History TearJerker / DokiDokiLiteratureClub

** Natsuki's father being abusive can be somewhat mitigated when noting that this is largely present in the rewritten Act 2 and not in the original scripting. If anything, the worst thing about her father is that he is evidently a stern and somewhat absent figure who isn't helping her insecurity complex. Natsuki is worried about him finding out about her "childish" manga habit and is uncomfortable about not being seen to eat plenty when he cooks.

MC's absence in the side story is this. It's implied he's in the anime club, but let's be real, he's doomed. He's doomed to just become a NEET, forever isolated in his home, to die alone and without friends.

** This gets even sadder once you realize that even when Monika gets you all to herself, she cannot ever have a proper relationship with you. She loves you despite [[LovingAShadow not knowing a thing about you, or even what gender you are. She can't see you, there's no way for you to input anything into the conversation...essentially your dates consist of you listening to her monologue to herself, with no way to truly reciprocate (that is, if you actually wanted to - which by this point you likely won't). She's convinced herself that just being in your presence is enough to satisfy her, even though she's simply talking to herself at this point.]]

** If you have saved a backup of Monika's character file and try to restore it before starting a new game in Act 4, you will get a message from Monika saying "Please stop playing with my heart. I don't want to come back". Monika will then delete her file, and any subsequent attempts to restore her file will result in her silently deleting her file. Keep in mind that Monika has already concluded that you loathed her enough to delete her and is still heartbroken about it.

** If you have saved a backup of Monika's character file and add it back to the character folder between Acts 3 and 4, you will get a message from Monika at the start of Act 4, telling you to stop playing with her heart and that she doesn't want to come back to the game. She will then delete her file and silently do so if you try to add her back again. Keep in mind that Monika has already concluded that you loathed her enough to delete her and is still heartbroken about it.

** This gets even sadder once you realise that even when Monika gets you all to herself, she cannot ever have a proper relationship with you. She loves you despite [[LovingAShadow not knowing a thing about you, or even what gender you are. She can't see you, there's no way for you to input anything into the conversation...essentially your dates consist of you listening to her monologue to herself, with no way to truly reciprocate (that is, if you actually wanted to - which by this point you likely won't). She's convinced herself that just being in your presence is enough to satisfy her, even though she's simply talking to herself at this point.]]

This VisualNovel is [[SurpriseCreepy not what it seems]]. Although most of the reveals are NightmareFuel, they also have some [[TearJerker upsetting implications, if not outright facts]].

** The Protagonist's reaction to Sayori's suicide definitely cuts deep, particularly given that [[MortonsFork regardless of the actions the player takes]], the Protagonist will [[MyGreatestFailure blame himself for causing it]], either by reciprocating her affections and not realizing that "Sayori only wanted things to go back to when they were kids", or "exacerbating her depression" by turning her down. It's another unexpectedly realistic feeling that many people get after someone close to them has committed suicide: SurvivorGuilt. His reaction of a near literal HeroicBSOD coupled with the progressively glitched and then immediately depressive song that plays definitely doesn't do anything to lighten the mood, either. This also happens to fall on the day of the festival, a day which the Protagonist and the Player thought would be an entertaining outing of character growth in this lighthearted harem visual novel? Surprise Tearjerkers are typically the ones that get to be the hardest to accept as you go on.

*** Sadly, you don't even need to go out of your way to impress Yuri. The second act railroads you into pursuing Yuri (thanks to Monika reprograming her into being a hardcore StalkerWithACrush, making this suck for Monika as well as Natsuki). Even if all 20 words you pick on the second and third poems are words Natsuki likes, the game treats it as if you picked Yuri's words. Even the game doesn't like Natsuki much.
** Yuri and Natsuki argue in Act 2, and Yuri tells Natsuki to go and look for coins under the vending machines. Seeing as her abusive father never gives her enough to eat, collecting dropped change is probably the only way she can get enough money to buy food.
* Yuri in general. Everyone acknowledges that she's beautiful and intelligent, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Whenever you talk to her, she always finds ways to second-guess herself or {{apologizes|ALot}} for something inane and the player character has to constantly reassure her that she doesn't have to be sorry and that he isn't mad at her. He doesn't do this out of exasperation, but out of genuine concern. Her dark, romantic interests alienate her from most people and she finds herself eating alone during lunchtime, which she uses as an excuse to immerse herself in her books. She tells you that she likes the characters in her books more than real people because they can never judge her.
** During the second act, she gets excited because she gets to spend time with someone she likes and when this happens, she rushes out to get water for tea. You notice that it takes her a long time and try to find her only to hear sharp breathing noises, ending with visions of her with slit forearms. Just watching someone you've come to care about hurt herself without you capable of stopping it is incredibly painful, especially because this act is after your best friend commits suicide.
* Yuri undergoes severe SanitySlippage in the second act. While most of it is prime NightmareFuel, it's shown through her rambling and behavior that she's [[ReluctantPsycho just aware of her deteriorating mental state and is appropriately horrified, but can't do anything about it]]. What's worse is that she implies that she had a history of driving people away with her odd, obsessive behavior before, explaining why she's a ShrinkingViolet. She also has a history of SelfHarm; it's unclear if her habit is in any way sexual like Monika claims or if she's just trying to make Yuri look worse, but make of it what you will. Eventually, she fully gives in to the madness and confesses her love, only to stab herself to death in a fit of "excitement," regardless of how the player chooses to respond. It'll likely bring back memories of Sayori.

* One of Natsuki's poems in the second route is a note pleading for you to help Yuri. She's horrified at the amount of SanitySlippage Yuri has clearly undergone, and feels you're best to help her get the treatment she needs. She can't do it personally because it'll only start another argument, and Monika will act like nothing's wrong. But she knows Yuri will listen to you. This nice little FriendshipMoment gets ruined when Monika tampers with the code again, making Natsuki immediately tell you that she's "changed her mind" and that you shouldn't bother with her and Yuri. [[ArcWords Just Monika.]]
** What's even more heartbreaking is that she finds out that you failed her. Despite her pleas to get Yuri help, Natsuki still comes to school Monday morning to find you staring at Yuri's decomposing corpse.
* Even Monika, despite all her faults, is [[CryForTheDevil still worthy of sympathy]]. Despite being a {{Yandere}}, everything about her suggests that she's not a sociopathic monster who feels entitled to the player, but a lonely girl who resents being stuck as a side character in a DatingSim who, despite being a SchoolIdol who the player character clearly admires, still doesn't get a route. She repeatedly asks if the player can hear her, and even asks through a pop-up for the player to help her. She [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone even acts horrified when she realizes the player hates her enough to delete her]], and [[HeelFaceTurn restores the other girls so that the player can play the game without her.]]
** If you have saved a back-up of Monika's character file and add it back to the character folder between Acts 3 and 4, you will get a message from Monika at the start of Act 4, telling you to stop playing with her heart and that she doesn't want to come back to the game. She will then delete her file and silently do so if you try to add her back again. Keep in mind that Monika has already concluded that you loathed her enough to delete her, and is still heartbroken about it.

** Even more heartbreaking is one thing... There is no way to do the poetry minigame with Monika able to join the other two, or three girls.
* There is ''no way'' to escape a DownerEnding in this game; the best you can go for is [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]]. This is sad for the player, but must be ''really'' sad for the characters - because of circumstances entirely outside their control, no one will ever be happy - Sayori and the Protagonist can never be happy together; at best Sayori becomes self-aware but comes to terms with it because of how happy you made everyone (temporarily). It's more of a bonus, secret ending than a GoldenEnding anyway, and all it does is prevent absolutely ''horrible'' things from happening rather than make anything better. Sayori is still depressed, Yuri is still struggling with loneliness, Natsuki is still likely being abused, and Monika must cease to exist. The best that can be said is that at least you prevented Sayori from committing suicide; but even then she's now aware that the world she lives in is entirely fictional; and this may be a FateWorseThanDeath depending on what she does with the knowledge. This is, of course, assuming that the world in the game still continues on without the game's script; it's entirely possible that the characters are now ''all'' trapped in a FateWorseThanDeath, in which the game is deleted but the character files remain. The only way to escape sadness in this game is to not play it at all.

** On the third poetry-sharing session, if Natsuki has liked all your poems to date, before she even gives you her poem to read she asks you if she thinks her poems are the best, which swiftly shifts to her begging the main character to say they are, even if he hates them, because - in her own words - she desperately needs to hear that from ''somebody''. She then refuses to hand her poem over and confesses that the reason she finds it so difficult to share her poems is because no one ever takes her and her cutesy style seriously. When the main character assures her that he does, she slowly hands the poem over, before asking him to turn around because "I don't want you to... look at my face right now."

* '''Trust''': While first half is fairly lighthearted with Sayori helping Monika to start the club, things take a dark turn when Monika sees Sayori's poetry and receives a glimpse into her inner demons. The story takes a deeper look into the depression that plagues her, with her revealing the depths with a single, harrowing written line:

** Her situation gets even worse when her backstory is expanded on in ''Plus'': the (in-universe) dev team know that she's sentient and wants to be free, but most of them just don't give a damn, still seeing her as little more than a lump of code they made rather than a being with aspirations, opinions and feelings of her own.

** The worst part about her brief moments of awareness is that, while they happened, she very likely thought that all her scathing insecurities about actually being an unlovable pervert were completely right, even though she was ''absolutely'' sane and innocent (albeit troubled) before Monika began [[MindRape Mind-Raping]] her.