Katawa Shoujo/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

"Get in here, KS devs!"

    • Another meta one: the Soundtrack is now free to download.
  • Anvilicious: It's a dating sim. And you're a boy with a heart problem!
  • Audience-Alienating Premise: It's a cripple porn Visual Novel from 4chan! Despite this (or because of it), it has become a Gateway Series for the Visual Novel genre.
  • Awesome Music: Has its own page here.
  • Awesomeness Withdrawal: It did coin the term "Katawa dick", for not being able to get into things after reading... watching... playing... uh...
  • Better Than Canon: There is an entire category of fanfiction devoted to building upon Shizune's route in order to make the very subtle emotional element of their relationship more apparent to readers. Shizune's Epilogue and Weekend at Hisao's are the best known examples and are considered by many to be some of the best Katawa Shoujo fanfics out there.
  • Broken Base: Which girl has the best route? Was it worth the wait? Is it even worth playing? The Hype Backlash does not help, and there are Two routes in particular that get this reaction:
      • Shizune's route is either a terribly written route lacking in romantic relations with an unlikable character, or a route with a more subdued, Slice of Life romance justified by the Hisao's and Shizune's characterization and trust in each other. Word of God states that many parts of her route, including what happened to the characters in its Good Ending, were deliberately left vague so that they would be open to interpretation by the players. Apparently, more than a few players didn't appreciate this.
      • Rin's route is either overly pretentious and Melodramatic as well as hard to understand due to Walls of Text and Purple Prose, or an awe-inspiring piece of literature that reaches huge Character Development for both of them and can be played easily if you pay a little more attention.
  • Crossing the Line Twice: Averted. Since the original concept was quite possibly intended as edgy satire, one might expect the game to take this form. Instead, it'a a reasonably nuanced and respectful take on the subject.
  • Cult Classic: Odd, off-putting premise? Check. Enthusiastic (if small) fanbase? Check. Ignored or panned by mainstream reviewers? Check. Though it was a better example of this trope before the full version came out.
  • Die for Our Ship:
    • Poor Shizune seems to have suffered the misfourtune of being practically set up of this. First, her route is very much an aquired taste, relying more on intellectual nuance, Foreshadowing and subtext than the "feels" that are common in other routes. Meaning that you need to play it a few times in order to truly get it (the fact that it is the most linear route, with only one choice, doesn't help matters). Second, she is a Spirited Competitor to a degree that one either finds charming and endearing or obnoxious and annoying; she can also can be rather blunt (justified in part because she is deaf-mute). Thirdly, she is The Rival to Lilly who is by far one of the most adored charecters in the game and whose route is seen as much smoother and sweeter except for the end, but that one also ends up well. Lastly, her best friend Misha is an Ensemble Darkhorse who doesn't have a route of her own and is, in fact, in unrequited love with Shizune herself... which is what triggers THE single choice in the Shizune route. Not to mention that readers prefer the other stories because they give them "the feels", and Misha, due to the sad nature of her emotional turmoil, is much more of a Woobie than Shizune, causing the readers attention to be directed towards Misha and Shizune to be left in the dust. You'd think people would not be able to pour so much hate at an eighteen year old deaf girl. Interestingly enough, in Lilly's route, Shizune reconciles with Lilly, and initiates the process. And instead of competing with the other girls over Hisao, Shizune, along with Misha, is a Shipper on Deck in others's routes.
    • Also, between her Abusive Dad and the extreme loneliness she feels stemming in part from the difficulties she has communicating with others due to her deafness. She is as much a Woobie as any of the other heroines are.
      • The problem with this, however, is that a lot of people find Shizune's dad Jigoro to be so over the top and unbelievable that he eventually becomes comedic. The player's feelings on Shizune's problems with communication and loneliness depend entirely on whether they found her Spirited Competitor character traits to be endearing or annoying]].
    • Now that a few months have past since release, Lilly is also starting to get some of her share as well. Due in large part to her being so popular that fans of the other girls are starting to resent her a little bit.
  • Ear Worm: A good portion, if not all, of the music from the soundtrack.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse:
    • Misha. A common question to the developers was (and still is) if she'll have her own route. She won't.
    • Hideaki. Even before he actually appeared in the game, he sure had a lot of fanart.
    • All the extras from Hisao's class that are not cameos, especially Miki.
    • Rika and Saki, the girls of the non-existent expansions from the 2011 April's Fool post.
    • The heroines themselves are more or less the Ensemble Darkhorses of the doujinshi that spawned the idea, considering they were features in an extra in the book.
    • Yuuko's got a sizable fanbase, with many people finding her Cute Clumsy Girl personality rather endearing.
  • Epileptic Trees: Misha's disability (or lack thereof) and the reason for her not having her own route is the source of much Wild Mass Guessing among fans. Observe.
  • Fan-Preferred Couple: Miki and Suzu. Suriko (writer of Lilly's route and co-writer of Hanako's) went as far as to write an unofficial pseudo route for Miki wherein she gets the choice of Hisao or Suzu, partly in response to them being the most popular of the characters of no importance to the plot and fan art pairing the two up for years previously.
  • Fandom Rivalry: Has a bit of this with Hatoful Boyfriend.
  • Fan Dumb: There seems to be a fairly large proportion of the fanbase who feel the need to take a game about living life to the fullest and finding happiness despite your imperfections, and using it as an excuse to wallow in self-pity because they'll "never find a girl as perfect as X."
    • The large number of players unable to play another route after finishing one they particularly liked because they'd feel "like I'm cheating on X" edges between amusing and just sad.
  • Fan Haters: Every girl seems to have some, saying that you like Shizune or Rin is a good way to get yourself branded as pretentious and elitist, (with Shizune fans also getting the "pleasure" of being called spineless bottoms that get off on being dominated by bitchy women), Hanako fans are often accused of wanting a "dream girl" who is totally dependent on them (which is Completely Missing the Point of her route, but when has that every stopped anyone). If you are a Lilly fan, than you are a bandwagonner that lets the Internet do his thinking for him, going after the Mary Sue because she appeals to the Lowest Common Denominator. Like Misha, expect some smartass Captian Obvious to point that she doesn't have a route. Emi is the only that seems to be spared this
  • Fan Wank: Yuuko is speculated to have had a past relationship with Kenji. Implied in the game, but never outright stated: the two each talk of having a breakup in the past, and Kenji mentions that his girlfriend was older.
  • Funny Aneurysm Moment:
    • In Emi's route, she jokingly questions why Misha would hang out with someone as bossy as Shizune. In Shizune's route, you find out the real reason: Misha is in love with Shizune, but it is not requited and causes her a great deal of pain.
    • Lilly often teases Akira about her cooking skills. Later on, it's revealed that Akira had to raise Lilly by herself after their parents left, and believes that she didn't do a very good job. Her inability to cook likely comes off to her as more part of a personal failing than a minor shortcoming.
  • Gateway Series:
    • Naturally, since it is a well-made English language Freeware Visual Novel. Let's just say that before this, significantly less people were aware that the Visual Novel genre existed.
    • About a week after its creation, the reddit group /r/katawashoujo had more readers than /r/visualnovels.
  • Genius Bonus: "Akira". For a Scottish name, it means "anchor". No doubt, the Satous hoped that their firstborn would have such an effect on the family and their marriage.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Rin's "I've got no arms to hug you with."
    • The girls you didn't choose's brief appearances on other routes can be this if you've played their routes before, especially when you consider their psychological problems, which are not likely to be addressed.

Lilly: "My, is that you, Hisao? I've not heard from you in some time. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about me." (during Emi's route)

  • Hate Dumb: Let's just say that there are Visual Novel fans who bash this game for trying to be realistic and evoke empathy and insult the fans for falling for this "trick". Not to mention all the people who bash this on the sole basis that this is a "cripple porn game" and troll the people who play it. Then there's the backlash on video game sites claiming that Visual Novels are not "video games".
    • There's also people who, unwilling to admit their first impression was wrong, go on nitpicking or mirror-climbing to say the game is bad regardless of its respect for the theme.
    • Also, while not many people may care for Shizune's route, and while even her fans admit that her attitude can be abrasive at times, the refusal of some to even consider the idea that she might have any redeeming qualities, or that any of her actions could possibly be interpretated in a positive light, borders on Ron the Death Eater levels.
    • Some people who dislike the game seem entirely unfamiliar with the concept of a visual novel, expecting something more akin to a game.
    • A common criticism of Lilly from haters is that she is an obvious Mary Sue and as such is a bad character due to it, when the whole point of her route is to show that she is not as perfect and infallible as she appears on the surface, and that she needs just as much help and support as the other girls, if not more. Even the other routes go out of their way to deconstruct the concept or avert it completely, with minimal presence in both Emi's and Rin's routes and secretly being critisized by her best friend Hanako for always being so protective of her.
  • Heartwarming in Hindsight:
    • Late in Lilly's route, as she is preparing to go to Scotland permanently, she tells Hanako about how they became friends. Lilly says she did not befriend Hanako out of pity, but out of a desire to know more about her, and she considers her a strong person at heart who will be able to take charge of her own life even after Lilly is gone. Lilly's statement becomes even more powerful when you consider that in Hanako's route, Hanako believes that Lilly and Hisao pity her.
    • Also on Lilly's route, Hisao openly refers to Shizune as his friend on two occasions, once to Lilly, no less. Once you play Shizune's route and see how desperately she has tried to make friends, you can see that this comment has more weight.
  • Hell Is That Noise: Hisao's loud heartbeats whenever he gets a heart flutter or the two times he gets a full-blown heart attack.
    • The sickening crunch in Act 1's Bad Ending when a drunken Hisao falls off the school roof to his death.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • In Rin's route, Hisao remarks on how embarrasing it would be to have a heart attack in the middle of sex. In Lilly's route, Hisao ends up having a bit of a fit when taking the lead, and ends up on the floor clutching his heart in pain.
    • The "Who's there?... No answer, must be that deaf bitch." meme regarding Lilly's rivalry with Shizune. Toward the end of her route, there's a scene in which Lilly thanks Misha for retrieving a folder for her, only to realize Shizune did it instead when she gets no response, and the two reconcile.
  • Ho Yay: Kenji. See Alternate Character Interpretation above.
  • Hype Backlash: Some fans were a bit disappointed that the game didn't live up to their expectations. However, this was probably unavoidable since the game had been continually building up hype for at least five years.
  • Internet Backdraft:
    • Which is the best path/who is the best girl? Was it worth the wait? Is it even worth playing? Is it a respecful portrayal of disabled people, or badly-disguised "cripple porn"?
    • On a cold night, simply just mention the name "Shizune", watch as the militant Shizu-haters declare her to be Worse than Hilter while the equally militant Shizu-brosis declare anyone who didn't like her route to be dull witted simpletons who are too stupid to understand it, and enjoy the s'mores.
    • "So I had a theory on/problem with Hanako's path—OH DEAR LORD!" Bonus flame points if you dare to broach the subject of whether or not her only H-scene can be considered as dub-con/non-con/straight-up rape. Even though this IS brought up in-story... and not only she says that it wasn't, but her willingness to have sex with Hisao is a big point in regards to her ending.
      • cpl_crud posted a short story on a possible Distant Finale for Hanako's path, called "A Runner's Afternoon", in which the end of the first part implies that Hanako is cheating on her husband (the truth is: Hanako was recently divorced from a therapist who had treated her when she was committed to an asylum after suffering a nervous breakdown when Hisao had a second heart attack; OUCH). There were more flames than Hanako's house fire when her fans accused cpl_crud of derailing her into an adulterer.
    • Come on, call Lilly a Mary Sue I dare you, I double dare you.
  • Les Yay: Of course, this is a game where the heroines come in pairs, so there's Les Yay in pretty much every route you take.
    • Lilly and Hanako: their routes only split in the last choice of Act 1 and even then, in Lilly's ending, you spend the festival, and the majority of later acts in both routes, with both of them. In Hanako's route, she says she "love(s)" Lilly in the scenes leading to her Good Ending. Lilly gives Hanako a hug in her early birthday party in both girls' routes, and in her own route, tells Hanako that she did not befriend her out of pity, but because of who she is, culminating in what appears to be a kiss on the forehead.
    • Emi and Rin: Emi, without any embarrassment, helps Rin get dressed, and helps her in the bathroom. Can't get much closer than that.
    • Misha and Shizune: given that Misha is also Shizune's sign language interpreter, they are pretty much inseparable. Also, later in Shizune's route, you find that there is no subtext in this case, albeit in a case of unrequited love. See Schoolgirl Lesbians in the main page.
    • Naomi and Natsume: it's right there in their concept picture.
  • Love to Hate: Jigoro gets this sometimes, due to his Jerkass nature being seen as over-the-top and comical.

Jigoro: Now you are insulting my book and, by extension, my entire life. What gives you the right to do that? Arrogant. I'm trying to think of how I could make you understand my struggle. Maybe by beating you. With my autobiography.

  • Memetic Badass:
    • Emi as Horatio Caine.
    • Rin is the Crippled Master!
    • Akio Mutou.
    • The manly picnic Nonstandard Game Over has skyrocketed Kenji's popularity over the fandom.
    • Give Lilly a cane sword, and you get Satouichi. Lilly is said to be skilled with swords in general, in part because of her Japanese/Scottish heritage. She can wield most any sword, from the lightweight cane sword, to the medium-weight katana to the heavy-weight Scottish Claymore.
  • Memetic Molester:
    • The nurse. He actually jokes about seducing Hisao in Emi's route.
    • Inverted with Yuuko, a Memetic Molestee.
    • Played straight with Miki, but Molly often becomes a molestee.
    • Hachisame, a non-canon character [1] with tentacle legs.
    • Nomiya. Several players thought he was going to molest Rin sooner or later.
  • Memetic Mutation: Has its own page here.
  • Moe
  • Narm:
    • The crayon drawings as Hanako explains her house fire. Your mileage will vary.
    • Emi has what looks like a "rape face" when she walks in on Hisao talking to her mother and angrily forces him out of the house.
    • Jigoro's Jerk Assery gets so cranked Up to Eleven that you simply cannot take him seriously. A little more subtlety, please.
  • One-Scene Wonder: After the prologue, Iwanako is only mentioned when she sends a letter to Hisao.
    • Two Scene Wonder: Several players consider Miki's appearances in Hanako's route to be this.
  • Periphery Demographic: This is yet another example of an Eroge managing to attract a surprisingly large female fanbase. There is also a good portion of the fandom that is under the age of 18... technically making them too young to legally download the game in many jurisdictions.
    • Also unsurprisingly, there's a small but devoted fanbase from of blind and visually impaired players, as one of the few works to portray blindness with realism and respect. The fact that it's one of only a handful of visual novels said fans can play and that the CGI isn't strictly important to the plot certainly justifies it.
  • Ship-to-Ship Combat: Pretty much comes with territory. While Lilly and Hanako have the largest camps, every girl has a strong following. Shizune fans in particular can be downright militant in their support, largely as a result of having to constantly battle the Hatedom the character has developed since release due to the Base Breaker nature of her route, and her rivalry with the much adored Lilly. This is somewhat interesting, considering in Lilly's route, she and Shizune reconcile.
  • Tough Act to Follow: Any of the routes if you do the one for your favorite character first can be this.
  • Unfortunate Implications: If by the time of the festival, Hisao still hasn't picked a girl, you are forced to drink with Kenji on the roof. He vents his troubles with women, and you take a fatal header off the building. So either you pick a girl, or die lonely and depressed. Granted, part of the premise of Katawa Shoujo is that Hisao, who has personal issues comparable to the girls, can benefit as much from his relationship as his girlfriend can.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: Many of the CGs are down right beautiful. Additionally, they made a different fully animated sequence for each of the five routes. For Freeware!
  • The Woobie: Hanako. But the concept is ultimately deconstructed in her route.
    • Surprisingly, to many people, Rin manages to fit this even MORE than Hanako. To be fair everyone, even the main character, has a woobie moment at one point in their routes.
    • Misha in Shizune's route.
    • Wheelchair Woobie: Emi (in Act 3).
    • World of Woobie
  1. ↑ She is a moe-ified Sharktopus.
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