My Thoughts on Katawa Shoujo *Mild Spoilers*

[Drummodino]

I'm sure there have been plenty of threads similar to this, but I have to get this out there. I don't have anyone IRL that I could talk to about this wonderful experience (my friends have a strong aversion to anything hentai related, they wouldn't understand why I love this VN so much). Katawa Shoujo... is probably the greatest, most emotionally impacting collection of stories that I have ever experienced. I just finished my final story (Rin's) today and I don't know what to do now beyond going back for 100%.

No video game, novel, movie, anything has made me cry since I was around 6 years old. I didn't bawl, but I had tears in my eyes during all the storylines except Shizune/Misha's. Never have I been more emotionally attached to a fictional character than Lilly Satou. The emotional journey's of Hisao and the girls are something I will never forget. This game made me laugh, made me sad, made me feel heartbroken. I am truly grateful for stumbling across this on a minecraft subreddit of all places (Mindcrack). 4 Leaf... all I can say is thank you. You have made my life feel so much better this past few weeks.

A brief overview of my thoughts on the individual stories in order of playthrough (all "good" endings):

Emi: I enjoyed it. I feel Emi was a good one to start with as it wasn't the most emotionally wrecking, yet still had its share of feels. Emi was funny, super cute, and I genuinely felt for her. Nurse was great as well.

Shizune/Misha: Didn't tug at my heartstrings as much as the others, but this was definitely the most hilarious. Overall not my favourite but it had some great scenes (tanabata, rooftop). Also had the best sex scenes.

Lilly: My god, this girl got to me. By far my absolute favourite. After the chaos of Shizune/Misha, the relative calmness of Lilly's story was refreshing. I actually fell in love with this girl. If you asked me to describe my ideal soulmate, she would be very similar to Lilly. She was so caring and compassionate, but had a mischievous side to her too. The scene in the wheat fields was so wonderfully moving. Saying goodbye to her as she left for the airport, I was bawling like a baby. When I heard the music box playing in the hospital I was probably the happiest man alive. I had to stop playing for almost 2 weeks after this just to emotionally recover.

Hanako: Loved it. It did feel a little short, but this story was heartwarming. The ending left me feeling so happy for her and Hisao.

Rin: Rin was... interesting. It made me so sad to see Hisao depressed and confused, and then when he was struggling to understand this girl. I still thoroughly enjoyed it though, and the ending was great.

If I had to rank them:

1. Lilly
2. Hanako
3. Rin
4. Emi
5. Shizune/Misha

That said they were all great. Lilly FTW though

[Firewind]

Hello and welcome here!

I don't have anyone IRL that I could talk to about this wonderful experience (my friends have a strong aversion to anything hentai related, they wouldn't understand why I love this VN so much).

Yeah, I know exactly how you feel.

Heh, it looks like you're a Lilly Lover this VN truly is a masterpiece. Now go and post on the topics, "new-blood" search for fan art or fan stories, replay the paths (or maybe wait a while before replaying in order to have them "feels" again).

I hope you'll stick around here!

[Drummodino]

Hello and welcome here!

I don't have anyone IRL that I could talk to about this wonderful experience (my friends have a strong aversion to anything hentai related, they wouldn't understand why I love this VN so much).

Yeah, I know exactly how you feel.

Heh, it looks like you're a Lilly Lover this VN truly is a masterpiece. Now go and post on the topics, "new-blood" search for fan art or fan stories, replay the paths (or maybe wait a while before replaying in order to have them "feels" again).

I hope you'll stick around here!

Thanks! It's nice to feel welcomed

I'm not really one for fan fiction in general, but I'm definitely gonna stick around this forum. I'm planning to go for the 100% soon.

And yea I'm a total Lilly lover

[Comrade]

There are some really good fanfics here, you should check out some of them even if you are not a bg fan of them.

[Drummodino]

There are some really good fanfics here, you should check out some of them even if you are not a bg fan of them.

I might give them a try, but I've always found fan fiction difficult. No matter how good the author they can never fully recreate the original. Also I prefer to see the characters how the creators see them, not someone else's take. A bad fanfic can ruin a beloved character.

[Comrade]

Actually Some if the best fics here are either about OCs or characters that barely appear in the game, so it's not like you've said about ruining loved characters, but I guess that it's your choice whether you want to read it or not.

[Drummodino]

Actually Some if the best fics here are either about OCs or characters that barely appear in the game, so it's not like you've said about ruining loved characters, but I guess that it's your choice whether you want to read it or not.

Oh really? Hmm interesting. I was interested in Miki.

[Comrade]

I am not sure if there are any finished miki fics, and there is no easy way to tell. In fact, we are just having a debate I. The fanfic subforum whether or not an "index" of fanfics should exist

[Weird Heather]

Drummodino - there seem to be many experiences like yours. I am a cynical and sometimes bitter old woman, and not exactly the target audience for most visual novels, but even I felt emotionally moved by "Katawa Shoujo." Perhaps my lifelong cynicism can be tempered somewhat by the knowledge that literature like this exists somewhere in the world and that it has real meaning to a number of people. Those who refuse to read it for silly reasons, such as an aversion to a few sex scenes, are missing out.

[pandaphil]

I guess this is the part where I come in to pimp "Sisterhood", imo the best KS fanfic ever if you're a Hanako/Lilly fan. It really is just as good as the VN.

Anyway, let me echo what the others have said, welcome to the board! I'm also a pretty unhappy, bitter person in RL. The fate of someone who was once idealistic who's been stepped on by life far too many times. But really, this VN touches that caring, hopeful side of my nature that I thought I lost a long time ago, and I love it!

Sorry that you've no one to share it with. But we're here with you. I guess I was lucky and managed to convince a few of my online friends to try it and they love it just as much as I do.

[hitman555z]

i like how most people rank emi as one of the lower ones.

am i the only one who thinks its sad that she keeps running away from receiving help and the fact that she will push everyone away to make sure they dont get hurt by her, even though it is causing more damage to herself? i rank lilly just a bit over emi because its a more happy end to their story and no bad endings, but then again, i received the good ending for emi first and then bad ending. that bad end still lingers over me, and its quite fucking sad.

[Comrade]

Emi is my favourite girl. I don't really know why though...

[Xanatos]

she will push everyone away to make sure they dont get hurt by her

no bad endings

That is literally not at all the reason given for why she pushes people away.

And every route has bad endings.

Did you play the same game as the rest of us?


OP: Go for 100% now.

[pandaphil]

i like how most people rank emi as one of the lower ones.

am i the only one who thinks its sad that she keeps running away from receiving help and the fact that she will push everyone away to make sure they dont get hurt by her, even though it is causing more damage to herself? i rank lilly just a bit over emi because its a more happy end to their story and no bad endings, but then again, i received the good ending for emi first and then bad ending. that bad end still lingers over me, and its quite fucking sad.

Not me. I hate to rank the girls, but if forced, I'd have to rate her second behind Hanako (with Lilly a very close third).

She is a sad character at first, but I think you've misread her slightly. the reason she pushes people away is because she doesn't want to risk ever losing someone she cares about ever again. So shes convinced herself that she can managed just fine alone and that she doesn't need anyone else.

Except for Hanako, I've tended to avoid the bad endings. I want everyone to have a happy ending.

[MegaMoto]

Emi is my favourite girl. I don't really know why though...

Because she's the best. It's simple really.