Katawa Shoujo/Fridge: Difference between revisions

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* If you make the wrong choice in Emi's route near the end, {{spoiler|of all people, ''Misha'' comes to save you and gives you a chance to apologize to Emi and make things right. It's a tender moment for you and Misha, and arguably a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for her - but more so when you realize that years ago Misha felt the pain of rejection from a loved one and doesn't want Hisao to go through the same thing.}}

** Actually, {{spoiler|Misha also shows interest in ''all'' of Hisao's romantic relationships, with Emi and Shizune's routes being the ones where she's more blatant. Misha's [[Love Hurts]] past is what puts this on perspective: she acted the most forceful when Hisao had more direct romantic trouble, to keep him from being hurt like she was -- despite it potentially backfiring in Shizune's route.}}

* Near the end of Emi's path, you find out why she tries so hard at keeping people at arm's length. {{spoiler|After losing her father in an accident, she doesn't want to risk getting close enough to someone else she might just lose. If she can't get close to people who would otherwise have normal and happy lives, how much more difficult must it be for her to get close to Hisao, someone ''whose heart condition could quite literally kill him at any time'', and who she runs a ''very'' high risk of actually losing? Specially considering that, to win favor points with her in Act 1, ''you have to make Hisao have physical problems''?}} In the end, it makes the fact that their relationship succeeds [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|all the sweeter.]]

 

* When you first meet her in the library, you discover that she's reading ''[[Life of Pi]]''. Considering the plot of the book centers around a boy who lost both of his parents in a tragic accident and is stuck in the middle of the ocean (almost) alone with no other person to relate to, and you can see why Hanako seems to have taken such a liking to the book.

* The final CG's in "Misstep", Hanako's explosive and traumatic bad end, is the one place in the game where her face isn't obscured by anything. Her physical form mirrors the fact that emotionally, she no longer hides anything.

* Hanako's room being bare and devoid of decorations is interesting in two regards. Firstly, it strongly resembles Hisao's room, and as he points out, his view of his condition, including lingering depression and the belief that it defines him, is [[Not So Different]] from hers. She also most likely had a similar experience in moving around between rooms, going from her own room to the hospital, then the orphanage, and now to Yamaku. Secondly, her [[Only Friend]] at the start of the game and the only person besides Hisao to set foot in her room is blind.

 

* In Lilly's route, Hisao passes off her sudden enjoyment of wine as a [[Bottle Fairy|vice]], similar to her tea addiction. Initially, this judgement this makes sense considering {{spoiler|she got drunk the first time she tried it}}, but then [[Fridge Brilliance]] kicks in. Anyone who's ever tried to [[Wine Is Classy|taste wine properly]] knows that there are a multitude of factors involved in judging a wine, most of which are ''not'' related to it's appearance. Things like smell, texture, body, acidity, variety of grape, aftertaste, flavours etc. To Hisao, or most people for that matter, these would be an afterthought since it's just booze to him. To Lilly, these things would immediately stick out to her since her other senses are so much more sensitive. Even the sound of the wine sloshing about in the glass would be something new and exciting to Lilly, so it's no surprise she takes such a fast liking to it.

** Exactly why does Hisao's heart act up more on Lilly's route than on any other route? It's because he's been drinking both more tea and alcohol! There's no way that increased consumption of both a type of depressant and a type of stimulant can be good for his irregular heartbeat.

** {{spoiler|The three choices, and an Act 1 choice critical to unlocking her or Hanako's routes all have a common element; you have to let her know what's on your mind. Lilly says in her good ending that she loves Hisao for his honesty, among his other good qualities}}.

 

* One of the key choices that players seem to get stuck on comes at the end of her route. {{spoiler|Namely, the choice between "then explain" and "I need to understand. Although the two choices seem identical, they're actually quite different. One choice puts the onus on Rin: "You can't explain it, so you're at fault." The other places the ball in Hisao's court: "I don't understand it, so I need to learn to understand." This is the difference between Rin withdrawing deeper into her art and reaching out towards Hisao.}}

** I had no drinks in my mouth to spit, but let it be known that if I had some, it'd be your fault. You just enlightened me.

** {{spoiler|The difference between the choices is also important in that "Then explain" demonstrates that Hisao is just like everyone else that fails to understand Rin, because he isn't even making the effort to understand. "I need to understand" shows the opposite, because it shows that while Hisao still doesn't understand Rin he is attempting to do so to a level that is practically desperate. The third choice, only available if Hiaso decides earlier that he wants to support Rin more than he wants to get close to her, is "It doesn't matter", and this also leads down the path to the good and neutral endings because Hisao is starting to accept that he and Rin may never be able to bridge the gap between them but might be able to be together regardless.}}

* Rin's route has probably the most [[But Thou Must!]] in it, despite having the most choices. {{spoiler|Not only does it have the infamous six choices that all basically say the same thing, but she and Hisao have the same fight whether or not you choose "Then explain," it just changes the outcome and the timing of the fight. However, Rin herself is feeling a lot of [[But Thou Must!]] in her life when it comes to painting, like that it's the only thing she can do in her life whether she wants to or not, so in a way, it's rather fitting for her route to give the player some of that feeling as well, even if it's frustrating, to help them empathize with Rin.}}

** It's also sort of symbolic in that {{spoiler|Hisao states that Iwanako used to peel him apples in a similar manner while he was in the hospital. Y'know, apples and oranges - it plays in to the overall themes of the route and the aesop that you don't need to completely understand a person to love them.}}

* One of Rin's famously funny lines is "Underpants are the soul of a girl. You shouldn't peek at someone else's soul." There are exactly two scenes where we see Rin's underpants, and they both happen around the time of Rin revealing something important, intentionally or not. She's showing Hisao her soul.

* Rin doesn't title any of her works so that people aren't influenced by anything but the work itself, {{spoiler|which makes a lot of sense when one considers that she is trying to communicate her feelings through art because words aren't enough. The message need to be as clear as possible.}}

 

* [[Fridge Brilliance]] makes Shizune's route more enjoyable on subsequent playthroughs. {{spoiler|Misha more or less forces Hisao to use sign language when speaking with Shizune because she knows they like each other and she doesn't want to mediate their nascent romantic relationship. Shizune doesn't let herself have many romantic moments with Hisao because she dislikes just going through the motions of a romantic relationship... and because she knows how painful it would be for Misha, the girl Shizune cares for yet can't fall for, to see the two of them flirt. Shizune focuses on student council work because it's the only thing she can do without excluding either Hisao or Misha. Shizune focuses on patching up her relationship with Misha because she feels incredibly guilty at having rejected and then driven away her only friend. And in the bad end, Shizune breaks up with Hisao because she feels that she's driving him away -- like it happened with Misha.}}

* Deaf-mute people have a tendency to be particularly blunt and direct when expressing emotions, stemming from the necessity of being understood in ways different from the talking. Suddenly, parts of Shizune's personality start having more sense - at some points, it's even stated outright that the communication problems stemming from her disability are a source of frustration for her. A22 (The main writer for Shizune's route) very much deserves credit for not simply making her a straight up [[Tsundere]], which arguably would have made her less of a [[Base Breaker]], in order to portray this as realistically as possible.

** {{spoiler|Hands in general seem to be a very big thing for Shizune. She spends alot of time touching them in both H scenes and frequently intertwines her fingers with Hisao's. She also drops Kenji's box early in Act 2 because Hisao accidently touches her. Consider how important her hands are to her. It fits that they would be very intimate for her.}}

 

* All of the girls' routes have an important message on how have to healthy relationship. Shizune's is obvious: {{spoiler|Don't cheat on your partner}}. In Lilly's route, {{spoiler|it becomes clear that honesty is very important and you shouldn't keep secrets from your partner}}. With Rin, {{spoiler|you have to take steps to understand your partner and their needs}}. Hanako makes it clear that {{spoiler|it is important that you treat your partner as an equal. Help them if they need it, but... don't coddle them}}. But Emi's route also lets you know that {{spoiler|as long as you don't overdo it, it's okay to lean on each other and let the other in}}.

* The way in which you must make your choices to reach each character's route in part reflects their own personality. Shizune, {{spoiler|being a highly competitive person, has the major choices that send you toward her route are set the earliest, requiring you to be aggressive from the start}}. As Lilly {{spoiler|is very open about her blindness, a required choice for her route involves telling her about your own condition as well as pandering to Hanako in much the way that she does.}} Hanako {{spoiler|and Lilly are extremely close, which is reflected in the way that their routes are flagged together with a single decision that splits them near the end.}} Emi, {{spoiler|besides requiring that you push yourself to exercise up to your limits, has her flag removed in the narrative from the other choices, reflecting her desire to keep others at arm's length}} Rin, {{spoiler|being a very neutral person, requires that you have a relatively neutral relationship toward the rest of the cast.}} Viewing a [http://meta.filesmelt.com/downloader.php?file=KatawaShoujoFlowchartv24.png flowchart] of possible Act 1 choices make these relationships a bit more obvious.

* The development team's imageboard is called the "Mishimmie" and all guests who post comments on the art there are listed under the name Shiina "Misha" Mikado. Having an entire imageboard filled with Misha's drooling over pics of the various females becomes particularly funny when you go through Shizune's route and learn that {{spoiler|Misha is batting for the other team}}.

 

* In Hanako's route, when she {{spoiler|tells you about the fire that scarred her}}, she notes: " {{spoiler|My mother... tried to shield me. Th-that's the only reason... I lived.}}" {{spoiler|[[Nightmare Fuel|Hanako watched her mother die in an attempt to protect her]]. All of a sudden, her severe emotional trauma makes total sense.}}

** Not only that, but {{spoiler|death by fire is...a very painful and not at ''all'' pretty way to go. Assuming Mrs. Ikezawa didn't pass out or die earlier from smoke inhalation, [[Nightmare Fuel|Hanako would have had to hear her screaming in agony, see her skin burn off her face and split, turn red...]]}}

*** And God only knows how long it took for the fire department to come. {{spoiler|Hanako could have been laying, burnt and traumatized, under the horribly burnt and mangled corpse of her mother, for... God, even fifteen minutes would seem like an eternity in that situation, and it could have been ''much'' longer than that, maybe even ''hours''...}}

***** {{spoiler|What probably causes her to act the most defensively around people is the fact that no matter how you look at her, you end up either put off by her body or compelled to protect her for the same reason. This is why Lilly is the only one she's able to interact with - since she's blind, she has no prejudices over Hanako's appearance and therefore treats her as an equal, a fact highlighted by the way the both of them need each other to complement the other's weaknesses - sight for Lilly, social interactions for Hanako. She's not scared because of her past as much as scared about the fact no one will consider her an actual person in the future.}}

* Think about it. How [[Fridge Horror|horrifying]] would it be [[Adult Fear|if you can hear one of your friends in distress, but you can't see them, have no way of finding them, and don't know how serious the problem is]]? Congratulations, you now know what Lilly was feeling when {{spoiler|Hisao suffers a heart attack during their holiday vacation.}}

It sounds okay on its own, but if you know what happens in Rin's route, [[Harsher in Hindsight]] hits you like a sledgehammer. }}

 

* How bad of a cook must Akira be, if her ''blind'' younger sister did most of the cooking?

** A lot of cooking doesn't really require sight. Most of the ingredients are measured out somehow, and temperature and smell are really important to see if a dish is done.

** Lilly makes a remark on her methods and the associated difficulties in her route.

{{quote|'''Lilly''': There are ways around it. Some meals are more difficult to cook than others because of being unable to see what I'm doing, but it usually only takes a little more time. Fingers can double as very useful measuring tools, for example.

* Rin wears the male uniform. And she wears a tie. Which shouldn't be possible because, you know, she doesn't has any arms! I know that she uses her feet to accomplish things other people use with their hands, but this is just ridiculous!

** It could be a clip-on. And if you've seen any documentaries about real people who can't use either arm for various reasons, and the dexterity they develop in their legs/feet, it's not very far-fetched. A tie knot isn't that complex, and Rin could probably even crochet if she wanted to.