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Umineko When They Cry (Manga English Numbering ) #19
Umineko WHEN THEY CRY Episode 8: Twilight of the Golden Witch, Vol. 1
It's time once again for the annual family gathering on Rokkenjima! Ange Ushiromiya is just getting over a cold, but that won't dampen her excitement at seeing her cousins again! Granddad couldn't be more thrilled to see his beloved grandchildren and throws a special Halloween party where everyone gets lots of treats! By lunchtime on the first day, the aunts and uncles are chatting up a storm, and the cousins are eagerly planning the afternoon's fun. It's the very picture of a happy family-one that in no way resembles the bickering, bitter Ushiromiya clan! What is going on?!
854 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 2012
5 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Ryukishi07
253 books321 followersRyukishi07 (竜騎士07, Ryūkishi Zero Nana?, born November 19, 1973) is the pen name of a Japanese man originally from Chiba Prefecture who is well-known as the original creator for the idea of the visual novel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. He is the representative member of the group 07th Expansion. His pen name originated from the Final Fantasy series, "Ryūkishi" being the Japanese term for "Dragoon", and "07" goroawase for the name "Lenna". His illustration style is recognizable from the large hands he draws on people.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 19, 2026
Trigger warnings: graphic murders
A new episode has started, and the confusion is high. A happy Ushiromiya family celebrating Halloween, and this time Ange was on the island?
Battler tries his best to show Ange how to process her grief by understanding another side of the family. She has to find her own truth.
Bern opens a game board with a normal whodunit, and Battler beats her game, but the truth of what has happened on the island is still shrouded in mystery.
Ange is determined to seek the one truth. Onward to vol 20. The final is approaching.
A new episode has started, and the confusion is high. A happy Ushiromiya family celebrating Halloween, and this time Ange was on the island?
Battler tries his best to show Ange how to process her grief by understanding another side of the family. She has to find her own truth.
Bern opens a game board with a normal whodunit, and Battler beats her game, but the truth of what has happened on the island is still shrouded in mystery.
Ange is determined to seek the one truth. Onward to vol 20. The final is approaching.
November 2, 2018
"without love, it can't be seen."
i don’t think there is a current literary work that can compare to umineko, except for maybe house of leaves. isn’t that weird?? umineko, a manga/sound novel, weaving such a complex (the number of characters and the depths of their backgrounds, the meta-world, the interactive nature in which the mysteries are laid out, how it begs for the reader to solve them instead of waiting to receive a the answer) and multi-layered (“I am one but many.” not to mention the different lenses in which you can view the episodes of umineko—alternate realities, novels, a romance story, a metaphysical search through ones lost memories) narrative.
one drawback of umineko is of course the anime tropes—girls outfits that don’t make sense, battler’s weird pervert comments in the beginning. but if you push past the first episode and let everything work its way, at the very least you will walk away knowing you’ve read something meticulously written that you’ll most likely not see again for a long, long time.
I’d even argue that in the end, the protagonist wasn’t really battler at all.
“who am i?”
a lonely child, trapping infinity in a closed room.
“ashes to ashes, dust to dust. illusions to illusions.
and dreams to dreams.”
i don’t think there is a current literary work that can compare to umineko, except for maybe house of leaves. isn’t that weird?? umineko, a manga/sound novel, weaving such a complex (the number of characters and the depths of their backgrounds, the meta-world, the interactive nature in which the mysteries are laid out, how it begs for the reader to solve them instead of waiting to receive a the answer) and multi-layered (“I am one but many.” not to mention the different lenses in which you can view the episodes of umineko—alternate realities, novels, a romance story, a metaphysical search through ones lost memories) narrative.
one drawback of umineko is of course the anime tropes—girls outfits that don’t make sense, battler’s weird pervert comments in the beginning. but if you push past the first episode and let everything work its way, at the very least you will walk away knowing you’ve read something meticulously written that you’ll most likely not see again for a long, long time.
I’d even argue that in the end, the protagonist wasn’t really battler at all.
“who am i?”
a lonely child, trapping infinity in a closed room.
“ashes to ashes, dust to dust. illusions to illusions.
and dreams to dreams.”
June 30, 2025
3.5✨
✨Writing a grouped review for the entirety of the manga and copy/pasting. I started reading this 6 months ago at the time of writing and read over a few months and don't remember specifics about every single volume except what I rated them ✨
Umineko has an intriguing premise and good execution which does a lot right. The author manages to create such eerie and scary atmospheres and have the reader on edge wondering what is going to happen next. I particularly enjoyed a lot of the locked room scenarios and discussions and explanations.
Where this manga fails is it's extreme repetitiveness. It wears down on the reader very quickly. As a result I'm not sure this is a manga I would recommend to many people.
I will eventually watch the anime, whilst a short run this may be something I'd be inclined to recommend more as the premise itself is well done.
✨Writing a grouped review for the entirety of the manga and copy/pasting. I started reading this 6 months ago at the time of writing and read over a few months and don't remember specifics about every single volume except what I rated them ✨
Umineko has an intriguing premise and good execution which does a lot right. The author manages to create such eerie and scary atmospheres and have the reader on edge wondering what is going to happen next. I particularly enjoyed a lot of the locked room scenarios and discussions and explanations.
Where this manga fails is it's extreme repetitiveness. It wears down on the reader very quickly. As a result I'm not sure this is a manga I would recommend to many people.
I will eventually watch the anime, whilst a short run this may be something I'd be inclined to recommend more as the premise itself is well done.
June 3, 2019
We're finally here, on the final story arc of the series and I am LOVING the set up for the "final game" of Umineko. The set up is very intriguing, focusing on Ange searching for the truth of what happened during the final annual family gathering of the Ushiromiya family. We're finally at the final real answer arc of the series and I could not put this volume down! Excited to finally get closure with the series, there was only one arc that didn't really hit home for me, but it's held my interest for years now! This first volume involves the beginning of the final game, which Battler is holding entirely to help his younger sister find closure and involves a lot of the facets of the personalities of Ushiromiya family members that have been down played throughout the entire series thus far. It's familiar and refreshing at the same time and makes the first volume really interesting. There are some surprises in store for readers who did NOT scour fandom wikis looking for spoilers until this point. I DID this however and I'm still completely enthralled, so if you did, no worries. Really excited to see the final story play out and get closure on the series!
January 21, 2025
El final me ha parecido precioso.
El comienzo con un juego específico para Ange, para que recuerde a sus familiares desde un punto de vista hermoso y con la desgarradora revelación de que realmente si paso como se había revelado en el tomo anterior es muy duro.
Es una historia que trata muy bien las emociones y lo que nos hace un individuo.
Battler, al final, era importante para Shannon/Yasu pero no tanto en el contexto general.
Creo que lo único que no me encanta es todo el proceso que lleva al desenlace de Shannon y Battler. Ha muerto mucha gente y Battler no sabe que pasa y todo son risas, aunque también es cierto que al Battler real no le vemos hasta ese momento así que en teoría está bien pero aun así me da un poco de resquemor.
Al final es cierto que era una historia de amor, tanto romántico como fraternal.
El comienzo con un juego específico para Ange, para que recuerde a sus familiares desde un punto de vista hermoso y con la desgarradora revelación de que realmente si paso como se había revelado en el tomo anterior es muy duro.
Es una historia que trata muy bien las emociones y lo que nos hace un individuo.
Battler, al final, era importante para Shannon/Yasu pero no tanto en el contexto general.
Creo que lo único que no me encanta es todo el proceso que lleva al desenlace de Shannon y Battler. Ha muerto mucha gente y Battler no sabe que pasa y todo son risas, aunque también es cierto que al Battler real no le vemos hasta ese momento así que en teoría está bien pero aun así me da un poco de resquemor.
Al final es cierto que era una historia de amor, tanto romántico como fraternal.
January 15, 2023
how many more times can they trick me. how many times. how many more times are they going to tell me "here's what happened!" and i will go "oh okay!" and then slowly grow more suspicious before learning that was not, in fact, what happened. there are two volumes left and i strongly suspect they will continue to torment me. please. i am begging you. tell me what happened. i will take anything at this point. or i'll just mentally rewrite everything so it ends at the halloween party. i loved the halloween party also tbh. iconic. iconic!! this monstrous incest witch family actually has a few nice feelings left for each other!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2022
I am approaching Episode 8 with a very different mindset than I did when I originally read the visual novel years ago. I feel like I'm seeing things more clearly, with more love, and better understanding the pathos underlining the story. Ange's arc is nothing short of tragic and Battler's game, as saccharine as it is, is founded on that almost overwhelmingly sad fact. It's a fantasy. It's "magic." But that doesn't mean it's any less important.
Fantastic and poignant start to the grand finale. Things feel especially fleshed out compared to the VN.
Fantastic and poignant start to the grand finale. Things feel especially fleshed out compared to the VN.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2020
this is hurting me now
October 20, 2022
3.5 stars.
November 14, 2022
I've been crying for 20 straight minutes. No one is doing it like Umineko.
November 21, 2024
Finally, after one and a half year and more than 100 hours I can say this: THIS SHIT IS SO ASS 🔥
January 6, 2022
This is only a review for one particular chapter that wasn't present in the original visual novel. In short, Umineko is my favorite visual novel, as well as one of my favorite fictional stories in any medium. And this chapter doesn't disappoint: it basically makes explicit the answer to the central mystery of the story, while still doesn't reveal everything and still leaves some smaller mysteries to be pondered by the fans. Must read if you have read and loved Umineko!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews