Kenji's Ending: Katawa Shoujo

Kenji's Ending: Katawa Shoujo

There's one ending in Katawa Shoujo where you die. I just want to talk about it. Since this is a visual novel, you have to show interest in one character, and then that character's narrative opens up. But, since Katawa Shoujo also deals with disabled characters, or characters that are negotiating disability, I find that many people often unknowingly get this ending.

So, what happens? Well, Hisao tells off all the girls after having a heart attack, and they express concern. Instead of picking one activity for the school festival, Hisao gets drunk with Kenji on the roof. Kenji rants about feminist brainwashing, how there will be a war between men and women, and you cannot trust anyone. So, he perceives everything as a threat to his masculinity as a blind man.

This is the only possible “ending” with Kenji, who otherwise is a clownish character, down to his theme music. But, it probably reveals the the most about his character. He simply doesn't know how to treat people as normal, because of his own sense of self-worth, or lack of it. Similarly, I think many players who first play Katawa Shoujo, unknowingly get Kenji's ending, where Hisao gets drunk and falls off the roof.

Again, this isn't because people are trying to be mean, or get the worst ending. This is simply storytelling. The game must continue with one girl's narrative taking over at the end of Act 1, the festival. If your answers are all over the place, the game can't continue. I think many players got this ending not through meanness, but through expressing curiosity about each girl.

When I first played, I was naturally drawn to Emi, because of her having no legs, which most mirrored my experience as a quadriplegic. I think most able-bodied players may not have that experience where they see their interests and positions mirrored in Katawa. They simply try to investigate the strange world of disability, and only later discover that they are more than they appear to be.

There's a lot of reasons why one might accidentally fall into Kenji's ending, if as previously stated, players are unfamiliar with the game's structure, just expressing interest in characters, or simply wanting to know more about disabilities. I'll put the ending down here, just to illustrate it. Kenji's ending might be the “worst”, but it is the most revealing of his character, and perhaps of the players' possible mindsets.