complex, per say, however she's driven by a maddening sence of what I can only helplessly label as whimsy.

I'm a fan of bluntness, out of place monologual(if that's a word) conversations or statements, tangents, and most of all whimsy... also commas.

Huh. Coyfish is sounding a lot like me there. Right down to the "don't know if it's what the devs intended". How interesting.

Because Crud asked for a text wall.

Note: I am a virgin of all the routes besides Shizune's, and only have a tertiary view of the other characters.

Rin: Rin seems to me, a bit odd. She thinks much differently than the other girls... or people in general. I can see that this is where her appeal lies. People can be drawn in be her because she's radically different. I was engaged by her to say the least. But I don't have much interest in her, art isn't really my thing, and am not drawn to her (hey, I just made a pun). As odd as she is, I don't find her personality to be all that deep. She's just, strange.

Hanako: (Copying what I said in the Favorite girl forum) As for Hanako, I'd like to say that I don't get why everyone likes her, but I think I kind of know. As said earlier she has protection moe, and recluse moe. She's shy, which only makes the player want to pursue her further, to unravel that mystery, to comfort her, get her to smile. That's her appeal, and it's immediately obvious to the player. This to me doesn't seem that deep. Simplicity is a part of the appeal, it's easy for the player to figure her out. Though I'm sure Crud will add whole new dimensions and levels for her, at present this is not relevant to my interests. And that is perfectly fine, based on the vote, Crud is doing everything right, his character is destroying all the others. She's a giant bundle of hurt and bleeds cuteness. And for the greater population of internet dwellers it would seem that this is ideal.

Lilly: I have no real feelings toward Lilly, though I found her personality to be charming and polite. It was a bit sad to see her verbally destroyed by Shizune, but oh well. Again, while I have not gone fully down her path, her personality to me seems simple.

Emi: I like her, mostly for her track ability. I ran track in high school. I also like her upbeat and cheery attitude. Though as a character, I suppose that she seems a little weak, or simple. I found her to be fun, but at this point would only want her as a friend.

Shizune: I like her the best. I think that the reason she is somewhat unpopular is because of her exterior personality (well... that and she did scare Hanako off). I'm a bit disappointed that a lot of people aren't giving her a chance, and are writing her off as mean. Shizune is strong-willed, forceful, and as A22 puts it, 'stoic'. A lot of players are turned off by this. But I love it. I find her competitiveness to be engaging and fun. Apparently I am in to the tsundere archetype. And just like a good tsundere she has a more open, girlish, soft side, which she'll only reveal to you after getting her to be comfortable enough around you to remove her mask. This is what does it for me, the depth of her personality. And her deafness also adds another layer of complexity and appeal (for me at least). Communicating with her is a challenge, as it often must be done through Misha. The will behind her words is often lost as the words default to Misha's loud and friendly personality. I can't even count the times I've laughed at this. And the end, with the fireworks show on the roof, was a great way to finish act one. You couldn't communicate with her vocally, but her message rang true.