Ahriman's personal blog for animu and things tangentially related to it

[Ahriman]

Did the investigators that came to the island after even take note that the entire fucking mansion exploded along with everything and everyone in it?

[Maniac234678]

I believe that in an earlier episode, it was dubbed "the Rokkenjima Explosion." You might have thought that was a metaphor, but after playing EP7, apparently it was literal.

[Ahriman]

I do remember that it was noted everyone was found torn to pieces, so I guess this makes more sense than somebody running around and cutting them all up at the end.

And this is like exactly what turns out to happen in Higurashi where it always ends with an explosion killing everybody but you don't know that until near the end because the story always cuts before it.

+ Holy shit Kyrie.

[Maniac234678]

The latest addition to our list of complete monsters: KYRIE.

[Ahriman]

My god the Tea Party was fucking beautiful, it stands out as the best part of Umineko already and I haven't read ???? yet.

[Maniac234678]

???? is like 3 minutes long. >_>

[Ahriman]

Well that is disappointing. But actually I guess I'm not done here because there's more after the credits apparently.

[Maniac234678]

Hell yes, the best part of the Tea Party.

[Ahriman]

Alright, done now until whenever EP8 is translated.

What was it that everyone raged over EP8 about, exactly?

[Maniac234678]

A whole lot. The most well-known issue is that it doesn't have an ending from a mystery perspective; this was pretty much foreshadowed to hell and all but stated by Ryukishi very early on, but the execution doesn't satisfy plenty of readers. Other topics of interest include interpretations on the connotations of the episode, some endgame revelations, some inflammatory remarks that the omniscient narrator makes about Umineko's fandom and several other issues. The fantasy aspects are widely agreed on to be pretty good, but everything else is hotly contested.

So, rank the episodes, with small write-ups.

[Ahriman]

it doesn't have an ending from a mystery perspective

I thought this was more or less dealt with this episode even if several aspects are vague. As much was answered as I was really expecting.

small write-ups.

Maybe later.

4>3>7>6>5>2>1

[Maniac234678]

Before episode 8 was released, it was generally agreed upon that Bern was pulling it out of her ass. Note that there's plenty of implication that Bern is incapable of correctly performing her duties as the game master due to her being a complete sociopath. EP7 was also fond of establishing a sense of importance on the heart of the crime, the heartfelt motive which would be the final means of gauging whether or not the suspect would have actually done the crime. Kyrie doesn't have this; she suddenly goes insane with greed and becomes an emotionless sociopath. Thing is, that's not what kind of person Kyrie is; EP6 establishes that if Kyrie was willing to kill, it would be over something dear to her heart, like love. It wouldn't be something trifling like money, and she wouldn't be detached and nonchalant about it as she was during the Tea Party, nor would she have discarded Rudolf so quickly. The story that Bernkastel weaves suffers from the same thing that made Eva being the culprit based on EP3 thoroughly improbable; it contrasts with what defines them as characters.

On the subject of Bern's defense, she claims that she isn't the game master, but it wouldn't be the first lie to come out of her mouth, and it won't be the last. Her red truth is of questionable merit; note that you can say the beginning portions of red truth until it becomes false, as demonstrated in episode 4. Bernkastel was not given the opportunity to complete her statement, so it is possible for her to have prepared to utter a lie. Alternatively, red truth has been stretched to the point of relativity, so it is possible that she was about to utter red truth for something related and slightly in context, but not entirely for the pressing issue. I remember other ideas on the subject, but this was my personal interpretation.

As for EP8, it confirms this by confirming the concept of a Rokkenjima Prime, the "real world" which separates what really happened from what was written in the story. In the story, Kyrie was the murderer, but there is no indication that she actually was the killer in the "real world". From what I've heard, Bernkastel even admits that her truth for the incident was not correct, so for this reason, Ange pursues Eva's diary, which contains the genuine truth of what happened on Rokkenjima Prime. For the purpose of Rokkenjima Prime, nobody is identified as the killer, and the truth is never revealed by anyone who learns of it.

[Ahriman]

At no point was I expecting to get an answer to what actually happened on Rokkenjima, it's been extensively implied that it doesn't matter what the real truth is, and it isn't the important mystery, nor is it a solvable one seeing as how very limited certain clues are presented for what happened. It was always about the mysteries presented in individual stories with the overlying mystery of who "Beatrice" was. The real mysteries have already been answered.

[Maniac234678]

You're moving into territory that could only receive a response from someone who knows exactly how the story ended. This doesn't have any real spoilers, but it written with the ending of EP8 in mind and might have some implications towards its tone as it ends.








That's a viewpoint that's contested. Less so for the lack of an ending part or anything related to what was intended and more for the connotation of it. By leaving the ending ambiguous, there is no process of justice being served for those who were affected. Acts of cruelty and evil were committed, never brought to light and people are left suffering and questions that will never be answered. The killer is most certainly dead, but in the eyes of the public, that killer is a victim while blame shifts to others like Eva and related culpability falls on the shoulders of people like Nanjo, who are most certainly innocent. As a result, we have the assuredly innocent Eva spending the next 12 years in constant torment from the public and her adopted daughter before she reaches the misery singularity and dies. We also have the relatives of the servants left with nothing but questions, with a notable example in Nanjo's son, who is shown to be disappointed in his father for his supposed culpability in the crime and is in a constant state of misery over it when Nanjo likely didn't do anything. In spite of this, the story does not care about this universal perspective and continues to espouse the virtues of moving on towards a much more limited group, while numerous people are never given a reason to do so. Essentially, that's the perspective that was intended, but Ryukishi just opened up a whole new can of worms over the subject of the actual crime by opting to go that route.

[Maniac234678]

WRITE UPS. NOW.

also new character tiers and standout music