WARNING: The following post contains strong bloody/gory images. Well, sort of. If it bugs you, proceed with caution, or just, yah know, skip. Cause this is an anime review (sort of) and the anime is full of GORY BLOODY STUFF. So if that's not your thing, don't bother reading this or watching the show.
If it IS your cup of tea, by all means, proceed.
Umineko is another one of those anime that is a total pile of mind f**kerry. Created by the freakshow that gave us the beauty of Higurashi, Umineko takes everything to a whole new level.
Think "And Then There Were None" meets "Game of Thrones" meets magic(?) sort of...
It's hella confusing and I have read that it's mostly the studio Deen's fault for butchering the source material. And even though it ended without a second season in sight, most people say the VN is better, etc, I still found the ride incredibly enjoyable. I have a million and one theories, some very interesting insights on the workings of human psyche, as well as a plethora of new ideas on how to horribly murder and maim my characters. Mmmm blood!
The let downs of the show...
1. The ending for one. As it was left unfinished, I still have no idea what the truth is or everything that was happening. I will most likely turn to the visual novels once I have driven myself mad with the wondering.
2. Introducing a plethora of supporting characters. Like Game of Thrones, the amount of characters is rather silly compared to the length of breadth of the story. We started off with one witch and seventeen people. That alone got confusing. I could only really remember Maria (cause she had that GOD AWFUl laugh), Battler (cause omf, that name!), Kanon (cause omf, the furniture!) and Kyrie (because I love that name). And of course Beatrice, because, well, she's the big bad. But other than that, it took me several episodes to remember all their names. Then, as the show continued, they introduced like five more witches, the seven sisters of purgatory, the other furniture, the sister, etc, etc, et-friggin-c.
Ugh.
3. The friggin final friggin chapter. Ugh.
So, they decided to switch points of view, abandoning Battler and his amazing battle with Beatrice (try saying "Brash Battler battles Beatrice bravely" ten times real fast) to the (spoilercharacter) that we never met before nor really care about. And though introducing her basically helped further my theory about all the "magic" of the show, it did nothing to further the actual plot. It was pointless, ridiculous, and hella boring. Heck, we learned SO MUCH about her while the more interesting characters, like Kyrie or George or Kanon, we never learn much of anything about. Or even like Krauss. Sheesh. I don't like the guy all that much, but I care about him more than the spoilercharacter they switched to.
4. The final and greatest flaw of the anime was this:
The blood and gore was not on par with my expectations.
I saw a youtube video of the "5 BLOODIEST GORIEST ANIME EVAHR" or something to that effect. And I was like "ooooOOooo exiting!"
Higurashi was ranked 5.
That surprised me.
Then it had some others, I forget. I know Ganz was in there. That one ranked 2nd. I had heard of Ganz being gory, so I was like "DUDE! Who tops Ganz???!!!" And then they showed Umineko as the first.
Dang.
So I watched Umineko expecting tons of gratuitous blood and gore. And while it did have graphic detail on the parts it did show, a lot of the deaths fell very flat. A lot of times, the characters would be killed by small stab wounds or just typical bullet-wound headshots. I was horribly disappointed.
I guess I got kind of burned out on Battle Royale, The Raid, The Raid: Redemption, Machete, Machete Kills, Kill Bill 1&2, and Django Unchained. I guess it's hard to beat Quentin Tarantino movies.
I must find an anime that can truly satisfy my bloodthirsty side... hmm...
GOOD THINGS THOUGH! This show had MANY good things!
1. Music. Loved it!!!! The opening theme is a gorgeous arrangement that is probably one of the most beautiful anime openings I have ever heard, next to the one for Attack on Titan and Phantom. The ending theme sounds like Trans-Siberian-Orchestra went to Japan. It is awesome too despite the odd, grating tone of the male singer. Both opening and ending incorporate epic choir and instrumental shtuff. The actual soundtrack for the anime goes very well. it sets the right tones, wether excitement, happiness, sadness, or fear. It really became a part of the atmosphere and drew you in.
2. Characters. Loved them. Except the newly introduced ones in the last chapter. I really did not care about them, but that is the studio's fault for butchering source material. Either way though, I really liked the family members and their portrayals as well as the interactions between all of them.
3. Plot. I cannot begin to express the amazing depth and twisted mind-f**kerry of a plot this anime is. It is truly a treasure worthy to be beheld.
OVERALL
If gore and psychological mindf**ks are your thing, this is DEFINITELY the anime for you. This one is definitely leading me to want to play the visual novels.. I've never had a desire to do that with any other anime before save Attack on Titan, but it's even stronger with this one considering that I don't know how it ends and there is a season 2 that probably won't get made.
Give this bad boy a chance, yo.
