[Kang Seung Jae]

Originally Posted by wontaek

Compared to Albert Einstein, who had some traits that resembles commonly known Autistic traits, and some professor who really were diagnosed with Autism when they were young, Kotomi is showing much more Autistic traits; lack of social interaction, abnormally intense focus on the task of interest, abnormalities in use and understanding of language, and unusual insensitivity to certain sounds. Kotomi definitely qualifies for Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP), and likely also qualify for the subset of BAP, Asperger's Syndrome (AS). The problem of this not being mentioned is the taboo in Asia where admission of any mental problem for someone is almost a death sentence for that person. If Kotomi was real person, the chance of their parents, who seems to have high social status, taking Kotomi to see a mental professional is almost nil, since Kotomi possesses mental capacity to excel in school, and most parents would prefer to avoid the shame and humiliation that will come to themselves in case of positive diagnosis, even if this would mean their child not getting proper social skills training needed for people with AS; In fact, most people in Asia would not even know that such therapy and trainings exists, and it would also be hard for them to access it anyway in Asia. I personally know a case of someone being formally diagnosed with severe Autism in USA, whose grandparents in Korea was in denial of this fact for many years. The social stigma against any mental disorder is enormous in Asia, and Key company would never confirm or deny whether Kotomi has Asperger's Syndrome, as such an admission will very negatively impact the marketability of the character.

Spoiler for game insight:

A counter: Kotomi wasn't like this until something happened which changed that. This isn't a mental problem: it's a matter of a wound in her heart/mind due to trauma.


You'll see soon enough, if KyoAni manages to bring out the full story.