History YMMV / TheSongOfSaya

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: It's a bleak, cynical, and gory CosmicHorrorStory about a medical student who sees the world around him as a meaty hell and his fellow people as monsters (save for his MagicalGirlfriend), and delves into some ''very'' dark territory like cannibalism and graphic rape scenes. When it first came out in Japan in 2003, it bombed and got a negative reaction from players because of it's brutality. Even though it has [[VindicatedByHistory since gone on to become one of the consistently best-selling titles]] of Nitroplus, it still remains a niche title as it can be hard for people to stomach.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Fuminori lives, and has been living, in the hell of his perceptions for some time, and although he hates everything because it disgusts him, he goes a long while before even seriously considering doing anything wrong. And if Saya [[spoiler:cures his madness]], he suffers no ill effects. This raises some questions about [[spoiler:Yosuke, Fuminori's neighbor]]. He loses his mind after literal seconds, turns immediately to violence against the monsters ([[spoiler:his wife and daughter]]) and quite violently and sadistically rapes the only other human he thinks there is in the world, who appears to him as [[spoiler:a prepubescent girl]]. Considering he was a sensitive homebody who liked his peace and quiet, was he really just a calm everyman, or did [[spoiler:Saya]] trip over a psychosis that had been [[StepfordSmiler bubbling under the surface]] and got more than they bargained for?

* HilariousInHindsight: One of the endings has [[spoiler:Saya "blooming" to turn humanity into meat-like monsters like her]]. A few years later, Creator/HikaruMidorikawa voiced Zenya in ''VisualNovel/SweetPool'' (another Nitro+ game, no less) who can [[spoiler:give birth to meat monsters]].

** To say nothing of the fact that seeing the world as a horrific meat moss hellscape....really doesn't excuse anything Fuminori does to the people who once were close to him. Yeah, all his former friends look disgusting to him now, but he can still communicate with them. He still ''knows'' they're the same people despite how they look and he has no reason to doubt that. The fact that he incensed not by their actually changing as people but merely by their appearances changing leads to some [[UnfortunateImplications unfortunate implications]].

** To say nothing of the fact that seeing the world as a horrific meat moss hellscape....really doesn't excuse anything Fuminori does to the people who once were close to him. Yeah, all his former friends look disgusting to him now, but he can still communicate with them. He still ''knows'' they're the same people despite how they look and he has no reason to doubt that. It gives off the impression that [[UnfortunateImplications all it would take for him to come to despise people he'd known all their lives is a terrible disfigurement.]]

** Alternatively, the only reason Fuminori DIDN'T lash out is because, as he was in the hospital, he was possibly restrained and had time to come to terms with his condition.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Fuminori lives, and has been living, in the hell of his perceptions, for some time, and although he hates everything because it disgusts him, he goes a long while before even seriously considering doing anything wrong. And if Saya [[spoiler:cures his madness]], he suffers no ill effects. This raises some questions about [[spoiler:Yosuke, Fuminori's neighbor]]. He loses his mind after literal seconds and turns immediately to violence against the monsters ([[spoiler:his wife and daughter]]) and quite violently and sadistically rapes the only other human he thinks is in the the world, who appears to him as [[spoiler:a prepubescent girl]]. Considering he was a sensitive homebody who liked his peace and quiet, was he really just a calm everyman, or did [[spoiler:Saya]] trip over a psychosis that had been [[StepfordSmiler bubbling under the surface]] and got more than they bargained for?

* DracoInLeatherPants: A significant amount of fans seem to think that [[spoiler:Fuminori and Saya]]'s relationship is beautiful and romantic, while ignoring or excusing their evil actions like the murders they commit, or [[spoiler:outright raping an innocent woman]]. While they do love each other, the story goes out of its way to show that it is a DestructiveRomance that makes worse people out of both of them, with only their warped perspectives keeping them even remotely sympathetic.

* HilariousInHindsight: One of the endings has [[spoiler:Saya 'blooming' to turn things into meat-like monsters]]. Few years later, Creator/HikaruMidorikawa voiced Zenya in ''VisualNovel/SweetPool'' (another Nitro+ game, no less!) who can [[spoiler:give birth to meat monsters]].

** Yoh and Omi have quite a bit of subtext, if you squint. There's Omi's anger at Fuminori for being a jerk to Yoh, Yoh's and Omi's texting habits where the two share personal secrets, Yoh desperately wishing for Omi to be there whilst at Fuminori's house...
** Yoh and Saya, though it's got hefty amounts of disturbing material: [[spoiler:Saya essentially kidnaps Yoh, gropes her, tells her that "she's pretty" and her breasts are "so big and soft", before raping her while saying "[we'll] love you to death".]] While Saya does do this to [[spoiler:give Fuminori "family"]], the text makes it clear she's also doing it because she's ''jealous'' of Yoh, even though she has no real reason to be, as Fuminori makes it clear he wants nothing to do with Yoh and everything to do with Saya. A slightly later scene also has Saya [[spoiler:joyfully engaging in raping Yoh along with Fuminori]], which may or may not count.

** Happens when [[spoiler:Fuminori decides he's fine with eating human flesh.]]
*** Accentuated by the fact that, right before, [[spoiler: Saya gives him the opportunity to cure his mental illness. He'll lose Saya and end up in a mental institution for all the murders, but least he won't be in a constant living hell anymore. Refusing that marks the point when Fuminori officially discards his humanity.]]
*** Some would put it a little later, when [[spoiler: Fuminori brutally rapes Yoh.]] It's not his first heinous act, but some of his actions before that were mostly in response to the really bad hand life had dealt him. [[spoiler: Raping Yoh]], though, that's a complete crossover into BlueAndOrangeMorality at best and pure sadism at worst. Especially since [[spoiler:Saya altered her so he that sees her as a normal person]], so he ''definitely'' has no excuse.

** The sex scenes, thanks to the cheesy voice-acting, cliched and almost melodramatic description, as well as the weird expressions and anatomy.
** Saya being [[spoiler:raped by Yousuke]], assuming you didn't find it [[TearJerker horrible]] or [[NightmareFuel frightening]]. The scene doesn't really do anything to further the plot (though the ones leading up to it do), and Saya's sudden helplessness feels [[GratuitousRape cheapened]] by the fact that she's almost invincible in every other part of the story, to the point where it informs a major part of the climax.

* RootingForTheEmpire: A significant amount of fans actually root for [[spoiler:Fuminori and Saya]]'s DestructiveRomance and evil actions and prefer the ending where [[TheBadGuyWins they win]]- in one poll, ''73%'' said they liked that ending best. This despite both of them being ''rapists'' who turned their victim into a BrokenBird and SexSlave, among other things.

** [[spoiler: Yosuke]], however, is far less sympathetic. [[spoiler: Killing his wife and daughter after just being inflicted with the same mental condition as Fuminori and having no idea what's going on is understandable. Meeting Saya in her humanoid form and ''immediately'' trying to rape her? Not so much.]]

** Yoh probably takes the cake: the poor girl undergoes [[spoiler:heartbreak by her now-jerkass crush, loss of a very close friend that she becomes convinced is her fault, brutal rape, hideous torture and body horror, unending pain thanks to her new body, becoming a sex slave to two sociopaths, before being brutally beaten to death by another close friend]].

** Yosuke. Has a loving wife and a daughter, and paints in his spare time. He's practically the ideal family man. All seems right and blissful with his life... [[spoiler:until Saya comes in.]]
** Koji. He just wants to help his friend become normal again and he pretty much saved the world in one of the endings. His thanks? [[spoiler:His friends are all dead and he can't sleep suffering from nightmares and hallucinations]].

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Or ''Americans Love Saya no Uta'', rather; Nitro+ CEO Takaki Kosaka seemed genuinely surprised at Anime Expo 2014 that this game had American fans. He also went on to say that the title didn't sell well when it was new, but since then, it has become one of the company's [[VindicatedByHistory most consistently best-selling titles over a 10 year period.]] It even got to the point where the most prominent adaptation is an American comic book.

* DracoInLeatherPants: A significant amount of fans seem to think that [[spoiler:Fuminori and Saya]]'s relationship is beautiful and romantic, while ignoring or excusing their evil actions like the murders they commit, or [[spoiler:outright raping an innocent woman]]. While they do love each other, the story goes out of its way to show that it is a DestructiveRomance that makes worse people out of both of them.

* IdiotPlot: A rather large amount of drama in the plot is caused by rampant stupidity.

* ItWasHisSled: One of the first things anyone hears about this visual novel is that Saya [[spoiler:is actually a monster]], even though this is supposed to be the big twist.

* DracoInLeatherPants: A significant amount of fans seem to think that [[spoiler:Fuminori and Saya]]'s relationship is beautiful and romantic. While they do love each other, the story goes out of its way to show that it is a DestructiveRomance that makes worse people out of both of them, and ignore or excuse their evil actions like murder.

* DracoInLeatherPants: A significant amount of fans seem to think that [[spoiler:Fuminori and Saya]]'s relationship is beautiful and romantic. While they do love each other, the story goes out of its way to show that it is a DestructiveRomance that makes worse people out of both of them, and ignore or excuse their evil actions like murder.

* ItWasHisSled: One of the first things anyone hears about is that Saya [[spoiler:is actually a monster]].

* StoryToGameplayRatio: Even by the genre standards, the game leans heavily on "story" side, to the point of almost being a KineticNovel - it only has two choices, with one of them leading to an immediate, shorter ending, and the other one, on the longer route, deciding that route's ending.

* IdiotPlot: A rather large amount of drama in the plot is caused by rampant stupidity -- see the entries under TooDumbToLive.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Ryoko gets one of these when [[spoiler: she shoots and shatters the frozen Saya ''while an axe is sticking out of her shoulder'']], wearing a pretty damn impressive {{slasher smile}} on her face as she does so.

** Saya being [[spoiler: raped by Yousuke]], assuming you didn't find it [[TearJerker horrible]] or [[NightmareFuel frightening]]. The scene doesn't really do anything to further the plot (though the ones leading up to it do), and Saya's sudden helplessness feels [[GratuitousRape cheapened]] by the fact that she's almost invincible in every other part of the story, to the point where it informs a major part of the climax.
%%* NauseaFuel

* {{Squick}}: ...Y'know, in case you didn't get the picture from reading the top of the main page. But even the ''premise'' only scratches the surface. It is in fact no hyperbole to say that the fact that Fuminori has sex with the obviously childlike Saya is the absolute ''least'' disturbing aspect of their relationship.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * CrazyAwesome: Ryoko.

* ColbertBump: The game received a humongous boost in sales after writer Gen Urobuchi worked on [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica a certain magical girl anime]], with him commenting after its airing that ''Saya no Uta'' was selling as much as a newly released title.