Umineko No Naku Koro ni

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry) is a Japanese murder mystery dojin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The first game in the series, Legend of the Golden Witch, was first released at Comiket 72 on August 17, 2007 playable on the Pc; the game sold out in thirty minutes. The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two days, and the mysterious murders that befall most of the people. The goal of the game is to discern whether the murderer is human or of some other supernatural source. Umineko is the third title in the When They Cry series, preceded by Higurashu no Naku Koro ni Kai, and followed by Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru.

A mang series adapted from the games began with three different artists working separately on different story arcs and is published by Square Enix. Additional manga have been published by Ichijinsha, Kadokawa Shoten and ASCII Media Works. A 26-episode anime series produced by Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon aired in Japan between July and December 2009.

The word umineko is the name of a kind of seagull known as a Black-tail Gull. Naku means "to cry" or "to make a sound", referring only to sounds made by non-humans when written with that kanji; no kanji is provided in the series logo however. According to the original creator, Ryukishi07, the red Na (な) in the logo is an official part of the title.

PLOT AND CHARACTER :

Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place primarily in the year 1986, during the time frame of October 4 and October 5 on a small, secluded island named Rokkenjima 10 km around owned and lived on by Kinzo, the head of the wealthy Ushiromiya family. Kinzo is near death, and eight of his family members arrive on the island for the annual family conference, where the adults plan to discuss how Kinzo's assets will be divided once he is dead. Also on the island are three family members who live there, five of Kinzo's servants, and his personal physician. After the eight family members arrive, a typhoon traps them on the island, and shortly after, strange things start to happen and people start dying.

The main character of the story is Battler Ushiromiya, son of Kinzo's second son Rudolf. Battler has not been to the annual Ushiromiya conference in six years due to living with his maternal grandparents ever since his mother Asumu died, and even took his mother's maiden name instead of Ushiromiya. When his grandparents died, he went back to living with his father, his second wife Kyrie, and their daughter Ange, his half-sister. Once on the island, Battler once again becomes acquainted with the legend of the golden witch Beatrice who supposedly lives in the naturally dense forest on Rokkenjima. A portrait of her lies in the entrance hall of the Ushiromiya family mansion, and a puzzling epitaph is written below the portrait. Rumor has it on the island that Beatrice gave ten tons of gold to Kinzo in the past to restart the Ushiromiya family after being crippled in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. It is said that whoever solves the riddle of the witch's epitaph will receive the gold and be the next successor to the Ushiromiya family.

Once the typhoon hits, a ghastly game begins, starting with the murder of six people on the island. If the witch's epitaph cannot be solved, people will continue to die in mysterious deaths, following the outline given by the epitaph itself, until the witch Beatrice ultimately revives. After this comes to pass, Battler is the only one left alive who does not believe in withces or magic, and as such the door to the "golden land" (as stipulated on the epitaph) cannot be opened. Beatrice takes Battler and herself to a parallel dimension, Prugatorio, which is able to oversee events on Rokkenjima. From this point on, Battler and Beatrice are locked in a game of twisted logic where Battler must attempt to explain all of the mysterious events on Rokkenjima from the standpoint that they are caused by a human, and Beatrice attempts to explain everything with witches and magic. One of the recurring motifs is use of the locked room mystery, and several logical arguments are presented to explain the mysteries including the devil's proof, the raven paradox and Schrondinger's cat. If Beatrice can get Battler to ultimately surrender and accept witches and magic, Beatrice wins.

STORY ARCS :

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Manga)

The Umineko no Naku Koro ni ( When the Seagulls Cry) games are the first four games in the series which are meant to give the player a sense of the world where the story takes place and introduce the mysterious circumstances surrounding Rokkenjima and the legend of the Golden Witch. Each arc in this series contains all the previous arcs.

Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch

This chapter introduces the player to the main setting of Umineko no Naku Koro ni as the Ushiromiya family gather on the island of Rokkenjima for their annual family conference. The player is familiarized with the island's 18 residents (consisting of the Ushiromiya family and servants) as well as the legend of the Golden Witch, Beatrice, who is implied to exist on the island as a 19th resident and murder the other residents in mysterious ways. The story is narrated mainly by Battler and presents the series' first "bad end", with all the residents either killed or labeled as "missing".

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_1_legend_of_the_golden_witch/

Episode 2: Turn of the Golden Witch

Following the events of the first chapter, this chapter features the first battle between Battler and Beatrice as they oversee the events on Rokkenjima from the "meta-world". The family conference occurs as usual, only this time Beatrice exists on the island as its 19th resident, introducing multiple magical elements to the story. Other major themes involve the relationships between George and Shannon, Jessica and Kanon, and Maria and Rosa. This chapter is told from the perspective of multiple characters, including an omniscient narrator.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_2_turn_of_the_golden_witch/

Episode 3: Banquet of the Golden Witch

Unlike the first two chapters, this chapter features the residents attempting to solve the riddle of Beatrice's epitaph rather than determine the true identity of the murderer. Eva succeeds in this task, but is shown to continue carrying out the murders as the new "Beatrice". Meanwhile, in the meta-world, Beatrice is assisted by her demon servants, while Battler finds mysterious new ally of his own. This chapter sheds more light on Eva and Beatrice's pasts, and is the first to feature one of the island's residents surviving the murders.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/

Episode 4: Alliance of the Golden Witch

This chapter features Battler's sister Ange and her life twelve years after the murders on Rokkenjima. The story constantly shifts focus between 1986 (the time of the murders) and 1998 (Ange's time period), shedding more background information on the characters and light on the methods behind the murders. This chapter heavily implies the existence of magic and puts all of the theories Battler formulates against Beatrice thus far to the test.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_4_alliance_of_the_golden_witch/

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru ( Game)

The Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru ( When the Seagulls Cry Breakdown) games tell the second half of the story and start to delve into the core of the mystery. These games are not simply solutions to the first four arcs, but also continue the story, shifting it into new terrain. However, as the core of the series is approached, several clues to the first four arcs are revealed along the way. Each arc in this series contains all of the previous Chiru arcs.

Episode 5: End of the Golden Witch

A new perspective on the mystery of the Golden Witch is presented in this chapter, with the witches Bernkastel and Lambdadelta playing a more prominent role. The main characters of this story are Kinzo, Natsuhi, and a new character, Erika, who approaches the murders from a "mystery" perspective, unlike Battler who had taken an "anti-fantasy" stance. This time the game is suspended before its conclusion, so the fate of most people on the island is unknown.

Episode 6: Dawn of the Golden Witch

Following the events of the previous game with the introduction of a new Game Master, this chapter does not delve into the solution of the mystery so much as it displays the Game Master's understanding of it, though it does provide important clues linked to the main suspects. George, Jessica, Shannon, and Kanon play a prominent role in the story, as does a childlike reborn Beatrice who struggles to regain her former personality for Battler's sake. Again, the game is suspended before its conclusion.

Episode 7: Requiem of the Golden Witch