Wakaranai

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When I put on the latest episode of Umineko no Naku Koro ni I have to say I was firmly in my comfort zone - I thought I knew what to expect. Some melodrama here, a bit of UUUU UUU there, a dose of Beatrice laughing cruelly, and another series of violent murder culminating in an “EVERYBODY DIES” finish. The first half of the episode reinforced this, with the deaths of George and maid-cum-lover (sounds like a hentai title), Shanon. I admit I actually enjoyed this particular scene. Like much of the show it was done in a bit of a whacky and awkward manner, but I still have an emotional investment in the innocent love story between these two, and I liked the fact that their love kind of got the better of Beatrice, undermining her façade of unassailable wickedness. I’m not sure if I enjoyed what the episode eventually turned into, but I have to say it was one of the most, if not the most, fucked up and disturbing things I’ve seen in an anime.

Higurashi had gore-a-plenty, there’s no doubting that. And a lot of people reacted squeamishly to some of the gorier moments that the mystery-horror series offered up. Whether it was Rena putting needles in K1’s rice balls, the finger-nail tearing traditions of the Sonozaki family, or a frenzied Rika stabbing herself repeatedly in the side of the head, there was something for everyone to feel queasy about. But what transpires here is on a whole new level. While not as technically gory as those Higurashi moments, the twisted psychology behind it makes it far more unnerving.

Seeing the wholly dejected and crushed Battler paraded around naked by collar and leash was actually a bit sickening as well as depressing. Even if Battler came back 5 minutes later with a fresh resolve to resist Beatrice, that does nothing to repair the damage his image has suffered at the hands of his witch foe. I’ve lost all respect for him ;_;. Keiichi wouldn’t have stood for this shit! Now his only path to redemption in my eyes is to get Beatrice on a leash and collar. Now that I would like to see, especially because I now realise just how warped and sadistic Beatrice is - she deserves a hundred hells of pain and humiliation!

Because what she did to Battler was possibly topped by the sheer foulness of how she tormented Rosa. I have to admit, if this arc has achieved anything it’s an increased fondness for Rosa. She took the role of the shotgun toting survivor from Natsuhi and made the role her own, defeating Battler with her clear-headedness and emotional fortitude. The scene where she goes out fighting by Maria’s side was probably the most touching moment of the show thus far, redeeming her prior loli-abuse misdemeanours. Maria’s elation in this scene was so beautiful! So, with my newfound Rosa appreciation I was petty upset by Beatrice forcing her to eat delicacies of which her dead family members were the prime ingredient. There is no way to put that dinner-table scene into words except “totally screwed up”. And when Maria’s severed head made an appearance and started talking, it gave everything this unnerving surrealness. It was like watching a greek tragedy on psychedelic drugs.

I usually enjoy creepyness and gore, but this episode actually got to me a bit. As a result, I’m not sure if I enjoyed it or not. One thing’s for sure - I won’t be forgetting this anime any time soon! Fortunately this episode did have some very strong character moments (between Shanon and George and Rosa and her daughter) to make up for the debasement Beatrice inflicted on Battler and Rosa. Also, the final tea room scene gave a few hints at a sensible structure behind the loop arcs, as well as some clues to Beatrice’s motivations and a higher level story at work. Such hints are just the kind of thing I’m looking for, and I hope next arc can add to these.
 
 

。。 Genji is still the best character in the show. His stoic, manly presence is much appreciated.

。。 I’m not a fan of Beatrice’s gothic-schoolgirl-cosplay outfit. It might be just me but it’s hard to take her seriously when she’s wearing that getup. It just makes her look kind of desperate and a bit slutty. She’s just too old to make it work!

。。 I like the new witch introduced at the end of the episode! She has more personality than Bernkastel and less of an insane streak than Beatrice. She’s cute when she pouts!

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A number of anime from this summer season have unexpectedly turned out pretty disappointing, but Umineko is probably the worst case. After the gripping first arc and the following episode that dealt with the romantic interests of the series, it suddenly took a hairpin bend for the worse. I already knew the arc-reset was coming and that it would play out in a similar fashion to Higurashi so I shouldn’t have been disappointed. But I was! I can’t and won’t pass any kind of judgement over the original ‘game’, but the execution of the story in this anime is frustratingly poor.

The biggest flaw in the series rests with the central ongoing story element: the mind-duel between an insistent Beatrice and a stubborn Battler. It lacks logic and most importantly it feels like there’s nothing at stake behind the series - why should we care that Buttler refuses to acknowledge the existence pf magic (especially when it’s so bloody obvious that he’s wrong)? Higurashi had a similar problem: lots of people were dying over and over again but there was no sense of urgency or importance. The second season rectified that with an excellent underlying theme of Rika trying to overcome the flow of fate and break a time-loop. We have no comparable hook here, just the a sense of inevitability as the characters die over and over again while Battler and Beatrice chat. Beatrice’s inane and all-powerful meddling has ruined a lot of the mystery and suspense behind the show and more importantly the characters aren’t as easily likeable or sympathisable as in Higurashi so it’s harder to be shocked ort upset by their repeated deaths. Shanon, Kanon and Jessica might be the exceptions to this. Actually, I appreciate Genji’s GAR temperament too.

But on the whole it seems a bit like frivolous murder at the moment. Like Higurashi it could well turn out that some grand scheme is at play that justifies Battler’s stupidity and Beatrice’s apparent randomness, but for now it’s just tedious. This episode was no exception, although it improved on the last few weeks. I found the whole “corpses stuffed with candy” and “magical warriors that fight by turning into daggers” kind of retarded, so the absence of things made it an improvement. Also, I’m starting to get the sense that the Ushiromiya&servants team are starting to fight back a little. Eventually they might even pose a threat to Beatrice, which would be interesting. I actually think it’s a shame the show has to move this fast, because I really like the more emotional character moments such as the ones from episode 6, as opposed to constant killing and trippy magic. The show could be on track to improving but at the moment it feels like it’s lost a lot of steam from when it started.
 
 

。。 Studio DEEN are starting to show their true colours again. It’s not as bad as Higurashi got at times (yet), but there have been a few slip-ups in the animation noticeable enough to attract attention. For example, in this episode, Rosa dragging Maria down the hallway at one point looked really unnatural and strange. Either that or Maria momentarily grew a huge ass.

。。 Genji is totally badass. Did he just totally shut-down Beatrice this episode? Either way his quick dagger reaction to the golden butterfly shows that he knows what he’s doing.

。。 Beatrice’s mahou shoujo warriors are actually kind of annoying. It’s just psychopathy with no rhyme or reason.

 
Continue reading Umineko no Naku Koro ni 10

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Neatly setting aside the tumult and confusion of last week, this fills a pre-arc gap with some riveting character development and a few juicy explanations of how Beatrice has manipulated things from behind the scenes. This was a really fantastic episode, utterly captivating from start to finish. The fast pace of the earlier episodes hasn’t yet died off. Umineko can throw in fun scenes like Jessica’s Touhou-cosplay themed school concert but hasn’t yet diverted a moment to filler - strong character development underpins everything. This episode had the strongest emotional impact of any of them so far, and didn’t even have to kill off half the cast to do it. Instead of a gore-fest, this episode turns its attention to the core romances behind the series, following the doomed trysts of servant and master as Beatrice meddles to her advantage and amusement.

As a romance-melodrama, this episode was really effective, not only did it portray the love stories between Shannon and George and Jessica and Kanon with sincerity and poignancy, but through them it expanded and deepened their characters. Shannon is a really fascinating character. Aside from my heart fluttering at her moe moments (And there were many), I was intrigued by her compelling blend of strengths and flaws. She’s undoubtedly a strong woman, with pride and resolve, but at the same time she is swept up in a girlish naivety when Beatrice dangles love in front of her. That naivety is not shared by the steely cynic, Kanon. Previously I thought his character was pessimistic and annoying, but even if his ‘we’re furniture’ catchphrase remains frustrating, I found myself impressed when he confronted Beatrice. Are him and Battler the only ones immune from her charms? And of course, the lovely Jessica is fleshed out into a believable and layered character. She really is cute. Her energy and vitality are a mask for her own faltering self-esteem. When she earnestly confided her sorrows to Shannon I wanted to reach into the screen and comfort her. I really enjoyed her devious facial expressions as well.

And the thing that made this episode so interesting was the fact that it was infused with a sense of doom and forebode in the knowledge that their fate is to end up a bloody mess. While Beatrice speaks of friendship and love the audience is keenly aware that she can’t be trusted. Actually, in a way the fact that she had to manipulate and lie to get Shannon to break that mirror for her, as well as a few other things like momentary embarrassment when trying Shannon’s souvenir, suddenly make her seem a lot more mortal. That’s good news for Battler because he’s facing a person and not an all-powerful illusion.

Great episode! It made Beatrice more tangible and personal and Jessica and Shannon far more complex and likeable. I can’t wait to see how it can develop the rest of its expansive cast (particularly Battler). Jessica’s school festival was really fun. I can never resist a maid café. But even more impressive was the Touhou cosplay and concert. I’d love to see that show!! Jessica was so awesome and cute! Speaking of cute, Kugimiya Rie’s voice became a lot more distinctive for Shanon this episode, when she was embarrassed. See, Rie doesn’t have to be a tsundere, she plays sweet so well.

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  It’s not often a single episode of an anime series can pull me through such a broad spectrum of reactions as the 5th episode of popular horror/mystery series Umineko no Naku Koro ni. By that I mean, coming off from the gripping developments of last week, I started the episode pretty much in love with the series. After a good 10 minutes of nothing particularly interesting happening, and many times the recommended dose of Maria’s stupidly contorted facial expressions I started getting disappointed. Then a cop-out twist shot out of nowhere and almost made me RAAGE HARD, when all the dead characters were suddenly alive again and chatting merrily about the gruesome and temporary murders that they’d all miraculously recovered from. But it soon became clear that it wasn’t just a cop-out, with some mind-fuck action as a sceptical Battler confronts the mighty Beatrice. The new reality-bending and psychological slant caught my interest again. But then the episode finished up with a sudden expansion of the plot that left me wondering what the hell is going on. A second witch has entered the fray, bringing with her allusions to a similar cross-dimensional scope as Higurashi, as well as her own set of motivations that dwarf Beatrice as the central villain.

Judging by the prolific fanart for the series, which features a wealth of characters we haven’t seen yet in the series, I knew the plot had to get blown up at some stage, and I guess we’re heading toward that now. One suspects this isn’t all just about the wealth of the Ushiromiya family. That said, the state of Battler and his surviving relatives is still pretty important to me, especially now that Battler has become a more fleshed-out character (and more befitting of his name). The question of what really happened to the few survivors when the golden butterflies appeared in front of the Beatrice portrait remains unanswered. The scene immediately following makes one wonder what is real and what isn’t. Honestly, although it seems doubtful now that we know Beatrice has the power to revive and kill people at will, I hope the rest of the cast don’t just come back, at least not yet. It kind of undermines the impact of their sudden and early deaths if they just return.

I do also hope that they don’t get thrown into a timeloop by Beatrice whereby they must solve her riddle before being killed - that would feel too similar to the arcs of Higurashi. And I think the Endless 8 story in Haruhi has given us all more than enough recursions of time. This episode was a lot less suspenseful than previous entries in the series, and I’m not sure about the direction the show might be headed down. On the upside, I don’t really know what that direction is so the series still has a lot of promise and potential to become something really quite memorable.

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  Keenly awaited by fans of the game series, and by fans of the related predecessor, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni alike, Umineko no Naku Koro ni had some serious expectations resting on its shoulders. As the latter kind of fan who isn’t familiar with the sources of these series, all I could really expect was a mystery story somewhat similar in tone to Higurashi, and I just had to hope that it would be equally intricate and entertaining. After watching through this first chapter of the series, I can say that it bares those core similarities to Higurashi that puts it in the mystery genre, but that it is also vastly different. Whereas Higurashi slowly immersed the viewer in an evermore confusing story that spanned 50 episodes, Umineko immediately gets down to business and throws a good portion of the clues and story threads on the table. We know the wide cast of players, we know their motives and their goal, and we’re already buried in mysterious omens and imagery, from the witch Beatrice, to the golden butterfly. It’s really pretty impressive just how elaborate the plot is so soon. All that’s left is for all the tensions and conflicts between these characters to play out, and for links to be drawn across the Island’s riddles.

The other main difference is that, a few very brief breast jokes aside, Umineko is far less prone to moe leanings and fanservice. The characterisation and script is slightly more stern & mature. Gone are the days of loli cosplay and moe catchphrases. But that’s not to say the cast is entirely charmless. There’s a maid, a well-formed, blonde bishoujo, and a so-called “cute” loli. The designs for all of them, as well as for the full span of characters, are really good. Without a doubt, the character designs are better and more detailed here than in Higurashi. Sure those girls were damn cute, but their moe-blob look is hardly an accomplishment. My main grievance is that the sole loli character is more painful than cute. Her design is nice, especially with her fancy dress, but they can’t seem to draw her right. Her face often looked quite strange, even when it wasn’t supposed to be. Whilst I like Horie Yui, this is certainly one of her lesser roles because the girl seems far too blunt and very much like a failed attempt at ‘cute’. Her ‘Uuuu’, ‘uuuu’ noise is extremely grating, but at least a plot point was made out of that.

The scene between Maria and her frustrated and desperate mother was really intense. It held me to the screen in a state of shock, anger and sympathy for the distraught mother. Ami Koshimizu did an amazing and convincing job portraying Rosa. There was a real ethical quandary mixed in there somewhere about family and discipline, which I found very strong. The scene showed that Umineko has a dramatic kick to it, which should make the show gripping in episodes to come. The animation in that segment was really fantastic, with the rain and restless storm clouds in the background giving it a tense, foreboding mood. Actually the animation was strong all-round. It seems like Studio Deen has a bit more money to put into this than it did Higurashi. Hopefully the budget will be well-managed down the track. This show seems very promising! From what I can gather from art associated with the game there is a hell of a lot more to this mystery than we’ve even got wind of in this dense episode.