bevral: meganekkodaily: Katawa Shoujo -...

meganekkodaily:

Katawa Shoujo - Hakamichi Shizune.

Short blue hair and glasses makes a comeback! …Is what I’d like to say, except it seems like Shizune isn’t faring much better than Ciel in terms of popularity. Considering that their personalities are completely different, maybe it’s actually the character design that doesn’t appeal to as many people.

I’d say its because her route is the worst of the five :| she was my first choice too!

Ah, that may be true. I got the impression that the writing in her route was the complete reverse of what one expects from a VN in that what’s usually stated outright is implied (sometimes rather obscurely). Seeing, for example, evidence of the love between our main couple is about as difficult as following a spoken conversation when deaf.

The route was also full of loose ends, beyond the point the writer should expect the reader to form their own connections. What is the relationship between Shizune and Jigoro? When does Hisao speak up about his heart condition, as he promised in Act 1? Arguably, these points are covered by minor moments in the route, but there seems to be lost potential there.

Shizune’s route is long, but it seems like all the things you’d expect to be expanded on are skimmed over, while a lot of time is dedicated to random filler.

…On the other hand, I like the style of the writing in her route. The narration has a cold tone (compared, for example, to Emi’s route), and the dialogue captures characters perfectly on its own. It’s just the odd pacing and focuses, really - there isn’t much Shizune in her own route, but when her personality is finally put on screen, it’s a really worthwhile examination of her motivations and everything can be connected to some moment or other in the game.

Thing is, it takes a while to figure out.