History YMMV / KatawaShoujo

** While on the surface Kenji looks like a StrawMisogynist HeManWomanHater, there is a fairly good case for his being ArmoredClosetGay and hiding behind his hatred of women and belief in conspiracies involving them to avoid acknowledging that he's attracted to men. More than a few RealLife ArmoredClosetGay men have ostensibly had such views. It helps that [[WhatCouldHaveBeen he was originally supposed to be the game's]] GayOption.

* FanPreferredCouple: Miki and Suzu. Suriko (writer of Lilly's route and co-writer of Hanako's) went as far as to write an unofficial pseudo-route for Miki wherein she gets the choice of Hisao or Suzu, partly in response to them being the most popular of the characters of no importance to the plot and fan art pairing the two up for years previously.

* HoYay: Kenji. See AlternativeCharacterInterpretation above. Particularly during the DownerEnding with Kenji, where - as he gets closer and closer to Hisao - the love-theme To Become One plays.
** For the female version:
*** Lilly and Hanako: Their routes only split in the last choice of Act 1 and even then, in Lilly's ending you spend the festival, and the majority of later acts in both routes, with [[OneTrueThreesome both of them]]. In Hanako's route, she says she "love(s)" Lilly in the scenes leading to her Good Ending. Lilly gives Hanako a hug in her early birthday party in both girls' routes, and in her own route, [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments tells Hanako that she did not befriend her out of pity, but because of who she is]], culminating in what appears to be a kiss on the forehead.
*** [[GenkiGirl Emi]] and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Rin]]: Emi, without any embarrassment, helps Rin get dressed, and helps her in the bathroom. Can't get much closer than that. In Rin's route, Emi also mentions that they used to sometimes sleep in the same bed. Also, [[spoiler:Rin is amazingly unfazed by walking in on the aftermath of a sex scene with Emi.]] Then again, this ''is'' Rin.
*** Naomi and Natsume: It's right there in their concept picture.

** Kenji's crazy rants also come off rather more uncomfortable to read now than when they were originally written, after things like [=GamerGate=] and [=QAnon=] demonstrated that real people who think like that aren't harmless.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** In Emi's route, she jokingly questions why Misha would hang out with someone as bossy as Shizune. In Shizune's route, you find out the real reason: [[spoiler:Misha is in love with Shizune, but it is not requited and causes her a great deal of pain]].
** On several instances in Emi's route, light-hearted remarks are made as to how incomprehensible Rin and her art are, including the comment that not even Rin expects her art to be understood. [[spoiler:Viewed in the light of Rin's route, where it turns out that Rin tries to use her art to express herself, the casual dismissal becomes devastating.]]
** Lilly often teases Akira about her cooking skills. [[spoiler:Later on, it's revealed that Akira had to raise Lilly by herself after their parents left, and believes that she didn't do a very good job. Her inability to cook likely comes off to her as more part of a personal failing than a minor shortcoming]].

* PresumedFlop: {{Inverted| Trope}} and {{downplayed| Trope}} with Shizune's route. The alpha version is often considered superior to the final product, though the former has been criticized for trying too hard to be a TearJerker (this is due to the same alpha containing the infamous Hanako arc full of nothing but {{Bad End}}s).

* {{Fan Hater}}s: Every girl, save for Emi, seems to have some:
** Saying that you like Shizune or Rin is a good way to get yourself branded as pretentious and elitist, with Shizune fans also getting the "pleasure" of being called spineless bottoms that get off on being dominated by bitchy women.
** Hanako fans are often accused of wanting a "dream girl" who is totally dependent on them (which is missing the point of her route, [[InsaneTrollLogic but when has that ever stopped anyone]]).
** If you are a Lilly fan, than you are a bandwagonner that lets the Internet do his thinking for him, going after the Mary Sue because she appeals to the LowestCommonDenominator (although this is also missing the point that she is a deconstruction of the Mary Sue). The Lilly haters are an interesting case in themselves. She's quite popular with the overall fandom and polls have shown that Lilly is actually the ''least'' disliked of all characters in the game... But you would definitely not know that if you enter certain discussion threads, where the VocalMinority will shove you out of the thread at even the slightest mention of liking her.
** If you like Misha, expect some smartass CaptainObvious to point that she doesn't have a route (or that [[spoiler:she is a lesbian]]).

* PresumedFlop: {{Inverted| Trope}} and {{downplayed| Trope}} with Shizune's alpha route. It is often considered superior to the final product, though it has been criticized for trying too hard to be a TearJerker (this is due to the same alpha containing the infamous Hanako arc full of nothing but {{Bad End}}s).

* PresumedFlop: Shizune's alpha route is often considered superior to the final product, though it has been criticized for trying too hard to be a TearJerker (this is due to the same alpha containing the infamous Hanako arc full of nothing but {{Bad End}}s).

* {{Anvilicious}}: It's a dating sim. And you're a boy with a ''[[StealthPun heart problem]]''!

** Misha. A common question to the developers was (and ''still'' is) if she'll have her own route. She won't.

* FanNickname: Kenji Setou is often referred to as "Franchise/HarryPotter" for dressing similarly, as well as being at a boarding school where he is a little out of his depth, though that is where similarities end.

* FanPreferredCutContent: Shizune's alpha route is often considered superior to the final product, though it has been criticized for trying too hard to be a TearJerker (this is due to the same alpha containing the infamous Hanako arc full of nothing but {{Bad End}}s).
* FollowTheLeader: Visual novels featuring protagonists with disabilities like ''VisualNovel/MissingStars'' and ''Love Despite'' rose in the wake of this visual novel through the efforts of this VN's fans.

* BetterThanCanon:
** There is an entire category of fanfiction devoted to building upon Shizune's route in order to make the ''very'' subtle emotional element of their relationship more apparent to readers. ''Shizune's Epilogue'' and ''Fanfic/WeekendAtHisaos'' are the best known examples and are considered by many to be some of the best Katawa Shoujo fanfics out there.
** Shizune's alpha route is often considered superior to the final product, though it has been criticized for trying too hard to be a {{tearjerker}} (this is due to the same alpha containing the infamous Hanako arc full of nothing but {{Bad End}}s).
* CrazyIsCool: Kenji, a [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} paranoid]], [[HeMAnWomanHater misogynistic]], overly hyper, [[TestosteronePoisoning manly]], loud {{jerk|ass}}? Yeah, this is pretty much the reason he became so popular.
* CrossingTheLineTwice: Averted. Since the original concept was quite possibly intended as edgy satire, one might expect the game to take this form. Instead, it's a reasonably nuanced and respectful take on the subject.

* FanNickname: Kenji Setou is often referred to as "[[Franchise/HarryPotter]]" for dressing similarly, as well as being at a boarding school where he is a little out of his depth, though that is where similarities end.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: It's a [[DisabledLoveInterest cripple]] [[HGame porn]] VisualNovel ''from Website/FourChan''! Despite this (or [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity because of it]]), it has become a GatewaySeries for the VisualNovel genre.

** Shizune's alpha route is often considered superior to the final product, though it has been critized for trying to hard to be a {{tearjerker}} (this is due to the same alpha containing the infamous Hanako arc full of nothing but {{Bad End}}s).

** Naturally, since it is a well-made English language {{Freeware}} VisualNovel. Let's just say that before this, significantly less people were aware that the VisualNovel genre ''existed''.

* MultipleDemographicAppeal: As a BishoujoGenre {{Eroge}}, Katawa Shoujo is directed towards straight men (and to a lesser extent due to no female Hisao option, women attracted to other women), but has a lot of straight as well as gay and bi female fans, not to mention readers who were interested to see its take on disability. The release of the full version brought in a lot of fans who wouldn't have normally played an {{eroge}}.

** Kenji: While on the surface he looks like a StrawMisogynist HeManWomanHater, there is a fairly good case for his being ArmoredClosetGay and hiding behind his hatred of women and belief in conspiracies involving them to avoid acknowledging that he's attracted to men. More than a few RealLife ArmoredClosetGay men have ostensibly had such views. It helps that [[WhatCouldHaveBeen he was originally supposed to be the game's]] GayOption.
** Another one for Kenji: is he the ConspiracyTheorist simply as a joke or a facade for his homosexuality, or is he a true believer in his hateful theories about women, which would imply either [[TheSchizophreniaConspiracy paranoid schizophrenia]] or [[DrugsAreBad the use of certain paranoia-inducing drugs]]?
** [[http://shimmie.katawa-shoujo.com/post/list/yandere/1 Fan art]] frequently casts Hanako as a {{Yandere}}.
** Hanako as a StringyHairedGhostGirl. Occasionally [[http://shimmie.katawa-shoujo.com/post/view/1289 parodied]] in [[http://shimmie.katawa-shoujo.com/post/view/1267 fanart]].
*** It helps that there's a Japanese urban legend about a bathroom haunted by "a ghost named Hanako-san":https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanako-san. This is referenced in-game when Rin accidentally calls Hanako "that toilet girl".
** Non-canon art casts Akira as being in TheMafia or the {{Yakuza}}. It helps that she appears to be a BadassInANiceSuit. Perhaps as a FandomNod, Lilly's route involves Kenji's suspicion that she has ties to the The Mafia.
** On a more serious note, was Iwanako's ceasing her visits to Hisao six weeks into his hospitalization her callously abandoning him, her feeling guilty about his heart condition and thinking he'd be better off without her, or the result of him pushing her away? Hisao's differing degrees of sympathy towards Iwanako in each route add to this.

* MultipleDemographicAppeal: As a BishoujoGenre {{Eroge}}, Katawa Shoujo is directed towards straight men (and to a lesser extent due to no female Hisao option, bisexual women), but has a lot of straight and gay female fans, as well as readers who were interested to see its take on disability. The release of the full version brought in a lot of fans who wouldn't have normally played an {{eroge}}.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** In Rin's route, Hisao may end up quitting the art club midway through depending on your choices, an interesting case in which your choices may alter the story without changing the ending. Unfortunately, it only results in a few lines of dialogue being changed.
** Some wish that Shizune's arc addressed and dealt with her problems further, with her route lacking a clear-cut happy ending.

* CrazyAwesome: Kenji, a [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} paranoid]], [[HeMAnWomanHater misogynistic]], overly hyper, [[TestosteronePoisoning manly]], loud {{jerk|ass}}? Yeah, this is pretty much the reason he became so popular.

** If you are a Lilly fan, than you are a bandwagonner that lets the Internet do his thinking for him, going after the Mary Sue because she appeals to the LowestCommonDenominator (although this is also missing the point that she is a deconstruction of the Mary Sue). The Lilly haters are an interesting case in themselves. Polls have shown that Lilly is actually the ''least'' disliked of all characters in the game... But you would definitely not know that if you enter certain discussion threads, where the VocalMinority will shove you out of the thread at even the slightest mention of liking her.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In Rin's route, Hisao may end up quitting the art club midway through depending on your choices, an interesting case in which your choices may alter the story without changing the ending. Unfortunately, it only results in a few lines of dialogue being changed.

* ItWasHisSled[=/=]AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame: