*coughs* Uh, Katawa Shoujo...

Zayl

Katawa Shoujo is a bishoujo-style visual novel set in the fictional Yamaku High School for disabled children, located somewhere in modern Japan. Hisao Nakai, a normal boy living a normal life, has his life turned upside down when a congenital heart defect forces him to move to a new school after a long hospitalization.

Alright alright, bear with me. Something like this must seem entirely out of left field for most of you, so I shall try to explain it in the softest way possible. Alright, so, I first heard of this game while browsing 420chan. It had been in the tubes for quite awhile being made by random people from random part of 4chan (hence the studio name) And is free to download, so if you wish to check it out go right ahead. Now a Visual Novel named Katawa Shoujo (Lit. "Disability Girls") from a board such as 4chan is bound to raise a lot of skepticism. I know it sure did in me, I thought it would just be some thing for fetishist enthusiasts. But after reading all of the reviews and how people felt about the game, I decided to give it a go. And boy am I happy I did. Yes there are some adult scenes (which can be entirely turned off via the options menu) Which made me even more cautious about it. But the writing is so wonderfully done, you find that it is not a game about meeting and dating disabled people. It is about meeting and dating people who just happen to be disabled. And it goes even further, it teaches me that everyone has their own stories, their own circumstances. That everyone is struggling with one problem or another. That they all have thoughts and feelings and aspirations just as I do.

I took this screenshot here, written by someone who has played this, and learned something from it.


This is the kind of thing you will see all over from people that have played this. At the very least, this game teaches that no matter how a person looks, at the end of the day they are a human, cut and dry. Whether they are physically disabled in some way, a different race, or what have you. The adult scenes are actually tastefully done too. In a way while certainly sexual, it's to the point where going for a uh, under the keyboard special feels just plain wrong and insulting to the characters. There are five different girls in the game you can meet, each one of them has good, bad, and neutral endings. There is even a worse ending that happens when you fail to lock into a route disconcertingly called the "Manly Picnic" ending. I will not say much about it, but let's just say it ends with you soaked in whiskey and dead in a dumpster somewhere. The game is so good at what it does, it is practically impossible to not develop an emotional tie to it. I laugh when a character cracks a joke or plays a prank. I choke up when one of the characters is going through some tragedy or another. I find myself grinning like an idiot when I manage to make the girl who has severe burn scars, lost her parents in the fire, and has spent her life being bullied to the point where she has severe panic attacks when someone just talks to her, smile a little. Sure this is a Visual Novel from the deep pit of the internet, but this is a complete gem. I highly recommend checking it out, even if you're not into this sort of thing. I know I wasn't at first, I started with a healthy dose of skepticism, expecting it to be full of porn and bad taste. Four hours later, My character and an artist with no arms were having a deep conversation that made me question a lot of things about myself, in a good way.

I've even started a running regiment, inspired by one of the characters. So far, so good. It's a little tough, but what kind of person would I be if I gave up eh?So you know, share your thoughts and opinions I suppose.