Karifean's Blog of Visual Novels

Saya no Uta, in English The Song of Saya, is a visual novel developed by Nitroplus, localized in English by JAST USA. If there was ever a novel that deserved a warning that it's "not for the faint of heart", it would be this one.

I chose Do not obscure grotesque images so a quick warning; there is gory imagery in this blog post. Honestly, if this is what makes you reconsider reading this novel... you probably don't know what you're getting into.

This novel is rated 18+

Overview

The main character in Saya no Uta suffers from a horrendous mental disorder; he sees the world around him as covered in gore and guts, the people as slimey flesh monsters, everything has an unbearable stench, and all food tastes horrible.

The crux is though that rationally he knows that it's his perspective that's screwed up, not the world. He knows that the flesh monsters in front of him are - or used to be - his best friends. He simply does not, cannot see them as humans anymore. He cannot see the world as his own.

In fact there is but one reason he has not already committed suicide, and that is Saya. The one ray of hope in this putrid world of his.

Saya is the only thing he can see as human, and it's that very fact which kept him sane enough to stay alive. His encounter with her prevented him from succumbing to his fate and rather put up with it for her sake. When he is joined with Saya is the one time he can feel at ease.

Structure

There's not much to say here. There are exactly two choices in this game, leading to a total of three endings. Other than that it's entirely linear. The novel is only a few hours long.

Characters

The cast consists of five main characters and a few minor side characters. What Saya no Uta does really well is describe each character's feelings and reactions given the situation. No character development or decisions ever seem to come out of nowhere.

The main character, Fuminori Sakisaka, is the prime example of this. Not only does he not see humans as humans visually, but over time he stops seeing them as humans altogether. He has lost all attachment or empathy towards humans, including his former friends. It's almost scary how easy it is to follow his thought processes, even as they become horrifying as he loses his last bits of humanity. The fact that he is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa, my favorite Japanese voice actor, does nothing to help make it any less so.

Saya... well there's not too much I can say about her without going into spoilers. At the very least I was fond of her characterization. Can't say I was too fond of the fact that they picked such a young appearance for a character featured in, well, all the H scenes.

As for the other characters, well their scenes and roles mainly revolve around dealing with Fuminori's situation. Obviously it takes its toll on their sanity as well. If you can find even just one sane character at the end of the extended routes, you did better than me.

Story

The one factor Saya no Uta excels in is immersion. Even as things go far beyond what you could normally accept as realistic, the atmosphere is set up so well that everything that happens feels just... natural. It's not flawless, but it's executed so well that it works near perfectly most of the time.

Really though, next you have to ask yourself whether you really want to be immersed in a story where people are dehumanized and ridiculed, the world seems like the most vile place, and disturbing situations are just commonplace. It's somewhat desensitizing. If you have no problem with that though, it is an interesting experience, and while not unique it's done well to a degree I have rarely seen. If I had to describe it in a single word, I'd call it 'psychedelic'.

As for the actual story, especially once you get past the beginning, it's conceptually nothing special. You've probably seen the same thing done in other media very often. But again, Saya no Uta excels in its execution. The plot (and its unoriginality) almost feels unimportant in face of the situation and atmosphere.

I did appreciate the fact that the three endings are basically polar opposites. And while none of them are truly happy, they are at least satisfying.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack fits the visual novel perfectly. It plays a huge part in giving it the feel that it has and a lot of it would be lost without the OST to back it up. Especially Song of Saya I and II and Sin are tracks that I will not soon forget.

Summary

Saya no Uta is a pretty memorable experience. Never before has such a comparatively short visual novel made me feel so entangled in its pace and setting.

If you are deeply disturbed by graphic display of gore, sex or even rape, to the point of making you want to turn off your computer immediatly, this visual novel is definitely not for you. I also doubt there will ever be a true all ages release given the novel's nature.

For me personally, this visual novel deserves a rating of

8 / 10

and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is into this sort of psychedelic and crazy setup, and can stomach the more disturbing parts.

The Urobutcher strikes again, I suppose...