Recap / Umineko When They Cry Episode 1

Warning: This page contains unmarked spoilers for "Legend of the Golden Witch"

October 4, 1986

Family head Kinzo, the head butler Genji, and the family's physician Nanjo discuss the former's declining health. When asked about the last will and testament, Kinzo tells that he's going to give his family nothing as he hates all of them, and has nothing to regret. Then he amends that he wants to see the so-called witch Beatrice one last time, even if he has to give up everything he has gained so far.

Battler, with his stepparents Rudolf and Kyrie, meet George and his parents Eva and Hideyoshi at Chofu Airport. They are joined by Maria and her mother Rosa. They rent a small jet to Niijima Harbour, where they meet Jessica and elder maid Kumasawa. Everyone boards a boat and reaches the Rokkenjima island shortly before the storm. Guests are met with servants Gohda and Kanon, who address themselves as "furniture". Maria notes a withering rose in the garden and George marks it for future reference. Everyone meets Natsuhi and Shannon.

The kids notice a giant portrait of Beatrice, which is a recent addition, and remember a folk tale where she's supposed to be the ruler of nearby forest. The portrait is accompanied by an Epitaph containing a riddle leading to Beatrice's gold, which is discussed with skepticism. Everyone gathers to family dinner and meets Krauss. Kinzo refuses to attend and monologues about "miracles". The adults gather to discuss splitting the inheritance, and turns out everyone is in heavy debt.

The kids have a picnic at the beach and also think about the Epitaph. The last part implies Beatrice will be revived if everyone is sacrificed, so if it's supposed to be a challenge they're still missing clues. On their way back, Maria tries to pick up her rose but can't find it, and throws a fit. Rosa finds them and slaps Maria for her childish behavior, the other kids decide to leave them be. Rosa returns to the mansion alone. Kinzo privately declares the start of the ritual and throws away his family ring in the window.

The kids and Rosa notice Maria is still searching for the rose in the storm and go pick her up. Maria has an umbrella with her, which she claims was lent by Beatrice herself. At the mansion Rosa asks who's the owner of the umbrella to thank them, but nobody speaks up. After the dinner Maria shows a letter signed with the family ring, in which Beatrice claims Kinzo's fortune, until someone finds the gold. Everyone is outraged and speculation ensues. Natsuhi insists that there is no gold, but Krauss in private shows one ingot of pure gold with Ushiromiya seal, which upsets her. Jessica gives Natsuhi a good luck charm and Maria gives Battler another. George calls Shannon by her real name, Sayo, then proposes to her. Natsuhi sees golden butterflies at night. The day ends, everyone are shown where they are.

The Second Day

The phoneline is broken. Natsuhi finds bloodstained scratches around the doorknob to her room. Gohda, Krauss, Rudolf, Rosa and Shannon appear to be missing. Kinzo refuses to leave, but praises Natsuhi for loyalty to the family. Kanon is hesitant to talk about the storehouse, so adults go to check it. There's a magical circle in seemingly blood painted on the wall. Genji rushes to get Nanjo and Natsuhi in an emergency, the kids except Maria decide to follow them.

The corpses of everyone missing are discovered, with their faces being smashed in varying severity. Genji tries to contact the police through an emergency radio, but it doesn't work. Eva and Natsuhi go inform Kinzo, but he appears to be missing from his study. Blood is discovered in the dining hall. Maria is surprisingly calm with the reveals. Battler goes over the case with Eva and both note she greatly benefits so far. Maria, with no Speech Impediment, explains the symbolism of the magic circle despite not being present at the warehouse. Natsuhi takes a Winchester rifle for self-defense.

Battler interrogates the servants, who insist Beatrice is a magical entity who takes form of butterflies. Maria gives an Evil Laugh and claims Battler doesn't have the powers to see Beatrice. The kids discuss Maria's attitude, and wonder if she's just acting and is conspiring with the servants. Battler notices Beatrice is used as a boogeymen for anything wrong, which in turn leaves an opportunity for a "Scooby-Doo" Hoax. Eva reveals she trapped the door to Kinzo's study with a slip of paper and confirms it hasn't been open, which makes Natsuhi look bad as she claims to have met Kinzo inside. Natsuhi loses her cool and threatens Eva, Battler defuses the conflict by finding a potential loophole.

Eva and Hideyoshi go to their room and reminiscence about their past. Later, servants find the second Beatrice's envelope at their door and nobody answers the knocks. The door has an additional chain lock. While Kanon goes for pliers, a new magic circle is added to the door. Eva and Hideyoshi are found with a ritualistic daggers in their foreheads. Everyone senses a terrible smell and Kumasawa goes to check on it. There's a loud noise from the boiler room, Kanon rushes inside and sees golden butterflies. Battler finds Kanon with a dagger in his chest with the culprit still loose. Another body with a dagger is found in the boiler, who is believed to be Kinzo due to having six toes.

Survivors barricade themselves in Kinzo's study, as it has a lock not applicable to the master key. Maria notices a scorpion sigil on a doorknob to Kinzo's room and retracts her statement that Beatrice could have bypassed it, so either he was lured out or there's an accomplice. Natsuhi remembers her charm was hanging on her doorknob from inside, though if the culprit took that into account, they couldn't have seen it. Natsuhi finally decides to read the second letter, which only contains "praise my name". Battler still lacks a working theory.

Genji tells that Beatrice died 30 years ago and Kinzo has devoted everything to resurrect her. Natsuhi recalls a rumor that Kinzo used to run a shady orphanage where the Shannon and Kanon are from. Battler finally remembers about the Epitaph. Maria confirms that the family reunion and hiring new servants were all for this moment. The third envelope with a magic circle is found on the table while everyone got distracted, in which Beatrice dares the survivors to win. Natsuhi threatens the servants and Maria to leave. Jessica regrets chasing Maria away, as the other three could be the next sacrifices. From Kinzo's books Battler discovers the circle symbolizes discord among allies.

Suddenly, the phone rings, on the other side is Maria singing, but far away from the phone. Everyone agrees to take the bait and look for her. They find dead Genji, Kumasawa and Nanjo, with their faces smashed up and daggers hit in locations describes in the Epitaph. According to Maria, Beatrice appeared from butterflies, admited the three are the only viable options left, and asked Maria to face the wall and to not listen. A fourth letter is found, after which Natsuhi runs away challenges the Beatrice to a duel, gets surrounded by butterflies and hears a laugh. The kids find Natsuhi shot in the head with her own gun and Battler sees someone he doesn't want to. Midnight.

The police investigation has failed to find the children, except for Maria's jaw and many unidentified body parts. Maria's notebook becomes a worldwide legend. The credits state George and Jessica got accepted to the Golden Land after admitting defeat, while the profile page says they got eaten by demons in Hell. Battler's fate is stated as unknown, but he still counts as dead.

Tea Party

In the tea after-party, the cast recaps the story. Battler still refuses to admit Beatrice is real despite others giving up. Maria slips that the "miracle" would be making Battler a believer, which he catches on. He dares Beatrice to finally appear, which she does in the flesh. Battler is shocked, but rationalizes that what really revives her is faith and tells to her face he doesn't believe in her. Beatrice demonstrates she could have used summoned demons in the second murder. Because Battler still refuses to accept magic despite failing to solve the mystery, people around slowly turn back into corpses.

At the Witch Party, Beatrice and Bernkastel have a chat about their powers and motives. Bernkastel intends to use Beatrice's captive against her.

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Tropes:

• Abusive Parents: Rosa hits Maria for not acting her age, which is later discussed as a reason why she sides with Beatrice.
• Addressing the Player: Bernkastel talks about Beatrice's powers with a clear Aside Glance in a seemingly empty room (it's unclear if Battler is trapped there). The menu at that point also contains some directed comments.
• Agent Scully: Battler is strongly on side that there is no Beatrice and that the culprit is using her name to hide the crimes, even after there are no suspects left and some murders appear to be impossible. In the after-party, he denies Beatrice even as she's standing right in front of him in purgatory, and Beatrice is amused because exactly this attitude prevents her 100% victory.
• Amateur Sleuth: Battler has some experience with mystery novels, and Kyrie teaches him to think from the perspective of his opponent. When the murders start and police can't arrive, Battler takes upon himself to catch the culprit, and notes that using logic of elimination may instead point at The Scapegoat.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Beatrice effectively symbolizes Locked Room Mystery. Admitting magic exist is the same as submitting to Beatrice. Inversely, trying to explain the murders in ways where Beatrice doesn't exist is treated as a personal attack on her. Even in Purgatorio, Battler treats her more like a metaphor while the culprit has to be someone else. At the second Tea Party, Bernkastel describes Beatrice as "the rules of the game", meaning solving the mystery would defeat her.
• Anti-Magic: In the after-party Beatrice remarks that Battler's strong opposition to the magical explanation could be giving him effects similar to a Supernatural Repellent.
• Bait-and-Switch: The Tea Party uses the same formula for the Dénouement Episode as one used in Higurashi: When They Cry, with the cast speculating on how their characters have acted during the canon story. Except that this section is not optional and switches back to Horror half-way through, implying it actually is the Afterlife Antechamber.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Battler admits he wished for Beatrice to be real because it would mean nobody in the family is the culprit. When the next murder appears to be an impossible crime, Maria rubs his words in his face.
• Black Magic: Maria and Kinzo are noted to have odd interest in the occult. Maria simply thinks witches are awesome and wants to become one, while Kinzo may or may not have signed a literal Deal with the Devil. When the murders start, they are done in a ritualistic manner, and several people claim to see Beatrice when others can't.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Maria brings everyone's attention that the shore shrine has collapsed since last time they've been on Rokkenjima. The shrine plays a role in Epiosde 2, but the reason for its disappearance is explained in Epiosde 7.
  • Maria insists that a lone withering rose in the garden is important. Later, it goes missing, and Maria gets extremely forecful trying to make others search for it. What happened to it is not revealed in this chapter.
  • Kinzo throws away his family ring, which is the proof of the family head and is used for personal letters, into the window. It's implied the culprit picks it up right away.
  • Natsuhi and Battler are given different good luck charms. Later they are cited as the reason Beatrice hasn't targeted them so far.
• Children Are Innocent: Battler, Maria, Jessica and George are the youngest in the family and have no interest in the business talk, especially when adults try to upstage each other. When George brings up that money wouldn't hurt, others think him having own business has stated to corrupt him. Maria's innocence becomes very questionable when she sides with the murderer during the investigation.
• Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Magic exists when people desperately want it to exist. In the after-party, Battler concludes that the real ritual isn't Human Sacrifice, but creating seemingly impossible murders where magic has to be the only conclusion. As he refuses to give up on a mundane explanation, Beatrice claims her return is incomplete.
• Classic Villain: Battler is a Mystery Fiction fan and strongly believes in Fair-Play Whodunnit, specifically the part that the crime can be explained without the supernatural methods if only he works hard enough. Beatrice on the other hand represents A Wizard Did It, she can do anything effortlessly becuase magic doesn't need an explanation, but labeling her as the culprit is considered to be as bad as getting the culprit wrong.
• Closed Circle: While the Rokkenjima island isn't explored fully, the current storm is treated as a factor that there can be no unknown party aside the present residents of the mansion. When the phone and the radio get broken, there's no contact with the outside either.
• Company Cross References: Battler brings up that it's not rational to commit murders in the age with good forensics, but it wouldn't be a mystery otherwise, and comments that he has learned this argument from a specific scene in Higurashi: When They Cry.
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Natsuhi is quick to aggressively claim that there's nothing shady in Kinzo's or Krauss's practices until there's a stacking evidence for it. Krauss keeping secrets from his wife nearly breaks her. She is also against statements that Kinzo's health is poor, he may be a victim, or the culprit, despite not having an argument for otherwise. She's also on side that Beatrice is not real, but it in turn makes her suspect everyone else.
• Condescending Compassion: Gohda keeps telling Shannon that she doesn't have to work. Not because he's looking out for her, but because he wants to stand out himself.
• Deal with the Devil: Battler remarks that if Kinzo made some sort of deal with someone versed in Black Magic, it's not surprising they'll return to collect everything with interest, lives including.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Whenever it gets more likely that the culprit is a demonic entity, Battler says in a way that everyone can hear that it must be a trick and he's not going to do what the culprit expects him to. In the after-party, Beatrice herself shows how easy everything would be for her and Battler will regret challenging her, yet he insists that even is she can, it doesn't mean that she did.
• The Dragon: Maria claims she's the only person capable of talking to Beatrice and was promised a great reward if she keeps the culprit's identity a secret, and isn't bothered by murders as she believes everyone will be reunited in the Golden Land if Beatrice wins.
• Dramatic Thunder: Rudolf's "Tonight, I will probably be killed" line is followed by a timely thunder, signifying the change in story tone.
• Driving Question: Is Beatrice even a real person? Never mind if she's a witch, the only accounts of her are local fairytales, Kinzo's history, which is considered to describe his secret finance advisor, if not made up entirely, and Maria's statement, with a plausible theory that she either saw someone in disguise or is involved herself. Even at the very end, the novel is ambiguous about the murderer's identity.
• Due to the Dead: At the first murder, everyone considers convering the corpses with towels to give them some dignity, but Eva doesn't let them, to preserve the crime scene. Additionally, Hideyoshi prevents George seeing Shannon, so he'd remember her smiling, and confirms for him she has the ring.
• Dwindling Party: The Witch's Epitaph describes a series of ritualistic murders, at the end of which everyone remaining is sacrificed. On the second day, 6 corpses were found, which matches the first line on the Epitaph's list. The rest go down one by one accordingly.
• Dying as Yourself: In the after-party, as everyone reverts to corpses they once were, Jessica suddenly switches from praising Beatrice to encouraging Battler to deny her.
• "Everybody Dies" Ending: The end scene asserts Beatrice's victory after the death of all 18 humans.
• Everyone Is a Suspect: Adults bring up that if Beatrice was real, she would have announced her presence in person. Since she did not, someone either have fooled Maria with a disguise, or Maria is lying because Kinzo has asked her to. When the murders start, there are constant debates if the attacker is Beatrice or is one of the residents.
• Failed a Spot Check: The murders follow the riddle of the Epitaph. Maria is even shocked it takes Battler the entire game to remember about it, as he'd have more chances to stop the culprit if he noticed this sooner.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Maria reads the letter without her kindergartener accent, the first sign that she's smarter than she looks.
  • The adults having a desparate need for money is emphasized. This is not because it provides a convenient motive for the culprit.
  • At the Tea Party, Shannon describes her own death as painless.
  • Beatrice for one moment uses "you who calls yourself Battler". This gets addressed in Episode 4.
  • Bernkastel says that Beatrice is not "just one woman", but doesn't elaborate.
• Game Between Heirs: The Epitaph hints at the location of the gold, but everyone initially dismisses it. When Beatrice's letter addresses it again as a part of the inheritance challenge, everyone takes the riddle seriously, considering they really are in a need for money and the winner can claim everything.
• Gaslighting: In the after-party, Battler continues to come up with rational explanations, but everyone else tells him that trying to find other possibilities is idiotic. He realizes Beatrice, or some illusion of her, is trying to deceive him even after his death, and he refuses to give up.
• Heir Club for Men: As Battler notes at the dinner, where everyone has a designated seat, women in the Ushiromiya are ranked low in the hierarchy, lower than the male children. Eva is accused of ulterior motives because she has married in and had a child before Natsuhi, moving herself slightly higher than her. Krauss tells Natsuhi that he doesn't really need her now. Kyrie barely counts as a family member.
• Heroic Safe Mode: Battler quickly recovers from the murder of his stepparents and decides to bring the culprit to justice himself. Even as more bodies pile up and he fails to even come up with a theory, he refuses to despair.
• I Know You Know I Know: Kyrie teaches Battler to think from the view of his opponent. Accordingly, Battler sees everything as a Red Herring and questions if the culprit acts in a way that he expects them to behave, then assumes that's what the culprit has predicted as well.
• Insane Troll Logic: At the Tea Party Battler tries to explain the second twilight with "icepick shooting device". Beatrice points right away that Eva's location is not even visible through the door gap and Hideyoshi was in the bathroom, and makes a spin on it by making two daggers fly to their destination.
• Insistent Terminology:
  • The servants specifically address themselves as "furniture". Everyone thinks it's either another of Kinzo's gimmicks or doesn't pay attention.
  • Everyone on Kinzo's side consistently say Beatrice "exists". The word clearly means something other than how Battler interpets it.
• Interface Spoiler: Rosa's profile card on the second day contains a curious endearing comment written in first-person, which hints at Maria before new profiles appear to clearly be narrated by her.
• Invisible to Normals: Allegedly, Beatrice can only be seen by people with the appropriate wavelength, which includes the servants and Maria, but excludes Kinzo and Battler.
• Ironic Hell: The after-party has a title Purgatory. Appropriately, there Battler still tries to find a mundane solution to his own murder.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Kinzo dismisses all of his children as greedy vultures. While it's used to establish him as a stubborn old man, later when the inheritance is on the table, his children all happen to be in debt and are desperate.
• Konami Code: The very first scene Rudolf appears in has him pulling Battler's ear while saying "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right".
• Locked Room Mystery:
  • Six bodies are found in the warehouse, but the shutter is locked with the only key being in the servant room and accounted for.
  • Kinzo disappears from his study. Eva proves with a piece of paper that the door hasn't been opened to implicate Natsuhi, but in turn can't explain where Kinzo could have gone. Maria tells Battler that Beatrice can walk through walls, and when the room is inspected he fails to find hiding spots.
  • Eva and Hideyoshi are murdered in a locked room. While the door is on a chain, the gap is too small to pass through.
• Mama Bear: Natsuhi will do anything to keep Jessica safe, even hold Maria at gunpoint for being too suspicious and leaves her among potential murderers. When there are no other suspects remaining, she dares Beatrice to show herself so she can shoot her.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane:
  • The history of Kinzo's gold is discussed with suspicion. Even if some witch Beatrice did bring him fortune, it's likely to be just a nickname for his secret treasurer or business partner and/or lover.
  • How the murder mystery is done also splits the party into those who think there are supernatural means involved, and those who believes in the human factor. The magic argument leans on that it's magic, if Beatrice is real how to impossible murders are done is self-explanatory. The human sude argues that the other one relies on a defeatist mindset and they are being mislead, and there are moments where the culprit appears to be not as powerful as Beatrice is supposed to be.
  • It's questioned if Maria can actually see Beatrice or it's a combination of following someone else's orders and her potentially being a Chuunibyou.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Kyrie is the one who taught Battler his main detective techniques, and is one of the first victims.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Rosa effectively beats up Maria for acting younger then her age, and leaves her be in the rain. Later she realizes that Maria has little concern for her own safety and tearfully runs to look for her.
• Mysterious Backer: Beatrice is supposedly an alchemist under Kinzo's employment who he's been keeping a secret for decades. Assuming she's real in the first place, as Kinzo's financial success can also be attributed to timely investments during post-War recovery period, and the challenge letter could have been written by himself.
• Nightmare Face: Console versions add a CG with Extreme Close-Up on Maria's new arrogant face, which Battler describes as incomprehensible.
• Not Now, Kiddo: On multiple occasions Maria bluntly tells that she knows more than everyone else, but due to her being The Baby of the Bunch, sometimes she gets completely ignored, leading to missed clues. Even after she starts going crazy, others don't find it strange and think it's just a habit they didn't know of. Only near the end she's taken seriously as an accomplice.
• Omniscient Morality License: Maria claims there's no point opposing Beatrice if she can allegedly revive everyone after she's done.
• Pet the Dog: Kinzo asks Natsuhi if she's happy with her status and mumbles if only she was a man (meaning someone with privilege in the family). Then reassures her he sees her as his daughter even if they're not relatives.
• Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Maria gives a clue about the first murder, but Battler is so surprised he misses what she's said almost entirely. If one pays attention, it matches the first line of the Epitaph.
• Police Are Useless: Everyone puts faith that tomorrow the police will arive and solve everything. After the game is over, the credits say the police couldn't come up with anything.
• Power Trio: Battler, Jessica and George spend most of the time together, not being part of the inheritance talks and survive the longest. George is even 23, but they are collectively regarded as children. Maria is often grouped with them, but she's gets increasingly aloof as time goes on.
• "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Because everyone knows about Beatrice, Battler argues that someone may be adding fake supernatural elements to the crime to throw suspicion on a non-existent person.
• Seeks Another's Resurrection: Kinzo's true motive for the game appears to be Beatrice's full revival.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Stakes used in murders are themed after the seven great demons of sin.
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Everyone is killed before Battler succeeds in providing a human culprit theory, and the serial murders go down as a popular legend.
• Shout-Out: Battler tells that everyone was into Earth Defense Force in his kindergarten.
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: As the bodies are discovered, the profile menu shows the corresponding damage to them over their portraits.
• Split Personality: After the murders start, Maria starts talking in a distinct manner older than her age, as if she's now a real witch's accomplice, while occasionally switching back. This is rationalized by her "wanting" to be a witch and behaving accordingly.
• Spoiler Opening: The PS 3 opening cinematic goes over CG's from later Episodes, revealing the involvement of a much larger cast and their abilities.
• Succession Crisis: Kinzo doesn't name a heir, but Krauss would be the next in line due to being the oldest, and the Ushiromiya family has enough wealth that anyone can get a substantial share. When Beatrice's letter claims she's the true successor, but will give up the position to anyone who finds the gold, it turns everyone's plans into a mess. When the murders happen, Natsuhi and Eva both act as if they're in charge.
• Supernatural Repellent: If the magical explanation is real, Beatrice is unable to get close to the good luck charms.
• Ten Little Murder Victims: A mysterious attacker kills off the cast one by one.
• This Is a Work of Fiction: The very first scene is a disclaimer noting the sotry is fictional and fantastical.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Maria is unnaturally cheerful when the murders start occurring. She gets even more cheerful when discussing the crimes, dropping her childish accent, and admit she wants everyone to die because with Beatrice no death is permanent.
• Wham Shot: At the Tea Party, Beatrice appears in front of Battler in person, setting up how the rest of the Episodes will go.
• Worthy Opponent: In the after-party, Beatrice says she was initially offended by Battler, but his persistence became the funniest thing she's seen in 1000 years.

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