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* AdaptationDisplacement: As with [[VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi Higurashi]], more fans are familiar with the anime than the original visual novels or the manga, even though the fan translation for the visual novels began before the anime aired.
** AnimatedAdaptation: Alas, the anime has a reputation for being a VERY bad adaptation, having the dubious honor of being voted Worst Anime of 2009 by 2chan. Due to abysmally low DVD sales (less than 600 copies), Chiru still hasn't gotten an adaptation.
* AlasPoorScrappy: [[spoiler:Erika]] in [=EP6=].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Beatrice: a heartless and sadistic murderer, or the savior of the Ushiromiya family's dignity, allowing their memory to be unsullied by the crimes committed in their two days on Rokkenjima by taking them all upon herself?
** Might be easier to figure out if she weren't voluntarily tripping through the FaceHeelRevolvingDoor at every turn.
*** This is what happens when a {{Tsundere}} goes too far.
** Bernkastel: a [[spoiler:disgusting, CompleteMonster who toys with humans for her own amusement]], or a [[spoiler:tragic WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds]] who had to go through thousands of years of BreakTheCutie horror and now can only [[spoiler:torment others in order to dull the pain]]?
** Toya Hachijo/Featherine: It's never explicitly said that Toya is Featherine. One non-magical explanation of how the two could be different entities is that [[spoiler:Toya's story that Ange reads is a description of a fictional Ange reading the story of Battler's sixth game to a fictional Featherine, so that Featherine is Toya's AuthorAvatar.]]
** George: DoggedNiceGuy who has an enlightened view of the world through his years of experience, and who respects Shannon as a person, or a borderline-sexist who takes everything far more seriously than he should? He may (or may not, YMMV of course) have {{Yandere}} tendencies (possessive subtype) to boot.
* ArcFatigue: The pacing of the anime comes to a screeching halt at the start of the fourth arc, with three straight episodes of exposition on the characters of Maria and Ange.
** Then again, one could argue it was way too fast before that…
* {{Authors Saving Throw}}: For the fighting game spinoff and it's a meta one. One of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twPWf9hSrQ&feature=related the preview videos]] shows Virgilia continuously using a hard-to-dodge projectile. Looks like a GameBreaker, right? Then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Dea33aMns&feature=related this video]] came along, showing every character countering it.
* BaseBreaker: Rosa. She's considered a MemeticBadass MamaBear based on her actions in [=EP2=], [[spoiler: where she fends off a horde of goat butlers using a shotgun and a gold ingot in her purse in order to protect herself and her daughter, which is one of the times where Rosa demonstrates that she sincerely loves Maria and is legitimately sorry for her abusive behavior]], and a horribly AbusiveParent sarcastically called "World's Best Mother" by the fans for the way she treats Maria and gets what she deserves any time she's killed, [[spoiler: especially in [=EP4=] when Maria uses her new witch abilities to kill Rosa over and over again after she destroys Sakutaro, all the while Rosa is screaming she never loved Maria. This scene is implied to be AllJustADream, so it could be that deep down Maria is afraid that Rosa really doesn't love her.]] Given the fact that [[spoiler: the Ushiromiya Family is intentionally being displayed at their worst on the island, instead of being like that all the time, and that some of their actions are the result of twisted gossip]], it's safe to assume that Rosa does indeed have legitimate love for Maria, but that love is very conflicted and could either persevere over hatred or shatter completely given the course of events. Things only get worse when one adds the [[spoiler: Rosatrice Culprit Theory]] into the mix.
** [[spoiler:Yasu]] and everything related to [[spoiler:[[AmbiguousGender him/her]]]] has been subject to much debate by the fandom.
* BetterOnDVD: Bet you they'll remove the pixellating in the gorier parts on the DVD (US version).
** But they certainly didn't seem to do anything about the [[OffModel QUALITY]]. ''DEEEEEEEEEN!''
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The "fight" between Krauss and [[FanNickname Goat-kun]] in Episode 4 let many fans wondering what in the hell they just read.
* BrokenBase: "So, what did you think of the anime?" ...Yeah, just do everyone a favor and don't ask.
** Thanks to the release of a PS3 port, many fans are now divided whether the original novel's sprites or the PS3's are better.
** With the release of [=EP8=], many people on 4chan are now divided on whether [[spoiler:the RoadCone system]] is a good thing or not.
** Also [[spoiler: [[TheUnreveal some people being dissatisfied with the series open ending not answering what really happened.]] ]]
*** One of the arguments that gets ugly is when [[spoiler: deciding whether or not this series was a mystery to begin with.]]
** Another topic that's best not to bring up within the fandom is what Lion[[spoiler:/Yasu]]'s gender is.
** One word: Rosatrice
* CanonSue: [[spoiler:Bernkastel's furniture Erika Furudo]] is a [[ParodySue Parody]] {{God Mode Sue}} with the personality of a {{Jerk Sue}}. It doesn't help that Erika is basically a way for Bernkastel to almost literally insert herself into the story of the Ushiromiya family.
* CargoShip: Fans have joked about this in regards to how often Battler uses a hat stand as an ImprovisedWeapon.
* CompleteMonster: See the Umineko section on [[Monster/VisualNovels this page]] for details.
* CounterpartComparison: Once you learn Beatrice's story, it's very difficult not to notice the similarities with [[spoiler:Shion]] from [[HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi Ryukishi's previous work]]. Both would have [[spoiler:had rights to the heirship of their families had it not been for extenuating circumstances around their birth. Both have serious identity issues stemming from those circumstances and subsequently spent their lives being made miserable by others, only to find one person they fell in love with and who looked to love her back and made her feel special before he went missing. Both vow to wait and are ultimately driven mad (though different types of mad) from the length of that wait]].
* CrackPairing: The [[AllThereInTheManual side story]] "The Stakes' Valentine's Day" is ''filled'' with these. Including [[spoiler:Asmodeus/Juuza, Beelzebub/Gohda, Leviathan/Kyrie, Belphegor/Rudolf... and even [[ShipTease teasing]] Beatrice/Battler and Battler/Lucifer!]]
** Not to mention the recent couples poll on the official site, which has ''absolutely everything.''
** There's Amakusa/Battler fanart around the Japanese fandom. Not only have they never met, it's a time paradox. On the other hand, [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]] in this fandom have to take what they can get. There aren't a lot of [[{{Bishounen}} bishounen]] running around.
** If [[http://umineko.wikia.com/wiki/TIPS/Game_master_Battler%27s_tip Game Master Battler's TIP]] is to be believed, Virgilia is a crack ''shipper''.
-->Virgilia: "...[[PortmanteauCoupleName RudoBato, GohBato, AmaBato]]."\\
[[AmbiguouslyGay Ronove]]: "Pukuku! [[HoYay You mustn't forget [=RonoBato=]]]."\\
** There's also the [=TIP=] [[http://umineko.wikia.com/wiki/Angel_of_17_years "Angel of 17 Years"]], which is dedicated entirely to crack HoYay pairings (with Ange and Virgilia being the [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]] gushing over them, though it's obviously PlayedForLaughs).
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuo7VumEIuM One of Golden Fantasia's endings]] teases an uncanny [=WillBern=]; maybe not so uncanny though, considering it's [[KindHeartedCatLover Will]] and [[CatGirl Bern]].
** In the TIP "Jessica's Good Luck Charms", Jessica wants to make Kanon dream of her, but she messes up the ritual and makes ''Gōda'' dream of her instead. Yep, [=JessiGoh=]. Didn't see that one coming.
* CrazyAwesome: Jumping from the third story of your mansion in order to go for a midnight stroll? "I wouldn't put it past grandfather."
** Dlanor.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Octopus [[strike: [[{{Vocaloid}} Luka]]]] Maria. Ain't she just adorable?
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: [[AwesomeMusic/WhenTheyCry Has a whole page, of course.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: Ironically, despite her definitive {{Scrappy}} status after [=EP5=], Erika seems to becoming something of this after [=EP6=], especially in Japanese fandom. Ryukishi certainly [[JerkassWoobie did intend for her to be a sympathetic character]], but [[MisaimedFandom saying that she was the hero of the episode is a bit...]]
* EarWorm: Jessica's preposterously hyper, catchy ImageSong, "Dokkyun Heart".
** More like [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIXmlcKF7iI "pettan pettan tsurupettan"...]]
** The anime's ending theme, "la divina tragedia" (AKA OOOOH DEEESIIIIIREEE!)
** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9Gbw4ybk ahaha.wav]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Genji is slowly, ''slowly'' becoming one.
** Hideyoshi is also ''sloooowly'' becoming one. In fact, the fandom's displeasure about him not having any CharacterDevelopment is becoming a sort of meme.
** Kinzo is popular in America, probably because of his association with [[{{Leitmotif}} la divina tragedia]] / [[MemeticMutation OH DESIRE]] and, sometime in the fall of 2009, [[MemeticMutation an explosion of pictures, HUNDREDS of them, with his "troll face" / "rape face" photoshopped onto them, with the claim that "Everything's Better With Kinzo. No Exceptions".]] [[spoiler:Of course, his popularity with readers tends to go down once they find out what he did to Beatrice II.]]
** Gohda and his butterfly repelling jacket. Also partially because he's [[MemeticMutation Magical Gohda Chef]].
** Dlanor and Gertrude.
** Will. Just... Will.
** [[spoiler: [[EvilCounterpart Black Battler]]; despite being an illusion created by Bernkastel, he's gotten popular enough to join the roster of the fighting games.]]
* EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler:Bernkastel]]. Well... Not her, completely, but in situations where she displays her cruel and playful antics coupled with her twisted personality, she certainly is!
** Judging from the fandom's reactions to him, [[EvilCounterpart Black Battler]].
* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: "If your family died mysteriously in what has a good chance not to be an accident… don't try to search for the truth. It will only bring you pain and desecrate the dead." Huh…
* {{Fan Dumb}}: People who support the [[spoiler: Shannon/Kanon/Beatrice]] theory are labeled as "idiots that can't use their brain to solve the series" and then denies the theory nevermind that the point of the entire series is to create your own truth without denying someone else' opinion. Still, [[spoiler: Shkannontrice]] supporters aren't exactly saints in this regard either, calling [[spoiler: Rosatrice]] supporters "intellectual rapists."
* {{Fanon}}: No one actually knows what [[spoiler:the Gold Truth]] that showed up in [=EP5=] is or how [[spoiler:it's really that different from the red]], aside from a few vague statements issued by Dlanor. Despite this, it somehow became accepted that [[spoiler:the Gold Truth tells the absolute truth while the Red Truth can be used to spin lies or truths]]... until a scene in [=EP6=] pointedly contradicted this.
** Maybe it didn't contradict it. [[WordOfGod Ryukishi]] stated in an interview that anyone can use the Gold Truth if they completely understand the rules of the game. He even says pieces can use it, as well.
** Yeah, there was no contradiction. It's actually pretty clear what the gold truth is for. [[spoiler:People are easily thrown by the gold text in [=EP6=] because they freak out over the mention of magic, but it's actually pretty simple. Beato the Elder understood the true form of magic, thus she was able to say in gold that Beato's sleight of hand was real magic. Gold text, like Ryukishi said, is simply for people who understand the rules, and can make statements based about those rules.]]
* FauxSymbolism: Maria's name is written as "真里亞"--notice how the last character looks like a [[CreepyCoolCrosses cross]]? Battler [[LampshadeHanging points it out]] and seems to consider it stylish.
* FoeYay: Most obviously, Beatrice x Battler and Bernkastel x Lambdadelta, both of which are [[spoiler:confirmed canon after [=EP5=] and [=EP6=]]]. Erika/Battler. Complete with wedding dress. The side stories "The Stakes' Valentines Day" and "Beato's White Day" even play Beato x Battler for laughs.
** In Stakes Valentine you see Belphegor, Leviathan and Satan giving chocolate to the three humans they fought in the canon games (Rudolf, [[LesYay Kyrie]] and Kanon respectively), for Valentines Day. Lucifer also gives chocolate to Battler, who is considered her rival, and Beelzebub gives her chocolate to Gohda, who she killed in [=EP2=].
* FridgeBrilliance: [[Fridge/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Enough to warrant its own page]].
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Arc 4's ClicheStorm turns around to bite George and Jessica in the ass, due to a rather brutal BrickJoke involving the danger of a HopeSpot.
* HarsherInHindsight: An in-story version. In the second arc Beatrice tells Shannon that she won't feel that same way about George after he "looks at her with lust" and at the time it just sounds like taunting. [[spoiler:If you take into account that Shannon and Beatrice are the same person, it's really a representation of the conflicts in Yasu's heart over whether or not George can truly love Shannon and stay with her after discovering Yasu's broken body.]] There's a more in-depth analysis of this scene [[http://akatokuro.tumblr.com/post/19779888925/whats-actually-going-on-in-this-scene-yasu-is here]] ('''warning''': contains spoilers).
** Another in-story example also comes from the second arc, or rather, the ending to it. At Beatrice's banquet, [[spoiler: she has her goats eat Battler alive after he loses against her.]] This ends up getting used against her in the fifth arc when [[spoiler: she loses in proving Natsuhi's innocence, and Lambadelta and Bernkastel sentence her to the same fate because it's how she "punishes the losers in the game".]]
** Second arc again. Beatrice tells Kanon that the three worst ways to hurt a girl are physically, emotionally, and by betraying their hopes. She calls the last the most difficult, the most effective, and the one most often committed by accident. [[spoiler:And poor Beato would know more about that than anybody else.]]
** Again, in-story example:
--> '''Battler (to Ange)''': It's not like you'll get struck by lightning if you tell me your name.
** The whole scene where Battler promises to win Beato's game and come back to Ange is really sad after you understand that [[spoiler:when Beato's game started, everyone except Eva and Battler was already dead. From the beginning, there was never any chance of the family coming back home alive; and indeed, Beato herself never promised that, it's just what Battler assumed.]]
** In Episode 2, the kids ask Nanjō whether Beatrice and Kinzō had a child. Nanjō replies that if they had, Kinzō would have "poured all of his love on the child" after the mother's death. [[spoiler:That he did. [[ParentalIncest Way]] [[ChildByRape too much.]]]]
* HellIsThatNoise: The strange, hammering-on-metal the Stakes emit in their… er, stake form. It's constantly present whether it makes sense (ricocheting off walls in rapid succession) or not (flying through empty air).
** There's also the ScareChord in the first novel when Maria claims Beatrice gave her that umbrella.
** The Troll laugh also has this effect the first few times you hear it. It sounds like WoodyWoodpecker possessed by the devil… it becomes a bit less scary when it starts being used humorously though.
-->'''Beatrice:''' (in red) You. Are. Incompetent. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9Gbw4ybk Uhihihyahyahyahya!!]]
* HilariousInHindsight: [[http://g.e-hentai.org/g/291164/b5048f9123/ One fan made comic]] ([=NSFW=]), located after [=EP5=] features battler creating the 6th game but instead of the typical visual novel he creates a fighting game. It even says Magic fighting game, Battle of the Golden Witch coming soon...
* HoYay: Between [[spoiler: Lion and Wright from [=EP7=]. Some fans have now taken to re-naming [=EP7=] "Homolust of the Golden Witch".]] If you believe [[spoiler: Lion]] is a guy, that is. His/her gender hasn't been officially confirmed, although the fandom seems to be 99.99% sure he/she's a guy.
** The English fandom, you mean. Most of the Japanese fandom seems to be 99% sure that [[spoiler: Lion]] is a girl. Which is ironic because most of the yaoi fandom comes from Japan…
* IronWoobie: Battler.
** [[spoiler:Eva]] moreso. It may have worked only once but [[spoiler:she gives Kyrie a hell of a fight after she loses her family]].
*** It worked when it counted. [[ManlyTears And how...]]
* ItGetsBetter: The first novel is almost painfully monotonous with glimmers of hope when small horror elements show up… then somebody finally dies! In the 10th chapter (out of 17)!
* ItWasHisSled - [[spoiler:No, Bernkastel is not a stoic neutral who sympathises with the heroes.]] Good luck ''not'' knowing this before you start the series.
* JerkassWoobie: Eva may be a [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] RichBitch, but when you get down to it, as this (spoilerrific) fancomic shows, her life kind of... [[http://shroedinger.deviantart.com/#/d2z8f75 sucked]].
** It's pretty hard to deny just how screwed up Rosa's life is, and, at least as far as we know at this point, how relatively little of it is her fault. Of course, it doesn't change the fact that she treats Maria miserably.
** [[spoiler:Beatrice]] may qualify as one.
** Erika is probably one straw short of being a mentally insane, jerkass murderer, but she earns a least a few woobie points on account of her bring [[CompleteMonster Bern's]] piece. [[spoiler: Though she DOES actually end up being a mentally broken jerkass murderer in Ep6 in order to win against Battler]]
*** Though then again she is a [[spoiler: MENTALLY BROKEN jerkass murderer. Which is...Especially sad when you realise that Bernkastel invented her to be that way. Hell, this troper found her one of the most sympathetic characters in Umineko if you just read between the lines. Absolutely everything she does is just to impress her master who'll, let's face it, just sees her as a pawn. And she can never, ever, develop a conciousness of this because she's built as, just that, a pawn for Bern to play with. It's especially sad in Ep8 where, even after Bernkastel threw her into whatever hell she was in she's still lovingly devoted to her master.]]
* LesYay: Lambdadelta x Bernkastel, which is actually canon. Lambda acts like a supernatural StalkerWithACrush, they like to talk about giving each other [[FetishFuel candy bath massages]], and they've even both said they love each other.
** [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/42.html "Welcome home..."]] A scene earlier in that chapter, though possibly just imagery, has young Eva smiling, with tears running down her face, as [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/26.html EVA places a hand on her bare chest.]] Yeah, this troper can see why someone's supposedly writing a FanFiction shipping [[ScrewYourself Eva/EVA]]. There's more [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c004/1.html here]].
** There is also quite a bit of sadomasochistic subtext between Bern and Erika, notably in the Tea Party of Episode 8. Like everything else, the joke endings of the fighting game take it UpToEleven.
** Erika and Dlanor in Episode 6. Even if Erika is talking about her ex-boyfriend, the two nonetheless spend 5 minutes saying things like "I would give up my life for you" or "I present you 6 pieces of evidence that I still love you."
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: In [=EP5=] [[spoiler: Natsuhi is set up to be incredibly suspicious in every way. Of course she can't be the culprit!]]
* LoveToHate: Yes, Erika is an unrepentant, insufferable bitch, and that's why so many people love her!
* MagnificentBitch: Beatrice as well as [[spoiler:Bernkastel and Lambdadelta]].
** If one doesn't consider [[spoiler:Battler the GuileHero that he became in [=EP6=], then they can consider him a good heroic example of a MagnificentBastard as well]].
* MarySue: Erika has elements of the BlackHoleSue, JerkSue, FixerSue, ''and'' ParodySue stirred up into one [[ReplacementScrappy instantly hated]] package. [[{{Deconstruction}} And that's the point]].
* MemeticBadass: Rosa's actions at the end of [=EP2=] got her many fans.
** And even [[http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~ri-msx/zero/rosa.htm an own game!]]
** Meanwhile, her treatment of Maria has given her the title of BEST MOM EVER. Helps that a good portion of the fanbase [[TheScrappy can't stand Maria and cheer for anything that involves hurting her]]... at least until they adapted [=EP4=] in the anime.
** Kinzo, both in-universe and with the fandom.
** Will.
* MemeticMutation: Enough to warrant [[Memes/{{UminekoNoNakuKoroNi}} its own page.]]
* MemeticSexGod: [[spoiler: [[http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=459079 Endless Sorcerer]]]] Battler, to the point that people want to do [[spoiler:''his cape'']].
* MindGameShip - Beato x Battler.
* {{Moe}}: Beatrice shows flashes of cuteness when she isn't cheerfully orchestrating murders and walking all over Battler. This starts happening more and more frequently from Episode 3 onwards.
** Also, [[http://darenome.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/umineko-extra-tips-valentine-and-white-day/#more-1750 White Day]].
** Sakutaro! To the point that the 7 Stakes go completely crazy whenever he shows up, wanting to cuddle him.
* {{Mondegreen}}: ''Happy Maria!'' has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vroiMXCtAI4 quite]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sKv0LqgoXU a lot]]. And the official lyrics are all in [[{{Engrish}} horribly-rendered GratuitousEnglish]]
* MoralEventHorizon: When did you realize that [[spoiler:Eva-Beatrice]] was a CompleteMonster? [[spoiler:The repeated sadistic deaths of Maria and Rosa did it for a lot of people, especially when ''Beatrice'' of all people steps in to give them a MercyKill]].
** Kinzo was always close to this trope because of his treatment of his family and the [[spoiler:subverted]] PaterFamilicide, but the revelations about Beatrice [[spoiler:Ushiromiya, his daughter]] and the fact that this was [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]] seems have been the end of the road for some fans.
** In [=EP6=], [[spoiler:Erika beheads five people to make sure that they're actually dead (which, it turns out, they ''weren't''). And all in order to get revenge on Battler by trapping him in a logic error.]]
** [[spoiler: Bernkastel crossed it in the side story "The Witches' Tanabata", which is where her YouBastard moment comes from.]]
* {{Narm}}: Enough to have its own page [[Narm/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi here]], though most examples are from the anime.
* NeverLiveItDown: Battler's theory about "small bombs" became a MemeticMutation in the fandom due to how ridiculous it was. What most fans didn't realize is that Battler didn't actually ''believe'' this theory; he was just desperately fishing for ways to counter Beatrice's claims that the murders were done by magic. That still doesn't stop some fans from bringing up "SMALL BOMBS" as a way to make fun of Battler's reasoning skills.
* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler:Ange is built up into an incredibly sympathetic character.]] Prepare to shed many tears.
** Game 5, end of the tea party, Promise. No one will blame you for demolishing a few tissue boxes over this one either.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: A lot of the fans really disliked Maria until the fourth arc, when she revealed one hell of a FreudianExcuse and got around to [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Old Woman Out]] in true ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' fashion.
* TheScrappy: George ; maybe he comes out as too perfect or too bland, but some fans just don't like him. The fact that he has had his sights on a girl 7 years younger than him for several years [[spoiler:(actually 4 years younger, but he doesn't know that)]] doesn't help much.
* SoBadItsGood: How a lot of people feel about the visual novel's art.
** It certainly helps that it's generally agreed the faces are SoCoolItsAwesome though.
* {{Squick}}: Beatrice [[spoiler:Ushiromiya, daughter of Beatrice Castiglione]] is [[spoiler: his daughter. And he had a child with her]].
** So this qualifies as [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]].
* StoicWoobie: Not only does Ange lose her parents and brother, but [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] reveal that [[spoiler:a certain witch manipulated her into not only hating the only relative she had left that doesn't want to kill her, but also locking away any form of happiness.]]
** I guess we can [[NotSoStoic take out the "Stoic"]] after she learned [[spoiler: [[UnreliableNarrator from Bernkastel]] how her mother (who she loved more than anyone) never truly loved her and how Eva (who she hated more than anyone) wanted to protect her from the "truth."]]
* TheissTitillationTheory: Gaap is the embodiment of this trope GoneHorriblyWrong.
* [[TheyJustDidntCare They Just Didn't Care]]: Most of the new sprites for [=EP7=], particularly [[spoiler:Young Kinzo and Claire]]. Hooray for copy and paste!
** JustifiedTrope though [[spoiler: in Kinzo's case, since it was mentioned in the earlier novels that Battler looked just like Kinzo when he was young.]]
*** It's justified for [[spoiler:Clair, as well. Bern specifically states that her appearance was created as a stand-in for Beatrice.]]
*** And it may be a FridgeBrilliance for the [[spoiler:new servants]]. One could assume Beatrice decided to base her minions on the [[spoiler:other servants]] that caused her so much annoyance.
*** It is, remember [[spoiler:Ange]] first time she go Rokkenjima?. Remember who was the [[spoiler: servant]] who was working at that time?. And remember [[spoiler: Ange´s best friend from 1998?]] FridgeBrilliance everywhere in [=EP7=].
* ToyShip: Sakutaro's mutually-adoring relationship with Maria hints at this.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: Kanon. [[spoiler:With good reason, mind you.]]
** Lion, [[AmbiguousGender but this is intentional]].
* {{Wangst}}: Kanon.
* WhatAnIdiot: In [=EP6=] [[spoiler:Battler gave Erika duct tape. And it's three rooms' worth. When in the previous game, the duct tape she used allowed her to use the red truth.]]
** After [[FridgeBrilliance [=EP7=]]], [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation with a certain interpretation]], one could argue that most of Battler's behavior in [=EP6=] is [[spoiler:him betting on a miracle so that Beato regains her memories. Battler acts as an obvious comparison to Kinzo, Chick!Beatrice is quite like Beatrice II, the love duel acts as a metaphor of "Yasu's" internal conflict, etc...]]
** Krauss. Oh, Krauss. The true extent of his idiocy is revealed in [=EP5=]. He's quite possibly the stupidest character in Umineko. The poor idiot would have been penniless on the street some five or six years ago if Natsuhi weren't hypercompetent to the point of neurosis.
*** WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: A too good to be true Space Resort deal from some guy claiming to be from NASA! [[TemptingFate What could go wrong?]] Granted, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism recent events]] may in fact be indicating that, as Rudolf mentioned, his timing was simply a bit off. As in, 30 years off.
* TheWoobie: Oh god, ''Natsuhi''. [[spoiler: '''Especially''' after [=EP5=].]]
** To verify, [[spoiler:she starts to lose her sanity after Kinzo dies, is forced to confront a less than pleasant aspect of her past (one that she's already repented for), Jessica is murdered, Krauss is kidnapped, forcing her to obey the mysterious man claiming to be her son. Not only does Krauss die anyway, but she is framed for all the murders, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge gets beaten up by a very pissed off Eva]] and Battler is the only one who even ''tries'' to intervene.]]
*** [[spoiler: She gets accused of ''cheating on her husband and having a sexual relationship with Kinzo''. Then Bernkastel brutally tells her in her that everything that's been basically keeping her sane until that moment... was all a delusion on her part. They basically make her life hell in that arc. And even that's an understatement.]]
** [=EP7=] reveals that [[spoiler:Beatrice, of all people, can definitely be considered to be this.]]
** What, no sympathy for Sakutarou? One of the few characters who doesn't have any malicious tendencies or a fragile psyche, he was basically Maria's only friend and was constantly trying to cheer her up by telling her that her mother loved her very much and was busy working for her. [[spoiler: And then Rosa goes and rips him apart right in front of Maria, then makes it worse by declaring to Maria "Sakutarou is dead", which made it impossible for Beatrice to revive him. At least until Ange managed to do so in 1998.]]
** Clair. She exists solely as yet another of Bernkastel's pieces, meant solely to shoulder the responsibilities and sins of Beatrice as her stand-in. Despite lacking a personality, supposedly, she wishes for her counterpart [[spoiler: Lion Ushiromiya, the person that Yasu may have become if Natsuhi accepted the child instead of becoming Beatrice]] to be happy and live a happy life for her sake and all the Beatrices of every world. [[spoiler: She then asks for Will to kill her now that her task is complete, only for Bernkastel to bring her back solely to gloat that Lion will die anyway, before having her guts torn out of her stomach.]]
** Beatrice II is the most miserable of all when you think about it. [[spoiler:Her mother died giving birth to her. At a very young age she was shut in Kuwadorian and forbidden to leave. She grows up living a comfortable, but boring and empty life, knowing very little about the outside world and having only Kinzō and a few servants to talk to. While she is still a teenager, she is raped and impregnated by her own father, becoming a mother without understanding what's happening to her. And when someone finally comes to get her out of her prison, she doesn't get to spend 2 hours in the outside world before dying anonymously, as though she had never existed. Even Rosa represses her memories of their meeting.]] In other words, she is pitiful from her birth to even after her death.
----
** AnimatedAdaptation: Alas, the anime has a reputation for being a VERY bad adaptation, having the dubious honor of being voted Worst Anime of 2009 by 2chan. Due to abysmally low DVD sales (less than 600 copies), Chiru still hasn't gotten an adaptation.
* AlasPoorScrappy: [[spoiler:Erika]] in [=EP6=].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Beatrice: a heartless and sadistic murderer, or the savior of the Ushiromiya family's dignity, allowing their memory to be unsullied by the crimes committed in their two days on Rokkenjima by taking them all upon herself?
** Might be easier to figure out if she weren't voluntarily tripping through the FaceHeelRevolvingDoor at every turn.
*** This is what happens when a {{Tsundere}} goes too far.
** Bernkastel: a [[spoiler:disgusting, CompleteMonster who toys with humans for her own amusement]], or a [[spoiler:tragic WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds]] who had to go through thousands of years of BreakTheCutie horror and now can only [[spoiler:torment others in order to dull the pain]]?
** Toya Hachijo/Featherine: It's never explicitly said that Toya is Featherine. One non-magical explanation of how the two could be different entities is that [[spoiler:Toya's story that Ange reads is a description of a fictional Ange reading the story of Battler's sixth game to a fictional Featherine, so that Featherine is Toya's AuthorAvatar.]]
** George: DoggedNiceGuy who has an enlightened view of the world through his years of experience, and who respects Shannon as a person, or a borderline-sexist who takes everything far more seriously than he should? He may (or may not, YMMV of course) have {{Yandere}} tendencies (possessive subtype) to boot.
* ArcFatigue: The pacing of the anime comes to a screeching halt at the start of the fourth arc, with three straight episodes of exposition on the characters of Maria and Ange.
** Then again, one could argue it was way too fast before that…
* {{Authors Saving Throw}}: For the fighting game spinoff and it's a meta one. One of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twPWf9hSrQ&feature=related the preview videos]] shows Virgilia continuously using a hard-to-dodge projectile. Looks like a GameBreaker, right? Then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Dea33aMns&feature=related this video]] came along, showing every character countering it.
* BaseBreaker: Rosa. She's considered a MemeticBadass MamaBear based on her actions in [=EP2=], [[spoiler: where she fends off a horde of goat butlers using a shotgun and a gold ingot in her purse in order to protect herself and her daughter, which is one of the times where Rosa demonstrates that she sincerely loves Maria and is legitimately sorry for her abusive behavior]], and a horribly AbusiveParent sarcastically called "World's Best Mother" by the fans for the way she treats Maria and gets what she deserves any time she's killed, [[spoiler: especially in [=EP4=] when Maria uses her new witch abilities to kill Rosa over and over again after she destroys Sakutaro, all the while Rosa is screaming she never loved Maria. This scene is implied to be AllJustADream, so it could be that deep down Maria is afraid that Rosa really doesn't love her.]] Given the fact that [[spoiler: the Ushiromiya Family is intentionally being displayed at their worst on the island, instead of being like that all the time, and that some of their actions are the result of twisted gossip]], it's safe to assume that Rosa does indeed have legitimate love for Maria, but that love is very conflicted and could either persevere over hatred or shatter completely given the course of events. Things only get worse when one adds the [[spoiler: Rosatrice Culprit Theory]] into the mix.
** [[spoiler:Yasu]] and everything related to [[spoiler:[[AmbiguousGender him/her]]]] has been subject to much debate by the fandom.
* BetterOnDVD: Bet you they'll remove the pixellating in the gorier parts on the DVD (US version).
** But they certainly didn't seem to do anything about the [[OffModel QUALITY]]. ''DEEEEEEEEEN!''
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The "fight" between Krauss and [[FanNickname Goat-kun]] in Episode 4 let many fans wondering what in the hell they just read.
* BrokenBase: "So, what did you think of the anime?" ...Yeah, just do everyone a favor and don't ask.
** Thanks to the release of a PS3 port, many fans are now divided whether the original novel's sprites or the PS3's are better.
** With the release of [=EP8=], many people on 4chan are now divided on whether [[spoiler:the RoadCone system]] is a good thing or not.
** Also [[spoiler: [[TheUnreveal some people being dissatisfied with the series open ending not answering what really happened.]] ]]
*** One of the arguments that gets ugly is when [[spoiler: deciding whether or not this series was a mystery to begin with.]]
** Another topic that's best not to bring up within the fandom is what Lion[[spoiler:/Yasu]]'s gender is.
** One word: Rosatrice
* CanonSue: [[spoiler:Bernkastel's furniture Erika Furudo]] is a [[ParodySue Parody]] {{God Mode Sue}} with the personality of a {{Jerk Sue}}. It doesn't help that Erika is basically a way for Bernkastel to almost literally insert herself into the story of the Ushiromiya family.
* CargoShip: Fans have joked about this in regards to how often Battler uses a hat stand as an ImprovisedWeapon.
* CompleteMonster: See the Umineko section on [[Monster/VisualNovels this page]] for details.
* CounterpartComparison: Once you learn Beatrice's story, it's very difficult not to notice the similarities with [[spoiler:Shion]] from [[HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi Ryukishi's previous work]]. Both would have [[spoiler:had rights to the heirship of their families had it not been for extenuating circumstances around their birth. Both have serious identity issues stemming from those circumstances and subsequently spent their lives being made miserable by others, only to find one person they fell in love with and who looked to love her back and made her feel special before he went missing. Both vow to wait and are ultimately driven mad (though different types of mad) from the length of that wait]].
* CrackPairing: The [[AllThereInTheManual side story]] "The Stakes' Valentine's Day" is ''filled'' with these. Including [[spoiler:Asmodeus/Juuza, Beelzebub/Gohda, Leviathan/Kyrie, Belphegor/Rudolf... and even [[ShipTease teasing]] Beatrice/Battler and Battler/Lucifer!]]
** Not to mention the recent couples poll on the official site, which has ''absolutely everything.''
** There's Amakusa/Battler fanart around the Japanese fandom. Not only have they never met, it's a time paradox. On the other hand, [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]] in this fandom have to take what they can get. There aren't a lot of [[{{Bishounen}} bishounen]] running around.
** If [[http://umineko.wikia.com/wiki/TIPS/Game_master_Battler%27s_tip Game Master Battler's TIP]] is to be believed, Virgilia is a crack ''shipper''.
-->Virgilia: "...[[PortmanteauCoupleName RudoBato, GohBato, AmaBato]]."\\
[[AmbiguouslyGay Ronove]]: "Pukuku! [[HoYay You mustn't forget [=RonoBato=]]]."\\
** There's also the [=TIP=] [[http://umineko.wikia.com/wiki/Angel_of_17_years "Angel of 17 Years"]], which is dedicated entirely to crack HoYay pairings (with Ange and Virgilia being the [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]] gushing over them, though it's obviously PlayedForLaughs).
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuo7VumEIuM One of Golden Fantasia's endings]] teases an uncanny [=WillBern=]; maybe not so uncanny though, considering it's [[KindHeartedCatLover Will]] and [[CatGirl Bern]].
** In the TIP "Jessica's Good Luck Charms", Jessica wants to make Kanon dream of her, but she messes up the ritual and makes ''Gōda'' dream of her instead. Yep, [=JessiGoh=]. Didn't see that one coming.
* CrazyAwesome: Jumping from the third story of your mansion in order to go for a midnight stroll? "I wouldn't put it past grandfather."
** Dlanor.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Octopus [[strike: [[{{Vocaloid}} Luka]]]] Maria. Ain't she just adorable?
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: [[AwesomeMusic/WhenTheyCry Has a whole page, of course.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: Ironically, despite her definitive {{Scrappy}} status after [=EP5=], Erika seems to becoming something of this after [=EP6=], especially in Japanese fandom. Ryukishi certainly [[JerkassWoobie did intend for her to be a sympathetic character]], but [[MisaimedFandom saying that she was the hero of the episode is a bit...]]
* EarWorm: Jessica's preposterously hyper, catchy ImageSong, "Dokkyun Heart".
** More like [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIXmlcKF7iI "pettan pettan tsurupettan"...]]
** The anime's ending theme, "la divina tragedia" (AKA OOOOH DEEESIIIIIREEE!)
** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9Gbw4ybk ahaha.wav]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Genji is slowly, ''slowly'' becoming one.
** Hideyoshi is also ''sloooowly'' becoming one. In fact, the fandom's displeasure about him not having any CharacterDevelopment is becoming a sort of meme.
** Kinzo is popular in America, probably because of his association with [[{{Leitmotif}} la divina tragedia]] / [[MemeticMutation OH DESIRE]] and, sometime in the fall of 2009, [[MemeticMutation an explosion of pictures, HUNDREDS of them, with his "troll face" / "rape face" photoshopped onto them, with the claim that "Everything's Better With Kinzo. No Exceptions".]] [[spoiler:Of course, his popularity with readers tends to go down once they find out what he did to Beatrice II.]]
** Gohda and his butterfly repelling jacket. Also partially because he's [[MemeticMutation Magical Gohda Chef]].
** Dlanor and Gertrude.
** Will. Just... Will.
** [[spoiler: [[EvilCounterpart Black Battler]]; despite being an illusion created by Bernkastel, he's gotten popular enough to join the roster of the fighting games.]]
* EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler:Bernkastel]]. Well... Not her, completely, but in situations where she displays her cruel and playful antics coupled with her twisted personality, she certainly is!
** Judging from the fandom's reactions to him, [[EvilCounterpart Black Battler]].
* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: "If your family died mysteriously in what has a good chance not to be an accident… don't try to search for the truth. It will only bring you pain and desecrate the dead." Huh…
* {{Fan Dumb}}: People who support the [[spoiler: Shannon/Kanon/Beatrice]] theory are labeled as "idiots that can't use their brain to solve the series" and then denies the theory nevermind that the point of the entire series is to create your own truth without denying someone else' opinion. Still, [[spoiler: Shkannontrice]] supporters aren't exactly saints in this regard either, calling [[spoiler: Rosatrice]] supporters "intellectual rapists."
* {{Fanon}}: No one actually knows what [[spoiler:the Gold Truth]] that showed up in [=EP5=] is or how [[spoiler:it's really that different from the red]], aside from a few vague statements issued by Dlanor. Despite this, it somehow became accepted that [[spoiler:the Gold Truth tells the absolute truth while the Red Truth can be used to spin lies or truths]]... until a scene in [=EP6=] pointedly contradicted this.
** Maybe it didn't contradict it. [[WordOfGod Ryukishi]] stated in an interview that anyone can use the Gold Truth if they completely understand the rules of the game. He even says pieces can use it, as well.
** Yeah, there was no contradiction. It's actually pretty clear what the gold truth is for. [[spoiler:People are easily thrown by the gold text in [=EP6=] because they freak out over the mention of magic, but it's actually pretty simple. Beato the Elder understood the true form of magic, thus she was able to say in gold that Beato's sleight of hand was real magic. Gold text, like Ryukishi said, is simply for people who understand the rules, and can make statements based about those rules.]]
* FauxSymbolism: Maria's name is written as "真里亞"--notice how the last character looks like a [[CreepyCoolCrosses cross]]? Battler [[LampshadeHanging points it out]] and seems to consider it stylish.
* FoeYay: Most obviously, Beatrice x Battler and Bernkastel x Lambdadelta, both of which are [[spoiler:confirmed canon after [=EP5=] and [=EP6=]]]. Erika/Battler. Complete with wedding dress. The side stories "The Stakes' Valentines Day" and "Beato's White Day" even play Beato x Battler for laughs.
** In Stakes Valentine you see Belphegor, Leviathan and Satan giving chocolate to the three humans they fought in the canon games (Rudolf, [[LesYay Kyrie]] and Kanon respectively), for Valentines Day. Lucifer also gives chocolate to Battler, who is considered her rival, and Beelzebub gives her chocolate to Gohda, who she killed in [=EP2=].
* FridgeBrilliance: [[Fridge/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Enough to warrant its own page]].
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Arc 4's ClicheStorm turns around to bite George and Jessica in the ass, due to a rather brutal BrickJoke involving the danger of a HopeSpot.
* HarsherInHindsight: An in-story version. In the second arc Beatrice tells Shannon that she won't feel that same way about George after he "looks at her with lust" and at the time it just sounds like taunting. [[spoiler:If you take into account that Shannon and Beatrice are the same person, it's really a representation of the conflicts in Yasu's heart over whether or not George can truly love Shannon and stay with her after discovering Yasu's broken body.]] There's a more in-depth analysis of this scene [[http://akatokuro.tumblr.com/post/19779888925/whats-actually-going-on-in-this-scene-yasu-is here]] ('''warning''': contains spoilers).
** Another in-story example also comes from the second arc, or rather, the ending to it. At Beatrice's banquet, [[spoiler: she has her goats eat Battler alive after he loses against her.]] This ends up getting used against her in the fifth arc when [[spoiler: she loses in proving Natsuhi's innocence, and Lambadelta and Bernkastel sentence her to the same fate because it's how she "punishes the losers in the game".]]
** Second arc again. Beatrice tells Kanon that the three worst ways to hurt a girl are physically, emotionally, and by betraying their hopes. She calls the last the most difficult, the most effective, and the one most often committed by accident. [[spoiler:And poor Beato would know more about that than anybody else.]]
** Again, in-story example:
--> '''Battler (to Ange)''': It's not like you'll get struck by lightning if you tell me your name.
** The whole scene where Battler promises to win Beato's game and come back to Ange is really sad after you understand that [[spoiler:when Beato's game started, everyone except Eva and Battler was already dead. From the beginning, there was never any chance of the family coming back home alive; and indeed, Beato herself never promised that, it's just what Battler assumed.]]
** In Episode 2, the kids ask Nanjō whether Beatrice and Kinzō had a child. Nanjō replies that if they had, Kinzō would have "poured all of his love on the child" after the mother's death. [[spoiler:That he did. [[ParentalIncest Way]] [[ChildByRape too much.]]]]
* HellIsThatNoise: The strange, hammering-on-metal the Stakes emit in their… er, stake form. It's constantly present whether it makes sense (ricocheting off walls in rapid succession) or not (flying through empty air).
** There's also the ScareChord in the first novel when Maria claims Beatrice gave her that umbrella.
** The Troll laugh also has this effect the first few times you hear it. It sounds like WoodyWoodpecker possessed by the devil… it becomes a bit less scary when it starts being used humorously though.
-->'''Beatrice:''' (in red) You. Are. Incompetent. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9Gbw4ybk Uhihihyahyahyahya!!]]
* HilariousInHindsight: [[http://g.e-hentai.org/g/291164/b5048f9123/ One fan made comic]] ([=NSFW=]), located after [=EP5=] features battler creating the 6th game but instead of the typical visual novel he creates a fighting game. It even says Magic fighting game, Battle of the Golden Witch coming soon...
* HoYay: Between [[spoiler: Lion and Wright from [=EP7=]. Some fans have now taken to re-naming [=EP7=] "Homolust of the Golden Witch".]] If you believe [[spoiler: Lion]] is a guy, that is. His/her gender hasn't been officially confirmed, although the fandom seems to be 99.99% sure he/she's a guy.
** The English fandom, you mean. Most of the Japanese fandom seems to be 99% sure that [[spoiler: Lion]] is a girl. Which is ironic because most of the yaoi fandom comes from Japan…
* IronWoobie: Battler.
** [[spoiler:Eva]] moreso. It may have worked only once but [[spoiler:she gives Kyrie a hell of a fight after she loses her family]].
*** It worked when it counted. [[ManlyTears And how...]]
* ItGetsBetter: The first novel is almost painfully monotonous with glimmers of hope when small horror elements show up… then somebody finally dies! In the 10th chapter (out of 17)!
* ItWasHisSled - [[spoiler:No, Bernkastel is not a stoic neutral who sympathises with the heroes.]] Good luck ''not'' knowing this before you start the series.
* JerkassWoobie: Eva may be a [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] RichBitch, but when you get down to it, as this (spoilerrific) fancomic shows, her life kind of... [[http://shroedinger.deviantart.com/#/d2z8f75 sucked]].
** It's pretty hard to deny just how screwed up Rosa's life is, and, at least as far as we know at this point, how relatively little of it is her fault. Of course, it doesn't change the fact that she treats Maria miserably.
** [[spoiler:Beatrice]] may qualify as one.
** Erika is probably one straw short of being a mentally insane, jerkass murderer, but she earns a least a few woobie points on account of her bring [[CompleteMonster Bern's]] piece. [[spoiler: Though she DOES actually end up being a mentally broken jerkass murderer in Ep6 in order to win against Battler]]
*** Though then again she is a [[spoiler: MENTALLY BROKEN jerkass murderer. Which is...Especially sad when you realise that Bernkastel invented her to be that way. Hell, this troper found her one of the most sympathetic characters in Umineko if you just read between the lines. Absolutely everything she does is just to impress her master who'll, let's face it, just sees her as a pawn. And she can never, ever, develop a conciousness of this because she's built as, just that, a pawn for Bern to play with. It's especially sad in Ep8 where, even after Bernkastel threw her into whatever hell she was in she's still lovingly devoted to her master.]]
* LesYay: Lambdadelta x Bernkastel, which is actually canon. Lambda acts like a supernatural StalkerWithACrush, they like to talk about giving each other [[FetishFuel candy bath massages]], and they've even both said they love each other.
** [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/42.html "Welcome home..."]] A scene earlier in that chapter, though possibly just imagery, has young Eva smiling, with tears running down her face, as [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/26.html EVA places a hand on her bare chest.]] Yeah, this troper can see why someone's supposedly writing a FanFiction shipping [[ScrewYourself Eva/EVA]]. There's more [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c004/1.html here]].
** There is also quite a bit of sadomasochistic subtext between Bern and Erika, notably in the Tea Party of Episode 8. Like everything else, the joke endings of the fighting game take it UpToEleven.
** Erika and Dlanor in Episode 6. Even if Erika is talking about her ex-boyfriend, the two nonetheless spend 5 minutes saying things like "I would give up my life for you" or "I present you 6 pieces of evidence that I still love you."
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: In [=EP5=] [[spoiler: Natsuhi is set up to be incredibly suspicious in every way. Of course she can't be the culprit!]]
* LoveToHate: Yes, Erika is an unrepentant, insufferable bitch, and that's why so many people love her!
* MagnificentBitch: Beatrice as well as [[spoiler:Bernkastel and Lambdadelta]].
** If one doesn't consider [[spoiler:Battler the GuileHero that he became in [=EP6=], then they can consider him a good heroic example of a MagnificentBastard as well]].
* MarySue: Erika has elements of the BlackHoleSue, JerkSue, FixerSue, ''and'' ParodySue stirred up into one [[ReplacementScrappy instantly hated]] package. [[{{Deconstruction}} And that's the point]].
* MemeticBadass: Rosa's actions at the end of [=EP2=] got her many fans.
** And even [[http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~ri-msx/zero/rosa.htm an own game!]]
** Meanwhile, her treatment of Maria has given her the title of BEST MOM EVER. Helps that a good portion of the fanbase [[TheScrappy can't stand Maria and cheer for anything that involves hurting her]]... at least until they adapted [=EP4=] in the anime.
** Kinzo, both in-universe and with the fandom.
** Will.
* MemeticMutation: Enough to warrant [[Memes/{{UminekoNoNakuKoroNi}} its own page.]]
* MemeticSexGod: [[spoiler: [[http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=459079 Endless Sorcerer]]]] Battler, to the point that people want to do [[spoiler:''his cape'']].
* MindGameShip - Beato x Battler.
* {{Moe}}: Beatrice shows flashes of cuteness when she isn't cheerfully orchestrating murders and walking all over Battler. This starts happening more and more frequently from Episode 3 onwards.
** Also, [[http://darenome.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/umineko-extra-tips-valentine-and-white-day/#more-1750 White Day]].
** Sakutaro! To the point that the 7 Stakes go completely crazy whenever he shows up, wanting to cuddle him.
* {{Mondegreen}}: ''Happy Maria!'' has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vroiMXCtAI4 quite]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sKv0LqgoXU a lot]]. And the official lyrics are all in [[{{Engrish}} horribly-rendered GratuitousEnglish]]
* MoralEventHorizon: When did you realize that [[spoiler:Eva-Beatrice]] was a CompleteMonster? [[spoiler:The repeated sadistic deaths of Maria and Rosa did it for a lot of people, especially when ''Beatrice'' of all people steps in to give them a MercyKill]].
** Kinzo was always close to this trope because of his treatment of his family and the [[spoiler:subverted]] PaterFamilicide, but the revelations about Beatrice [[spoiler:Ushiromiya, his daughter]] and the fact that this was [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]] seems have been the end of the road for some fans.
** In [=EP6=], [[spoiler:Erika beheads five people to make sure that they're actually dead (which, it turns out, they ''weren't''). And all in order to get revenge on Battler by trapping him in a logic error.]]
** [[spoiler: Bernkastel crossed it in the side story "The Witches' Tanabata", which is where her YouBastard moment comes from.]]
* {{Narm}}: Enough to have its own page [[Narm/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi here]], though most examples are from the anime.
* NeverLiveItDown: Battler's theory about "small bombs" became a MemeticMutation in the fandom due to how ridiculous it was. What most fans didn't realize is that Battler didn't actually ''believe'' this theory; he was just desperately fishing for ways to counter Beatrice's claims that the murders were done by magic. That still doesn't stop some fans from bringing up "SMALL BOMBS" as a way to make fun of Battler's reasoning skills.
* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler:Ange is built up into an incredibly sympathetic character.]] Prepare to shed many tears.
** Game 5, end of the tea party, Promise. No one will blame you for demolishing a few tissue boxes over this one either.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: A lot of the fans really disliked Maria until the fourth arc, when she revealed one hell of a FreudianExcuse and got around to [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Old Woman Out]] in true ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' fashion.
* TheScrappy: George ; maybe he comes out as too perfect or too bland, but some fans just don't like him. The fact that he has had his sights on a girl 7 years younger than him for several years [[spoiler:(actually 4 years younger, but he doesn't know that)]] doesn't help much.
* SoBadItsGood: How a lot of people feel about the visual novel's art.
** It certainly helps that it's generally agreed the faces are SoCoolItsAwesome though.
* {{Squick}}: Beatrice [[spoiler:Ushiromiya, daughter of Beatrice Castiglione]] is [[spoiler: his daughter. And he had a child with her]].
** So this qualifies as [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]].
* StoicWoobie: Not only does Ange lose her parents and brother, but [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] reveal that [[spoiler:a certain witch manipulated her into not only hating the only relative she had left that doesn't want to kill her, but also locking away any form of happiness.]]
** I guess we can [[NotSoStoic take out the "Stoic"]] after she learned [[spoiler: [[UnreliableNarrator from Bernkastel]] how her mother (who she loved more than anyone) never truly loved her and how Eva (who she hated more than anyone) wanted to protect her from the "truth."]]
* TheissTitillationTheory: Gaap is the embodiment of this trope GoneHorriblyWrong.
* [[TheyJustDidntCare They Just Didn't Care]]: Most of the new sprites for [=EP7=], particularly [[spoiler:Young Kinzo and Claire]]. Hooray for copy and paste!
** JustifiedTrope though [[spoiler: in Kinzo's case, since it was mentioned in the earlier novels that Battler looked just like Kinzo when he was young.]]
*** It's justified for [[spoiler:Clair, as well. Bern specifically states that her appearance was created as a stand-in for Beatrice.]]
*** And it may be a FridgeBrilliance for the [[spoiler:new servants]]. One could assume Beatrice decided to base her minions on the [[spoiler:other servants]] that caused her so much annoyance.
*** It is, remember [[spoiler:Ange]] first time she go Rokkenjima?. Remember who was the [[spoiler: servant]] who was working at that time?. And remember [[spoiler: Ange´s best friend from 1998?]] FridgeBrilliance everywhere in [=EP7=].
* ToyShip: Sakutaro's mutually-adoring relationship with Maria hints at this.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: Kanon. [[spoiler:With good reason, mind you.]]
** Lion, [[AmbiguousGender but this is intentional]].
* {{Wangst}}: Kanon.
* WhatAnIdiot: In [=EP6=] [[spoiler:Battler gave Erika duct tape. And it's three rooms' worth. When in the previous game, the duct tape she used allowed her to use the red truth.]]
** After [[FridgeBrilliance [=EP7=]]], [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation with a certain interpretation]], one could argue that most of Battler's behavior in [=EP6=] is [[spoiler:him betting on a miracle so that Beato regains her memories. Battler acts as an obvious comparison to Kinzo, Chick!Beatrice is quite like Beatrice II, the love duel acts as a metaphor of "Yasu's" internal conflict, etc...]]
** Krauss. Oh, Krauss. The true extent of his idiocy is revealed in [=EP5=]. He's quite possibly the stupidest character in Umineko. The poor idiot would have been penniless on the street some five or six years ago if Natsuhi weren't hypercompetent to the point of neurosis.
*** WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: A too good to be true Space Resort deal from some guy claiming to be from NASA! [[TemptingFate What could go wrong?]] Granted, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism recent events]] may in fact be indicating that, as Rudolf mentioned, his timing was simply a bit off. As in, 30 years off.
* TheWoobie: Oh god, ''Natsuhi''. [[spoiler: '''Especially''' after [=EP5=].]]
** To verify, [[spoiler:she starts to lose her sanity after Kinzo dies, is forced to confront a less than pleasant aspect of her past (one that she's already repented for), Jessica is murdered, Krauss is kidnapped, forcing her to obey the mysterious man claiming to be her son. Not only does Krauss die anyway, but she is framed for all the murders, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge gets beaten up by a very pissed off Eva]] and Battler is the only one who even ''tries'' to intervene.]]
*** [[spoiler: She gets accused of ''cheating on her husband and having a sexual relationship with Kinzo''. Then Bernkastel brutally tells her in her that everything that's been basically keeping her sane until that moment... was all a delusion on her part. They basically make her life hell in that arc. And even that's an understatement.]]
** [=EP7=] reveals that [[spoiler:Beatrice, of all people, can definitely be considered to be this.]]
** What, no sympathy for Sakutarou? One of the few characters who doesn't have any malicious tendencies or a fragile psyche, he was basically Maria's only friend and was constantly trying to cheer her up by telling her that her mother loved her very much and was busy working for her. [[spoiler: And then Rosa goes and rips him apart right in front of Maria, then makes it worse by declaring to Maria "Sakutarou is dead", which made it impossible for Beatrice to revive him. At least until Ange managed to do so in 1998.]]
** Clair. She exists solely as yet another of Bernkastel's pieces, meant solely to shoulder the responsibilities and sins of Beatrice as her stand-in. Despite lacking a personality, supposedly, she wishes for her counterpart [[spoiler: Lion Ushiromiya, the person that Yasu may have become if Natsuhi accepted the child instead of becoming Beatrice]] to be happy and live a happy life for her sake and all the Beatrices of every world. [[spoiler: She then asks for Will to kill her now that her task is complete, only for Bernkastel to bring her back solely to gloat that Lion will die anyway, before having her guts torn out of her stomach.]]
** Beatrice II is the most miserable of all when you think about it. [[spoiler:Her mother died giving birth to her. At a very young age she was shut in Kuwadorian and forbidden to leave. She grows up living a comfortable, but boring and empty life, knowing very little about the outside world and having only Kinzō and a few servants to talk to. While she is still a teenager, she is raped and impregnated by her own father, becoming a mother without understanding what's happening to her. And when someone finally comes to get her out of her prison, she doesn't get to spend 2 hours in the outside world before dying anonymously, as though she had never existed. Even Rosa represses her memories of their meeting.]] In other words, she is pitiful from her birth to even after her death.
----
to:
** AnimatedAdaptation: Alas, the anime has a reputation for being a VERY bad adaptation, having the dubious honor of being voted Worst Anime of 2009 by 2chan. Due to abysmally low DVD sales (less than 600 copies), Chiru still hasn't gotten an adaptation.
* AlasPoorScrappy: [[spoiler:Erika]] in [=EP6=].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Beatrice: a heartless and sadistic murderer, or the savior of the Ushiromiya family's dignity, allowing their memory to be unsullied by the crimes committed in their two days on Rokkenjima by taking them all upon herself?
** Might be easier to figure out if she weren't voluntarily tripping through the FaceHeelRevolvingDoor at every turn.
*** This is what happens when a {{Tsundere}} goes too far.
** Bernkastel: a [[spoiler:disgusting, CompleteMonster who toys with humans for her own amusement]], or a [[spoiler:tragic WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds]] who had to go through thousands of years of BreakTheCutie horror and now can only [[spoiler:torment others in order to dull the pain]]?
** Toya Hachijo/Featherine: It's never explicitly said that Toya is Featherine. One non-magical explanation of how the two could be different entities is that [[spoiler:Toya's story that Ange reads is a description of a fictional Ange reading the story of Battler's sixth game to a fictional Featherine, so that Featherine is Toya's AuthorAvatar.]]
** George: DoggedNiceGuy who has an enlightened view of the world through his years of experience, and who respects Shannon as a person, or a borderline-sexist who takes everything far more seriously than he should? He may (or may not, YMMV of course) have {{Yandere}} tendencies (possessive subtype) to boot.
* ArcFatigue: The pacing of the anime comes to a screeching halt at the start of the fourth arc, with three straight episodes of exposition on the characters of Maria and Ange.
** Then again, one could argue it was way too fast before that…
* {{Authors Saving Throw}}: For the fighting game spinoff and it's a meta one. One of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twPWf9hSrQ&feature=related the preview videos]] shows Virgilia continuously using a hard-to-dodge projectile. Looks like a GameBreaker, right? Then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Dea33aMns&feature=related this video]] came along, showing every character countering it.
* BaseBreaker: Rosa. She's considered a MemeticBadass MamaBear based on her actions in [=EP2=], [[spoiler: where she fends off a horde of goat butlers using a shotgun and a gold ingot in her purse in order to protect herself and her daughter, which is one of the times where Rosa demonstrates that she sincerely loves Maria and is legitimately sorry for her abusive behavior]], and a horribly AbusiveParent sarcastically called "World's Best Mother" by the fans for the way she treats Maria and gets what she deserves any time she's killed, [[spoiler: especially in [=EP4=] when Maria uses her new witch abilities to kill Rosa over and over again after she destroys Sakutaro, all the while Rosa is screaming she never loved Maria. This scene is implied to be AllJustADream, so it could be that deep down Maria is afraid that Rosa really doesn't love her.]] Given the fact that [[spoiler: the Ushiromiya Family is intentionally being displayed at their worst on the island, instead of being like that all the time, and that some of their actions are the result of twisted gossip]], it's safe to assume that Rosa does indeed have legitimate love for Maria, but that love is very conflicted and could either persevere over hatred or shatter completely given the course of events. Things only get worse when one adds the [[spoiler: Rosatrice Culprit Theory]] into the mix.
** [[spoiler:Yasu]] and everything related to [[spoiler:[[AmbiguousGender him/her]]]] has been subject to much debate by the fandom.
* BetterOnDVD: Bet you they'll remove the pixellating in the gorier parts on the DVD (US version).
** But they certainly didn't seem to do anything about the [[OffModel QUALITY]]. ''DEEEEEEEEEN!''
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The "fight" between Krauss and [[FanNickname Goat-kun]] in Episode 4 let many fans wondering what in the hell they just read.
* BrokenBase: "So, what did you think of the anime?" ...Yeah, just do everyone a favor and don't ask.
** Thanks to the release of a PS3 port, many fans are now divided whether the original novel's sprites or the PS3's are better.
** With the release of [=EP8=], many people on 4chan are now divided on whether [[spoiler:the RoadCone system]] is a good thing or not.
** Also [[spoiler: [[TheUnreveal some people being dissatisfied with the series open ending not answering what really happened.]] ]]
*** One of the arguments that gets ugly is when [[spoiler: deciding whether or not this series was a mystery to begin with.]]
** Another topic that's best not to bring up within the fandom is what Lion[[spoiler:/Yasu]]'s gender is.
** One word: Rosatrice
* CanonSue: [[spoiler:Bernkastel's furniture Erika Furudo]] is a [[ParodySue Parody]] {{God Mode Sue}} with the personality of a {{Jerk Sue}}. It doesn't help that Erika is basically a way for Bernkastel to almost literally insert herself into the story of the Ushiromiya family.
* CargoShip: Fans have joked about this in regards to how often Battler uses a hat stand as an ImprovisedWeapon.
* CompleteMonster: See the Umineko section on [[Monster/VisualNovels this page]] for details.
* CounterpartComparison: Once you learn Beatrice's story, it's very difficult not to notice the similarities with [[spoiler:Shion]] from [[HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi Ryukishi's previous work]]. Both would have [[spoiler:had rights to the heirship of their families had it not been for extenuating circumstances around their birth. Both have serious identity issues stemming from those circumstances and subsequently spent their lives being made miserable by others, only to find one person they fell in love with and who looked to love her back and made her feel special before he went missing. Both vow to wait and are ultimately driven mad (though different types of mad) from the length of that wait]].
* CrackPairing: The [[AllThereInTheManual side story]] "The Stakes' Valentine's Day" is ''filled'' with these. Including [[spoiler:Asmodeus/Juuza, Beelzebub/Gohda, Leviathan/Kyrie, Belphegor/Rudolf... and even [[ShipTease teasing]] Beatrice/Battler and Battler/Lucifer!]]
** Not to mention the recent couples poll on the official site, which has ''absolutely everything.''
** There's Amakusa/Battler fanart around the Japanese fandom. Not only have they never met, it's a time paradox. On the other hand, [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]] in this fandom have to take what they can get. There aren't a lot of [[{{Bishounen}} bishounen]] running around.
** If [[http://umineko.wikia.com/wiki/TIPS/Game_master_Battler%27s_tip Game Master Battler's TIP]] is to be believed, Virgilia is a crack ''shipper''.
-->Virgilia: "...[[PortmanteauCoupleName RudoBato, GohBato, AmaBato]]."\\
[[AmbiguouslyGay Ronove]]: "Pukuku! [[HoYay You mustn't forget [=RonoBato=]]]."\\
** There's also the [=TIP=] [[http://umineko.wikia.com/wiki/Angel_of_17_years "Angel of 17 Years"]], which is dedicated entirely to crack HoYay pairings (with Ange and Virgilia being the [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]] gushing over them, though it's obviously PlayedForLaughs).
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuo7VumEIuM One of Golden Fantasia's endings]] teases an uncanny [=WillBern=]; maybe not so uncanny though, considering it's [[KindHeartedCatLover Will]] and [[CatGirl Bern]].
** In the TIP "Jessica's Good Luck Charms", Jessica wants to make Kanon dream of her, but she messes up the ritual and makes ''Gōda'' dream of her instead. Yep, [=JessiGoh=]. Didn't see that one coming.
* CrazyAwesome: Jumping from the third story of your mansion in order to go for a midnight stroll? "I wouldn't put it past grandfather."
** Dlanor.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Octopus [[strike: [[{{Vocaloid}} Luka]]]] Maria. Ain't she just adorable?
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: [[AwesomeMusic/WhenTheyCry Has a whole page, of course.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: Ironically, despite her definitive {{Scrappy}} status after [=EP5=], Erika seems to becoming something of this after [=EP6=], especially in Japanese fandom. Ryukishi certainly [[JerkassWoobie did intend for her to be a sympathetic character]], but [[MisaimedFandom saying that she was the hero of the episode is a bit...]]
* EarWorm: Jessica's preposterously hyper, catchy ImageSong, "Dokkyun Heart".
** More like [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIXmlcKF7iI "pettan pettan tsurupettan"...]]
** The anime's ending theme, "la divina tragedia" (AKA OOOOH DEEESIIIIIREEE!)
** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9Gbw4ybk ahaha.wav]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Genji is slowly, ''slowly'' becoming one.
** Hideyoshi is also ''sloooowly'' becoming one. In fact, the fandom's displeasure about him not having any CharacterDevelopment is becoming a sort of meme.
** Kinzo is popular in America, probably because of his association with [[{{Leitmotif}} la divina tragedia]] / [[MemeticMutation OH DESIRE]] and, sometime in the fall of 2009, [[MemeticMutation an explosion of pictures, HUNDREDS of them, with his "troll face" / "rape face" photoshopped onto them, with the claim that "Everything's Better With Kinzo. No Exceptions".]] [[spoiler:Of course, his popularity with readers tends to go down once they find out what he did to Beatrice II.]]
** Gohda and his butterfly repelling jacket. Also partially because he's [[MemeticMutation Magical Gohda Chef]].
** Dlanor and Gertrude.
** Will. Just... Will.
** [[spoiler: [[EvilCounterpart Black Battler]]; despite being an illusion created by Bernkastel, he's gotten popular enough to join the roster of the fighting games.]]
* EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler:Bernkastel]]. Well... Not her, completely, but in situations where she displays her cruel and playful antics coupled with her twisted personality, she certainly is!
** Judging from the fandom's reactions to him, [[EvilCounterpart Black Battler]].
* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: "If your family died mysteriously in what has a good chance not to be an accident… don't try to search for the truth. It will only bring you pain and desecrate the dead." Huh…
* {{Fan Dumb}}: People who support the [[spoiler: Shannon/Kanon/Beatrice]] theory are labeled as "idiots that can't use their brain to solve the series" and then denies the theory nevermind that the point of the entire series is to create your own truth without denying someone else' opinion. Still, [[spoiler: Shkannontrice]] supporters aren't exactly saints in this regard either, calling [[spoiler: Rosatrice]] supporters "intellectual rapists."
* {{Fanon}}: No one actually knows what [[spoiler:the Gold Truth]] that showed up in [=EP5=] is or how [[spoiler:it's really that different from the red]], aside from a few vague statements issued by Dlanor. Despite this, it somehow became accepted that [[spoiler:the Gold Truth tells the absolute truth while the Red Truth can be used to spin lies or truths]]... until a scene in [=EP6=] pointedly contradicted this.
** Maybe it didn't contradict it. [[WordOfGod Ryukishi]] stated in an interview that anyone can use the Gold Truth if they completely understand the rules of the game. He even says pieces can use it, as well.
** Yeah, there was no contradiction. It's actually pretty clear what the gold truth is for. [[spoiler:People are easily thrown by the gold text in [=EP6=] because they freak out over the mention of magic, but it's actually pretty simple. Beato the Elder understood the true form of magic, thus she was able to say in gold that Beato's sleight of hand was real magic. Gold text, like Ryukishi said, is simply for people who understand the rules, and can make statements based about those rules.]]
* FauxSymbolism: Maria's name is written as "真里亞"--notice how the last character looks like a [[CreepyCoolCrosses cross]]? Battler [[LampshadeHanging points it out]] and seems to consider it stylish.
* FoeYay: Most obviously, Beatrice x Battler and Bernkastel x Lambdadelta, both of which are [[spoiler:confirmed canon after [=EP5=] and [=EP6=]]]. Erika/Battler. Complete with wedding dress. The side stories "The Stakes' Valentines Day" and "Beato's White Day" even play Beato x Battler for laughs.
** In Stakes Valentine you see Belphegor, Leviathan and Satan giving chocolate to the three humans they fought in the canon games (Rudolf, [[LesYay Kyrie]] and Kanon respectively), for Valentines Day. Lucifer also gives chocolate to Battler, who is considered her rival, and Beelzebub gives her chocolate to Gohda, who she killed in [=EP2=].
* FridgeBrilliance: [[Fridge/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Enough to warrant its own page]].
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Arc 4's ClicheStorm turns around to bite George and Jessica in the ass, due to a rather brutal BrickJoke involving the danger of a HopeSpot.
* HarsherInHindsight: An in-story version. In the second arc Beatrice tells Shannon that she won't feel that same way about George after he "looks at her with lust" and at the time it just sounds like taunting. [[spoiler:If you take into account that Shannon and Beatrice are the same person, it's really a representation of the conflicts in Yasu's heart over whether or not George can truly love Shannon and stay with her after discovering Yasu's broken body.]] There's a more in-depth analysis of this scene [[http://akatokuro.tumblr.com/post/19779888925/whats-actually-going-on-in-this-scene-yasu-is here]] ('''warning''': contains spoilers).
** Another in-story example also comes from the second arc, or rather, the ending to it. At Beatrice's banquet, [[spoiler: she has her goats eat Battler alive after he loses against her.]] This ends up getting used against her in the fifth arc when [[spoiler: she loses in proving Natsuhi's innocence, and Lambadelta and Bernkastel sentence her to the same fate because it's how she "punishes the losers in the game".]]
** Second arc again. Beatrice tells Kanon that the three worst ways to hurt a girl are physically, emotionally, and by betraying their hopes. She calls the last the most difficult, the most effective, and the one most often committed by accident. [[spoiler:And poor Beato would know more about that than anybody else.]]
** Again, in-story example:
--> '''Battler (to Ange)''': It's not like you'll get struck by lightning if you tell me your name.
** The whole scene where Battler promises to win Beato's game and come back to Ange is really sad after you understand that [[spoiler:when Beato's game started, everyone except Eva and Battler was already dead. From the beginning, there was never any chance of the family coming back home alive; and indeed, Beato herself never promised that, it's just what Battler assumed.]]
** In Episode 2, the kids ask Nanjō whether Beatrice and Kinzō had a child. Nanjō replies that if they had, Kinzō would have "poured all of his love on the child" after the mother's death. [[spoiler:That he did. [[ParentalIncest Way]] [[ChildByRape too much.]]]]
* HellIsThatNoise: The strange, hammering-on-metal the Stakes emit in their… er, stake form. It's constantly present whether it makes sense (ricocheting off walls in rapid succession) or not (flying through empty air).
** There's also the ScareChord in the first novel when Maria claims Beatrice gave her that umbrella.
** The Troll laugh also has this effect the first few times you hear it. It sounds like WoodyWoodpecker possessed by the devil… it becomes a bit less scary when it starts being used humorously though.
-->'''Beatrice:''' (in red) You. Are. Incompetent. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnH9Gbw4ybk Uhihihyahyahyahya!!]]
* HilariousInHindsight: [[http://g.e-hentai.org/g/291164/b5048f9123/ One fan made comic]] ([=NSFW=]), located after [=EP5=] features battler creating the 6th game but instead of the typical visual novel he creates a fighting game. It even says Magic fighting game, Battle of the Golden Witch coming soon...
* HoYay: Between [[spoiler: Lion and Wright from [=EP7=]. Some fans have now taken to re-naming [=EP7=] "Homolust of the Golden Witch".]] If you believe [[spoiler: Lion]] is a guy, that is. His/her gender hasn't been officially confirmed, although the fandom seems to be 99.99% sure he/she's a guy.
** The English fandom, you mean. Most of the Japanese fandom seems to be 99% sure that [[spoiler: Lion]] is a girl. Which is ironic because most of the yaoi fandom comes from Japan…
* IronWoobie: Battler.
** [[spoiler:Eva]] moreso. It may have worked only once but [[spoiler:she gives Kyrie a hell of a fight after she loses her family]].
*** It worked when it counted. [[ManlyTears And how...]]
* ItGetsBetter: The first novel is almost painfully monotonous with glimmers of hope when small horror elements show up… then somebody finally dies! In the 10th chapter (out of 17)!
* ItWasHisSled - [[spoiler:No, Bernkastel is not a stoic neutral who sympathises with the heroes.]] Good luck ''not'' knowing this before you start the series.
* JerkassWoobie: Eva may be a [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] RichBitch, but when you get down to it, as this (spoilerrific) fancomic shows, her life kind of... [[http://shroedinger.deviantart.com/#/d2z8f75 sucked]].
** It's pretty hard to deny just how screwed up Rosa's life is, and, at least as far as we know at this point, how relatively little of it is her fault. Of course, it doesn't change the fact that she treats Maria miserably.
** [[spoiler:Beatrice]] may qualify as one.
** Erika is probably one straw short of being a mentally insane, jerkass murderer, but she earns a least a few woobie points on account of her bring [[CompleteMonster Bern's]] piece. [[spoiler: Though she DOES actually end up being a mentally broken jerkass murderer in Ep6 in order to win against Battler]]
*** Though then again she is a [[spoiler: MENTALLY BROKEN jerkass murderer. Which is...Especially sad when you realise that Bernkastel invented her to be that way. Hell, this troper found her one of the most sympathetic characters in Umineko if you just read between the lines. Absolutely everything she does is just to impress her master who'll, let's face it, just sees her as a pawn. And she can never, ever, develop a conciousness of this because she's built as, just that, a pawn for Bern to play with. It's especially sad in Ep8 where, even after Bernkastel threw her into whatever hell she was in she's still lovingly devoted to her master.]]
* LesYay: Lambdadelta x Bernkastel, which is actually canon. Lambda acts like a supernatural StalkerWithACrush, they like to talk about giving each other [[FetishFuel candy bath massages]], and they've even both said they love each other.
** [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/42.html "Welcome home..."]] A scene earlier in that chapter, though possibly just imagery, has young Eva smiling, with tears running down her face, as [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/26.html EVA places a hand on her bare chest.]] Yeah, this troper can see why someone's supposedly writing a FanFiction shipping [[ScrewYourself Eva/EVA]]. There's more [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c004/1.html here]].
** There is also quite a bit of sadomasochistic subtext between Bern and Erika, notably in the Tea Party of Episode 8. Like everything else, the joke endings of the fighting game take it UpToEleven.
** Erika and Dlanor in Episode 6. Even if Erika is talking about her ex-boyfriend, the two nonetheless spend 5 minutes saying things like "I would give up my life for you" or "I present you 6 pieces of evidence that I still love you."
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: In [=EP5=] [[spoiler: Natsuhi is set up to be incredibly suspicious in every way. Of course she can't be the culprit!]]
* LoveToHate: Yes, Erika is an unrepentant, insufferable bitch, and that's why so many people love her!
* MagnificentBitch: Beatrice as well as [[spoiler:Bernkastel and Lambdadelta]].
** If one doesn't consider [[spoiler:Battler the GuileHero that he became in [=EP6=], then they can consider him a good heroic example of a MagnificentBastard as well]].
* MarySue: Erika has elements of the BlackHoleSue, JerkSue, FixerSue, ''and'' ParodySue stirred up into one [[ReplacementScrappy instantly hated]] package. [[{{Deconstruction}} And that's the point]].
* MemeticBadass: Rosa's actions at the end of [=EP2=] got her many fans.
** And even [[http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~ri-msx/zero/rosa.htm an own game!]]
** Meanwhile, her treatment of Maria has given her the title of BEST MOM EVER. Helps that a good portion of the fanbase [[TheScrappy can't stand Maria and cheer for anything that involves hurting her]]... at least until they adapted [=EP4=] in the anime.
** Kinzo, both in-universe and with the fandom.
** Will.
* MemeticMutation: Enough to warrant [[Memes/{{UminekoNoNakuKoroNi}} its own page.]]
* MemeticSexGod: [[spoiler: [[http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=459079 Endless Sorcerer]]]] Battler, to the point that people want to do [[spoiler:''his cape'']].
* MindGameShip - Beato x Battler.
* {{Moe}}: Beatrice shows flashes of cuteness when she isn't cheerfully orchestrating murders and walking all over Battler. This starts happening more and more frequently from Episode 3 onwards.
** Also, [[http://darenome.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/umineko-extra-tips-valentine-and-white-day/#more-1750 White Day]].
** Sakutaro! To the point that the 7 Stakes go completely crazy whenever he shows up, wanting to cuddle him.
* {{Mondegreen}}: ''Happy Maria!'' has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vroiMXCtAI4 quite]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sKv0LqgoXU a lot]]. And the official lyrics are all in [[{{Engrish}} horribly-rendered GratuitousEnglish]]
* MoralEventHorizon: When did you realize that [[spoiler:Eva-Beatrice]] was a CompleteMonster? [[spoiler:The repeated sadistic deaths of Maria and Rosa did it for a lot of people, especially when ''Beatrice'' of all people steps in to give them a MercyKill]].
** Kinzo was always close to this trope because of his treatment of his family and the [[spoiler:subverted]] PaterFamilicide, but the revelations about Beatrice [[spoiler:Ushiromiya, his daughter]] and the fact that this was [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]] seems have been the end of the road for some fans.
** In [=EP6=], [[spoiler:Erika beheads five people to make sure that they're actually dead (which, it turns out, they ''weren't''). And all in order to get revenge on Battler by trapping him in a logic error.]]
** [[spoiler: Bernkastel crossed it in the side story "The Witches' Tanabata", which is where her YouBastard moment comes from.]]
* {{Narm}}: Enough to have its own page [[Narm/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi here]], though most examples are from the anime.
* NeverLiveItDown: Battler's theory about "small bombs" became a MemeticMutation in the fandom due to how ridiculous it was. What most fans didn't realize is that Battler didn't actually ''believe'' this theory; he was just desperately fishing for ways to counter Beatrice's claims that the murders were done by magic. That still doesn't stop some fans from bringing up "SMALL BOMBS" as a way to make fun of Battler's reasoning skills.
* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler:Ange is built up into an incredibly sympathetic character.]] Prepare to shed many tears.
** Game 5, end of the tea party, Promise. No one will blame you for demolishing a few tissue boxes over this one either.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: A lot of the fans really disliked Maria until the fourth arc, when she revealed one hell of a FreudianExcuse and got around to [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Old Woman Out]] in true ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' fashion.
* TheScrappy: George ; maybe he comes out as too perfect or too bland, but some fans just don't like him. The fact that he has had his sights on a girl 7 years younger than him for several years [[spoiler:(actually 4 years younger, but he doesn't know that)]] doesn't help much.
* SoBadItsGood: How a lot of people feel about the visual novel's art.
** It certainly helps that it's generally agreed the faces are SoCoolItsAwesome though.
* {{Squick}}: Beatrice [[spoiler:Ushiromiya, daughter of Beatrice Castiglione]] is [[spoiler: his daughter. And he had a child with her]].
** So this qualifies as [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]].
* StoicWoobie: Not only does Ange lose her parents and brother, but [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] reveal that [[spoiler:a certain witch manipulated her into not only hating the only relative she had left that doesn't want to kill her, but also locking away any form of happiness.]]
** I guess we can [[NotSoStoic take out the "Stoic"]] after she learned [[spoiler: [[UnreliableNarrator from Bernkastel]] how her mother (who she loved more than anyone) never truly loved her and how Eva (who she hated more than anyone) wanted to protect her from the "truth."]]
* TheissTitillationTheory: Gaap is the embodiment of this trope GoneHorriblyWrong.
* [[TheyJustDidntCare They Just Didn't Care]]: Most of the new sprites for [=EP7=], particularly [[spoiler:Young Kinzo and Claire]]. Hooray for copy and paste!
** JustifiedTrope though [[spoiler: in Kinzo's case, since it was mentioned in the earlier novels that Battler looked just like Kinzo when he was young.]]
*** It's justified for [[spoiler:Clair, as well. Bern specifically states that her appearance was created as a stand-in for Beatrice.]]
*** And it may be a FridgeBrilliance for the [[spoiler:new servants]]. One could assume Beatrice decided to base her minions on the [[spoiler:other servants]] that caused her so much annoyance.
*** It is, remember [[spoiler:Ange]] first time she go Rokkenjima?. Remember who was the [[spoiler: servant]] who was working at that time?. And remember [[spoiler: Ange´s best friend from 1998?]] FridgeBrilliance everywhere in [=EP7=].
* ToyShip: Sakutaro's mutually-adoring relationship with Maria hints at this.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: Kanon. [[spoiler:With good reason, mind you.]]
** Lion, [[AmbiguousGender but this is intentional]].
* {{Wangst}}: Kanon.
* WhatAnIdiot: In [=EP6=] [[spoiler:Battler gave Erika duct tape. And it's three rooms' worth. When in the previous game, the duct tape she used allowed her to use the red truth.]]
** After [[FridgeBrilliance [=EP7=]]], [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation with a certain interpretation]], one could argue that most of Battler's behavior in [=EP6=] is [[spoiler:him betting on a miracle so that Beato regains her memories. Battler acts as an obvious comparison to Kinzo, Chick!Beatrice is quite like Beatrice II, the love duel acts as a metaphor of "Yasu's" internal conflict, etc...]]
** Krauss. Oh, Krauss. The true extent of his idiocy is revealed in [=EP5=]. He's quite possibly the stupidest character in Umineko. The poor idiot would have been penniless on the street some five or six years ago if Natsuhi weren't hypercompetent to the point of neurosis.
*** WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: A too good to be true Space Resort deal from some guy claiming to be from NASA! [[TemptingFate What could go wrong?]] Granted, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism recent events]] may in fact be indicating that, as Rudolf mentioned, his timing was simply a bit off. As in, 30 years off.
* TheWoobie: Oh god, ''Natsuhi''. [[spoiler: '''Especially''' after [=EP5=].]]
** To verify, [[spoiler:she starts to lose her sanity after Kinzo dies, is forced to confront a less than pleasant aspect of her past (one that she's already repented for), Jessica is murdered, Krauss is kidnapped, forcing her to obey the mysterious man claiming to be her son. Not only does Krauss die anyway, but she is framed for all the murders, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge gets beaten up by a very pissed off Eva]] and Battler is the only one who even ''tries'' to intervene.]]
*** [[spoiler: She gets accused of ''cheating on her husband and having a sexual relationship with Kinzo''. Then Bernkastel brutally tells her in her that everything that's been basically keeping her sane until that moment... was all a delusion on her part. They basically make her life hell in that arc. And even that's an understatement.]]
** [=EP7=] reveals that [[spoiler:Beatrice, of all people, can definitely be considered to be this.]]
** What, no sympathy for Sakutarou? One of the few characters who doesn't have any malicious tendencies or a fragile psyche, he was basically Maria's only friend and was constantly trying to cheer her up by telling her that her mother loved her very much and was busy working for her. [[spoiler: And then Rosa goes and rips him apart right in front of Maria, then makes it worse by declaring to Maria "Sakutarou is dead", which made it impossible for Beatrice to revive him. At least until Ange managed to do so in 1998.]]
** Clair. She exists solely as yet another of Bernkastel's pieces, meant solely to shoulder the responsibilities and sins of Beatrice as her stand-in. Despite lacking a personality, supposedly, she wishes for her counterpart [[spoiler: Lion Ushiromiya, the person that Yasu may have become if Natsuhi accepted the child instead of becoming Beatrice]] to be happy and live a happy life for her sake and all the Beatrices of every world. [[spoiler: She then asks for Will to kill her now that her task is complete, only for Bernkastel to bring her back solely to gloat that Lion will die anyway, before having her guts torn out of her stomach.]]
** Beatrice II is the most miserable of all when you think about it. [[spoiler:Her mother died giving birth to her. At a very young age she was shut in Kuwadorian and forbidden to leave. She grows up living a comfortable, but boring and empty life, knowing very little about the outside world and having only Kinzō and a few servants to talk to. While she is still a teenager, she is raped and impregnated by her own father, becoming a mother without understanding what's happening to her. And when someone finally comes to get her out of her prison, she doesn't get to spend 2 hours in the outside world before dying anonymously, as though she had never existed. Even Rosa represses her memories of their meeting.]] In other words, she is pitiful from her birth to even after her death.
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hottip clean up
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** [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/42.html "Welcome home..."]] A scene earlier in that chapter, though possibly just imagery, has young Eva smiling, with tears running down her face, as [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/26.html EVA places a hand on her bare chest.]][[hottip:* :Nothing to see, sadly.]] Yeah, this troper can see why someone's supposedly writing a FanFiction shipping [[ScrewYourself Eva/EVA]]. There's more [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c004/1.html here]].
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** [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/42.html "Welcome home..."]] A scene earlier in that chapter, though possibly just imagery, has young Eva smiling, with tears running down her face, as [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c002/26.html EVA places a hand on her bare chest.]][[hottip:* :Nothing to see, sadly.]] Yeah, this troper can see why someone's supposedly writing a FanFiction shipping [[ScrewYourself Eva/EVA]]. There's more [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/umineko_no_naku_koro_ni_episode_3_banquet_of_the_golden_witch/v01/c004/1.html here]].
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* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: A lot of the fans really disliked Maria until the fourth arc, when she revealed one hell of a FreudianExcuse and got around to [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Old Woman Out]] in true ''WhenTheyCry'' fashion.
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* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: A lot of the fans really disliked Maria until the fourth arc, when she revealed one hell of a FreudianExcuse and got around to [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Old Woman Out]] in true ''WhenTheyCry'' ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' fashion.
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** Erika is probably one straw short of being a mentally insane, jerkass murderer, but she earns a least a few woobie points on account of her bring [[CompleteMonster Bern's]] piece. [[spoiler: Though she DOES actually end up being a mentally broken jerkass murderer in Ep6 in order to win against Battler]]
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** Erika is probably one straw short of being a mentally insane, jerkass murderer, but she earns a least a few woobie points on account of her bring [[CompleteMonster Bern's]] piece. [[spoiler: Though she DOES actually end up being a mentally broken jerkass murderer in Ep6 in order to win against Battler]] Battler]]
***Though then again she is a [[spoiler: MENTALLY BROKEN jerkass murderer. Which is...Especially sad when you realise that Bernkastel invented her to be that way. Hell, this troper found her one of the most sympathetic characters in Umineko if you just read between the lines. Absolutely everything she does is just to impress her master who'll, let's face it, just sees her as a pawn. And she can never, ever, develop a conciousness of this because she's built as, just that, a pawn for Bern to play with. It's especially sad in Ep8 where, even after Bernkastel threw her into whatever hell she was in she's still lovingly devoted to her master.]]
***Though then again she is a [[spoiler: MENTALLY BROKEN jerkass murderer. Which is...Especially sad when you realise that Bernkastel invented her to be that way. Hell, this troper found her one of the most sympathetic characters in Umineko if you just read between the lines. Absolutely everything she does is just to impress her master who'll, let's face it, just sees her as a pawn. And she can never, ever, develop a conciousness of this because she's built as, just that, a pawn for Bern to play with. It's especially sad in Ep8 where, even after Bernkastel threw her into whatever hell she was in she's still lovingly devoted to her master.]]
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This isn\'t YMMV. Moving.
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* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: In the fighting game. The AI gets to forgo the directional sequence before a special move, allowing scenarios like AI!Battler invoking the Metaworld and blowing you to hell with three Meta supers in a row, which would be impossible for a human to fit in if you factor in the movements.
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* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:GenreSavvy Beatrice actively tries to cultivate this and then [[LampshadeHanging lampshades it]]]] in the third arc.
** Tellingly: [[spoiler: The murders in the fourth arc are committed by Kinzo, despite being dead, and the fifth arc has Beatrice perish. After this, Beatrice is never the villain!]]
** [[spoiler: Yeah, because Beatrice never ''was'' the villain. She was a StealthMentor.]]
** Tellingly: [[spoiler: The murders in the fourth arc are committed by Kinzo, despite being dead, and the fifth arc has Beatrice perish. After this, Beatrice is never the villain!]]
** [[spoiler: Yeah, because Beatrice never ''was'' the villain. She was a StealthMentor.]]
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* {{Gorn}}: Read the description of the first murder of the first arc, and then try saying it's not.
** The first arc? Try the second arc, what with the "Happy Halloween Maria" thing…
** The first arc? Try the second arc, what with the "Happy Halloween Maria" thing…
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** In Episode 2, the kids ask Nanjō whether Beatrice and Kinzō had a child. Nanjō replies that if Beatrice had left a child, Kinzō would have "poured all of his love on the child". [[spoiler:That he did. [[ParentalIncest Way]] [[ChildByRape too much.]]]]
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** In Episode 2, the kids ask Nanjō whether Beatrice and Kinzō had a child. Nanjō replies that if Beatrice had left a child, they had, Kinzō would have "poured all of his love on the child".child" after the mother's death. [[spoiler:That he did. [[ParentalIncest Way]] [[ChildByRape too much.]]]]
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** In Episode 2, the kids ask Nanjō whether Beatrice and Kinzō had a child. Nanjō replies that if Beatrice had left a child, Kinzō would have "poured all of his love on the child". [[spoiler:That he did. [[ParentalIncest Way]] [[ChildByRape too much.]]]]
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** Really, ''many'' statements, from [[spoiler:"Shkanoyasutrice"]] to [[spoiler:Tooya having written Episode 3 to 6]], are {{Fanon}}, due to series' very concept. The answers that are stated explicitly and unambiguously enough that they can't be denied aren't that many.
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** AnimatedAdaptation: Alas, the anime has a reputation for being a VERY bad adaptation, having the dubious honor of being voted Worst Anime of 2009 by 2chan. Due to abysmally low DVD sales (less than 600 copies), Chiru never got an adaptation.
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** AnimatedAdaptation: Alas, the anime has a reputation for being a VERY bad adaptation, having the dubious honor of being voted Worst Anime of 2009 by 2chan. Due to abysmally low DVD sales (less than 600 copies), Chiru never got still hasn't gotten an adaptation.
