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This article is about a character in Umineko When They Cry. |
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Ange Ushiromiya (
As the last living Ushiromiya family member in 1998, Ange sets out to find the truth of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders. She first appears in Banquet of the Golden Witch.
Profile[]
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The daughter of Rudolf and Kyrie. Battler's younger sister from a different mother. She hasn't come in contact with Battler often, but is extremely fond and respectful of him. She was sick and absent during the family conference, so she always ends up surviving in solitude. A very unfortunate girl whose heart is in tatters. Has a bad habit of always walking around with massive amounts of cash, throwing it out to whoever comes first. |
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Appearance[]
Ange has upper-back auburn hair that is usually tied in small pigtails and is secured by a cheap accessory that was given to her by Battler. She has square bangs hanging over her forehead and dark-blue eyes.
As a young woman, she wears a black blazer with a black belt over a white collared shirt with a lavender bow tie, along with a white skirt, long black stockings, and plain black shoes. She wears a red armband with the Ushiromiya crest on her left arm. Kasumi Sumadera points out that she inherited the shape of Kyrie's eyes and nose. In addition, Ange seems to be well-endowed, which she also inherited from her mother.
In her appearance as a six-year-old girl, she wears a green dress with a lavender bow and white socks and plain shoes; the Ushiromiya crest is displayed on her left sock. She also wears a golden butterfly key given to her by Battler.
Personality[]
Before the Rokkenjima incident, Ange was like any regular young girl; cheerful and upbeat who loves her family, especially her older brother Battler despite not seeing each other so often. She also hates being alone.
After the events on Rokkenjima with Eva the only supposed survivor and the rest of her family dead, Ange's personality changed. Due to the hardship she had been put through from the loneliness she suffered and the pressure of being the next head, as well as being manipulated by Bernkastel into rejecting Eva as a surrogate mother, Ange lost her smile, developing her cold, calm, and cynical personality.
As a young woman, Ange can also be sarcastic at times and like her brother, she has a habit of saying, "It's useless, it's all useless" during difficult situations. Despite her cold and calm front, she would sometimes be emotional, especially during the EP 7 Tea Party when she broke down after Bernkastel shows her the truth of the Rokkenjima Massacre. It can also be noted that deep down, because of her grief, she became bitter and lonely, resulting in Ange wanting to find the truth. It is also what clouded her memories on the happy moments she had with her family.
Abilities[]
When Ange inherited the titles of Golden Witch and Endless Witch from Eva, as well as the name Beatrice, Bernkastel recognized her as the witch ANGE-Beatrice. She was taught magic by MARIA through Maria's diary.
When ANGE-Beatrice's magical abilities manifest, she is recognized as the Witch of Resurrection (反魂の魔女 Hangon no Majo), as she was able to resurrect Sakutarou from the remainders of his vessel; Beatrice was unable to accomplish this, as she believed Rosa destroyed Sakutarou by denying his existence. Ange is also able to summon the Seven Stakes of Purgatory as well, even in areas full of anti-magic toxin.
Because she hails from 12 years in the future, ANGE-Beatrice has developed a high-magical resistance, making her dangerous to witches, who see her as the ideal witch-hunting witch. While Ange herself denies the existence of magic, she admits that it can exist for others. Ange's moveset in Golden Fantasia shows that she is also capable of close-range combat.
In Twilight of the Golden Witch, Ange fully unlocks her magical abilities, now able to revive anything she wishes to within the cat-box and uses the Golden Truth to stop Bernkastel from definitively destroying her family with the Red Truth.
Background[]
Ange was Rudolf's illegitimate child with Kyrie, as at the time he was already married to Asumu. Because of this, Battler rebelled and left the Ushiromiya family, partly so that when Ange is born, she would have a loving home and family.
After her birth, she had a nice childhood for the first six years of her life. Ange grew to be very close to her brother Battler despite only meeting him on her birthdays. At some point in time, she sneaked into her parents' room and found Kyrie's diary which details on how much she hated Asumu. On one of her birthdays, she and her family went to an amusement park where Battler won cheap hair ornaments from a crane game, a possession which she would treasure for the rest of her life.
She was also close to Maria, and would often play with her doll Sakutarou at every family conference. However, on the family conference of 1986, Ange was sick and so could not attend. That same year, the Rokkenjima Massacre occurred with only her aunt, Eva, surviving the incident. As a result, Eva became her foster parent. When Eva took her in her care, she welcomed Ange with open arms, telling her that she could count on her for anything, so that they would slowly become happy again. At first, they had a good start for a good relationship, but this would eventually all come down to nothing.
The short story The Witches' Tanabata shows that Ange made a wish for her family to come back. Bernkastel visited her and told her that she would grant Ange's wish if she denied Eva's offer of a loving relationship, convincing her that there was only room in Ange's heart for one mother, Kyrie, and she couldn't let Eva take her place. Because she was still a child, Ange believed Bernkastel and followed her instructions, purposely destroying her relationship with Eva, even until the latter's death.
As a teenager, she was enrolled at St. Lucia's. By the time she was already a teenager, it has already become common public knowledge that Eva would give all her assets to Ange by the time she dies. As a result, the public already started to believe in the Rudolf's family culprit theory, and thus she became a subject to bullying by her classmates, as her classmates believed that even though her brother and parents tried to take the gold for themselves, Ange would still inherit everything. It has also became public knowledge that she had a full-blooded relationship with Battler, and that they are not half-siblings. She has also learned all about the illegal and fraudulent businesses that her parents were involved in.
Ange with her illusory cousin Maria
Because of this, she was a lonely teenager, and escaped her harsh reality by reading Maria's diary and creating imaginary friends. Through this, she was able to create an illusory version of Maria, Sakutarou and the Stakes of Purgatory. She also learned about Maria's life story before the Rokkenjima incident. She learned magic to become the Witch of Resurrection and learned how to summon the Stakes of Purgatory, although initially, she was only able to summon Mammon, who later on became her close friend. For a bit, her teenage years became a bit bright and happy and eventually was able to summon all seven sisters, who eventually became her Furniture.
At the same time, however, bullying became much more harsh, and one day, she asked her Furniture to kill her bullies, but they couldn't, and so one by one, they refused her order, and at the same time denied their existence, thus killing them. She also ended up killing Maria, Sakutarou and finally her best-friend, Mammon, who told her that in the end she is just a lonely person. It was not until that at the end of her graduation she would be able to summon them again. On Eva's deathbed, she finally asked her what happened on Rokkenjima, but ultimately, Eva refused to tell her, grabbed her hair and told her to ask her parents who are now in hell. She dies without an answer and Ange inherited all of Eva's assets. This marked the beginning of her search for the truth of Rokkenjima.
Relationships[]
Overview[]
Relatives
- Ushiromiya Family
- Rudolf Ushiromiya (father)
- Kyrie Ushiromiya (mother)
- Battler Ushiromiya (older brother)
- Eva Ushiromiya (paternal aunt, legal guardian post 1986)
- Maria Ushiromiya (older cousin, mentor)
- Kasumi Sumadera (maternal aunt)
- Beatrice (predecessor, ally, opponent)
- EVA-Beatrice (paternal aunt, predecessor, enemy turned ally, adoptive mother)
- Seven Sisters of Purgatory (furniture, friends)
- Mammon (best friend)
- Sakutarou (friend, furniture)
- Erika Furudo (ally, enemy)
- Bernkastel (witch guardian, rival, enemy)
- Lambdadelta (witch guardian, miko of, opponent)
- Featherine Augustus Aurora (master, witch guardian, miko of)
Other
- Juuza Amakusa (bodyguard)
- Tetsurou Okonogi (ally)
- Tohya Hachijo (colleague)
Battler Ushiromiya[]
Battler is Ange's older brother, and despite Battler's falling out with Rudolf he still loved to hang out with Ange. During a trip to an amusement park, Battler won some hair ornaments from a crane game as a gift for Ange, which she still cherishes.
Beatrice[]
Ange is a successor to Beatrice because of her role as ANGE-Beatrice, however the two have an antagonistic relationship. Ange wants to defeat Beatrice to free her family from 1986 Rokkenjima no matter what. In Twilight, Ange fights back against Beato and Battler before finally coming to accept her.
Side arcs usually feature the two bickering with one another and fighting over Battler.
Eva Ushiromiya[]
As the only survivor of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders, Eva gained custody of her niece Ange, who had been absent on the day of the 1986 family conference. She tried to accept Ange as her new daughter, but her intentions were muddled by her grief regarding the loss of her son George. She thus tried to raise her as the successor in her son's place, but Ange was less receptive to her strict upbringing and unwilling to accept her as her new mother. This was further strained by Eva's constant comparisons of Ange to her deceased son. As a result of Ange's rejection of her and increasing pressure put on her by the public, Eva's relationship with Ange grew increasingly sour and resentful. By the time of Eva's death, their relationship had deteriorated beyond repair, and Eva's categorical refusal to tell Ange the truth about her family's death infuriated her further. She died cursing Ange, with her final action being to grant her the entirety of the Ushiromiya fortune and name in an attempt to lead her to the same fate she ended up in.
In the final two arcs, it is revealed that Eva had refused to tell the truth to Ange in an attempt to hide the fact that her parents had been responsible for the massacre. The side story The Witches' Tanabata also revealed that Bernkastel played a role in Ange's rejection of Eva, by having her promise to never accept Eva as her new mother for the illusory possibility that that would allow her parents to one day return home.
Juuza Amakusa[]
Amakusa is Ange's bodyguard. She is sometimes annoyed by Amakusa's joking attitude, but she seems to regard it as just the right relaxation after she figured out how to treat him. On the other hand, Amakusa is swept away by Ange's free-spiritedness, but he thinks that such a life is not so bad. The two may be more alike than they think.[1]
Lambdadelta[]
Lambda is also an opponent to Ange, similar to Battler. However, Lambda sees value in Ange as a tool to help her stay with Bern forever. She tries convincing Ange to become her piece instead of Bern's and stall the game for as long as possible, but it fails. Lambda considers Ange a failure after this and is not very interested in her development in later arcs, as seen in Requiem of the Golden Witch when she tells a distressed Ange to pipe down as the true events of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders are playing out. However, in Twilight of the Golden Witch, Lambda comes to sympathize with Ange and names her and the rest of the Golden Land residents as her mikos, fighting on their behalf.
Maria Ushiromiya[]
Maria is Ange's older cousin through her paternal aunt Rosa. Ange was initially very close to Maria, and would often often gladly taken Sakutaro and all the other toys and played with her cousin and even let her into the exclusive alliance of witches created by her and Beatrice. However, when Ange made fun of her one day because her mother had told her that Sakutarou was just a plush toy and not a real child like them and their classmates, Maria expelled her from her life and her magical world, even going so far as to write in her diary that she hated Ange as much as she hated Rosa after the latter destroyed Sakutarou.
Kyrie Ushiromiya[]
Kyrie is Ange's mother, seemingly caring for Ange deeply, as she would let Battler live as she knew it would make Ange sad. However, in Requiem of the Golden Witch,it is revealed that Kyrie saw Ange as nothing more than a chain to hold Rudolf, never truly loving Ange as her daughter.
Rudolf Ushiromiya[]
Rudolf is Ange's father. While their relationship is never greatly expanded in the story, Rudolf does greatly love Ange from the bottom of his heart and so does she, fondly remembering him and Kyrue dearly and part of the reason she refused to accept Eva as her new mother was because she doesn't think anyone could ever replace her parents.
Featherine Augustus Aurora[]
Ange first meets Featherine in her human form as Tohya and soon becomes her Reader. Though Ange speaks to her very rudely, Featherine overlooks this and is actually amused by it greatly.
Role in the Story[]
Legend of the Golden Witch[]
Ange is mentioned at the beginning of the game by Eva asking how is she doing and Kyrie replying that she is sick and is staying with her family.
Banquet of the Golden Witch[]
At the end of the episode, Ange invades the meta-world to stop Battler from falling for Beatrice's deception. Beato welcomes her to the game after seeing that she's Bernkastel's piece.
In the ???, Ange speaks to a bedridden Eva and asks what really happened on Rokkenjima that day. She learns nothing and soon inherits the assets and headship of the Ushiromiya family.
Ange then stands atop a skyscraper and considers jumping off when Bernkastel approaches her, saying that she can defeat Beatrice and take her family back if she joins. Some guards appear to get Ange away from the edge, and she agrees to Bern's plan and jumps off.
Alliance of the Golden Witch[]
Gretel
Beatrice introduces Ange to Battler, who has no idea that Ange is actually his sister. Ange gives her name as "Gretel," as Bern had given her a golden rule: in order to stay with her beloved brother, she must never reveal her identity to him. However, when Battler falls into utter depression and defeat, Ange tries to regain it and tells him that his little sister is waiting for him back at home. "Don't leave me...alone..." Ange says. Battler soon realizes that the Ange of 1986 is waiting for him, and then the thought of 'Gretel' being his sister quickly consumes his mind. Before he can say anything to her, Ange is painfully ripped to shreds and disappears from the Meta-World.
World of 1998
Ange goes to investigate what really happened on Rokkenjima, taking her bodyguard Amakusa with her. She meets with Professor Ootsuki, a member of the Witch Hunters, a group of people obsessed with the mystery of the Rokkenjima Incident. Ange also interviews relatives of those who died in the incident, namely Masayuki Nanjo and Sabakichi Kumasawa. Along the way, Ange is hunted by Kasumi Sumadera, who wants to kill her and ensure that the Ushiromiya family wealth goes to her company.
Ange and Amakusa finally head to the island itself, getting assistance from Captain Kawabata, who had ferried the Ushiromiyas to the family conference in the preceding years. It is there that Ange faces off with Kasumi for the last time.
During the credits, it is stated that Ange died in 1998.
Dawn of the Golden Witch[]
Ange suddenly awakens in the room of an infamous author, Tohya Hachijo, who wrote novels about what happened during the Rokkenjima Mass Murder Case of 1986. Ange doesn't believe what Tohya wrote and quickly discerns that Tohya Hachijo is the witch Featherine Augustus Aurora. After much discussion and arguing, Featherine hands Ange a copy of her newest work: Dawn of the Golden Witch. Ange is then given the opportunity to find out the truth of Rokkenjima, by herself, by reading the manuscript. During that time, she is shocked how Battler became the new Game Master as well as his new motives in reviving Beatrice. She continues to read to learn why Beatrice later became so important to Battler. Ange later becomes displeased with her brother's initial cold treatment of the Chick Beato; while even though Ange still had a grudge against Beatrice, Ange agrees with Chiyo Kumasawa that Battler's behavior was very displeasing for any woman and grew sympathetic to the Chick Beatrice.
Requiem of the Golden Witch[]
In the Tea Party, Ange and Lion are summoned by Bernkastel to a theatre stage to watch the true events of what transpired on Rokkenjima, where they are tortured with the story of Ange's parents, Rudolf and Kyrie being the true culprits. After watching the events all the way through, Ange is ripped apart by Bernkastel as Lion looks on in horror.
At the end of the story, Battler finds a young Ange in the Chapel, who asks him to tell her what happened on Rokkenjima on October 4th, 1986.
Twilight of the Golden Witch[]
Battler and Ange enter the eighth game
A young Ange is taken to Rokkenjima by Battler, allowing her to finally join the family conference. Ange soon realizes that things are different, as the family members are acting incredibly nice to each other instead of fighting over the inheritance. Nevertheless, Ange puts her suspicions aside and joins the conference festivities, which ends with a quiz session.
After the quiz session, Ange falls asleep and is taken to the parlor, being given a prize from the quiz. She later wakes up and falls into Bernkastel's game, being lured to the dining room by a black cat and discovers the corpses of her family. Ange is then attacked by several Goats repeating that Battler, Kyrie, and Rudolf are the culprits, and Ange is swiftly rescued by Erika and EVA-Beatrice. Ange then realizes that Battler had been lying to her about her family in this 8th game. She accepts her role as ANGE-Beatrice and joins with Erika and EVA to seize the Book of the One Truth (Eva's diary) so she can learn the real truth of Rokkenjima.
After repeated fights with Battler and his allies, Ange seizes the key to Eva's diary and retreats to the City of Books. She reads the One Truth and encounters several goats yelling that "This is the truth" in red before hurling herself off the City of Books into a void.
Ange reawakens in the Golden Land and reconciles with her family, plotting with Battler and the others to stop Featherine and Bernkastel from revealing the truth of Rokkenjima. After a fierce battle, Ange is able to unlock her powers as the Witch of Resurrection, summoning her family and all the fantasy beings to unite as one and deal the finishing blow to Bern.
Ange is finally given a sendoff into the future by her family, who present her with two doors. Beatrice also performs a candy trick for Ange, with the possible answers being Magic or Trick; the player's answer determines which door Ange chooses.
In the Trick ending, Ange is on a boat heading to Rokkenjima and is holding the present from the quiz session, which she then throws into the ocean. When Amakusa asks why she did this, Ange shoots him and Captain Kawabata, suspecting them of trying to kill her. Ange is congratulated by Erika for becoming a fellow Witch of Truth, and Ange sets out to discover the real truth of Rokkenjima.
In the Magic ending, Ange resigns her position as the head of the Ushiromiya family and leaves Okonogi in charge of her family's estates and to deal with the Sumadera family. Through arrangements made by Okonogi, she retires to live privately and becomes the last Beatrice.
As she discarded her original identity as "Ushiromiya Ange", therefore the "old Ange" had "died", which corresponds to the statement that Ange died in 1998. In actuality though, she's still alive, but under a different identity.
Decades later, Ange establishes herself as a writer named Yukari Kotobuki (寿 ゆかり Kotobuki Yukari), whose most well-known work is an adventure series called The Adventures of Sakutarou (さくたろうの大冒険 Sakutarou no dai bōken). Because of her works, Ange is given the opporunity to meet Tohya Hachijo again. During this meeting, Ange learns that the real Tohya Hachijo is actually her brother, who survived the Rokkenjima Incident but developed memory problems. While they go their separate ways, Ange eventually invites Tohya to the refurbished Fukuin House for a Halloween Party, allowing Tohya to cope with his memories as Battler.
Trivia[]
- Ange's first name (
縁寿 , Enje) comprises of the kanji characters (縁, lit. bonds, fate, destiny, relationships) and (寿, lit. felicitations, longevity). "Ange" also means "angel" in French.- Ange's pseudonym, Yukari Kotobuki (寿ゆかり Kotobuki Yukari), is derived from the characters used to write "Ange" (縁寿). The first character '縁' can be read as "Yukari" and the second character '寿' can also be read as "Kotobuki".
- Ange was named after the Ragnarok Online spell Angelus.[2]
- Ange's boarding school, St. Lucia Academy shares the same name as the school Shion Sonozaki attended in Higurashi When They Cry. Interestingly, Ange and Shion's original visual novel sprites share the same emblem on their upper left arm. However their uniforms are significantly different.
- Although not related, Saint Lucia is an island Agatha Christie visited on holiday to influence her works. Her story And Then There Were None was an influence for Umineko No Naku Koro ni. In the novel, people are on an island killed one by one and no one can figure out who the murderer is; all the murders happen according to a song/poem.
- Ange's alias "Gretel" is a reference to the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, in which the titular Hansel and Gretel are a brother and sister who were abandoned by their parents in the forest and then encounter an old witch who intended on eating them. Hansel is kept captive by the witch who fattens him up to consume him later. Gretel, who is forced to do chores for the witch, tricks her in the end and kills her; after which she escapes with her brother.
- Ryukishi07 intended to give Ange a witch costume but ran out of time. The child Ange sprites were also combined from parts of other sprites.[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 07th Expansion All Character Settings Collection
- ↑ Episode 2 Shinsou Kaimei Dokuhon: Umineko Exhibit Report
- ↑ Episode 8 Shinsou Kaimei Dokuhon
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