Saya no Uta Horror Eroge Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

Saya no Uta, a popular and controversial horror eroge, celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Origin

Saya no Uta is a highly popular Japanese visual novel featuring elements of cosmic horror, adult scenes, and romance. Developed by Nitroplus, this work has gained widespread popularity for its unique narrative since its release on December 26, 2003. The plot was written by the renowned author Gen Urobuchi, famous for co-creating Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Story

Fuminori Sakisaka is a young medical student whose life changes when he and his parents are involved in a car accident, with Fuminori as the only survivor. Due to a side effect of his head injury, and life-saving brain surgery, he perceives his environment and people around him as hideous lumps of flesh and organs; spoken words sound like grunts and screeches, normal meals taste and smell awful, and his sense of touch is impaired. Over time, Fuminori’s grotesque perception of the world affects his mental health, and he falls into severe depression. One day, as he contemplates suicide during a hospital stay, he meets Saya, whom he sees as a lovely young girl dressed in white. In reality, Saya is a monstrous and carnivorous creature whose hideousness drives the average onlooker to madness. Fuminori, desperate to make contact with anything that resembles humanity, and Saya, amazed by Fuminori’s reaction to her, become lovers and move in together. Eventually they become deeply dependent on one another.

Reception

The reception is highly subjective; some find it impactful and meaningful, while others may feel uncomfortable, if not disturbed, due to its hardcore visual content and horror-themed plot.

Saya no Uta has sparked many reactions, both positive and negative, in the community due to its disturbing atmosphere and unique style. It continues to generate controversy today due to its graphic content, including violence and the controversial relationship between the main characters.

Despite the criticism, Saya no Uta is considered a masterpiece for its focus on psychological horror and its bizarre romantic story.

Trivia

1. Saya no Uta‘s director and writer was Gen Urobuchi.
2. Gen Urobuchi was inspired by Lovecraft‘s novels to write the plot of this videogame.
3. Between February and April 2011, ‘IDW Publishing‘ published Song of Saya, a three-issue comic inspired by Saya no Uta.
4. Although there was a fan-made English patch for the game in 2009, it was removed from the internet when JAST EE.UU acquired the rights to this videogame. In July 2011, JAST EE.UU announced the official English release of Saya no Uta.
5. On August 12, 2019, The Song of Saya, a legally translated English version of Saya no Uta, was released on Steam.
6. The French production company Sav! The World Productions announced that they would be making a movie based on the eroge. However, there has been no news about this project since 2017.
7. Saya appears in Nitro Royale: Heroines Duel and Nitroplus Blasters: Heroines Infinite Duel games.
8. In 2018, a group of Russian fans released Saya no Uta – Derangement, an unofficial remake of Saya no Uta. This project includes new endings and introduces an additional character.
9. The group behind Saya no Uta – Derangement was also working on Saya no Uta 2, una secuela no oficial que explora lo que sucedió después del verdadero final de este eroge.