Saya no Uta Visual Novel Review
PRODUCTION INFO
Saya no Uta, AKA Song of Saya or Saya's Song, is an adult visual novel that was written by Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero) of VN company Nitroplus (Steins;Gate, Super Sonico). It was released in 2003 and in 2011 spawned a three-issue American comic book called Saya's Song, which is the English translation of the VN title.
STORY
Saya no Uta is a horror VN that was inspired by the Resurrection arc of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix manga, and consists of a very similar plot. The story is about Fuminori Sakisaka who fell victim to a traffic accident. After being hospitalised, he awakens to find that the world now appears as a land of flesh and gore due to some irreparable damage to his brain. During his stay at the hospital, he meets a single girl who looks normal to him. That girl is Saya.
When he was being treated in the hospital, Fuminori fell for Saya's charm as the only human being he could visually see. Upon release, he began living with Saya as a lover in his house, and Saya returned his feelings. Before Fuminori's traffic accident, he had a group of college friends, but after receiving hospitalisation, could only see them as walking, talking lumps of meat. He could barely even decifer what they were saying and their mere presence made him nauseous. Fuminori's friends, unaware of his dilemma, continued seeing him, but Fuminori could barely tolerate it any longer.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Saya no Uta is very mature in content. Even I'd rather not talk about some of the things that appear in it! It is horror after all, and just generally dark in theme, even with the hentai. So keep that in mind before playing! Although I say "playing", it's really just reading, since there is only one choice in the whole VN. If it weren't for that, Saya no Uta would be a kinetic novel. Saya no Uta is also a pretty short story, so if you don't mind the content, it's a quick visual novel to read through, and it is generally highly rated.
OPINIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
I fell in love with Saya no Uta the day I began reading it. It struck me as an incredibly original concept, although I had no idea that it was based on Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix at the time. For a long time, Saya no Uta was my favourite visual novel. Even now, I believe it is worthy of a high rating, though I don't really have the stomach for this kind of thing anymore. There exists a lot of symbolism in the artwork, and even the music is gorgeous. It's touching despite its adult nature, and definitely a must-read for horror fans who can take the disturbing hentai in it.
RATING
8/10
