Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に lit. When the Seagulls Cry) is an anime adaptation of the visual novel series of the same name, first announced by 07th Expansion and animated by Studio DEEN. The series originally aired in Japan on Chiba TV from July 2, 2009 to December 24, 2009, and would air on additional stations at later times. It contains 26 episodes, encompassing the Question Arcs.
The anime was licensed in the US by NIS America under the English title Umineko: When They Cry in 2012.
Introduction
The affluent Ushiromiya family patriarch, Kinzo, is on his deathbed, and his family has assembled at their private island to discuss the division of his estate. As they bicker over their father's immense inheritance, a typhoon closes in, trapping them on the island. They suddenly receive an eerie word of warning...and then, in the dead of night, the murders begin.
One by one, family members are discovered murdered in bizarre and inhuman ways. Some within the family turn to superstition, blaming it on a witch rumored to inhabit the island. But one of them - the young Battler Ushiromiya - refuses to accept the supernatural and vows to uncover the real killer behind the seemingly impossible slaughters. He soon finds himself confronted by the apparent witch, and enters into a life-or-death battle for the truth.[1]
List of Episodes
A total of 13 home video box sets, each containing two episodes, were released between October 23, 2009 and October 22, 2010.
- Main article: List of Umineko home video releases
| Episode | Name | Release Date | Preview Narrator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I-I: Opening | July 2, 2009 | Jessica Ushiromiya |
| 2 | I-II: First Move | July 9 | Maria Ushiromiya |
| 3 | I-III: Dubious Move | July 16 | Shannon |
| 4 | I-IV: Blunder | July 23 | George Ushiromiya |
| 5 | I-V: Fool's Mate | July 30 | Beatrice |
| 6 | II-I: Middle Game | August 6 | Kanon |
| 7 | II-II: Early Queen Move | August 13 | Battler Ushiromiya |
| 8 | II-III: Weak Square | August 20 | Maria Ushiromiya |
| 9 | II-IV: Skewer | August 27 | Toshiro Gohda |
| 10 | II-V: Accept | September 3 | Chiyo Kumasawa |
| 11 | II-VI: Back Rank Mate | September 10 | Rosa Ushiromiya |
| 12 | III-I: Castling | September 17 | Krauss Ushiromiya |
| 13 | III-II: Gambit | September 24 | Ronove |
| 14 | III-III: Positional Play | October 1 | Virgilia |
| 15 | III-IV: Isolated Pawn | October 8 | Rudolf Ushiromiya |
| 16 | III-V: Queening Square | October 15 | Eva Ushiromiya |
| 17 | III-VI: Promotion | October 22 | Lambdadelta and Bernkastel |
| 18 | III-VII: Swindles | October 29 | Ange Ushiromiya |
| 19 | IV-I: End Game | November 5 | Seven Stakes of Purgatory |
| 20 | IV-II: Zugzwang | November 12 | Sakutaro |
| 21 | IV-III: Prophylaxis | November 19 | Kinzo Ushiromiya |
| 22 | IV-IV: Problem Child | November 26 | Gaap |
| 23 | IV-V: Breakthrough | December 3 | Chiester Sisters |
| 24 | IV-VI: Adjourn | December 10 | Juuza Amakusa |
| 25 | IV-VII: Forced Move | December 17 | Beatrice |
| 26 | IV-VIII: Sacrifice | December 24 | - |
Staff
Key Staff
- Original Creator: Ryukishi07
- Director: Chiaki Kon
- Series Composition: Toshifumi Kawase
- Character Design: Youko Kikuchi
- Music: Akiko Shikata, Jimang, -45
Voice Cast
- Main article: Voice cast of Umineko
Reception
According to someanithing.com. the anime made 96.1 million yen (US equivalent: approx. $1,032,000, taking into account 2009 conversion rates) from DVD and Blu-Ray sales on its first release.[2] 62% of its initial sales were DVDs while the rest were BDs.[3]
As of December 16, 2020, the anime sits at a score of 7.14 on MyAnimeList and an average score of 65% on AniList.
Gallery
DVD Bonuses
The Collector's Edition DVDs each contained episode audio commentaries by voice actors, a series of discussions called Special Talk in Rokkenjima (スペシャルトーク in 六軒島) between Ryukishi07 and voice actors, and Uraneko shorts.
| DVD Set | Episode Commentary and VAs | Special Talk VAs | Uraneko Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Note 01 | Episode 1 (Daisuke Ono and Marina Inoue) | Special Talk in Rokkenjima Part 1 (Daisuke Ono and Marina Inoue) | 1, 2 |
| Note 02 | Episode 3 (Daisuke Ono and Marina Inoue) | Special Talk in Rokkenjima Part 2 (Daisuke Ono and Marina Inoue) | 3, 4 |
| Note 03 | Episode 5 (Kenichi Suzumura and Yui Horie) | Special Talk in Rokkenjima II Part 1 (Kenichi Suzumura and Yuu Kobayashi) | 5, 6 |
| Note 04 | Episode 7 (Kenichi Suzumura and Yui Horie) | Special Talk in Rokkenjima II Part 2 (Kenichi Suzumura and Yuu Kobayashi) | 7, 8 |
| Note 05 | 9, 10 | ||
| Note 06 | 11, 12 | ||
| Note 07 | 13, 14 | ||
| Note 08 | 15, 16 | ||
| Note 09 | 17, 18 | ||
| Note 10 | 19, 20 | ||
| Note 11 | 21, 22 | ||
| Note 12 | 23, 24 | ||
| Note 13 | 25, 26 |
Uraneko
Uraneko (うらねこ) is a parody series that consists of 26 episodes included only in the home video releases of the anime. It contains dubbing by the original Japanese cast. Each episode only lasts a minute or less.
See Also
- Case File 01 and 02, art and information booklets that released with the English Blu-Ray collections of the series.
- Umineko Anime Second Season Surprise Production Committee!, a short story referencing the anime's rebroadcast marathon on September 4, 2016.[4]
Trivia
- All of the episodes are named after moves in chess.
External Links
References
- ↑ Official page on NIS America
- ↑ https://www.someanithing.com/series-data-quick-view
- ↑ https://www.someanithing.com/139
- ↑ "TV Anime "Umineko: When They Cry" will be broadcasted from 1L00 PM on September 4: https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/353/1353284/
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