Saotome, (English: ['sɑ̃əʊɾəmeɪ]; Japanese: [sɑ̃'ɔto̞mɛ]) or "Otome", was a classmate of Aki and Misao who was also the then-girlfriend of Tohma before he abandoned her to die at the hands of a monster.
In the Misao novelization, her full name is revealed to be Haruna Saotome (早乙女 ハルナ Saotome Haruna) - (making Saotome her surname).
Appearance[]
At the beginning of the game, Saotome was the epitome of the perfect girlfriend with long blonde hair that is tied up in a ponytail with bangs hanging over her eyebrows while she has chin-length hair strands hanging on either side and big light amber-colored eyes.
She wore the school uniform formally like Aki with a pink vest and a red ribbon.
Personality[]
Since Saotome died early on in the game, not much is known about her personality. However, judging from the first conversation she was seen in, it can be assumed that she was acting like the stereotypical (relating to a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing) girlfriend who often would cry out in fright at certain things, such as Yoshino's accounts of the supernatural occurrences around school and clinging onto Tohma in an effort to be comforted, in which the initial assessment of her personality seemed sweet and naive.
This would prove to be an act as Saotome took part in the bullying of Misao (Saotome's classmate) who was also in love with Tohma. Despite encouraging and helping them, Saotome continued to play innocent about her behavior until the game's events. It's unknown if this was true or if Misao was assuming the worst of her due to her jealousy for being Tohma's actual girlfriend.
History[]
In the beginning, Saotome is labeled as Tohma's girlfriend and discussing the supernatural events around school with him, Yoshino and Kudoh. When Misao invokes her curse, Saotome is transported along with Tohma to some unknown location like the others. The player eventually finds Tohma and Saotome in the boy's bathroom, but she is trapped and being targeted by some sort of strange monster. Instead of staying and fighting off her assailant, Tohma runs back in the opposite direction to the exit, leaving Saotome to be brutally murdered before Aki is able to save her.
At the end of the game, when the player finally saves Misao's soul, it is shown through flashbacks that Saotome had helped bully her by publishing a very embarrassing and love-filled text sent from Misao to Tohma. Misao had initially thought it was Yoshino who had done it, but by overhearing Tohma's accusations against Saotome, she learns that Tohma himself had shown Saotome the text in belief that she was a friend. Additionally, since Tohma confronted Saotome alone, it can be assumed that she went out of her way to perform the deed by herself and remained unaligned with Yoshino.
Relationships[]
Tohma - Saotome's boyfriend. Despite this fact, Tohma had left her to fend for herself when she was trapped in the bathroom by a monster. Aki comes into the bathroom to witness a panicking Tohma fleeing from the scene, showing that while they were officially together, Tohma did not have any strong feelings towards her. It is taken to another level when she bashes his skull in the Truth ending.
Aki - Saotome's classmate. Although not close, Aki did try to save Saotome after Tohma left her, grabbing a fire extinguisher at the entrance of the bathroom. However, this did not help as the time to grab the extinguisher proved too long and Saotome was found mauled to death by the monster. Aki apologizes to Saotome's corpse before Aki continues on her mission to find Misao.
Misao - Saotome's classmate and love rival. As Tohma's official girlfriend, Misao must have held some resentment towards the blonde and forced Saotome to fall under her curse. We learn at the end, however, that it was because Saotome had bullied her by publishing an embarrassing text sent to Tohma. She later dies due to one of the monsters that sprout up around school caused by Misao's influence.
Yoshino - Saotome's classmate and love rival. They both liked Tohma, and both participated in making Misao's life miserable, but for some reason, Saotome was able to become Tohma's girlfriend instead of Yoshino. This may have been due to the degree of bullying each did, where Yoshino went above and beyond while Saotome only released an embarrassing text.
Kudoh - Saotome's classmate. Not much is known about their relationship, but it's assumed they were just classmates.
Rec Room[]
About Saotome[]
Popular with many friends thanks to her good girl act. She certainly looks the part. She doesn't really hate Misao. Posting the texts was just a joke, but dating Tohma she couldn't forgive. She might seem like a flighty broad, but she really seemed to like Tohma.
Saotome Design Secrets[]
As soon as I knew Tohma would have a girlfriend, there she was, gold ponytail and big breasts. Name and nickname were decided from the start. I'm rather fond of Saotome's face sprite. Her clothes make her look like a secretary, though... *laughs*
Etymology[]
- The name Haruna (1) is written in katakana (ハルナ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (晴菜, 遥菜 or 春菜), it could possibly mean "":
- 晴菜 - "clear weather" (晴) (haru) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (na).
- 遥菜 - "distant, remote" (遥) (haru) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (na).
- 春菜 - "spring" (春) (haru) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (na).
- Haruna's surname Saotome means "already, now, fast, early" (早) (sa) and "virgin, maiden, girl" (乙女) (otome), which literally means "early maiden" altogether.
- In ancient Japan, Saotome were unmarried girls tasked with planting rice in paddies.
Trivia[]
- In the second playthrough if you choose to play as Akito (Aki's male counterpart), Ayaka will tease him about his crush on Saotome, instead of Tohma.
Gallery[]
Click here to be redirected to Saotome's image gallery.