wow, it's almost my list ass-backwards :o
I think Rin became my favorite when I was doing the Emi route. I agree that if I'd done her route first, she probably wouldn't be my favorite. If ya don't know, see the sentence below this paragraph, but know it's kinda spoilers for the Emi Route, so...yeah. Other than that, Rin says some really interesting things from time to time that make you think whether you want to or not. I also like how despite not having arms, she's a very talented painter. I think what really reeled me in to finish the job though was her hair/eye color combination. Red/green is a personal favorite of mine. She's also had her fair share of hilarious dialogue, whether she's trying to be funny or not.
"The problem is in your pants!"
As I was saying earlier though, what really put her here was the Emi route, oddly enough. The part where you and Emi are getting it on, and she walks in on you, not giving a single fuck that you're both naked, just to follow a cloud she saw. A cloud!
Shizune I kind of liked from the beginning. At first glance, it was a "I might like her, but I might not," but when it came time to play Risk it went to "I'll probably like her." When I went back again to play her route, I got to see Shizune past the filter called Misha more and more, showing off her true personality. While kinda bossy as Tiger noted, Shizune's got a large competitive streak that prompts her to play as many games as possible and turn things into games that don't necessarily have to be. Plus,
the resemblance to Sayaka Miki is unquestionable. As with Rin though, the selling factor was something small. How perfectly her glasses finished her.
[ Are you sure? Are you really sure? I always thought there was a secret brotherhood of men. ]
There's a lot of things to like about Hanako. The fact that she's got my favorite cinematic cutscene was a good start. But she's also got a good personality. When she isn't silent and afraid of social interaction, Hanako's a very cheery girl. She can also become surprisingly upfront as you progress down her route, going so far as to reveal the full extent of her scarring and reveal the entire story behind it. She also has a very neat sense of fashion when not in school uniform. And of course, puns about this girl's condition can and will spread like wildfire once they start.
"It's just...you had a...n-nice smile. Do you like...playing this?"
I probably give Emi more crap than she deserves. Like I already said though, I don't like it when I'm aiming for one route and get a different one. And if you ask me, despite how healthy he was getting, Hisao was a major-league moron in the Emi route. However, Emi still has her ups. As was stated many times in the VN, she's cute, so that's a start. Secondly, despite the crap I just spouted about being sucked into her route, this was also the route that introduced Moment of Decision - my favorite song in the Katawa Shoujo soundtrack - to me. Even to this day, I still associate that song with one scene or another in Emi's route. I just wish she'd let her twintails down more often (I prefer her hair down, personally) and not do some dumb things she did in her route.
"You need to be more conscious of your health, Hisao!"
Like I said before, I just for some reason have no concern for Lilly. If Misha had a route, Lilly would probably be 6th. I find it just as odd. I love her cousin, and really like her sister too, even her BFF Hanako, but Lilly herself...I just don't see it consider her worth the route. Maybe I'm also a bit biased since as of right now, hers is the only route I haven't done, but that's because I still wasn't too fond of her to begin with. Not that I dislike her. Just that I'm entirely impartial to her. She's a bit too proper for my taste.
"Oh, is Hisao here?"