For this next review, I thought I'd start hitting some titles of semi-obscurity. Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, or "When the Seagulls Cry," is actually an anime that was based on a VN, or visual novel. VN's are essentially books where you choose which path to take; each path containing its own consequences. This being said, my first word of advice is to not get too confused when the first "arc" ends.
In any case, let's move onto the synopsis. Umineko is based on the island of Rokkenjima in the year 1986. The super-wealthy Ushiromiya family head, Kinzo, calls for an emergency family meeting. His personal doctor, Doctor Nanjo, tells him some troubling news--he has only 3 months to live. In total, 11 of Kinzo's relatives come to the island to hear about his announcement regarding both succession of the Ushiromiya family and the vast fortune of gold that goes along with it. However, with that gold lies a dark secret, that of the Golden Witch, Beatrice. At the beginning of the first night, directly after dinner is finished, Ushiromiya Maria, the daughter of Ushiromiya Rosa, reads an envelope that was handed to her by the supposedly "dead" Beatrice. According to the letter, the gold all belongs to her, but she is forced to relinquish all of it if any one member of the family can decipher the epitaph placed directly below the portrait of her Kinzo has. However, in the event that nobody can figure out what the riddle means, Beatrice adds that everyone on the island, servants included, are at risk of being sacrificed for the "Golden Twilight". To make matters worse, a typhoon hits the island in such a time that everyone on the island is stranded there with no connection to the outside world whatsoever. For days, just as the wording on the epitaph states, people start being killed in a manner consistent with that of the epitaph. Battler Ushiromiya, the son of Rudolf and Kyrie Ushiromiya and the main protagonist of the story, not only strongly disbelieves in the existence of witches, but also becomes compelled to find out who the culprit is after his parents are killed. At the end of the first arc, the true story unfolds--Beatrice reveals herself to Battler, and proposes possibly one of the goriest games of all time. Beatrice and Battler, in a different "plane", so to speak, look on at the real world at the events that transpire over the course of the series. Meanwhile, as Battler tries to prove that witches cannot exist, Beatrice does the exact opposite and attempts to prove their existence. This battle of wits goes through many different possible scenarios, each of which changing some deaths and times around. Battler's true job, whether he likes it or not, is to figure out which of the 17 other people on the island is responsible for everyone else's deaths.
In addition to the synopsis, I would like to add that Umineko is unlike many other anime in that it is also a game, of sorts. As I interpret it, at least, Beatrice doesn't actually exist; rather, Battler is correct, and it is an alias the true culprit picked up and is using as a cover while they perform their misdeeds. To add more to the game, while "Beatrice" and Battler converse, occasionally one of them will make a statement in red. Whenever that happens, that means that the statement they just made is an absolute fact; no evidence is needed to support that fact, because it is a fact given to help the "player", or viewer in this case. Furthermore, at various points in the series, many characters, including the witches Bernkastel and LambdaDelta, will pick out statements that Battler made that are totally incorrect. This being said, if just being entertaining isn't enough for you, this show provides plenty of puzzles for those who would like to sharpen their minds.
Umineko, while most famous as a VN, is also famous for its anime's ending theme, La Divina Tragedia ~Makyoku~. If you've ever seen the phrase "YAMI WO KIRISAKU OH DESIRE" before, you now know that it comes from this song, specifically. If you would like to hear the song for yourself (and maybe laugh a little while you're at it, given how funny Jimang sounds), you can listen to it here. On a related note, for future reviews, I plan on providing links to youtube, etc. for the opening and ending themes to the anime I post about, so that you can listen for yourself and see if you like it. Anyway, back to Umineko. The ending theme, however, should not be the only music to judge the show by (especially because I personally like La Divina Tragedia). The opening theme, Katayoku no Tori by Shikata Akiko, is incredibly appropriate for this show--the melody itself seems to almost speak of great rewards at greater risk; much like how everyone on the island will die unless one finds the gold. The visuals are pretty nice as well, especially in comparison to their rather crazy-looking VN counterparts. Do not underestimate this show, however; Umineko is quite gory, and very little actually gets censored. There is a small amount of CGI to be found in Umineko, but most of it is when Beato's golden butterflies are going around, or when some kind of a "magic battle" takes place, such as the one between Beatrice and Virgilia.
Before I conclude this review, I would like to state two very important things about the "game" portion of Umineko. First and foremost, they never reveal who the killer actually is. Skipping ahead will not teach you anything, since most of the conclusions Battler arrives at are wrong, anyway. Secondly, this is by no means a simple case of "whodunnit," like the shows such as NCIS or CSI. While I (admittedly) still have no idea who the culprit is, I would like to recommend to the new viewers that they take down statements other than just those Beato makes in red regarding murders, parts of the mansion, etc. Obviously, when I say "statements", I'm referring to when a character gives an unbiased fact about something. For example, if character "X" said "There is a lamp on that table," I would record that, but if that same person said "That lamp is ugly," I would not, since character "X" may find things ugly that others find attractive. While I may not have solved the mystery as a whole, I have figured out answers to seemingly impossible questions.
As far as anime are concerned, Umineko, though not by any means mainstream, certainly proves itself to be, if nothing else, a highly enjoyable thriller. I would like to take a moment and mention that as is the case with most anime based on VN's, try out the VN after watching the series. Others may argue that because the VN is better, the anime is a waste of time. By watching the anime first though, if the VN is indeed better, you'll tend to end the series on a much better note. I will continue to say this every time I review an anime like this, so I hope you take my advice. Anyway, like all anime, Umineko is not without its problems. I think the first and foremost is that first-time watchers of shows like this will probably become helplessly lost after episode 5, where the first story arc ends. Additionally, a lot of the tidbits of humor tossed into the story seem out of place. For example, Battler greets his cousin, Jessica, by asking if he could squeeze her tits. Not only is that weird, but it wasn't really even all that funny. Finally, while I find the whole addition of "magic" to crime scenes to be innovative, I feel like in some places, it was totally unnecessary, such as the battle between Beato and Virgilia. Never underestimate just how strong this series is. While parts were a little out of place, the whole product is one that makes a lot of interesting points, and is a much more challenging mystery to solve than those from the aforementioned shows. Also, if you can't figure it out, don't expect a 2nd season to show up and reveal the culprit; it seems highly unlikely that a sequel will be made to finish it, and furthermore, it seems like as hard as it is, we probably have enough information to solve this mystery on our own, as long as we dig. Overall, I feel this series, though underrated, deserves some love.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
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