While some of these can be chalked up to the limited resources of a self-funded, self-run, amateur game studio working within the constraints of a well-developed genre's standard tropes, the fact that these options were not made priorities may have been influenced by biases inherent to the views the developers may have had on human relationships that possibility needs stating, if only for comprehensiveness. In addition, all of the possible routes are strictly hetero-monogamous this is worth saying because Kenji is not available as a valid route (his path leads to death, which is something for another analysis), and while Misha shows signs of bisexuality, it is not possible to have a poly-amorous relationship with her and Shizune (which is relevant because Misha shows sexual and romantic desire for Shizune during the route). Some of these interpretations are shared with Eastern cultures, but not all of them are. That makes it inevitable that a Western interpretation of sexual relationships will have found its way into the scenarios. The first is that, while the protagonist is Japanese, the writing is in English, done by a team of predominantly English-speaking developers. I think that Hanako's scene illustrates the difficulty in creating clean, easily transferrable rules about consent, especially in relation to young people, sexually inexperienced people, and those with mental health concerns while it's not impossible, the complications that these things can bring to a sexual relationship requires a more nuanced approach to consent.Īll of the h-scenes in KS are written from the perspective of a high school senior with no sexual experience of his own. I've experienced Hanako's route twice in the past 5 years: once in 2012, and once in 2017.
KS occupies an interesting space within the modern discourse concerning these issues, and Hanako's h-scene, I think, says a lot of necessary (while uncomfortable) things about sexual relationships and mental health that are hard to discuss in the current climate for fear of repercussion or error. The public consciousness, as well as the quality and content of public discourse, has shifted markedly in just 5 years. A lot has happened in the public space concerning mental health, sexual health, and consent since Katawa Shoujo was released in 2012.
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