Umineko no Naku Koro ni - 01 July 2
OP Sequence
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OP: 「片翼の鳥」 (Katayoku no Tori) by 志方あきこ (Shikata Akiko)
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼
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Summary:
It is the year 1986, and a teen named Ushiromiya Battler arrives on an island owned by his family for an annual gathering. With him are his cousins George and Maria, his aunts Rosa and Eva, his uncle Hideyoshi, and his parents Rudolf and Kyrie, and Battler is soon reunited with his other cousin Jessica. At the dock, George notices that there oddly aren’t any seagulls around, and Maria further notices that a shrine that was once on some nearby rocks is now gone, which she treats as an ominous sign. The group then moves toward the main mansion, but they stop in the rose garden outside of it, and Maria finds a single sickly-looking rose. George decides to tie a ribbon around it so that Maria can take care of it until they have to leave. Battler then meets some of the servants around the house, including the quiet Kanon and the pretty Shannon. He also notices a large painting of a woman that apparently his grandfather had commissioned, and Maria identifies the woman as the witch Beatrice.
It turns out that Battler’s grandfather Kinzou was the one who revived the family’s fortunes after the devastating 1923 earthquake, and he supposedly got the capital to do so - 10 tons of gold - from the Golden Witch Beatrice in exchange for his soul. Kinzou now has only three months left to live, and his children - Battler’s parents, aunts, and uncles - have gathered to discuss the family fortune and their suspicions about the eldest son Krauss’s investments using the money. When an argument breaks out between Krauss’s wife Natsuhi and Eva, with Eva insulting Natsuhi because she married into the family, Krauss makes her leave. With Natsuhi out of the way, the rest of the siblings make a bunch of demands to Krauss to ensure what they see as a fair split of the fortune. Krauss, however, knows that each of them has their own financial problems, and he claims not to have any of their father’s hidden gold right now. Finding it would involve solving a mysterious inscription that was placed beside Beatrice’s painting.
Although the others might not believe in the witch Beatrice, Maria certainly does, and she gives Battler and Jessica a pair of charms to protect them. Later, they try to find the sickly rose again, but they’re unable to. Maria insists on staying out to look for it, even during a storm and after her mother Rosa hits her and then abandons her outside. Battler and the others, including Rosa, eventually get concerned and go back outside to look for Maria, and they find her with an umbrella standing quietly. Maria wasn’t able to find the rose, but what surprises everyone is how she explains that she borrowed the umbrella from Beatrice.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「la divina tragedia~魔曲~」 (la divina tragedia~Makyoku~) by じまんぐ (Jimang)
Watch the ED! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼
I didn’t like the opening song very much when I first heard it (reminded me of ALI PROJECT for whatever reason), but it grew on me after listening to it a few more times. It’s certainly fitting for the series in that haunting sort of way. The ending song, on the other hand, I just can’t seem to appreciate no matter how much I listen to it.
So I’ve been told by a lot of people how good this title is, and I was curious to say the least on what the fuss was all about. Well, I’m still not quite sure after having watched this first episode, but I can see some promise in the creepy mystery story. A lot of this episode was introduction, and the middle of it was kind of boring with all of the plotting going on (save for the Eva vs Natsuhi argument), but the whole Beatrice thing was intriguing, especially after she showed up in front of Maria. Speaking of which, Maria may be one of the most annoying characters I’ve seen/heard in a long time. It’s probably intentional, but the way Horie Yui voices her just gets on my nerves to the point where I want to turn off the sound whenever she opens her mouth. Her eyes also make her really creepy too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up killing someone. The rest of the cast was great though, and it’s worth mentioning again how star-studded the list is with Inoue Marina, Koshimizu Ami, Kugimiya Rie, and Ono Daisuke, all of whom I enjoyed listening to. I’m actually kind of surprised that they didn’t get Wakamoto Norio to voice Kinzou since it would have been the perfect role for him, though Mugihito still did a pretty good job.
I’m still trying to sort out what I want to watch on Wednesdays this season, but this first episode was promising enough to get me to watch a few more. Hopefully the story will really start to pick up speed now that all the background and introductions are out of the way.
sureshot at 8:50 pm on July 2nd, 2009
sure is low budget crap in here
Camarilla at 8:52 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Not going to be anywhere near as good as Higurashi, but still good enough to watch.
Genestarwind at 8:56 pm on July 2nd, 2009
They skipped some minor stuff but oh well…
Voice actors are mehh…not very good at all =(
ZeD at 8:59 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Maria has a reason for doing that sound all the time
A very important one, actually..
But it was revealed only in the fourth episode of the novel
IMO, the story is way better than Higurashi.. I just have to see how they’ll handle some scenes, but this episode was a good start..
hey at 8:59 pm on July 2nd, 2009
i read the manga, and umineko is pretty good.
I wonder if it’ll be able to surpass higurashi?(i don’t really think so…but i think is worth watching.
muffiekun at 9:05 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Umineko>Higurashi
And Rosa Ushiromiya. Best. Mom. Ever.
Small bombs. >_>
Taiyaki at 9:08 pm on July 2nd, 2009
The beginning of Umineko is quite lackluster, but things start to get pretty interesting from this point onwards.
Amatsu at 9:44 pm on July 2nd, 2009
O.o higurashi characters look better tho
Grant at 9:55 pm on July 2nd, 2009
I have to agree with assessment of the episode. The makers could have put in something a bit more creepy just to make your skin crawl, something like Rena and the axe in Higurashi’s first ep. In addition, the damn sound from Maria is incredibly annoying. It might be important in the story for her to make it, but couldn’t they have chosen something else? Opening theme was good but the ending theme boring and out of place, it sounded like something from a 70s series. I do have some hope from the opening images that suggest Battler (WTF with his name) will be facing Beatrice sooner or later, hopefully after half the family is dead and the other half running around with knives.
vin-nii at 10:01 pm on July 2nd, 2009
sorry, still not impressed.
auntiebin at 10:08 pm on July 2nd, 2009
looks taiga-ish
http://randomc.maximum7.net/image/Umineko%20no%20Naku%20Koro%20ni/Umineko%20no%20Naku%20Koro%20ni%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
Urs at 10:12 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Haha.. so I guess I’m the only one who thinks Maria is awesome? It’s weird, though, because in Higurashi I couldn’t stand it when Satoko always made that laugh and yet I can stand hearing Maria’s “Auuuuu Uuuu”. Whatever.
I thought the opening was absolutely awesome. I just can’t get into the ending theme, though.
This anime looks really promising and I’m hoping it gets really freaky. It may surpass Higurashi, you never know.
TJ at 10:14 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Maria is so annoying… otherwise, not much happening in this episode other than Rosa slapping Maria.
Feenix at 10:16 pm on July 2nd, 2009
I kinda got a .hack//sign vibe from the opening song
catie at 10:23 pm on July 2nd, 2009
lol. I like Maria toooo~ I think she’s adorable. Anyways, I agree that this episode skipped and rushed through quite a few of the introductory scenes, but I don’t think that poses much of a problem and instead is an indicator that we’ll get to the blood and guts of the series soon. =P Don’t drop Umineko yet, the plot gets pretty crazy-good from this point onwards. =]
muffiekun at 10:25 pm on July 2nd, 2009
@Grant
Umineko isn’t really horror. It’s mystery vs fantasy. You’ll figure out what that means later. And “uu-uu” was in the VN, and it has a certain meaning behind it too, which means it’s not meaningless loli crying. And most likely…
Show Spoiler ▼
And Maria being annoying means Horie is doing her job right. *Rosaslap*
Phocus at 10:25 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Nobody should be saying Higurashi >>> Umineko, or vice versa.
Each series started out differently, with its own plot twists and settings, so you can’t really say which is better. I can see why most people don’t like this series, probably because of the large amount of characters and bizarre plot of witches and gold…
But try to think back to the first episode of Higurashi, and your first impression of it. Was it any different? If the animation is a concern here, think about Higurashi 1st and 2nd season…
Once this series hits halfway, you’ll be shatting bricks.
vic at 10:25 pm on July 2nd, 2009
http://randomc.maximum7.net/image/Umineko%20no%20Naku%20Koro%20ni/Umineko%20no%20Naku%20Koro%20ni%20-%20ED%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
THAT IMG DRIVES ME CRAZY the episode was good but it was only the introduction, the best is yet to come.
Best anime of the season.
jaalin at 10:28 pm on July 2nd, 2009
WHAT THE HELL IS THIS HIGURASHI ALL OVER AGAIN
/RUNS
Battler at 10:29 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Grant in the visual is explained that battler name IS VERY STRANGE AND UGLY XD and umineko is much better than higurashi just wait =)