Umineko No Naku Koro Ni

[Glass Heart 34]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSKXThy8Rew&feature=related

The Story

October 1986.

With the head of the Ushiromiya family, Kinzo Ushiromiya, dying, the children are reunited to discuss plans of heritance of the commercial empire. The grand-children, however, aren't interested in their parents business and are happy to be together again.

During the dinner, the legendary witch Beatrice manifests to Maria, the younger of the grand-children, who announces the witch's claim.

Long ago, she offered a mountain of gold to Kinzo, allowing the family business to prosper for decades. Now that their accord is coming to its term, she will reclaim everything Kinzo has built, including the lives of his children and his grand-children.

However, if one of the descendant resolves the riddle on a epitath and discover where the gold is hidden, Beatrice will renounce to her claim to the gold and the murders will stop.

The Ushiromiyas must now survive to a series of supernatural murders. But in the end, all of the island residents are slaughtered.

However, in purgatory, one of the grand-children, Battler Ushiromiya, refuses to believe that surnatural has anything to do with the killing and believes that someone uses the name of Beatrice to murder everyone.

Beatrice appears to Battler and challenges him: the massive murder case will be replayed several times from the perspective that the witch killed everyone (with very different developpements).

Battler must prove that each murder could have been committed by one or several humans despite the strange circumstances and that therefore witches and magic had nothing to do with that.

To confront themselves, Battler and Beatrice have both a weapon: the blue and the red truth. The blue truth presents concrets facts that can't be denied and which tend to prove that humans did the killing. The red truth presents concrets facts that can't be denied and which tend to prove that witches did the killing.

Battler must find the "facts" of what he has seen (despite the magical perspective) and establish and submit theories, according to every information he has gathered, to explain how the murders could have been performed from a human perspective.

This game will last as long as Battler as the will to oppose the idea that witches are real.

Comments

In the first season (26 episodes), the opening plot and three more games are played, adapting the first four parts of the famous visual-novel (there will be eight parts at the end). A second season should follow later and conclude the story.

For those who know Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (an anime adapted from another eight-parts visual-novel by the same creator and writer), Umineko follows the same concept of many alternatives to the same event, allowing the main character and the spectator to gather puzzle pieces little by little and, in the end, to solve the mystery and discover the real murderer who hids himself behind the legend.

But Umineko is FAR less violent than Higurashi, despite some creepy moments. It's more in the atmosphere, very mysterious and scary, than in visual violence.

[Southpaw 61]

I can, and shall move it for you

[Glass Heart 34]

I can, and shall move it for you

Thanks !

[Scar Akai 65]

sounds interesting to me... Is there a manga of this?

[Glass Heart 34]

sounds interesting to me... Is there a manga of this?

I just search on Wikipedia and there are 5 manga adaptations adapting the first 5 parts of the visual-novel (first part completed, the next four in progress).

But, for my part, I only know the anime and some videos of the original visual-novel I've seen on Youtube.

7 of the 8 parts of the visual-novel have been released, with the 8th being released in next December, so I think the second and last season of the anime (adapting the last four parts) will follow soon after (the same happened before for the anime adaptation of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, with Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai being the second season and completing the main story).

[Glass Heart 34]

sounds interesting to me... Is there a manga of this?

In case you'll watch it and try to guess the tricks behind the murders, the "realistic perspective" of the story (which is still mostly unknown) was created according to "Van Dine's Commandments for Detective Stories".

http://gadetection.pbworks.com/Van-Dine%27s-Twenty-Rules-for-Writing-Detective-Stories

All red and blue truths enumerated in the first season are also absolute but they can easily hide more important facts which would be closer to the real truth.

I've tried to understand the tricks but they seem really elaborated and, so far, I have only found a plausible explanation to only one of many murders.

[Scar Akai 65]

Thanks Glass!!! Searching for'em now.

[Glass Heart 34]

Thanks Glass!!! Searching for'em now.

After you have finished watching/reading them, we could exchange theories if you want.

I've just thought of some elements of the series I didn't give much attention before and I think I might have an idea of who the culprit could be now.

Thinking of that person as the culprit could explain a few things in chapter 1, but I'm still clueless for other chapters (but it still could fill some holes).

If you want, we can discuss about this later. I'd like to know what theories you will thought of for your part.

[kirite 23]

I love love love umineko. My favorite visual novel of all time : D!

Waiting for the english translation of the last novel. This will take a while D8.

[Glass Heart 34]

The first seven chapters are already released in the US ?

For chapter 8, it's not at all the kind of ending everyone was expecting. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing (it's... special), but many people were very disappointed by what it turned out to be.

[kirite 23]

The first seven chapters are already released in the US ?

For chapter 8, it's not at all the kind of ending everyone was expecting. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing (it's... special), but many people were very disappointed by what it turned out to be.

Nah I don't think they will be released in US any time soon (if ever). I get my English patches from http://witch-hunt. com/

To me witch hunt is practically the official english release since Ryuukishi07 named a character in game in honor of the website <3

And to all Umineko fans, this is amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gymBixP5rQU

[Glass Heart 34]

Ah, ok !

The funny thing is that, when I watched the anime, I often thought "Bring Conan to the island ! He'll discover the truth faster than Battler !".

But, strangely, the story of Ryukushi is not a story of someone who has to solve a mystery. It is a story about how far a person is able to go for discovering the truth, when he knows that knowing the truth will make him suffer and just ignoring it will allow him to live happier.

I know the identity of the criminal and the truth behind Béatrice (I've read spoilers) but I still don't understand how it could explain the whole murder story.

[kirite 23]

I'm not sure either :I. I was hoping that the last chapter will wrap it up somehow..though from the RAGEEEE I've been hearing about I'm not sure I want to play the last game anymore D:.

[Glass Heart 34]

It's still better to know the end to the story, but just know that it's not really what we are meant to think. The readers were deceived by Ryukushi into thinking it was a detective story with supernatural elements, when it's the contrary: a fantastique story with detective elements.

[Glass Heart 34]

As the last chapter of the visual-novel doesn't reveal who is the "true" culprit, and since that Ryukushi still insists that readers can solve the mystery by themselves, I will try to deduce some of the tricks used by the murderer, but I've only see the anime and some spoilers about the four remaining chapters, so I don't know if it's still accurate...

The murders of the first game:

As the characters have stated, anybody amoung the first victims who could have faked his death could have committed all the killings. We know now that Shannon and Kanon are one and the same, so the "Shannon" who was identify thanks to her ring was a fake. Still, Shannon/Kanon can't be the murderer since Kanon was attacked by someone.

The perfect closed room (near the end):

The red truth stated that Maria didn't kill anyone.

This trick is in fact pretty simple. One of the three victims was already dead and the murderer takes his appearance. The corpse is already hidden in the room.

Maria didn't kill anyone but, since she is a Beatrice's supporter, she trusts the murderer who pretends to be the witch and helps him. She turned her back while the two are murdered. Then, the first corpse is put out and the culprit leaves the room. Maria closes the door with the key, making it look like a perfect closed room. Later, the murderer is outside the room, thus explaining Natsuhi's murder.

For Maria to become the accomplice of "Beatrice", the culprit must be at least credible. There is a huge probability that he is a woman or someone who can pretend to be a woman.

The chain of closed rooms

There is also an easy trick here. In the first room, the characters entered by the windows which are closed. This is the only room where someone can enter by another way than the door. After, the chain of closed room was done, the culprit or, most likely, an accomplice was hiding in the first room after the door and windows were closed (thus making it appear as a perfect chain of closed rooms) and only came out after everyone has already left for the second room.