For the first questions, I just felt that the Hanako route was a bit incomplete as compared to Lilly's.
Like people said, Lilly and Hisao start dating just past halfway through the arc. Hanako and Hisao start a relationship at the very end. So the stories play out and end at different points. Nobody should be surprised Lilly is easier to approach than Hanako. That said, there's plenty of Hanako epilogues people came up with in the fanfic forum for possible ways things played out after that confession in the park. (my own included...shameless plug)
Question 2/5 I guess I kinda combined those two together. My bad. I felt that in both relationships, Hisao NEEDED the girls as support, in a way, and likewise for the girls, albeit in different ways. I'm rather confused by Hisao's ramblings so I am having trouble interpretting the routes.
Like people said, Hisao is a guy still dealing with the massive changes in his life and he has trouble adapting to his new environment. In both routes, Hisao befriends Lilly and latches onto her as a pillar of motherly support...a role that Lilly (due to her personality) relishes in and somewhat encourages. During their first meeting, Hisao scares off Hanako, but since both of them hang out with (and somewhat depend on) Lilly, they still get to hang out together.
In Lilly's route, Hisao's dependancy on Lilly remains, but through kindness his bond with her grows and during a moment of weakness on Lilly's part, they discover their mutual attraction and start going out. Even then, Hisao keeps looking up to Lilly as that unwavering pillar of support and that comes back to bite him when she finds herself grappling with an issue she can't deal with on her own and he fails to challenge her decision and help her carry her burden. Eventually, he realizes this and manages to reach out to her and help her change her mind on a decision that would have made her unhappy.
Moral Hisao learns: Lilly's not always as strong as she seems and it's okay to let her rely on him when she needs his support just like she's been supporting him. True lovers are equals.
In Hanako's route, in addition to his dependance on Lilly, he also develops a co-dependant relationship with Hanako. His eagerness to support Hanako turns into somewhat of an obsession to protect her, something she takes notice of and is NOT happy about, but this protective attitude is very much a smokescreen. Hisao is essentially using Hanako as a distraction to avoid having to deal with his own insecurities. A phone conversation with Lilly makes Hisao do some self-reflection and he decides to tone down the obsessive worrying and focus more on his own life. Hanako, unaware of Hisao's self-reflective moment, notices him taking a step back and misinterpretes it as Hisao having given up on her. They have that awkward night, their friendship essentially becomes too awkward to continue so the two decide to be open to each other about their feelings in an attempt to salvage things and it works out since both of them loved the other.
Moral Hisao learns: Hanako's not always as weak as she seems and it's okay to rely on her for support just like she's been relying on him. True lovers are equals.
As you can see, the two routes (like the two girls) mirror each other.
Could ou guys tell me how did each of the girls see Hisao initially and how did that change? And vice versa for Hisao to the girls.
Question 3 By the end of the Hanako route, I felt that Hanako didn't really change much, aside from the fact of opening up to Hisao. However, since the game just ended there, I assume that she still has trouble mixing with others. In Lilly's route, by taking Lilly away from Hanako, Hanako was sort of forced to branch out and make new friends. What do you gus think?
Lilly initially "sees" Hisao as simply a confused and lost fellow-student who's having trouble finding his place and who's in need of support...so true to her extremely nurturing nature she takes him under her wing. In her own route, she quickly grows an appreciation for his kind and gentle personality and after being faced with almost losing him to a heart flutter, she blurts out her feelings. Their relationship still retains a subtle caretaker/caretakee touch even after they start dating with Lilly taking most of the initiatives and Hisao just going along with them. When faced with her parents' summoning, she can't stand up to them and Hisao secretly resents her decision but still goes along with it because that's how things have always been. It later dawns on him that Lilly was only going away for other people's sake and after nearly killing himself he manages to help Lilly make a decision based on what she herself wants.
During their first meeting, Hanako sees Hisao as just a scary classmate, but she very quickly comes to see him as different from most people. Hanako's route is the shortest time-span-wise and at the end Hanako admits she's yearned for Hisao's admission of love for a very long time, so it's not unlikely Hanako developed a crush on Hisao very soon after meeting him. (maybe even as early as the festival or their time in the library where she thanks him for hanging out with her) Of course, Hanako's way too shy to confess. Hisao, for his part, is at first puzzled by Hanako's behavior but ultimately realizes that he likes her and starts planning to ask her out. Around that point, Hanako has that panic attack and Hisao (who realizes that Hanako does have deeper issues than mere shyness) dumps her into the friend zone because he's worried that he'll scare her off if he were to make a move on her. Hanako suspects this and it frustrates her...she's unaware of his attraction towards her and believes he only sees her as a child who needs protecting. This emotional hide-and-seek game continues until the two sleep together at which point they're forced to come clean about their feelings and they realize they both love the other and since they're both very similar in several ways, they realize they both need someone else for support to grow and decide to be that supporting person for the other.
As others mentioned, Lilly's path takes longer so Hanako gets more time to develop. Also, since Lilly's route is about Lilly, Hanako's deeper problems don't come up. Objectively speaking, Hanako makes more progress in her own route if you put the two side by side and cut off Lilly's route at the point where Hanako's route ends. In her own route, Hanako faces some inner demons she never ends up confronting in Lilly's route, so I believe she's still better off in her own route. She did change subtly over the course, as Oddball mentioned...Hanako's and Hisao's last outing into the city was something she wouldn't have been able to do at the start of Act 1. Also, KS remains somewhat realistic and acknowledges that Hanako's anxieties aren't going to vanish overnight, even with a boyfriend. (nor with a club to participate in, for that matter)
Question 4: *sigh* one at night, then in the tub. Then blindfolded. Really now?
What did you expect. Lilly's a somewhat repressed catholic schoolgirl who's spent middle school on an all-girl's school and who easily gets hooked on pleasurable things. (caffeïne, wine...)
