Saya no Uta has a weird place in my life. In 2005 I had a brain tumor removed and afterwards was on HEAVY painkillers, mostly morphine on an at will push button dispenser. I was very very VERY stoned on painkillers, and it really f***ed me up. I kept having disturbingly vivid dreams of a distorted reality that waa very hard to describe to anyone without sounding like a madman. Those nightmares haunted me for years afterwards. It wasn't until years later that I played Saya no Uta that I could contextualize the nightmares- it was the world as the protag was seeing. Everything was almost identical to my nightmares, and playing thru the game actually helped me come to terms with my nightmares. I can't say it was the only thing that helped get over my nightmares, but it was a huge part of it.
Morphine is fucking crazy. I was on the tail end of chemo and- for some reason, I was expressly told I couldn't take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for anything because they'd react to it. So for any pain that was annoying to unbearable, from a dislocated finger to a headache, I would have to take morphine. I hope you never got addicted to it, because getting over that or having a moment of lucidity to throw out the rest of your pills once you're better is a bitch and a half.
Learning sex ed from eroge is like learning basic arithmetic from a nuclear physics textbook. It's in there somewhere, but it's burried under a lot of very advanced shit.
Japan really knows their cosmic horror, and having it in a place where it makes you very uncomfortable amplifies the fear, when you see the sex scenes you're like oh god he's fucking an incomprehensible monstrosity
@@lenorevanalstine1219 Huh. That's actually a pretty good analogy. Made me actually reconsider my comment for a brief moment. That said... A genuine eldritch monstrosity would still be a huge improvement over my ex. So I'll stick to my earlier comment
The best part is when you don't know so it comes at you real slow and it when it finally hits you it hits like a bunch of really uncomfortable bricks. "Man being Fuminori sucks... Oh... Oh! Wait! He has a nice girl with him at least that's not so bad! Wait... Wait a minute. If... Fuminori sees the world... Like that... And Saya is like that... What if... If it were reversed... Oh... Oh... Uh oh. Uh oh. UH OH."
By the way, this man who wrote Saya no Uta, a series where the main character sees everything look like the setting of Inyochu Shoku, Madoka Magica, Psycho-Pass, and Fate Zero? The one who is known as the Urobutcher? Toei was like “THAT GUY” when they wanted someone to write a tokusatsu series directed towards children to sell them toys. And he wrote a series…starring fruit-based samurai. And it was amazing.
@@lmhla1071 Soukoku no Arterial and Alchemy Mesiter as well. Those were dope VN games, for the former i think i didn't like finish cuz i spoiled myself of bad end while looking at some guide or tips. 😅 Does Little Busters count as a game as well? Cuz the thing with fighting other members for nonsensical reason was hella entertaining. 😂
I still think the Bad Ending is one of the strongest endings to... anything ever. EDIT: I keep getting asked about this, but back when I first played this game, the "Good" ending involved an asylum, the "Bad" ending involved a big final fight, and the "True" ending involved blossoming.
@@lebarondeminuit3580 indeed. The Bad route spends so much time building up every character that you at least understand their motivations and why they do what they do, and watching them all collide in that ending was just... masterful.
@@KetsubanSolo Yes, and the mastery of Saya No Uta is the way it makes you route for the bad guys I wanted them to win so for me it was the best ending and still today I love it
I just finished Song of Saya the other day. The uncensored director's cut. Being in my 30s, it made me realize that it's been a long time since a game's story legitimately shocked me. It's such a scary, gripping and tragic story - one that I liked a lot.
I dropped it after the "pet incident". It wasn't scary per se, but I was disturbed nonetheless. I was in awe how miserably bleak the game was becoming, and it was getting worse and worse the more I played. I guess that was just the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.
I cant wait for the movie adaption. I originally found this game when looking for games like Dark Corners of the Earth. The creator was inspired by Lovecraft. It came out when I was 17, but I didn't play it till I was 22. I liked it.
Unlike most on this channel, I've actually played this one. Definitely a weird experience for someone who *doesn't* usually play things like this. It was like watching a trainwreck that you can't look away from, but by the end I was like 'That was actually pretty cool' rather than 'I feel sick'. Or maybe it was a little of both. Do recommend, though!
May I as for a description of what actually happens in this game? Like where did Saya come from and what are her goals? And how do people stop her? Do they even stop her? I don't play visual novel games but I am still curious to find out what happens in this game.
@@dork7546 MAJOR SPOILERS (and I recommend you play the game for yourself, it's not very long and the experience of slowly unravelling the story is better then someone just telling you) But there are two main endings. One where Saya and the main character are killed by one of the MC's friends and one where they kill the friend instead. We find out in both endings that Saya is essentially an eldritch abomination from a universe other than ours which repopulates by going to other universes and turning all of the inhabitants into their own kind. They do this by first learning what they can about the inhabitants of this new universe to imitate them and when Saya comes to ours she is taught about love. Because of this she can't repopulate until she finds love. In the ending where her and the MC win she admits her love to him and dies, transforming everyone else into her kind. It's an amazing ending because it leaves you feeling very conflicted, on the one hand the world has essentially just ended, but on the other it's Saya's last act of love to the MC because now he can see everyone else as human.
@@eldritchkitten1627 But Saya's human form is a loli so I think I will pass... Yep, all the gore, violence? Perfectly fine by me but lolis just make feel really uncomfortable since I have pure OCD. Hope you can understand.
@@dork7546 That's understandable, it seems like the design is intentionally used to make the reader feel uncomfortable. There's a big theme of the game using sex to create disturbing situations overall aswell, so I can understand drawing the line at a character looking underage.
For me, the game is about genuine loss, society's inability to accommodate for that loss, the pressure put on devistated people to "pick yourself up by the bootstraps " and pretend for the sake of social demands, and the DANGEROUS things that take advantage of those in vulnerable despair.
For those of you who are interested but don't plan on ever actually playing through the VN itself, look up the ending theme 'Shoes of Glass'. It's an absolute _banger._
I remember playing this as a teen from a 4chan thread with a download link to it. Never forgot how crazy the story was since it was my 2nd eroge and the first one that actually had a story behind it aside from booba.
Psycho Pass already was kinda harsh at times. Like first episode was brutal. The rest was pretty alright xD Psycho Pass has VNs too btw, thats how I got into it actually
Saya is a Shoggoth and came directly from the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft. Gen Urobuchi (a.k.a. The Urobutcher) is a mad genius and he also wrote a visual novel that is basically fan fiction of the movie Equilibrium (starring Christian Bale).
Just wanted to say that Gen Urobuchi's first work, Phantom of Inferno is phenomenal. As a young lad it was one of my first VNs. I couldn't have been more lucky to experience such a gripping story.
It traumatized me. For a long time, the music, sound effects and atmosphere left me with nightmares for dayyyyys. Years later it still gives me the heebie jeebies thinking about it. I don't play a lot of visual novels so it's basically one of the only ones I finished. I couldn't stop.
@@tsubakikuro4930 i tried maining her at first when I used to play it regularly, but I soon realized I can't play zoners and ended up maining Mora instead.
The part I like the most is when the girl that likes Fuminori discovers them and they then kidnap her and mold her to their tastes. It's so well written that you can feel the sheer terror in the girl's dialog, and the despair she feels when her friends find her. Urobuchi is a genius at the hour of writting scripts.
Moral of the story: >Commitment is critical, there is no turning back >There's power in number >Always reserve the last bullet for yourself >Embrace madness, reject rationality
Syd: "Everything looks like a human pulled inside-out except for Saya." Me: *Considers the implications* "...Ah... so Saya is NATURALLY an abomination. Got it. This...this is gonna get FUCKED UP, ain't it?"
Saya no Uta was one of the last few stories written during Urobuchi's "Urobutcher" period. He made a pivotal moment at Madoka Magica, where he was dared to write a happy ending story. Whatever came out after Madoka was lighter in tone. And yes, Madoka came *after* Saya, not the other way around. Thank English localization for making it otherwise.
0:27 I actually wanna hear Sydney talk about otome games not many people talk about it or at least mentions underrated otome games besides the popular ones like Mystic Messenger
This is one of the turning points I've achieved throughout my childhood's morbid curiosity. Saya No Uta may be one of the most disturbing pieces out there but I consider it the best body/cosmic horror VN I've ever read.
i loooove this visual novel. i have read it in my 16. parts about flesh/blood i don't really like, but other stuff... this was like a relief. especially when you have a depression or something. just... character and story is so related to you, it makes delve you into story well
AHHHHHH, the one Eroge I could watch on TH-cam as a teen. Remember Saya no Uta quite well. Storytelling was actually pretty solid, the censored version I could deal with, my favourite died but from there I got a weakness for BAB with the doctor lady. She was awesome. The music was good too.
Holy cow completely relate! I remember finding a silent walkthrough of Saya on TH-cam when I was a young teen as well and being completely taken aback by the plot twists and gruesome ends for certain characters. It's definitely something that sticks with you.
HOLYYYYY SHITTTTTT!!!!!! When I saw the thumbnail I thought to myself "there's no way Syd has played the Saya no Uta" but ofc the degenerate queen never disappoints! Saya no Uta was one of my childhood favorites so I'm so glad that Sydney decided to spread some light on this lovely little gem of a game
To this day I still revere this game as one of the best Eldritch psychological horrors out there. Watching the step by step process of this man’s descent into insanity felt so smooth and natural with the writing to the point where it convinced you that the choice to toss your humanity aside makes more sense. Wish I could experience it for the first time all over again.
I remember I watched a full let’s play of this years ago when I was at my lowest financially, emotionally, and high on cough syrup because, I legit was sick in bed in my parent’s garage and I think this and playing NEIR was my awakening to perspective in narratives that tap into tragic irony. Saya no Uta traumatized me in ways that I don’t think I can look at things the same way without thinking, what’s it like from the other’s eyes and weirdly made me more emphatic to certain things.
As soon as you started talking about early 2000s internet, I knew it was going to be Saya no Uta. That was my first VN. I didn't realize that it was an eroge at all, just heard that it was "horror" and decided that I needed to read it. I was equal parts captivated by it and terrified that my parents would catch me reading it.
Saya No Uta is the reason I'm into visual novels now! I found out about it last year and it's what pushed me into actually reading/playing visual novels. I've always been interested in them but never actually went further than adding it to a list of "maybe I'll check it out later". I'm really grateful for it.
I love Song of Saya; it’s my favorite story in all of fiction. So beautifully told and good lessons that I learned from it. Everything from the beginning and especially the ending are all fantastic. It’s everything I love compiled into a 5hr story of juicy, savory, flavory goodness.
Oh boy, I remember this one, and as Syd, I played it when I was a wee lad, back at highschool. The story has it´s disturbing aspects and all, but I remember it kindly, as a fucked up love story from the beggining, with no real villains, just victims in the end. You could take the eroge parts out and still have a compeling horror romance, with mistery here and there. Without wanting to give any spoilers, the Asylum ending is my favorite, it´s kinda heartbreaking to see the main couple break because they cannot possibly be together (and I mean, they can´t, nor should be together) even if they wanted to, and to see Saya making the most humane decision in that ending, by understanding that truth...Just wow. Saya no Uta is a wonderful example of what a good and imaginative creator can do with something as cliche as the impossible love, and a recommended experience, if you are mature enough for it
I just recently played through Saya no Uta in a single sitting a couple of months ago and it was good! The Steam page says, 'edited for everyone' *Song of Saya isn't safe for any age* in general, and then there's an 18+ patch!! I'd like to thank the VN, "Sucker for Love" for giving me some much needed therapy. X)
He also wrote the best season of Kamen Rider. Kamen rider Giam. Starts out as the usual power rangers style toy pushing kids stuff and then it GOES PLACES. I will never forget episode 20.
Saya no Uta is the H-VN you read for the actual plot. It's amazing. A perfect synergy of guro and Lovecraftian horror; a bit resemblant of The Thing on the Doorstep. Thank you for sharing this.
I will say, I feel like Phantom Requiem For The Phantom was a painfully underrated anime and I'm glad to see you used it as an example of a great Gen Urobuchi work.
Dang, few months ago I had a condition with my taste and smell were abnormal. Most edible foods especially meat smelled and tasted so bad like *rotten eggs*. It felt like a very Tokyo ghoul moment. I am also the cook of my household, but I found it weird how raw meat does not smell bad to me not even the slightest and smells a lot better than when I cook it. However, I was lucky enough to be able to eat bland foods like Potatoes, Macaronis, as well as my the only flavor I can enjoy, cheese. Everything else was horrid. I wonder what it would taste like if I bit the raw meat though, I never tried because I'm slightly germaphobic. Either way I've recovered from it after 2 months and I can eat normally again now.
Yes!! I'm glad you made a video about this VN. Such an amazing and unforgettable story, with an excellent soundtrack to booth. I keep trying to recommend Saya no Uta to my friends, but I feel like it might be too much for them. Maybe I'll just show them this video so that if they end up traumatized, it's not on me!!!
This might be a testament to my own psychology, but there was at least one scene that had me laughing like a manic. Where it was revealed that saya was learning about human genome. (Thanks to a certain fluid.)
Ah, my first not only eroge but actual vn. Played when I was in high school, and I think it is the reason I have developed such a hatred of destructive relationships being glamorized. Fun fact:there is an american comic adaptation of this. You get to see saya's full body boinking the guy (who was renamed josh, I think) near the end. And I don't mean the meat-o-vision one. Not so fun fact:the whole thing was basically a netflix live-action adaptation before those were a thing.
Bruh, I started the game today because of this video. I did the "return to normal" ending already and now I'm into the "nah, I love alien vag" ending. Crazy ass game.
Easily my favorite VN of all time. Replayed it recently while recovering from a complete nervous breakdown and OH BOY did it really heighten my immersion. Def recommend
The worst part is I had saya on my folder as a second grader because I thought she looked cool and she was just on google images under anime girl and had a bunch of other anime photos on it and now that I know that she from this I can’t figure out if I’m impressed or just depressed. I had to watch both endings and damn… I’m not sleeping tonight.
Oh yeah if you wanna see a younger Gen Urobuchi trying stuff out, try Jouka no Monshou. It's a VN fanfiction side story to the movie Equilibrium (no, really, it is). It's also free if you can find it.
Saya no uta is genuinely one of the best romance stories in existence. I am generally considered a cold hearted bastard, but the ending to snu made me cry. OST is awesome too
I played this for the first time recently. I kind of didn't want to continue, but once I started, I just. couldn't. stop. Finished all the endings in one day. It was grotesquely beautiful.
I remember when this came out, and I had a friend who was really into it. I didn't know shit about it. He started playing it while I was over, picking up from where he left off. Shit was wild.
I like the reference to Thunderbolt Fantasy. That shoe is nuts. That said, Saya no Uta is even more wild. Unrelated, but Saya is also wild in Nitro+ Blasterz.
Having played Saya No Uta, it is terribly tragic. It was my first eroge, and I was already an adult by then. I was like "Oh. *Oh.*" by the time it ended. However, the soundtrack was absolutely amazing. The western adaptation of it was weirdly engaging too? Though they to expose what Saya is SUPER early, which adds to how absolutely horrifying it is. They shoot RIGHT for the third ending though and man oh man.
i am SO sorry that you had to go through that as well. god, i remember when i started playing it, and the meat shit happened and me and a friend instantly went "what in the actual fuck."
That soundtrack does do a good job: It would by some more neutral definitions be calm and low-beat... but instead it's got a clear uncanny and uncomfortable vibe underneath that you know something's very very wrong, whether you're seeing it all over... or then know you're close to a horrifying and festering situation.
This sounds like an Eraserhead situation for me, where it sounds super fascinating and I want to HAVE HAD seen it, but I don't actually want to go through the process of seeing it because it will fuck me up.
I've never played this game but there's a webcomic I used to read that invoked this same "This is different! I can't put this down" reaction in me. I don't remember what it was called but it was a small girl in a zombie apocalypse (Except the zombies were more like xenomorphs) and she realized the zombies hunted people down in their homes and in apartments but would never enter an apartment where the door was left open and there was blood on the door. Because they'd assume a different xenomorph had already killed everything in there. So she would move and eat at night when they slept and would spend the days asleep out in the open with an open door and would bring a bag of blood with her to spread on the door. I'm not gonna spoil the ending in case someone comments the name but I remember thinking "How fucking scared would you be sleeping with the door open in board daylight while these things were shambling around just outside the door and foraging for food at night when you can't see two feet onfront of your face"
I didn’t played this when I was a kid, I played it because I wanted more horror anime after watching Madona and everyone was gushing about so I gave it a shot, and it was fantastic, I couldn’t believe I was scared of clicking next to read what happens next, very well made.
I love how as one of my boyfriend's first dates, he got me to play this game with him 😂 I loved it, and I'm pretty sure it would have scared off most people but I think it's how he was testing me to see if I was actually the one for him. It seems to have worked because it's nearly 6 years later and we're still together! Haha
The way I went "oh no" out loud when I recognized the character in the thumbnail LMAOOOOO I ain't fazed by much in games like this, but Saya no Uta was certainly... Something! I feel bad for poor smol Syd having played that at such a young age jgfjfdg
Saya no Uta traumatized my EVERYTHING. Seriously... This game really is a Lovecraftian masterpiece. It made me question the very nature of love, that even love could be tainted. Thankfully I'm now in a great stable relationship with a boy I adore but man, Saya no Uta sent me for a loop.
YOU played Saya no UTA!!!???.... me too. Also young. Also traumatized me but somehow.. I also loved it. And I STILL get mesmerized and moved when I hear the "the song".
Gen Urobuchi the Butcher himself's works are masterpieces really, from cosmic horror Madoka to the great psychological anime Psycho Pass it really shows
Thank you for making a video about this. I share the same experience as yours when it comes to this game and I cannot express how much Gen Urobuchi changed my life. Him and his game created my passion for Visual Novels and I'll never stop praising Saya No Uta. So thanks again!
Saya no Uta has a weird place in my life. In 2005 I had a brain tumor removed and afterwards was on HEAVY painkillers, mostly morphine on an at will push button dispenser. I was very very VERY stoned on painkillers, and it really f***ed me up. I kept having disturbingly vivid dreams of a distorted reality that waa very hard to describe to anyone without sounding like a madman. Those nightmares haunted me for years afterwards. It wasn't until years later that I played Saya no Uta that I could contextualize the nightmares- it was the world as the protag was seeing. Everything was almost identical to my nightmares, and playing thru the game actually helped me come to terms with my nightmares. I can't say it was the only thing that helped get over my nightmares, but it was a huge part of it.
That sounds fucking horrible. Glad you made it through.
Hope you're not thinking of killing peeps (flesh-like individuals)
ok
Morphine is fucking crazy. I was on the tail end of chemo and- for some reason, I was expressly told I couldn't take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for anything because they'd react to it. So for any pain that was annoying to unbearable, from a dislocated finger to a headache, I would have to take morphine.
I hope you never got addicted to it, because getting over that or having a moment of lucidity to throw out the rest of your pills once you're better is a bitch and a half.
Wow, this is just too.... I'm speechless. I can only hope you're better.
Sometimes it's the shit that traumatizes us as kids, that tend to shape us the most as we grow older
thats how child trauma works
As we can see how syd is now. Saya fucked her up good.
How profound. "Trauma shapes us". Guy Mustacheless, modern philosopher.
I'm pretty sure it's "most of times"
No shit…..
Learning sex ed from eroge is like learning basic arithmetic from a nuclear physics textbook. It's in there somewhere, but it's burried under a lot of very advanced shit.
Ngl the song of saya taught me some shit 💀
Japan really knows their cosmic horror, and having it in a place where it makes you very uncomfortable amplifies the fear, when you see the sex scenes you're like oh god he's fucking an incomprehensible monstrosity
Who wouldn't fuck an incomprehensible horror?
its kinda like watching a decent human date your ex
@@lenorevanalstine1219
Huh. That's actually a pretty good analogy. Made me actually reconsider my comment for a brief moment. That said...
A genuine eldritch monstrosity would still be a huge improvement over my ex. So I'll stick to my earlier comment
The best part is when you don't know so it comes at you real slow and it when it finally hits you it hits like a bunch of really uncomfortable bricks. "Man being Fuminori sucks... Oh... Oh! Wait! He has a nice girl with him at least that's not so bad! Wait... Wait a minute. If... Fuminori sees the world... Like that... And Saya is like that... What if... If it were reversed... Oh... Oh... Uh oh. Uh oh. UH OH."
Sooo, kinda like having sex with Cthulhu? But less sexy?
By the way, this man who wrote Saya no Uta, a series where the main character sees everything look like the setting of Inyochu Shoku, Madoka Magica, Psycho-Pass, and Fate Zero? The one who is known as the Urobutcher? Toei was like “THAT GUY” when they wanted someone to write a tokusatsu series directed towards children to sell them toys. And he wrote a series…starring fruit-based samurai. And it was amazing.
HE WROTE FATE ZERO?
He made Gaim?
I dont think he actually wrote Gaim just helped work/direct on it. Might be wrong tho
Ye nvm just searched it he wrote gaim. "In the Kamen Rider Series franchise, he is the writer for the 15th series installment, Kamen Rider Gaim"
@@DragonicFang Yes, sir.
Most 14 year old nerds play Pokémon. Sydney was on a whole different level
I'm 19 now and never play that kinda game 😂
@@Lowkey003 there's nothing to play unless it's Evenicle or similar. You just press control and hold it and then gallery/CG😅
I played katawa shoujo, grisaia and other Vn when I Was 14 or less, which is like somewhere between the year 2009 to 2012.
@@DragonicFang Grisaia is more of a VN than a game
@@lmhla1071 Soukoku no Arterial and Alchemy Mesiter as well. Those were dope VN games, for the former i think i didn't like finish cuz i spoiled myself of bad end while looking at some guide or tips. 😅 Does Little Busters count as a game as well? Cuz the thing with fighting other members for nonsensical reason was hella entertaining. 😂
I still think the Bad Ending is one of the strongest endings to... anything ever.
EDIT: I keep getting asked about this, but back when I first played this game, the "Good" ending involved an asylum, the "Bad" ending involved a big final fight, and the "True" ending involved blossoming.
For me it's the best ending
@@lebarondeminuit3580 indeed. The Bad route spends so much time building up every character that you at least understand their motivations and why they do what they do, and watching them all collide in that ending was just... masterful.
Well seeing how all the endings aren't exactly happy, Idk which one you're talking about lol.
@@lunaamethyst5724 Without spoilers, it's the one where, uhhhh, Fuminori's friend brings a stowaway to the meet-up.
@@KetsubanSolo
Yes, and the mastery of Saya No Uta is the way it makes you route for the bad guys
I wanted them to win so for me it was the best ending and still today I love it
I just finished Song of Saya the other day. The uncensored director's cut. Being in my 30s, it made me realize that it's been a long time since a game's story legitimately shocked me. It's such a scary, gripping and tragic story - one that I liked a lot.
I dropped it after the "pet incident". It wasn't scary per se, but I was disturbed nonetheless. I was in awe how miserably bleak the game was becoming, and it was getting worse and worse the more I played. I guess that was just the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.
Yeah, I don't blame you.
Edit: sorry for the late reply.
I cant wait for the movie adaption. I originally found this game when looking for games like Dark Corners of the Earth. The creator was inspired by Lovecraft. It came out when I was 17, but I didn't play it till I was 22. I liked it.
The end definitely felt Lovecraftian. Overwhelming disaster, impossible to be stopped.
@@toolatetothestory what are you talking about? The world became a utopia :)
movie adaptation real or you just wish it?
@@raifikarj6698 they are working on it.....it's real
any updates? I just assumed it was in development hell
Unlike most on this channel, I've actually played this one. Definitely a weird experience for someone who *doesn't* usually play things like this. It was like watching a trainwreck that you can't look away from, but by the end I was like 'That was actually pretty cool' rather than 'I feel sick'. Or maybe it was a little of both. Do recommend, though!
May I as for a description of what actually happens in this game? Like where did Saya come from and what are her goals? And how do people stop her? Do they even stop her? I don't play visual novel games but I am still curious to find out what happens in this game.
@@dork7546 MAJOR SPOILERS (and I recommend you play the game for yourself, it's not very long and the experience of slowly unravelling the story is better then someone just telling you) But there are two main endings. One where Saya and the main character are killed by one of the MC's friends and one where they kill the friend instead. We find out in both endings that Saya is essentially an eldritch abomination from a universe other than ours which repopulates by going to other universes and turning all of the inhabitants into their own kind. They do this by first learning what they can about the inhabitants of this new universe to imitate them and when Saya comes to ours she is taught about love. Because of this she can't repopulate until she finds love. In the ending where her and the MC win she admits her love to him and dies, transforming everyone else into her kind. It's an amazing ending because it leaves you feeling very conflicted, on the one hand the world has essentially just ended, but on the other it's Saya's last act of love to the MC because now he can see everyone else as human.
@@eldritchkitten1627 But Saya's human form is a loli so I think I will pass... Yep, all the gore, violence? Perfectly fine by me but lolis just make feel really uncomfortable since I have pure OCD. Hope you can understand.
@@dork7546 That's understandable, it seems like the design is intentionally used to make the reader feel uncomfortable. There's a big theme of the game using sex to create disturbing situations overall aswell, so I can understand drawing the line at a character looking underage.
@@eldritchkitten1627 what is the game name? i got no time to watch the whole vids
For me, the game is about genuine loss, society's inability to accommodate for that loss, the pressure put on devistated people to "pick yourself up by the bootstraps " and pretend for the sake of social demands, and the DANGEROUS things that take advantage of those in vulnerable despair.
"An eroge everyone was flipping out about--"
It's Saya no Uta isn't it.
4:48 As someone who has witnessed the very beginning of this absolute trainwreck, I can say with confidence that that impression is accurate.
Meow?
For those of you who are interested but don't plan on ever actually playing through the VN itself, look up the ending theme 'Shoes of Glass'. It's an absolute _banger._
Glass no Kutsu is probably one of the best VN ending song ever made, loved the hell out of it.
Same singer of the Steins;Gate themes too 💕
This banger is what has gotten me into it. My god when I first heard this song, I felt like it was about separation.
I remember playing this as a teen from a 4chan thread with a download link to it. Never forgot how crazy the story was since it was my 2nd eroge and the first one that actually had a story behind it aside from booba.
what was your first?
@@sebasobregoncahuich9891 first was probably Amorous Cherry Professor LOL
>clicking on download links on a Vietnamese basket weaving forum
Sauce?
YOU DOWNLOADED A GAME FROM *4CHAN??*
2 videos within a week? Is everything okay Syd?
I think she made several videos in advance because she and garnt will be busy with their wedding
@@SJrad yeah maybe you're right, let's wish the best for them :D
She started to do speed
Syd: mentions 2g1c
You: asks about 2 videos 1 week.
Pretty sure she's having PTSD flashbacks
psycho pass writer made an eroge jesus f'in christ im playing this immediately not for the horny for the horror and trauma.
Also author of Madoka magica
@@emib6599 also fate zero.
The diversity of Urobuchi's portfolio is insane to be honest
Psycho Pass already was kinda harsh at times. Like first episode was brutal. The rest was pretty alright xD
Psycho Pass has VNs too btw, thats how I got into it actually
@@emib6599 that show was also epic all his shows are tbh
Saya is a Shoggoth and came directly from the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft.
Gen Urobuchi (a.k.a. The Urobutcher) is a mad genius and he also wrote a visual novel that is basically fan fiction of the movie Equilibrium (starring Christian Bale).
Which one was based off equilibrium? I didn't know this.
Ha I first read Saya and then _years later_ Lovecraft, you are right she has Shoggoth traits.
We need more cosmic horror
@@ceriseeverhart3499 Jouka no Monshou
Just wanted to say that Gen Urobuchi's first work, Phantom of Inferno is phenomenal. As a young lad it was one of my first VNs. I couldn't have been more lucky to experience such a gripping story.
I have the English DVD somewhere, it was something else but really good.
It traumatized me. For a long time, the music, sound effects and atmosphere left me with nightmares for dayyyyys. Years later it still gives me the heebie jeebies thinking about it. I don't play a lot of visual novels so it's basically one of the only ones I finished. I couldn't stop.
Saya is also a playable character in the fighting game Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel, where she was essentially Dhalsim.
I love to play that game when I hit the arcade
I main her lol
@@tsubakikuro4930 i tried maining her at first when I used to play it regularly, but I soon realized I can't play zoners and ended up maining Mora instead.
@@tsubakikuro4930 My mains are Muramasa and Saber
I’ve got the game on Steam! That’s an underrated gem.
A grotesque Dhalsim function was the last thing that anyone expected Saya to be....
The part I like the most is when the girl that likes Fuminori discovers them and they then kidnap her and mold her to their tastes. It's so well written that you can feel the sheer terror in the girl's dialog, and the despair she feels when her friends find her. Urobuchi is a genius at the hour of writting scripts.
Tsukuba Yoh 😭
Moral of the story:
>Commitment is critical, there is no turning back
>There's power in number
>Always reserve the last bullet for yourself
>Embrace madness, reject rationality
Syd: "Everything looks like a human pulled inside-out except for Saya."
Me: *Considers the implications* "...Ah... so Saya is NATURALLY an abomination. Got it. This...this is gonna get FUCKED UP, ain't it?"
Saya no Uta was one of the last few stories written during Urobuchi's "Urobutcher" period.
He made a pivotal moment at Madoka Magica, where he was dared to write a happy ending story. Whatever came out after Madoka was lighter in tone.
And yes, Madoka came *after* Saya, not the other way around. Thank English localization for making it otherwise.
I was expecting this one day, but not prepared for today.
0:27 I actually wanna hear Sydney talk about otome games not many people talk about it or at least mentions underrated otome games besides the popular ones like Mystic Messenger
Considering how I know next to nothing about otome games, I'd be interested to learn more
my brain is rotted i like diabolik lovers series don’t come for me the games are cute
This is one of the turning points I've achieved throughout my childhood's morbid curiosity. Saya No Uta may be one of the most disturbing pieces out there but I consider it the best body/cosmic horror VN I've ever read.
i loooove this visual novel. i have read it in my 16. parts about flesh/blood i don't really like, but other stuff... this was like a relief. especially when you have a depression or something. just... character and story is so related to you, it makes delve you into story well
AHHHHHH, the one Eroge I could watch on TH-cam as a teen.
Remember Saya no Uta quite well. Storytelling was actually pretty solid, the censored version I could deal with, my favourite died but from there I got a weakness for BAB with the doctor lady. She was awesome.
The music was good too.
Holy cow completely relate! I remember finding a silent walkthrough of Saya on TH-cam when I was a young teen as well and being completely taken aback by the plot twists and gruesome ends for certain characters. It's definitely something that sticks with you.
HOLYYYYY SHITTTTTT!!!!!! When I saw the thumbnail I thought to myself "there's no way Syd has played the Saya no Uta" but ofc the degenerate queen never disappoints! Saya no Uta was one of my childhood favorites so I'm so glad that Sydney decided to spread some light on this lovely little gem of a game
👍😀..................
👁👄👁
@@sidtheweeb6129 why are you responding? Nobody is talking to you lmao
I question the mental stability of anyone who could love this. Respect it, sure. But love it? Nah.
@@ravenwraith1017
Sometimes we just love to see a world burn :)
To this day I still revere this game as one of the best Eldritch psychological horrors out there. Watching the step by step process of this man’s descent into insanity felt so smooth and natural with the writing to the point where it convinced you that the choice to toss your humanity aside makes more sense. Wish I could experience it for the first time all over again.
I remember I watched a full let’s play of this years ago when I was at my lowest financially, emotionally, and high on cough syrup because, I legit was sick in bed in my parent’s garage and I think this and playing NEIR was my awakening to perspective in narratives that tap into tragic irony. Saya no Uta traumatized me in ways that I don’t think I can look at things the same way without thinking, what’s it like from the other’s eyes and weirdly made me more emphatic to certain things.
The best summation of Saya no Uta I ever heard was from Daniel Floyd. His review for this game was just, "I don't know if I'M old enough for this."
Beautifully dark.
A story about how perception can change everything it's all in perspective.
good ole Gen living up to his reputation
As soon as you started talking about early 2000s internet, I knew it was going to be Saya no Uta. That was my first VN. I didn't realize that it was an eroge at all, just heard that it was "horror" and decided that I needed to read it. I was equal parts captivated by it and terrified that my parents would catch me reading it.
“Traumatic”, as in it traumatized Syd enough to further explore her degeneracy to find even more degen stuff
"It wasn't the best sex education, but it was something." Every anime fan learning about sex through animated media lmao
Saya No Uta is the reason I'm into visual novels now! I found out about it last year and it's what pushed me into actually reading/playing visual novels. I've always been interested in them but never actually went further than adding it to a list of "maybe I'll check it out later". I'm really grateful for it.
I love Song of Saya; it’s my favorite story in all of fiction. So beautifully told and good lessons that I learned from it. Everything from the beginning and especially the ending are all fantastic. It’s everything I love compiled into a 5hr story of juicy, savory, flavory goodness.
Saya no uta gave me existential crisis. And the fact that there's no "good" endings just made me feel even worse.
Oof
Real
I’m so glad you talked about this Syd! Such an underrated horror novel masterpiece.
Oh boy, I remember this one, and as Syd, I played it when I was a wee lad, back at highschool. The story has it´s disturbing aspects and all, but I remember it kindly, as a fucked up love story from the beggining, with no real villains, just victims in the end. You could take the eroge parts out and still have a compeling horror romance, with mistery here and there. Without wanting to give any spoilers, the Asylum ending is my favorite, it´s kinda heartbreaking to see the main couple break because they cannot possibly be together (and I mean, they can´t, nor should be together) even if they wanted to, and to see Saya making the most humane decision in that ending, by understanding that truth...Just wow. Saya no Uta is a wonderful example of what a good and imaginative creator can do with something as cliche as the impossible love, and a recommended experience, if you are mature enough for it
I just recently played through Saya no Uta in a single sitting a couple of months ago and it was good! The Steam page says, 'edited for everyone' *Song of Saya isn't safe for any age* in general, and then there's an 18+ patch!! I'd like to thank the VN, "Sucker for Love" for giving me some much needed therapy. X)
Oh my god Sucker for love is so good, it’s a perfect blend of wholesome and horrifying that gets me HOOKED - glad to see someone else appreciating it!
The Cthussy
He also wrote the best season of Kamen Rider. Kamen rider Giam. Starts out as the usual power rangers style toy pushing kids stuff and then it GOES PLACES. I will never forget episode 20.
He's not called Gen "Urobutcher" for nothing lmao
Saya no Uta is the H-VN you read for the actual plot. It's amazing. A perfect synergy of guro and Lovecraftian horror; a bit resemblant of The Thing on the Doorstep. Thank you for sharing this.
I will say, I feel like Phantom Requiem For The Phantom was a painfully underrated anime and I'm glad to see you used it as an example of a great Gen Urobuchi work.
Dang, few months ago I had a condition with my taste and smell were abnormal. Most edible foods especially meat smelled and tasted so bad like *rotten eggs*. It felt like a very Tokyo ghoul moment. I am also the cook of my household, but I found it weird how raw meat does not smell bad to me not even the slightest and smells a lot better than when I cook it. However, I was lucky enough to be able to eat bland foods like Potatoes, Macaronis, as well as my the only flavor I can enjoy, cheese. Everything else was horrid. I wonder what it would taste like if I bit the raw meat though, I never tried because I'm slightly germaphobic. Either way I've recovered from it after 2 months and I can eat normally again now.
The fact that the man who created this is also involved in the new RWBY anime is both concerning and intriguing
...pardon? Pffff
@@kriskros4900 I'm talking about the man who created Saya no Uta, Gen Urobuchi
@@desutoron1051 i- interesting. Dw that pardon was more for the shock effect ;)
I am not prepared for this.
Nice, guess I'll go back to watching rwby then
Yoooo, I heard about this one like 8-10 years ago, from Extra Credits calling it "one of the scariest games I've ever played" or something like that.
the fact that i recognized the thumbnail at first glance just goes to show how deep the trauma goes
Yes!! I'm glad you made a video about this VN. Such an amazing and unforgettable story, with an excellent soundtrack to booth. I keep trying to recommend Saya no Uta to my friends, but I feel like it might be too much for them. Maybe I'll just show them this video so that if they end up traumatized, it's not on me!!!
This might be a testament to my own psychology, but there was at least one scene that had me laughing like a manic. Where it was revealed that saya was learning about human genome. (Thanks to a certain fluid.)
Ah, my first not only eroge but actual vn. Played when I was in high school, and I think it is the reason I have developed such a hatred of destructive relationships being glamorized.
Fun fact:there is an american comic adaptation of this. You get to see saya's full body boinking the guy (who was renamed josh, I think) near the end. And I don't mean the meat-o-vision one.
Not so fun fact:the whole thing was basically a netflix live-action adaptation before those were a thing.
Bruh, I started the game today because of this video. I did the "return to normal" ending already and now I'm into the "nah, I love alien vag" ending. Crazy ass game.
Easily my favorite VN of all time. Replayed it recently while recovering from a complete nervous breakdown and OH BOY did it really heighten my immersion. Def recommend
The worst part is I had saya on my folder as a second grader because I thought she looked cool and she was just on google images under anime girl and had a bunch of other anime photos on it and now that I know that she from this I can’t figure out if I’m impressed or just depressed. I had to watch both endings and damn… I’m not sleeping tonight.
I really miss your game reviews or er eroge reviews XD you definitely sent me down a road I didn't think I would go, thanks syd!
I love watching the opening to Sydney's videos.
Oh yeah if you wanna see a younger Gen Urobuchi trying stuff out, try Jouka no Monshou. It's a VN fanfiction side story to the movie Equilibrium (no, really, it is). It's also free if you can find it.
Saya no uta is genuinely one of the best romance stories in existence. I am generally considered a cold hearted bastard, but the ending to snu made me cry.
OST is awesome too
I was never able to stomach playing this game but I admire it a lot as a work of cosmic horror. Tough to explain to people.
I played this for the first time recently. I kind of didn't want to continue, but once I started, I just. couldn't. stop. Finished all the endings in one day. It was grotesquely beautiful.
I remember when this came out, and I had a friend who was really into it. I didn't know shit about it. He started playing it while I was over, picking up from where he left off. Shit was wild.
One of my favorite visual novels of all time. I found the love story to be strangely touching.
saya no uta is basically like an extended version of that one episode of courage the cowadly dog with the jazz club in a stomach
This game was so messed up but so good man. The story is done so well definitely the best visual novel I've read.
I like the reference to Thunderbolt Fantasy. That shoe is nuts.
That said, Saya no Uta is even more wild.
Unrelated, but Saya is also wild in Nitro+ Blasterz.
Having played Saya No Uta, it is terribly tragic. It was my first eroge, and I was already an adult by then. I was like "Oh. *Oh.*" by the time it ended. However, the soundtrack was absolutely amazing.
The western adaptation of it was weirdly engaging too? Though they to expose what Saya is SUPER early, which adds to how absolutely horrifying it is. They shoot RIGHT for the third ending though and man oh man.
i am SO sorry that you had to go through that as well.
god, i remember when i started playing it, and the meat shit happened and me and a friend instantly went "what in the actual fuck."
Sydsnap loves us so very much, she wants to connect to us by traumatizing us.
If that's not love, I don't know what is.
I got a bad feeling about this
Sydney is herself an Eldritch horror
That soundtrack does do a good job: It would by some more neutral definitions be calm and low-beat... but instead it's got a clear uncanny and uncomfortable vibe underneath that you know something's very very wrong, whether you're seeing it all over... or then know you're close to a horrifying and festering situation.
This sounds like an Eraserhead situation for me, where it sounds super fascinating and I want to HAVE HAD seen it, but I don't actually want to go through the process of seeing it because it will fuck me up.
I just used an eroge to relive a childhood trauma as exposure therapy and it worked. Great video editing and honesty
I've never played this game but there's a webcomic I used to read that invoked this same "This is different! I can't put this down" reaction in me. I don't remember what it was called but it was a small girl in a zombie apocalypse (Except the zombies were more like xenomorphs) and she realized the zombies hunted people down in their homes and in apartments but would never enter an apartment where the door was left open and there was blood on the door. Because they'd assume a different xenomorph had already killed everything in there. So she would move and eat at night when they slept and would spend the days asleep out in the open with an open door and would bring a bag of blood with her to spread on the door.
I'm not gonna spoil the ending in case someone comments the name but I remember thinking "How fucking scared would you be sleeping with the door open in board daylight while these things were shambling around just outside the door and foraging for food at night when you can't see two feet onfront of your face"
Love this video!
This game was a crucial part of the Sydsnap's formation.
Saya No Uta was your Cannon event. Mine was when my favorite band disbanded. My first Eroge was Yume Miru Kusuri, a drug that makes you dream.
Ah yes Saya no Uta. I remember hsving an existential crisis when i first cleared it as a teen. Good times
i liked touhou alot when i was younger and still do now
*i dont think i need to tell you what kind of comics my friends have forced me to read.*
Oh man I heard about this one a few months ago.
I miss the time before then.
lol
hi syd thank you for introducing me to this game around 8 months ago i think when this video came out it's become one of my favorites
Chadney starting young 💪💪
I didn’t played this when I was a kid, I played it because I wanted more horror anime after watching Madona and everyone was gushing about so I gave it a shot, and it was fantastic, I couldn’t believe I was scared of clicking next to read what happens next, very well made.
I love how as one of my boyfriend's first dates, he got me to play this game with him 😂
I loved it, and I'm pretty sure it would have scared off most people but I think it's how he was testing me to see if I was actually the one for him. It seems to have worked because it's nearly 6 years later and we're still together! Haha
Saya no uta, best VN ever. Thanks for the video and for the Urobochi's masterpiece!
The way I went "oh no" out loud when I recognized the character in the thumbnail LMAOOOOO
I ain't fazed by much in games like this, but Saya no Uta was certainly... Something! I feel bad for poor smol Syd having played that at such a young age jgfjfdg
At least it's a short game lol, unlike some other cursed stuff I've played
I have never been more glad that I'm ace than when I see the games Sydney talks about
Saya no Uta traumatized my EVERYTHING. Seriously... This game really is a Lovecraftian masterpiece. It made me question the very nature of love, that even love could be tainted. Thankfully I'm now in a great stable relationship with a boy I adore but man, Saya no Uta sent me for a loop.
I've been waiting for her to talk about this.
'...it wasn't the best s** education, but damn was it something!' My absolute favourite quote of the day! 🤣🤣🤣
"where did she come from, where did she go, where did she come from Saya Joe" XD
I dont remember being traumatized playing this vn as a kid, i just think it's really well made lmao
Also bad ending is the bestest ending fite me
YOU played Saya no UTA!!!???.... me too. Also young. Also traumatized me but somehow.. I also loved it. And I STILL get mesmerized and moved when I hear the "the song".
Apparently everyone else has played this game somewhere in their teens.
Meanwhile, I had Newgrounds and Meet'N'... twister.
ahhh Meet'N'.... good times
Gen Urobuchi the Butcher himself's works are masterpieces really, from cosmic horror Madoka to the great psychological anime Psycho Pass it really shows
you go with a broken grin upon that subject
Thank you for making a video about this. I share the same experience as yours when it comes to this game and I cannot express how much Gen Urobuchi changed my life. Him and his game created my passion for Visual Novels and I'll never stop praising Saya No Uta. So thanks again!