Sanity

Sanity is a game mechanic that determines how much of the protagonist's true nature is revealed.

Gameplay[]

When the protagonist kills someone or performs related actions, her sanity decreases. Her current level of sanity determines the speed and efficiency with which she commits murder, with lower sanity resulting in longer, messier, and more brutal attacks. The current level is displayed at the bottom of the screen on a cardiograph monitor and reflected in the in-game music and visual effects.

Dismembering corpses and any type of murder lowers the protagonist's sanity by 20 %, except for the vent and freezing elimination methods, which deplete the protagonist's sanity by 100 % if not affected by other variables. When her sanity is 67 % or higher, killing a student will take 2 seconds. When her sanity is between 34 % and 66 %, killing a student will take 4 seconds. When her sanity is 33 % or lower, killing a student will take 6 seconds and she will become visibly insane.

There are multiple ways to increase the protagonist's numbness:

Wearing the skimpy thong panties, which halves the amount of sanity lost per murder.
Investing points in her psychology stat, which will cause her to lose sanity slower. At level 5 of this stat, she will lose half of her sanity as she usually does for each murder.
Reading the horror manga. The protagonist will lose 10% less sanity per each book she reads, up to 50% less after reading all five books.
Being a member of the Occult Club will also cause the protagonist to lose half of her sanity as usual per murder.

Each of the variables above will result in 10 kills to become fully insane. Variables can be combined to reduce sanity loss even more.

When the protagonist is visibly insane, her head and arms twitch, she hunches over threateningly, her eyes widen, her pupils shrink, the upper portion of her face darkens, and she will have hallucinations of herself killing the current rival. She will only see faceless silhouettes of people and she will automatically kill any NPCs if they are in range if she has any weapon in her hand.

If the protagonist's Senpai sees her while she is visibly insane, a Game Over will occur. If a teacher or Student Council member sees the protagonist while she is visibly insane, she will be sent to the Counselor's Office. If a student sees the protagonist in this state, they will lower her reputation by 10 to 20 points, depending on the level of School Atmosphere. She can apologize to witnesses in order to gain some of her reputation back. Low sanity is also incriminating evidence for the police. If the protagonist is visibly insane, the police will interrogate her and she will ultimately confess to her crimes.

Restoring Sanity[]

There are 3 main methods to increase the protagonist sanity, but her sanity will also be restored in certain situations. The first and most popular method is hysterically laughing. To do this, tap the Control (PC) or RB (controller) button repeatedly. The sound of laughter will attract others' attention and they will come to investigate if they're in range of the sound. It is considered to be inappropriate behavior and the other characters will react to it accordingly.

Viewing a picture of Senpai will increase the protagonist's sanity by 20 %. To view a picture, Ayano has to take a photo using her phone in order to take a picture of Taro and save it. In 1980s Mode, Ryoba must join the Photography Club in order to take a picture of Jokichi. To use it, she must open the gallery app on her phone, choose the photo and press R. An appropriate picture will be marked with a heart icon and can be used only once.

Standing near Senpai himself increases her sanity as well. However, it will eventually result in a Game Over if she is noticed 5 times. If the player is in the Occult Club, she can stand near Senpai longer without being noticed.

Being sent to the Counselor's Office will instantly restore the protagonist's sanity to 100 %, but entering her office by choice will not. Using the "pass time" feature on the phone will slowly restore her sanity as well. It is possible that in the future, the player may be able to paint a portrait of her Senpai to regain sanity when in the Art Club.^[1]

Senpai Sanity[]

Taro Yamada will have a hidden sanity variable that will influence some of the game's endings and possibly influence some of his everyday actions.^[2] If Hanako Yamada is killed, the Senpai sanity variable would take a big hit, similarly to how it would be affected if the player were to murder Osana Najimi, his childhood friend. The effects of Senpai's sanity are dependent on budget and volunteers.^[3] Canonically, Ayano would be okay with mentally traumatizing Senpai in order to eliminate a rival.^[4]

In the future, pools of blood, corpses, the news of his friend's or family's death, and murder will affect Senpai's sanity. Murder particularly will result in the highest sanity loss for Senpai.^[5] Depending on Ayano's actions, Senpai might develop PTSD, a personality complex, a nervous disorder, or social anxieties.^[6] In the future, if Senpai found out that Ayano killed his sister or childhood friend, he may grow violent towards her.^[7]

Leaving notes or gifts for Senpai can recover his sanity, which will help prevent a bad ending. To write an anonymous love letter, the player must reach Rank 2 in Language stat. To give Senpai a gift, the player must buy something he would like at the Gift Shop in Buraza Town. In order to deliver the note or gift, Ayano must go to Senpai's classroom before class begins and leave it on his desk. In the future, Senpai will have a voiced reaction, but currently, he just takes the item and inspects it before sitting down. In 1980s Mode, it affects Jokichi's interest in his "anonymous admirer".

Trivia[]

If the protagonist tries to frame a student while having little to no sanity, the police will arrest both of them.
YandereDev has stated that a more accurate measurement would be composure rather than insanity, as Ayano is already insane. However, she hides it until murderous deeds cause her true nature to show.^[8]
In the very old pre-debug builds, instead of a cardiograph, there was a gray meter of a human. After every Yandere Action, the meter became redder, showing how much sanity has been lost. There was also a face cam of Ayano's eyes. After every Yandere Action, her eyes became more dilated and her smile became bigger. These 2 HUD functions were later removed.
- The old Sanity meter was called the Yandere Meter, as seen in a YandereDev video, "Yandere Meter Gameplay".
Ayano's original bobcat hairstyle will change depending on her level of sanity. When the player has high sanity, the bangs will be clear from her face and her tufts will bend low. When the player has medium sanity, the tufts will become high, and hair will fall over her right eye. When the player has no sanity, the tufts will rise higher, and her right eye will be completely covered by bangs.