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Katawa Shoujo is the Catcher in the Rye of VNs


Zalor

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Yesterday I was speaking to a friend of mine about Catcher in the Rye. We ended up agreeing that what made Catcher in the Rye so great was that it used a casual narration style, while still incorporating plenty of symbolism which made the book both an easy read, and a thoughtful one. Then earlier today I was reading through Katawa Shoujo, (I finished act one 2 years ago, but never got around to playing the full version). Anyway, as I was playing through the second day or so, I realized that Hisao has much of the same problems as Holden Caulfield. Holden condemns nearly everyone in the novel as a "phony" for merely being an adult, or for accepting adulthood. Despite his fear however, Holden himself is becoming an adult whether he wants to admit it or not. Hisao seems to suffer from much of the same problem. Hisao looks at all the other students at his school differently for their disabilities, even though he possesses one as well. He thinks that he is different, and healthier then them, even though he's no better off. When in reality the difference really is that the other students seemed to accept their disability, while he's still in a kind of denial about it. Just like how Holden is in denial about himself making the shift to adulthood.

Another smaller similarity are Holden and Hisao's male friends, or acquaintances. Ackley from Catcher in the Rye is a very odd, and obnoxious character, that Holden doesn't always appreciate to have around. Kenji is very similar to this. Kenji's presence doesn't seem to appreciated much either, yet Hisao still tolerates him as well. They both also have unique and defining aspects of their exteriors. Ackley with all the pimples on his face, and Kenji with his gargantuan spectacles. Now I don't really think this next point counts, but I still want to say it anyway. And that is I could also picture Ackely pestering Holden about feminist conspiracies. But since that never actually occurred in the book it doesn't apply.

Since its been a while since I read Catcher in the Rye; and the most I ever got through in Katawa Shoujo was act one. My insight is limited to this for now. But please share your thoughts on this comparison.

On a Huge side note: (God Damn has it been a while since I last posted here, how is everyone?)

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I haven't read catcher in the rye (interestingly enough not required for my English courses, not that we didn't read other classics). I have to say though, I don't think Hisao sees himself as healthier than the other students. That's just nitpicking though, your analysis might actually be valid... for act one. The themes you mention do somewhat run through the vn in a few character routes, but mostly they are focused on the actual relationship with your chosen girl and the unique problems that have to be resolved for it to work out.

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I first would have to read through Katawa Shoujo than Catcher in the Rye.

Fortunately I (finally) started playing Katawa Shoujo yesterday and a friend of mine read Catcher in the Rye recently (though he didn't seem much convinced by it).

Well, the reason I heard about Catcher in the Rye in the first place is Ghost in the Shell, can't be bad.

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Interesting analogy.

Catcher in the Rye has so many interpretations though, and you can say pretty much any coming of age story was "inspired" by catcher in the rye due to the many overlapping themes.

With that said, this is probably discussing, especially since the books follow completely different routes.

(In Catcher in the Rye, Holden is constantly moving forward and leaving things behind/running away from things, although they are still present in his mind. Katawa Shoujo kind of stays in one place xD.)

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There's actually a couple lines that the writer stole from the book. I can't remember the lines anymore but it was during his stay at the hospital (the beginning).

EDIT: Stole this from tvtropes:

Early on, Hisao says that when they heard about his arrhythmia, his parents "practically had two hemorrhages apiece," a reference to The Catcher in the Rye, in which Holden says something similar about his parents in the first chapter.

- Hisao also says "phony" a couple of times during Rin's path.

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Going on the Katawa Shoujou topic, I love how you interpreted Hisao, it defines him so well. I'll have to look into Catcher and the Rye.

Katawa Shoujou is the VN that got me addicted, The story is so heart warming and Lilly / Hanako's paths are just simply amazing.

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There's actually a couple lines that the writer stole from the book. I can't remember the lines anymore but it was during his stay at the hospital (the beginning).

EDIT: Stole this from tvtropes:

Early on, Hisao says that when they heard about his arrhythmia, his parents "practically had two hemorrhages apiece," a reference to The Catcher in the Rye, in which Holden says something similar about his parents in the first chapter.

- Hisao also says "phony" a couple of times during Rin's path.

Thanks for the direct contribution man. I don't have my copy of Catcher in the Rye on me, so I couldn't find any direct quotes to reference. :)

What I like about that quote is that I could picture both Hisao and Holden thinking that same thought. Which further illustrates my point on how the two are similar.

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  • 8 months later...

They also both have their own share of fans and and plenty of hatred toward them, though for different reasons.

 

 

I would rather read "Catcher in the Rye" again a thousand times more than playing KS again,tough. ^_^

 

KS is light-hearted enough for me to want to reread again sometime, but Catcher in the Rye not so much. I thought it was a decent read when I was in high school and could more readily relate to it, but as an adult the thought of thumbing through the exploits of whiny Holden Caulfield isn't too appealing. It's a book best left for adolescence.

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KS is light-hearted enough for me to want to reread again sometime, but Catcher in the Rye not so much. I thought it was a decent read when I was in high school and could more readily relate to it, but as an adult the thought of thumbing through the exploits of whiny Holden Caulfield isn't too appealing. It's a book best left for adolescence.

 

As someone who read Catcher in the Rye in college, gotta say this is really accurate. God, I hated Holden Caulfield so damn much... fucker's rich and yet he manages to whine and bitch about the most trivial of things, the privileged little fuck... it's rich kid/first world problems before that was even a thing.

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God, I hated Holden Caulfield so damn much... fucker's rich and yet he manages to whine and bitch about the most trivial of things, the privileged little fuck... it's rich kid/first world problems before that was even a thing.

 You may not like him, but I think the "rich kid/first world problems before that was even a thing" was an intentional insight of J.D Salinger's. Salinger very accurately portrayed a upper middle class adolescent of the age, and was in a way both sympathizing with them but also criticizing them. I think he was showing that these kids were angsty and whinny because they created there own problems since they lacked any actual problems. I'm not accusing you of this but rather saying in general, that good literature doesn't have to have likable characters.

 

Coincidentally just a couple of days ago I was watching the movie Six Degrees of Separation, and there is a very interesting monologue about Catcher in the Rye in it:  

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arPhzlHlyEY

 

The movie Six Degrees of Separation also deals a bit with wealthy kids who are incredibly ungrateful and are oblivious to how privileged their lives actually are. The movie deals with many other great themes, and I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

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I can always count on Zalor for fascinating posts.  Thank you!  I need to re-read Catcher in the Rye before commenting, though.  I'll start it tonight.

 

 

...Fortunately I (finally) started playing Katawa Shoujo yesterday...

Words can't express all the feelings and emotions bubbling up.  Congratulations, Down -- you've embarked on the journey which will impart true enlightenment.  I offer my services as a spirit animal to help see you through to the end.  (Please tell me which route you decide to follow for your first playthrough)

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 You may not like him, but I think the "rich kid/first world problems before that was even a thing" was an intentional insight of J.D Salinger's. Salinger very accurately portrayed a upper middle class adolescent of the age, and was in a way both sympathizing with them but also criticizing them. I think he was showing that these kids were angsty and whinny because they created there own problems since they lacked any actual problems. I'm not accusing you of this but rather saying in general, that good literature doesn't have to have likable characters.

 

I do get that last part. My problem is that, yes, J.D Salinger does a pretty good job of showing upper class teenage angst... and yet, at the same time, he's not really saying anything new or even noteworthy, isn't he? Pretty sure spoiled kids didn't start being whiny on the 20th century. I guess I don't think much of Catcher in the Rye because I don't find an analysis of themes dealing with adolescence interesting in the least. 

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Words can't express all the feelings and emotions bubbling up.  Congratulations, Down -- you've embarked on the journey which will impart true enlightenment.  I offer my services as a spirit animal to help see you through to the end.  (Please tell me which route you decide to follow for your first playthrough)

 

Well, actually I posted that back in May so I've long finished it ^^"

 

I started with Hanako since she was the one I was instinctively attracted to (I talked about this with a friend and we pretty much agree that's a question of personality, and in our cases it was obvious to go for Hanako). After playing through everything, I think the best route is Rin's, with second best being Lilly's.

 

I also thought about various stuff about Katawa Shoujo that I never got around to write. I was surprised by the amount of things there were to say about it, actually, because it has a lot of subtle qualities to redeem some obvious defaults (let's face it, the writing is a bit clumsy) and that made it really enjoyable, even though not as much a roller-coaster of emotions as other VNs were to me.

 

I'll probably get around to read Catcher in the Rye soon, since I've been working on my book backlog recently.

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