Kana Little Sister

"A truly astonishing graphic adventure that will relentlessly bring you to tears"

Kana Little Sister, a excellent graphic adventure released in English by the people at G-collections, easily could have slipped by me during it’s run. Why? Poor marketing, small genre (As of now, in the US), anime styled (Meaning it would only appeal to anime fans for the most part), and containing the ever-forbidden topic of hentai (In a nutshell, hentai is anime nudity). Fortunately, I saw Bobo the Clown’s excellent review by random chance, and turned deeply interested in this game. Without this, Kana Little Sister could easily have slipped by me in the ocean of games this world contains. Against all odds, I managed to find and receive it, and I am thankful I did.

Kana Little Sister is a graphic adventure. If you are unfamiliar with the layout of this, in the US, overlooked genre, it performs as this. Still pictures illustrate the setting or characters in the background. There are many contained within the game, and some are as closely related as Kana closing her eyes and opening them again. On top of the pictures is text, which exemplify the scene, showing dialogue, descriptions, the world Taka describes in words for you.

In Kana Little Sister, you play the role of Taka from his childhood throughout his college. Taka is a perfectly normal person, from his heath to his intelligence. Taka is easily accessible and very easy to understand. But, unlike most games, Taka is not the center of interest. This position belongs to Kana. Kana is Taka’s younger sister, two years removed, and is a very unique character. Before I can explain how, I must tell why Kana is so special.

Kana has a terminal illness.

As a child, or possibly earlier, Kana developed a problem with her kidneys. She constantly threw up, ran fevers, and spent nights in hospitals more than at home. As a result of spending most of her life in hospitals, she is unacquainted with the concept of life. With no friends except her family and nurses, little education except the books she reads at the hospital, and very ignorant of most actions and emotions.

After a brief foreshadowing, the game starts in early childhood. Taka is still an uninformed child, and hates Kana, for he thinks she’s grabbing all the attention. After a painful, but powerful, scene at the beginning Taka learns that Kana is fragile and helpless. His opinion drastically changes, and swears to be Kana guide, support, and overall, a good brother.

As the game progresses, we see Kana and Taka tackling aspects of life that most of us take for granted. From the smaller problems such as boredom and appearance, to the important concerns of friends, knowledge, and the will to live, Kana struggles day after day to become a normal girl. At times, it’s painful to watch Kana fail her situations and tribulations. Yet, not only is Kana dealing with concerns, but Taka places Kana above his girlfriend and school. It is a truly moving experience to watch Taka struggle to educate and save his dying sister.

Let me deal with one main concern for most in the game. The nudity and sex contained within the CD. When you hear that, 99 percent of people will have a negative attitude towards this game. To counter, I’ll say again what I said in my Three Sister’s Story review.

‘If used properly, sex can be a powerful emotional tool. ‘

Kana Little Sister perfectly describes my point. The sex scenes in this game are very tastefully done, tender, moving, and sometimes tear-jerking (I would elaborate more on this point, but I can’t bring myself to spoil this wonderful story). They honestly could not be further from any standard porno without taking out the sex. All of the scenes are used to build the story up, and I applaud the creators for taking the extra step and bringing the experience one step further.

The last point I would like to touch is the music. When I first heard the opening song (The White Season), I quickly turned on TBN and looked out the window to make sure hell hadn’t frozen over and pigs didn’t fly. The music in this game is incredible. Let me say that again. Kana Little Sister is a graphic adventure that contains hentai, and the music is very good. Half-bad music would be out of place in this genre. Another positive mark for Kana.

Kana Little Sister is a tear-jerking experience that will simply not let itself be forgotten. After I competed this game for the first time, I was rewarded with ending 5, a very depressing one. Over the next few days, I could not sleep at night until I accomplished the happy ending (Ending 1) due to the tears steaming out of my eyes. If you’ve seen Grave of the Fireflies, End of Evangelion, or X the movie, let me state this. Not even close. Kana Little Sister is a moving experience that could easily give you a new outlook on life. Buy this game, and keep a box of tissues handy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/03, Updated 06/30/03