Katawa Shoujo
- "So it's actually not about seducing and nailing disabled girls. The girls happen to have disabilities, but the more you get to know them, the more you come to realise that they are girls just like any other. They are humans with hopes and dreams, and messy, fucked up insecurities about being alive and happy. They are not strange people - they are regular ordinary human beings who feel the way they feel not because they are disabled, but because they are ordinary. They are the universal allegory for humanity; the archetypal human; the mess you become when you feel sad and alone and unworthy. They are the girl next door, the prom queen, the bookworm, the tomboy, and all the baggage that comes with that - nothing more or less. They resonate with you because you recognise your flaws and needs and desires and triumphs and victories, and those of the loved ones you know and care about. You want to make them happy, because you want them to be happy, because you know them and are them, and in some way you believe everyone you love deserves to be happy. You are not alone, and you are not strange. You are you, and everyone has damage. Be the better person."
- — Message from Anonymous on Katawa Shoujo
Katawa Shoujo (かたわ少女, "Disability Girls" or "Cripple Girls") is a bishoujo-style visual novel by Four Leaf Studios.
The novel tells the story of Hisao, a young man diagnosed with arrhythmia after a heart attack, and transferred to Yamaku, a school specialized in providing education and healthcare for disabled students. The story centers in how he deals with his newfound situation and relationships, in special with five other girls (Emi, Rin, Shizune, Lilly and Hanako) suffering with varying disabilities (Even though Misha is considered one of the main girls, her route is shared with Shizune's).
Katawa Shoujo was inspired by a sketch made by RAITA, which caused a stir in 4chan's /a/ board. Soon after, Four Leaf Studios (4LS) was assembled from various users to make a visual novel from the sketch. The full game had been under development since 2007, with a demo released in April 29, 2009, and finally being released in January 4, 2012, after 5 years under development. It was well-received by the community, even when compared to other, more traditional visual novels. Despite the success, 4LS has already stated they do not intend on taking another project under the 4LS name for now, although it was hinted that it would not be impossible in the future.
The game is composed of a Prologue, which contains two short scenes, a first act (labelled Act 1), in which one chooses the route taken, and 3 more Acts for each route. There's a Good Ending and a Bad Ending for each route too, although some of them also displays a Neutral, mostly bitter-sweet, Ending. The endings are based on the player's choice throughout the chosen route.
While the demo contains no adult content, the full version of Katawa Shoujo contains adult content with the option to skip all sexually explicit scenes.[1] Katawa Shoujo was created using the Ren'Py visual novel engine. The game uses a traditional text and sprite-based visual novel model with an ADV-style text box.
The full game and the demo (which was translated to several other languages), as well as the original soundtrack and other media, are available for download at http://www.katawa-shoujo.com/. It is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License , thus being free of charge.
Plot
| Spoiler warning! This article contains crucial plot details that should not be viewed if you have not seen them in-game. Continue reading at your own risk. |
Prologue
Having received a secret message, Hisao Nakai meets its sender, Iwanako, in a wintry forest. After exchanging pleasantries, Hisao's heart starts to beat harder, but he dismisses it as nervousness. The symptoms grow worse and he passes out in the snow as Iwanako makes her love confession.
Hisao spends the next four months in the hospital, during which he becomes numb and distant. Iwanako visits, but eventually stops coming. When his recuperation is finished, the doctor delivers a list of medications, which makes Hisao sick with anger.
The doctor also suggests that he not return to his old school. Instead, he suggests Yamaku Academy -- a school designed for disabled students with 24-hour nursing staff. Hisao reacts cynically, considering it a step down. But he decides having a fresh start may not be such a bad thing.
Act 1 - Life Expectancy
Monday
On arrival at Yamaku, Hisao meets his new homeroom teacher, Mutou, in the lobby. Mutou takes him to class where he meets Shizune, a deaf girl with glasses who is the class representative, and Misha, her interpreter. They enthusiastically welcome him and take him to lunch. However, they have important things to do, so they drop him off at the Nurse for an introduction. At the end of the day, Hisao returns to his dorm, and encounters his hallmate, Kenji, a nearly blind boy who is obsessed with feminist conspiracy theories. Seeing that his parents have unpacked his things, Hisao takes his medication and falls asleep in the unfamiliar room.
Tuesday
In class, Shizune and Misha explain that everyone is focused on the school festival at the end of the week. A shy girl with half of her face scarred leaves class suddenly, piquing Hisao's curiosity. At lunch, Hisao asks about clubs he can join. Shizune and Misha list off some, heavily encouraging Student Council, which they are a part of (in fact, they are the only members). Shizune then challenges him to a game of Risk in the Student Council room after school. She wins, using the victory to again prompt Hisao to join Student Council. Hisao tells them he'll consider it, then leaves for the library before it closes.
After getting lost, he accidentally enters a tea room where a blind woman named Lilly is enjoying some peace and quiet. They have a little tea, then Lilly guides him to the library. While she talks to the librarian, Yuuko, about some new braille books, Hisao goes looking for a new novel. While wandering the shelves, he finds the scarred girl, sitting quietly and reading. Hisao introduces herself to the jumpy girl, whose name he learns is Hanako. After a short conversation, she suddenly excuses herself. Befuddled, Hisao takes his leave back to his dorm, where Kenji encounters him again. Kenji holds Hisao up, ranting how the school is a "site of feminist infiltration", before he can escape to his room.
Wednesday
Shizune and Misha pester Hisao about Student Council. He dodges the question and asks about Hanako. They evade the question, telling him that he wouldn't get along with her. While Hisao ponders this, Shizune and Misha argue about where to eat for lunch. At this point, Hisao can either wait for them to finish, ignore them and read his book, or go talk to Hanako.
No matter which option, on the way to the chosen destination, a girl with twin pigtails running in the halls crashes into Hisao. At first, Hisao is scared for his heart, remembering his cardiologist's warning to "not get hit in the chest". The girl, Emi Ibarazaki, uses prothetic running blades, as she had her natural legs amputated below the knee. (If Shizune is with him, she scolds her for running in the halls.) She apologizes profusely and then runs off again.
If Hisao talks to Hanako, they head to the tea room where they have a very proper lunch. Lilly talks about how she and Hanako met. After lunch, Hisao tells Mutou about having trouble talking to people with disabilities. Mutou assures him that things are only an issue if he makes them one. Misha interrupts, looking for plywood for the festival stall they are building.
If Hisao follows Shizune, she decides to go into town, inviting him along. They enter a fancy teashop called the Shanghai where Yuuko Shirakawa, the librarian, works part time. Once again, Shizune and Misha use the outing as an opportunity to manipulate Hisao into joining the Student Council.
Either way, Misha asks him to help her find supplies for the upcoming festival. Hisao enters the art room and sees a girl with short hair eating a late lunch. The girl has no arms, so she holds her fork between her toes. He learns her name is Rin, and that she has been working on a large mural for the festival. Her philosophical and abstract way of talking makes conversation difficult, so Hisao decides to just go about his business. When Hisao takes his leave, she lays out on a table to take a nap. Once outside the door, Hisao runs into Shizune and Misha. They scold Rin for misusing school property (though Rin doesn't seem to care), and question Hisao suspiciously as to the reason for his lateness.
Rin asks Hisao to help her carry some green paint down to the mural. They run into the nurse, who confronts Hisao about his lack of exercise. Hisao asks him how he knows and he confesses to using "a spy" to keep tabs on him.
At the mural, Hisao helps Rin by mixing paint colors, though he can never quite get them right. Rin focuses on her painting, occasionally making confusing comments, but most of their time is spent in silence. Eventually, it gets too late to continue.
Thursday
Early in the morning, Hisao goes to the track to jog and finds Emi. Afterwards, Hisao goes back to his dorm to shower. Kenji interrupts to ask for money, to which Hisao agrees just to get rid of him, then goes to class.
Before the bell, Lilly stops by, looking for Hanako. Shizune and Misha arrive at the same time, and a fight breaks out. Shizune is angry at Lilly for not turning in her budget before the deadline. Lilly explains calmly how there was too much work to do in that amount of time, and several students got sick. It is clear they don't like each other, and this kind of argument has happened before. Shizune then tries to involve Hisao into the argument, accusing him of slacking off as a joke. His response has a strong influence on which girl he gets closer to later on.
Hisao spends the rest of the day in class as usual while Shizune stays late to iron out some festival details with other students. She complains how none of the students have enough appreciation for their leadership. Hanako stops by and asks for Lilly.
If Hisao likes Shizune enough, he helps her and Misha with their festival projects (after a great deal of verbal sparring). They eat delivered food and work late building stalls. Hisao finally agrees to join Student Council before leaving for the night.
If Hisao likes Lilly enough, he takes Hanako to Lilly's classroom (3-2). They volunteer to help with their festival preparations. Being able to see, Hisao being there is a tremendous advantage, since 3-2 is for the visually impaired. Kenji is there too, but barely acknowledges Hisao's presence. They spend the day painting stalls, and he learns that Lilly and Shizune have a back story behind their enmity.
If Hisao doesn't like either girl enough, he sees Rin as he is heading to the dorms. He stops to help her with the mural, as the painting is tiring on her legs. They talk about the meaning of art and a boy in her class that is blind, but still paints. He asks her to dinner, but she declines. He leaves her still painting.
Friday
If Hisao agrees to go running, he meets Emi at the track again and goes for a jog. She provokes him into a race, but he gets a heart murmur and collapses. Emi helps him to the nurse, where she gets a talking-to. Emi invites him to lunch to make up for it. Hisao spends the first part of the day in the infirmary recuperating. Otherwise, he goes to class as normal (possibly encountering Shizune and Misha at his door in the morning). After this, one of two things happens.
In one scenario, Hisao goes to lunch with either Shizune and Misha, eating boxed lunch in a classroom while working on Student Council stuff. They keep him halfway into the first class, laughing at their little trick.
In the other scenario, Hisao joins Emi and Rin on the roof. Emi talks non-stop while Rin says little in her quasi-stoic way. Afterwards, Hisao may go into town, where he finds Lilly and helps her with her shopping. On the way back, they run into Rin who is standing in front of the mural, freaking out in her own special way. She seems to have creative paralysis, but there's nothing they can do to help her.
Saturday
If Hisao is in the Shizune scenario, it continues to this day, where the duo are there immediately at his door in the morning. They ask him to skip class with them and go to the Shanghai. Hisao feels like he has no choice and agrees. They bicker and tease him about his choice of coffee over tea. Time passes and they manipulate Hisao into betting on something, but has no idea what, thanks to their way of communicating. Shizune and Hisao end up escaping, leaving Misha with the bill. When all three reunite, it is in the Student Council room, where they work on the last of the festival activities. Shizune invites him to the festival and Hisao agrees.
If Hisao is not in the Shizune scenario, he attends Saturday session as normal. He may go for a walk into town and find Lilly at the Shanghai with her sister Akira, who is relaxed, laid-back, and a bit irresponsible despite her formal appearance and career as a lawyer. Alternatively, he may go to the library where Hanako is and spend the rest of the day reading with her. Otherwise, Emi may grab him and use him for help getting art supplies for Rin, who is still working on the mural. She runs out of Prussian Blue paint and either Emi goes alone to fetch some, or she takes Hisao with her. If the former happens, Rin's art teacher stops by and Hisao asks to join the art club. If the latter, Emi gets Hisao to agree to a physical training regimen with her.
Sunday
On the day of the festival, Hisao wakes up late, almost at noon. Depending on which girl Hisao favors, he will spend the festival day with one of them. If Emi, he spends the festival day with her trying to eat fried food without her noticing. If Rin, he spends all the festival day by the mural, saying nothing. If Lilly, he finds her at her working at her food stall, then the two of them go to the library to get Hanako. If Shizune, Hisao spends most of the festival trying to win a stuffed cat for her. If Hanako, they go to the tea room and spend the festival in its solitary environment, playing chess. In any case, Hisao realizes that he may be falling for his chosen girl.
If Hisao did not demonstrate interest in any of the girls, Kenji invites him to go to the roof for a "manly" picnic. They spend the festival passing a whiskey bottle between each other. Hours pass while Kenji continuously rants and Hisao drunkenly listens, lamenting that he should have asked a girl out and that he squandered all his opportunities. He ends up accidentally falling off the roof to his death (this is a joke ending).
Emi's route
Act 2 - Form
Hisao and Emi continue their morning runs, growing closer each day. As the days go on, he notices she seems like a different person when she runs. At lunch she shows her goofiness, but on the track she shows her stubborn persistence. This comes to a head at her track meet. He sits between Rin and Emi's mother, Meiko, and sees Emi at her "Emiest" (as Rin says). As he's struck by how beautiful she is, he realizes he is falling in love with her. The next day, on a rest from training, Emi takes Rin and Hisao on a picnic. Though Rin and Hisao try to warn her, it rains. They escape into the Shanghai where they have tea and cake instead.
The next day, Emi does not show up for the morning run, Hisao tries to find out, while people like Lilly and Misha tease him about how much time they've been spending together. The nurse tells him she caught a cold from the rain. Hisao drops by her room after class. For the first time he sees her without her prosthetic legs.
In typical Emi fashion, they tease each other until the flirtations evolve into a pillow fight, where Hisao ends up on top of her. A moment of paralysis occurs where Hisao can't figure out whether Emi wants him to go further. They stop. After a little more conversation, she falls asleep in Hisao's arms. Hisao is quite content, until Emi begins to have a nightmare. When she cries out "Dad!" Hisao wakes her up, but Emi says she does not remember her dream.
Emi seems fine the next morning. Hisao contemplates confessing his feelings, but feels stymied by Emi's track captain, who often talks to her. The nurse laughs, and assures Hisao that nether is interested in each other romantically. Alone at lunch on the roof (since Emi gave Rin her cold), Emi admits that she has nightmares quite often. In typical Emi fashion, she prompts Hisao to kiss her, admitting she has a bit of a crush. They do. When he returns to class, Misha teases him about it, but for the first time, Hisao's heart feels light.
Act 3 - Perspective
Hisao takes Emi on their first date -- a picnic in the park. On their way back, Emi stumbles, the same way as she did in the track meet. In the morning, she again collapses during her run, but refuses to tell Hisao what's wrong even as he presses her. Hisao tries to offer support, since clearly something is bothering her both mentally and physically. But she pushes him away.
One day, while Hisao is at the library, Emi calls him via the reference desk phone, asking him to come immediately. Hisao rushes to her dorm where Emi is in a wheelchair. Her leg has gotten an infection from overuse, which caused the stumbling and pain. She is frustrated at not being able to run, but resolved, as this is not her first time in a wheelchair. When Hisao comes to visit, their flirtations turn into wrestling. And for the first time, they consummate their relationship.
The next morning, though Emi can't run, she shows up at the track. They both steal away into a storage shed and get the idea to try anal sex. The experiment is... less than successful, and both end up feeling awkward and sore. Hisao returns to his room and sleeps until lunch. Emi comes by to see him and tells him they need to stop seeing each other so often, given that she needs to concentrate on exams. Hisao agrees, since he can still see her at the track and at lunch.
But Emi's condition is getting worse, not better. She says nothing to Hisao on the track and spaces out during lunch. After exams are over, Hisao confronts her about why she won't talk to him about it. Emi admits that, because the accident ripped everything away from her, she would never let that happen again.. Hisao leaves, feeling heartbroken that Emi will never let him get close to her. If Hisao asks Mutou and the nurse, Emi surprisingly invites him to dinner at her mother's house. Though nervous, they make amiable conversation until Mrs. Ibarazaki brings up the subject of Emi's father. Emi retreats to the bathroom.
If Hisao pursued her, Emi gets even angrier at Hisao and demands that he leave. Later at school, Misha tries to offer advice. If Hisao allows it, she tells him he needs to apologize to her. He does so in a tearful reunion on the track. (Otherwise, Emi tells Hisao that it's over and the game ends.) Appealing to her determinedness, citing examples of how she made sure he was at the track and created a dietary plan, Emi gives in. She tells him she needs time to think... but to show up for their morning run tomorrow.
If Hisao talked to Emi's mother, Meiko talks about how Emi tries to believe that the accident "wasn't a big deal", but -- keeping to Emi's promise -- tells him no details. Emi overhears and demands Hisao leave while she accuses her mother of breaking her promise. Meiko denies it, but Hisao acquiesces to go. Emi immediately regrets kicking him out, but Hisao knows if he stayed, it would only cause more pain. He returns to his dorm where he reads over a letter from Iwanako, the girl from his school before his heart attack, and wonders if he's giving up on happiness.
Act 4 - Motion
Hisao manages to apologize to Emi, saying that he won't stop trying to help her, not even if they break up (which Emi half-heartedly attempts to do) because he cares about her too much. Emi begins to cry and asks why he's trying so hard to help. Hisao says "because I love you." That seems to get through to Emi, as she finally breaks down in Hisao's arms. She asks him to come back to her house tomorrow, so she has time to "do this properly" and think about what she needs to say.
The next day, Hisao and Emi take the bus to her mother's, but all she'll say is they are going to meet her Dad today. They eat lunch and then drive somewhere. They stop at a graveyard where Meiko stays behind and Emi leads him further in. Hisao contemplates his mortality among these gravestones until they stop at one in particular. Emi starts confessing things about herself -- that she doesn't like pink, that she's not as popular as everyone thinks -- and that the accident that took her legs also killed her dad. And as a result, she resolved to stop worrying about the future, because there's nothing you can do about it. Until she met Hisao, who she couldn't keep at a distance anymore. Now she realizes if she is going to live in the moment, she doesn't have to do it alone.
When they return to the dorm, before they separate, Emi grabs Hisao. She asks him not to leave. Hisao doesn't care what context she's talking about, he says "of course". The two make love and fall asleep together. In the morning, Hisao thinks about how close they are now. That no matter what happens, as long as Emi's around, he'll be okay.
Sequel
- "Still, there never will be another Katawa Shoujo. But that‘s okay, because the original one already exists. And I really like it that way."
- — Delta's thoughts, Tomorrow/Today
It has been confirmed by various writers that there won't be a Katawa Shoujo sequel, it has even been said that future material that they write themselves have to be considered as fan-fiction work and not canonical to the game.
Trivia
- The main menu of the game changes as you progress through the storyline and start new Acts.
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The splash for Katawa Shoujo when you open the game -
The main menu after you have started Act 3 for Emi -
The main menu after fully completing the game -
Bonus gallery picture for completing the game
Videos
Notes
- ↑ Even with adult content disabled, nude sprites will still be visible in the following scenes: Up, Down, and Up Again, Storage Space, Hooray for Socks, Whispered Touch, and Succession