"Katawa Shoujo" treats its subjects with maturity and stunning realism, and succeeds because it ardently refuses to objectify disabilities. Each sex scene does not fetishize the girl's disability, nor mention it in passing, but treat it sensitively. For example, Hanako faces excruciating pain during sex and Lilly creatively imagines her beloved through stimulation. Also, the game sufficently involves the player, as choosing to half-heartedly accepting the nurse's request to run with Emi will cause Hisao to lose interest with her passion and her love.
But the game truly won because despite each girl's suffering, it refuses to excuse her for her weaknesses. The weak-willed Hanako, on both hers and Lilly's track, must accept self-dependency and move forward rather than latching upon Hisao or Lilly. The annoying, prideful Shizune must lose her complacency to truly connect with Hisao. It is not completely realistic, but the mentions of "phantom pain" by Emi, disconnect Rin faces toward others, and stimulation Shizune feels when Hisao touches her hands all add to each character's personality.
In my opinion, the prose tries too hard to be artful, and many details are too heavy-handed. Also, the game does not appeal to a specific audience: it balances high school shoujo drama with coming-of-age stories and sex scenes. In addition, the erotica may be awkward (condoms and anal, oh my), but to me, it emphasized the reality of teenagers experimenting with their bodies. The drawings are not professional, but extremely well-done considering that the creators received no compensation for their vast efforts. Also, the player may sometimes face a disliking and disconnect toward Hisao, especially when he essentially uses Hanako for sex, but I feel that this expounds his imperfections and depth.
Overall, "Katawa Shoujo" struck a beautiful nerve with me, as I found myself making excuses to continue each story late into the night. I found it genuinely interesting as I am attracted toward character-centered plot-lines and weirdly sexy scenes. It is not for the faint of heart (get it? Hisao has arrhythmia...? Okay, I'll shut up), and it defies conventional story-telling for full explanations and genre confusion, but it overall is beautiful and, most importantly, emotionally real.
Such A Beautiful Game
"Katawa Shoujo" treats its subjects with maturity and stunning realism, and succeeds because it ardently refuses to objectify disabilities. Each sex scene does not fetishize the girl's disability, nor mention it in passing, but treat it sensitively. For example, Hanako faces excruciating pain during sex and Lilly creatively imagines her beloved through stimulation. Also, the game sufficently involves the player, as choosing to half-heartedly accepting the nurse's request to run with Emi will cause Hisao to lose interest with her passion and her love.
But the game truly won because despite each girl's suffering, it refuses to excuse her for her weaknesses. The weak-willed Hanako, on both hers and Lilly's track, must accept self-dependency and move forward rather than latching upon Hisao or Lilly. The annoying, prideful Shizune must lose her complacency to truly connect with Hisao. It is not completely realistic, but the mentions of "phantom pain" by Emi, disconnect Rin faces toward others, and stimulation Shizune feels when Hisao touches her hands all add to each character's personality.
In my opinion, the prose tries too hard to be artful, and many details are too heavy-handed. Also, the game does not appeal to a specific audience: it balances high school shoujo drama with coming-of-age stories and sex scenes. In addition, the erotica may be awkward (condoms and anal, oh my), but to me, it emphasized the reality of teenagers experimenting with their bodies. The drawings are not professional, but extremely well-done considering that the creators received no compensation for their vast efforts. Also, the player may sometimes face a disliking and disconnect toward Hisao, especially when he essentially uses Hanako for sex, but I feel that this expounds his imperfections and depth.
Overall, "Katawa Shoujo" struck a beautiful nerve with me, as I found myself making excuses to continue each story late into the night. I found it genuinely interesting as I am attracted toward character-centered plot-lines and weirdly sexy scenes. It is not for the faint of heart (get it? Hisao has arrhythmia...? Okay, I'll shut up), and it defies conventional story-telling for full explanations and genre confusion, but it overall is beautiful and, most importantly, emotionally real.