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Opening is the first episode of the Umineko When They Cry anime adaptation and the beginning of Legend of the Golden Witch.

Synopsis[]

The Ushiromiya family holds an annual conference on the island of Rokkenjima, said to be haunted by the Golden Witch Beatrice. The family head, Kinzo, is expected to die soon and so the family is preoccupied with how to divide his inheritance. With the return of Battler Ushiromiya after a six-year absence, the arrival of a typhoon trapping everyone on the island, and the presence of a mysterious letter, this conference of 1986 won't be like any others.

Plot Summary[]

Prologue[]

Ep1-1

"Oh! Beatrice!"

The episode starts off inside the study of Kinzo Ushiromiya, who is seen in his recliner, drinking a sinister green alcoholic concoction. He grimly asks how much longer he has left to live, as the thunder rolls in the background. A troubled Terumasa Nanjo, his personal physician, answers that he only has around three months to live as the lightning illuminates various eerie-looking occultic ritual objects in the room. Kinzo throws the wine glass to the floor in despair as he looks out into the storm and yells "Oh, Beatrice!", with tears in his mad eyes. He crazedly asks Beatrice why she rejects him so and vows to return everything he received from her and throw away all that he owns. He begs for her to show him her smile one last time in return as he yells her name out the window repeatedly, the lightning engulfing him. The episode title card is shown.

First Half[]

Ep 1-2

A flock of seagulls is shown as the camera tilts down to show a panicking Battler Ushiromiya, clutching the rails of a speeding boat, screaming about how he is going to fall off. Once they reach the shore, he narrates about how the island they are on is called Rokkenjima and is a property of the incredibly wealthy Ushiromiya Family. The date and time are displayed on the screen as (1986年 10月4日10時30分, 10:30, 4th October, 1986).

Ep 1-3

The beginning of the end

Battler jumps off the boat onto the pier as his name is displayed on the screen. He introduces his cousins, the mature George Ushiromiya and the innocent Maria Ushiromiya. He also consecutively introduces the adults who get off the boat with him—Maria's mother Rosa Ushiromiya, George's parents Eva Ushiromiya and Hideyoshi Ushiromiya and his own parents—Kyrie Ushiromiya and Rudolf Ushiromiya. Battler's cousin Jessica Ushiromiya comes to greet them and he tries to grab her bosom, only to get pummeled by her. Jessica is accompanied by the servants Toshiro Gohda and the elderly Chiyo Kumasawa and the latter asks if Battler wants to fondle her breasts instead, making him uncomfortable.

Ep 1-4


As George notices that the seagulls seem to be missing, Jessica tells him it's probably because there's a typhoon coming. Maria points out that a shrine atop the rocks was missing, but Jessica tells her that she heard it was destroyed by lightning. Maria darkly murmurs to herself about how it's a bad omen.

Ep 1-5

The family makes its way up to the mansion, and Battler narrates about how the Ushiromiya family gathers at Rokkenjima once every year for a family conference, As everybody is admiring the rose garden, Maria notices how one of the roses looks particularly shriveled. George marks the rose for her with a candy wrapper and reassures her saying she could take care of it as long as she was there.

Ep 1-6

Hideyoshi waves to the servant Kanon who was tending to the garden as Battler introduces himself, this being his first meeting with the boy. Hearing Kanon's curt reply, Jessica whispers how he doesn't talk much as Gohda urges him to give the family a warmer welcome. Kanon merely offers that they are 'furniture', and tersely walks away. The family walks into the mansion as Rudolf asks Jessica how Kinzo is doing and she tells him he was doing quite well, for someone who had only three months to live.

Ep 1-7

As the clock chimes 12 at noon, a servant girl, Shannon knocks on the cousins' room door, informing them to assemble for lunch. Jessica asks her if she remembers Battler. Battler immediately remarks about how she has grown to become a beauty and gushes about her voluptuous breasts as he inches closer to them. Jessica intercepts him and knocks him over.

Ep 1-8

The eldest son Krauss Ushiromiya is seen knocking on the door of Kinzo's study along with Nanjo and the servant Genji Ronoue. However, Kinzo rudely dismisses them from beyond the closed door. As the clock ticks by at 13:00, the cousins walk into the mansion, excited for their lunch. As they pass by the hall, Battler notices a portrait of a Caucasian woman with blonde hair and wearing a dark ballgown near the entrance and asks uncertainly if it was there before.

Ep 1-9

The 'other master' of Rokkenjima

The cousins stop at his question as Shannon explains to him that the master of the house had it painted in the April of the year before the last. Maria chimes in, saying that it was the witch "Beatrice". The cousins tell Battler about how their grandfather Kinzo belived this witch existed. As the family is having lunch, Battler explains how their grandfather Kinzo was a respectable and feared man who had miraculously revived the Ushiromiya Family in just 20 years, back when it had nearly met its end after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.

Ep 1-10

After lunch, the adult Ushiromiya siblings are seen discussing how their father's inheritance was to be split, along with their spouses. As the younger siblings try to corner Krauss quoting his exhorbitant investments, his wife Natsuhi Ushiromiya is quick to turn defensive. In a fit of rage, she asks Eva to leave, only to be thoroughly humiliated by her. Krauss tactfully asks his wife to take her leave and she dashes out in tears.

Ep 1-11

Meanwhile, the cousins are fascinated with the epitaph beneath Beatrice's portrait as they talk about how it possibly leads to the location of 10 tons of gold. Battler explains the Ushiromiya Family's 'Legend of Gold'—about how Kinzo's success was based on 10 tons of gold he had received from the Golden Witch, Beatrice, in exchange for his soul. George muses about how the current market value of the said gold was around 20 billion yen.

Ep 1-12

Battler dismisses the story and the gold as ridiculous fables, much to the disapproval of Maria. She sulkily insists that Beatrice exists and that witches exist, as Jessica asks Battler not to trample on a child's dreams. Battler concedes he believes that Beatrice exists, merely to appease Maria, as his cousins distract her and decide to take her out on a picnic. As they all leave, Battler turns around to glance at the portrait of Beatrice one last time and smirks derisively.

Second Half[]

Ep 1-13

At 14:15, the adults are still lounging inside the parlor. Hideyoshi tells Krauss that they'll allow distribution of assets if he accepts their conditions. A dumbfounded Krauss asks him to explain. Rudolf tells him the first condition is that Krauss must admit to having discovered their father's gold. Eva tells him the second condition is to let each of the siblings have a portion of the gold as their share. Hideyoshi tells him that the third condition was that the family successor would receive 50% of the gold, and the remaining was to be split amongst the other siblings. Rudolf adds that the fourth condition is that the distribution of the assets will take place at the time of their father's death, but 10% was to be paid to them as deposit immediately.

Krauss points out without a hitch that all of them were acting hasty, as they were suffering from financial difficulties. He sarcastically drawls saying he wouldn't mind helping his dear siblings but he was short on cash himself. Krauss laughs derisively, asking his siblings if they would like to solve Beatrice's epitaph together.

Ep 1-14

At the beach, the cousins are having a picnic where they also discuss the witch's epitaph. They laugh at the disturbing ceremony to revive the witch and Battler says that the story about the gold was unbelievable. Hurt by his unbelief, Maria throws a tantrum and insists they will be cursed by Beatrice if they continue to make fun of the witch. She hands out scorpion charms to her cousins, saying they have anti-magic properties and will protect them from Beatrice.

Ep 1-15

The cousins return to the rose garden just as the storm begins to brew, and Maria begins to make a fuss about how her rose from earlier was missing. The cousins help her search for it while Rosa joins them. Rosa, who already has a headache, is further stressed out by Maria's constant whining and slaps her across the face.

Ep 1-16

As the girl cries out, Rosa hits her once more as her cousins watch in shock. Battler attempts to intervene, only for Rosa to scream at him, saying Maria was nine years old yet acts immature and even gets bullied for it in school. George leads Battler and Jessica away, saying it was a family issue they shouldn't interfere in. As Maria continues to whine and cry, Rosa abandons her and goes back to the mansion, leaving Maria to search by herself. Rain begins to pour as Maria cries harder.

Ep 1-17

The roulette begins to spin

Kinzo is seen in his study yelling out into the storm for Beatrice. He asks her to begin their miraculous banquet and removes his successor ring, throwing it out into the rain and proclaiming that he is returning the headship of the Ushiromiya family to her. The clock chimes 18:00 as the silhouette of a woman in a gown holding an umbrella approaches a distraught Maria.

Ep 1-18

Meanwhile, Kanon summons Rosa and the cousins for dinner. He asks them where Maria is, and they all realize she didn't go with her mother and was still out in the garden. Rosa frantically searches for her daughter in the rose garden, seemingly regretting what she had done.

Ep 1-19

As they all search for Maria, they finally find her inside a corner of the rose garden holding an umbrella. Rosa runs to her crying and embraces her, apologizing for how she acted earlier. Jessica points out that Maria was clever to have an umbrella with her. Maria tells them that she had borrowed it from Beatrice as they all look on surprised, wondering if they had heard right. The lightning from the storm illuminates the portrait of Beatrice in the hall ominously.

Teaser[]

Jessica narrates the preview for the next episode, surprised that Battler's become a shameless pervert after not seeing him for six years. She's disappointed in him and wants to warn Shannon to be cautious of him as well. Battler is apparently there with her, who says "if you won't let me rub your right breast, I'll settle for rubbing the left." Jessica beats him up after announcing the next episode title.

Soundtrack[]

Start End Title OST Description
0:00 1:29 Katayoku no Tori Katayoku no Tori Opening
1:49 2:18 Pursued Destination Umineko no Naku Koro ni ~Rose Crimson~ Kinzo cries out for Beatrice.
2:31 4:01 N/A N/A Battler introduces his family.
4:41 6:17 N/A N/A Battler talks about the family conference.
6:34 6:57 N/A N/A Battler meets Shannon.
7:09 7:33 N/A N/A Krauss tries to get Kinzo out of his study.
7:51 8:15 Stupefaction VN OST Battler asks about the portrait of Beatrice.
8:20 9:01 N/A N/A Battler talks about Kinzo's past.
11:43 12:13 Witch in Gold VN OST Battler talks about the epitaph.
13:05 13:24 N/A N/A Battler looks at the portrait of Beatrice.
14:43 15:52 N/A N/A The siblings want Krauss to give them money.
18:05 20:00 N/A N/A Rosa hits Maria after she cries for her rose.
20:48 21:44 N/A N/A Rosa and the cousins find Maria after leaving her in the rain.
21:45 23:14 la divina tragedia la divina tragedia~Makyoku~ Ending
23:15 23:50 N/A N/A Teaser

Comparisons to Source Material[]

This episode adapts the prologue in Kinzo's study, and the chapters "Arrival at Niijima Airport", "Arrival at Rokkenjima", "Guesthouse", "Dining Room", "Epitaph on the Portrait", "Sandy Beach", and parts of "Letter and Umbrella".

  • Like the manga, in the VN prologue, Genji was featured alongside Kinzo and Nanjo. In the anime, he does not appear in the beginning alongside the two.
  • In the VN, the prologue in Niijima Airport introduced the main characters and Battler's family. The anime omits the airport scene and instead does introductions when Battler arrives on Rokkenjima.
    • The manga does the same thing with omitting the airport scene, except with showcasing the events going on at the boat instead of the island, along with the other cousins teasing Battler for his fear of quick-moving vehicles.
  • In the VN, Battler meets Jessica and Kumasawa after arriving at the harbor in Niijima, then they go to Rokkenjima. In the anime, Battler meets them on the island itself.
  • In the VN, Kanon is shown dropping a wheelbarrow, leading to Battler to assist him. The anime omits this.
  • In the VN, Battler stops himself from attempting to grope Shannon's breasts when she shows her lack of resistance towards it. In the anime, Jessica punches Battler to stop him from doing so.
    • Shannon's lack of resistance was omitted, along with George telling Shannon to defend herself as an order.
  • In the VN, Natsuhi Ushiromiya is introduced having a conversation with Eva and Shannon, with Kanon commenting on Natsuhi's poor treatment of Shannon. Like the manga, the anime omits this.
  • In the VN, Shannon was being asked a question about the dinner sauce before Kumasawa saves her from it. The anime omits this.
  • In the VN, Kanon reports the family conference proceedings to Kinzo, who wonders if they'll find the gold before Beatrice revives. The anime omits this.
  • In the VN, Shannon is with the cousins on discussing the riddle of the epitaph at the beach. In the anime, Shannon is not present with the cousins.
  • Like the manga, the anime features a silhouette of Beatrice holding an umbrella as Maria searches for her rose.

Trivia[]

  • In chess, an opening refers to the initial moves of a chess game.
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