2 reviews liked by DexF
Umineko is a story that appeals to literally everything I love about storytelling. It consists of one of the most consistently strong casts I've ever seen in any medium, with almost every main character of the cast containing unparalleled depth and different facets to them that the ways you can look at them are innumerable. It has the best soundtrack I've had to pleasure of listening to. It has unparalleled depth in its themes, which are communicated in both a very blatant or a subtle manner. And most of all, it has heart. It is oozing with so much love and care towards the mystery genre, its characters, and to the very art of storytelling itself.
Umineko is about the heart, and how it influences every facet of our lives. From how it warps or mends our viewpoints of others. How it allows us to connect with empathizing with others. How it lets us communicate our feelings via writing, storytelling, and more. And how it moves us. To do deeds both wicked and heartwarming. It infects us, drives us, it makes us who we are. The phrase, "Without love, it cannot be seen", permeates so much of the narrative that I can understand why it is repeated verbatim many times in the story. Because it is there to remind the reader to focus on the heart.
The long-winded spiral of the 8 episodes of Umineko are oozing with foreshadowing, character buildup, and drip-feeding hints towards the truth of this story. Umineko expects the reader to try to solve it, understand it, and empathize with it. Being a sleuth detective and immersing myself in solving the mystery is one of the most fun experiences I've had interacting with a fictional work, with the multitude of discussions about theories with friends, constantly analyzing the hints sprinkled in, and the crazy ride of the story itself making Umineko an unforgettable time.
The mystery, fantasy, and empathetic aspects of Umineko may seem contradictory to each other. After all, some can see the mystery as a puzzle waiting to be disassembled, picking apart at all the loose ends, regardless of what that may mean for the characters involved in the tragic events that unfold. Others may look at it as a set of unfortunate events, and feel pity for the characters and the set of circumstances that led to the fateful happenings in the narrative. And some look at the magic stuff happening, and just think that the story makes zero sense. Umineko manages to merge these seemingly disparate elements with ease through effective use of a meta-narrative that adds both a nuanced perspective on the events of the story, hype deduction-based arguments between characters, and heartfelt introspection of what is being shown. The use of a meta-narrative emphasizes so many of Umineko's themes of love, mystery, fantasy, and empathy in such a unique way I have never seen another story do before.
The single thing that dissuades Umineko from being a piece of fiction recommendable to everyone is the pacing. Umineko sometimes slows to a crawl, with repetitious dialogue and descriptive text being rampant in certain parts of the story. This can be extremely distracting for some, especially if you are not already invested in the tangled web of mystery and metafiction.
I could probably keep going for much longer, but there is so much to say about Umineko that I will stop here. 2 years have passed since finishing and I still think about it constantly. I don't think any story will top this for me for a very long time, if at all. Ushiromiya Battler is the GOAT.
Umineko is about the heart, and how it influences every facet of our lives. From how it warps or mends our viewpoints of others. How it allows us to connect with empathizing with others. How it lets us communicate our feelings via writing, storytelling, and more. And how it moves us. To do deeds both wicked and heartwarming. It infects us, drives us, it makes us who we are. The phrase, "Without love, it cannot be seen", permeates so much of the narrative that I can understand why it is repeated verbatim many times in the story. Because it is there to remind the reader to focus on the heart.
The long-winded spiral of the 8 episodes of Umineko are oozing with foreshadowing, character buildup, and drip-feeding hints towards the truth of this story. Umineko expects the reader to try to solve it, understand it, and empathize with it. Being a sleuth detective and immersing myself in solving the mystery is one of the most fun experiences I've had interacting with a fictional work, with the multitude of discussions about theories with friends, constantly analyzing the hints sprinkled in, and the crazy ride of the story itself making Umineko an unforgettable time.
The mystery, fantasy, and empathetic aspects of Umineko may seem contradictory to each other. After all, some can see the mystery as a puzzle waiting to be disassembled, picking apart at all the loose ends, regardless of what that may mean for the characters involved in the tragic events that unfold. Others may look at it as a set of unfortunate events, and feel pity for the characters and the set of circumstances that led to the fateful happenings in the narrative. And some look at the magic stuff happening, and just think that the story makes zero sense. Umineko manages to merge these seemingly disparate elements with ease through effective use of a meta-narrative that adds both a nuanced perspective on the events of the story, hype deduction-based arguments between characters, and heartfelt introspection of what is being shown. The use of a meta-narrative emphasizes so many of Umineko's themes of love, mystery, fantasy, and empathy in such a unique way I have never seen another story do before.
The single thing that dissuades Umineko from being a piece of fiction recommendable to everyone is the pacing. Umineko sometimes slows to a crawl, with repetitious dialogue and descriptive text being rampant in certain parts of the story. This can be extremely distracting for some, especially if you are not already invested in the tangled web of mystery and metafiction.
I could probably keep going for much longer, but there is so much to say about Umineko that I will stop here. 2 years have passed since finishing and I still think about it constantly. I don't think any story will top this for me for a very long time, if at all. Ushiromiya Battler is the GOAT.
I was baited into this under the promise that even if I disliked Zero Escape, this would be very very interesting. I was also informed this isn't only uchikoshi working on it, to soften the blow.
This is the worst prose I've read in a very very very long time, and I put up with shit from Umineko. Here's some excerpts from this work of pure art:
"Why had such a thing happened?
He had no idea.
No idea...
Where he was.
Where had gone.
Shaking.
Shaken.
Feeling ill."
"Couldn't be? Do you know something about this?
I don't know anything...
Do you know something?
How could I know anything?"
"He had no idea.
He didn't know...
There was no way he could know.
But there on the bed.
There...
On the bed...
There...
The bed below, the bed on top, the bed below...
Who are...
(You...?)
Who...?
(Stop...)
Please stop."
"More than anything, they didn't allow PDAs to work inside so the facility would be completely separated from the world above as part of the attraction." (Yes, this is how it's grammatically said).
No, I got a lot further than where these excerpts are taken from and it did not get any better. Some of this could be translation errors, but I went ahead and checked up with the kanji for a few of these just to make sure and no the separations and general use of establishment with where people are is just disorienting. This main hook is laughably bad too. I recall what a friend told me today, "VN authors need more Agatha Christie in their lives." And boy does that hold true. What a mess!
This is the worst prose I've read in a very very very long time, and I put up with shit from Umineko. Here's some excerpts from this work of pure art:
"Why had such a thing happened?
He had no idea.
No idea...
Where he was.
Where had gone.
Shaking.
Shaken.
Feeling ill."
"Couldn't be? Do you know something about this?
I don't know anything...
Do you know something?
How could I know anything?"
"He had no idea.
He didn't know...
There was no way he could know.
But there on the bed.
There...
On the bed...
There...
The bed below, the bed on top, the bed below...
Who are...
(You...?)
Who...?
(Stop...)
Please stop."
"More than anything, they didn't allow PDAs to work inside so the facility would be completely separated from the world above as part of the attraction." (Yes, this is how it's grammatically said).
No, I got a lot further than where these excerpts are taken from and it did not get any better. Some of this could be translation errors, but I went ahead and checked up with the kanji for a few of these just to make sure and no the separations and general use of establishment with where people are is just disorienting. This main hook is laughably bad too. I recall what a friend told me today, "VN authors need more Agatha Christie in their lives." And boy does that hold true. What a mess!
