| Umineko When They Cry | |
 Cover ofAlliance of the Golden Witch, the fourth chapter released in the series | |
| うみねこのなく頃に (Umineko no Naku Koro ni) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Murder mystery[1] |
| Video game | |
| Developer | 07th Expansion |
| Publisher | |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Platform | |
| Released | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Ryukishi07 |
| Illustrated by | Kei Natsumi (EP 1, 3, 8)
|
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | |
| Original run | December 22, 2007 –June 22, 2015 |
| Volumes | 53(List of volumes) |
| Manga | |
| Umineko Biyori: Rokkenjima e Yōkoso!! | |
| Written by | 07th Expansion |
| Illustrated by | Makoto Fugetsu |
| Published by | Ichijinsha |
| Magazine | Manga Palette Lite |
| Original run | March 1, 2008 –March 2, 2009 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Umineko no Naku Koro ni EpisodeX Rokkenjima of Higurashi crying | |
| Written by | 07th Expansion |
| Illustrated by | Yuki Hiiro |
| Published by | ASCII Media Works |
| Magazine | Dengeki G's Festival! Comic |
| Original run | January 26, 2009 –February 23, 2011 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Ryukishi07 |
| Illustrated by | Tomohi |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Imprint | Kodansha Box |
| Original run | July 1, 2009 –September 30, 2018 |
| Volumes | 15(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Chiaki Kon |
| Produced by | Mika Nomura Hiroyuki Ōmori Takema Okamura |
| Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | UHF Stations |
| Original run | July 2, 2009 – December 24, 2009 |
| Episodes | 26(List of episodes) |
| Other | |
| |
Umineko When They Cry (Japanese:うみねこのなく頃に,Hepburn:Umineko no Naku Koro ni;lit. 'When theSeagulls Cry') is a Japanesedōjin softvisual novel series produced by07th Expansion. Its first episode debuted atComiket 72 forWindows in August 2007. 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 them. Readers are challenged to discern whether the murders were committed by a human or some other, supernatural source, as well as the method and motive behind them. The eight mainUmineko games are split into two sets of four, which are considered the third and fourth titles in theWhen They Cry series, preceded by the two sets ofHigurashi When They Cry games and followed byCiconia When They Cry.
The games—either in portions or in full—have beenported orremastered several times, including byTaito for selectFOMA phones; byAlchemist forPlayStation 3,PlayStation Portable, andXbox 360; by Oizumi forpachinko machines; byMangaGamer forSteam andGOG.com; and byEntergram forNintendo Switch andPlayStation 4.
Square Enix,Ichijinsha,Kadokawa Shoten, andASCII Media Works all published variousmanga adaptations of the series. It was adapted into ananime television series, which aired from July to December 2009. A series of novels written byRyukishi07 are published byKodansha Box. Afighting game based on the franchise,Umineko: Golden Fantasia, was released by 07th Expansion in December 2010. Since April 2022,Umineko has been adapted into an ongoing series ofstage plays produced by Shingidan Mumei Classics, with the sixth episode to premiere in September 2025.
Umineko When They Cry is amurder mystery visual novel, and as such conveys its story primarily through text-based narration and dialogue supplemented by visual and audio elements such as character sprites, background music, and sound effects. It is described as a "sound novel" by07th Expansion, due to the game's greater focus on creating atmosphere through audio elements rather than visual aspects. The original releases contain no voice acting for the characters.Umineko is almost entirely linear and contains no interactive gameplay elements, with the exception of small portions of its final entry,Twilight of the Golden Witch. Besides advancing text, players may also access the Tips Mode, allowing them to read various supplementary information regarding the characters and story. Each episode also contains two epilogues which are successively unlocked, which are continuations of the main story that often contain important plot points.
Despite the lack of interactive gameplay elements,Umineko is framed as a game between the author and the reader, with difficulty ratings given in the descriptions for each episode. This refers to the difficulty of the mysteries in each episode, which the reader is intended to actively try to solve. Several story elements are introduced through the course of the story to aid readers in solving the mystery along with the story's protagonist.
The story begins on October 4, 1986, at Rokkenjima (六軒島), a private island where the wealthy Ushiromiya family have gathered to discuss the division of assets belonging to the ailing family head, Kinzo.[2] Returning after a six-year absence, Kinzo's grandson Battler becomes reacquainted with the legend of the "Golden Witch" Beatrice, who supposedly gave Kinzo ten tons of gold to restore his financially crippled family in the past. Beside her portrait is a riddle-like epitaph, which is believed to grant the rumored gold and the succession of the headship to the solver. Atyphoon traps the eighteen people on the island, and occult-like murders occur in accordance with the epitaph, often in ways that seem impossible for a human.
At the end of the first episode, thewitch Beatrice seemingly kills everyone. In the credits it's revealed that story up this point was just a retelling of amessage bottle found years after the massacre. Refusing to acknowledge the existence ofmagic, Battler is seemingly sent to theparallel dimension of Purgatorio, from which events on Rokkenjima can be seen as a "game board". There he meets Beatrice and faces her in the games of logic, tasked to explain murders with human tricks.
Subsequent episodes show events on Rokkenjima arranged in various different ways each time, while Battler discusses them with Beatrice and other magical entities in Purgatorio. Battler uses various logical weapons to oppose Beatrice, such as red text, in which only truth can be written, or blue text, which is considered true until refuted by red. The story also shows the real world 12 years later, where the only survivor is Eva Ushiromiya, Battler's aunt. Eva adopts Battler's sister, Ange, who did not attend the conference due to illness. Ange, who has a hateful relationship with Eva and is bullied by her classmates, refuses to accept the death of her family and tries to reach the truth on her own. Over the course of the story, Battler and Ange come to understand magic as an adornment of reality with fantasy, used by several individuals as acoping mechanism for their harsh life situations.
As the story goes on, Battler at first is filled with hatred for Beatrice, but then trying to understand her true motives, he teams up with her and opposes Erika Furudo, a new character put on the "game board" by the witches Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, and who serves as the detective, which leads him to become a "game master" and create his own episode.
In episode 7, Bernkastel summons detectiveWillard H. Wright to solve truth about Beatrice's identity. He deduces that she is Kinzo's illegitimate child, playing the roles of two servants, Shannon and Kanon. The child was born after Kinzo raped his secret daughter of his long-dead mistress. Kinzo handed the child to his eldest son's wife, Natsuhi, who had been unable to get pregnant. This creates a point of divergence between the world to which Willard was summoned and where the child grew up as Lion Ushiromiya, and the world where Natsuhi, unable to accept the baby, throws it off a cliff. In the latter world, which has been the setting for the previous games, Genji, the head servant, and Nanjo, the family doctor, unbeknownst to the Ushiromiyas, save the baby's life, though an injury leaves it infertile.
The child grows up being known as Yasu, in an orphanage funded by Kinzo, and begins working for the Ushiromiya family at the age of nine, but is ostracized by the older servants. Yasu finds solace in creatingimaginary friends and different personas through "magic". They also begin a relationship with Battler in their youth due to a shared love of mystery novels, but eventually suppress their feelings during his absence and begin a relationship with Battler's cousins, George and Jessica as Shannon and Kanon.
Sometime during this period, Yasu solves the mystery of the epitaph and takes possession of the legendary gold and a massive number of explosives, both remnants of aWorld War II military base. Yasu also learns of their connection to Kinzo and realizes that relationships with any of the cousins would be incestuous. They write possible murder mystery scenarios and put them in bottles which they then throw into the sea. These scenarios form the basis of the first two games. Each of Yasu's plans end with blowing up the mansion, thus creating the perfect unsolvable crime.
On the actual family conference of 1986, the epitaph is solved by the adults of the family, and as such, Yasu's plan does not take place. However, an argument breaks out over the possession of the gold, and Battler's parents, Rudolf and Kyrie, carry out a massacre of the family. Eva survives after killing Rudolf and Kyrie in self-defense; Yasu and Battler also survive, but Yasu commits suicide by drowning at sea. Battler, who attempts to rescue Yasu, suffersbrain damage and loses his identity as Battler, retaining only fragmented memories. He takes on a new identity named Toya Hachijo, and his attempts to piece together the truth of the incident, represented by his battles with Beatrice in Purgatorio, lead him to pen the tales of previous arcs. In the finale, Ange manages to learn the truth about her parents through Eva's hidden diary, abandoning her own identity and lives a quiet life under a new name, finally meeting Toya many years later.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に;lit.When the Seagulls Cry) consists of the first four arcs of the series. They are referred to as the Question Arcs and introduce the world of the story and its mysteries. Each arc contains all the previous ones.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru (うみねこのなく頃に散;lit.When the Seagulls Cry Scattering) tells the second half of the story, delving deeper into the core of the mystery while providing more clues towards the truth of Rokkenjima. Each arc in this series contains all of the previousChiru arcs.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Tsubasa (うみねこのなく頃に翼;lit.When the Seagulls Cry Wings) (2010) is a compilation of short stories written by Ryukishi07 outside of the games, released on December 31, 2010, alongsideTwilight of the Golden Witch. Several of the stories are humorous in tone, but the more serious ones are considered canon.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Hane (うみねこのなく頃に羽;lit.When the Seagulls Cry Feathers) (2011) consists of two additional short stories written by Ryukishi07:Jessica and the Killer Electric Fan andForgery no.XXX. It was released on December 31, 2011, alongsideGolden Fantasia Cross.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Saku (うみねこのなく頃に咲;lit.When the Seagulls Cry Bloom) (2019) is a collection of all previous official visual novel content for the series along with two additional scenarios. It was released on October 4, 2019.
Umineko When They Cry is the secondvisual novel series produced by07th Expansion, the first beingHigurashi no Naku Koro ni. The scenario writer for the series isRyukishi07, who also drew all of the character illustrations. Game direction was handled by Ryukishi07's younger brother Yatazakura, and the overall management of the series was handled by BT until his death in July 2009.[3] Image and text processing was headed by Jika, who took over BT's position of overall management. Background images and photography were provided by Yatazakura, Zekozakura, Mali., and All Season Kisetsu no Irodori. The games were designed using thegame engineNScripter. The music ofUmineko was provided by various music artists including both professionals anddōjin artists, and Dai, the composer of most of the music found in theanswer arcs ofHigurashi, also had a hand in the project as the music director. The wordumineko is the name of a kind of seagull known as aBlack-tailed gull.[4]Naku means "to make sound" (鳴く), specifically referring to those sounds made by non-human organisms. According to the original creator,Ryukishi07, the red characterNa (な) in the logo is an official part of the title.[5]
The first game of theUmineko When They Cryvisual novel series, titledLegend of the Golden Witch, was first released on August 17, 2007, atComiket 72.[6][7] The second gameTurn of the Golden Witch was released on December 31, 2007, at Comiket 73, and the third gameBanquet of the Golden Witch was released on August 16, 2008, at Comiket 74. The fourth gameAlliance of the Golden Witch was released on December 29, 2008, at Comiket 75.[6] The first game in theUmineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru series, entitledEnd of the Golden Witch, was first released on August 15, 2009, at Comiket 76. The sixth gameDawn of the Golden Witch was released on December 30, 2009, at Comiket 77. The seventh gameRequiem of the Golden Witch was released at Comiket 78 on August 14, 2010. The eighth gameTwilight of the Golden Witch was released at Comiket 79 on December 31, 2010. Afan disc titledUmineko no Naku Koro ni Tsubasa was released the same day asTwilight. A second fan disc titledUmineko no Naku Koro ni Hane was released at Comiket 81 on December 31, 2011.MangaGamer released the Windows games onSteam andGOG.com in two parts, Question and Answer arcs, respectively.[8] The release features original Ryūkishi07 sprites as well as new sprites based on Kei Natsumi's art from the manga.
Taito released a version ofLegend of the Golden Witch playable on certainmobile phones on March 31, 2009.[9] The game is playable onFOMA 900 and i703 phones, usingBREW as aruntime environment.[10] A remake for thePlayStation 3, subtitledMajo to Suiri no Rondo (魔女と推理の輪舞曲;lit.The Rondo of the Witch and Deduction), was released byAlchemist on December 16, 2010.[11] The release covers the original four games, and its features include a full HD rendition, all of the original soundtracks from the PC games, and full voice acting.Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru was similarly remade for the PlayStation 3, subtitledShinjitsu to Gensō no Nocturne (真実と幻想の夜想曲,Shinjitsu to Gensō no Nokutān;lit.The Nocturne of the Truth and Illusions)[12] and released by Alchemist on December 15, 2011.[13] Both remakes were to be ported to thePlayStation Portable under the titleUmineko no Naku Koro ni Portable (うみねこのなく頃にPortable), each to be released as two separate games.Rondo was split intoPortable 1 (which coversLegend andTurn) andPortable 2 (which coversBanquet andAlliance), released on October 20 and November 17, 2011, respectively.Nocturne was to be split intoPortable 3 (which was to coverEnd andDawn), andPortable 4 (which was to coverRequiem andTwilight), but both games never came out.[12][14] Adōjin2D fighting game produced by 07th Expansion titledGolden Fantasia was released on December 31, 2010, at Comiket 79.[15] An append disc, titledGolden Fantasia Cross, was released at Comiket 81 in December 2011.[16] In addition, anXbox 360 port of the original game developed by Alchemist was released on October 6, 2011, under the titleGolden Fantasia X.[17]
On November 3, 2018, developer Catbox Creative announced they would be launching aKickstarter campaign for an updated version calledUmineko When They Cry: Gold Edition, with an English dub.[18] In the following weeks, they announced delays to launching the campaign before the project was quietly canceled.[19]
A compilation of all previous official visual novel content for the series along with two additional scenarios titledUmineko no Naku Koro ni Saku (lit.When the Seagulls Cry Bloom) was released on October 4, 2019, for Windows. A port ofSaku for thePlayStation 4 andNintendo Switch, subtitledNekobako to Musou no Koukyoukyoku (猫箱と夢想の交響曲;lit.Symphony of Catbox and Dreams) was released on January 28, 2021.
Amanga version ofLegend of the Golden Witch drawn by Kei Natsumi began serialization in the January 2008 issue ofSquare Enix'sGangan Powered, which was later transferred to the debut May 2009 issue ofGangan Joker afterGangan Powered was discontinued, and continued until the September 2009 issue. An adaptation ofTurn of the Golden Witch drawn byJirō Suzuki began serialization in the August 2008 issue of Square Enix'sGFantasy. The manga adaptation ofBanquet of the Golden Witch began serialization in the October 2009 issue ofGangan Joker and is illustrated by Kei Natsumi. Sōichirō draws the adaptation ofAlliance of the Golden Witch, which began serialization in Square Enix's Internet-based magazineGangan Online on October 1, 2009. The firstbound volume forLegend of the Golden Witch was released in Japan on June 21, 2008, under Square Enix'sGangan Comicsimprint.Yen Press licensed the variousUmineko manga published by Square Enix for release in North America.[20] Notably, the manga adaptation includes certain departures from the original visual novel narrative, such as solutions to the gameboard mysteries previously only alluded to with riddles. In an interview with APGNation, Ryukishi07 confirmed the portrayed solutions as canonical.[21] The manga adaptation ofTwilight of the Golden Witch features the original arcConfession of the Golden Witch delving into the culprit's backstory beyond the scope revealed inRequiem of the Golden Witch.
Afour-panelcomic strip entitledUmineko Biyori: Rokkenjima e Yōkoso!! (うみねこびより。～六軒島へようこそ!!～) and illustrated by Makoto Fugetsu was serialized inIchijinsha'sManga Palette Lite magazine between March 1, 2008, and March 2, 2009. A single bound volume forUmineko Biyori was released on June 22, 2009. Across-over manga drawn by Yuki Hiiro and featuring characters fromHigurashi no Naku Koro ni titledUmineko no Naku Koro ni EpisodeX Rokkenjima of Higurashi crying was serialized inASCII Media Works'sDengeki G's Festival! Comic magazine between January 26, 2009[22] and February 23, 2011. Two volumes ofEpisodeX were released, the first on February 26, 2010, and the second on April 27, 2011, under ASCII Media Works'Dengeki Comics imprint. The manga's story takes place roughly during the start of Episode 4's game.
Frontier Works began to produce a set ofdrama CDs forUmineko starting with the first volumeŌgon no Kakeratachi (黄金のカケラたち;lit.Golden Fragments) released on June 24, 2009.[23][24] The second volume,Ōgon Chō no Miru Yume wa (黄金蝶の見る夢は;lit.The Dream Seen by the Golden Butterfly) followed on July 23, 2009.[24][25] The voice cast is the same as the anime.[24]
Kodansha Box released novelizations of the visual novel arcs, written byRyukishi07 himself and illustrated by Tomohi, in two volume sets, beginning withLegend of the Golden Witch released on July 1, 2009, for volume one and August 4, 2009, for volume two. Fifteen volumes were released in total, with the last released on September 30, 2018, novelizing the last arc in one volume.
A 26-episodeanime adaptation based on the visual novel series aired in Japan between July 2 and December 24, 2009, onChiba TV, and aired on additional stations at later times.[26] The anime is produced by the animation studioStudio Deen and directed byChiaki Kon, with Toshifumi Kawase handling series scripts andYoko Kikuchi designing the characters based on Ryūkishi07's original concepts.[27] The opening theme of the anime is "Katayoku no Tori" (片翼の鳥;lit. "One-Winged Bird") byAkiko Shikata, and the ending theme is "La Divina Tragedia: Makyoku" (la divina tragedia～魔曲～;lit. "The Divine Tragedy: Diabolic Song") by Jimang fromSound Horizon. The singles for both songs were released on August 19 and September 16, 2009, respectively.[28] The anime is licensed byNIS America for release in North America and was released in twoBlu-ray Disc compilation volumes in December 2012.[29]
AnInternet radio show titledUmineko no Naku Koro ni Episode R: Radio of the Golden Witch aired ten episodes between August 26, 2009, and January 13, 2010. Produced byAnimate TV, the show was hosted bySayaka Ohara (the voice of Beatrice in the anime adaptation) and featured numerous guests who were alsovoice actors from the anime such asDaisuke Ono (Battler) andMarina Inoue (Jessica). A special episode was later aired on April 28, 2010, featuringRina Satō (Ange) andRyukishi07 as guests. Two CD compilation volumes containing two CDs each were released on December 23, 2009, and January 27, 2010, compiling the ten main episodes.
Since April 2022, the theatre troupe Shingidan Mumei Classics has produced stage play adaptations of the first six episodes, under the nameUmineko no Naku Koro ni: Stage of the Golden Witch (うみねこのなく頃に ～Stage of the golden Witch～) as an official collaboration project with 07th Expansion.[30] Sayaka Ohara reprised her role as Beatrice for the performance of Episode 1.[31] An adaptation of the seventh episode,Requiem of the Golden Witch, is slated for September 2026.[32]
The visual novels have three opening theme songs. The four games ofUmineko When They Cry use the opening theme "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" (うみねこのなく頃に; "When the Seagulls Cry"), composed and performed byAkiko Shikata, which was released atComiket 74 on August 15, 2008, and for public release on August 29, 2008, byFrontier Works.[28] The first two games ofUmineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru (End andDawn) use the opening theme "Occultics no Majo" (オカルティクスの魔女,Okarutikusu no Majo; "Occultics Witch") sung by Ayumu fromZwei. The single for "Occultics no Majo" was released on November 26, 2009, byGeneon. The last twoChiru games (Requiem andTwilight) use the opening theme "Kiri no Pithos" (霧のピトス,Kiri no Pitosu; "ThePithos in the Fog") sung by Nei Kino. The PlayStation 3 versions use different opening themes.Majo to Suiri no Rondo uses "Seikyō no Igreja" (誓響のイグレージャ,Seikyō no Igurēja; "Church of Resounding Oaths"), sung by Kokomi.Shinjitsu to Gensō no Nocturne uses "Inanna no Mita Yume" (イナンナの見た夢; "Inanna's Dream"), sung by Ayumu from Zwei.
At the end of each game, there are two ending themes: one played after the completion of the main game (or, in some episodes, after the Tea Party) when the cast of characters is shown and another played after finishing the "????" epilogue when the staff credits are shown. InLegend of the Golden Witch, "Bring the Fate" composed by Hironori Doi is the first ending theme and "Rōgoku Strip" (牢獄STRIP,Prison Strip) composed by -45 is used for the staff credits.Turn uses "Kuro no Liliana" (黒のリリアナ,Black Liliana) composed by U2 Akiyama for the first ending theme and "Senritsu (Shirabe)" (旋律（シラベ）,Melody (Shirabe)) sung by Kazumi Kimura for the staff credits. The first ending theme ofBanquet is "Dread of the Grave (Rhythm ver.)" composed by SB Yune and the staff credits theme is "Active Pain" performed by Zakuro Motoki. The first ending theme forAlliance is "Discode" sung by Kanae Sakura and "Rōgoku Strip" is again used for the staff credits.
End's first ending theme is "Kodoku na Shinkaigyo" (孤独な深海魚,A Lonely Deep-Sea Fish) composed by -45 and the staff credits theme is "Tsubasa (Hope)" (翼～hope～; "Wings (Hope)") performed byRekka Katakiri.Dawn uses "Birth of New Witch" sung by Zakuro Motoki as the first ending theme and "Usan no Kaori" (ウサンノカオリ) sung by Nei Kino for the staff credits. The first ending theme forRequiem is "The Executioner" composed by Zts and the staff credits theme "Namae no Nai Uta" (なまえのないうた; Nameless Song) is sung by Kanae Sakura.Twilight has three ending themes, and differs depending on the ending chosen. For the trick ending, the theme used is "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" by Akiko Shikata. For the magic ending, the first ending theme is "Byakumu no Mayu (Ricordando il passato)" (白夢の繭 ～Ricordando il passato～; "Cocoon of White Dreams (Remembering the Past)"), also composed and performed by Akiko Shikata. The staff credits theme is "Engage of Marionette" composed by Dai. An original soundtrack forLegend of the Golden Witch titledEssence was released on August 26, 2009.[33]
