Katawa Shoujo Forums

As I was wandering through the forums yesterday,
I noticed a lot of people refer to Hanako's followers as "White Knights".
Now, I'm familiar with the expression, and I don't quite feel it fits.

A "White Knight" is someone who comes in and saves/protects the girl,
and whilst that's what Hisao wants to do ("I feel the urge to protect her" etc.), that's not how I feel.

Hanako is just as human as the rest of us*, the story shows that.
She's just a girl trying to work through her problems, and that's all she wants to be seen as.
(As opposed to being seen as scarred, broken or not seen at all)

I wouldn't say I was a "white knight", despite being a Hanako fan,
just as much a Lilly's fans aren't white knights - she doesn't need saving, despite her disabilities.

*except (unfortunately) fictional.

I agree, but some Hanako fans do still treat her as some one to be babied, which is missing the point of her route entirely. Hence why people do occasionally use the term to refer to those. It doesn't help that many people emotionally moved by Hanako's route actually were former white knights.

Thankfully, the part of the Hanako fan base that remain white knights are a minority by now.

This is gonna be a very weird comparison but you guys ever seen the classic 90s movie "American HIstory X"? Okay, if you have, you may have know that despite the message of that movie (racism is horrible and life is too short ot be pissed all the time), you have few racist whites who praise and defend the racism in that movie.

Hanako's route in a sense is a bit anti white knighting and babbying those who're disabled but you have fans who think white knighting is still okay despite the message of her route is that you never white knight those who're disabled.

Also fun fact: The white knighting towards a fictional character is may be the reason why I started trolling and hating this fandom. Just thorwing my thoughts out there.

Hanako is a bit of a mindscrew. On the one hand, her story very clearly shows how unhealthy codependant white knighting can be and if you make the wrong choices, it'll rub that message in your face in no uncertain terms. On the other hand, EVEN when you're perfectly aware of the story's moral and EVEN after you've played through the arc several times, you STILL can't help but feel the desire to take her home with you for a big hug. It's that orphaned kitten vibe she gives off.

That said, yes there's definitely fans who didn't quite get the point and tend to do things like blaming the events of "Whispered Touch" (Hanako's H-scene) completely on Hisao and victimize Hanako's part in it.

To be fair, I think Hisao definately should have acted differently in "Whispered Touch".
But I think Hanako was misunderstanding the situation.

In the end, it brings the situation to a head and it all works out.

I guess all's well that ends well, but it was excruciating to watch the H-scene.

I feel like this whole thread is aimed at a certain guy from my country...

Kilo wrote:I feel like this whole thread is aimed at a certain guy from my country...

As a new person on these forums, I can genuinely say I don't know whom you refer to.
And since I created this topic, it has no links to anyone.

I never shared Hisao's urge to protect her, that's why I chose to take her to town rather than call it a day.
Despite the obvious differences (I'm male, no scars, both parents alive), I'm not much different than Hanako, I have a lot of empathy with the character. I don't like to be pushed around and to be forced to do what other people wanted me to do.

I had people in real life that tried hard to make me change or to protect me, and failed miserably, raising my anger towards them everytime they tried to white-knight me, to the point that I ended up hating them because they weren't with me when I really needed them, and made up the lamest excuses for it, pretty much as it happens to Hanako when Hisao "called it a day", when she really wanted to go out, then he tried to amend his error by white-knighting her, only to have the pissed-off girl explode on him because.

There's a difference between white-knighting and just having fun. The best way to help someone is to make him/her face their inner demons rather than constantly saving them every time they flop, or pitying them with the hopes of make them feel better.
If anything of that works, then let them be. If you really love them, let them go.
This actually happens in KS when you choose Lilly, and Hanako, instead of closing on herself, she actually managed to take be by herself surpisingly well.
In that respect, Lilly was also a White-knight to Hanako, and when she spend less time with her becasue she's dating Hisao, it was actually a good thing for Hanako, probably it did hurt a little at first, but she realized that dependence she had with Lilly, and some freedom is indeed refreshing when one comes to a least grasp some of the meaning of it, and what it entails

ThistlewickVII wrote:

Kilo wrote:I feel like this whole thread is aimed at a certain guy from my country...

As a new person on these forums, I can genuinely say I don't know whom you refer to.
And since I created this topic, it has no links to anyone.

Enough lurking on whatever Hanako topic and you'll find him.
Freaking white-knighting that he takes so seriously it makes me want to puke.

Kilo wrote:Enough lurking on whatever Hanako topic and you'll find him.
Freaking white-knighting that he takes so seriously it makes me want to puke.

I remembered his name the instant you said that and doubled checked where he was from. ...... I nearly gagged at his some of his comments, too.

encrypted12345 wrote:

Kilo wrote:Enough lurking on whatever Hanako topic and you'll find him.
Freaking white-knighting that he takes so seriously it makes me want to puke.

I remembered his name the instant you said that and doubled checked where he was from. ...... I nearly gagged at his some of his comments, too.

Lol I did the same. Any attempt to change his way of thinking seems to be a lost cause.

Xerxes wrote:I never shared Hisao's urge to protect her, that's why I chose to take her to town rather than call it a day.
Despite the obvious differences (I'm male, no scars, both parents alive), I'm not much different than Hanako, I have a lot of empathy with the character. I don't like to be pushed around and to be forced to do what other people wanted me to do.

I had people in real life that tried hard to make me change or to protect me, and failed miserably, raising my anger towards them everytime they tried to white-knight me, to the point that I ended up hating them because they weren't with me when I really needed them, and made up the lamest excuses for it, pretty much as it happens to Hanako when Hisao "called it a day", when she really wanted to go out, then he tried to amend his error by white-knighting her, only to have the pissed-off girl explode on him because.

That's one of the reasons her path became my favourite. She reacts to being patronized like a real person might. It's not like you're told at the end that it's bad for her with no warning - it's shown whenever Hisao says something like "i'll protect you". She looks disappointed or doesn't say anything. If you keep smothering her and don't come around to thinking of her as an equal, you will properly earn the bad ending.

In short, Hanako is awesome. Squee.

There are 2 white knights, unless a pawn gets promoted

Alexbond45 wrote:There are 2 white knights, unless a pawn gets promoted

Heyoooooooooooooooo!

ShadeHaven wrote:

encrypted12345 wrote:

Kilo wrote:Enough lurking on whatever Hanako topic and you'll find him.
Freaking white-knighting that he takes so seriously it makes me want to puke.

I remembered his name the instant you said that and doubled checked where he was from. ...... I nearly gagged at his some of his comments, too.

Lol I did the same. Any attempt to change his way of thinking seems to be a lost cause.

Some of his posts can make people think everyone down here acts like freaking sexist rednecks brought over from medieval times with a time machine.