Yo dawg so I heard you like meta...

August 16, 2010 11:10 AM

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (warning: that entire description is possibly a lie) is a dojin visual novel (or, as the creators prefer, a sound novel) that has recently reached its seventh chapter Japanese. In addition, a group called the Witch Hunt has recently released an English patch for the sixth chapter. Forming the third and fourth part of the When They Cry series that began with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Umineko cranks the concept of metanarrative up to 11 and then breaks the knob.

The "game", such as it is, is really between the readers and the author and the internet is rife with speculations and theores. While this may be true for any traditional mystery, the author Ryukishi07 is going for something somewhat different.

A free, English translated first chapter is available for PC and Mac. An anime adaptation also covered the first four chapters.
(Note: "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" translates to "when the seagulls cry". If you run it through Google translate you will get something about seacats.)

posted by charred husk (9 comments total)

Sounds interesting. And I even have a PC! But it isn't running Windows. :(
posted by DU at 11:16 AM on August 16, 2010

I just came here to say that I can read the entire first paragraph of this FPP repeatedly and have the strangest sensation that the language center of my brain is no longer working. It's fun. I hope it's harmless.
posted by hippybear at 11:20 AM on August 16, 2010 [5 favorites]

DU: "Sounds interesting. And I even have a PC! But it isn't running Windows. :("

I had it running with Wine for a while, so no excuses! :)
posted by charred husk at 11:28 AM on August 16, 2010

I watched the Higurashi anime adaptation a while back, and was really hooked on it. I've been wanting to give Umineko a try, but I don't like waiting on cliffhangers, so I was trying to put it off. Though, based on this, I may have to give it a look now anyway...
posted by Katrel at 11:29 AM on August 16, 2010

Oh, wow. I loved Higurashi, but didn't know they'd gone on to do this. I definitely want to check it out and say thanks for the post. I had only watched the anime and gone through the first of the novels, though, not ALL of the previous chapters. It sounds like that's plenty of background to jump right in to this. Do you have a feeling about the minimum amount you need to know / be familiar with, and what the OK entry points are?
posted by tyllwin at 11:51 AM on August 16, 2010

You seem to be managing OK, pts
posted by tyllwin at 12:18 PM on August 16, 2010

I work as a Japanese translator and I have no clue what this FPP is about.

My confusion is actually kind of cool, though, as it means Japanese sub-pop-culture is maturing and developing and spreading to wider and wider audiences who may not necessarily be Japanophiles per se, but are just interested in it because it's cool, not because it is Japanese.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:56 PM on August 16, 2010

I've recently started in on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni anime after it kept being recommened to me by friends and although the violence is pretty brutal it's kind of... Fascinating to watch and the idea of the different scenarios is cool too.
I can't wait to read this though.
posted by lauratheexplorer at 3:09 PM on August 16, 2010

Oh man, Higurashi! Groundhog Day gone horribly wrong, was how I briefly described it to my husband. It's one of those "don't get attached to these characters overmuch" types of stories, though I've only seen the anime and manga, and haven't had a chance to play the games. I really want to, though.

Umineko sounds intriguing. I'll have to look in this.
posted by palabradot at 3:32 PM on August 16, 2010