Katawa Shoujo Forums

That is the image which is conveyed for more than just that scene, IMO.
Even before that she frequently makes grimaces before re assuming her smile. I was initially expecting this to be the main conflict of the act, that Lilly has issues keeping it together, until I realized the roles are flipped and she is genuinely the protector.

Yeah. I've been replaying Lilly's story and I've been noticing things a lot more. It seems like shes frank and telling the whole truth but never is, she gets really stressed out, etc.

She may not be open about the whole truth but I think that comes largely back to Hisao never really trying to support her in those things, exactly what comes back at him later. She's about as open as she thinks she can be but Hisao really doesn't make himself out to be the person to lay your burdens on.

Loved the Lilly story line, was incredibly well told. Throughout there were signs and glimpses through the veil that let you know this wasn't just a 'perfect' person that was written and ultimately hollow. Instead early on I felt they let you see glimpses and gave the impression, along with reasons (schooling, blindness), as to why the front existed but that was more behind it. The burst of anger was more so a burst of frustration and helplessness in that she was having to make a lot of tough choices while juggling a lot of burdens. If the story had been told from Lilly's perspective I think it would have been one of realizing that 'perfect' isn't possible and sometimes the world doesn't let you have everything you want no matter how hard you work. In the end she had a harder decision to make than Hisao ever had to make.

No one is perfect, but Lily tried hard to be. I dedicate Outasight's "I'll Drink to That" to her, especially the chorus. Perfect song for her and the KS gang.

Lilly being who she is makes more sense if you remember the game takes place in Japan. Lilly's traits, extremely polite, not showing vulnerabilities, avoiding confrontations, not bothering others with her problems, being loyal to one's parents above all else and appearing to be "perfect" is pretty much what Japanese consider ideal traits for both males and females. So the actual surprise isn't so much that Lilly's the way she is, but the fact the other characters aren't more like her. There a sense of irony in the fact that the only girl who isn't a full-blooded Japanese is the one who acts most like a full-blooded Japanese. Her route is somewhat of a deconstruction of Lilly's character type (the traditional Japanese woman) since many of her traits cause problems down the road. (such as making Hisao too reliant on her and almost moving to Scotland despite not really wanting to go)

She probably had a lot of time reading Japanese novels in Braille after her parents left for Scotland. After housework, digesting novels at a break-neck pace can seriously mould a person's personality.

Also, Lily is lonely. Akira is often busy, and more importantly, Lily is more subtle than Emi in this, but I feel that she is pushing people away from understanding too much about her.

Well, all of you seem to think her anger is about her leaving. While I agree that it plays a role, I took it differently. Earlier on, Hisao apologizes for his disability, but Lilly says he shouldn't apologize for the way he was born. She says, "I've never apologized for being blind, not once." She seems to always want to appear normal, or at least fully in control of herself and any particular situation she finds herself. Never is that facade broken until Kenji trips and pulls her down. I think when that happens, she's angry with herself and embarrassed for Hisao. In the same way that Hisao doesn't want his heart condition to concern anyone, or affect other people, Lilly feels the same about her blindness. She's so practiced and disciplined in making her blindness a relative non-issue that her first reaction is anger when it fails. The silent walk to school after that seems to be a focus on that failure, much as Hisao obsesses with his own failures when his condition is made obvious. The only words she says before they part are, "Hisao... Sorry".

I don't think she has really decided to go to Scotland at that point, either. The decision for her to leave has been made for her, but her own mind doesn't ever seem to be made up. She seems to be waiting for Hisao to take the initiative. Over and over, Lilly more or less dominates and guides their relationship in pretty much every way. Her feelings and desires are always out there first. When she tries to force him to take the initiative once.. well, it doesn't end very well. While she's hiding her parents' summons, she's still maintaining her relationship with Hisao, up until he confronts her about her leaving. He never says anything about wanting her to stay or telling her his feelings, despite Akira's hinting(and later, even Shizune's). Rather, he wants her to solidify their continued relationship or a lack of one. I don't think she's prepared to put herself out there for him again when it has such ramifications on her life as to throw away her family.

Just my thoughts and perspective.

That's kind of what's happening in Lilly's arc. Lilly's independant and motherly behavior essentially cause Hisao to look up to her and that dynamic doesn't really change when they start dating. Hisao just seems content to let Lilly handle everything and as a result fails to call Lilly on her decision, even though her answer on whether she's going ("well...my parents really want me to go and Akira's moving, so...") indicates very much that she herself doesn't really want to go. Eventually, Hisao wisens up and takes the initiative to go after her and when he later asks her again and she repeats those same words, he correctly tells her that she should do what SHE wants to do.

The interesting thing is that the conflict (and the way Hisao develops) is similar in nature in both Lilly's arc and her best friend's one. In both arcs, Hisao learns that what his (future) girlfriend really wants is a relationship with him where they can feel as equals and that they should support each other, rather than one of the two doing all the caretaking. In Lilly's arc, this translates to taking the initiative more and letting Lilly trust him with her own burdens. In Hanako's arc, this translates to stop taking all the initiative and trusting Hanako with his burdens instead of completely focussing on hers all the time. This (in addition to the fact both arcs share several important events) creates an interesting link between the two arcs.

The interesting dynamic extends to the observation that Hanako was already secretly nursing some resentment over Lily's fussing over her by the time Hisao came to Yamaku. Given how Hanako is like, Lily never received the honest feedback that she demanded from Hisao in her own route (although she had her suspicions about Hanako's thinking). Also, Lily's route examines Lily's "double standard": she expects Hisao to be honest with her while she herself is not being totally honest with herself.

About the double standard...I think the choices that pop up during Lilly's route aren't so much geared at letting Hisao impress Lilly with his honesty, but rather at improving Hisao's sense of honesty towards himself. After Lilly leaves, during the good ending route, Hisao does some self-reflecting and this allows him to determine what was wrong with their relationship in the first place which in turn drives him to go after Lilly. If the player keeps Hisao evasive about himself, he'll lack the capability of introspection at the end that's required for him to work out in time how things could have gone so horribly wrong.

One thing I could never identify with Hisao is his ability to talk to himself for so long.

YZQ wrote:One thing I could never identify with Hisao is his ability to talk to himself for so long.

I kind of admire him because of his ability to do so, I for one could never talk to myself and admit to what I did wrong.

I love every time Lilly shows any emotion, rather than being a proper, "good girl". She'd be plain and rather boring if she didn't occasionally show a side of her that we don't see often. I smiled so big when she yelled, "Dammit" after Kenji tripped her. One of the best moments of her route in my opinion. I don't think we ever see her angry before, or after that event

KeiichiO wrote:I love every time Lilly shows any emotion, rather than being a proper, "good girl". She'd be plain and rather boring if she didn't occasionally show a side of her that we don't see often. I smiled so big when she yelled, "Dammit" after Kenji tripped her. One of the best moments of her route in my opinion. I don't think we ever see her angry before, or after that event

It's also the only time we ever seeLilly swear.

StudyOfWumbology wrote:

YZQ wrote:One thing I could never identify with Hisao is his ability to talk to himself for so long.

I kind of admire him because of his ability to do so, I for one could never talk to myself and admit to what I did wrong.

My beef is with the "for so long" part. Makes him come across as someone who thinks a lot, but acts alot less for so much thinking.