All Aboard the Feels Train! (A Katawa Shoujo playthrough and analysis)

[Tuxedo Prime]

So, a bit of background.
In April of 2021, I had open-heart surgery, to correct a congenital condition. During my convalescence and rehabilitation over the summer and fall of that year, I discovered Doki Doki Literature Club! - which resonated with me because one or two of the characters reminded me of people I had known in my youth and could not save (back then or in the game). Then MEDdMI picked up the game while I was getting it off my chest, and well, that became a meandering thread on this very board....

Along the way, I learned about an older visual novel called Katawa Shoujo (which Google Translate gives as "One-sided Girl", but is intended to be translated as "Disability Girls"). And this game has a protagonist with his own name, and who also has a congenital heart condition. So, for this September, I resolved to enroll at Yamaku and see how well I could do knowing what I know now....

But first, some history about the long involvement to make this game, for those that didn't catch this video introduction over in our DDLC thread....

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

I seem to be having to having some trouble recording the game with sound, which is a shame, as the music tracks are quite a beautiful accompaniment to the visuals.

Screenshots, on the other hand, are not at all a problem.

So, let's set the stage:

We are introduced, one cold winter afternoon, to Hisao Nakai, our protagonist. He gets a note slipped into one of his textbooks asking him to meet someone after school, and this he does.

It turns out that one of his classmates has been wanting to go out with him, and could find no better way to discreetly ask....

However, Hisao's reaction is not what either of them expected....

...and all too soon, a different sort of heartbreak strikes.

And with that, we get our intro animation and title drop....

https://soundcloud.com/fin-wilson%2Fkatawa-shoujo-ost-damage

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

So, shortly before I had open-heart surgery, I was given a booklet by the hospital. In it, they talk somewhat generically about the procedures. A lot of space was given to arterial bypasses, which have become quite routine. I didn't have that -- and my procedure was not without complications, as I found out from the surgical notes -- but I was still discharged after 5 days, during which they endeavour to start getting you mobile as soon as possible. There were follow-ups, of course, I could only walk short distances when discharged, but I kept striving for more. It was not until the fall that I went to a different hospital for the rehabilitation. During that interval time I was not idle.

Poor Hisao spends four months in a hospital -- granted, he had undiagnosed arrythmia, and rehabilitation is skipped over in this sequence -- but there doesn't seem to be any talk of installing a pacemaker, instead he is placed on quite the cocktail of medications. Because they're still quite unsure about how to get him to manage his condition successfully, going back to his old school is deemed Not a Good Idea.

Instead, his parents are persuaded to send him to a special boarding-type academy....

Hisao isn't thrilled at the idea of being "warehoused", even if there's an on-site hospital, but what else can he do?

And so ends the intro, beginning a new journey....

Now we get into a more proper visual novel setup -- what we do in Act 1 will determine just which Acts 2-4 we end up in, so....

Hisao goes through the gate into his new school. The grounds seem quite deserted, but while Hisao's parents oversee the move into the dorm, Hiaso meets the (somewhat late himself) Class 3-3 teacher, who is able to introduce him to his new classmates....

After a brief introduction, a group-of-three assignment happens. the teacher suggests that Hisao be joined with Shizune Hakamichi, the class representative, as she'll be well placed to explain everything.
And rounding out the group of three -- is her interpreter, Shiina Mikado, or "Misha" for short.

Shizune, you see, is deaf, and communicates via sign language.
Even so, the assignment get completed before the end of class, and the pair do indeed offer to take him around the school.... How will this first day go?

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

Continuing the first day, we have a lunch break....

This leads to the cafeteria, which is clean and modern, but gives Hisao some flashbacks....

We come to a decision point here. For those making flow charts, I selected "Ask Shizune about her deafness".

Unfortunately, Hisao founders a bit, as he can't think of how to ask without seeming rude. Misha and Shizune converse in JSL, but for Hisao, there is but awkward silence....

They all go back to the classroom, where Hisao notices someone still there from before....

Alas, she is startled and retreats before we can learn anything about her.

The School day eventually draws to a close, and Hisao remembers that he needed to visit the nurse's office before being truly settled in. Shizune and Misha take him to the auxiliary building, where there in fact a whole suite of such offices.....

"A pool?" "For therapy." "Ah."

We find our way to the primary medical office, where we meet the head of the nursing staff.

After a brief orientation and advice to avoid overly strenuous activity (no competitive weightlifting for you, Hisao!), our protagonist makes his way to the dormitories, which seem rather quiet. He does get a wave from a few people in a common room, though.

It looks like this won't be too experimental a game....

Noticing that of the four rooms in his wing, only one other is occupied, Hisao knocks on it, and meets.... Harry Potter?

No, actually, this is Kenji, a singularly odd and borderline-legally-blind paranoiac who, well, doesn't exactly warm to Hisao, but isn't actively hostile.
After the awkward first meeting, Hisao goes to his own room, his clothes already unpacked by his parents, who left a note of support. He takes his medications, and goes to bed.

The Next Morning....

Well, it's probably going to feel like that for a bit.
More pills, some water and a change to clean uniform later, he is ready to go back to class and try to make some headway with his fellow students.



He decides to ask Misha and Shizune about school clubs and other social activities....

....wait, school clubs? Now I'm getting flashbacks...

Oh no.
Oh no.
I SWEAR, if I have to gently open a door....

Okay, don't panic, let's hear them out first.....

*whew*

Also, although we never are told if Misha has any disability or condition, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she has pseudobulbar affect.

Even though she doesn't have a route, we should get used to hearing that a lot.... at least in this act.

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

With the book club all full up, Shizune and Misha make a pitch of their own:

Hisao isn't quite ready to make such a commitment so early in. Which apparently they were expecting:

Oh, Hisao, if you only knew....

Actually, given that You and Me and Her only came out a year after this game, perhaps it's better you don't.

Anyway, the pair are undaunted, and offer to play game of Risk in the student council chambers while discussing the matter further. (Risk, and not Uno, which was the mainstay of my university days. Shizune is a very competitive and strategic thinker, it would seem....)

And they are ready to collect, once the school day ends....

Well, nowadays, North American Visual Novel fans would expect that, wouldn't they? But this was made in a simpler time....

They escort Hisao to the student council chamber:

Alas, we don't get a fast rundown a la Undergrads, which would have been a nice reference.

(Besides, I'm pretty sure Misha knows there's no banker in Risk.)

The game goes on, until, while trying to figure out the best way to defend against a two-pronged assault, Shizune says we are taking too long, and makes another offer:

But Hisao will not be swayed so easily by the promise of a shiny new Australia....

(A short-haired intellectual girl wanting to rule the world? Weird that I have two nickels, as the saying goes....)

And now we come to another moment of decision. What should I... er, Hisao, do?

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

Apologies for the delay in play sessions. Between work and just Monika Halloween preparations, I had let updates lapse. At least once it is done it should all read smoothly, yes?

So, I decided to take the advice of the famed Gial Ackbar:

Alas, this only delays the inevitable....

After her little gesture of celebration, she offers us a strategic analysis of just where we went wrong....

...Ouch. A little bit of tsun in her competitive spirit, it would seem...

Yeah, I guess he didn't. Of course, Surviving MAJOR CARDIAC SURGERY tends to be about risk management....
But, we have an idea as to what the stakes will be. At least with one person.
Hisao, to be quite fair to him, is only just begun to figure this place out. He defers (at least for now) any firm commitment to joining the Student Council....

But he will play again, if not maybe so involved a game....

(Pssst! Try Uno!)
Hisao still wanted to find the library, so he asks Shizune and Misha for directions:

He goes on his own, however, which may not have been the best idea:

....and aren't you glad I waited until after Halloween for this part?
Thankfully, there are no jumpscares or off-key music....

The wavy-haired girl is Lilly Satou, and hopefully I won't take as long to discuss her....

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

Hisao apologizes for intruding, explaining that he came through the open door because he was lost....

She invites him to sit down with her, which he does, noticing that she does not look at him directly.

Hisao confirms this, and surmises that Lilly must be in a different class, as he hadn't seen her in his own class. Blind or no, she offers him tea, which she just happens to have the means to make in this room....

She carefully gets up and goes through the steps of making tea, with very careful and practised motions.

With that done, our protagonist and host now sit, drink and talk some more:

Hisao shares how he is trying to adjust to the new school environment. (Which, as I've mentioned before, can be daunting in any capacity -- I found myself making more than a few changes owing to various programs within my school district during the primary and secondary years. To do so for health reasons -- well, while the support resources seem pretty respectable, one can't help but wonder -- is Japan "warehousing" its disabled youth? Even if they receive the best of care in their formative years?)

Hisao decides to switch tracks to a more personal field of inquiry:

Of course, Western-style tea appreciation could arguably be its own social club, just need a few more people....
But for now, Hisao reflects on the contrast amongst the few people he has gotten to know so far in the past few days.

So, he asks for her take on the extant school clubs.

...the book club again? Well, as long as it isn't run by a solipsist convinced she can see beyond reality, or something like that....

...That's very understandable. But light activity will help, and the more you do the more you'll want to do. Some advice from a player who's been through cardiac rehabilitation, Hisao....

Well, that's visual novels for you, I guess. Or at least how they used to be -- I suspect that the English-language market for such games has been spoiled a bit by such unique entries as Tax Heaven 3000. Will VN players nowadays be disappointed if they don't get stories on rails, sudden plot twists, and random breaches of the fourth wall, rather than organic characters?

Hard to say. But here we are, drinking tea and talking, nonetheless....

So it does. So it does. Wait, how long would the library be open....?

No, but it seems a good point to let the readers (there are readers to this playthrough, yes?) catch their breath until the next round....