Saya no Uta review by Harlequin

[Harlequin 17]

Saya no Uta (VNDB)

 

 

 

 

Opening (promotion) movie:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bITbXs1wHVs

 

 

 

 

 

(Spoilers are all inside the spoiler box down at the bottom.)

 

 

"TYK#^t3m4T34,Rg4534j&lg45uje@@@"

 

 

Magnificent and... Wrong - in all the right ways. I think that's a very fair thing to say about this rather short VN. This is one of the most unique *good* experiences I've ever had. It doesn't feel right though to compare it to titles such as Muv-Luv Alternative and Sharin no Kuni, because this VN is just way too different from them and also much shorter. It's in a different league altogether.

 

To start off with, I just want to say that each reading session I had with Saya no Uta was in the complete dark, at night, alone, with headphones on and pretty high volume. Also fullscreen of course. Well... This made a huge difference. Oh yes it did. It felt like being in a different world altogether. I was completely soaked up by the story and everything else the VN presented. If you have not read Saya no Uta before, then I highly recommend reading it with this setup. Believe me, it makes a difference, although the difference will be bigger or smaller depending on the person reading of course. Some are more easily creeped out than others.

 

So! What exactly was so magnificent about this VN then? A lot of things.

 

 

 

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Visuals/Art - The visuals in this VN are... uh... relentless, disturbing... and correct. Mm, I think that's the right way to put it. What shows up on the screen affects you the way it's supposed to affect you. It disturbed, shocked and sometimes frightened me, which is exactly what it's supposed to do. More than anything, it had almost a claustrophobic effect, although that's not only because of the visuals. The CG art in Saya no Uta is some of the most effective I've seen so far in any VN, so that's quite impressive to say the least. Also, the sprite art feels a bit more realistic than the usual, which of course is appropriate for a VN with a darker tone to it.

 

To sum it up, the visuals and art found in Saya no Uta are pretty damn great.

 

This VN uses the "big transparent grey box in the middle" to show text - also known as NVL. For this title, I'd say it works very well. It makes descriptions of events more effective. But hey, that's just what I think anyway.

 

Sound/VA/Music - Oppressive, creepy and memorable, that's the music in a nutshell. It's almost perfect I gotta say. I often felt cornered by it as it worked hand in hand with the visuals and all the descriptions the VN presents. It made me more wary of my own surroundings. There are some hauntingly beautiful songs aswell in there though that gives you some peace of mind every now and again, which is very much needed. That said, even those songs have something disturbing in them.

 

Here's an example of a "hauntingly beautiful" song: Song of Saya.

 

Now, the voice acting... it was good, although no particular voice stood out more than the rest, other than perhaps Saya. All of the voice actors still did a fine job either way, being able to show some pretty heavy emotions. Also the screaming - well done on that!

 

 

Characters - Now we're getting somewhere! Insanity, that's one word to describe this part of the VN. These characters? They can be depressingly evil, purely insane, charmingly adorable and some other things. Sounds strange? Good. I've never read anything like this before and the characters are a big reason for that. You will learn to both love and hate humanity with the characters presented in this VN. Very interesting indeed.

 

Saya deserves special mentioning. She is a radiant beauty surrounded by grotesqueness, and that fact alone makes her so... Unique. Yes, unique. I doubt I'll ever see a character like this ever again. My mind has a hard time accepting her very existence. She is really cute - but that's the problem right there. She is one of the main reasons why this whole VN is so different. Everytime you see her, you will immediately pay more attention and generally be more interested in the VN aswell.

 

However, that said... There is one particular individual in Saya no Uta that takes the cake for being one of the most unsettling characters I've ever seen in a VN so far. If you've read it before, then you know exactly who I'm talking about. You will appreciate this character for many different reasons. No, I won't say who it is, not here anyway - it'll go to the spoiler box.

 

 

Plot/Story - The main dish, as usual. A short and very unique story that captivated me, but not in the way that Fate/stay night did for example, oh no. This is not some exciting fantasy story. No, this story cages you and shows you dark things that you probably thought you'd never see in a VN. It reminds me a little bit of Lovecraftian horror. It's a realistic story in a lot of ways, but it also has that unusual something that will get into your head.

 

Yes, it was an addictive read for me. I wanted to see more and more of it after each reading session. Then again, taking a break was also necessary, for me atleast. Because this story is so evil, dark, suffocating and Wrong (there's that word again). It's wrong, it feels wrong, but it's perfect that way. It's what makes it such a great read. You forget about everything else while reading it, atleast if you do it with the setup I mentioned before - complete darkness, headphones, alone.

 

And the endings? There are three endings altogether, with one of them being the "true" ending. My mouth was open for the most part of that ending. It is absolutely unbelievable - yet somehow, still acceptable. As a result, at the very end of it all, I left the VN with a weird smile on my face. There's a good chance the same thing will happen to you.

 

 

Screenshots (click the thumbnails) -

 

 

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Final words - So that's that. Is this a highly recommended VN? Why yes it is! Saya no Uta is really good at what it does. It shows the evil insanity of the human mind, but also the love it can hold. It's a very interesting combination to say the least. It ends up being an experience that just doesn't compare to anything else. The whole package (art, music, characters, story) comes together as a highly disturbing and intriguing read that you won't soon forget.

 

But of course, this is assuming that you don't find the contents of this VN too disturbing. You might, or you might not. For me, it was only a good thing - a breath of fresh air. This is far different from the standard VNs that you can find, and it should receive praise for that.

 

A unique and disturbing story - Saya no Uta - Read it. I sincerely hope you don't mind seeing something very dark!

 

 

 

 

Pros: Different, memorable, great atmosphere, entertaining from start to finish, effective CG art, appropriate soundtrack, intriguing characters, well-written and unique overall plot, interesting endings.

 

Cons: Length = short (I would've liked it better if it was longer), might be too disturbing and dark for some.

 

 

 

Harlequin gives Saya no Uta a rating of...

 

9.0/10

(Follows the rating scale on VNDB)

 

 

Remember, this is only my opinion and experience with this visual novel.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the spoiler box with some spoilerish thoughts and impressions I got from reading this VN.

 

Do not touch it if you have not fully read this VN already:

 

 

Fuminori is the most insane main character that I'll probably ever see. Cannibalism, really? Really VN? You actually went there huh. Well good! Because it made it all so much more fascinating. But hey, that's not even the "worst" part of it all. No, it's the fact that he recognizes what he's doing - and accepts it. He accepts the fact that he's having sex with some sort of monster (Saya) aswell as eating human body parts.

 

As for the relationship between him and Saya, um... Do I even need to comment on that? It's beautiful and crazy at the same time. It just doesn't compare to anything else.

 

I had a few tears for real when the neighbour killed his wife and daughter. But especially the daughter. It was just... so incredibly wrong and depressing. Yet, that sort of thing can and does happen in real life.

 

Oh and that ending. The true ending. Unbelievable. I did NOT think that was going to happen. And I don't even truly know how I should feel about it. Is it happy? It could be, it has the potential to be a happy ending, even though plenty of good characters died throughout the story. Maybe the transformed humans will end up being more happy than they were before. Who knows?

 

Edited February 13, 2013 by Harlequin

[someguy withaname 10]

After just finishing this VN I have to agree with you and say how good I thought this VN was in my opinion. Here are my two cents about the VN:

 

Plot- I liked the premise a lot.

it would have been easy for the writers to turn this into a mediocre sci-fi VN about an alien creature trying to uproot humanity, it has been done many times in the past. By giving two perspectives though instead of just one it made it hard for me to tell who was really the true monster in all of this. This made the VN’s story much more intriguing and I personally love dark stories involving human psychology anyway so this really won me over.

 

 

Music-The music was awesome in my opinion. I actually did not notice the music much while I was reading the VN. This, I think, says a lot about how good it was though because it fit SO well with the atmosphere and mood of the VN that it blended in with them perfectly and became part of the entire “experience”.

 

Pros- intriguing story, awesome music, amazing atmosphere, interesting characters

 

Cons- length and detail given to h-scenes (please here me out in the spoiler below before someone attacks me on this one), rather short VN

 

I personally thought that the sex scenes were far too explicit and were treated more like porn instead of being used to enhance the story. This took away from the story a bit for me because every time a sex scene started I thought why do I need a play by play for two people, three in one, having sex? I understand that sex is part of the story but why is the sex getting so much air time? Honestly, I think sex can enhance a story if it is portrayed correctly; Katawa Shoujo did this well in my opinion, with the arguable exception of one scene. However, I also think that when it becomes too explicit or takes away from the focus of the story it starts to enter the realm of porn and it did not fit the story of Saya no Uta in my opinion.

 

Edited December 30, 2012 by someguy withaname

[Gerard the Lone Wolf 10]

Cons- length and detail given to h-scenes

 

I personally thought that the sex scenes were far too explicit and were treated more like porn instead of being used to enhance the story. This took away from the story a bit for me because every time a sex scene started I thought why do I need a play by play for two people, three in one, having sex? I understand that sex is part of the story but why is the sex getting so much air time? Honestly, I think sex can enhance a story if it is portrayed correctly; Katawa Shoujo did this well in my opinion, with the arguable exception of one scene. However, I also think that when it becomes too explicit or takes away from the focus of the story it starts to enter the realm of porn and it did not fit the story of Saya no Uta in my opinion.

 

Because this is Eroge.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Gerard the Lone Wolf

[Gerard the Lone Wolf 10]

^ tl;dr version

 

Cons- length and detail given to h-scenes

 

Because this is Eroge. The more explicit, detailed, and erotic the H-scenes is, the more Eroge it is.

 

Even if you use the term 18+ Visual Novel, it won't change anything.

 

I don't get it. You can argue that H-scenes don't need to be shown explicitly, but when the medium itself is Eroge/18+ VN, can you said that it was a flaw?

 

The problem with H-scenes is that sometimes it disturbed the flow of the storyline, or it's too damn boring, or whatever else, but it was never about explicit.

 

 

I personally thought that the sex scenes were far too explicit and were treated more like porn instead of being used to enhance the story. This took away from the story a bit for me because every time a sex scene started I thought why do I need a play by play for two people, three in one, having sex? I understand that sex is part of the story but why is the sex getting so much air time? Honestly, I think sex can enhance a story if it is portrayed correctly; Katawa Shoujo did this well in my opinion, with the arguable exception of one scene. However, I also think that when it becomes too explicit or takes away from the focus of the story it starts to enter the realm of porn and it did not fit the story of Saya no Uta in my opinion.

 

As for what's in the spoiler tags, what are you doing playing an Eroge?

[Cross 12]

Great game, I agree. I wrote a bit about the relationship between Fuminori and Saya - if anybody is interested:

 

https://erogegames.com/eroge-visual-novels/eroge-general-talk/1259-three-remarkable-protagonists-%96-part-2-a/

 

THX for the review btw...^^