It's honestly one of the boldest choices for a "dating sim" to have two completely different mindsets that naturally clash somehow come together and for it to still feel real.
I recently completed Emi’s route. The game inspired me to go to a local park to run. On going to the park, I also noticed that I still had an insecurity with myself. That insecurity had to do with a disability I have (nothing too major, just a slight limp). I realized that I was still self-conscious about it, and people looking at me or noticing it. I decided to do something about it. I now go back to that park every now and then to walk and run as a way to expose myself to the situation as a means to gain more confidence with myself. And all of this is because I played Katawa Shoujo
@@leshinigamidesanimes3608 Thank you! I do feel slightly a little more confident about it. Somedays it gets to me a little more, but for the most part I’m confident about it haha
@@connorbooth7207 Hey thanks a lot , and yeah it finally going well after having my life in pause for 10 years . i hope for you the same , a good life after tough time.
I finnaly finished playing KS a few days ago. It changed my mind a lot, I understand how many others started running, playing chess, drinking tea, etc, for me such as I can relate a lot to Emi, I started running everyday, eating better and having fun in it, maybe not with as much as passion as Emi, but enough to make time for it and of course, feeling better after it. However, even when Lilly's, Shizune/Misha's and Rin didn't hit me hard, Hanako's broke me. I have a friend, a really close friend with, aside from the burns, heavy psichological scars, bullying, infidelity, bad relationship if not almost none with her family, anxiety, depression, she's been like that for so many years, and Hanako's route made me remember the first time she broke in front of me, one moment being so happy and a second later on her knees crying so much, I remembered all of the feelings at that moment, impotent, speechless, worried as hell, freeze in the middle of the street without knowing what to do (She is way better now, with the right help she got better, so don't worry). I loved Hanako, how tangible she felt for me reading her history, as much as I loved Emi, her brightness was a light. I find this awesome, a game that can be so touchfull, I hope everyone that played, plays and will play find so much meaning as I did with KS.
I want to preface this by saying I've played a few vns before, read my fair share of similar books/manga, and seen plenty of supposed "tear jerker" animes/shows before. All that going into this video had me skeptical that this game was worth a passing glance but this video sold me, if for nothing else than 4leafs story alone. So I downloaded it and played it and without any guides/videos I reacted as I would with each choice and came across the good ending for Lilly. I was left with many emotions, I couldn't place a finger on what they were though. I've never cried at anything before, never felt that tug in my heart before, never have I been touched by media like this but I couldn't figure out what. That night I was restless, the feelings never left, it's just a game, I know that but the feelings I couldn't describe weren't leaving. Looking for some form of answer I came back to this video and found out RUclips kept my time stamp and came back to 26:53 and before I knew it I was crying. I still don't fully understand why, but I've never felt better than I did after the tears stopped coming. They weren't bad tears, I was happy, content, satisfied in a story that resonated with me more than I care to admit. I have problems myself, I can never seem to get enough oxygen into my lungs unless I breathe deeply much to the dismay of those around me. If I don't monitor my breathing I'll get that static feeling in my wrists and lightheadedness followed by that pins and needles feeling if I let it continue. It's what kept me from joining the military actually, but to see Yamaku and the many students, to see Lilly, Misha/Shizune, Rin, Hanako, and Hisao all move forward with their lives hit me harder than I've ever felt and I've been through some great relationships/nasty breakups. I don't know you Vagrant, nor you me, but I can't thank you enough for making this video. This probably sounds corny, dare I say cringe, but it's not a stretch so say this game has made a big impact in my life. My thoughts go back to college to the one student that was blind I used to see walking around with a cane of his own. I never thought much of it before but now I wonder about him. I won't dwell on the what ifs, but I'll keep it in mind for the rest of my life. I don't where to go from here if I'm honest. I'm inspired to learn sign language but don't know where to start. I want to do something but with all that's happening and being a freshly graduated kid myself facing the worst job market I could enter, I wonder what that something is. Nevertheless, I can't thank you enough, I don't know if you feel this way, but I hope if nothing else you're remembered for this video rather than the Yanderedev one. While it was a good video, it doesn't hold half the weight this one does.
Had some copyright bullshit on some of the clips used so there are a couple segments of black screen, but the audio is untouched so hopefully it's not too disruptive. I'm incredibly happy with how this turned out, though it took easily 6x as many work hours as most of my other videos, so I'm not sure the what the frequency of uploads like this will be. Regardless, I hope y'all enjoy my video :)
The story behind this game's development is one of the few things that restores my faith in humanity. I then always remember it came from 4chan, and briefly wonder if there's something dreadfully dreadfully wrong with me as a human being. I say yes, and then decide to merely continue enjoying the brief happiness memories of this game brings me.
i would love it if 4leafstudios reunited and made another game, it doesn't need to have anything to do with katawa shoujo, it can just be it's own thing
Wow now I am so glad I watched/played the entire game. I knew this game was an indie game but I never truly knew the whole story and I got to admit I have so much respect for the core team and the people who pitched in to help. This VN was the first to actually make me care about the characters, story, and development. Also Red Velvet (OST) is by far the most calming jazz that I have heard.
Oh Man, I remember Raita and his early works, one of the most amazing doujin artists out there, not for the sexual exploration, but the character design itself, the way he draws limbs and overall the ridiculous body proportions, just somehow works and looks angelic. So many nostalgic nuts… As for KS, I still remember back in the day when those threads were made on /v/ and /a/, that enthusiasm and support, it’s become somewhat rare in this day and age (especially on 4chan). The feels KS left me with after all those years, gonna leave that with me. What I’m trying to say is you sure got my sub my guy.
Thank you for this comprehensive video, I was aware of the game and its origin which intrigued me. But now with all this background information it made me realize that I shouldn't slack off as much, and more importantly: give this game a try.
Man, this video is so impeccably made. Seriously, the love so many of us feel for KS just emanates from every second of this. Beautifully done. Happy 10 years, Katawa Shoujo. We're gonna make it through.
the final post at the end, i won't lie it made me cry, i'm about to graduate high school, and everything hasn't hit me until you read that, it hit me like the feels i got from finishing Hanako's route, and that's okay, but now i can't stop crying
I played all routes, multiple times. All of them teached me somethjing different, all of the mbrought me to emotions and gave me different feelings. This game is something else. It introduced me to VNs, it made me feel again as I played it in a particularly shitty part of my life. God damn, I miss KS. It's THE one thing that I would delete from my memory if I could, just so I could play and read it for the first time again.
Back then when I was, to be frank, an ignorant child, I just dismiss Katawa Shoujo. _"Ahh must be one of _*_those_*_ games, yeah yeah I might check out stuff like Clannad or Katawa Shoujo one day"_ was what I thought everytime I read/heard the name pops up. You know *those* games that people call "masterpiece", games that "touched many people's hearts". I don't really get what this behavior of avoiding something that many people acknowledges (hipster mentality?), but as a result I keep denying these experiences that I myself might've been glad to experience. But today, you have convinced me to try and play Katawa Shoujo. We'll see how it goes but just in case, thank you in advance for this amazing video.
Katawa Shoujo, and now adding this video itself as something that's moved me. This is incredibly well done, and a further look into the development-life and history of KS is something I've always needed
This video was beautiful, I never even heard of the game before this video, but it has touched me more than words could describe. Thank you 4leaf, thank you VagrantZero
How was it? Was so emotionally draining for me the first time even if it also helped. Thinking of doing it again however am kind of scared going through that again especially in the isolation game we are playing now.
@@Hyde_Hill Freeing, quite freeing. It was the comfort I needed to end off a tough year, and reminded me of how far I'd actually come in the years since I'd played it through all the way, in terms of coping with/understanding what I struggle with. I feel you on how it was really emotionally draining the first time: it was for me as well. It's okay to be worried 100% - take your time and take breaks from it if it's becoming too much :)
Nice find. I remember following 4LS since the very start and it was quite the wild ride - ended up doing the Emi workout too. Years and years later there is still occasional activity on the forums.
Watching this reminds me of when I lurked 4chan daily. I remember in the span of 4 hours, 3 Katawa Shojou threads would go up Nostalgia is one helluva drug, and you dropped a truckload on me. Imma redownload and experience it again. Thanks brah
What a well-made, well-narrated, informative, captivating, and honorable account of the development, release, and effect of Katawa Shoujo. I first played it in 2012-2013ish and followed the community for a few years after that. Coming back to it earlier this year, it evoked the same feelings all over again, albeit more... matured versions of them? We've all grown since then, surely due in part to this VN. Such an impact it has made on many of our lives. I'm grateful to be part of that crowd, and I contributed nothing to its creation! - I was already eternally grateful towards its creators, but after watching this and learning how arduous the process was and how much it and the team went through, I have a newfound augmented admiration of them. What a wonderful job they did and wonderful thing they created. And thank YOU for providing this quality documentary, which I know will continue to give others this clarity and refreshment of their original heartfelt experiences.
Holy shit, I haven’t even played the game yet, but the last post by Aura straight up made me emotional. I can telI I will need some tissues for wiping away tears and blowing my nose once I do play it.
When I was approximately 15 years old I discovered KS through a RUclipsr who followed a game called Grand Fantasia, he started uploading that visual novel and I decided to watch it, he made the Hanako rune and I remember how I ended up loving KS. Years later, between my 20-21 years, I remembered the game and decided to play it for myself, I did the same Hanako route but this time I felt it and the story was much stronger, I ended up devastated when I finished it, I couldn't be calm, I wanted more and more about this story, so much so that I searched in many places if there was some kind of continuation even if it was written, at the end of the day I found a story on reddit that is a fanfic about the continuation of the story of Hanako's route, even if it is a Many fanfic fans consider it canon because of how well-crafted it is and how faithful it is to the characters. I read reddit for 1 week for more than 3 hours a day to continue with the story and I could perfectly imagine the scenarios, I also investigated and looked for the KS beta, although at a certain point I decided not to continue because I knew that the bad ending of Hanako was very bad and I knew that the simple fact of knowing that ending was going to affect me a lot emotionally. I am currently 23 years old and I still get things from KS, I think it is an excellent visual novel and that I will always remember it with great affection, after all it has been almost 10 years since I learned about it
This is quite frankly one of the greatest video essays I have watched on RUclips. Thank you VagrantZero, and of course thank you KS team for going leaps and bounds beyond what is expected.
i'm so happy to see someone talking about this game!!! i played it many years ago and never heard about it again, i thought it was completely lost to time. it's an actually beautiful and well written visual novel, i loved hearing about it's development!
Hey vagrant. Its been quite a while since your last video but i just want you to know that this video right here, is a testimony to true passion and love for this game and the people developing, playing and connecting with KS. With all my heart, whereever you are, thank you so much! I wish you all the good in the world.
what an amazing watch, I'm so glad we have a video that goes through every detail of this beautiful games development. Thank you for making this video. Happy 10 Years Katawa Shoujo!
14:03 I'm not a native English speaker, so I didn't know about these differences of Australian and American English. I don't even fully agree. I'd use restroom as a more noble version of toilet, just like I'd say "I have to go to the toilet" instead of "I have to shit". And "quit" means for me ending a task without finishing it.
What an amazingly well-made video. I've only heard great things about this VN, and now that I know more about it, I can understand why it gets the praise that it does.
Este es mi juego favorito y he jugado muchas visual novel y juegos en general pero saber como se hizo no tiene precio english: This is my favorite game and I have played many visual novels and games in general but knowing how it was done is priceless
A well crafted video indeed! I haven't played the game because i kinda hard play Visual Novel and ga in to the monitor for hour, but i guess i should try. Thank you so much for the video.
This game was one of the first visual novels I ever played (is played the right word?). It was about a year after it came out and to say it changed my view on the world and life in general would be an understatement. Due to things that happened in my childhood and teen years (and some help from my genetics) I have a weak Heart and Lungs compared to most people, I had my first heart attack when I was 15. The fact that the MC of this game also had a heart problem and not only took measures to fix it but also pursued Love even at the risks he had to take to do so, really pushed me through some of my darker moments back them. The girls shows me what life could be like for people who had more complicated health issues then I did and made me more open minded and empathetic towards people, It showed me that Strength isnt about what the Body could or couldn't do, it was about the Mind and Willpower of the person. A person without Arms could paint, a person without Legs could be a Runner, a Mute/Deaf girl could be a really good leader (with a little help of a translator anyway), if these girls could do all of this then why couldn't I, somebody who didn't have such disabilities, also do something similar with my life. I have dealt with Depression and high Anxiety for most of my life, was even Suicidal for years, but this game put some things into perspective for me. I still deal with Depression and Anxiety, but I no longer let it effect my life as much as it did back then. I keep my mind on the future, I keep making plans to make my life better, even if they very rarely work out. I have to try just as hard as these girls do or what is the point. Because of this game I understand that no matter what happens, I will find the willpower to keep going, it gave me that, and it reminds me of it every time I look at my desktop, as I always keep the game downloaded, even when I switch computers because 1 breaks down or something. While I don't have my original save files anymore, the memories of this game will forever stay with me and be a big turning point in my life. I think im gonna go replay it now.
This game was on my backlog for 11 years. I installed it twice, but never got around actually playing it. Just when I was pondering which game to tackle next after finishing yet another JRPG 4 weeks ago it came to mind again and I finally played it. Took me about 60 hours to 100% it and it sure was a journey... For 2 days straight I'm now reading up the history and reception of it and it's insane what 4LS accomplished back then. I knew some things about its development (following development loosely back then and putting it on my backlog soon after release), but looking back at it from today's perspective makes it surreal. Thanks for this great summary video. One mentionable detail you're missing is that Anonymus22 is also the main writer of Kenji. Insiders see him there as putting himself into the game in some way as he is apparently some kind of enigma in 4LS vanishing from the the stage soon after the release. He's made some posts on the KS boards later, though, but nothing major.
Words can't describe how much the history of this VN blows me away. When I first saw it years ago I didn't realize what it was but I greatly enjoyed it. Years later with the new context of its development I appreciate it even more.
I know I am a bit late to the party, but Katawa Shoujo is one of my first and favorite VN's out there, I recently finished the hanako route and have done emi and rin's route so far. On another note, this video is extremely well made and I find it crazy that it sits below 10K views.
I started crying when you read the last blog post. I first read KS back in 2015 and it really changed me. For some reason, I never read that blog post. I think I might download it and play it again.
14:47 In my experience, you get the best outcome, if noone agrees about some topic, and at least two persons of the team also have a strong opinion. Everyone thinks, they are right, and sometimes, one of them can convince the rest, because their idea is really just better and the arguments are good. But it's more interesting, when everyone has a totally different opinion and after long discussions nobody really want's to go on, but they also don't just give up and agree to some other popular opinion. After some time, the people have to change or totally drop their original ideas to get more open to other ideas, they could live with.
I remember falling in love with this game when I played it, it feels like so long ago yet not so far away at the same time. It got me through a bad time as well, and I don't think there will be another VN like that.
i few months ago, i wanted to see if there was any dating sims or visual novels with disabled characters, and the only one i found was katawa shoujo. oh god, i cried while playing it a few times. recently did lilly's route, gonna start doing hanako's later today, and then I'll be done with all the girls. it is a beautiful game and i'd recommend it to anyone :)
Thanks for do this I dont speak english really good I mean write both, I play this game for years a lot of replay And every time I play I discover something new and know about how this game was made it its very awesome
I remember when I first played it 7 years ago, completely changed my life. I have everything to be grateful for towards the creators of this masterpiece.
this game is a masterpiece i found long ago in the early days over a decade ago and i wish more ppl knew of this its such a touching work of art honestly
I wanted to do Hanako's route but ended up doing Emi's route 😅. The game is a masterpiece. 10/10. An epilogue of how you live with your gf after each ending like the ones in Season of Sakura would have been great. But still I am not disappointed. I mean the ending was meaningful.
@@aquaos5 I am sorry but I haven't done any other routes. Only Emi's route so far. After that, I played Corpse Party PSP which I completed few days ago and it was amazing, a bit traumatizing too. Katawa Shoujo can be really long, so I would do other routes when I feel like doing so.
I just came across this video because I recently remembered the experience that Katawa Shoujo was for me. Pretty much at least once a year I think back to that summer of 2014 when I played it and finished Hanako's route first. I don't even remember how I stumbled across that game but it certainly changed me like so many others. I was born with a heart condition and operated on as a kid, I could relate to Hisao purely from that although my condition was never as severe as his. But this touched me nonetheless and I still like to think that I learned lessons from that game up until today. I should replay it...
Before I started playing, I thought this was some normal anime vn aimed at girls, bcoz Shoujo in anime is the category aimed at girls. But only after playing, I found that it was a Bishoujo game which means it has lot of pretty girls of age 7-18. I was totally wrong to judge by the name. Shoujo just means girls, it was not the category. This is probably the best vn I've ever played. Not only that, it is also free. Also I love the fact that it is 36 hours long and has lots of replay value even if it is only 363mb apk for version 1.3.1 in android. I like both Emi and Hanako but I am going to go for Hanako route in my first playthrough.
Honestly I enjoyed this game so much that I'm ashamed to admit that I discovered it 9 years after its release by pure luck. Awesome game, and awesome video dude👍. I never thought I'd say that one day but thanks r34 for making me discover this hidden gem
Rin's route is just something else. The fact that characters have so much trouble connecting with each other, paradoxically, makes it much more real
It's honestly one of the boldest choices for a "dating sim" to have two completely different mindsets that naturally clash somehow come together and for it to still feel real.
Согласен с тобой.
I recently completed Emi’s route. The game inspired me to go to a local park to run. On going to the park, I also noticed that I still had an insecurity with myself. That insecurity had to do with a disability I have (nothing too major, just a slight limp). I realized that I was still self-conscious about it, and people looking at me or noticing it. I decided to do something about it. I now go back to that park every now and then to walk and run as a way to expose myself to the situation as a means to gain more confidence with myself. And all of this is because I played Katawa Shoujo
hey man , i hope you are more confident about yourself , and for the energy you put in yourself , i am proud of you brother .
@@leshinigamidesanimes3608 Thank you! I do feel slightly a little more confident about it. Somedays it gets to me a little more, but for the most part I’m confident about it haha
@@connorbooth7207 haha well done then ! i am proud of you man ,keep up the good work
@@leshinigamidesanimes3608 Thank you, I hope you’re doing well in your life too with whatever you have going on
@@connorbooth7207 Hey thanks a lot , and yeah it finally going well after having my life in pause for 10 years . i hope for you the same , a good life after tough time.
I finnaly finished playing KS a few days ago. It changed my mind a lot, I understand how many others started running, playing chess, drinking tea, etc, for me such as I can relate a lot to Emi, I started running everyday, eating better and having fun in it, maybe not with as much as passion as Emi, but enough to make time for it and of course, feeling better after it. However, even when Lilly's, Shizune/Misha's and Rin didn't hit me hard, Hanako's broke me. I have a friend, a really close friend with, aside from the burns, heavy psichological scars, bullying, infidelity, bad relationship if not almost none with her family, anxiety, depression, she's been like that for so many years, and Hanako's route made me remember the first time she broke in front of me, one moment being so happy and a second later on her knees crying so much, I remembered all of the feelings at that moment, impotent, speechless, worried as hell, freeze in the middle of the street without knowing what to do (She is way better now, with the right help she got better, so don't worry). I loved Hanako, how tangible she felt for me reading her history, as much as I loved Emi, her brightness was a light. I find this awesome, a game that can be so touchfull, I hope everyone that played, plays and will play find so much meaning as I did with KS.
I want to preface this by saying I've played a few vns before, read my fair share of similar books/manga, and seen plenty of supposed "tear jerker" animes/shows before. All that going into this video had me skeptical that this game was worth a passing glance but this video sold me, if for nothing else than 4leafs story alone. So I downloaded it and played it and without any guides/videos I reacted as I would with each choice and came across the good ending for Lilly.
I was left with many emotions, I couldn't place a finger on what they were though. I've never cried at anything before, never felt that tug in my heart before, never have I been touched by media like this but I couldn't figure out what. That night I was restless, the feelings never left, it's just a game, I know that but the feelings I couldn't describe weren't leaving. Looking for some form of answer I came back to this video and found out RUclips kept my time stamp and came back to 26:53 and before I knew it I was crying. I still don't fully understand why, but I've never felt better than I did after the tears stopped coming.
They weren't bad tears, I was happy, content, satisfied in a story that resonated with me more than I care to admit. I have problems myself, I can never seem to get enough oxygen into my lungs unless I breathe deeply much to the dismay of those around me. If I don't monitor my breathing I'll get that static feeling in my wrists and lightheadedness followed by that pins and needles feeling if I let it continue. It's what kept me from joining the military actually, but to see Yamaku and the many students, to see Lilly, Misha/Shizune, Rin, Hanako, and Hisao all move forward with their lives hit me harder than I've ever felt and I've been through some great relationships/nasty breakups.
I don't know you Vagrant, nor you me, but I can't thank you enough for making this video. This probably sounds corny, dare I say cringe, but it's not a stretch so say this game has made a big impact in my life. My thoughts go back to college to the one student that was blind I used to see walking around with a cane of his own. I never thought much of it before but now I wonder about him. I won't dwell on the what ifs, but I'll keep it in mind for the rest of my life. I don't where to go from here if I'm honest. I'm inspired to learn sign language but don't know where to start. I want to do something but with all that's happening and being a freshly graduated kid myself facing the worst job market I could enter, I wonder what that something is. Nevertheless, I can't thank you enough, I don't know if you feel this way, but I hope if nothing else you're remembered for this video rather than the Yanderedev one. While it was a good video, it doesn't hold half the weight this one does.
This game is indeed an experience never seen before
It shed for me light at so many things and issues
It had touched me deeply too
Had some copyright bullshit on some of the clips used so there are a couple segments of black screen, but the audio is untouched so hopefully it's not too disruptive.
I'm incredibly happy with how this turned out, though it took easily 6x as many work hours as most of my other videos, so I'm not sure the what the frequency of uploads like this will be. Regardless, I hope y'all enjoy my video :)
ecksellent sht me dude, thank you. im gonna play tha game now
The story behind this game's development is one of the few things that restores my faith in humanity.
I then always remember it came from 4chan, and briefly wonder if there's something dreadfully dreadfully wrong with me as a human being.
I say yes, and then decide to merely continue enjoying the brief happiness memories of this game brings me.
Same, especially seeing how people got inspired to improve themselfs is very uplifting
i would love it if 4leafstudios reunited and made another game, it doesn't need to have anything to do with katawa shoujo, it can just be it's own thing
This game was golden i just can't express how well made this game is
Wow now I am so glad I watched/played the entire game. I knew this game was an indie game but I never truly knew the whole story and I got to admit I have so much respect for the core team and the people who pitched in to help. This VN was the first to actually make me care about the characters, story, and development. Also Red Velvet (OST) is by far the most calming jazz that I have heard.
I'm gonna go play it. This video was very finely crafted, you did a good job.
Please do, some of us spent 2 weeks playtesting it over and over.
Hey! Did you play the game? I hope you enjoyed it!
I'm literally playing it again after putting it down two years ago, I wanna know if you enjoyed it too lol
So, did you like it?
Did ya love it?
God, the music still gets to me even after so, so long.
Oh Man,
I remember Raita and his early works, one of the most amazing doujin artists out there, not for the sexual exploration, but the character design itself, the way he draws limbs and overall the ridiculous body proportions, just somehow works and looks angelic. So many nostalgic nuts…
As for KS, I still remember back in the day when those threads were made on /v/ and /a/, that enthusiasm and support, it’s become somewhat rare in this day and age (especially on 4chan). The feels KS left me with after all those years, gonna leave that with me.
What I’m trying to say is you sure got my sub my guy.
Thank you for this comprehensive video, I was aware of the game and its origin which intrigued me. But now with all this background information it made me realize that I shouldn't slack off as much, and more importantly: give this game a try.
Dude we need an update
Many many years later and we all look back on this series as a masterpiece. Thank you for this fantastic video essay.
Damnit at the end of this i almost started crying, GOD DAMNIT WHY DO YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE THIS SO MUCH MORE EMOTIONAL?
Man, this video is so impeccably made. Seriously, the love so many of us feel for KS just emanates from every second of this. Beautifully done.
Happy 10 years, Katawa Shoujo.
We're gonna make it through.
the final post at the end, i won't lie it made me cry, i'm about to graduate high school, and everything hasn't hit me until you read that, it hit me like the feels i got from finishing Hanako's route, and that's okay, but now i can't stop crying
I played all routes, multiple times.
All of them teached me somethjing different, all of the mbrought me to emotions and gave me different feelings. This game is something else. It introduced me to VNs, it made me feel again as I played it in a particularly shitty part of my life.
God damn, I miss KS. It's THE one thing that I would delete from my memory if I could, just so I could play and read it for the first time again.
Back then when I was, to be frank, an ignorant child, I just dismiss Katawa Shoujo.
_"Ahh must be one of _*_those_*_ games, yeah yeah I might check out stuff like Clannad or Katawa Shoujo one day"_
was what I thought everytime I read/heard the name pops up. You know *those* games that people call "masterpiece", games that "touched many people's hearts". I don't really get what this behavior of avoiding something that many people acknowledges (hipster mentality?), but as a result I keep denying these experiences that I myself might've been glad to experience.
But today, you have convinced me to try and play Katawa Shoujo. We'll see how it goes but just in case, thank you in advance for this amazing video.
And how did it go?
This video was very well-crafted and makes me even want to play it so I can experience it for myself, awesome job man.
_Kiryu Kazuma-san._
Katawa Shoujo, and now adding this video itself as something that's moved me. This is incredibly well done, and a further look into the development-life and history of KS is something I've always needed
I can’t BELIEVE this only has 5k views. Every Katawa Shoujo fan needs to see this.
Dude, everyone needs to see this. Not only the fans.
this... this was a good video. thank you for this
glad you enjoyed it fren :)
This video was beautiful, I never even heard of the game before this video, but it has touched me more than words could describe. Thank you 4leaf, thank you VagrantZero
Awh shit just realized this is a sexual innuendo...
Damn, that was a beautiful story to listen, thanks a lot for making this video
Been replaying Katawa Shoujo to close off 2020. Damn, you got me crying, VagrantZero. Wonderful retrospective.
How was it? Was so emotionally draining for me the first time even if it also helped. Thinking of doing it again however am kind of scared going through that again especially in the isolation game we are playing now.
@@Hyde_Hill Freeing, quite freeing. It was the comfort I needed to end off a tough year, and reminded me of how far I'd actually come in the years since I'd played it through all the way, in terms of coping with/understanding what I struggle with. I feel you on how it was really emotionally draining the first time: it was for me as well. It's okay to be worried 100% - take your time and take breaks from it if it's becoming too much :)
Nice find. I remember following 4LS since the very start and it was quite the wild ride - ended up doing the Emi workout too. Years and years later there is still occasional activity on the forums.
Watching this reminds me of when I lurked 4chan daily. I remember in the span of 4 hours, 3 Katawa Shojou threads would go up
Nostalgia is one helluva drug, and you dropped a truckload on me. Imma redownload and experience it again. Thanks brah
What a well-made, well-narrated, informative, captivating, and honorable account of the development, release, and effect of Katawa Shoujo. I first played it in 2012-2013ish and followed the community for a few years after that. Coming back to it earlier this year, it evoked the same feelings all over again, albeit more... matured versions of them? We've all grown since then, surely due in part to this VN. Such an impact it has made on many of our lives. I'm grateful to be part of that crowd, and I contributed nothing to its creation! - I was already eternally grateful towards its creators, but after watching this and learning how arduous the process was and how much it and the team went through, I have a newfound augmented admiration of them. What a wonderful job they did and wonderful thing they created. And thank YOU for providing this quality documentary, which I know will continue to give others this clarity and refreshment of their original heartfelt experiences.
Holy shit, I haven’t even played the game yet, but the last post by Aura straight up made me emotional. I can telI I will need some tissues for wiping away tears and blowing my nose once I do play it.
So?
Criminaly underrated video and Chanel keep up the good work!
When I was approximately 15 years old I discovered KS through a RUclipsr who followed a game called Grand Fantasia, he started uploading that visual novel and I decided to watch it, he made the Hanako rune and I remember how I ended up loving KS.
Years later, between my 20-21 years, I remembered the game and decided to play it for myself, I did the same Hanako route but this time I felt it and the story was much stronger, I ended up devastated when I finished it, I couldn't be calm, I wanted more and more about this story, so much so that I searched in many places if there was some kind of continuation even if it was written, at the end of the day I found a story on reddit that is a fanfic about the continuation of the story of Hanako's route, even if it is a Many fanfic fans consider it canon because of how well-crafted it is and how faithful it is to the characters.
I read reddit for 1 week for more than 3 hours a day to continue with the story and I could perfectly imagine the scenarios, I also investigated and looked for the KS beta, although at a certain point I decided not to continue because I knew that the bad ending of Hanako was very bad and I knew that the simple fact of knowing that ending was going to affect me a lot emotionally.
I am currently 23 years old and I still get things from KS, I think it is an excellent visual novel and that I will always remember it with great affection, after all it has been almost 10 years since I learned about it
You talking about Sisterhood?
This is quite frankly one of the greatest video essays I have watched on RUclips. Thank you VagrantZero, and of course thank you KS team for going leaps and bounds beyond what is expected.
Dude, you're videos are painfully underrated. Keep at it, man.
Well, this video certainly sold me the game. Just as carefully made as the masterpiece, amazing job dude.
Someone: i'm gonna add a bonus page to this doujin, not like its gonna do anything)
Narrator: *BUT IT DID DO SOMETHING!*
i'm so happy to see someone talking about this game!!! i played it many years ago and never heard about it again, i thought it was completely lost to time. it's an actually beautiful and well written visual novel, i loved hearing about it's development!
This is a seriously top notch video man
Hey vagrant. Its been quite a while since your last video but i just want you to know that this video right here, is a testimony to true passion and love for this game and the people developing, playing and connecting with KS. With all my heart, whereever you are, thank you so much! I wish you all the good in the world.
This video was amazing and well done. In some part I just can't keep smiling and in others it was so melancholic.
Great job dude.
Watching this and other KS vids before the anniversary to delve into some nostalgia. Awesome work!
Hugs to everyone
what an amazing watch, I'm so glad we have a video that goes through every detail of this beautiful games development. Thank you for making this video. Happy 10 Years Katawa Shoujo!
As someone who used to frequent the ks/b/ thread long, long ago. thank you for this. It was very good.
Thank you! Awesome documentary!
14:03 I'm not a native English speaker, so I didn't know about these differences of Australian and American English.
I don't even fully agree. I'd use restroom as a more noble version of toilet, just like I'd say "I have to go to the toilet" instead of "I have to shit".
And "quit" means for me ending a task without finishing it.
What an amazingly well-made video. I've only heard great things about this VN, and now that I know more about it, I can understand why it gets the praise that it does.
Thank you for this video!
This is a crazy good video, it deserves way more views. good on you
Fantastic video! I love how its both passionate, yet analytical. I'm on my second viewing of this!
Este es mi juego favorito y he jugado muchas visual novel y juegos en general pero saber como se hizo no tiene precio
english:
This is my favorite game and I have played many visual novels and games in general but knowing how it was done is priceless
A katawa shoujo video I haven't seen?! Now there is a surprise.
love the celeste ost being used! great video!
A well crafted video indeed!
I haven't played the game because i kinda hard play Visual Novel and ga in to the monitor for hour, but i guess i should try. Thank you so much for the video.
This game was one of the first visual novels I ever played (is played the right word?). It was about a year after it came out and to say it changed my view on the world and life in general would be an understatement. Due to things that happened in my childhood and teen years (and some help from my genetics) I have a weak Heart and Lungs compared to most people, I had my first heart attack when I was 15. The fact that the MC of this game also had a heart problem and not only took measures to fix it but also pursued Love even at the risks he had to take to do so, really pushed me through some of my darker moments back them. The girls shows me what life could be like for people who had more complicated health issues then I did and made me more open minded and empathetic towards people, It showed me that Strength isnt about what the Body could or couldn't do, it was about the Mind and Willpower of the person. A person without Arms could paint, a person without Legs could be a Runner, a Mute/Deaf girl could be a really good leader (with a little help of a translator anyway), if these girls could do all of this then why couldn't I, somebody who didn't have such disabilities, also do something similar with my life.
I have dealt with Depression and high Anxiety for most of my life, was even Suicidal for years, but this game put some things into perspective for me. I still deal with Depression and Anxiety, but I no longer let it effect my life as much as it did back then. I keep my mind on the future, I keep making plans to make my life better, even if they very rarely work out. I have to try just as hard as these girls do or what is the point. Because of this game I understand that no matter what happens, I will find the willpower to keep going, it gave me that, and it reminds me of it every time I look at my desktop, as I always keep the game downloaded, even when I switch computers because 1 breaks down or something. While I don't have my original save files anymore, the memories of this game will forever stay with me and be a big turning point in my life.
I think im gonna go replay it now.
As a disabled person, it makes me so happy to know so much care was put into this game
Fantastic video, great concise historical documentary of its inception.
Great video man, very great stuff! I really love all of it!
Also was sad when i found out RAITA passed but happy they spawned something so amazing with a simple concept
This game was on my backlog for 11 years. I installed it twice, but never got around actually playing it. Just when I was pondering which game to tackle next after finishing yet another JRPG 4 weeks ago it came to mind again and I finally played it. Took me about 60 hours to 100% it and it sure was a journey...
For 2 days straight I'm now reading up the history and reception of it and it's insane what 4LS accomplished back then. I knew some things about its development (following development loosely back then and putting it on my backlog soon after release), but looking back at it from today's perspective makes it surreal.
Thanks for this great summary video.
One mentionable detail you're missing is that Anonymus22 is also the main writer of Kenji. Insiders see him there as putting himself into the game in some way as he is apparently some kind of enigma in 4LS vanishing from the the stage soon after the release. He's made some posts on the KS boards later, though, but nothing major.
This is well made
25:03 This part with the celeste music is really nice :)
Words can't describe how much the history of this VN blows me away. When I first saw it years ago I didn't realize what it was but I greatly enjoyed it. Years later with the new context of its development I appreciate it even more.
amazing video. Shame it doesnt have as many views as it deserves
I know I am a bit late to the party, but Katawa Shoujo is one of my first and favorite VN's out there, I recently finished the hanako route and have done emi and rin's route so far. On another note, this video is extremely well made and I find it crazy that it sits below 10K views.
Great video, well researched and communicated. Kudos to you.
I started crying when you read the last blog post. I first read KS back in 2015 and it really changed me. For some reason, I never read that blog post. I think I might download it and play it again.
Rin Gang still rises
You called aura aqua at 16:00 lmfao. Great video though
i just love this video
14:47 In my experience, you get the best outcome, if noone agrees about some topic, and at least two persons of the team also have a strong opinion.
Everyone thinks, they are right, and sometimes, one of them can convince the rest, because their idea is really just better and the arguments are good.
But it's more interesting, when everyone has a totally different opinion and after long discussions nobody really want's to go on, but they also don't just give up and agree to some other popular opinion. After some time, the people have to change or totally drop their original ideas to get more open to other ideas, they could live with.
I remember falling in love with this game when I played it, it feels like so long ago yet not so far away at the same time. It got me through a bad time as well, and I don't think there will be another VN like that.
As someone who loves Katawa Shoujo this is some high quality content
i few months ago, i wanted to see if there was any dating sims or visual novels with disabled characters, and the only one i found was katawa shoujo.
oh god, i cried while playing it a few times.
recently did lilly's route, gonna start doing hanako's later today, and then I'll be done with all the girls.
it is a beautiful game and i'd recommend it to anyone :)
Thanks for do this I dont speak english really good I mean write both, I play this game for years a lot of replay And every time I play I discover something new and know about how this game was made it its very awesome
I remember when I first played it 7 years ago, completely changed my life. I have everything to be grateful for towards the creators of this masterpiece.
Nice video , going to give it a go
I like the visual style for Rin at 8:10. She's really cute there.
KS finally getting some representation yay
Great video!
this game is a masterpiece i found long ago in the early days over a decade ago and i wish more ppl knew of this its such a touching work of art honestly
It's already been 10 years since its release now...
I've actually stumbled upon this game last year. It's pretty cool to learn how these people made the game.
I wanted to do Hanako's route but ended up doing Emi's route 😅. The game is a masterpiece. 10/10. An epilogue of how you live with your gf after each ending like the ones in Season of Sakura would have been great. But still I am not disappointed. I mean the ending was meaningful.
I also got emi's route while going for hanako but in the end it doesn't matter since finishing one route makes you want to explore the others
@@aquaos5 But I don't regret 😊
@@aquaos5 yeah
@@RiteshRockz can i ask you what was your fav route? mine was rin
@@aquaos5 I am sorry but I haven't done any other routes. Only Emi's route so far. After that, I played Corpse Party PSP which I completed few days ago and it was amazing, a bit traumatizing too. Katawa Shoujo can be really long, so I would do other routes when I feel like doing so.
I just came across this video because I recently remembered the experience that Katawa Shoujo was for me. Pretty much at least once a year I think back to that summer of 2014 when I played it and finished Hanako's route first. I don't even remember how I stumbled across that game but it certainly changed me like so many others. I was born with a heart condition and operated on as a kid, I could relate to Hisao purely from that although my condition was never as severe as his. But this touched me nonetheless and I still like to think that I learned lessons from that game up until today. I should replay it...
Wait raita really, man his artsyles sure ever change
Before I started playing, I thought this was some normal anime vn aimed at girls, bcoz Shoujo in anime is the category aimed at girls. But only after playing, I found that it was a Bishoujo game which means it has lot of pretty girls of age 7-18. I was totally wrong to judge by the name. Shoujo just means girls, it was not the category. This is probably the best vn I've ever played. Not only that, it is also free. Also I love the fact that it is 36 hours long and has lots of replay value even if it is only 363mb apk for version 1.3.1 in android. I like both Emi and Hanako but I am going to go for Hanako route in my first playthrough.
I played it back in 2013, can't believe it's been a decade since the game's release; time sure flies
Now it’s on steam many others will get to experience this for the first time
Thank you for this
And now, the modding scene is resurrecting Katawa Shoujo. Can't wait for the Saki route to finish.
I’m a simple man. If I see Hanako in the thumbnail, I click.
Kino video, dude. I wish this game had a resurgence in popularity. There is nothing like it.
IM BOUTTA CRY AND I HAVE TO SLEEP
Thank you Cpl_Crud, thank you for Hanako
Very nice
26:50
This made eyes very wet
I remember at Anime Expo a meatslab of a young man coming up to Suriko and saying "changed my LIFE, man" before giving him a bear hug.
Good video
Honestly I enjoyed this game so much that I'm ashamed to admit that I discovered it 9 years after its release by pure luck.
Awesome game, and awesome video dude👍.
I never thought I'd say that one day but thanks r34 for making me discover this hidden gem
🙏
Here we go again...