Katawa Shoujo Forums

I personally think that this is one of the minor flaws the game has. Don't get me wrong - it lets you see through the disabilities to discover really beautiful personalities, but at some point during a break from KS I started wandering - how hard the real life would be for each of the girls? KS approaches the topic very carefully and doesn't spend much time on it. Yes, there are scenes in every girl's path like reminding that it's impossible to outfit without arms or to buy goods in a store if you're blind, but the life itself is much more than that. I can't even comprehend how many times harder the life is for any of the characters, compared to an ordinary person, and how much effort do they put in it to stay happy and calm. And I'm even afraid to think about the limitations, imposed on them, and their dire need of a support just to stay alive (to greater or less extent).
KS shows only the top of the iceberg, and brings a (probably) false sense of easiness. Life is neither that easy, nor that beautiful, I'm afraid.

Anadorr wrote:their dire need of a support just to stay alive

...None of them has any such need. You think a blind or deaf person is just going to die without people supporting them? They're blind and deaf. Not vegetables.

Anadorr wrote:I personally think that this is one of the minor flaws the game has. Don't get me wrong - it lets you see through the disabilities to discover really beautiful personalities, but at some point during a break from KS I started wandering - how hard the real life would be for each of the girls? KS approaches the topic very carefully and doesn't spend much time on it. Yes, there are scenes in every girl's path like reminding that it's impossible to outfit without arms or to buy goods in a store if you're blind, but the life itself is much more than that. I can't even comprehend how many times harder the life is for any of the characters, compared to an ordinary person, and how much effort do they put in it to stay happy and calm. And I'm even afraid to think about the limitations, imposed on them, and their dire need of a support just to stay alive (to greater or less extent).
KS shows only the top of the iceberg, and brings a (probably) false sense of easiness. Life is neither that easy, nor that beautiful, I'm afraid.

Ultimatley, it's amazing what people can get used to. I think Lilly says something about being able to do almost anything anybody else can do, just has to go about it in a different way sometimes.

From a personal note, my father is missing a leg (above the knee) and had no feeling in his other leg from the knee down for over 30 years (a recent surgery restored feeling). Despite mobility issues and quite a bit of medicine he was one, he worked hard as a farmer raising both crops and livestock and enjoyed hunting.

Xanatos wrote:

Anadorr wrote:their dire need of a support just to stay alive

...None of them has any such need. You think a blind or deaf person is just going to die without people supporting them? They're blind and deaf. Not vegetables.

Emi can get by just fine, as can Lilly and Shizune if for no other reason that they have wealthy families.

The only two I'd be concerned about are Rin and Hanako. Rin at least have parents who can help support her after she graduates. So that leaves Hanako. While she wouldn't die, I imagine that between her social anxiety and no family or relatives for support, she'd have a pretty rough time of it without her friends.

pandaphil wrote: So that leaves Hanako. While she wouldn't die, I imagine that between her social anxiety and no family or relatives for support, she'd have a pretty rough time of it without her friends.

'Cept she seemed to be partially growing out of it towards the end of the storyline, at least in any version of it where she even gets screentime, and she is seeing a therapist, after all...

From what I know (ie, reportages I've seen on Tv and such) the game is actually quite realistic in regards to what is possible and what isn't in the light of modern medicine - for example, there's an actual red-haired armless painter living in the UK (whim I suspect may have been an inspiration?), a middle-aged woman, though. And she's raising a daughter.

If anything, the focus on the girl's personalities/life stories is one of the strong point here/ this might as well be seen as an intended effect - After all, there's probably a lot of blind girls out there, but only one of them is Lilly Satou. Her parents may have ditched her because of her blindness but... well, appart from being perfect healthy, do Akira and Hideaki look like they got significantly better parenting? They deal with it differently, and the disabilizties of their sisters sort of exasperate the situation but...


What was particularly evil was when some of the bad Endings (particularly Rin's "scholarship" ending and Shizune's, Hanako's might also count) then hit you on the head with those limitations (or more, the girl's own internalized categorism) when you've long forgotten them ("I can't hug people."/"I know I'm broken, don't remind me"/Shizune's whole isolation issue), and it seems stupid and unfair to you that they'd be unhappy because of that... but you clicked the wrong boxes ~~

kendrix wrote:What was particularly evil was when some of the bad Endings (particularly Rin's "scholarship" ending and Shizune's, Hanako's might also count) then hit you on the head with those limitations (or more, the girl's own internalized categorism) when you've long forgotten them ("I can't hug people."/"I know I'm broken, don't remind me"/Shizune's whole isolation issue), and it seems stupid and unfair to you that they'd be unhappy because of that... but you clicked the wrong boxes ~~

Apologies for my ignorance, but i fail to understand what seems off about Hanako's "I know i'm broken, don't remind me" in the bad ending. Lilly, Hanako and Hisao failed to address the issues in Hanako's route by the point of the bad ending, so it's fitting that Hanako's issues come back to bite their relationship in the ass. It might seem stupid and unfair that the unfortunate/negative situations and decisions of one or both parties damages their friendship/connection/whatever but in my experience that's actually pretty realistic. Although i'm probably just misunderstanding things.

Rin's story was probably the only one I forgot a character had a disability in. Well except maybe hisao even though he constantly whines about practically everything.

Qchan wrote:Rin's story was probably the only one I forgot a character had a disability in. Well except maybe hisao even though he constantly whines about practically everything.

But Rin has no arms and Hisao can die at any time.

I had the opposite happen to me, while playing Lilly's route I actually sometimes thought my parents were blind as well.

Dream wrote:

Qchan wrote:Rin's story was probably the only one I forgot a character had a disability in. Well except maybe hisao even though he constantly whines about practically everything.

But Rin has no arms and Hisao can die at any time.

^^
Rin's disability is far more obvious than the other amputee (seeing as how we never see any character's sprite below the knees ) and Hisao's condition... I think he has a good reason to whine

Steinherz wrote:

Dream wrote:

Qchan wrote:Rin's story was probably the only one I forgot a character had a disability in. Well except maybe hisao even though he constantly whines about practically everything.

But Rin has no arms and Hisao can die at any time.

^^
Rin's disability is far more obvious than the other amputee (seeing as how we never see any character's sprite below the knees ) and Hisao's condition... I think he has a good reason to whine

Yes but eventually the bitching and moaning gets really annoying, Also I forgot Rin had arms so much that I actually started imagining her sprite with arms...I think this should be in the "You know you played to much katawa" Thread...

Qchan wrote:Yes but eventually the bitching and moaning gets really annoying, Also I forgot Rin had arms so much that I actually started imagining her sprite with arms...I think this should be in the "You know you played to much katawa" Thread...

Well i'd sure moan a lot if i could die at any moment

Seriously speaking though, it is pretty understandable and not at all rare sentiment to dislike Rin's Hisao. His inability in understanding Rin and more pronounced gloomines in her route can make him rather unappealing for some people.

Dream wrote:

Qchan wrote:Yes but eventually the bitching and moaning gets really annoying, Also I forgot Rin had arms so much that I actually started imagining her sprite with arms...I think this should be in the "You know you played to much katawa" Thread...

Well i'd sure moan a lot if i could die at any moment

Seriously speaking though, it is pretty understandable and not at all rare sentiment to dislike Rin's Hisao. His inability in understanding Rin and more pronounced gloomines in her route can make him rather unappealing for some people.

Hisao has to be my second most hated character, Not just because of Rin's route, But because of how much of a jack ass he is in general. I think he was best in Emi or Hanakos routes but he still feels like a dunce. I would probably hate him the most if i was capable of hating someone that's supposed to be me anymore.

Hisao has to be my second most hated character, Not just because of Rin's route, But because of how much of a jack ass he is in general. I think he was best in Emi or Hanakos routes but he still feels like a dunce. I would probably hate him the most if i was capable of hating someone that's supposed to be me anymore.

A jack ass? I've heard people complain that he's stupid or slow, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain that he was a jack ass before? Mind elaborating a bit there?

Oddball wrote:

Hisao has to be my second most hated character, Not just because of Rin's route, But because of how much of a jack ass he is in general. I think he was best in Emi or Hanakos routes but he still feels like a dunce. I would probably hate him the most if i was capable of hating someone that's supposed to be me anymore.

A jack ass? I've heard people complain that he's stupid or slow, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain that he was a jack ass before? Mind elaborating a bit there?

You know when I think of a jack ass I usually think of someone that's really dense...Or dumb...Or any way you want to say dumb...In retrospect I should have said dumb ass...