Katawa Shoujo/YMMV: Difference between revisions
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* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]:
** Kenji:
** Another one for Kenji: is he the [[Conspiracy Theorist]] simply as a joke or a facade for his homosexuality, or is he a true believer in his hateful theories about women, which would imply either [[The Schizophrenia Conspiracy|paranoid schizophrenia]] or [[Drugs Are Bad|the use of certain paranoia-inducing drugs]]?
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20140114172429/http://shimmie.katawa-shoujo.com/post/list/yandere/1 Fan art] frequently casts Hanako as a [[Yandere]].
** Hanako as a [[Stringy
** Non-canon art casts Akira as being in [[The Mafia]] or the [[Yakuza]]. It helps that she appears to be a [[Badass in
*** Perhaps as a [[Fandom Nod]], Lilly's route involves Kenji's suspicion that she has ties to the The Mafia.
** On a more serious note, was Iwanako's ceasing her visits to Hisao six weeks into his hospitalization callous abandonment, or was it the result of Hisao pushing her away? Hisao's differing degrees of sympathy in each route add to this.
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** Also, the announcement trailer confirmed that [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Miki]] would be in the game.
** Now that it's finally out, its board of origin has gone completely ballistic, even spawning a minor CMOH from [[Image Boards|the last place on earth you'd expect]]:
{{quote|
** Another meta one
* [[Anvilicious]]: It's a dating sim. And you're a boy with a ''[[Stealth Pun|heart problem]]''!
* [[Audience
* [[Awesome Music]]: Has its own page [[Katawa Shoujo/Awesome Music|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 [[The Scrappy|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, {{spoiler|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 [[True Art Is Angsty|overly pretentious]] and [[Melodrama]]tic as well as [[True Art Is Incomprehensible|hard to understand]] due to [[Wall of Text|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 [[Refuge in Audacity|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 "[[Catharsis|feels]]" that are common in other routes. Meaning that [[Rewatch Bonus|you need to play it a few times in order to truly get it]] (the fact that it is the most linear route, {{spoiler|with only one choice}}, doesn't help matters). Second, she is a [[Spirited Competitor]] to a degree that [[Base Breaker|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 [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Lilly]] who is by far one of the most adored charecters in the game and whose route is seen as much smoother and sweeter {{spoiler|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 {{spoiler|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}}. [[Hate Dumb|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 {{spoiler|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, {{spoiler|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, {{spoiler|is that a lot of people find Shizune's dad Jigoro to be so over the top and unbelievable [[Narm|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.
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** 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 [http://katawashoujo.blogspot.com/2011/04/announcement-future-plans.html 2011 April's Fool] post.
** The heroines themselves are more or less the [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]s 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. [http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1386 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 Hater
* [[Fan Wank]]: Yuuko is speculated to have had a [[Pair the Spares|past relationship with Kenji]]. {{spoiler|Implied in the game, but never outright stated
* [[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: {{spoiler|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. {{spoiler|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]]:
** {{spoiler|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.
{{quote|
* [[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 [[Deconstruction|deconstruct]] the concept or avert it completely, with minimal presence in both Emi's and Rin's routes
* [[Heartwarming in Hindsight]]:
** Late in Lilly's route, {{spoiler|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 {{spoiler|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 {{spoiler|the two times}} he gets a full-blown heart attack.
** The sickening crunch in Act 1's [[Bad Ending]] when
* [[Hilarious in Hindsight]]:
** In Rin's route, Hisao remarks on {{spoiler|how embarrasing it would be to have a heart attack in the middle of sex}}. In Lilly's route, {{spoiler|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. {{spoiler|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 {{spoiler|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... [[Word of God|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: {{spoiler|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; [[The Woobie|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]] [[Schmuck Bait|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:
** [[Genki Girl|Emi]] and [[Cloudcuckoolander|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:
** Naomi and Natsume:
* [[Love to Hate]]: Jigoro gets this sometimes, due to his [[Jerkass]] nature being seen as over-the-top and comical.
{{quote|
* [[Memetic Badass]]:
** Emi as Horatio Caine.
** Rin is the [
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20150321002931/http://shimmie.katawa-shoujo.com/post/view/1632 Akio Mutou
** The manly picnic [[Nonstandard Game Over]] has ''skyrocketed'' Kenji's popularity over the fandom.
** Give Lilly a cane sword, and you get [[Punny Name|Satou]][
* [[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 [[Inverted Trope|molestee]].
** Hachisame, a non-canon character <ref>
** Nomiya. Several players thought he was going to molest Rin sooner or later.
* [[Memetic Mutation]]: Has its own page [[Katawa Shoujo
* [[
* [[Narm]]:
** {{spoiler|The crayon drawings as Hanako explains her house fire}}. Your mileage '''will''' [[Tear Jerker|vary]].
** Emi has what looks like a "rape face" when she {{spoiler|walks in on Hisao talking to her mother and angrily forces him out of the house}}.
** Jigoro's [[Jerkass|Jerk Assery]] gets so cranked [[Up to Eleven]] that you simply ''cannot'' take him seriously. A little more subtlety, please.
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: {{spoiler|After the prologue, Iwanako is only mentioned when she sends a letter to Hisao}}.
** [[One-Scene Wonder|Two Scene Wonder]]: Several players consider Miki's appearances in {{spoiler|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, [[Die for Our Ship|and her rivalry with the much adored Lilly]]. This is somewhat interesting, considering {{spoiler|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, {{spoiler|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. '''''[[Doing It for the Art|For]] [[Freeware]]!'''''
* [[The Woobie]]: Hanako. {{spoiler|But the concept is ultimately deconstructed in her route}}.
** Surprisingly, to many people, {{spoiler|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.
** {{spoiler|Misha}} in Shizune's route.
** [[Wheelchair Woobie]]: {{spoiler|Emi (in Act 3)
** [[World of Woobie]]
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