Okay, we're back ! The Witch Hunt
have offered us for Christmas their translation of EP 5 (the first of the "Core" arcs, in what is now called Umineko No Naku Koro Ni Chiru), so let's have a look at it.
I've tried my best to keep away from spoilers about this chapter, though I am aware of the existence of Erika Furudo, and that it somehow ends with Battler becoming a Witch or something. Oh, and they're apparently going to introduce yet another set of interchangeable magical minions, as if the Stakes and the Siestas weren't enough. But these few tidbits have only wetted my appetite : the interesting part will be the execution, as always.
The title screen shows that rock cliff where "Beatrice" supposedly fell to her death back in EP 3. It looks like there's a dark cave below, but it's hard to see.
As always, we get a creepy preambule as a description for EP 5 :
Good Morning. Please enjoy this new game, with its new Game Master.
However, this game has already reached its climax. The culprit has been cornered, and it's only a matter of time before the end. You should be able to use this clearer perspective to spot something.
The difficulty is fairly easy. What could possibly fool you now...?
On this ominous note, let's start the actual episode.
Cold Open to Beato and Battler discussing... actually, I don't quite get it. Beato is gloating about killing "her" to cause Battler pain, and about her Tsundere act winning her points in his esteem (I'd think gloating this way would defeat the point, but whatever). This sounds like a bit like a reference to the events of EP 4, but it doesn't quite fit. Or Is It a flashforward ?
We switch to that garden where Beato had taken refuge with MARIA... and the narration tells us that Beato is... gone. She's sitting there lifeless, with Virgilia tending her. Next to her, Battler is examining a chessboard. We're told that instead of playing the white side as usual, he's on the black side, trying to understand Beato's past strategy. And it makes less sense to him the more he reflects upon it. Well, I can understand the sentiment. He comments that some of her moves make no sense compared to her stated victory conditions.
Okay, I get it. We're picking up after the end of EP 4, where Lambdadelta had forced Beato to keep playing the game. She can't run away anymore, so she's playing dead while waiting for Battler to defeat her. And that's what he's doing in earnest by trying to understand her strategy. They're really trying their best to make Beato into The Woobie, aren't they ? I mean, look at her
◊ !
Lambdadelta and Bernkastel are getting impatient, and want the next game to be started. Lambdadelta in particular is ready to take over the witch's side in Beato's absence, and has the fifth game all set. Battler is obviously resenting the interference from those two witches he barely knows, and doesn't refrain from showing it. They alternate coddling and threatening him, and they finally reach a compromise : Lambdadelta can play her game with Bernkastel as the antimagic side, he'll be sitting in the garden while continuing to review the first four games.
A bit later, Ronove informs Battler that they didn't wait for him being around to start the fifth game, and they've already reached the second day, with 6 people dead and others soon to follow. Ronove communicates his distate for the two witches' way of playing, which he qualifies of "dishonorable". I love the chess metaphor being continued : while they obviously can't play cards with the chessboard, nothing prevents them from throwing pieces at each other or scribbling on the board. No self-respecting chess player would do that, but...
Battler barges into the playing room, and demands to take his place back on the antimagic side. The witches relent a bit, but concede that there's no harm in letting watch the end of the game. And hey, apparently Bernkastel is winning : after all, isn't this episode called "End of the golden witch" ?
Okay, that was unexpected. Beato suffering from Heroic BSoD after the events of EP 4 is a logical conclusion, but the way the other two witches are taking over her game is funny as heck, and a good way to shuffle the boardroom dynamics a bit. And hey, the antimagic side may get a competent player for once.
I love the contradiction of Battler struggling to maintain the purity of Beato's game against the meddling witches. Make no mistake, Bernkastel is clearly depicted as a villain here, and acts as a complete asshole throughout despite claiming to be on Battler's side.
And of course, there's the possibility that all of this is yet another manipulation by Beato...
So, we're on the second day... and six people are dead. Rosa, Jessica, George and Maria were found in the grandchildren's room in the guest house, with a deep cut across their throat that leaves no doubt as to their death. Genji was found with similar wounds in a servant room in the mansion, and Hideyoshi's corpse was laid in a guest room of the mansion with a stake in his back disqualifying the eventuality of suicide.
According to the narration, all the remaining living people on the island have gathered in the parlor room. All of them but one have been shown not to have committed murder. And the culprit is among them.
(Since this is not written in red, excuse me if I take this with a grain of salt.)
Everyone stands around pointing finger at a single person, particularly Eva (who lost her two closest family members). The conclusion seems obvious...
"You are the culprit, Ushiromiya Natsuhi-san !"
No, my surprise doesn't come from Natsuhi's presumed culpability. While I strongly doubt it's the full truth (and she of course denies it), it's far from unbelievable.
No, the problem is that this last line was uttered by a blue-haired girl we've never seen before
◊.
Cue the new OP. As always, it's impressive how dynamic and nice-looking it is considering that it's mostly a set of sprites moving around (though it cheats by having bits of CG animation for the sea and a golden butterfly). We see all the various characters already introduced, including a few ominous shots of our new mystery girl.
Okay, THAT was unexpected. I'd heard of it, as previously mentionned, but it's still as shocking. Who the — is that girl, and what is she doing in this private family reunion ? And how come she has the authority to wave such accusations around ? I await the explanation with trepidation...
edited 3rd Jan '10 12:08:45 PM by Jhiday
Flashback to... some unspecified time before the fatal weekend... as Natsuhi enters Grampa's study and learns that he's just died over the night in his bed. Ah, an official confirmation of a past event nearly everyone had speculated as having happened. It's explicitly stated that Krauss, Dr Nanjo, Genji and Kumasawa were already in the room and knew about it.
It's pretty much what I had expected. Krauss has a bit of a breakdown, since Grampa's death means his siblings will look closely into how he's been dealing with the fortune behind their back. And it didn't go well : he's entered tons of perilious business ventures, and even been comprehensively swindled on several occasions *. He's in a lot of debt, and has apparently mortgaged the mansion through not-really-legal means. (As the narration states, Grampa's business acumen didn't pass through the blood. After all, we know that the other siblings' financial situation isn't great either.)
Natsuhi is obviously angry at him for hiding this from her, but also at herself for not noticing earlier and preventing her husband from screwing up so easily. Krauss claims that his latest real estate investments could allow him to clear up his debt if given some time, but I suspect he's fooling himself. And when he starts mentionning chasing after Grampa's mythical gold, I perfectly understand Natsuhi slapping him back to his senses.
Of course, they've been having this conversation in their bedroom, far from the servants. For now, Krauss has asked Dr Nanjo and Genji not to report Grampa's death immediately (and everyone to keep their mouth closed), but they're clearly madly looking for an actual medium term plan.
Natsuhi goes back to Grampa's empty study (well, apart from Grampa's corpse), and starts having hallucinations of the old guy talking to her. To her credit, she's lucid enough to know it's all in her brain. Anyway, she asks for advice, and gets a pep talk along the lines of "you have to be tough". (We learn in passing that Kinzo was initially a puppet of his relatives, and it's only after the war that he became strong-spirited enough to embrace his position as the head. Presumably after meeting "the witch Beatrice", or so he claims.)
Along the way, Beatrice shows up, and Grampa helps making her to support Natsuhi in her quest to consolidate Krauss as the new head (though it's obvious that the subtext is that the "real" head is Natsuhi herself).
A bit later, Natsuhi gathers the four other people aware of the situation, and explains that the party line should be that Kinzo is still alive, though living as even more an hermit than before. His death should be announced later on, when Krauss's investments have paid off. Dr Nanjo is a bit wary of the future autopsy, but Krauss interjects that having Grampa disappear mysteriously on the island, and declaring him legally dead, should take care of the problem.
Okay, this is quite interesting. There's not much new information in this scene (Kyrie had guessed most of it back in EP 4), but it's nice to have a confirmation that corroborates everything else we know. It cements Krauss as a weak businessman, while bringing out interesting insights into Natsuhi. While she has a tighter grip on the situation than her husband, the Sanity Slippage is clearly showing. I can now totally buy her as someone fanatic enough to fulfil the epitath in order to find the gold, if despair at this situation going on for too long gets the better of her.
On a completely unrelated note, we have another clear usage of Beatrice's magic in a "positive" way (i.e., the MARIA/ANGE way) : it brings Grampa back from the dead. But as with Maria, I fear this is heading south very quickly...
We return months later to the 1985 family conference, where Natsuhi and Co. will be maintaining the mascarade of Grampa still being alive (obviously, Krauss's investments haven't paid off yet, which doesn't surprise me at all). Natsuhi has yet another pep talk with Grampa and Beatrice, who congratulate her for her strength, while they all walk in the garden. Oh, and Kanon somehow participates in the conversation...
"BREAK TIME !" interrupts Lambdadelta, which causes Bernkastel to deadpanly indicate that there are more discreet ways to ask for a bathroom break. It's time for Battler to explain why Grampa can still be walking around the mansion and interacting with people if he is dead. Surely it's magic !
(Insert here a lovely parody by Lambdadelta of Battler's catchphrases and tactics, including suggestions of a virus called Rokkenjima Syndrome, hallucinogenic scales of a butterfly only native to the island, ans a secret organisation called Yamainu using a mysterious delusion-causing drug.)
Of course, Battler sees the easy answer : it's just Natsuhi, Krauss and the servants doing their best to maintain the Mascarade, always talking as though Grampa was with them just a second ago. No magic needed.
Bernkastel slow claps, but what she adds is full of reproach against Battler's past tactics : she's playing the "mystery" side, so she'll avoid invoking crazy theories such as mystery drugs, mystery weapons and secret passages in her reasoning. They're barely different from Lambdadelta's "fantasy" tools, and thus self-defeating. Any such argument is a waste of time : Battler's strict "anti-fantasy" moves are sterile and lead nowhere.
Oh, and she points out that Beato's body is right behind they, suffering from his every blow against the "fantasy" side. Nice job hurting her, hero !
Back in the real world, Krauss's siblings and their families go back on the boat without having doubted an instant that Grampa was alive, and Natsuhi congratulates the servants for their acting chops while confirming they'll get a big fat bonus for this. Then she goes off to have tea with Beatrice, reminiscing about her honeymoon (it's not really flattering for Krauss).
Meanwhile, Battler is spoon-feeding tea to the inert Beato, while Bernkastel questions his resolve to really kill her. She compares his actions to removing fingernails, and that by taking so much time he's just making this torture more painful for Beato. And then, because every scene has to remind us that she's an asshole, she counters Battler's theory that Natsuhi may not be delusional, and is just talking to a real person calling herself Beatrice, by stating that Natsuhi is alone drinking tea. That was just cruel and unnecessary, and Battler rightly calls on her for it. Bernkastel doesn't care, and indicates that she's starting to enjoy the game, and certainly won't leave...
Well, that was certainly interesting. There's no surprising revelation in those flashbacks (we do get a confirmation that Kanon and Shannon are by now also in on the scam, but not the other nameless servants we don't care about), but the metagame is getting fun. Lambadelta's banter is hilarious (I love the constant Shout Outs and Take That! to Higurashi), but I'm more fascinated by the depiction of Bernkastel as irremediably evil. It's an interesting move, especially with the persisting suggestion that Beato may just doing a Wounded Gazelle Gambit as usual (presumably to get rid of Bernkastel).
edited 4th Jan '10 2:18:30 PM by Jhiday
"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
Bernkastel can be such a prick. My my Rika, how bitter can you get? 
Nearly one year later... And Krauss's investments still haven't paid off. It still looks good (or so it seems), but it needs more time : there's a big risk in appearing desperate to get the payoff quickly. So it's time for yet another mascarade for the 1986 family conference... This time around, Natsuhi plans for Grampa not to leave his study, and briefs the servants in the know accordingly.
Elsewhere, both Eva & Hideyoshi, and Rudolf & Kyrie, come separately to the conclusion that Grampa's death might have been hidden. (Kyrie is —ing scary here, ruthlessly suggesting using this as a bargaining chip against Krauss, and mentioning ominous "Kyoto contacts" able to do the research.) They meet with Rosa and promise her a share of several millions in exchange of her support. (Of course, Rosa has promised Maria to go to an attraction park that day, so she had to reluctantly use the flimsiest pretext to cancel that. Ah, Rosa, still the BEST MOM EVER, though this scene is rather sympathetic to her.)
(We also get a quick tender scene of Battler telling the comatose Beato that he doesn't care about the events before the fatal weekend, and asserts in blue theories that allow the possibility of her existence before then. This seems to heal her a bit after Bernkastel's piercing red truth. Owww...)
Back to Natsuhi, who receives a curious phone call by an anonymous person... who claims he's her son, wanting revenge for what she did 19 years ago. Wait, what ? Natsuhi mostly dismisses it as a prank call, though she does seem to have some painful memories from that time (that we don't get to learn anything about). Also, we get remarks that it's very difficult to discern if the call was from a girl or a boy, and what age they had.
Lambdadelta refuses to confirm the authenticity of this scene without a blue challenge, and Bernkastel doesn't press the issue (attacking before the fatal week-end isn't worth her while).
On this note, we finally start October 5th, 1986, the first day, around 11 AM...
More set-up giving us more info on everyone's mindset before the weekend... with a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of Rosa, while Kyrie sounds much more dangerous than usual. But the big surprise is Natsuhi's bizarre phone call, which is making me reconsider a lot of my assumptions about the events of 1968 (a very eventful year, with Battler & Jessica's births, "Beatrice" 's death, and Kyrie's supposed miscarriage). If something happened with Jessica's previously unmentioned child in 1967, it changes everything...
edited 5th Jan '10 12:29:22 PM by Jhiday
It's the big day, and it now seems clear that Gohda isn't in on the conspiracy. Which is for the best, since he spends the next scene trying to show off every bit of information he has in order to look better. Not really someone I'd trust with the secret (and it corroborates a few lines of dialogue from EP 2).
Beatrice presents Ronove and Gaap to Natsuhi, which doesn't really help her headache. Other than that, it's business as usual : the siblings are suspicious about Grampa's status, Rosa has yet again forgotten Maria in the garden under the rain...
But wait : she sees someone... she doesn't recognize at all !
Yep, it's our mystery girl. Erika Furudo, as she's named, fell off from a passing boat in the storm, and managed to swim to Rokkenjima, where everyone treats the poor girl as a guest. (Obviously, Natsuhi & co will take precautions so that she's kept away from the family conference and Kinzo's study.)
It's very obvious that Erika is Bernkastel's pawn (which she admits immediately), and in-game Beatrice & Ronove notice it immediately. (Wait, how can in-game Beatrice have autonomy and remember the 4th game where Bernkastel used Ange ? Oh, well, whatever.)
Bernkastel explains it all : since Battler was useless as a protagonist before, she's introduced Erika. She's the detective, and thus not the culprit. Furthermore, Erika didn't exist and had no influence in the four previous games. And with her, there's only one more person on the island than usual (and all of them are in the parlor room right now).
(Battler enumerates himself, Jessica, George, Maria, Krauss, Natsuhi, Eva, Hideyoshi, Rudolf, Kyrie, Rosa, Genji, Shannon, Kanon, Gohda, Kumasawa, Dr Nanjo and Erika... but I'm not discounting yet a silly eventuality such as someone else hidden behind a sofa or something.)
It's been mentioned already, but I couldn't find a good link before : Bernkastel claims she's abiding by Knox's 10 laws of mystery, which indeed includes that the detective can't be the culprit. And hey, it's confirmed in red. It's an interesting move, and it does give her a lot of freedom, which would explain why she appeared to be winning before the flashback. It strongly displeases Battler, of course, but then Bernkastel repeatedly says to his face that he's sucked up to now.
I'm really curious about where this story is going now...
"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
As usual, I only know broken bits of EP 5 so this is something I'm following diligently. I think more light will be shed on Knox's laws once the relevant Iron Maiden shows up.
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Up to now, I haven't said a thing about Erika's personality... because she's just been a cypher, a woobie for the main cast to confort. The dinner that evening (and the ensuing events) gives us a better idea of it, explaining how she fits nicely in the Ushiromiya household. Which is to say, she's a clever bastard like everyone else.
Wait, that didn't come right. Let's backtrack and elaborate.
Erika is completed unintimidated by the tense atmosphere inside Rokkenjima, or the high-class dinner she participates in. She's perfectly at home with the complex cutlery, for example. And then, seeing how tense this is making everybody, she breaks the mask (or does she ?) and starts babbling childish nonsense about the superiority of Japanese chopsticks, which livens up the mood and makes everyone relax. (This scene is described in Death Note-like detail, each casual line of dialogue underlined by the narration explaining the subtext and machinations of its author. In particular, Hideyoshi appears as a master of ice-breaking and Obfuscating Stupidity.)
Interestingly, for once the dinner does not go straight to the familial conference, as the lighter mood incites everyone to have a break. On the way to the guest house, Erika notices Beatrice's portrait, and the discussion shifts to the mysterious epitath. Apparently, she delights in this kind of intellectual puzzle, and becomes much more talkative as she reaches her first conclusion : the epitath is Grampa's sign that he does not want his succession to be simple for Krauss. He intends to make the solver of the riddle his full successor.
This is not really news for anyone, but having an outsider say it brings to the open what were only hopeful conjectures for most of them. And it really displeases Jessica, who does not like her father's status challenged, and has taken a strong dislike towards the newcomer (I presume that Natsuhi and Krauss are busy elsewhere, because we're not shown any reaction or presence from them). Thankfully, George prevents this from degenerating by shifting the conversation to the riddle itself. And Erika proposes to solve it with everyone...
Meanwhile, back outside the chessboard, Bernkastel announces she's achieved what Battler never could : solving the epitath riddle.
Ah, now this is getting even more interesting. Our first peek into Erika's character shows that she's a bit of a prick (she can't ignore that she's winding up Jessica, but still continues doing it), and we're promised a solution to the riddle right now, before any murder even occurs. (And remember, this is more or less a flashback : Bernkastel and Lambdadelta reenact the beginning of their game for Battler's benefit, so all of this has already happened for sure.)
"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
So far, Erika's bitchiness has been quite restrained (I'm treating her as a separate character from Bernkastel, who makes a point to be gratuitously nasty at least once per scene). She displayed some surprising tact in the dinner scene, and up to now she's only been provoking Jessica for no obvious reason. (I notice that Jessica is one of the first victims, and thus Erika doesn't need her cooperation to play detective later on. Hum...)
I'm sure she'll get worse, but let's not forget that she needs the cooperation of most of the others in order to do her detective work. So she can't ruffle too many feathers... (On the other hand, her profile in the TIPS indicate that she'll magically get the authority to wave accusations around because she's the detective.)
"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
Invoked Mary Sue and she becomes the Replacement Scrappy for Maria... then again Maria's Scrappy status may have gone down thanks to Alliance... unless you're a huge Rosa Musou fan.
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"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
EP 5 is really the point where Ryukishi07 is clearly hijacking things with Furude Rika.
Bernkastel transports herself, Lambdadelta and Battler (who takes some time getting used to it) to the Sea of Fragments : a black immensity containing an infinity of small shards representing each a parallel universe. According to Bernkastel, it's taken her a hundred or so fragments to sift through before solving the riddle, but this kind of miracle is kid's play for her.
And, er, I have no clue why she claims brute-forcing her way through, since the only fragment she's looking at is the third iteration (where both Eva and Rosa gave tons of hints while solving the riddle). But whatever.
New train of thought for solving the epitath : you have to take some word on the "first twilight", and then remove the six letters indicated by the key found in the earlier part of the riddle. Then each further sacrifice removes a new letter (and the third twilight is some sort of anagramming). Good way to make this epitath less morbid.
At some point during this scene, we have shifted back to Erika & co trying to solve the riddle through exactly the same line reasonning. Battler himself makes quite a lot of clever guesses, which is to be expected since Bernkastel was playing him at that point. But then Maria yawns, which is the signal for nearly everybody to go to sleep (it's nearly 10 PM). Battler talks a bit with Rosa while cleaning up, which is a pretext to discuss further one of her theories (basically, the "first twilight" may be a place somewhere along the way between Kinzo's childhood town and the golden land).
Infuriatingly, Lambdadelta has decided earlier that she wouldn't give out the location of Kinzo's childhood town (the riddle would apparently be too easy), so even though Rosa knows it, she doesn't tell it in front of us (or at all, maybe).
Battler then finds Erika snooping around the same library in the guest house that Eva spent some time in during Episode 3 (how did she get the key ?). More theorizing, and I have the sinking feeling we won't get to hear the actual solution to the riddle yet. Erika seems to be on to something, but she has to check an atlas first.
Scene switch to Natsuhi, who's very tired from maintaining the mascarade for a full day (Krauss has gone straight to sleep). And still at least 36 hours to go ! She's conversing with Beato, Virgilia and Ronove in Grampa's study about what to do next, since it's impossible to keep the study protected for so long. Virgilia suggests having Grampa appear to walk around, but Natsuhi thinks it's ludicruous : they dismissed that plan as too dangerous to reiterate this year, remember ?
Gaap shows up, and suggests having Grampa disappear. It's rather risky, but at least that's a fallback plan if nothing else works. Natsuhi relents lets herself be convinced by Virgilia to try perfecting her own plan for now.
I had been wondering about various instances when Beato mentionned Bernkastel by name, and identified Erika as her pawn ; here she slips up by mentionning she's the Witch of Certainty. Hello-o, Lambdadelta ! OF COURSE you're playing Beato in this game...
Back to Battler and Erika, who are now somewhere outside under the rain, fiddling with some sort of mechanism ("so that's what gouging the leg means !"). See what I mean about the riddle's solution staying hidden for now ? Erika claims again that she's only in this for the thrill of riddle-solving, and if they find the gold it will be rightfully Battler's (with the Head position this implies). He's not exactly thrilled about this ("Krauss can keep the headship !"), and even less by Erika's apparent delight at imagining Jessica's reaction ("I'm an intellectual rapist who enjoys exposing things people try to hide, get it ?").
While looking away in disgust, Battler sees something that looks a lot like Grampa's silhouette, who seems to silently approve of him solving the riddle, and pointing him towards something that has moved. When Erika turns around, Grampa has disappeared, but it does seem to indicate the entrance to those mysterious tunnels... And they find the gold.
Lambdadelta immediately confirms that it's the real gold treasure, and none of it is fake. And both Battler and Bernkastel (in flashback) counter Grampa's appearance by claiming that Battler was a bit overexcited, and must have mistaken some random drape for Grampa's caped silhouette. Lambdadelta lets it rest.
Back to the real world, Erika makes it clear that she won't keep quite about solving the riddle, so there's no way for Battler to keep it quiet like Eva and Rosa did. She delights in advance of all the chaos this will cause amongst the family...
Longer update than usual, but there was no good way to break this scene up. And the night still isn't over.
I'm a bit miffed that we're still withheld the actual solution to the riddle (even though piece-Battler knows it now), but, eh, it doesn't matter. I'm a lot more interested in the upcoming infighting between the relatives when Battler announces he's found the gold. This promises to be bloody...
(Oh, and Erika is indeed a bitch. She really doesn't care about the consequences of what she does...)
10:45 PM : Natsuhi is awaken inside Grampa's study by Eva's knocking, who insists that Grampa come out. Krauss calls out by phone and explains that Battler and Erika claim to have found the gold, and are going to lead everyone there. Oh noes ! How will Natsuhi get out of the study without Grampa's secret being exposed ?
edited 8th Jan '10 1:05:49 AM by Jhiday
"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
Well this is interesting. Natsuhi's has to keep it up somehow...
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Usually when I read a bit beyond the end of a scene, I tend to leave my notes for publication the next day, but this Cliffhanger was too good to pass. I have absolutely no clue how Natsuhi is getting out of this predicament.
Natsuhi is desperate... but Krauss comes with Genji, and skillfully distracts Eva while his wife gets out of Grampa's study. Eva's pissed when she hears the auto-lock behind her, but the three conspirators manage to calm her down. Well, that was quite the Pseudo-Crisis. Sorry for abusing my Cliffhanger powers.
Grampa, Beato, Virgilia and Ronove discuss the recent news : after all, Beato promised to stop the ceremony if someone solved the epitath (and it looks like Battler has no intention to worship her, either). On Beato's insistence, they agree to keep supporting Natsuhi's mascarade until the end of the weekend, since she's been so noble and all.
The scene cuts to everyone else (except for Jessica, George and Maria) having been led to the gold's hiding place. They're ecstatic, until Erika coughs and reminds them that Battler is the one that can claim full credit for finding it. Now, shall we start the real family conference ?
After Erika's little speech, things become really ugly. Everyone squabbles about how the gold should be divided, and whether Battler really has become the head's successor. Natsuhi won't have any of it, but it backfires in the other siblings demanding Grampa to play referee. After a while, they all notice that this damp, cold room isn't the best place for arguing, and head back for the mansion.
Erika's delighted by all this strife, of course. Battler is obviously disgusted by all this, but reasoned that announcing he doesn't want the headship would only make things worse. So he just shuts his mouth and hopes this will settle down somehow. He tries going along with Erika when she returns to the guesthouse, but his parents catch him and firmly nudge him towards the mansion for the family conference.
Back to outside the game board, Battler asks the comatose Beato whether she is happy now that he's solved the epitaph, as she was always asking for in her letters. Virgilia helpfully (?) informs us that Beato has nothing to gain from the riddle being solved. So why does she ask for that ? If solving the riddle is meaningless to Beato, and she agrees to stop the murders in exchange of it... then that means that the murders are meaningless too, right ? They're only a means to the end that is Beato's real objective... and if Beato really wanted to kill the whole family, the epitaph murders are very inefficient : why not put just poison in the food or murder everyone at the same time ?
Battler reasons that there could be three reasons for the epitaph murders to happen as they do if Beato gets no direct benefit from them :
- Obsfuscating the real sequence of deaths, allowing for the real culprit to fake their own death and confuse everybody. But most of the deaths are confirmed in red for Battler, so this is useless and can't be the real reason.
- Coincidence. But Beato went out of her way to give advance notice of the murders, and they still always happen the "right" way, so that can't be it.
- Which only leaves out... Inspiring fear on the victims. And logically, Beato would always leave her primary target alone until the end, while first killing everyone they hold dear. Considering the jumbled murder orders in the various scenarios, that would make the primary target... Battler ? (I'm guessing he's already taking EP 5 into account in order to discard Maria.)
Virgilia helpfully pipes in to indicate that Battler isn't the culprit and didn't kill anyone in any of the games. Beato isn't doing this to inspire fear or take revenge. So, why ? Why is Beato throwing those epitaph murders at Battler ? What is she trying to get from him ? Virgilia adds that Beato doesn't get any pleasure from the murders, so it must be something else. Is it related to that plea in EP 4 for him to remember his "sin" from 6 years ago ?
Battler still can't discern her motives, but he vows not to stop thinking.
An interesting instalment. Once the Pseudo-Crisis is averted, nothing of interest happens on the game board, but we are then treated to a very nice scene of Battler actually thinking about the big picture. Finally ! This is stuff everyone has been WMG-ing for a while, so it's cool for it to be acknowledge in-show as a crucial part of the plot, and used as a step towards the resolution. Also, Battler for once using his brain is a welcome novelty.
"keionbu ni yokusou, nyan?"
OH YES WMG. I like white ponies.
Natsuhi had the good instinct to pretend that Grampa had confiscated Genji's second key to the study ; with Grampa not responding, there's no way to enter it and the conference resumes in the dining room. Even the narration is bored to tears of the relatives' arguments, and the first actual line of dialogue spoken is Hideyoshi complaining that the conversation is running in circles and asking for a break.
Since Krauss has been weaselling out of his statements he'd made earlier, the relatives decide to start taking minutes. And since a written document is easily tampered with, they'll use Grampa's tape recorder (ah, 80s tech !). After that, Krauss & Natsuhi leave for a discreet planning session, and Genji is sent to have some tea prepared.
By the way, I said earlier that "everyone but the 3 children" was led to the gold. It appears that's not true, and only the parents, Genji, Battler and Erika went there. At the very least, Shannon and Kanon aren't in the secret, and everyone keeps quiet when they bring the tea. Which doesn't prevent Hideyoshi from trying to break the ice by being chummy with them (to their obvious discomfort).
Before Hideyoshi can extort the secret of Kanon's favourite TV show, there is a mysterious knock on the door. It sounds like a servant's knock, but Gohda and Kumawasa should be in the guesthouse, and Genji doesn't knock like that. Who is it ? It's now exactly midnight...
But before resolving this slightly lame cliffhanger, let's backtrack a bit to Krauss and Natsuhi's conversation. Natsuhi is now in tears, and advocates for staging Grampa's disappearance in the morning ; Krauss tries to convince her to keep it as a trump card until the last moment. He'll take full responsibility if it goes south, and has even prepared divorce files and special funds so that she and Jessica can go unscathed when the Ushiromiya family collapses. (And I notice that he's using when instead of if now : has he resigned himself ?) Anyway, she's tired and should go and have some sleep, he'll finish the night alone.
Genji interrupts, and tactfully takes Natsuhi aside. The prank caller is calling again ! (The clock ominously rings midnight right then.) Natsuhi pretexts to her husband that she's calling it a day, and locks herself in her room after having Genji transfer the call there. The guy (?) is as rude as before, and demands to know what Natsuhi's favourite season is (no, not summer ; it's fall). He then has her look under the clock in her room... where she finds a card with "fall" written on it.
Wait, is this guy on the island right now ? So he says : after all, he could have gotten there before the storm. Heck, even that Erika girl arrived during the storm. (Oh, nice way to prove he's aware of the island's latest happenings.) Anyway, she doesn't want him to meet her husband or her daughter (or anyone else), right ? So she'll obey his orders : keep herself locked inside her room, and don't answer to anybody. Got that ?
Back to the dining room with the mysterious knock. After some bewilderment, Kanon asks for permission to open the door... and finds nobody there. There's just one of the darned envelopes... (Wait a second : who put it there and knocked ? We know Krauss, Natsuhi and Genji's whereabouts at that exact moment, all the others are in the guesthouse, and the doors are locked.) Anyway, Rudolf opens it. Inside : Grampa's ring, and a letter from Beatrice congratulating Battler for reaching the Golden Land and acknowledging him as both the gold's owner and the new head. All the parents urge Battler to pass the ring to his finger, which he reluctantly does. Krauss and Genji chose this moment to come back and announce that Natsuhi has retired to her room. Krauss is obviously shocked by this latest development...
Okay, this is getting very intriguing. If the scene with Krauss, Natsuhi & Genji is genuine, who knocked and put that letter there ? Who's that calling Natsuhi (if she's not stark raving mad) ? The mysteries start piling up...
edited 10th Jan '10 1:51:18 PM by Jhiday
Oh, I can't wait until you find out who's calling her. 
Wait, you're confirming that someone is really calling her, and we'll get the answer this chapter ? Interesting...
Just for giggles, my current theories :
- Krauss and Genji are out, as their voices don't fit (though Genji may be an accomplice and lying about the first call coming from outside the island)
- We get a big bunch of suspects eliminated by having an iron-clad alibi at the time of the call : Battler, Rudolf, Kyrie, Eva, Hideyoshi, Maria, and especially Shannon and Kanon, my go-to suspects for hidden children of dubious origin. (By the way, the heavy implication so far is that Natsuhi had an illegitimate child around 1967, and "got rid of it".)
- Erika would just be a cheat, so she's out.
- Dr Nanjo and Gohda are too old for the voice to fit. Also, Kumasawa is a great actress, but this may be getting a bit far-fetched.
- Jessica would be hilarious, but I kinda doubt it.
- Maria is far too young. Seriously.
- George would be interesting... But I struggle to reconcile this with the backstory.
So, er, I don't have any real suspect. (Damn you, show, for ruling out Kanon and Shannon immediately !) George, Jessica, or maybe Kumasawa are barely in the lead.
If it does end up being Erika, I'll be quite disappointed. Especially since the voice is doing their best to frame Natsuhi for the upcoming murders, which is what the culprit would do. And Erika is not the culprit. (Though neither are Jessica and George in this iteration, from the look of it. Darn, my brain hurts.)
Actually, maybe Natsuhi is the culprit, and killed the caller in a twisted sort of self-defense. No ruling out Jessica and George, then.
edited 11th Jan '10 7:42:07 AM by Jhiday
Hey, I didn't confirm someone's calling her. :P
Which is not to say that nobody is, but hey, you know how this show is. It might all be her delusions. Who's to say?
It's Christmas ! The Witch Hunt have finally released their translation patch for Ep 5 !
This liveblog will probably resume very soon.