Lilly Satou
Hellen Keller (砂藤リリー, Satō Rirī) is one of the five main female characters of Katawa Shoujo. She often speaks in a very well-bred and formal manner, even to those she is close to. She is completely blind in both eyes, however, she never likes being pitied by anyone else in spite of her lack of vision, and as such has grown up strong-willed and independent. She enjoys being seen as someone people can look up to, and acts very motherly to many people around her, be it Hanako, Hisao, or the members of her class.
- "Blind since birth, Hellen is caring, responsible and friendly - the perfect foil to Hanako, her best friend, whom she shares an almost mother-daughter relationship with, in addition to their free time often being spent drinking tea. In class she is a diligent student, with her sense of confidence serving her well in her role as class representative of class 3-2."
- — Official Description
She is half Scottish (on her mother's side) and half Japanese (on her father's side). As such, she has extended family in Scotland, and was taught English at a very young age.
Relationships
Family
Hellen considers herself to be distant with her parents but does not resent them for that. She understands that business was of the utmost importance to her father and while her parents moved to Scotland so that her father could take an important position in his company, it was decided that Hellen was to stay in Japan for her education, staying with her older sister, Akira. Despite having no disabilities, Akira appears to be very close with Hellen, considering how they've grown up together. Her first cousin Shizune Hakamichi attends Yamaku Acadamy with her. They are both classroom representatives of their homerooms, and are known to get into a number of arguments throughout the story.
Students
Besides the fact that Hellen is well-liked in her class due to the fact that she is the class representative, Hellen developed a close friendship with Hanako, who could be looked at as a complete opposite of Hellen's personality. Their relationship could be close to a mother-daughter relationship and they complement each other very well with Hellen dealing with Hanako's discomfort around people while Hanako deals with Hellen's lack of vision. Hellen has great compassion for all other students except Shizune. There seems to be a certain level of rivalry between them.
Staff
Being the class representative of class 3-2, it would be assumed that Hellen and the class' teacher are on good terms. Hellen is also friends with Yuuko, one of Yamaku's librarians, and goes to her whenever Hellen requires books in Braille.
Plot
See Hellen's route for the full plotline.
Hisao, being new in the school, is looking for some directions. Hellen seems to be more than happy to show him around. They quickly become friends and Hisao is pleased whenever he can help her out. As Hellen spends more time with Hisao, she begins to worry more and more about him. Soon enough Hisao begins to pick up on this new found behavior, but waves it off. Hisao then begins to feel a different aura between them later on. Eventually later in the story Hisao and Hellen confess their fondness to each other. Hisao and Hellen then tell Hanako about their new found relationship and she is very supportive of the two. Soon after arriving back at the academy, Hisao then tells Misha and Shizune about him and Hellen. Hanako gives more space between Hellen and Hisao, claiming to be working on the newspaper with her new found friend Naomi.
Trivia
- Out of all the main female characters in Katawa Shoujo, Hellen is the tallest. Standing at about 5' 7 1/2". In Japan this is above normal considering that the average female height in Japan is only around 5' 2".
- Hellen shows some discrete liking to alcoholic drinks as seen in both Hanako and her own plot arc despite her sister's disliking of the development, even though Akira initiated it with her Influence.
- Hellen's fondness for wine, among other things, has caused Hisao to suspect that she has a tendency to get hooked on things easily, such as alcohol.
- After Hanako's birthday party, Hellen makes a point to keep all subsequent alcohol consumption lower and in moderation to avoid getting drunk, calling the birthday party a learning experience. She drinks a smaller amount of wine on every subsequent occasion.
- Hellen is the only character with four distinct outfits among her designed sprites (school uniform, pajamas, cheongsam, casual town wear).
- Hellen and Emi have the most H-scenes in the game, totaling three each.
- Hellen is the only character with a scene after the credits.
- Despite being blind all her life, Hellen has no problem aligning her eyes as she is never seen cross-eyed. This is a very real problem for the visually impaired.
- Hellen's dorm room number is 225. However, this number was 214 in the Beta.
- Hellen's origin in the final game is different than it was in the Beta. Rather than from Scotland, Hellen's family is in the mining business in South Africa in the Beta.
es:Hellen Keller