History Analysis / UminekoWhenTheyCry

On the Higurashi analysis thread there is an analysis on how our sympathy for a murderer changes from person to person. There is a similar point in Umineko but here it is instead how the truth of an event changes from person to person and that there can be no real truth since it varies so much. This point is reinforced time and time again especially in [=EP=] 4 with Ange's stubbornness with both Maria and Eva.

Problems arise when their identities as witches conflict with the real world, and others that have no desire to validate them. Maria first is betrayed by Ange, who sees Mariage Sorciere as little more than fun, and denies magic when she is no longer interested. Integration of Rosa into her fantasy as both mother and the "black witch" only aggravates her abusive situation, as Rosa's nastiness only serves to validate her further. When the Sakutarou doll is destroyed, having included him as a "creation," Maria is unable to cope with his loss, and her behavior becomes increasingly problematic. This is textbook narcissistic injury; Rosa has effectively stripped her of her nature as a witch. The Maria of the stories is one who eagerly fantasizes about the death of the "nonbelievers," and sees the murders only as a way to prove to the others that Beatrice exists and that magic is real.

Yasu, on the other hand, has a much less straightforward crisis of identity. Initially establishing herself as a "prankster witch," her tricks serve to enforce her identity on the other servants. With Battler, she makes the same mistake Maria did with Rosa; she includes a real person into her "universe," who has his own interests and motivations and as such, cannot validate her identity. Genji's proddings drive her to solve Kinzo's riddle; which inflicts an even greater narcissistic wound; her identity as a woman is shorn from her. As such, her identity becomes bifurcated. "Witch" Yasu continues to seek validation from Battler; Battler becomes the "detective" of her message bottles, and everyone "in the know" about Beatrice primarily works to encourage Battler to believe in the witch, to validate her identity. "Furniture" Yasu, as seen through the eyes of Shannon and Kanon, generates an identity from what she sees as a bleak, loveless existence; George and Jessica's actions, in trying to reach Yasu's heart, continually inflict narcissistic injury upon this identity. George's courtship and proposal effectively seal Yasu's fate; her marriage with George is seen by all three as exposure of her real emotional and physical self, and the rejection that entails. By the time of the stories, Yasu has resigned herself to grandiose murder-suicide, and when it is the adults rather than Battler who solve the riddle, the final piece is stripped away and she is too apathetic to do either.

Ange, the final witch of ''Mariage Sorciere'', was thrown out for refusing to believe in magic, for refusing to validate the other two's identities as "real." While she adopts the other two's "creations" after the events of Rokkenjima, her magical identity is again based around real people; if "magic" is real, then the possibility exists that her family may someday return to her. With no one to validate her identity, and too many all too willing to deny it, her belief in "magic" crumbles. With Ange, however, there is the hope for a happy ending; she is able to reconcile her identity with reality, accepting that although there is no hope of (most of) her family returning, she is able to accept that the accounts of their demise do not reflect their reality as people.

Yasu, on the other hand, has a much less straightforward crisis of identity. Initially establishing herself as a "prankster witch," her tricks serve to enforce her identity on the other servants. With Battler, she makes the same mistake Maria did with Rosa; she includes a real person into her "universe," who has his own interests and motivations and as such, cannot validate her identity. Genji's proddings drive her to solve Kinzo's riddle; which inflicts an even greater narcissistic wound; her identity as a woman is shorn from her. As such, her identity becomes bifurcated. "Furniture" Yasu, as seen through the eyes of Shannon and Kanon, generates an identity from what she sees as a bleak, loveless existence; George and Jessica's actions continually inflict narcissistic injury upon this identity. "Witch" Yasu continues to seek validation from Battler; Battler becomes the "detective" of her message bottles, and everyone "in the know" about Beatrice primarily works to encourage Battler to believe in the witch, to validate her identity. By the time of the stories, Yasu has resigned herself to grandiose murder-suicide, and when it is the adults rather than Battler who solve the riddle, the final piece is stripped away and she is too apathetic to do either.

''Requiem of the golden witch'' is a blatant reconstruction of the genre. Instead of a self-proclaimed intellectual rapist, we have a {{Badass}} detective who protects the innocent truths and unveils the destructive lies. We are shown how Mystery becomes Fantasy: by removing the last few pages which reveal the answer. And we are shown the importance of the motive in the mystery: by searching for the person who has the heart to commit murder, we find the true culprit.

But at the same time what he also seems to say is that you can go with any view as long as you think about it and therefore creates your own truth. This is probably the reason for Ryukishi's rather nasty TakeThatAudience in [=EP8=]. He did that because those people who demanded the truth didn't understand it. They only wanted to be told which would mean hearing one person's truth instead of creating their own, the opposite of what he wanted to tell us.

!!TheDivineComedy symbolism

"Without love, the truth cannot be seen." But Erika expounds on that. Because of love, we also see things that shouldn't exist. I quote from [[WMG/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Umineko's WMG page]]:

Actually, ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' goes much deeper than the power of love. Repeatedly, readers are told: [[ArcWords "Without love, it cannot be seen"]]. What exactly cannot be seen without love? In ''End of the golden witch'', Battler has an epiphany: in a mystery novel, there has to be a trusting relationship between reader and writer; it is exactly the same as being in love. Without a guarantee that the mystery is solvable, the reader won't be interested, and without readers, the writer will not write.

This is the Analysis/{{Analysis}} entry for ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. Spoilers are unmarked ahead.

But at the same time what he also seems to say is that you can go with any view as long as you think about it and therefore creates your own truth. This is probably the reason for Ryukishi's rather nasty TakeThat in Ep 8. He did that because those people who demanded the truth didn't understand it. They only wanted to be told which would mean hearing one person's truth instead of creating their own, the opposite of what he wanted to tell us.

But at the same time what he also seems to say is that you can go with any view as long as you think about it and therefore creates your own truth. This is probably the reason for Ryukishi's rather nasty TakeThat in Ep 8. He did that because those people who demanded the truth didn't understand it. They only wanted to be told which would mean hearing one person's truth instead of creating their own, the opposite of what he wanted to tell us.

!!Getting around red text is actually as simple as noticing the inconsistencies in what is being said and what is meant.

Yes, it will always tell an absolute truth, but you really have to pay attention to [[{{ExactWords}} exactly how the phrase is said]], or you're missing a ton of things that are automatically overlooked. Basically, I'm saying there's just too much room for error in the red text. All of my examples are coming from the second Episode, which is the first time we encounter red text. I'm getting all of the red text below from the manga (as I have no chance to play the games at all).

Example 1: "Whether they were dead or alive, the six certainly entered through the door."

This was in response to Battler asking if there are any hidden doors. The point I want to raise is that it is never confirmed just how many doors the chapel does have. So...WHAT DOOR DID THEY ENTER THROUGH?!

Example 2: "When the door to the chapel is locked, entry and exit are not possible by any means."

That last bit of the sentence is what bothers me. Look at it again. That could interpreted to mean that 'because the door is locked, there is absolutely nothing you can do to enter the room beyond it, even if you have a key or magic'. Also, if you are inside, you cannot unlock the door to leave the room. NOT POSSIBLE BY ANY MEANS.

Example 3: "This morning, Rosa took an envelope out of Maria's handbag and thereby obtained the genuine key to the chapel." and "The envelope I entrusted to Maria contained the genuine key to the chapel."

Okay. I have no issue with the first sentence, but thought it should be there as context. The second sentence, however, can be worked around. With this sentence, you can still doubt Maria having had the key the entire time. Think about it. It never specifies WHEN the key was entrusted to Maria. It's as simple as saying that the culprit gave Maria a key in a sealed envelope, but it did not necessarily have to be the key to the chapel. In fact, the culprit taking the envelope they'd originally given to Maria out of her handbag and entrusting her with a new one solves both problems at once.

Example 4: "The only master keys are the ones each servant holds; one per person."
For one, this does not clarify whether or not Jessica's key was the only one. (This issue comes up later and I will explain in more detail.) For two, this statement is a contradiction. That one per person bit. You can ASSUME, based on context that Beatrice is talking about the servants. Let us not forget that later, she states that "There are only five master keys." If this is indeed true, and the bit about each servant only having one key is also true, then Yasu has one key. Shannon and Kanon "share" that key because really, they're the same person. This means that there is another key floating around out there.

Example 5: "There are no types of hidden doors. This door is the only way in or out. The only way to lock this door is with Jessica's single key or the master keys, only one of which is held by each servant. The window is locked from the inside."

I will deal with the part about hidden doors later. For now, let's focus on Jessica's key. Or rather, keyS. Because the culprit is either using the original, a copy, or that last master key. The way this sentence is put together, the IMPLICATION is that there is only a single key that was made for Jessica's room. The reality is that you can interpret that as meaning that, for example, someone else's key won't work on Jessica's door. This actually does not expel the idea of there being a copy. Also the last bit of the last sentence proves my theory of Yasu only having one key.

Example 6: "When the door is locked, entry or exit is not possible by any means. No trick could be used to lock the door from the outside without a key."

Yes, that phrase again. NOT POSSIBLE BY ANY MEANS. Refer to my above [[{{TranquilFury}} rant]].

Example 7: "Entry or exit is impossible except through either the single door or the single window. And those were both locked. When the door and window are locked, there are no other methods of entry or exit." and "The door cannot be unlocked with anything but the master keys or the key to the servants' room."

Again. Again with that sentence. RAGE. The third sentence bugs me too. Seriously, read that again! "When the door and window are locked, there are no other methods of entry or exit." This sentence denies someone unlocking the door from the inside and it simultaneously denies the use of a key. But right after that, she also adds that 'oh, right, the master keys and the servants' room key will do the job too'. RAGE!!! And yes, I understand that, in context, she's talking about a hidden staircase in the floor or something similar. I'm taking every meaning these words can give, not just the meanings we're meant to see.

Example 8: "There is no one in this room except all of you. 'All of you' refers to Battler, George, Maria, Rosa, Genji, Shannon, and Gohda."

This does not outright dispel the idea of a hallway or similar behind a wall because the 'room' referred to here would only be connected to said hallway or similar by a wall, which does the job of separating it from the 'room'. Also, a 'hallway', 'closet', and 'room' all have different names for a reason.

-->One more note with this one: refer back to Knox's 3rd, where one secret passage or room is allowed as long as it is a house where it might be expected. For the servants' room, I'd say that yes, it is. Look up a few mansions (not houses) of the era. Secret passages fit right in.

Example 9: "When Jessica's corpse was discovered, the only ones in Jessica's room were Battler, George, Maria, Rosa, Genji, Gohda, Shannon, and Kumasawa." and "Jessica is also included."

Again, look at the last argument. That's all.

Example 10: "Therefore, in both the case of Jessica's room and the case of the servants' room, there were no humans you weren't aware of. No one is hiding."

I'd like to note that this was directly after Kumasawa and Nanjo's murders. Again, references being made to Examples 8 and 9, but that last sentence made me grin. Sure, the culprit isn't HIDING. Maybe they're dragging off a couple corpses instead. Verb, verb, verb~!

Example 11: "There is no way to lock the door from outside the room without using the key. There is no way to lock the windows from outside."

Oh, but I thought there were TWO keys that work on this room. Which is it? The master keys AND the servants' room key or one of the two keys? Pick one. You can't have both.

There you have it. All it takes is paying attention to the words themselves and understanding how many ways they can really be used. (Though I will admit that some of this may be wrong, seeing as I am reading an English translation of the manga, not the original Japanese. I can't find it online.)

But at the same time what he also seems to say is that you can go with any view as long as you think about it and therefore creates your own truth. This is probably the reason for Ryukishi's rather nasty TakeThat in Ep 8. He did that because those people who demanded the truth didn't understand it. They only wanted to be told which would mean hearing one person's truth instead of creating their own, the opposite of what he wanted to tell us.