is a Japanese dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. Its first episode debuted at Comiket 72 for Windows in August 2007. The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two days, and the mysterious murders that befall them. Readers are challenged to discern whether the murders were committed by a human or some other, supernatural source, as well as the method and motive behind them. The eight main Umineko games are split into two sets of four, which are considered the third and fourth titles in the When They Cry series, preceded by the two sets of Higurashi When They Cry games and followed by Ciconia When They Cry.
The games—either in portions or in full—have been ported or remastered several times, including by Taito for select FOMA phones; by Alchemist for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360; by Oizumi for pachinko machines; by MangaGamer for Steam and GOG.com; and by Entergram for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Square Enix, Ichijinsha, Kadokawa Shoten, and ASCII Media Works all published various manga adaptations of the series. It was adapted into an anime television series, which aired from July to December 2009. A series of novels written by Ryukishi07 are published by Kodansha Box. A fighting game based on the franchise, Umineko: Golden Fantasia, was released by 07th Expansion in December 2010. Since April 2022, Umineko has been adapted into an ongoing series of stage plays produced by Shingidan Mumei Classics, with the seventh episode to premiere in September 2026.
Gameplay Umineko When They Cry is a murder mystery visual novel, and as such conveys its story primarily through text-based narration and dialogue supplemented by visual and audio elements such as character sprites, background music, and sound effects. It is described as a "sound novel" by 07th Expansion, due to the game's greater focus on creating atmosphere through audio elements rather than visual aspects. The original releases contain no voice acting for the characters. Umineko is almost entirely linear and contains no interactive gameplay elements, with the exception of small portions of its final entry, Twilight of the Golden Witch. Besides advancing text, players may also access the Tips Mode, allowing them to read various supplementary information regarding the characters and story. Each episode also contains two epilogues which are successively unlocked, which are continuations of the main story that often contain important plot points.
Despite the lack of interactive gameplay elements, Umineko is framed as a game between the author and the reader, with difficulty ratings given in the descriptions for each episode. This refers to the difficulty of the mysteries in each episode, which the reader is intended to actively try to solve. Several story elements are introduced through the course of the story to aid readers in solving the mystery along with the story's protagonist.
Synopsis Plot
The story begins on October 4, 1986, at , a private island where the wealthy Ushiromiya family have gathered to discuss the division of assets belonging to the ailing family head, Kinzo. Returning after a six-year absence, Kinzo's grandson Battler becomes reacquainted with the legend of the "Golden Witch" Beatrice, who supposedly gave Kinzo ten tons of gold to restore his financially crippled family in the past. Beside her portrait is a riddle-like epitaph, which is believed to grant the rumored gold and the succession of the headship to the solver. A typhoon traps the eighteen people on the island, and occult-like murders occur in accordance with the epitaph, often in ways that seem impossible for a human.
At the end of the first episode, the witch Beatrice seemingly kills everyone. In the credits it's revealed that story up this point was just a retelling of a message bottle found years after the massacre. Refusing to acknowledge the existence of magic, Battler is seemingly sent to the parallel dimension of Purgatorio, from which events on Rokkenjima can be seen as a "game board". There he meets Beatrice and faces her in the games of logic, tasked to explain murders with human tricks.
Subsequent episodes show events on Rokkenjima arranged in various different ways each time, while Battler discusses them with Beatrice and other magical entities in Purgatorio. Battler uses various logical weapons to oppose Beatrice, such as red text, in which only truth can be written, or blue text, which is considered true until refuted by red. The story also shows the real world 12 years later, where the only survivor is Eva Ushiromiya, Battler's aunt. Eva adopts Battler's sister, Ange, who did not attend the conference due to illness. Ange, who has a hateful relationship with Eva and is bullied by her classmates, refuses to accept the death of her family and tries to reach the truth on her own. Over the course of the story, Battler and Ange come to understand magic as an adornment of reality with fantasy, used by several individuals as a coping mechanism for their harsh life situations.
Battler is at first in conflict with Beatrice, despising her for the suffering inflicted upon the inhabitants of Rokkenjima throughout her games. As the story progresses, Beatrice suggests that the massacre on Rokkenjima was caused by a supposed "sin" of Battler's, which he does not recall. As a result of Battler's lack of recollection, Beatrice gives up on her games and enters a near-death state of apathy. With Beatrice no longer hosting games, other characters serve as Game Masters for the following episodes, beginning with the witch Lambdadelta in Episode 5. In this episode, the witch Bernkastel introduces a new character to the game board named Furudo Erika, a detective who seeks to solve the mystery of Rokkenjima. As this game progresses, Erika presents her supposed solution to the mystery, blaming the crimes on Natsuhi. Battler, believing in Natsuhi's innocence and unhappy with Erika's disregard for the feelings of others, opposes Erika. Upon being cornered by Erika's arguments, Battler comes to understand the truth of the Rokkenjima massacre, killing Beatrice. Knowing the truth allows Battler to defeat Erika's flawed solution, allowing him to ascend to the position of Sorcerer and Game Master.
As Game Master, Battler conducts the events of Episode 6 to prove to Lambdadelta and Bernkastel that he understands the truth of the mystery. However, the narrative he attempts to present throughout the episode is circumvented by Erika, forcing him into a "logic error," trapping his consciousness in a locked room until the error is solved or he accepts defeat. Meanwhile, a duel is conducted by Shannon and Kanon to determine which will be allowed to pursue their love, killing the other. Kanon is ultimately defeated, and through his sacrifice Battler's logic error is solved, freeing the latter. Beatrice is resurrected and joins Battler in defeating Erika.
In episode 7, Bernkastel summons detective Willard H. Wright to solve truth about Beatrice's identity. He deduces that she is Kinzo's illegitimate child, playing the roles of two servants, Shannon and Kanon. The child was born after Kinzo raped the secret daughter of his long-dead mistress. Kinzo handed the child to his eldest son's wife, Natsuhi, who had been unable to get pregnant. In an alternate world, Natsuhi accepts the child, resulting in them joining the family as Ushiromiya Lion. Willard and Lion are attacked by Bernkastel but manage to escape her clutches.
Episode 8 is another game hosted by Battler, this time as an attempt to convince Ange that understanding the full truth of the massacre is an unnecessary pursuit. However, Ange is convinced by Bernkastel to read the book containing the true events that happened on Rokkenjima, causing her to despair. The inhabitants of Rokkenjima save Ange and ultimately assist her in stopping the author Hachijo Tohya from publishing Eva's diary, supposedly containing the full truth, in the real world. In the future, Ange's suicide is prevented and she goes on to become an author. Ange meets Hachijo Tohya, who is revealed to be Battler, having survived the massacre but lost his memories, effectively being a different person. Ange takes Tohya to the orphanage she sponsors, carrying on the legacy of the magic taught to her by Maria.
Story arcs Umineko no Naku Koro ni consists of the first four arcs of the series. They are referred to as the Question Arcs and introduce the world of the story and its mysteries. Each arc contains all the previous ones.
Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch (2007) The chapter introduces the player to the main setting for the series as the Ushiromiya family gather on the island of Rokkenjima for their annual family conference. The player is familiarized with the island's 18 residents (consisting of the Ushiromiya family and servants) as well as the legend of the Golden Witch, Beatrice. As the story progresses, people on the island are murdered, and the family is taunted by letters that claim to be from the witch Beatrice, who takes responsibility for the murders and intends to take back everything of the Ushiromiya family. Episode 2: Turn of the Golden Witch (2007) The chapter introduces the "meta-world", where Battler is locked into a battle of twisted logic with the witch Beatrice as the murders on the island repeat in a different way. Beatrice also arrives on the island as its 19th resident, and fantastical elements are introduced into the story. The chapter also focuses on George and Jessica's relationships with the Ushiromiya family servants, Shannon and Kanon. Episode 3: Banquet of the Golden Witch (2008) The third chapter continues the repeating murders, with a special focus on Eva Ushiromiya, Kinzo's first daughter. Unlike the first two chapters, the adults of the Ushiromiya family make a serious attempt to solve the riddle of the epitaph. Eva succeeds in this task and finds the gold, but a witch persona of Eva continues to carry out the murders in Beatrice's name. Episode 4: Alliance of the Golden Witch (2008) The chapter introduces Battler's sister Ange as a secondary protagonist, who survived the Rokkenjima massacre due to being absent and was taken in by the only survivor of the incident, Eva. It has a shifting focus of events, showing readers Ange's life in the aftermath of the incident and exploring her relationship with Maria and magic through Maria's diary. The Ange of 1998 sets out on a journey to uncover the truth of Rokkenjima, while the events on the Beatrice's gameboard repeat for the fourth time.
Chiru tells the second half of the story, delving deeper into the core of the mystery while providing more clues towards the truth of Rokkenjima. Each arc in this series contains all of the previous Chiru arcs.
Episode 5: End of the Golden Witch (2009) This chapter introduces a new game master in the form of the witch Lambdadelta. Another witch, Bernkastel, takes primary control of the human side in the game. She introduces a new visitor to the island in the form of the detective Erika Furudo, who approaches the murders from a "mystery" perspective, unlike Battler who had taken an "anti-fantasy" stance. The chapter also has a focus on Natsuhi, who receives threatening phone calls from a "Man from 19 Years Ago". Episode 6: Dawn of the Golden Witch (2009) Having become the new game master, Battler Ushiromiya is tasked in this chapter with creating his gameboard as a way of demonstrating his understanding of Beatrice's game. Like Turn of the Golden Witch, Battler's game has a focus on the lovers, and also introduces a reborn Beatrice who struggles to discover the person she once was. Episode 7: Requiem of the Golden Witch (2010)