An Enigmatic Box of Stories
A Conversation with the Writers of Katawa Shoujo
How much of life today is like a visual novel? According to Hiroki Azuma, the “philosopher of otaku”, very much — contemporary life narratives are to be unlocked and collected for its own sake, not for any greater meaning. But games like Katawa Shoujo tells us that, despite the lack of grand narratives, smaller narratives, too, can be meaningful.
In this episode, Bonni Rambatan talks to Cpl_Crud and TheHivemind, two writers from the Four Leaf Studios. 4LS were the collective that gave birth to the smash-hit visual novel on disabled youth, Katawa Shoujo. Although nowhere near as dramatic as the game, the story behind it is no less exciting.
Seriously, if you haven’t played through the game, you’re missing out on so much. Head over below to download the game, soundtrack, and artbooks:
Katawa Shoujo ◊ Download
Language: English, Français, Español Internacional, 日本語
www.katawa-shoujo.com
We give you a short, fast-paced episode this time since we don’t want to talk too out-of-topic, repeat ourselves, or, most importantly, spoil the story for you. But it should be exciting nonetheless!
Oh, and by the way, this is the image that started it all:
Find the original sticky here (possibly NSFW).
As far as theory goes, we’ll be talking about Hiroki Azuma’s ideas on database culture, with the otaku being its poster child. We’ll also bring you a ton of songs from Katawa Shoujo Enigmatic Box of Sounds for the feels.
Original music scores were created by our editor and audio engineer CJ Camelia Jonathan. Katawa Shoujo Enigmatic Box of Sounds songs used are as follows:
- 01:49 — Fripperies
- 06:39 — Passing of Time
- 07:14 — Concord
- 07:35 — The Student Council
- 07:53 — Painful History
- 08:12 — Standing Tall
- 08:31 — Parity
- 31:44 — Wiosna
Again, go to the link above to download the entire CC-licensed album for free. All song credits go to NicolAmarfi and Blue123.
SPECIAL THANKS to our Patreon supporter, Kiki Schirr. Be sure to check out her project, Tech Doodles.
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