Kinoko Nasu
Sakura Matou was created by concept artist Takashi Takeuchi during the early stages of making "Fate/stay night". Takeuchi wanted to create an attractive heroine with a quiet personality who would be popular with the audience. He considered Sakura to be a typical eroge heroine; more scenes of erotic content were created for her compared to the game's other female characters. The game's creators considered her as a woman who loves sex, and the player's perception of her is supposed to be that of a bride before the wedding. Writer Kinoko Nasu wanted Sakura to contrast with Rin Tohsaka, the heroine of another route in the visual novel, based on their different pasts. During the story Sakura is corrupted by a shadow, which Takeuchi designed for this incarnation. The idea of Dark Sakura was created; a character who would frighten players because of her darker tone. Nasu liked Takeuchi's design. Sakura's initial concept was based on Fujino Asagami from "Kara no Kyoukai", which Nasu accepted when Takeuchi first showed him the sketches. In the following game, Sakura was reworked to have a lighter-hearted personality that contrasts with her dark past.