Sayori has coral pink hair, cut chin-length and slightly curled at the ends, with a large red bow on the upper left side of her head. Like the other female characters, she has two prominent strands of hair beside her bangs, and her eyes are a bright sky blue. She is of short-to-average height, which makes her the second shortest character in the game, before
Natsuki
.
When in school, she wears the standard issue female school uniform consisting of a warm gray blazer fully unbuttoned and untucked, brown sweater vest, white shirt slightly unbuttoned and crooked at the collar and tucked, red ribbon that's displaced, dark blue pleated skirt, white knee-high socks and white uwabaki slippers with sky blue tips.
When outside school, she wears a pink shirt with rolled-up long sleeves and blue shorts. On the morning of her death, she is seen wearing a brown collared white dress shirt, which has a pocket on each side, brown folds and six black buttons, the top one being unbuttoned, slim-fitting red shorts and was barefoot.
Personality
Sayori is initially portrayed as the character archetype of a Genki Girl, expressing a bubbly and cheery disposition. She is very clumsy, noted for finding ways to accidentally hurt herself or to drop random things. Regardless, she is shown to be a jokingly cunning individual who can trick others to get food, shown after managing to eat Natsuki's cookie without her permission. Sayori has also been known by the protagonist to obsess over activities that she loses interest in later. She states that writing poetry and studying literature is different to her than those other interests because it helps her explore her feelings.
However, it is later revealed that she suffers from bad depression and works so hard to make the people around her happy to cope with her own lack of self-love amongst other things. She is also usually the only character, other than the protagonist, shown to break up arguments,
Monika
noting that her sentiments are necessary to keep a relaxing atmosphere in the Literature Club. This is proven by her absence in
Act 2
. Monika also notes that while she may look like a good leader, Sayori is usually better when it comes to dealing with people, notably at mediations. She tries her best to help everyone be happy and dislikes attention directed at her well-being because she feels unworthy of anything that others have to offer her.
Sayori is also introduced as the protagonist's childhood friend. The protagonist seems to view her as an airhead and slightly annoying at the beginning of the game, but he starts to sympathize with her after she confesses about her depression.
Sayori's depression makes her disorganized, and she often cannot find a reason to get out of bed in the morning when she tries to wake up, which is why she is usually late for school. Her room, which the protagonist regularly cleaned for her, is also noted to be untidy. The protagonist notes how there hasn't been much change in her, and the changes the protagonist notices in her later are due to Monika's interference, amplifying her depression and suicidal tendencies.
Her depression seems to make her believe that she does not deserve to be loved, but at the same time she wants to be loved, especially by the protagonist, whom she has a crush on. When the player chooses to pursue one of the other girls, Sayori seems to suffer because she secretly wants the protagonist to love her while at the same time experiencing guilt for feeling bad in the first place. Her depression is also gradually amplified by Monika at this point. However, if the player actively chooses to pursue Sayori, she will still experience guilt since she doesn't believe that she deserves to be loved. Regardless of the player's choice, Sayori will kill herself on the day of the festival in the early morning hours.
[4]
Her relationship with the protagonist and other people's happiness are her main coping mechanisms since she believes that if she makes everyone else happy, she will not have a reason whatsoever to be unhappy.
When Sayori confesses her love for the protagonist, she will either hug him or run away with a pained expression, depending on whether the player accepts her feelings, or rejects them. The next day, the protagonist will go to school without her, assuming she was still asleep. There, he will read a poem written by Sayori named "
%
", with the words "Get out of my head" repeated constantly. This will cause the protagonist to panic and go to Sayori's house, where she will be found dead, hanging from a noose with blood on her hands. If the player tries to load their save after her death, the game states that the save files are corrupt and completely reboots, as if Sayori never existed. This would mark the end of
Act 1
.
After Monika restores each member's file, at the start of
Act 4
, Sayori will again be present in the game, alive and well. Natsuki and
Yuri
will also be present, also unharmed. This time, Sayori is the club president instead of Monika. Towards the end of the game, one out of two endings will happen. If the player achieves the normal ending, Sayori will reveal that since she is now also self-aware, possibly because she is now the club president, and will thank the player for deleting Monika. The scene then moves from the club into the room Monika was in during
Act 3
, as she claims how happy she will be to be with the player forever. Monika will then delete Sayori, stating that she "won't let her hurt him," and then will delete the entire game.
If the good ending is achieved, Sayori will instead thank the player for spending time with all of the girls, saying that it's all that she wanted. She will then thank the player for playing Doki Doki Literature Club and with a few tears in her eyes say that they all love the player.
It is worth noting that Act 1 establishes that Sayori sleeps in because of her depression, which is why she is often late for school. In Act 4, however, Sayori tells the protagonist that she has been waking up on time lately. This implies that her depression has been alleviated to some degree.
"I see an annoying girl running toward me from the distance, waving her arms in the air like she's totally oblivious to any attention she might draw to herself."
That girl is Sayori, my neighbor and good friend since we were children.
You know, the kind of friend you'd never see yourself making today, but it just kind of works out because you've known each other for so long?
We used to walk to school together on days like this, but starting around high school she would oversleep more and more frequently, and I would get tired of waiting up.
But if she's going to chase after me like this, I almost feel better off running away.
However, I just sigh and idle in front of the crosswalk and let Sayori catch up to me."
~ The protagonist on Sayori
"I was talking about how I'm worried that you won't learn how to socialize or have any skills before college. Your happiness is really important to me, you know! And I know you're happy now, but I'd die at the thought of you becoming a NEET in a few years because you're not used to the real world!"
~ Sayori expressing her concern about the protagonist's life style
"I thought I'd catch you coming out of the classroom, but I saw you just sitting here and spacing out, so I came in. Honestly, you're even worse than me sometimes... I'm impressed! Well, I thought you might need some encouragement, so I thought, you know..."
"Not that I was ever aware that she had any interest in literature. In fact, I'm 99%% sure she only did it because she thought it would be fun to help start a new club."
~ The protagonist on Sayori
"I kind of told the club yesterday I would bring in a new member... And Natsuki made cupcakes and everything... Ehehe..."
"Don't make promises you can't keep!"
~ Sayori trapping the protagonist.
Come sit down, [Player]! We made room for you at the table, so you can sit next to me or Monika.
"Hey, [Player], since we're already here, do you want to walk home together?"
Act 1, Day 2
"Don't worry, guys~ [player] always gives it his best as long as he's having fun. He helps me with busywork without me even asking. Like cooking, cleaning my room..."
""How dependable..."
"Sayori, that's because your room is so messy it's distracting. And you almost set your house on fire once."
"Is that so... Ehehe..."
~ Sayori, Yuri, and the protagonist
"I'm gonna keep writing until I die"
~ Sayori
"You two are really good friends, aren't you? I might be a little jealous..."
"How come? You and [player] can become good friends too!"
"U-Um..."
"S-Sayori--"
"Hmm?"
~ Sayori puts Yuri the protagonist in a difficult situation
"You know, [player]... It's nice that I get to spend time with you in the club. But I think seeing you get along with everyone is what makes me the happiest."
~ Sayori's goals
"The most important thing... Is having fun!"
~ Sayori on the purpose of the Literature Club
"Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are my friends! I-I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people... And I love them because of their differences! Natsuki's poems... They're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuri's poems are amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head! Everyone's so talented... ...So why are we fighting...?"
~ Sayori resolving Natsuki and Yuri's argument
"I guess that just means Sayori is amazing in her own ways, isn't she?"
"You could say that. She might be an airhead, but sometimes it's weirdly suspicious that she knows exactly what she's doing."
~ Monika and the protagonist on Sayori.
Act 1, Day 3
"Hi [player]~"
"Yo, Sayori. Looks like you're in a good mood today."
"Ehehe~ I'm just still not used to being in the club, that's all."
"I see...That's a pretty simple thing to get you in a good mood. But I guess it's always the simple things with you, anyway."
~ Sayori and the protagonist
"You were right, though... I did something bad and now I have to accept the revolution."
"Retribution..."
"That!"
~ Sayori and Yuri.
"Don't let her fool you. Sayori knows exactly what she's doing. After all, she told you guys she was bringing me to the club before she even told me..."
~ The protagonist on Sayori.
"Eh?? Monika chose the club over her boyfriend after all! You're so strong-willed!"
~ Sayori on Monika's hypothetical boyfriend.
"Yeah! It's about expressing your feelings... Being intimate with yourself... Finding new horizons... And having fun!"
~ Sayori on the Literature Club.
"Sayori begins her poem. Somehow, it feels like her soft voice was made as a perfect match. The poem isn't aimlessly cheery like Sayori is. It's serene and bittersweet. If I were to read this on paper, I probably wouldn't think much of it... But hearing it come from Sayori's voice almost gives it a whole new meaning. Maybe this is what Sayori meant when she said she likes my poems. It's like I get to reach more deeply into someone I thought I knew through and through."
~ The protagonist on Sayori's recitation
Etymology
The name
Sayori
is written in katakana (サヨリ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (小夜里, 小由, 紗依, 桜依, 咲依, 早和, 颯依 or 沙頼), it could possibly mean:
紗世里 - "thread, silk" (紗) (
sa
), "world" (世) (
yo
) and "village" (里) (
ri
).
小夜理 - "small" (小) (
sa
), "night, evening" (夜) (
yo
) and "reason" (理) (
ri
).
小由 - "small" (小) (
sa
) and "reason, case, cause" (由) (
yori
).
紗依 - "thread, silk" (紗) (
sa
) and "rely on" (依) (
yori
).
桜依 - "cherry blossom" (桜) (
sa
) and "rely on" (依) (
yori
).
咲依 - "blossom" (咲) (
sa
) and "rely on" (依) (
yori
).
早和 - "early sum".
颯依 - "sudden, sound of the wind" (颯) (
sa
) and "rely on" (依) (
yori
).
沙頼 - "sand" (沙) (
sa
) and "rely" (頼) (
yori
).
Trivia
If Monika's character file (monika.chr) is deleted before the first run, Sayori appears to realize that she is trapped in a game. She will then force the game to close and delete the other character files, including herself. If the player opens the game after this occurs, a black and white screen with her hanging will appear instead of the usual opening and main menu. After 10 minutes pass, text written in her handwriting will show up on the right of the screen that says "Now everyone can be happy."
If Sayori is deleted during Act 1, the black and white screen with her hanging herself will also appear immediately if the player reopens the game.
In Act 4, Sayori is programmed to be the president of the club. However, as president, Sayori starts to exhibit self-awareness as Monika did and begins breaking the game. It is of interest to note that she does not delete Natsuki or Yuri for unknown reasons, but she tries to form an ending with just herself and the player. However, she is prevented from getting too far by Monika, who realizes that there is no way the club can be happy and then deletes the entire game.
After achieving the
special ending
, Sayori will thank the player for spending time with all of the characters and will not break the game.
When the game proceeds to Act 2, Sayori's sprite in the main menu will be replaced with an amalgamation of all the other characters present (Yuri, Natsuki, and Monika) instead.
Sayori's file can be decoded into an .ogg file, which will play some sort of high, muffled screeching. Running the audio through a spectograph will reveal a QR code, which leads to the
Project Libitina website
.
Sayori's version of "Okay, Everyone!" involves a soft flute accompanied with a ukulele and snapping in the background, most likely referring to her Genki Girl-type personality.
Dan Salvato
stated in the
fan pack
booklet that Sayori's name is a fusion between 'Sayuri' and 'Saori,' thus it has no traditional meaning. However, "Sayori" (さより)
is
an actual Japanese girls' name (as well as the name of the Japanese halfbeak fish), albeit an uncommon one, as seen with voice actress Sayori Ishizuka as well as the pseudonymous artist behind
Nekopara
.
As also noted in the fan pack booklet, Dan chose Sayori as the character who inadvertently sets off the horror side of the game largely because he knew it would hit anime fans the hardest, i.e., seeing the archetypal girl who wants everyone to be happy be the one to commit suicide.
In a livestream celebrating the first anniversary of the game's release, Dan cited the character Yui Hirasawa from
K-On!
as an inspiration for Sayori's character.
Sayori and Yuri are the only characters to actually die in the game, while everyone else (specifically Natsuki and Monika) were all deleted from the game (although, Yuri and Sayori were deleted as well after death).
Sayori is the only character whose blazer is open.
