Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
| Sayori | |
|---|---|
| Doki Doki Literature Club! character | |
 Sayori in Doki Doki Literature Club! | |
First appearance | Doki Doki Literature Club! (2017) |
| Created by | Dan Salvato |
| Designed by | Satchely |
| In-universe information | |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Sayori is a character in the 2017 visual novel video game Doki Doki Literature Club! (DDLC). She is the childhood friend and neighbor of the protagonist, pushing him into joining their school's literature club. Over the course of the game, Sayori's cheerful personality is shown to be forced, with symptoms of depression becoming more evident. This culminates in Sayori committing suicide by hanging and being deleted from the game by the literature club's president, Monika. She is ultimately restored by the end of the game, though her fate depends on the player's actions.
Dan Salvato, the game's creator, designed the game to be a parody of tropes in romance games. Of the cast, Sayori was the character who had the most real-world influence, with the game's creator noting that her depression was inspired by those in his life. While writing the cast, Salvato found himself recognizing their "reality" and wanted to further explore it.
Critical reception of Sayori was positive, with praise directed toward the game's accurate depiction of her depression. Writers and academics have analysed how Sayori's characterisation defies standard visual novel tropes. They have also observed how the background music played during Sayori's suicide functions as a transition for Doki Doki Literature Club! to introduce its darker themes; academics have also noted the player's attempts to prevent her death.
Concept and creation
[edit]Sayori is one of the characters in Team Salvato's video game Doki Doki Literature Club!, a visual novel that is initially presented as a dating simulator, but is revealed to be a metafictional, psychological horror.[1] She is the neighbor and childhood friend of the player character protagonist, a young, male student.[2][3] The academic Christopher Patterson identifies Sayori as a genki (a term in anime to describe a playful and hyperactive girl) who wants the protagonist to try new things.[4] Sayori is noted for her positive personality, liking for sweet food, clumsiness, and tendency to be late. As the player progresses through the game, they discover that Sayori has depression, exhibiting symptoms like forced positivity, overeating, oversleeping, forgetfulness, difficulty getting out of bed, and suicidal thoughts.[3]
Doki Doki Literature Club! was conceptualised by Team Salvato's lead developer Dan Salvato,[5] who had a mixed relationship with anime[6] – he saw the trope of "cute girls doing cute things" as both an asset and a detriment to the viewer's enjoyment.[2] Salvato designed the game as a parody of tropes in romance games, though with disturbing undertones,[7] stating that he was inspired by "things that are scary because they make you uncomfortable, not because they shove scary-looking things in your face".[1] Salvato created characters with Japanese names to emphasise a pseudo-Japanese atmosphere; "Sayori" is a fusion of the Japanese names "Sayuri" and "Saori".[8] Salvato wanted the characters to have human traits and based them on his own experiences,[9] and while writing the game, he found that he was recognising the "reality" of characters like Sayori. He wanted to connect more with the characters, and thus explored things like their "insecurities and realistic personality traits" on top of their "stock archetypes". She was the strongest case of real-world inspiration, with her being inspired directly by those around Salvato with depression.[10] Due to Salvato's lack of artistic skills at the time, he created the designs of Sayori and other characters in a free anime-creation program, which were used in a test version of the game; Salvato recognised that a product of such quality would not satisfy potential players.[11] A friend of Salvato, who was also a translator for the Sekai Project, designed the uniforms and hairstyles of Sayori and the other girls.[12] Sayori's final in-game character design was initially handled by the artist Kagefumi, but following her departure from the game's development, the freelance artist Satchely took over.[13]
Character history
[edit]Sayori is one of the four non-playable characters in Doki Doki Literature Club! alongside Yuri, Natsuki, and Monika, all of whom belong to their school's literature club.[2] Sayori also appears in the enhanced version of the game, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, which features multiple "side stories" depicting the club's origin and the relationships between its members.[14]
In Doki Doki Literature Club!, she convinces the protagonist to join the club, where she, along with the other members of the club, writes poetry.[2] By writing poems, the player can try to romance either Sayori, Natsuki, or Yuri.[15] Throughout the course of the game, the poems written by Sayori are initially lighthearted but become more depressing.[16] She eventually tells the protagonist about her depression and later confesses her love to him[2][17] – the player can either reciprocate her feelings or reaffirm their friendship.[18] Regardless of the player's response,[19] the next day, the protagonist discovers that she committed suicide by hanging, seemingly ending the game and sending the player back to the game's title screen.[2][20]
Following Sayori's suicide, the player's save files are deleted. When the player creates a new game file, the game's story occurs as normal, but without Sayori.[2][21] Monika eventually deletes Yuri and Natsuki from the game and reveals that she has an obsessive love for the player as opposed to the character they control.[2] She also reveals that she modified the game's code to make the characters less appealing to the player, such as by amplifying Sayori's depression and eventually deleting her from the game.[22] Afterward, Monika's character file is deleted by the player,[2] which ultimately causes her to regret her behavior towards the player and the game's characters.[23] She restores the game to its previous state, minus herself.[2]
The game has two possible endings, both of which involve Sayori becoming the club's president in Monika's place and attaining self-awareness.[24] In one, she has an obsessive personality like Monika, prompting Monika to delete Sayori and then the rest of the game, believing the game cannot continue to exist. The other is achieved when the player has spent time with all the girls before Sayori's death, where Sayori thanks the player for making everyone happy.[24][25] A third ending may occur if the player deletes Monika's character file before the end of the game's first act, which causes Sayori to panic and crash the game – when the player reopens the game, an image of Sayori hanging herself is displayed.[24][26]
Critical reception
[edit]Sayori has received multiple pieces of merchandise – including scaled figurines[27][28] – and has been generally well-received by critics.[16][29] Kotaku writer Gita Jackson grew attached to Sayori, seeing "a little of my confused, sad teenage self in her".[16] The writer Ana Valens considered Sayori her favourite character in the game,[30] and she felt that Sayori's struggles with depression were the most memorable of Monika's manipulation of the girls' character traits. Valens also observed that Sayori's death is an unavoidable event in Doki Doki Literature Club!, even if the player obtains the game's "best ending".[29] Writing for Prima Games, Morgan Shaver labeled Sayori's premature ending as the game's "bad ending", stating that the ending is "absolutely heartbreaking as it makes it seem like Sayori suffers more than she does with the other two endings".[24] André Lamartine of Gamereactor included Sayori's suicide in the publication's "Gaming Moments that Shocked Us" series; Lamartine stated that he and a friend played Doki Doki Literature Club! for fun, and when they reached the scene of Sayori's suicide, "the funny mood died for me and my friend. I laughed because there was really no other way to react".[31]
The game's portrayal of Sayori's depression has received positive reception from critics.[1][6][32] Jackson discussed one of her poems, "Bottles", which they felt spoke of Sayori's desire to make others happy, only for her efforts to be rejected, leaving her with no happiness for herself. They contrasted Sayori's depression to other visual novels; where characters will have emotional problems that need to be solved by the player, Sayori's is not so easily solved. Jackson also interpreted the poem to be an part of what Salvato describes the game's events as "an inevitable tragedy".[16] In another Kotaku article, Jackson also stated that the scene of Sayori confessing her depression to the protagonist was impactful as she felt that it was not "a cheap way to garner sympathy", opining that this style of writing contributed to the game's success.[6] ''Fanbyte'' writer Kara Dennison found Sayori to be an "intelligent take" on mental illness, viewing her to be a deep and complex portrayal. Dennison found Sayori's struggles to be similar to ones she went through in real life.[32] Sky LaRell Anderson of the University of Saint Thomas, while feeling that the portrayal of her mental illnesses was accurate, begrudged that the game did not take advantage of the interactivity of its medium in depicting them.[33] In an IGN Japan article, Shohei Fujita felt that the way the confession and suicide were handled was more ethical than how it could be, suggesting that being able to save Sayori by staying by her side would be objectifying.[34]
Analysis
[edit]Writers have commented on Sayori's characterisation, particularly on how it defies standard tropes in visual novels.[3][20] Christopher Patterson of the University of British Columbia observed that Sayori's suicide was part of Doki Doki Literature Club!'s attempts to revise visual novel character archetypes by exposing them as "artificial fetishes and interchangeable elements within [the player's mind]".[20] However, Patterson also argued that in doing so, the game reduces the characters to artificial intelligence by "reproducing techno-orientalist Asian racializations" and presents a depiction "akin to Madame Butterfly, whose maddening love and suicidal fawning is reserved for the Western player only".[20] Anderson stated that Sayori's depression prevented the protagonist from forming a romantic relationship with her, the standard goal of a dating simulator, as the contradicting romantic feelings overwhelm Sayori and amplify her depression.[3] Writing for The Daily Dot, Ana Valens interpreted Sayori as a pansexual character. She cited a scene where Sayori called Natsuki cute and put her hands on her shoulders; while acknowledging that girls calling each other cute is normal for straight people, the physical interaction was less so. This, combined with a later scene, suggested to her that gender was not a relevant factor to attraction for Sayori. She also felt that this could be relevant to Sayori's depression, commenting that a society that expects women to date men can be difficult for non-straight women, feeling that Sayori mirrors herself in these aspects.[30] Valens also commented that Sayori's desire for her friends to be happy worsened her depression and cited it to be an example of Doki Doki Literature Club! demonstrating that many visual novels "overlook the complex and uncomfortable emotions that can reside inside the people we love".[29]
| External media | |
|---|---|
 "Sayo-nara" in the Doki Doki Literature Club! soundtrack |
During the scene of the player discovering Sayori's suicide, the background track "Sayo-nara" plays.[35] The use of this track has been analysed by writers regarding its role as a transition for Doki Doki Literature Club! to introduce its darker themes.[36][37] In a research paper analysing the use of sound and music in the game, Sara Bowden of Northwestern University noted that there was no prior audio warning of this transition. She observed that "Sayo-nara" is an altered version of the game's menu song; this iteration, which contains dissonance, amplifies the horror behind Sayori's death and "generates one of the most powerful horror moments in the game".[35] Writing for RPGFan, Marcos Gaspar noted that the song is an indication that "this cutesy game is not for the faint of heart", and commented that the song's distorted intro, use of dissonance, unsettling vocals, and a lone piano playing simple arpeggios "sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing".[36]
Academic publications have also observed that the player might try to prevent Sayori's suicide by selecting a different save file of the game and choosing the other option when Sayori confesses her love to the protagonist. However, they have also noted that Sayori's suicide is inevitable.[19][38] The academic Sean Travers argued that the game reprimands the player for their desensitisation towards violent content and attempts to change Sayori's outcome by deleting their previous save files, thereby causing the player to experience perpetrator trauma symptoms "in relation to video gaming specifically" for their actions.[38]
Academics have observed that when the player inspects Doki Doki Literature Club!'s game file in order to delete Monika's character file, they may encounter other files that contain hidden information.[39][40] If the player opens a computer file representing Sayori's character and decodes its contents,[a] they discover logs detailing tests conducted on a human subject by a religious cult and referencing the "Third Eye", a recurring motif in the game.[41][42] Academics have commented that the contents of these files, such as Sayori's, have been used by fans to create additional "lore" of the game[39][43] – Fanny Barnabé of the Université de Namur posited that these hidden files is part of Doki Doki Literature Club!'s attempts to encourage the player to further explore the game's story, adding that fans have interpreted the files to be part of an alternate reality game by Team Salvato.[43]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Sayori's file contains an unintelligible audio clip. If the audio file is run through a spectrogram, a QR code is displayed. When the QR code is scanned, it leads to a website entitled "projectlibitina.com".[41]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Rose, Victoria (October 22, 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club is an Uncontrollably Horrific Visual Novel". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pementel, Michael (May 7, 2019). "The Craft of Fourth Wall Breaking Anxiety in 'Doki Doki Literature Club!'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 Anderson 2020, p. 27.
- ↑ Patterson 2022, p. 30.
- ↑ Travers 2022, p. 188.
- 1 2 3 Jackson, Gita (October 20, 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club's Horror was Born from a Love-Hate Relationship with Anime". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
- ↑ Salvato 2017, p. 3.
- ↑ Salvato 2017, p. 4.
- ↑ Carignan, Kevin (July 20, 2021). "Dan Salvato Interview: Bringing Doki Doki Literature Club to Life". Prima Games. Archived from the original on August 6, 2025.
- ↑ Lee, Otter (January 3, 2018). "We Interviewed Doki Doki Literature Club's Twisted Creator, Dan Salvato". AsianCrush. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ↑ Salvato 2017, p. 5.
- ↑ Salvato 2017, pp. 6, 9–10.
- ↑ Salvato 2017, pp. 12–13, 16.
- ↑ Shaver, Morgan (July 7, 2021). "Doki Doki Literature Club Plus | How to Unlock All Side Stories". Prima Games. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021.
- ↑ Barnabé 2018, p. 3.
- 1 2 3 4 Jackson, Gita (December 11, 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club's Darkest Moment". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ↑ Barnabé 2018, pp. 2–3.
- ↑ Team Salvato. Doki Doki Literature Club!. Scene: Sayori's love confession to the player.
- 1 2 Spearman 2022, p. 14.
- 1 2 3 4 Patterson 2022, p. 31.
- ↑ Barnabé 2018, p. 4.
- ↑ Team Salvato. Doki Doki Literature Club!. Scene: Monika talking to the player face-to-face.
- ↑ Team Salvato. Doki Doki Literature Club!. Scene: after the player deletes Monika's character file.
- 1 2 3 4 Shaver, Morgan (July 6, 2021). "Doki Doki Literature Club Plus | How to Get All Endings". Prima Games. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021.
- ↑ Barnabé 2018, p. 6.
- ↑ Barnabé 2018, p. 10.
- ↑ Bueno, Daniel (September 28, 2023). "Doki Doki Literature Club Sayori Nendoroid Available for Pre-Order". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ↑ Liu, Stephanie (November 8, 2023). "DDLC Sayori Pop Up Parade Figure Looks Cheery". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- 1 2 3 Valens, Ana (February 14, 2018). "How Games Mess up Romance". VG247. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- 1 2 Valens, Ana (May 9, 2019). "Why Fandoms Love Claiming Characters as Queer". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ↑ Lamartine, André (April 22, 2025). "Gaming Moments that Shocked Us: Part 3". Gamereactor. Archived from the original on April 22, 2025.
- 1 2 Dennison, Kara (March 5, 2020). "The Four Faces of Doki Doki Literature Club". Fanbyte. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ↑ Anderson 2020, p. 29.
- ↑ Fujita, Shohei (March 4, 2018). 【完全ネタバレコラム】世界を大いに盛り上げる「Doki Doki Literature Club」の真の目的と少女たちからの救難信号 [(Full Spoiler Column) The True Purpose of Doki Doki Literature Club which is Greatly Exciting the World, and the Distress Signals from the Girls]. IGN Japan. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- 1 2 Bowden 2020, pp. 10, 16.
- 1 2 Gaspar, Marcos (September 22, 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club! OST". RPGFan Music. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- ↑ Bowden 2020, p. 10.
- 1 2 Travers 2022, p. 189.
- 1 2 Spearman 2022, pp. 22–23.
- ↑ Barnabé 2018, p. 11.
- 1 2 Barnabé 2018, p. 12.
- ↑ Spearman 2022, pp. 22–24.
- 1 2 Barnabé 2018, p. 13.
Sources
[edit]- Anderson, Sky LaRell (2020). "Portraying Mental Illness in Video Games: Exploratory Case Studies for Improving Interactive Depictions" (PDF). Loading. 13 (21). doi:10.7202/1071449ar. ISSN 1923-2691 – via Érudit.
- Barnabé, Fanny (2018). The Playful Function of Paratext in Visual Novels (PDF). Mechademia Kyoto conference 2018: "Manga Nexus: Movement, Stillness, Media" – via Universite de Namur.
- Bowden, Sara (2020). "Not suitable for the easily disturbed: Sonic nonlinearity and disruptive horror in Doki Doki Literature Club!". The Soundtrack. 11 (1&2). doi:10.1386/ts_00002_1. ISSN 1751-4193 – via EBSCO Information Services.
- Patterson, Christopher B. (2022). "Making Queer Asiatic Worlds: Performance and Racial Interaction in North American Visual Novels". American Literature. 94 (1). doi:10.1215/00029831-9696973. ISSN 0002-9831 – via Duke University Press.
- Salvato, Dan (2017). Doki Doki Literature Club! Concept Art Booklet. Self published.
- Spearman, Peter (2022). "Doki Doki Literature Club: Cute Girls, Violence, and Your Computer". PARtake: The Journal of Performance as Research. 5 (1). doi:10.33011/partake.v5i1.917. ISSN 2472-0860 – via PARtake: The Journal of Performance as Research website.
- Travers, Sean (2022). "Perpetrator Trauma in Video Games: Dan Salvato's Doki Doki Literature Club and Toby Fox's Undertale". Trauma in American Popular Culture and Cult Texts, 1980-2020. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-13287-2. ISBN 9783031132872 – via Springer Nature.
