Katawa Shoujo Forums

I have recently spent a lot of time reading different fan fics such as Katawa Kijo, Sisterhood, Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives, Several one-shot compilation threads and every pseudo-route I could find, while also doing the re-write for one of my fics, the second chapter for one of my fics and also writing the first chapter of a brand new fic when I found myself asking a question that wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried kicking it out the door and I figured that it would make a good discussion thread.


So, this is my question too all of you who decide to read this thread: What is your own personal story canon for Katawa Shoujo?


Do you just have a single route from the VN and just say that the story and characters end with that route? Do you have have your own ideas for how things went after the events of the games? Or is there certain fan fics or pseudo-routes that you consider as part of canon?


If you have the time please leave a reply, I would love to hear everyone's personal canon.


~LS~

Definitely Sisterhood for Hanako (post Good End). Weekend at Hisao's for Shizune (post Good End).

My favorite character is Emi, but Lilly's good ending is my favorite. You get a clear idea about Hisao and Lilly's future together, and all the other main characters are relatively happy.

Pseudo-Suzu. Mm.

I believe Sisterhood is about as good as it get's for Hanako post Good End stories. I'm sure there's more good ones out there, but this one is my favorite so far.

If an Akira route existed in the VN, Thanatos02 is the guy to write it. Akira Pseudo-Route is my favorite fan fiction as of now.

The only canon is what the game itself shows. Anything in fanfics isn't canon even if you want it to be. /nitpickingoverterminology /youcanignorethispart

That said, I follow the way of 4LS themselves: Anything I like to personally consider "canon" is subject to change at a whim's notice at any given moment and may contradict itself at any time. For now, I'm holding Lilly's route as canon because my current fanfic (one of three being written) calls for HisaoXLilly.

@silverstar: Except all the ones who aren't happy, you mean?

Another vote for Sisterhood. Thats pretty much how Hanako's story goes, period.

I even work some elements of it into my own H/H fic. like Hisao going to Emi for running, and Hanako gettign her First Aid certification Hopefully that's okay.

Xanatos wrote:The only canon is what the game itself shows. Anything in fanfics isn't canon even if you want it to be. /nitpickingoverterminology /youcanignorethispart

That said, I follow the way of 4LS themselves: Anything I like to personally consider "canon" is subject to change at a whim's notice at any given moment and may contradict itself at any time. For now, I'm holding Lilly's route as canon because my current fanfic (one of three being written) calls for HisaoXLilly.

@silverstar: Except all the ones who aren't happy, you mean?

Well she makes up with Shizune (sort of), Rin would never agree to the exhibition without pressure from Hisao, Emi would just keep running, and Hanako grows as a person, makes new friends, and moves on in life. All in all, everybody's happy. Or at least content.

silverstar67 wrote:All in all, everybody's happy. Or at least content.

There is little to no evidence to back up the claim that Rin wouldn't do the exhibition without Hisao. Nomiya's pressure would be enough given how she is and how overbearing and persistent he'd be about it.

Emi would keep running, and that means she isn't happy. She's running from her problems. That won't magically disappear just because Hisao and Lilly are happy.

Shizune and Misha will still maintain their unhealthy relationship and pretend to be content while not actually being all that content. That doesn't magically disappear either.

Methinks your happy canon is a lie.

Xanatos wrote:There is no evidence to back up the claim that Rin wouldn't do the exhibition without Hisao.

It was clear that Rin was unsure about doing the exhibition, and it was apparent that she was at least slightly uncomfortable with the idea.

As for your other theories, I think you're being just a bit of a pessimist.

KeiichiO wrote:As for your other theories, I think you're being just a bit of a pessimist.

It's hardly pessimistic to think everyone else's problems won't magically clear up once Hisao and Lilly are happily together. Yeah, Shizune and Lilly patch things up a bit but Rin will still be constantly pressured to do things she doesn't want, Emi will still have all her issues, and Shizune still won't fuck Misha.

Even if we take this beyond canon into speculation, it's pretty safe to assume:

- Rin will eventually cave to Nomiya's pressure alone. Her communication issues combined with his overbearing bullshit makes her highly susceptible to it. She may put it off plenty but inevitably, she'll have to answer him. And he quite simply won't LET her say no.

- Emi will continue to have her problems. She might meet a (non-Hisao) guy who breaks through her little complex but the odds are weighted against it because that's life. People meet more failed loves than successful ones.

- Shizune will date somebody else eventually, and Misha will go through her depression routine anyway. Now, maybe Shizune will start to warm to Misha (please <.<) or maybe Misha will grow past this whole mess but there's nothing to really suggest that happening in Lilly's end.

Until the day arrives that the dev's decide to create an 'official' sequel, we're all free to create whatever personal canon we like. I doesn't have to logical, reasonable, or agree with someone elses. It only has to make you happy. So

Xanatos wrote: There is little to no evidence to back up the claim that Rin wouldn't do the exhibition without Hisao. Nomiya's pressure would be enough given how she is and how overbearing and persistent he'd be about it.

Emi would keep running, and that means she isn't happy. She's running from her problems. That won't magically disappear just because Hisao and Lilly are happy.

Shizune and Misha will still maintain their unhealthy relationship and pretend to be content while not actually being all that content. That doesn't magically disappear either.

Methinks your happy canon is a lie.

You're probably right about Rin, but the only thing Emi learns is that she can rely on others to help her. By the end of her story she still maintains most of her original mindset. (It's one of the reasons I like her) She might never find "the one", but I doubt she's going to lose her mind. Also, running doesn't mean she's unhappy, she does it in memory of her father, and because she genuinely enjoys it. Shizune is fine, and Misha will NEVER be happy unless her feeling are requited, so based on what we know, there's no good ending for Misha.
Life is hardly perfect for everyone, but It's the best scenario I can think of.

Well after playing 999 and VLR...

I like to imagine that every path is canon, all of them occurring on separate, branching timelines. This would include fanfics, since they are in essence, all possibilities. Yes, even the crappy ones. I suppose this is as big of a copout answer as one could come up with, but I could always back up my claim with a crapton of pseudoscience.

I also like to imagine that this is why Kenji is batshit crazy.

^ Multiverse. Works for me, since I believe in that anyway.

I will not derail the thread, I will not derail the thread...Okay.


I like to pretend Kenji's is official canon, mostly because the April Fools' thing this year (jokingly) confirmed it.

But for now, my fanfics demand alternate canon. One demands Lilly, another Rin, and still another calls for Shizune (but she can't hear it! XD).

(On the subject of fanfic, I curse Hisao for not having a more solid personality. Maybe it's because I'm writing in first-person but my own persona keeps leaking into the script...)