*Umineko: Understanding the Heart*
~Written last December 2022~
Just like how there is no unsolvable mystery, there are no well-written stories that couldn't be understood without effort, thought, and time. Such is the same with humans, I would like to continuously earnestly believe and eventually experience.
Fiction transcends dimensions and planes to deliver messages for creatures living life, and what ties the two worlds together in a heavenly connection are the authors who put their hearts out in the open and pour the world's ocean with their souls, and the pulse of humanity continues to beat.
Their life is that of realizations, their minds a vehicle for change. Their ... ink is that of genuinity, the words a sea of meaning, the whole story a galaxy waiting to be explored. We have bountiful cosmos graciously offered and presiding over our own little planet waiting to be explored in this spacious collective container still impossible to traverse every nook and cranny of. In the hopelessness of our diminutiveness we can witness for ourselves the expansion of our existence as every story told to us is a full educational curriculum to color our values. From each, we can learn. And it is rare, at least to me personally, to learn a lot in just a single package.
Therein ends a short introduction to my appreciation for Ryukishi, for I cannot in my own sanity begin to talk about my love for Umineko without giving due respect to its writer. I would love to say more about him, but I'll try doing so by writing out my thoughts on his very own design: Umineko.
The visual novel's actual form as a heartwarming series brimming in radiance was actually the thing I least expected it to become, because in all honesty, in the 1st 3 episodes, I did not really see much heart in it. It felt like an impossible mystery and I was injected with a drug that rendered my own logical thinking paralyzed, especially since I never really engaged in the mystery genre that much, and from the few that I did, never that seriously at all.
So it was a challenge to actually be fully immersed, but I had faith that in its length, the journey towards the end would be worth it. And so I continued my efforts to understand.
I revisited the story through the manga, specifically the 1st 4 episodes in order to perceive even a single ray of truth. It took a lot of effort to understand the mysteries and how it all ties to the story itself. At first, I was mostly concerned about the whodunnit and howdunnit, but Umineko has a way of directly communicating with its readers by repeatedly displaying the significance of the Heart: the whydunnit and its nature as a solvable game.
And so began my hours and hours of contemplating about the crimes and its relevance to Beato and some others from the cast. It was a tremendous hike to the largest mountain, and every time I had some answers, I had more questions. It really was a challenging experience, and a unique one, as I paid respect to Ryukishi by blowing away the thick-ass fog he provided, trying to understand Umineko as much as I can.
I truly felt like Battler and became the main character himself as I am as clueless as him. His frustrations in every game were too relatable. The games were mentally ruthless that there were moments (all of episode 2) that I just succumbed to the magical fiascos and believed most of the crimes truly orchestrated by a fantasy witch, like I don't know how a human can even do this ?
In that way, in that establishment of mystery, I essentially became one with the novel, transported in its multi-layered world of varying planes, meta-sprinkled. And in the understanding of the crimes comes a drive to understand Beatrice. From then on, I was able to behold the intricacies of the plot, its themes, its cast, and how it all plays harmoniously, all from the meticulous and colorful writing as all of its elements bleed into a single secluded ocean tightly linking everything together with all its relevance. There is no tsunami without all of its constituents together.
In time, Umineko transformed into a fairy tale, especially with the style of Ryukishi's prose and his way with words--however, simultaneously, a story very realistic. Both sides balance each other. Two perceivably opposite natures became integral in the appreciation of any.
Magic and trickery. What does one choose to believe? There is a different future for both, and Ange (and the reader) chose the former. But doesn't that equate to being delusional, as opposed to what one should be--a realist? And yet, the story says there is more to every single person and thing in this world. There is more to the wicked witch of the first few games using magic to show tragedy, more to the faulty adults victim of the chain of hatred and misery and have grown incapable of using magic, more to the kid without a father and who was bullied in school and only had magic with her.
Without love, it cannot be seen.
Magic is infused with the potential for the creation of happiness. Magic is a way to appreciate both knowledge and illusions as important concepts to look at the future with eyes of hope. Magic is the combination of certainty and miracles, giving humans a conceptualized anchor holding them on to a life of optimism. It is a strength in accepting that what is not there, is indeed there. Despite whatever despair one sees and/or hears, one still has the heart intact because of magic, because of love.
To me, these all manifest in the form of Beatrice, Maria, Ange of Mariage Sorciere, incidentally my top 3 favorite characters in the whole series (in order).
The philosophy to see the good in life and creating happiness, to me, is still not absolute because true life is terribly hellish and it has proved merciless to an innumerable population. Being aware of that is enough to put me down at times. And yet, I value Maria's wisdom. I know life is hard, and it can render me hopeless many times, but there is always something good I can get out of anything if I believe it to be.
There will always be light that would seep into the darkness if I put my desperate human efforts into improving myself. It is not delusional at all, because I am still living. Breaking years of depression despite utter pessimism, bereft just like some characters--I was once able to do that. I am still not truly free from it, but Umineko validated my efforts, and I found renewed and revamped hope that in time, I can move forwards in my flight and reach comfortable landing.
Maria was the source, Beato fell short, and Ange was the fulfillment.
I sure hope many people who have finished this felt the same hope I did, Ryukishi's hard work rewarded.
The things it wants to offer were made more resonant by the structure of the VN itself and the direction of its progression, the prose and expression, the execution of the complex, convoluted narrative with the parallels, interrelations, utilization of the cast, the visual and auditory elements, and most especially, the heart of the author. All of this is a lovely golden rose of geometry and endearment I receive beauty and enlightenment from.
The VN was not the sole experience I had. The manga was absolutely fantastic as well, boosting the quality of the story with a powerful panorama of more discernible visuals. The privileges the medium has supports the lapses of the VN, because I must admit, the limited range of expressions and lack of concrete presentations of the situations at hand was something I am still not quite used to. It would still be alright, but having read the manga brought me an experience with its own kind of richness. Other than that, the decision to open the cat box is something I appreciate. I felt that yes, it was needed, but I could only feel that way because of having read the VN and the dense details it possesses. I do not desire to separate both, as both of them are of Ryukishi's, and therefore deserve respect.
Umineko is alive, endless, and golden. It is itself the Witch of Origins, Truth, Certainty, Miracles, and Resurrection.
From its contents comes a reassuring companion to continue onwards to my very own future, loneliness a weaker enemy, for with every piece of fiction I encounter along the road is a newfound friend I can always count on to remind me of the meaningfulness of my own life. And for the real life people around me, despite being away from them, our past interactions still mean that I am not alone.
And most especially, that I should move on from my past.
Alternative TitlesSynonyms: When Seagulls Cry Episode 8: Twilight of the Golden Witch Japanese: うみねこのなく頃に散 - Episode 8: Twilight of the Golden Witch InformationType: Manga Volumes: 9 Chapters: 42 Status: Finished Published: Jan 21, 2012 to Jun 22, 2015 Demographic: Shounen Serialization: Gangan Joker StatisticsScore: 8.931 (scored by 6,537 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #192 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #1094 Members: 17,234 Favorites: 1,565 Available AtResources |
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