HarperCollins will publish Saeko Himuro's Ocean Waves novel in English on March 2, 2027. The novel inspired Studio Ghibli's 1993 television special of the same name. The story follows Taku Morisaki, who leaves his coastal hometown of Kochi for college in Tokyo and is flooded by memories of Rikako Muto, a transfer student who flustered and fascinated him. Himuro died of lung cancer in June 2008.
Two Japanese game outlets published play reports on August 2, 2026 for SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim, an adventure game about a protagonist living with a woman he perceives as a giant. The PC version launched earlier, and the Nintendo Switch version arrived in June 2026. The reports describe the opening hours as a study in anxiety and fear rather than comfort. The protagonist is a tiny person, roughly pinky-finger sized, taken in by a woman named Saeko. He has lost his memories, and the game withholds the reason for his transformation. Saeko shelters other tiny people in a drawer, and the protagonist manages them by distributing food to one person each day. At night, Saeko eats the tiny person who received the most nutrition. The reports stress that Saeko feels no guilt, treating the act as an ordinary part of her routine. The protagonist also talks with Saeko nightly, and a wrong answer can get him crushed to death, a literal death rather than a metaphor. The articles frame these mechanics as building a primitive fear of an absolute power, and suggest that this fear is part of the game's appeal, potentially awakening a kink in players.
The Nintendo Switch version of SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim released today, June 25, priced at 2,090 yen. The visual novel is set in 2000s Japan and follows Rin, a tiny person living in a desk drawer with other tiny people. Gameplay splits into day, where players manage the drawer and tiny people's stats, and night, where they interact with the giantess Saeko. Upsetting her leads to a 'worst outcome.'
In an interview with Automaton, the developer of SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim discussed the game's intentional design to mislead players expecting a romantic dating sim, instead delivering a psycho-horror experience. The character Saeko was based on a novel from the early 2000s, with her name referencing a 1999 TV drama. The developer emphasized the balance of fear and arousal, with fear taking precedence. The Switch version releases June 25.