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Katawa Shoujo: Favorite Routes


torbin12

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I personally think Rin was my favorite route, although it got

pretty messed up sometimes

Kind of like Fight Club, if instead of fighting, it was romance, and instead of big burly dudes, it was a deadpan girl with no arms. But the feeling I had from finishing her route the right way, first time through, was trumped by only one moment in Hanako's route when

Lily and Hisao had gotten her presents, and she sat there holding them to her chest, that was such an amazing scene, I actually teared up, it hit me so awesomely

Hanako was probably my second favorite route.

What about you guys? What were your favorite routes, moments, or scenes from this wonderful, heart-tugging VN?

(If my spoilers are messed up, please let me know)

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Oh... that Hanako scene warmed my heart, too. It's pretty much just as good in Lilly's route. And to tell you the truth, KS made my heart break (and then reheal) soooo many times. It was my first VN, and the entire time I couldn't believe what an effect this game was having on me!

Lilly's route is my favorite. I'm writing a big post all about it, so I won't go into a ton of detail here. Suffice it to say that I'm a "Lilly's-route-fo-life-supa-numba-one-ramen" fan.

Talk to me about Rin's route. I've played/finished it, and not only was it a compleeeeeeeetely different experience than Lilly/Hanako routes, but it was uber meta at times as well. I felt weighed down and frustrated the entire game. Only the ending cut the tension. What did you love about her route/the ending?

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Oh... that Hanako scene warmed my heart, too. It's pretty much just as good in Lilly's route. And to tell you the truth, KS made my heart break (and then reheal) soooo many times. It was my first VN, and the entire time I couldn't believe what an effect this game was having on me!

Lilly's route is my favorite. I'm writing a big post all about it, so I won't go into a ton of detail here. Suffice it to say that I'm a "Lilly's-route-fo-life-supa-numba-one-ramen" fan.

Talk to me about Rin's route. I've played/finished it, and not only was it a compleeeeeeeetely different experience than Lilly/Hanako routes, but it was uber meta at times as well. I felt weighed down and frustrated the entire game. Only the ending cut the tension. What did you love about her route/the ending?

I dont know, I loved how Rin, who was this deadpan (more or less emotionless) girl, who you watched as she ran through these subtle emotions that were, for her, actually huge differences, and I liked how it was like oil and water,

the 2 who just should not have even tried, kept trying and eventually won out

, the ending cutting the tension was, to me, the biggest sense of fullfillment, since Rin's route was the hardest to finish, because of all the tension, it was like I REALLY had to work to finish it up. Hanako's route was pretty easy to me, since it was mostly about healing a broken heart, not broken from love, but broken from pain and isolation, which comes naturally to me (not trying to brag or anything, it just is something I am skilled in, helping people) but it was definitely still my second favorite, so many amazing scenes.

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it's funny that when I did my first play on KS on the demo, I ended up with Lilly's route, and then some months after that, I played the full version and got Lilly's route first again. Her route is for me the best, because perhaps some of the problems she encountered are also some that I have encountered. Of course it's not about her disability, but I felt the most connection with her, and yeah...

It is also similar with hanako's route in a way, and that is why they are tied quite closely together in the VN. And I also agree that Rin's route is quite different from Hanako/Lilly route, but they are quite amazing nonetheless

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I dont know, I loved how Rin, who was this deadpan (more or less emotionless) girl, who you watched as she ran through these subtle emotions that were, for her, actually huge differences, and I liked how it was like oil and water,

the 2 who just should not have even tried, kept trying and eventually won out

, the ending cutting the tension was, to me, the biggest sense of fullfillment, since Rin's route was the hardest to finish, because of all the tension, it was like I REALLY had to work to finish it up.

Hanako's route was pretty easy to me, since it was mostly about healing a broken heart, not broken from love, but broken from pain and isolation, which comes naturally to me (not trying to brag or anything, it just is something I am skilled in, helping people) but it was definitely still my second favorite, so many amazing scenes.

Wow, Torbin, you really did a good job of expressing exactly how I feel about Rin's route, too. Your comment about how "she ran through these subtle emotions that were, for her, actually huge differences" is extremely apt and well put. I'm gonna go put this in my journal. Thanks for giving me the words : )

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I personally think Rin was my favorite route, although it got

pretty messed up sometimes

Kind of like Fight Club, if instead of fighting, it was romance, and instead of big burly dudes, it was a deadpan girl with no arms. But the feeling I had from finishing her route the right way, first time through, was trumped by only one moment in Hanako's route when

Lily and Hisao had gotten her presents, and she sat there holding them to her chest, that was such an amazing scene, I actually teared up, it hit me so awesomely

Hanako was probably my second favorite route.

What about you guys? What were your favorite routes, moments, or scenes from this wonderful, heart-tugging VN?

(If my spoilers are messed up, please let me know)

I also liked that in Hanako's route as well. It was just a really heartwarming scene.

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My fav rutes are Liliy and Emi, Emi being best.

I really got annoyed at Rin though. Imo she is mentally retarded, lacking what normal people would call human understanding. One of the basic abillites every living thing in a society should have. -_-

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My fav rutes are Liliy and Emi, Emi being best.

I really got annoyed at Rin though. Imo she is mentally retarded, lacking what normal people would call human understanding. One of the basic abillites every living thing in a society should have. -_-

Human understanding how? Like having empathy or sympathy for people or understanding human emotions?
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Torbin said it best (imo) when he expressed, "I loved how Rin, who was this deadpan (more or less emotionless) girl, who you watched as she ran through these subtle emotions that were, for her, actually huge differences..." (reference)

Rin was confused by the ease with which most people switch emotions, when for her the slightest change in emotion was a big deal.

I definitely understand where you're coming from, and her route was the hardest for me to enjoy, too, but in the end I realized I needed to accept her for who she is as a character. Once I did that, her route is much easier to appreciate.

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The latter, she goes on and on, about how she doesn't understand it, etc.

Ah. I suppose I am in the same boat somewhat. I am basically a shut in that only leaves to go to work or buy games. I don't really talk to anyone in real life besides the few friends I see about every six months to a year.

My understanding of human emotions is pretty low.

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I prefer Hanako's route, because it's the classic case of similar life story, and it also did inspire me to become more outgoing and actually try to make friends irl. Also it gets my vote for most emotional scene i've seen so far.

The h-scene. Yes, if you read through it the first time and understood everything that's going on it is indescribably sad.

After that the other 4 are on par with each other as each has their own good points and i refuse to pick favourites from them. Also i'm not sure if it's just me but it seems Shizune's route tends to get the least amount of love everywhere i go. Sure, it has the least drama, but its precisely because of that i like it - it's the only route where there's no life-or-death or whatever moments, a route where Hisao's primary concern is living his daily life.

On a somewhat more relevant note to the current discussion, Rin's route really is quite difficult to fully appreciate. I found myself going back to re-read many parts just to get a better grasp of everything.

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I prefer Hanako's route, because it's the classic case of similar life story, and it also did inspire me to become more outgoing and actually try to make friends irl. Also it gets my vote for most emotional scene i've seen so far.

The h-scene. Yes, if you read through it the first time and understood everything that's going on it is indescribably sad.

After that the other 4 are on par with each other as each has their own good points and i refuse to pick favourites from them. Also i'm not sure if it's just me but it seems Shizune's route tends to get the least amount of love everywhere i go. Sure, it has the least drama, but its precisely because of that i like it - it's the only route where there's no life-or-death or whatever moments, a route where Hisao's primary concern is living his daily life.

On a somewhat more relevant note to the current discussion, Rin's route really is quite difficult to fully appreciate. I found myself going back to re-read many parts just to get a better grasp of everything.

I agree about the spoiler you just posted. When I was playing Hanako's route I kept thinking to myself, "I know this is going to have one of those scenes, but judging on everything going on... I cringe to think of how it'll go down."

That said, I like how -- even going as far as they did -- they "restart" in the park at the end. Hanako is a very strong person in the end, and I think the H-scene and the ending prove that she was strong all along, albeit emotionally struggling for much of the story.

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  • 1 year later...

From what I've read around the internet, it would seem my opinion isn't a very popular one, but my favourite route is Shizune's.

This is because of some very weird reasons. 

Her character is the main reason why I prefer her route.

First, the glasses. Any character with glasses immediately gets bonus points in my book. Furthermore, she has a sprite where she fiddles with them, how I really love that (I fiddle with mine all the time too, for no good reason). She's also a student council president. Could it get any better?

Yes! Her personality is also not a simple stereotype. She's a mix between the serious class rep and a normal girl who enjoys having fun and winning arguments. Battles of wits and winning arguments are also something I very much enjoy doing myself. So I'm naturally drawn to her character more than the others.

But here's the icing on the cake.

She's mute. 

Yeah, that is a very important reason for me. I don't get why, but it simply fascinates me. Not saying being mute is good, or that I'd like to be mute, but I really seem to like it in fiction. Such a shame it's so rare.

Mute people usually have to come up with interesting ways of communicating or act a bit differently in some situations. I like that.

 

The route itself has nothing to do with the fact that it's my favourite. It's just the characters therein.

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From what I've read around the internet, it would seem my opinion isn't a very popular one, but my favourite route is Shizune's.

This is because of some very weird reasons. 

Her character is the main reason why I prefer her route.

First, the glasses. Any character with glasses immediately gets bonus points in my book. Furthermore, she has a sprite where she fiddles with them, how I really love that (I fiddle with mine all the time too, for no good reason). She's also a student council president. Could it get any better?

Yes! Her personality is also not a simple stereotype. She's a mix between the serious class rep and a normal girl who enjoys having fun and winning arguments. Battles of wits and winning arguments are also something I very much enjoy doing myself. So I'm naturally drawn to her character more than the others.

But here's the icing on the cake.

She's mute. 

Yeah, that is a very important reason for me. I don't get why, but it simply fascinates me. Not saying being mute is good, or that I'd like to be mute, but I really seem to like it in fiction. Such a shame it's so rare.

Mute people usually have to come up with interesting ways of communicating or act a bit differently in some situations. I like that.

 

The route itself has nothing to do with the fact that it's my favourite. It's just the characters therein.

Your opinion sounds so wrong on multiple levels... Its like your begging to be bashed or something :P

 

But I personally only played two routes, Shizune's and Hanako's. Character wize, I'd say Shizune's better, but if we're talking routes I'd definelty say Hanako

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Your opinion sounds so wrong on multiple levels... Its like your begging to be bashed or something :P

 

But I personally only played two routes, Shizune's and Hanako's. Character wize, I'd say Shizune's better, but if we're talking routes I'd definelty say Hanako

Asking to be bashed? How can you disprove an opinion? Isn't that, like, impossible?

 

I'm going to have to admit that it is true that a route is a different thing from the character. And Hanako's route very nearly won out in being my favourite, but Hisao learning sign language to be able to talk with Shizune hit me right on the heart. I really enjoyed that.

It was the leg up necessary for it to become my favourite route.

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Holy Jesus, Tiago, dat necro.  I have to say, though, that Shizune's route was my favorite, with Lilly's a close second.  I didn't really like Hanako's route that much, honestly.  It focused mostly on emotional drama without much else to show for it.  It was my first route, but after I saw the others I was a little disappointed in it.  The reason I liked Shizune's route was also because I liked her character.  I initially thought that she was insensitive and rude, but after I did her route I saw her in a much better light.  I have to admit, though, that I'm partial to strong women, so that might also be a factor.

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I liked Hanako's the most, but I'm probably biased in that it's the first one I played on the first VN I played. For some reason, it just felt more immersive than the others.

Ditto. I cried myself to sleep after Hanako's good end. I just wasn't emotionally prepared...

I reread three routes some time ago and Hanako's route is still my favourite route, though Lilly's route is a close second. In general I'm (retrospectively) surprised how detailed and natural the characters in KS are/feel.

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