Fanfic / Sillyhat Productions

Sillyhat Productions is an Affectionate Parody series of Umineko: When They Cry, and that’s just the abridged version of it. To put it simply, Sillyhat takes the world of Umineko and, as if it weren’t twisted enough, seriously twists it, adding a dash of black humour and overall sillyness while still keeping everything within the context of the Visual Novels. That is not to say it is solely a humorous series, however; it does have its share of serious moments and it has an actual continuity. Definitely worth watching for anyone who has caught up with the novels.

Think of it as "Umineko: The Abridged Series" in the format of the novels.

(A word of advice to those about to watch this series for the first time: These are not just random silly moments; each video ultimately connects to create one, singular storyline in fanfiction form, not to mention each gives away epic spoilers for the other. Watching any video out of order may result in Continuity Lockout, so it is highly recommended you watch them in chronological order—start with "If Rudolf Could Sing" and go up from there. It should also be warned that while this series has its own continuity, it also contains very accurate spoilers for the real series.)

There are three seasons: Umineko covers the first four arcs of the original series, while Umineko Chiru covers the second four arcs. The third season, Umineko Zangyou, consists of a "Post-Scriptum" arc and other follow-ups.

TahYllis has also done parodies of Higurashi: When They Cry, The Unforgiving Flowers Blossom in the Dead of Night, Rose Guns Days, Danganronpa and Ciconia: When They Cry.

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Tropes associated with Sillyhat Productions:

• Affectionate Parody
• Almost Dead Guy: In "Deus Ex Machine End A", Amakusa and Kawabata survive long enough to make several sarcastic comments about their impending deaths.
• Be Careful What You Say:
  • While taking tea with Virgilia before the "Trial of the Black Witch", Battler declares that he'll do whatever it takes to win. Virgilia replies that she'll keep that in mind... and indeed, reminds him of it later.
  • In the same episode, Battler demands that 'Lord Goldsmith' stop treating the game like one giant circus and get serious about it. Virgilia grants his wish.
• Berserk Button: Claiming that George hurts animals is a very, very bad idea. Even if you are one.
• Big Brother Instinct: Battler isn't too pleased when 'Amateru' seems to be bothering his little sister.
• Big Damn Heroes: Ange on numerous occasions.
• Black Comedy
• Borrowed Catchphrase: During "Trial of the Black Witch", Lambda screams a version of Battler's "Useless! It's all useless!" while trying to break out of Bern's barrier.
• Check, Please!: Uttered by Battler at the end of "Solving the Fourth Twilight".
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: Battler claims early on that he's already gotten used to Beatrice's evil mind games. Unfortunately, his attempt to take a laidback approach backfires pretty spectacularly when Lambdadelta decides he needs more motivation to take things seriously.
• Content Warnings: A few episodes are prefaced with warnings about disturbing content. Warnings about spoilers are also common.
• Crack Fic: "Interlude" revolves around a bored Lambdadelta using a stray Fragment to try writing one.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Of course, this being Umineko, the tradition is held up with “Anti-Plot VS Anti-Filler”.
  • The first twilight holds a few similarities to the first twilight of the second game, except for the murder method.
• Curse Cut Short:
  • For a period of time, Battler is kept from being able to 'express his true feelings about' the games he plays with Beatrice and the other witches because Beatrice makes him literally choke on his own words. She calls this a good alternative to washing his mouth out with soap.
  • The first part of "Endgame Tea Party" ends right as Battler's declaring that it's "Time to kick some witch a—"
• Dance Battler: Seen in "Deus Ex Machina". Featuring DDR.
• Deader than Dead: Doctor Nanjo is rendered this for several episodes.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Rosa's entry in the Character Album begins and ends by noting that she's "Prone to violence."
• Deus ex Machina: The appropriately titled last episode is about averting this trope. Lampshaded twice by two different characters — Will says they shouldn’t have relied on this after the island is blown up in an attempt to destroy the goats, and later, Featherine shoots down a suggestion from Lambdadelta to resolve the climax with this as she wants the story to have some dignity.
• Diabolus ex Machina: Combined with Yank the Dog's Chain in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch", as Bern's response to Battler's Out-of-Character Moment.
• Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Kanon keeps running into this issue in "Deus Ex Machina".
• Dramatic Shattering: In the multi-part episodes, the final scene usually shatters, with To Be Continued appearing over the cracked screen.
• Drowning My Sorrows: The presence of the Green Fairy implies that their master indulges in this.
• Due to the Dead: Battler invokes this when Erika wants to mess with the first victims' bodies.
  Erika: "Detective's authority: the detective has a right to investigate the crime scene."
  Battler: "Battler's fist: has the ability to lodge itself in the detective's face."
• Erotic Dream: George mistakes Shannon summoning him with magic for him having a dream about her. Then Jessica materializes and he gasps. "Bad brain!"
• "Eureka!" Moment: An argument between Virgilia and Gaap in "Deus Ex Machina B End" causes Ronove to realize how to handle Erika's armada.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Seen in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch" with Kinzo's love for Lion and Rudolf saving his son.
• Evil Is Petty: If there was any doubt left about Bernkastal being this, one needs only witness her final move in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch": having Gohda stumble into the clock switch and blow up the island just to negate Battler's already bittersweet victory.
• Eye Scream: Kinzo suffers one of these in "Anti-Plot VS Anti-Filler".
• Facepalm: Ange's reaction to Battler's less-than-stellar comeback at the end of "Epitaph".
• The Fair Folk: Hansel turns out to be the Green Fairy.
• Fate Worse than Death: Poor Erika. Sure, it’s funny the first time before Fridge Horror sets in as to how long she’s been going at it...
• Fighting Your Friend: It's heavily implied in "Deus Ex Machina End A" that this is the fight Bernkastel promised her audience all along: they were setting up Battler and Ange to clash from the start.
• Flanderization:
  • Kinzo, though it could be argued he’s actually behaving quite in-character.
  • Battler’s incompetence is taken up to eleven in the Chiru parodies, though he does have a few awesome moments here and there.
• Foreign Cuss Word: According to the Character Album, Kanon has tried to adopt some British mannerisms to seem more mature. This mainly consists of him calling things 'bloody' all the time, so it hasn't worked as planned.
• Fusion Dance: "Trial of the Black Witch" sees Shannon and Kanon fuse into 'Shkanon'.
• The Gadfly: Erika acts like this, especially in the "Post-Scriptum" arc.
• Gallows Humor
• Harmless Villain: Battler accuses Beatrice of being one in "Battler’s Dream". She is not amused.
• Heroic BSoD: Played for laughs with Krauss when Kinzo dies. He is literally unable to do anything but look off into the distance and bemoan how his life will be ruined, what he will do about his inheritance, and what will become of his stamp collection. And he’s still going at it when the goat butlers start attacking.
• Heroic RRoD: Again, played for laughs with Shannon in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch".
• Hostile Show Takeover: In "Trial of the Black Witch", Kinzo hijacks the game in the form of Lord Goldsmith, 'the most powerful witchlock in the universe'. Except it's not really him.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: 'Gretel' serves as this to Battler. Ronove also serves Beatrice in this fashion, but downplays it, especially when compared to Gretal's Brutal Honesty.
• Hypocritical Humor: "I would never hurt an animal!" Says George as he beats up one of the goats.
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Gaap declares this about Battler during her introduction.
• Juggling Loaded Guns: Turns out that even "If Rudolf Could Sing", using a rifle as a prop doesn't end well.
• Klatchian Coffee: Eva's coffee turns George completely hyperactive.
• Knight of Cerebus: Lambdadelta decides to take this role by raising the stakes at the end of "Epitaph". Specifically, she tells Battler that if he doesn't present a theory by the end of each episode, she'll punish him by permanently erasing one of the pieces. And to prove she isn't bluffing, she does just that, erasing Doctor Nanjo.
• Left Hanging: Exploited by Lambdadelta in "Rejected Fragments", showing Bern just enough of one such fragment to pique her interest, just to leave her in suspense.
• Like Father, Like Son: The Cold Open of "Absence of the Golden Witch" shows that Battler is just as lax about gun safety as his old man.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
  • "Battler's Dream" makes references to Battler checking out all of Ronove's 'sprites' and Ronove needing to leave the screen in order to perform because he does not have the necessary 'sprite' to perform on-camera.
  • In "Anti-Plot VS Anti-Filler", Beatrice tells Battler that he's running out of time about halfway through the last video.
  • During Gaap's introduction in "Trial of the Black Witch", she states that she's been working in the background the whole time fixing up Plot Holes, and that when she's working really hard you can hear her Leitmotif. Battler points out that it's playing right then.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: One of the first things Battler specifies about EVIL-Battler is that he's "a snappy dresser".
• Mexican Standoff: Features in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch".
• The Mole: Virgilia in "Trial of the Black Witch".
  • Towards the end of "Deus Ex Machina", Hansel is revealed to be this for Bernkastel.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • In "Battler's Dream", Ronove starts to play a violin solo he calls "When They Cry." As he starts up, Battler starts to reflect upon better times with his cousins, Shannon and Kanon... and then the music starts screeching.
  • "First Twilight?" goes from the usual scene where Rosa is about to hit Maria to a sudden joke, and then Rosa hits her. As the creator puts it in the summary, "There's only one thing I dislike more than recreating a sad scene, and that's ruining it with jokes."
  • In "Surprise Tea Party", Beatrice jokes around with Battler and offers a partial Mind Screwdriver for "Anti-Plot VS Anti-Filler", while still taunting him with unconfirmed details. Then she declares it's time to erase his memories.
  • One of the extra scenes shown in "Deus Ex Machina: S End" begins like the actual "Magic" end where Battler and Beatrice almost escape the island, only for Beatrice to disappear with a gold ingot. Cue Ricordando Il Passato, Battler crying out Beatrice's name... and then demanding his gold back.
• Multiple Endings: Keeping in line with Episode 8, "Deus Ex Machina" offers them.
  • A End: Battler decides to open the catbox, revealing that it's a fake Will and Dlanor created. Bern's Exact Words are used against her, and after one final intellectual showdown between her and Battler, the Ushiromoya family is set free.
  • B End: Battler faces off with Beatrice one last time, with Clair channeling the original's hellbound spirit. She sends him to a special Fragment in order to kill the killer and set his family free.
  • S End: Lambdadelta shows off some alternate ending fragments and other random clips.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: "Endgame Tea Party". Battler and Beatrice seem poised to permanently break apart over the replica boards, with Battler accusing her of being a fake who can't even use the red truth... except for the fact Lambdadelta's restoration of all his missing memories included an instance of her doing just that. And he remembers that.
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  • In "Magical Detective Erika-chan", Battler compares Saikoroshi!Rika to Eva and Maria, stating that all three created imaginary friends to cope with their lives. He then follows this up with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech by harping on how Eva and Maria's lives were far worse than hers was in Saikoroshi, and Rika actually had friends willing to help her, but chose to cling to her delusions instead.
  • "Deus Ex Machina End A" sees Ange comparing Battler's desire to find the truth at any cost to herself. As with the above, it's a negative comparison, as she concludes that he'll just wind up destroying himself like she did.
• Offhand Backhand: All those dramatic instances of Giving Someone the Pointer Finger occassionally lead to people getting whacked in the face by an arm or elbow.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Bernkastal gets some very satisfying ones in "Deus Ex Machina".
  • Erika also gets one in "Deus Ex Machina B End" upon hearing the enemy fleet is manned by little girls in frilly dresses.
• Only Sane Man: Ange takes up this role.
• Original Character: Hansel.
• Out-of-Character Moment:
  • In order to dismiss himself in "Endgame Tea Party", Kanon does something he declares is impossible for his character: he smiles and tells Battler It Has Been an Honor.
  • Battler deliberately creates one of these in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch" to make the story end happily for him, Beato, and his family.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Bern's response to Battler in "Cat Box".
• Out of Focus: Kumasawa's lack of appearances in the early videos is Lampshaded in the Character Album, which states she "has skillfully avoided the spotlight thus far."
• Picked Last: "Magical Detective Erika-chan" has the meta-worlders form teams for a battle royale. Bern bluntly informs Battler that nobody wants him on their team.
• Pinball Protagonist: Bern accuses Battler of being one when comparing him to Erika. Specifically, she says that Erika's better than him because she anticipates things, rather than waiting for things to happen.
• Rage Quit: Lambda pulls one in the Chiru episode "Magical Detective Erika-chan", freeing up time for the Wham Episode.
• Rainbow Speak: In addition to the red and blue, orange is introduced, for truths that only hold true on the replica board.
• Ret-Gone: Due to the ending of "Epitaph", the game board of "Anti-Plot VS Anti-Filler" takes place in a world where Doctor Nanjo does not exist.
• Rule of Funny: As is stated several times, the replica boards exist simply for the purpose of entertainment.
• Sadistic Choice:
  • Presented to Battler in “Trial of the Black Witch”. As put by Virgilia, “You can’t win chess without sacrificing a few pieces.”
  • Battler is faced with another one in "Deus Ex Machina": Open the catbox and free his family, but sacrifice his own existence in the process? Or challenge Beatrice one more time, sacrificing everyone in the Golden Land? Featherine notes the apparent lack of a third option and mocks it.
• Sarcastic Clapping: Dlanor's response to Battler's presentation of how the First Twilight supposedly went down in "Absence of the Golden Witch".
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Virgilia ditches Goldsmith in "Trial of the Black Witch" after he humiliates them one time too many and tries to force them to act out an overused meme.
• Secret Diary: Krauss reads Jessica's diary out loud to Rudolf and Hideyoshi. It's stated he did the exact same thing with his wife's diary.
• Shout-Out:
  • Battler first thinks Ange is a girl from his school who believes in aliens, time travellers, and espers.
  • George’s uncanny resemblance to Harry Potter is pointed out more than a few times. Including his sudden magical upgrade in “Magical Detective Erika-chan”.
  Beatrice: Dumbledore and I go way back.
  • Do not bother Battler while he is smashing the windows; he is only practicing his swing.
  • Tomitake, Oishi, and Irie were sadly not let in for the party.
  • According to Kinzo, 42 explains everything.
  • "Also, people die when decapitated. I'll show you sometime."
  • Rudolf's VA providing the Japanese dub voice of Jack Bauer is referenced when he breaks out into song again during "Magical Detective Erika-chan".
  • "Is this cake real or a lie?"
  • Zepar and Furfur introduce their love challenge via an Oompa-Loompa song.
  • Ikuko's library includes copies of other fan parodies, like Witches and Woodlands and Forgery of the Golden Witch.
  • Lambdadelta 'looks into the future' to find out early spoilers about Episode 8 by viewing certain image boards through a crystal ball.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Gohda.
• Sore Loser: In "Surprise Tea Party", Lambdadelta throws a hissy fit over coming in 16th on a popularity poll, and blames the video's viewers. Bern's deadpan reminders that the poll was over several months before Sillyhat's parody began are ignored.
• Stealth Pun: Beatrice offers Battler some candy made from Rudolf's eyes.
• Take a Third Option:
  • Battler's tendency for this is highlighted before the "Trial of the Black Witch" begins. Virgilia offers him tea, citing black as her favorite, but maybe he'd prefer white? Without missing a beat, he states he wants green.
  • Subverted and lampshaded by Featherine in "Deus Ex Machina".
• Turns Red: Just when Battler thinks he has Bernkastel cornered at the end of “Magical Detective Erika-chan”, she starts getting all sorts of new expressions.
• Too Dumb to Live: The last part of “Cat Box of the Golden Witch” has Kinzo falling victim to this trope. Really, Kinzo? You seriously think telling your son—-who is pointing a gun at you—-that you have the PIN and card he is willing to kill for in your pocket is a good idea?
• Took a Level in Dumbass: Oh, Battler. You can’t even name your own incompetence?
  • He can't even win against a cardboard cutout of Beatrice.
  • Surprisingly subverted in "Deus Ex Machina"—not only does Battler smarten up with only a few occasions of silliness, he also challenges Bernkastel with a riddle that she can't solve.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: George becomes increasingly more of a Jerkass as Chiru goes on. On top of that, his introduction in Zangyou involves him trying to steal candy from a child.
• Unhand Them, Villain!: Or rather, "Put me down, you bloody nutcase!" Eva-Beatrice doesn't have to say a word and Kanon immediately regrets his choice of words.
• Villainous Breakdown: Bernkastel goes through this the further "Deus Ex Machina" progresses, but special mention goes to when she can't solve Battler's riddle.
• Wham Episode:
  • Just when you think this is just another parody series, the end of “Epitaph” smashes that perception to pieces.
  • "Magical Detective Erika-chan" takes a sudden leap Off the Rails in Part 4, nicely setting the tone for the rest of Chiru.
• Wham Line: In "Epitaph":
  Lambdadelta: I'll tell you a little secret. This game board you exist on right now... It's just a cheap replica of the original. Know what that means? 'Course you don't. Here's a hint. I can erase it.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Hideyoshi calls out Eva at the start of "First Twilight" for deliberately sabotaging George's date with Shannon through super-strong coffee.
  • In "Epitaph", Lambdadelta confronts Battler. Though she's all smiles, she makes clear that she thinks he's not taking his matches with Beatrice seriously enough.
• Wild Mass Guessing: The second season, Chiru, focuses more on this, as they're based on the Core Arcs.
  • The ending of "Magical Detective Erika-chan" has Battler putting forth a major one for Higurashi: When They Cry that went onto its own WMG page. Specifically, the idea that Saikoroshi-hen is the only true world, with the series being a deluded fantasy created by Rika turning herself into a Tragic Heroine where everything revolved around her. Bernkastel is utterly outraged.
• Witch Hunt: The Sadistic Choice in "Trial of the Black Witch" is underscored by described imagery based upon burning the potential culprits at the stake.
• You Shall Not Pass!: In "Final Twilight", Maria opts to stay behind to hold off Beatrice, the Seven Stakes and the golden sea of butterflies so that Battler can escape.

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