Characters / Umineko: When They Cry - 1986 Servants and Guests

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Servants and guests

Shannon

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (JP)

"George-san and I swore our love to each other. As proof, I accepted the ring... With that, our eternal vows were completed! No matter how you torture us with your wicked magic and your malice, you cannot disgrace that for all eternity!"

One of the servants in the Ushiromiya mansion. She is a very sweet and shy girl who shares Kanon's belief in their being furniture within the Ushiromiya household. Despite that, though, she actively cultivates a relationship with George.

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• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: After Battler left the family, Shannon tried her best to keep faithfully waiting for him to return for her as he had promised. Then Battler wrote letters for everyone except her, which caused Shannon to break down. Already tired of waiting for someone who might never return and now thinking Battler probably never really cared for her in the first place, Shannon gave her love for Battler to Beatrice and started to pursue a romance with George instead.
• Adapted Out: Not really an "adaptation", but she isn't included in Forgery of the Purple Logic.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: Her eyes are dark brown in the original VN and the manga. They were changed to blue in the anime and light blue in the PS3 version and the Tsubasa manga. This was probably to give further hints that she and Beatrice are the same person.
• Age-Gap Romance: There's a seven year age gap between her and George. Actually, they are only four years apart because Sayo Yasuda's real age is 19.
• Ambiguously Christian: It's implied a few times that Shannon is a Japanese Christian. In Episode 7, she mentions several times that "God must be testing her" as she keeps trying to believe in Battler's return.
• Artificial Human: According to an anti-mystery perspective, Shannon is "furniture" because she was created by Kinzo through magic. From an anti-fantasy perspective, it's subverted: she and Kanon don't consider themselves human due to their true identity Sayo Yasuda's insecurities about her damaged sexual organs, since she believes that she may as well be "furniture" because of it.
• Barrier Warrior: In fantasy scenes, her magic is about manipulating barriers.
• Battle Couple: She and George form a Guys Smash, Girls Shoot combination as they fight the goats invading the Golden Land in EP8.
• Become a Real Boy: To a lesser extent than Kanon, but she still expresses a desire to stop being furniture and become a human being in order to live happily ever after with George. However, like Kanon, this is not in a literal sense.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Shannon in general is underestimated by the Meta-Character due to her status of being a simple maid whose only powers are defensive in nature, yet in all the times she actually is able to fight back she has been able to hold back her attackers reasonably well, culminating in EP6 where she kills Witch!Maria and Sakutarou without breaking a sweat.
• Big Sister Instinct:
  • Just as Kanon is protective of her, Shannon is very protective of him and encourages him to get into a relationship with Jessica and break out of his shell. That's why she's disgusted with Beatrice in the second arc for using his body when he's already dead to kill more people. Also she prefers to die with Kanon than have him suffer a gruesome death in EP3.
  • Subverted in EP6 where she outright tells Kanon that as long as he doesn't get in the way of her love for George, he'll be fine. Cue to the end of the arc where they have a Duel to the Death and she kills Kanon because his love for Jessica wasn't strong enough. Of course, in the end, that was all a representation of Sayo Yasuda's internal struggle—Sayo believes that in order to be with George, her "ugly" Kanon self which hides all of her bitterness and pessimism must "die" since George wants a shy, docile and optimistic wife, not a bitter, pessimistic Sayo.
• Chastity Couple: With George. They are already engaged, but they are never shown to do anything other than Holding Hands and hugging. This seems to be invoked on Shannon's end, however, because if they were more physically intimate then she'd have to reveal how mutilated her body is.
• Chewing the Scenery: Has her moments in the fighting games, mainly due to the fact that half of everyone's moves are weird references to the novels. For example, in context, you probably thought the line was fine, but "I KEPT MY PROMISE, LADY BEATRICE!!!"
• Childhood Friends: With Jessica, to whom she is also The Confidant, since she is the only girl close to her age on the island. This is despite the fact that Natsuhi had forbidden her daughter for interacting too much with the servants.
• Childhood Marriage Promise: Not exactly marriage, but Battler promised to Shannon that he would "come back to take her away on a white horse". She remembered it and waited desperately. Unfortunately, Battler didn't seriously mean it, so he didn't return to the island for six years due to his family issues and completely forgot about her. This is his "sin of six years ago" and the straw that broke the camel's back for Sayo, who loses all hope for a better life and plans the murders.
• Commonality Connection: The very thing that made her closer to Battler 6 years ago was their shared love of mystery novels.
• Cute Bookworm: Shannon is a fan of mystery novels and would read them a lot when she was younger.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: When upset and flustered, she will instantly take several levels in clumsiness, which tend to get progressively more severe until she's rendered completely ineffectual. Of course, this tends to get her in a lot of trouble with the very strict Natsuhi. Poor girl.
• Deal with the Devil: The second arc opens by stating that she made a deal with Beatrice that she would break a mirror at the shrine that disappeared if Beatrice would make George fall in love with her. This represents the moment Sayo Yasuda starts testing the bomb by blowing up the shrine with a single load, making her resolve to kill everyone and create the catbox where Shannon could be loved by George.
• Driven to Suicide: It's confirmed in the manga that this is the way Shannon really died in Episode 2 and 4, by shooting herself in the head in a way the gun would be left hidden so Battler couldn't find it.
• Duel to the Death: She takes part in one with Kanon in EP6.
• Fake Boobs: Her large breasts are confirmed to be fake by Word of God, and this is later shown explicitly in the manga.
• First Love: She was this for Battler. His Second Love is Beatrice, but since Shannon and Beatrice are one and the same then it makes things a bit more complicated.
• Foreshadowing: During her very first scene in the VN, it's mentioned that she has worked for the family for 10 years, and since she was 6 years old, making her 16 years old. Yet, she acts like she is a few years older than Kanon, even though he is also 16. In Episode 7, we learn that Genji faked Sayo Yasuda's age to not raise suspicion from Natsuhi, making Shannon 16, but she's actually 19.
• The Gadfly: Much more subtle about it than most examples because of her Prone to Tears nature, but she tends to pick on Jessica regarding her lack of a boyfriend and on George and Battler about their embarrassing pasts. Especially notable whenever her true self, Sayo, resurfaces.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Shannon is a demure and sweet Meido. She also thinks hammerhead sharks are "cute" and she's very good at handling guns, with Kanon stating she's better at it than him.
• Heroic Safe Mode: In EP7, she basically short-circuits briefly when Will asks her to get Kanon, complete with robotic voice, AcCENT upon the Wrong SylLABle, and Dull Eyes of Unhappiness. This is a very obvious sign that she and Kanon are the same person and thus cannot appear in front of Will at the same time.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: A big part of her issues come from the fact that she feels unworthy to be loved, both for physical and emotional reasons.
• Hidden Depths: Kanon outright states in EP6 that Shannon was always the better of two when it came to handling guns.
• Hired Help as Family: The Ushiromiya cousins, especially Jessica, regard Shannon as a childhood friend, even though their parents don't approve of familiarity with servants.
• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Her low self-esteem makes her feel like this whenever anybody notices her. More explicit with George because of the Inter-Class Romance nature of their relationship.
• Imaginary Friend: Shannon was originally created by Sayo as an imaginary friend and an embodiment of the perfect servant that she wished to be, her role model. Later Sayo decided to be a witch instead and created the Beatrice persona, but Shannon eventually became the main personality that Sayo presented to everyone else.
• Inter-Class Romance: With George. The main obstacle to George and Shannon's romance was the fact that she is a servant to the Ushiromiya family, while he is a member of that very wealthy family. Subverted, since Sayo Yasuda is the true head of the family. There are also much bigger obstacles to their relationship than just their class difference.
• Ironic Name: Her real name Sayo can be pronounced as "Shaddai", the goddess of fertility. Which is ironic since Sayo Yasuda cannot have sex, let alone children.
• I Will Wait for You: She resolved to do this for Battler, who had promised to take her away from Rokkenjima on a white horse and live their lives together. Unfortunately he forgot about this promise, not only because of the whole situation with Rudolf remarrying too soon and Battler deciding to leave the family because of it, but also because he didn't even take it as seriously as she did. After Battler wrote letters for everyone except Shannon, Shannon had a breakdown and decided to give her love for Battler to Beatrice and pursue a romance with George instead.
• Kill the Ones You Love: Shannon and Kanon are Like Brother and Sister to each other, but they still need to face each other in a Duel to the Death in order for one of them to find happiness with either George or Jessica. Anyone who can connect the dots in the sixth arc realizes that the real relationship between them is a little different from what was just stated. Sayo's turmoil in trying to kill off part of herself is highlighted in this setup.
• The Kirk: She's in the middle between Beatrice and Kanon; Shannon wants to find love and happiness with George and actively builds their relationship, but she still carries her insecurities from her furniture complex and how George will react to the truth about her. Shannon is the persona closest to the core of Sayo Yasuda, who is constantly torn between her conflicting feelings represented by Beatrice and Kanon.
• Last Request: In the second arc when Beatrice has broken through Shannon's shield, Shannon turns to George and asks him to tell her one last time how much he loves her. He starts, but is cut off when Beatrice kills him. In reality, it was Sayo Yasuda (who is both Shannon and Beatrice) who killed him.
• Leitmotif: The very cute and peaceful Praise.
• Lethal Harmless Powers: She manages to kill Maria precisely because rather than attacking her, she's "defending herself"... it's only incidental that Maria winds up smashed against the wall in the process.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The Light Feminine (demure and cute maid) to Beatrice's Dark Feminine (alluring and sadistic witch). Of course, both are just different sides to Sayo Yasuda.
• Like Brother and Sister: With Kanon. While not really related by blood, they consider each other siblings and care very deeply about each other. It's eventually made clear that they're actually the same person, created as alter egos of Sayo Yasuda; Sayo created Kanon to be a "little brother" for Shannon.
• Love Hurts:
  • Mostly because no matter how much she may love and be loved by George, she would have to reveal herself as furniture to him sooner or later.
  • Before George, Shannon got to know how painful love can be through her feelings for Battler. Shannon wanted to believe in Battler's promise, but waiting for his return eventually became too unbearably painful and Shannon gave up her love for Battler to Beatrice to get rid of the pain.
• Luminescent Blush: In the sound novels, Shannon is the only character whose blushing can take up her entire face.
• Many Spirits Inside of One: A mundane example; she's one of quite a few people inside Sayo Yasuda, but they're all "characters" Sayo created and not actual people.
• Meaningful Name: Shannon's (real) name can be read as 3, 4. This could hint towards her being one of Sayo's personas.
  • There is also Shannon Number, which is a conservative low estimate of how many possible games of chess there are. As Shannon is another aspect of Beatrice and Yasu, her name foreshadows her involvement in Battler's and Beatrice's chess game, as well as Beatrice's power as the Endless Witch, exploring the infinite possibilities of her chessboard, the island of Rokkenjima.
  • Additionally, Shannon's name, being European in nature but written in Japanese kanji, follows the naming tradition of Kinzo's children and grandkids, hinting that she is his descendant.
• Meido: She's worked as a maid for the Ushiromiya family since she was young. Her outfit is actually pretty tame by the standards of this trope (her skirt is to her knees, even!), but the fetishization aspect smacks you in the face once you realize there's a slit in that skirt that totally bares her thigh, showing off her one-winged bird tat.
• Nightmare Fetishist: We start getting hints that she's more than she seems way at the beginning of EP2, with such gems as the fact that her idea of "cute" runs towards hammerhead sharks.
• Not So Weak: At first in fantasy scenes, when she reveals her Barrier Warrior powers. This is an hint that there's more to her personality than it appears in the real world too.
• Not with Them for the Money: In EP8, she proclaims her love for George has nothing to do with his wealth when forgeries of the future accuse her of being a Gold Digger.
• Odd Name Out: While she has a "on" like the other servants, she's the only one who was given a Western name.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Shannon's real name is Sayo, but the only one who ever calls her that is George. When she became a servant for the Ushiromiya family, she was given a "servant name" that ends in the Japanese character for sound (音), read as on/non/ne. In fact, whenever she's referred to as "Sayo" in-story and it isn't George speaking, the narration is most likely referring to Sayo "Yasu" Yasuda the culprit rather than their facade "Shannon".
• The Pollyanna: In contrast to Kanon, Shannon always keeps trying to see the bright side of things and believe in a happily ever after with George, despite being furniture.
• Prone to Tears: At least partly invoked for George's sake, though she does have cripplingly low self-esteem.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Kanon's Red. Shannon is reserved and passive, while Kanon is aggressive and prone to bad-mouthing people. Whenever love or Beatrice are involved, she's the calm and serene one, lecturing Kanon.
• She Is All Grown Up: Battler notices how beautiful she has become after six years and tries to grope her large breasts, nearly exposing them as Fake Boobs.
• Shipper on Deck: For Jessica and Kanon. She usually encourages Kanon to accept his feelings for Jessica and try to make a progress in his relationship with her, although he keeps insisting that's impossible because he's furniture. Of course, this is actually Sayo Yasuda trying to be honest with herself about their feelings for Jessica, despite their broken body and their relationship with George.
• Shrinking Violet: She gives the impression that she's shy and submissive because of her lack of self-confidence and upbringing as a servant. As the Episodes go by, it's becomes clear she's a subversion as we see more of her assertive side.
• Sleeping Single: She and George once went on a trip to Okinawa all alone, but slept in separate bedrooms, much to Jessica's disappointment. If they had slept in the same room, their relationship would have come into serious jeopardy since George would have seen Shannon/Sayo Yasuda's mutilated sexual organs (not to mention the heavy implication that Sayo was actually assigned male at birth).
• Stepford Smiler: Shannon the personality mainly exists for Sayo for her to act the role of a perfect servant, and created Kanon to repress the negative feelings she had.
• Talking to Themself: With Kanon and Beatrice. Their conversations and arguments are meant to represent conflicts within Sayo Yasuda's heart.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the meek and soft-spoken Girly Girl to Jessica's feisty and laid-back Tomboy.
• Took a Level in Badass: In EP1, she's fairly close to the stereotypical maid archetype; timid, kind, polite... cue EP2 when she's utterly determined to be with George at all costs and stands up to Beatrice though this really represents two different aspects of Sayo Yasuda's personality arguing with one another. She takes another one or two in EP6, where she kills Witch!Maria with a minimum of fuss using Lethal Harmless Powers, and later shoots Kanon dead in a duel.
• Tranquil Fury: Her character sprite doesn't allow her to show anything but an expression that shows disgust but never outright anger like Kanon's sprite.
• Two Aliases, One Character: Actually three aliases. She, Kanon and Beatrice are all the same person, created as personas of Sayo Yasuda.
• Walking Spoiler: As seen with the spoilers on Shannon's entry and Kanon's. It's hard to discuss these two without mentioning their true identity as Sayo Yasuda.

Kanon

Voiced by: Yuu Kobayashi (JP), Bryson Baugus (EN)

"Because… we are furniture…"

One of the servants in the Ushiromiya mansion. He maintains the belief that he and Shannon are nothing but furniture, which initially hinders him from having a relationship with Jessica. He and Shannon act Like Brother and Sister, although they are not related by blood.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: Similar to Shannon, Kanon's eyes are black/dark brown in the original VN and the manga. They were changed to grayish blue in the anime and light blue in the PS3 version and the Tsubasa manga. Again, this is probably to give further hints that he, Shannon and Beatrice are all the same person.
• Artificial Human: Same as Shannon, from a fantasy perspective, Kanon being "furniture" means he's a magic construct made by Kinzo. Also subverted; Kanon is indeed a naturally born human and him being "furniture" is actually an expression Sayo Yasuda uses to refer to her broken body.
• Badass Boast: When fighting Beatrice in Episode 1: "I'm not furniture anymore… I'm the zero on your roulette!"
• Battle Butler: In fantasy scenes he reveals he's quite skilled at magical combat.
• Battle Couple: He and Jessica fight the goats invading the Golden Land in EP8.
• Big Brother Instinct: Inverted, since he's supposed to be younger than Shannon. He's very protective of Shannon and always trying to guide her in the right direction as well as warn her the dangers of throwing away her status as Furniture. EP 7 reveals that Sayo Yasuda created Kanon to be the little brother that would love and protect his big sister.
• Break the Cutie: The second arc has Beatrice doing whatever it takes to have him submit to her. Naturally, it does work (in the manga and the visual novel since how bad he broke was absent in the anime.) However, if you take into account that Beatrice and Kanon are actually the same person, then it's really just a metaphor for Sayo's issues.
• The Butler Did It: Whether it's subverted or played straight is still up for debate even after the series has ended, but in one form or another, this trope was applied particularly strongly in the second arc. And the sixth.
• Butt-Monkey: He's probably the servant that is worse off and is probably the third character that has bad luck in the series. Aside from failing to realize his feelings for Jessica until it's too late in all the arcs except EP6, he never survives past the third Twilight contrast to Shannon who easily makes it past the fourth Twilight more often than not. To add to the insult, his body always goes missing in half of the arcs and he's usually accused of being the culprit. Though this is likely because there isn't a body to go missing in the first place, since Shannon and Kanon tend to fake their deaths and make sure Battler never sees their "bodies" directly. To be fair though, his death is nothing (AKA getting stabbed or shot in the chest) compared to what the other members of the family have to go through.
• Cannot Spit It Out: He refuses to admit his feelings for Jessica even to himself, because he is furniture.
• Can't Live Without You: Episode 8 confirms in red text that if Shannon dies, Kanon disappears for all eternity.
• Chick Magnet: When Jessica takes him to her school's festival, all the girls fawn over how "cute" he is; of course since he lives on an island where there is exactly one girl his age, it doesn't serve him much.
• Chronic Self-Deprecation: Kanon views himself as "just furniture" and constantly puts himself down for it. This is meant to be an expression of Sayo Yasuda's self-loathing, as Kanon represents the characteristics Sayo hates about herself the most.
• The Conscience: He keeps trying to reason with Shannon to make her understand that no matter how much she and George love each other, she's still furniture and if she continues building their relationship, it will only make it's failure the more painful for her. Shannon rarely listens to him. He's also this in a more figurative sense, since he represents Sayo Yasuda's more cynical side.
• Deadpan Snarker: More so in the actual novel where he won't hesitate to take a crack at Shannon or the other servants every now and then.
  Shannon: Don't worry, Ange, it won't be a very difficult riddle.
  Kanon: Of course it won't. Since you'll just have to think on Shannon's level.
• Die Laughing: Towards the end of Episode 6, Kanon goes out laughing as he Disappears into Light inside the closet of the closed room to solve the Logic Error.
• Disappears into Light: Twice in Episode 6.
  • First, Kanon is killed by Shannon and turns into a swarm of golden butterflies that are absorbed into Shannon. This is actually symbolism of Shannon becoming Sayo Yasuda's only identity to be with George.
  • Later, Kanon saves Battler from the Logic Error by taking his place. He then hides himself in a closet and turns into golden butterflies again. Although, this is meant to be a clue to Kanon metaphorically escaping the closed room when Sayo Yasuda throws away the name Kanon.
• Duel to the Death: In EP1 and EP6.
• The Eeyore: He's very pessimistic and cynical, in contrast with the more optimistic Shannon. He actually represents the cynical, "ugly" aspects of Sayo Yasuda's personality.
• Effeminate Voice: Kanon is an androgynous young boy voiced by a woman doing a boyish voice. This is intended to serve as foreshadowing for the revelation that Kanon and his sister Shannon are the same person. Their true identity, Sayo Yasuda, is heavily implied to have been born male and never developed sexual characteristics due to a cliff fall damaging Sayo's sexual organs as a baby, which explains why Sayo's voice never broke.
• Extreme Doormat: Kanon verges on this with his whole "furniture" ideology, but it's subverted in that despite calling himself furniture, he is never the last to badmouth Natsuhi behind her back, is far more Hot-Blooded than his sister when facing Beatrice and in the end of "Turn of the Golden Witch," he admits he's in love with Jessica.
• The Fatalist: Unlike Shannon, Kanon finds it meaningless to even think he can ever be anything more than "furniture", since love and dreams are things only true humans can have.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In Episode 6, when he takes Battler's place in the Logic Error.
• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: In Episode 6 he asks Jessica what she could possibly find attractive about him. It turns out, she cannot give a proper answer, much to her own shame.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: He's in way more denial about it, but just like Shannon this is his main motivation.
• Image Song: In The Peace of Forgetting the Way.
• Imaginary Friend: Sayo originally created Kanon as an imaginary brother for her Shannon identity. Later, Sayo started to play the role of Kanon's character to cope with her gender issues.
• Insecure Love Interest: He does reciprocate Jessica's feelings, but he considers himself unworthy to feel or receive love because of his belief that he is furniture. It turns out that there's a very good reason behind that "furniture" complex.
• Inter-Class Romance: With Jessica. She's the heiress of the family and Kanon is one of her servants. Later this turns out to be subverted, since Sayo Yasuda is actually the true head of the family.
• Kill the Ones You Love: Shannon and Kanon are Like Brother and Sister to each other, but they still need to face each other in a Duel to the Death in order for one of them to find happiness with either George or Jessica. Anyone who can connect the dots in the sixth arc realizes that the real relationship between them is a little different from what was just stated. Sayo's turmoil in trying to kill off part of herself is highlighted in this setup.
• Laser Blade: An elaborate variation.
• Leitmotif: White Shadow
• Like Brother and Sister: With Shannon. While they're not really blood-related, he still refers to Shannon as his older sister and acts very protective of her. Sayo Yasuda created him to be the "little brother" who would give Shannon company.
• Love Confessor: In EP6, he's pressured into admitting to Shannon that he is in love with Jessica and wants to pursue a romance with her even though being furniture means he doesn't have the right to it. Although, this is actually a representation of Sayo Yasuda forcing herself to recognize she feels attracted to Jessica even though she already has George.
• Love Epiphany: In EP6, he finally admits he is in love with Jessica.
• Many Spirits Inside of One: Not literally, as he exists as more of a representation rather than a true split personality. But like Shannon, he's one of quite a few personas inside Sayo Yasuda.
• Mercy Kill: Gives one to Rosa in the narrative of EP6 which is one of the most pleasant deaths that Rosa has in the entire series.
• Never Found the Body: Episodes 2, 4, and 6. Episode 1 and 3 count too, considering that Battler doesn't see his dead body directly.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: See Shannon for elaboration. Kanon's real name is "Yoshiya," which some people romanize as "Joshua."
• Paper-Thin Disguise: His disguise as Jessica's Pretend Boyfriend would be very convincing… if he didn't call her "Milady" and adress her overly politely in front of everyone. In the VN, one of the girls even suspects that Jessica forced one of her servants to come with her.
• Perpetual Frowner: He is usually complaining or making cynical remarks, and is only seen smiling on a few occasions.
• Pretend Boyfriend: He acts as this for Jessica during the school festival in EP2, even though she does have legitimate feelings for him.
• Pretty Spry for a Dead Guy: In the second Episode. Subverted if you take into account that he probably faked his death in the first place.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: In EP2, the fake Kanon controlled by Beatrice has red eyes.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Shannon's Blue. It's more evident whenever love or Beatrice are involved and he becomes insecure, irritable and quite Hot-Blooded while Shannon is calm, serene and confident.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Savvy Guy to Jessica's Energetic Girl. Kanon's serious and gloomy disposition is contrasted by the cheerful Jessica's optimistic and idealistic worldview.
• Sdrawkcab Name: His real name Yoshiya is, in fact, a modified Japanese reversal of Shannon's real name, Sayo. Shi and ya need to be slurred together into one sound, as the Japanese kana does to write the letter "Sha," and you wind up with "Shayo," which is only slightly different from "Sayo." This is yet another hint that Shannon and Kanon are actually the same person, Sayo Yasuda.
• The Spock: In contrast with Shannon and Beatrice, Kanon always puts logic before his emotions and tries to constantly remind himself and Shannon that they shouldn't fall in love because they are furniture. He represents Sayo Yasuda's cynical and pessimistic side.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Since he's very good at hiding his footsteps, he often appears by Shannon without her noticing and disappears just as suddenly. After Episode 7, that ability suddenly makes a lot of sense.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He considers intellect and composure virtues, but even moreso believes that he's beneath emotional involvement, and that avoiding attachments it is his duty. However, deep down he's a nice and caring guy with a desire to be loved.
• Talking to Themself: With Shannon and Beatrice. The conversations between them represent Sayo Yasuda's inner conflicts.
• Troubled, but Cute: One of the reasons Jessica falls in love with him. He's way more troubled than he appears, though.
• Two Aliases, One Character: Actually three aliases. He, Shannon and Beatrice are all the same person, created as personas of Sayo Yasuda. Arc 8 confirms in red text that if Shannon dies, Kanon disappears for all eternity, heavily reinforcing this fact.
• Walking Spoiler: See Shannon's entry.
• When He Smiles: It's a very good one but the visual novel makes it come off as a cat smile.
  • He manages to pull a real smile when talking to Chick Beatrice after being killed by Shannon and admitting his faults. This is also the point where you notice that his laugh is very similar to the original Beatrice hence hitting at his origins.
• Willfully Weak: He reveals to be REALLY half ass of everything he does. Kanon even admits it to Chick Beatrice after he is killed by Shannon. Because he didn't go all out, he ended up giving Shannon the upper hand.
• The Worf Effect: He tends to get defeated very easily despite being one of the few characters that can actually use magic. EP 6 reveals though that he is a deconstruction of this trope and that he never goes all out because he does everything halfheartedly. He tells Manchild Beatrice this after he realizes this after Shannon kills him and he's nothing but a shadow that can only watch over Jessica.

Genji Ronoue

Voiced by: Masato Funaki (JP), Bill Jenkins (EN)

"The Master is a man who sometimes has the wisdom to see a thousand years into the future. However, there are times when that appears to be nothing more than madness to commoners such as myself..."

The oldest servant and Kinzo's most trusted confidante. The only one besides Dr. Nanjo usually let into Kinzo's study. Most of the family doesn't trust him, considering him to be a spy for Kinzo.

His meta-world manifestation is Ronove.

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• Artificial Human: Same as Shannon and Kanon. Subverted, since from a mundane perspective he and Kinzo actually met in Taiwan (it's revealed in EP8 that Genji's family lived in Taiwan) and became close friends; see I Owe You My Life below.
• The Atoner: In Episode 7, we learn that he was responsible for the maintenance of Beatrice II's Gilded Cage. Unable to forgive himself for allowing her to be abused by her father, and terrified that Kinzo would inflict the same suffering on Sayo, he faked Sayo's death and passed the child off as an orphan. Alas, making Sayo work as a servant in the Ushiromiya estate just in the hope that she and Kinzo could be reunited one day was yet another mistake—one that, according to "Confession of the Golden Witch", he was willing to atone for by knowingly assisting Sayo in her murder-suicide plot.
• Childhood Friends: With Kinzo. EP8 reveals that they grew up together in Taiwan.
• The Confidant: To Kinzō.
• The Dragon: He shares the role with Maria as Sayo's most faithful and effective accomplice.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite his loyalty to Kinzo, even he found Kinzo's treatment of Beatrice II so disgusting that after Natsuhi seemingly killed the resulting baby Sayo, he hid her survival to ensure Kinzo wouldn't pull the same stunt again.
• Happiness in Slavery: While Shannon and Kanon thoroughly hate their condition, Genji is just satisfied with serving his master until his death, and doesn't wish for anything else.
• Hired Help as Family: In EP8, it's revealed Genji is actually Kinzo's childhood friend who grew up with him in Taiwan. After the World War, Kinzo took Genji in as his personal butler when the Japanese settlers were expelled from Taiwan. While Genji has accepted the role of an obedient servant out of gratitude to Kinzo, Genji is the only person Kinzo was able to tolerate and get along with after his fall into madness because of Beatrice Castiglioni's death.
• Image Song: A Song of Scattered Love ~ My Beloved Golden Witch, which is shared with Kinzo.
• I Owe You My Life: Episode 8 reveals this is why he's loyal to Kinzo. He and Kinzo were Childhood Friends. Kinzo foresaw Japanese settlers would be expelled from Taiwan after the war, so he warned his family. Genji was the only one to listen.
• I Was Quite a Looker: The EP8 manga reveals that when he was younger, Genji looked exactly like Ronove without his mustache, removing any ambiguity as to who Ronove is supposed to represent.
• The Jeeves: He's basically a perfect butler stereotype.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: He stood at his master's side even after he did some really heinous actions. When Kinzo dies and Sayo Yasuda becomes Genji's new master, he also assists her in her Murder-Suicide plan without question.
• Old Retainer: He has served the Ushiromiya family for many years and is loyal to a fault towards the will of the family head, even if it involves the death of him and everyone in the island. As Kinzo's oldest friend and servant, he's allowed to wear the One-Winged Eagle despite not being part of Kinzo's bloodline, a privilege that applies only to him given the truth about Shannon and Kanon's identity.]
• Parental Substitute: He served as a distant father figure to Sayo.
• Satellite Character: He has no defining character traits besides his Undying Loyalty to Kinzo, and by extension, Sayo Yasuda. He also doesn't seem to have a personal life outside being the Ushiromiya's Old Retainer. Played with in that, despite these lack of character traits it's his choices, good and bad, that shaped the direction of Sayo's life.
• Significant Name Overlap: "Ronoue" and "Ronove" are more-or-less the same word (ロノウエ versus ロノウェ). This is most likely because Sayo based Ronove off of Genji.
• The Slacker: Despite his serious personality, he is not above dropping work once in a while to watch TV or to take a swig of his master's drink.
• The Stoic: To near robotic levels. Even having half of his head smashed doesn't change his (non-)expression. Kinzo, his lifelong partner, admits that even he can't see through Genji's pokerface.
• Undying Loyalty: He'll follow his master's orders without question and won't ever even think to defy them.
• Unusual Euphemism: Like Shannon and Kanon, he refers to himself as "furniture", but as the manga indicates, the word has a different meaning to him than it has to them: it symbolizes the loyalty, efficiency and discretion that he considers a servant should have. During the hide-and-seek game, Eva and Ange can't find him because they literally confuse him with a piece of furniture.

Chiyo Kumasawa

Voiced by: Yasuko Hatori (JP), Linda Young (EN)

A really old servant at the Ushiromiya house. She loves to make jokes about mackerel.

Her meta-world manifestation is Virgilia.

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• Cool Old Lady: The cousins are fond of her, and she likes to joke around with them. Sayo Yasuda also views her as this, since Kumasawa taught them "magic".
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: She often talks about making various weird dishes with mackerel. Whether she really tries to make them is unknown though.
• Dirty Old Woman: In EP1, when Battler is going on about how much he loves breasts, she jokingly offers to let him rub hers. Needless to say, Battler quickly declines.
• Haunted House Historian: Kumasawa knows the history and legends of the island dating back before it was called Rokkenjima. Because she's a known prankster and likes to embellish stories for extra creepiness, no one takes her warnings seriously.
• Magical Nanny: To Sayo, in a sense; she used folk magic as a basis for instruction, which encouraged mystical thinking.
• Mentor Archetype: To Sayo, involving mystery novels. Could be considered an Eccentric Mentor
• Never Mess with Granny: When Kumasawa is attacked by the Stakes on the first twilight in the third arc, she turns into Virgilia. Doesn't stop her from dying, though.
• Noblewoman's Laugh: Quite an odd one. Rather than a "oooooh-ho-ho-ho-ho!", Yasuko Hatori does it as a rapid-fire "hohohohoho!"
• Parental Substitute: She was a mother figure to Sayo Yasuda. Some of her motherly behavior still shows around Shannon and Kanon since they're both Sayo's personas. She also raised Beatrice II, after her mother's Death by Childbirth.
• The Slacker: She tends to get out of doing work by using her age as an excuse.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Mackerel, while it's unclear whether she actually eats the bizarre dishes she claims to make, she does praise its health benefits and named her son after a type of mackerel.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Kumasawa calls Battler out on some of his less than admirable behavior towards the Chick Beatrice in EP6.

Toshirō Gōda

Voiced by: Hitori Bifu (JP)

"You can easily make a good dish out of top-quality ingredients. But a true chef is someone who can make a wonderful dish from anything."

The personal chef at the Ushiromiya mansion. Unlike the other servants, he was hired by Krauss and Natsuhi, so most of the servants distrust him. He is one of the only servants not to wear the one-winged eagle on his clothes, due to Kinzo's lack of trust in him.

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• Attention Whore: Much to the annoyance of Kanon and Shannon.
• Break the Haughty: His death in EP3 is depicted as this when he exclaims "All phenomena can be explained by science!" right before the stakes murder him with magic.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: He's very loyal to the Ushiromiya family and Natsuhi in particular for employing him as their chef.
• Crossword Puzzle: Gohda's hobby in his downtime. It's a small hint he's smarter than the narrative gives him credit for (because it's tinted by Sayo/Beatrice's dislike of him).
• Gentle Giant: Although he's a very large man, he is very graceful and polite, if a bit lazy. His size is also the reason he's usually one of the first ones killed, as he could reasonably overpower the culprit(s) with his strength alone.
• The Jeeves: A special point is made of this in respect to Gohda. His food doesn't just taste good because he's an excellent chef, but because he also 'sells' the meal with talk of the dish, its preparation, and the background of the ingredients.
• Jerkass: Towards Kanon and Shannon. Mostly it's because he's a high-class chef with real work experience, while Kanon and Shannon are both teenagers, and they're more trusted by the family than him. (They get to wear the one-winged eagle emblem and he doesn't.) He can be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold though on the few times their duties overlap and they prepare food together.
• Locked Out of the Loop: In EP5, we find out he's the only person living on the island, outside of Jessica, who doesn't know that Kinzo is dead.
• Muggle: His case is pretty unique among the people on the island. He doesn't know about Kinzō's death, nor about Sayo/Beatrice, has no Imaginary Friend or Split Personality, never teams up with magical beings and has no connection to the magical meta-world whatsoever. He is just a cook who does his job.
• Mugging the Monster: He asks Kanon about the legend of Beatrice, then denies it is possible and even goes so far as to suggest the notion of 'Beatrice' is just a superstition from the result of pranks. He's dead right, but he's also telling his thoughts to Beatrice herself. It hits too close to home. Sayo/Beatrice takes revenge by messing up Gohda's kitchen and drawing a magic circle on the kitchen wall, frightening him out of his wits.
• The Slacker: He was hired as a chef and server, but he's often given other menial jobs to take care of around the mansion. He tends to order Shannon and Kanon to do these on his behalf.
• Supreme Chef: As noted above he can be a bit of an Attention Whore, but he is very good at his job. Even canned food prepared by him is described as elegant.
• Take This Job and Shove It: His backstory. He was a high-class chef and server at a luxury hotel, but he was tricked into resigning when the entire kitchen was planning to threaten to quit in protest of the management's poor choice of a new head chef after the previous one retired. Enough of the staff backed down from their threat to the point Gohda was one of the few who actually went through with offering their resignation, and the hotel ownership, rather than bargaining to get him to stay, let him walk. After that, he couldn't get another job in the upscale culinary industry because of his reputation as a "troublemaker," and being hired by the Ushiromiya family was a genuine saving grace for him.

Terumasa Nanjō

Voiced by: Akihiko Ishizumi (JP), Francis Henry (EN)

Kinzo's personal physician. He is one of the few people that Kinzo trusts in the present. After Kinzo and Beatrice's run-in with the Italians, it was Nanjo who treated their wounds and helped Kinzo hide Beatrice's existence from the military.

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• The Coroner: His main purpose in the story is to let the characters and the audience know that characters who are killed are in fact dead. Of course, sometimes he's not entirely honest about this.
• Deadly Doctor: In Forgery of the Purple Logic.
• Healthcare Motivation: Possibly. He mentions that he has an ill granddaughter just before EVA-Beatrice kills him in Episode 3. This may or may not be part of the reason he covers for Sayo even after the murders start.
• I Have a Family: Nanjo's plea to Eva-Beatrice before she kills him.
• Innocently Insensitive: Deconstructed, in the Confession Of The Golden Witch manga chapter, when Sayo Yasuda aka Shannon was revealed to be Kinzo's child via Parental Incest after solving his convoluted puzzle, assigned male at birth and had her sexual organs damaged permanently after Natsuhi pushed her as a baby along with a servant off a cliff. Sayo is obviously having a mental breakdown over being told her body is mutilated and unable to have sex which was her main goal in creating a family. Nanjo consults her gently that although she won't able to produce children after her marriage, he hopes that she lives a happy life. This brings no consolation to Sayo and she's enraged by this revelation which was a massive wound to her psychologically and machinates a plan to murder the whole Ushiromiya family for the whole misery she endures then commit suicide once it's done.
• Satellite Character: Nanjo's role in some of the early arcs seemed to be made up entirely of having Cryptic Conversations with Kinzo and letting everyone know that the corpses they had found were, indeed, dead.
• Secret-Keeper: Initially, he is the one who kept the secret of Beatrice Castiglioni's existence from the military. And later, of Kinzō's death.