Review: Katawa Shoujo

By: Derek Yu

On: February 8th, 2012

[This is a guest review by Tof Eklund.]

“Everyone wants someone there to pull them up, out of their self-pity.” -Hisao Nakai

Katawa Shoujo is a visual novel that takes place at a school for the disabled. The game’s protagonist, Hisao, arrives there reluctantly after a long hospital stay for life-threatening arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). His first episode occurred when a girl at his school confessed to him, setting the tone of heartbreak, isolation, and the difficulty of human connection for the game. Thus the game’s logo, a yellow heart criss-crossed with bandages: wounded and frightened.

This is a relationship/dating sim game, but it is closer in feel to Evangelion than any of the “harem” anime and manga (Tenchi Muyo, Love Hina) that it may seem, on casual inspection, to resemble. Each of the girls that Hisao can wind up falling in love with at Yamaku Academy has a different disability, and that, combined with the fact that there is (semi-)explicit sex in this game, is the reason some people have dismissed it, unplayed, as a fetish-fest.

The thing is, though Katawa Shoujo is painstakingly detailed and accurate in its representation of different forms of disability, it isn’t about disability. Hisao is the only character in the story who is learning to live with and accept his handicap. None of the girls in the game need or want a helper or caretaker. The first thing that Hisao, and the player, starts to see is that the people around him aren’t charity cases. Each one lives with their disability, taking blindness or armlessness the same way you or I take the fact that we can’t fly – when was the last time you worried about that?

There is an exception: a nearly-blind social phobic (hikkikomori) named Kenji who lives across the hall from Hisao. He alone, out of all the characters, has completely failed to adapt, and lives a small, pathetic life of isolated paranoia, characterized by extreme gynophobia. Kenji is a kind of dark and distorted mirror of what Hisao could become if he lets himself wallow in his own misery.

The real challenge in the game – and it is a challenge – is emotional trauma. If Katawa Shoujo has an underlying theme, it is that we are all disabled and “normal” alike, walking wounded. Even the teachers at Yamaku Academy (who are, as far as we can tell, not disabled) show some emotional scarring. The name of the game is “the hedgehog’s dilemma”. Sometimes the “obvious” decision, an attempt to get closer, pushes the other character away.

If you treat other characters as invalids to be taken care of or broken dolls that Hisao must “fix”, you won’t get far in Katawa Shoujo.

For all its strengths, Katawa Shoujo is still prone to the flaws common to visual novels, like decision points where reasonable actions are not available and occasionally some lack of clarity about where a single choice will lead the conversation or action. In many visual novels, choices are either head-smackingly obvious or impossibly vague. This is especially true of games translated from Japanese, where differences in degree of politeness are hard to convey. In Katawa Shoujo (which was written in English), the choices generally feel credible, and decisions are usually made difficult by apparent tradeoffs between options rather than lack of clarity about what the options are. Some choices yield fairly clear and immediate consequences, but many take time to play out, increasing suspense and replayability.

There is sex in this game, and it’s an important part of the game. There is a general division of dating sims (visual novel or otherwise) into “sex” and “no sex” games, with the former group often making sex the goal of the game, in the vein of “sow wild oats, then (maybe) pick which girl to settle down with”. I think it’s inevitable that the sex in Katawa Shoujo will act as a “carrot”, a part of players’ interest in the game, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. What’s interesting, then, is that sex is also depicted realistically in the game. Sex isn’t a cure-all. In the game, it sometimes deepens intimacy or releases tension, but it can also really mess things up.

Most interestingly, it can even be desired and appropriate, but go poorly. There is one scene in the game that involves poorly-informed experimentation with anal sex. Rather than succumb to the porn-industry cliche that the only thing better than vaginal is anal, this scene leads to a much more likely conclusion: both characters vow to “never do that again.”

There is an option in the menu to skip the game’s adult content, a key design decision. Four Leaf Studios clearly recognized that there are people who would want to play this game but would be put off by the graphic sexuality. This self-censorship, when enabled, is crude but functional. There is still sex in the game, and it is obvious when it happens, but it happens offscreen. To be clear, images with nudity and/or sex acts are skipped, as is the most explicit text, but there is still sexually suggestive content in that mode of the game.

However, there is no option to “lock out” the adult content. This is consistent with the developers’ 4chan origins: you don’t have to see things you don’t want to, but other people have a right to. The lack of an option to lock out the adult content means, for example, that a parent who thinks the expurgated version of the game might be appropriate for a young adult would have to trust their child not to turn the sex back on.

That’s my one complaint about the game: the no-sex version of Katawa Shoujo could be appropriate for tween/teen audiences, and maybe even educational use, but that won’t happen when the adult content is just a click away.

Posted in Freeware, Interactive Fiction, Linux, Macintosh, Windows | Tags: 4LeafStudios, ReviewedByTofEklund

KNau

In the end the real handicapped person…is the player! If only the game were actually that clever!
Tof Eklund

I’m just happy to have given so many people pleasure, even if most of it is the pleasure of self-righteous anger. In a different context, I’d defend my decision to consider this visual novel (and that genre is general) to be a game.

I also have a few things to say about sex in games, and about the particular history of erotica and pornography in manga (anime, games, et. al.) This review is part of a larger project for me, on the related themes of romance and sex in games. I’m not going to go into detail here, because I figure those who care may check out my site (tofeklund.net), and those looking for a fight aren’t going to listen regardless.

At this point, I’m playing a new game: I’m trying to see how many comments my humble review can attract (not counting my own, of course). It’s good publicity for me, and for the game. With any luck, this post will inspire fresh attacks, and if I get any death threats, I’m counting those double.

We’ve already got more comments than anything else on the front page, but I’m sure we’re nowhere near the record.
buttfaggotflipdick

You’re so smug. No one is going to give you any death threats. The gap between death threats, or even hate, and the deep, abiding pity and revulsion for disabled schoolgirl dating sim ‘players’ is rather large and looming.

But keep thinking you are some kind of hero because you can inspire controversy. A kid eating his boogers can spark a few remarks too. Maybe booger kids should get internet domains so they can feel good about their hobby too!
Zuriki

Literature and visual novels are not two sides of the same coin. They’re entirely different works of art, one allows you to experience the consequences of your choices (as narrow as the options are) and the other lets you experience the consequences of others like an outsider looking in.

Not to mention that, for the most part, this literature can’t be related to by a majority of people. I don’t understand what it was like to live in the times of Shakespeare, his literature is an interesting window, but it’s entirely subjective to my interpretation of his writings, and interpreted without proper context too.

You don’t have to agree that Katawa Shoujo is something everyone or anyone can relate to. But if you’re going to say that, you also have to admit that most literature suffer the same fate.

All that really matters in the end is if you enjoyed it, and being honest to yourself about why you enjoyed it. Having played this game, and recommended it to many people I know with full knowledge that I would get looks of disapproval by… well, everyone. I can say with pride that yes, I did enjoy the writing, and so did everyone I recommended it to — both younger and older than me, and both male and female, both “able” and disabled.
Scripten

My girlfriend played along. She didn’t like the same girl I did, but we enjoyed the stories together. But then again, females never drift into the realm of manly stuff like video games.
Lark

I hate to break this to you, but based on the responses to this thread, ‘normal’ people are excessively judgmental twits who deride anything that doesn’t fit into their white bread, lime jello worldview.
Bant

/b/ is in no way representative of 4chan as a whole. Sheesh.

Also, get the fuck over the ‘4chan made this game’ angle already. That bullshit statement is like saying that a dating site made babies
because people happened to find their partners through the damned thing and settled down to start families.
Anon

hei gais
i didnt no dis was a line for teh TROLLER COASTER.
buttfaggotflipdick

“wah wah wah not 4chan”
Tags: 4LeafStudios
At least put in a little effort, jabroni. Your ball.
buttfaggotflipdick

Can’t be normal and excessive, that’s just a simple contradiction. Maybe you should have spent more time studying debate and less time spewing sperm over pretend handicapped children. I’m sure NAMBLA shares your sentiment that the ‘white bread’ crowd just isn’t accepting enough of your sick, damaging fetish though – maybe you should reach out to them. I’m not sure there’s enough hand sanitizer in the world for such an occasion though. You sick germy fuck.
Lark

I’ll break it down for you.

People meet on dating sites. They get along, settle down and have a family. Does this mean the dating site made their children?

It’s the same deal with Katawa Shoujo. The (independent) development of the game is several degrees removed from 4chan.

There’s also nothing inherently wrong with something being produced by 4chan. /tg/ in particular has churned out high-quality fan productions, and I’m sure regulars of other imageboards can cite examples from the ones they frequent.
Lark

Nonsense. That’s like saying that the normal American can’t possibly be fat.

Maybe you should spend more time poking holes in your own arguments before spewing your particular brand of bile and vitriol all over the internet.

Damaging? These are fictional characters.

The hilarious part about this argument is that a significant proportion of the people who played the game found themselves unable to masturbate for days from emotional exhaustion.
buttfaggotflipdick

Did the couple change their family name to http://www.match.com? Did they use http://www.match.com as a sort of turkey baster to inseminate the lady’s parts and make a baby for internet people to jack off to? Does this metaphor work on even the flimsiest basis?
buttfaggotflipdick

ex*cess*sive – from the Middle French: more than is normal, immoderate

So you’re like 0 for 5 now.

The image of a person so pathetic that a cartoon jerk off sim sapped their very virility is hilarious by the way. I’m sure it was the ’emotional exhaustion’ that caused it and not the rubbing of their parts of privy red to this awful fetish for handicapped children. Don’t you have any shame?
buttfaggotflipdick

By the way, all the anti-American snipes are bordering on pathological. I’m not sure what ANY of this has to do with Americans being fat/dumb/lazy/whatever. Did a tourist hook up with the ham-beast you have a crush on or what? Mind saying where you are from?
Lark

It does if you aren’t being deliberately obtuse and trying to stretch it. The original idea was supplied fully formed by RAITA, there’s nothing that translates to your take on the analogy.

There’s a line the size of a six-lane highway dividing ‘made by 4chan’ and ‘made by a bunch of people who met on 4chan and set up a studio to make a game’. How are you missing this distinction?

I notice you’ve never addressed the other point as well. Throwing around ‘made by 4chan’ like it’s supposed to mean something about the quality of a production says more about your preconceptions than it does about said production.
Lark

The last I checked, that was exactly what fat meant.

Adjective: (of a person or animal) Having a large amount of excess flesh.

Stating established fact is sniping now? I used the comparison because it was a very clear example of ‘normal’ and ‘excessive’ coexisting. Would you prefer that I use Koreans and their studying habits, or Scandinavians and their tax rates? It applies equally.

Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. The ITG act is cool for your ego and all, but there’s nothing wrong with being human.
Lark

To be fair, that probably describes the average shut-in, basement-dwelling, nerd/geek/gamer. Most of them (us) have little capacity to deal with emotions other than rage and entitlement.

/taking the piss

Perfectly healthy adults have derived enjoyment, inspiration and catharsis from this VN after getting past the initial impression. Make of that what you will. People are allowed to like what you don’t like, and from what I’m seeing the world is a better place for it.

Deliberately misrepresenting the premise and origins of this game and appealing to gut-level revulsion of paedophiles doesn’t make your argument any stronger.
Jabberwok

There is plenty of literature with graphic sex in it. Ever read Gravity’s Rainbow? I’m not sure why you think that the presence of eroticism nullifies value.
Jabberwok

Did you really just say that how sexualized the characters are is determined by how underage they look?
Jabberwok

If you think that the writing in the game is poor, or the art is unimaginative, those are perfectly legitimate criticisms. I haven’t played this game, because I usually find visual novels boring, so I don’t know whether it’s any good. But criticizing it simply for being pornographic is like saying The Birth of Venus is a bad painting simply because Venus is naked, and someone might get turned on by it.

If the game is already bad, it’s quite possible that people will play it simply for the pornography. And if you have some moral objection to pornography, then perhaps you have an excuse to look down on those people. But if the game is good, then how does the presence of pornography negate that? Very few people say a movie is bad just because it has a sex scene in it. Every opinion on this that I’ve seen, whether for or against, has been based on the assumption that sexuality is something to be ashamed of. If that’s the basis of your thoughts on this subject, you might want to take a step back and wonder where that’s coming from.
Nuke

Let me bring to your attention that the guy you’re replying to is named “buttfaggotflipdick”. He is not for real. He is trolling. Don’t feed the trolls, for Christ’s sake.

Also, Derek, how about we get some moderation going in the comments, eh? I was under impression that this isn’t, or at least is not supposed to be, /v/.
Davide Mascolo

Damn. I was going to offer writing a guest review but I’ve been beaten. Would have been fun :p

Regarding this review, I’ll just say I agree with Bellos’s criticisms: too much credit is given to the character of Kenji, he would be the same paranoid reclusive even if his sight was perfect. The comparison with Evangelion is inappropriate and really misses the mark [says one whose usual nickname on the net is “Gendo Ikari” XD]; if there’s one thing I’m grateful to the devs of Katawa Shoujo, is that they avoided the other risk (beside gratuitous fetishizing) associated with using the disability theme: making all into an angsty, overwrought melodrama, like there can be only darkness in the life of disabled people. There _is_ drama but it’s always kept in check.

About the game itself, of course there are legitimate complaints. The title is taken straight from the sketch that inspired all, which was little more than ajoke, and is very unfortunate. For all the classic Visual Novel tropes that were avoided or subverted, some elements are still idealized (a school for disabled people too good to be true, and even girls appearing just in backgrounds are no less than at least cute). The writing quality is uneven, also a result of having a different writer for each girl’s path, reflecting in the routes themselves – one of them has just one choice, making it more boring than it should be, while a negative ending of another route is indeed powerful but triggered by making the main character suddendly act like a complete idiot. The art quality is inconsistent as well, although several steps better than most if not all other VNs produced in the west.

I was wary myself when I first heard of Katawa Shoujo in 2009, after the release of Act 1. I have a disabled friend so it hit close to home for me. It’s natural to get bad feelings at first sight because it’s hard to think what is still, at heart, a high school story with some sex scenes (which, back then, weren’t present but explicitly planned) could get such a sensible theme right.
I was surprised at how actually good it was, yet I was still doubtful. Would the developers have kept the excellent premises, or would have the final game degenerated, especially when it came to the sex scenes? Luckily, the latter hasn’t happened. It’s almost amusing to think those scenes may be the “less hentai” ones I’ve seen in years: few and devoid of any porn-flick style visuals and dialogue.
Seems the developers had fun in demolishing what players assumed or expected. The best case is with Hanako. “Oh, she’s so cute and frail, I’ll always protect her…” Go on, white knight. Treat her like a pitiful creature made of glass that will have no choice but always cling to you, the hunk who came to save her. She’ll HATE you for that.

I can’t deny part of the fanbase gathered by Katawa Shoujo is quite obnoxious. Then again, it’s not like their writings are better than some stuff I’m seeing here. The more I read these tirades from people who haven’t obviously even tried KS, and describe things that aren’t actually in there (or they know they aren’t but doesn’t matter), the more I laugh. “Vulnerable cripples”, yeah right.

That said, I’m generally surprised by the wide range of reactions it has gathered, which has led me to pose some questions about the videogaming scene, especially the “mainstream” one. Given how many players were attracted by morbid curiosity and were eventually surprised at how their expectations were subverted, I’m inclined to think videogaming is still not ready to accept some themes, difficult to handle as they may be. I’m also questioning the average quality of videogame stories, at least with the games that want to put their plot as a prominent point. KS is nicely written but the quality is inconsistent and is far from high literature. Yet, many people discuss about how some parts were emotional for them. Is the average quality of writing in games still so low? That would be for a much wider discussion, however.

Final nitpicks:
– At this point, I’m inclined to think that calling this “the dating sim made by 4chan” is not out of honest ignorance but rather willful ignorance. Yes, it originated on 4chan. Yes, the name “4Leaf Studios” is sort of a homage to such origin. However, after the project started for real, they detached from 4ch. Only three developers stayed until the end and most of the newer ones have nothing to do with 4ch. Do your research.
– Why the “Interactive Fiction” tag and not a “Visual Novel” one? Although I understand the genres have common roots (predecessors to the current style of VNs had text parsers and not predefined choices).
Jabberwok

Consider this: Video games are completely saturated with violence, gore, and all sorts of horrible things. I’m not criticizing them for this, many of my favorite games are violent, to some degree. Assassin’s Creed is a good game, but it is clearly glorifying the act of murder. Grand Theft Auto is a game that is only about doing things that no person should ever do. One can have sex with a hooker, then beat her to death with a baseball bat and rob her (the only part of that you don’t really see is the sex). Gratuitous depictions of dismemberment and flying body parts have been a staple of the medium. The original Fallout games allowed you to murder children in extremely gruesome ways. In Gears of War, people saw each other in half with chainsaws. Duke Nukem is one of the most beloved games ever, and featured guns, strippers, and plenty of innuendos.

But a game that depicts consensual sex between two crippled people is immediately heaped with scorn. Why is that? It could be that there is a legitimate reason for the bias. It’s possible that, since the vast majority of sex games are horrible, then people assume that they must be bad, or have no purpose beyond being pornography. (Though there are plenty of really bad violent games, too). Are they just inherently bad? If there is a lack of well-made games in this genre, what it indicates to me is that the people who might have the capacity to make them good or worthwhile won’t touch them. Eroticism is anathema in our culture (and many others). Sexual desire is something to be ashamed of, and thus kept hidden, while media about war and violent criminals is everywhere.

Mainstream Japanese culture is especially ashamed of sexuality, which is probably why deviant, perverted, and sadistic behavior are so common in their representations of sex. The result is the (possibly well-deserved) reputation of anime, manga, etc, as perverted, which in turn results in even more scorn, like the sort of comments seen here. That’s my theory, anyway.

So I guess my point is this: Why is someone enjoying a depiction of sex in a game so shameful, while someone enjoying decapitating people in a game is not?
Lark

Well-written.

Which parts of the fanbase are obnoxious, if I may ask?

I’m extremely annoyed by ponyvangelists, so I’ve tried to avoid doing the same thing with Katawa Shoujo. I just tell my friends to go in with an open mind and leave it at that.
buttfaggotflipdick

Post a picture and a brief bio and let me decide for myself how healthy you are.

WILD GUESS:
* white male
* single
* mid to late 20s
* unemployed, student, or works in IT
* dependent on someone else
* social anxiety
* has a fear of Americans stemming from a complex

At least a 5 out of 7 is a B-I-N-G-O for me and you have to admit that this a creepy game for tomorrow’s would be rapists, were they not so weak in the arms.
buttfaggotflipdick

You are missing some very basic understanding here. If everyone was fat, what the hell would that even mean? You can only derive ‘normal’ as a meaningful word if you take it to mean the average situation. You can’t be excessive and normal (let me break it down since you seem pretty feeble here: you can’t be abnormal and normal), but alas you can be excessively normal. I think what you actually meant was that the average American would be disgusted by your fetish for handicapped children and I have to agree with you there. However I wouldn’t call that excessive. Natural comes to mind, or decent, wholesome, upstanding, capable of engaging in conversation without a computer apparatus, etc.

ITG? What do stocks have to do with anything?
buttfaggotflipdick

Ooh, ooh, I thought of some more, give me a few more please kind sir:

* thinks Ron Paul can ‘save’ America
* carries a handheld gaming device on a regular basis
* watches anime at a fairly adult age and doesn’t see anything odd about that either
Guest

I see that you posted Tof Eklund’s review, but did you actually go through a route yourself?
Guest

So, by your own admission you didn’t even play the game in its entirety? Not even one complete route?
buttfaggotflipdick

You didn’t read the other comments I see.
“if the game was about shooting little malformed girls you would probably
get the same response”

There’s a pretty inscrutable leap you’d have to make between shooting people shooting at you and trying to manipulate and fuck handicapped children. Good God, just read that sentence and consider what you guys are defending!

I’m pretty sure no one ever considered Duke Nukem or GTA ’emotionally shattering’ or whatever else people are posting about this pedophile dating sim. In fact those games attracted quite a bit of derision and controversy.

Please try and think about all aspects of the argument so I don’t have to waste time clearing up perfectly obvious things. I think what you really want is to rant about society when most of what you are saying isn’t even true. Western culture is pretty sexual. Most of the internet is pornography, lots of movies, shows and music talk openly about and show sex etc. People that want to claim Western culture or America specifically is ashamed of sex usually have a pretty powerful confirmation bias that filters out anything that might halt their attack on some Midwestern housewife strawman. Someone like Lady Gaga doesn’t exist in their vision of western sexuality.
Guest

Crippled girls, under age sex, the limited format of Visual novels , all talked(and trolled) about here. I don’t really have any problem about any of these things in games. But why is no one talking about the largest flaw which is the terrible writing? The god awful, tedious, cringe inducing, pathetic attempt at stringing words together. Feckin hell has no one here ever read anything decent? John Walker and Leigh Alexander and gave it a good going over on RPS a while ago.
Anonymous

You’re insulting him about how he’s just trying to inspire controversy and yet half of the comments are you doing what he wants….

DANCE PUPPETS DANCE!
buttfaggotflipdick

No, I’m insulting the idea that inspiring controversy is somehow difficult or noble or worth doing. If someone shat on your head you’d probably have a lot to say about it too but that doesn’t make them a poo martyr or a poo journalist or whatever this guy thinks he is.

“Yes, yes, dance puppets!” – Professor Chaos

Nice try and fail at a very basic trolling technique or either the inability to read and grasp basic English. Either way kudos and stay strong my brotha.
Anonymous

In response to how many people get emotional towards the game;

personally I can’t say I cried or anything dramatic like I’ve heard many other people do. I did really care for the characters though and hoped for the best, like a tv show or a novel would. But I think the main reason people got so emotional is how different the delivery is from a video game to a book. You’re so much more immersed in this fictional world than you would a book where you’d have to imagine everything yourself even characters. In games the world is already there, a believable world and with characters who have set appearances. And not to mention, depending how you play, we become the main character and we get further attached to the story and the characters troubles.

Though I would have to agree with you that writing in video games isn’t anything jaw dropping. All too often games are way too melodramatic. Personally I was comparing KS’s story and writing compared to other video games and if you look at it that way, it seems a lot better.
Anonymous

Oh, and here we go again!
Davide Mascolo

I’ve read those. I disagree with several points (or I agree with some only to a certain extent) but I have high respect for them anyway, because they _played_ it.
Davide Mascolo

There are indie games I liked but still left me some with some sour aftertaste because their stories were not important but what there was, was riddled with ridicolous writing. It’s a matter of tastes, but I especially dislike sophomoric humour and characters acting constantly like jackasses that don’t add nothing to the game beside seeming poor attempts at “edginess”.
Pvtmakelroy

Cringe-worthy? At a few points, okay. But overall, I’d just describe it as “not spectacular.” Taken objectively on its own merits (ignoring the fact that it is a fan project written by 5 different people), how BAD is the writing, really?

It is not going to be winning any awards for its excellence in prose, that’s for sure, but at the same time it is still wonderfully written by virtue of the fact that while it might not be able to manage the micro scale, it absolutely nails the macro stuff – the structure of its narratives and the build of its characters are spot on. In my own opinion, those elements take precedent over stuff like finesse and flourish.

I mean, look at Harry Potter. Compare J.K. Rowling’s prose to that of…oh, I dunno, Toni Morrison. It falls flat. But I enjoyed The Deathly Hallows just as much as I did Sula because despite that lack of style it still invested me in the story and its characters.
Guest

Indeed. RPS are by far some of the most professional/well-written games journalists this side of the interwebz. Some valid points, certainly, but it’s a shame that they couldn’t look past the elitist lense and appreciate the grander scale of KS.
Davide Mascolo

Basically all the ones that, even after realizing KS is not “cripple porn” (apparently some even hate it because it didn’t offer them the fapping material they expected :p), still seem to have not viewed it beyond the girls and basically obsess over them. It may be a tribute at how, while flawed, the writing managed to bring life to the characters, but when I see people lamenting that “I’ll never find a girl like X” or “I cannot play another route after X’s, it’d be like I’m cheating on her”… Whoa. Not to speak of who considers one of the girls “a slut” because, though not explicitly stated, she’s probably not a virgin. Beside really needing to know the world outside their rooms (as one still dogged by several socialization problems, I can safely say it), they missed messages like the wider theme of appreciation for life. Here: http://d.localhostr.com/file/OJ88dRF/498735389.png I don’t know from what of the 4chan boards it originated but it’s a nice text aimed at those people. The second-to-last paragraph also hits the mark about the still-idealized elements of KS.
Pvtmakelroy

Excellent point. Thank you.
westley

You know, I don’t bother to draw a distinction between people who are genuine idiots, and people who are only pretending to be idiots.

Idiots in this thread: Goodbye Standards, OOOOOO, Armada, Paul Hubans, Buttfaggotflipdick
Lark

Asian male.
Attached.
21.
Conscript. Student-to-be.
Financially, yes. Military service doesn’t pay enough for financial independence.
Socially competent, mild introvert. MBTI vacillates between INTP and ENTP.
Nope. Just a mild contempt for the more ignorant examples. The Americans I’ve interacted with (and consider friends) online are bro-tier.

(cont’d)
Hah, you wish. This election is Obama’s to lose. I have no idea how the GOP gets Americans to vote against their own interests every damned time.
The standard model Kindle. I’ll give you that one though.
Have never watched anime or anime-derived productions, unless you count the live-action film of Space Battleship Yamato. Which was pretty terrible.

I’d be a pretty scary rapist then, since I box, fence and can bench 240 lbs for reps at 180lbs. Oh wait, I don’t think of women as cumdumpsters.

Done?
Lark

Normalcy as you’re defining it is based on conformance to a cultural standard. ‘fat’ is a descriptor that uses an anatomical baseline as a standard. You can be normal in the US while being abnormal by said anatomical standard.

Do I need to use smaller words or explain that further?

ITG – Internet Tough Guy.
buttfaggotflipdick

Great argument there bud. You can’t refute anything I’m saying so you just get mad and insult me. Best of luck with your handicapped child porn game.
buttfaggotflipdick

Uh, I can fence as well (sabre) and I don’t think it is a particularly intimidating life skill. Or did you just make up a profile based on Sulu just now?

So assuming all of what you just said is actually true, why take such an interest in defending fans of virtual child abuse?
Lark

Hah. That’s a silly reason to dislike the game if I ever heard one.
The people I know who played the game were slightly surprised because the
game gave them ‘katawa dick’ for a week on average, but I don’t recall anyone expressing hatred at the game for not delivering the expected fap material.

Like you said, I think that speaks of the quality of the characterization. Intense attachment to a video game character doesn’t seem to be unusual in my experience. Just take it at face value and don’t read too much into it.

I don’t think it matters that they’re pining for an imaginary construct, as long as that motive force is channeled towards something productive it’s all good. There are people who’ve committed to adopting a healthier lifestyle after Emi’s route, and there are players who’ve derived massive catharsis from Rin’s and Lilly’s. Others have been shaken out of their torpor by Shizune and done some serious reflection on the reasons for their social ineptitude after going through Hanako’s path.

These girls are meant to be appealing to some extent, and I think most
players are self-aware enough to recognize exactly why they like a
particular girl(‘s route).

I facepalmed at those complaints. Double standard much? I’m not feminist, but if this shit is still around, the movement still has a long way to go.
Lark

I have never seen anyone talk so heatedly and so defensively about absolutely nothing before.

http://katawashoujo.blogspot.com/2008/11/name-of-game.html

Play the game before you spout more nonsense, please. Everyone will be happier for it.
Lark

It isn’t, but it’s a suitably demanding athletic pursuit that is fundamentally incompatible with neckbeardery. Thought I’d throw it in just for that.

Nope, I’m not homosexual, I don’t do any form of horticulture, and I’ll never be as awesome as George Takei.

Because it isn’t? And I get annoyed when people speak from ignorance with authority.

Honestly, despite our disagreements and my (obligatory) sniping, you’re clearly an intelligent and well-spoken chap. Why are you so bent on misrepresenting this game? Give it a chance.