Umineko EP2 Thoughts

Content Warnings

Mentions of corporal punishment. I spend a lot of time writing about Rosa's ableism towards Maria.

EP2 introduces us to more characters, and is the first appearance of the 'red text of truth'. More importantly, Beatrice and Battler have a duo-presence of sorts. From now onwards, they are physically present on Rokkenjima, and metaphysically present as narrators. We get plenty of development for plenty of characters, but as expected, I spend most of this post thinking about my girls Rosa and Maria.

I will admit I’m apathetic towards Shannon and Kanon. I’m certain that somebody out there has already written about the power imbalance in George and Shannon’s engagement, so I'll hold my tongue. From my POV, Jessica and Kanon’s relationship is textbook teenage comphet. It’s like Shannon went up to each of them and asked, “Have you considered you might have a crush on [person your age who is a different gender]?”. And then they both went, “Maybe you’re right.”

I mashed through the dialogue during these scenes. It wasn’t a complete bore, because it got interspersed with more Beatrice characterization and other reveals.

Shannon admits she has seen Kinzo hit Krauss on multiple occassions.

Details like this made the pre-murder prelude worthwhile. I hate Krauss but nobody deserves this. He’s in his 50’s and he’s still getting hit by his dad. I think it explains why Natsuhi and Jessica are so lenient with Krauss. They’re trying to compensate for Kinzo’s mistreatment.

But forget about Krauss — this is a Rosa-centric episode! She hits the ground running. The 1980’s setting is immediately relevant — Rosa fully believes in the Satanic Panic and Stranger Danger. Right before their departure to Rokkenjima, an elderly woman on public transport gives Maria Halloween candy. This old lady is, apparently, prepping Maria to be drugged, kidnapped, and abused by strangers. Rosa yells at this random woman and beats Maria while the onlookers are powerless to stop her. She’s exempt from law enforcement (she’s rich).

Upon arrival, the first thing Maria does is teach Battler about the history of Halloween. To Rosa’s surprise, the rest of the family eavesdrops and enjoys her infodump session. It reminds me of a study I saw, in which a photograph of an autistic child’s play area is shown to two groups. All the colorful toys are arranged on the floor in a clean pattern. The group that is unaware of the diagnosis thinks it’s a normal picture, but the other group laments it as an autistic kid’s inability to use toys as they are intended. When Maria is enjoying herself like this, Rosa just sees a symptom of autism. The uncles, aunts, and cousins see it as a fun lecture.

Maria autism stare!

This time around, Battler is more sensitive and swayed by emotions (e.g., he only had one crying sprite in EP1). He’s more empathetic, in full conflict-resolution mode, and eager to challenge Aunt Rosa’s messed-up sense of authority. Now that Rosa is the only surviving Ushiromiya sibling, everyone on the island must defer to her. She isn't used to leading other adults, so this goes as well as you'd expect. She even yells at Dr. Nanjo when he asks her to stop hitting Maria, reacting like he’s speaking out of turn. Nope, not the simple reasoning of a medical professional trying to protect a nine-year-old.

Rosa says she won't argue with Battler, no matter how badly she wants to.

Rosa aims a loaded gun at Battler to 'prove a point'.

These two scenes happen within minutes. She’s so convinced that family should only have loyalty to family, it puts Natsuhi’s paranoia in EP1 to shame. Rosa becomes horrible to the servants and Nanjo for the sole reason of being unrelated to them. There’s a ridiculous scene where she accuses Battler of being an imposter (lol) that snuck onto Rokkenjima while the ‘real’ Battler is still estranged from the family.

I think it would be interesting if one of the dads became the sole survivor. I want to see how they would direct the cousins and servants. When Battler realizes that Rosa is starting to emulate Krauss and Eva, I interpreted that to mean either a) Rudolf is the least cruel of the older siblings or b) Battler views his own dad through rose-tinted glasses.

It’s the latter. Battler is a dialectic thinker, always able to see the best and worst in others. When he’s not making boob jokes, his maturity stuns me. I cried a lot in EP1 because of his relationship with Kyrie and his empathy for George. Battler is achingly patient and forgiving.

Personally, I’m taking this approach with all the characters. Gohda survived longer this time, so I tried giving him more credit. Yes, he was horrible to Shannon and Kanon, but that quickly changes after the deaths of his employers. His conceit and aggression basically disappear, and he does more to protect George and Shannon than Rosa herself. He kind of reminds me of an inverse Hideyoshi — Uncle Hideyoshi is nice and pleasant enough, but he doesn’t extend this kind personality when it really matters. I don’t think his cool uncle shtick means anything when he’s complacent in Eva’s abusive personality. While Gohda is generally a jerk, he becomes more selfless and willing to sacrifice himself when it really makes a difference. Wouldn’t mind if he was one of the first victims in the next loop though… it would give a chance for someone like Kyrie or Rudolf to shine.

I'll close off by saying that I absolutely adore Beatrice’s expression here. Ryukishi07 put a lot of personality in the new sprites. There’s also more soundbytes and flashing lights, which are honestly overwhelming to me… I can’t toggle them off so I just close my eyes when I feel them approaching. It mostly occurs with new characters (the goat servants, the seven stakes, and Lambdadelta), which dampens my enjoyment of the constantly growing cast.