Ryuukishi has improved a hell of a lot since Umineko. The man finally learned how to stop padding story with as much annoying pointless filler, and the battle special effects are actual animations now instead of seizure-inducing powerpoints. Bravo.

The story is definitely a much larger scale than Higurashi and Umineko, and I hope that he won't be biting off more than he can chew (which I slightly felt about Umineko). I'll have faith in him, though, if we ever get the second phase. And goddamn I can't wait to see the characters develop, his characters are why I always come back.