(READ WITH CAUTION: OPINIONS/WALL OF TEXT INSIDE)

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i've never really put down my impressions of this VN, because i can't imagine a conversation about it going over well in real life, and 4chan users are too /b/tarded or too cynical about the KS community in general to foster much meaningful discussion about KS (and sorry to say it, their cynicism is somewhat justified - but i digress). this was my first VN, btw, and i'm somewhat interested in the genre now. (thanks, KS). So, i'm just going to say what i thought, not because i think anyone cares, but because i just want to say what i thought of it, and also because the world just happens to revolves around me.

On the whole there wasn't a single route that i didn't enjoy. There were times when the writing felt clumsy, and a couple of the stories wavered a bit, and this annoying blind kid with glasses kept popping up occasionally, but I didn't think these things were that big of a deal. As for the routes specifically.... (and in order that i played them, if that makes a difference):

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First runthrough. I didn't have a route in mind. I sort of half-heartedly began to try to pick the answers I thought would lead towards Rin, but ended up on the Lilly route. As it turned out, I liked Lilly a lot. I'm embarrassed to say it but I got kind of attached to her character, to the point where I would look forward to the next time I fired up KS (the computer I was using was semi-public, and I was self-conscious, so sessions were a bit limited in that way). It was probably the more personally relevant route, too; that, combined with the fact that this was my first runthrough, made it more easy to be, eh... well, I hate to say it, but, it made it more easy to be emotional about the thing. To the point where I thought I had the good ending in the bag, and then became more of an wreck than I'd like to admit when I got the "meh" ending. Not a fun way to start a week, I gotta say. She was the only one I wasn't skilled enough to get the good ending on. (what a fucking bitch, right? ;_;)

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A couple months later, summer's starting, i have more free time, the sun is out, and so like any good hikiko would, I withdrew indoors, and eventually found myself on my second playthrough of KS. Still had a pleasant aimlessness about what route I would be traversing. Ended up being Emi. I never really did end up feeling too close to her character in the way I had with Lilly (despite the fact that I've been a distance runner since middle school), and at first regarded her solely as the VN's token loli, but as the route progressed, I found I did enjoy her mischievousness, her enthusiasm, and how straight up かわいい she can be. It was pleasant to see her be able to come to terms with her past, and now that I think about it, this was probably the only route where in the end I felt more uplifted than depressed. Hmmm. How sweet. (also, I started running again for a few days after finishing this route. Go figure)

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With that, I found that I was craving MORE KS. So pretty soon after that I found myself playing through again. This time, I had Rin's route in mind. Like a cheetah on the prowl for some savory Serengeti antelope (or maybe more like a pedophile at McDonalds), I had a target. (honestly it was a bit disappointing to lose that aimlessless in direction I'd had the first two playthroughs) I'd been vaguely interested in her route since the first runthrough, as I fancy myself something of an artsy fella, and I liked her deadpan kinda style. As it turned out, Rin's was, by a respectable amount, my favorite route. The conflict is so deliciously subtle, and the themes that were goin' on about the creative process and just stuff in general, man, I really liked that. And the "rift" between Hisao and Rin, in the context of a VN, god damn it was so viciously poignant. As the route went on, it got quite fatiguing to go through, (mirroring Hisao's attitude quite nicely), always worrying about whether or not things were going to be ok. There was that cigarette scene, which I thought was the best moment in the entire game, bar none. And then I was sure I was done. I mucked up somewhere. There's no way this is gonna turn out alright, god damn it, I guess I should brace myself for a few days' worth of angst and depression (all because of this, this fucking... silhouette on a screen, damn it, i really am pathetic...), but surprise surprise, I actually ended up with the "good ending..." Not to say that I wasn't depressed afterwards, though.... Ugh, I'm getting depressed thinking about it... bleh. What a mess I am.

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Jeez, that tired me out. Ok. Uhh.. Yeah. OK. Hanako's route. A pretty slow-paced route, despite being a pretty short one. Hanako's waxing and waning, as far as confidence and general attitude go, were interesting dynamics to behold. Hanako's a cutie. But I can't say her character ever resonated very much with me. And the ending, while it's not bad, left me feeling kind of like the relationship between Hanako and Hisao had just barely gotten off the ground, when it ended. Which was a shame. It would've been interesting to see her character after that last development there at the end, after she'd gained some kind of lasting confidence in others and in herself. I dunno... A lot of people really like Hanako, and it's not a bad story at all, I guess it's that "different strokes for different folks" kinda thing.

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And finally, Shizune. I was pleasantly surprised by this route. It benefited from being the most sociable of the routes (which isn't inherently a good thing, but helped set this route apart and make it interesting). Shizune can seem like a lot more of a hardass in Act I than she actually is, and that's what put me off from her route, I think. Once I got into this route, I discovered that I really liked the character interactions and things going on, and Shizune, too. Shizune makes a lot of sense, and she's pretty fun, too. Up until now, I'd been playing all these other routes, where the Significant Other was quite often the main focus of the route, and that kind of tunnel vision could sometimes make things seem a bit, err,, well, a bit two-dimensional. This route was a refreshing change from that; though Shizune is still the central piece to the puzzle, she pulls it off in a different way, and the focus is well-balanced between her alone, and the other characters of KS. The feeling with this route, is more that Hisao and Shizune are progressing through the world/plot together as a couple, as opposed to Shizune actually becoming the world/plot, if that makes sense. The chapter with the fishing, and the vacation in general, are good examples of this. I think the frequent presence of other characters helps contribute a lot to this feeling. Also, the communications barrier made character interactions more interesting. The ending felt a bit unfulfilling. Or maybe that was just me being depressed about my own personal state of affairs again. I donnntt even know.

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So. TL;DR: KS is pretty dang good. It was motivating, depressing (even the good endings make me feel depressed), it was encouraging, it was funny, it was, all-in-all, 11/10 preddy gud:D and i feel like there was something else i was gonna say but i forgot it. Oh well. I'll say it if it comes back to me.

Well there's my abhorrently self-absorbed rant - err, i mean, my FEEDBACK, that I offer to you, the developers, and to the KS community in general, to dissect, to admire, to detest, to agree with or to disagree with as you please, i don't know, whatever it is people do here. I'm above you people, you know.