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There's one choice at the end of the 8th episode which determines which ending you get, beyond that it's all linear.
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Aug 13, 2012 02:22
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Ultra-rich family? Sibling in-fighting? Mutual hate between each and everybody? It seems like there is enough material to do a short series on the feuds alone.
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Aug 13, 2012 06:28
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blankd posted:Oh boy I am looking forward to even MORE family politics, reading this is certainly "heavier" than how the anime handled the scene. Not much of it. I've only seen a couple full episodes and an assortment of scraps, so I can't do much to point out precisely which bits Deen mangled, unfortunately. Don't mind at all if anyone else wants to cover the differences, though.
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Aug 13, 2012 10:24
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Shiny777 posted:Don't think the autism possibility is ever brought up like by name or anything. Maria's almost certainly got some kind of disorder, quite possibly from that spectrum, but the game never comes out and says what exactly it is. Given the mystery novel homages, I kind of figured Battler's name was a really obscure Agatha Christie reference. One of her detectives, Hercule Poirot, had an assisstant called Hastings. I dimly remember one of the books/tv-adaptations mentioning his nickname in his youth was "Battler". Battler Hastings. Yeah, it's terrible.
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Aug 13, 2012 11:40
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I'm glad to see this being LPed! I've been curious about it for a while, but I couldn't get into the show at all and, given that, the VN had a bit too high of a price tag for me to want to take a chance on it. There sure are some, uh, interesting translation choices here, though. Like, why do we need to be given everyone's name in kanji upon their introduction? I'd assume most of the intended audience for the English translation doesn't read Japanese, so it's just so many meaningless scribbles. At least with the Ushiromiya family and their Western-name-written-in-kanji schtick it's at least sort of relevant (though as a translator I'd still go with "My/his/her name is written with the characters for X, Y, and Z" over just dumping the kanji in there), but why do that for the servants? (  )quote:Are Japan's speed limits way lower or something? I know you're probably being flippant rather than actually looking for an answer, but in the part of Japan I lived in, yes, they were noticeably lower than US speed limits on comparable roads. So maybe cars really don't go fast enough to trigger Battler's weird vehicle-phobia, who knows. Or maybe he just has an issue with modes of transportation that don't touch the ground?
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Aug 13, 2012 13:41
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Cake Attack posted:There's one choice at the end of the 8th episode which determines which ending you get, beyond that it's all linear. Not quite. How well you do answering the riddles early in episode 8 also affects one later scene. That section should also provide some fun thread participation if we ever get there.
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Aug 13, 2012 15:18
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Ghost Car posted:There sure are some, uh, interesting translation choices here, though. Like, why do we need to be given everyone's name in kanji upon their introduction? I'd assume most of the intended audience for the English translation doesn't read Japanese, so it's just so many meaningless scribbles. At least with the Ushiromiya family and their Western-name-written-in-kanji schtick it's at least sort of relevant (though as a translator I'd still go with "My/his/her name is written with the characters for X, Y, and Z" over just dumping the kanji in there), but why do that for the servants? Seacats is a game of mysteries, and some of those mysteries involve riddles. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, all I can say is that the exact wording of things eventually becomes extremely important, and solving some of the mysteries may require knowledge of how everyone's names are written in the original Japanese. (Or, they may not, red herrings abound.) Granted, I know the next logical argument in response to that is "That's stupid, a good translation would rework the original mystery/riddle so that it could be solved by English-speaking audiences." Ordinarily I would agree with that, but Umineko is a special case for several reasons. For one thing, requiring knowledge of a foreign language is not unique to the English translation; from what I can tell, even the original Japanese expected its audiences to understand some English in order to solve some of the same mysteries by themselves. It's not an exact parallel in terms of relative difficulty, but it's still there. Second, it becomes clear later on--and I believe the authors of the story have also stated this directly--that this novel is set up to be a game that can be solved by its readers with all the clues provided. As in, that is the main purpose of the novel, what it was planned and written to be. If the translators messed with TOO much of the original writing, they would basically be changing the rules of the game, presenting an effectively different game than the original authors intended players to solve. Not to mention, eventually the mysteries increase in complexity to the extent where it wouldn't be enough to simply swap out a Japanese pun for an English one. I know one of the major goals of translation is to make things as accessible as possible to new audiences, but that goal has to be balanced with preserving the author's original intent, and given the nature of this particular novel, there really wasn't any way to accomplish that without a more direct translation than usual. Hopefully, this will become more apparent later on. Third, even if the translators were good enough to craft full-English equivalents of the mysteries presented by the original, the story doesn't actually provide solutions to every single mystery it presents to the reader. A lot of stuff gets left open to interpretation. In my opinion, that's one of the story's major charms, to make it so that there's always something left to ponder over. However, it's also yet another factor that makes it impossible to translate into English in a way that leaves it looking perfectly clean. Given how important wording is in this story, we're never really going to know how much rewording the translators could get away with without accidentally removing valuable contextual clues that would've worked towards solving some of the unsolved mysteries. There might not even BE a way, but they did the best they could, and some of what they did as a part of that was leaving in those translation notes. ...I probably didn't need to list ALL of those things in response to your comment, since not every point is fully relevant. (To preserve the mystery, I will not say which ones.) But I think it's worth bringing up all this now anyway, since this is probably not the only time people are going to raise questions about the overly-direct translation. I love Umineko, and I'm glad it's being LPed. Once the story really gets off the ground, it starts raising new questions with practically every new line of dialogue. Solving the mysteries is MEANT to be a group effort, and I gave up on solving them by myself sometime in the middle of the second episode (you will see why), so I'd like to see what happens once you actually get multiple minds working on it. Taking it piece by piece like this should be a great way to help everyone break things down.
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Aug 13, 2012 15:22
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Hey OP, any plans for an update using the original backgrounds? As horrible as the original artwork is, the photographs (photoshop-filtered and turned into 256-color BMPs) serving as the original backgrounds add a bit of fitting visual grit to the game, something that is completely missing from the rather sterile PS3 renditions. 
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Aug 13, 2012 15:50
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Part Five: The Witch's Portrait  Anyway, there are both girls and guys here. Plus, we've got people over a wide spread of ages: adult, high school, and elementary school. Even though everyone was only telling his or her personal story, the other three were listening attentively.  : "I think I'm finally getting used to all this. Jessica and Maria have grown more than I could've imagined in the past six years. To be honest, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but talking like this, I guess that on the inside, nothing's really changed since back then." : "I agree. Battler, even after six years you haven't changed a bit. Even though your body's gotten gigantic, you're still a kid inside." : "Uu-! Maria's a kid too! Maria's a kid too!" ...Um.  : "N-no, Maria-chan! You can't make that kind of promise, that's bad, bad, bad!": "Uu-? Maria promised, so let him rub it! Maria'll keep her promise! Definitely keep it, uu-!!": "...Mariaa, you're a really earnest, good girl... The guy you marry's gonna be really lucky." So uh. Battler's two for two hitting on female cousins now. Maybe he missed the memo about this not being a dating sim. Going to note for the record that he gets better about not doing that over time. And that the game is actually pretty good about not playing Maria for that particular type of creepy. : "As I thought, without Battler-kun in our little quartet, it just didn't feel like all the cousins were here. These six years have been kinda lonely.": "...That's true. We weren't able to goof off like this. Still, we did have have some pretty constructive conversations, don'tcha think? Stuff about preparing for our future, exam-taking, or finding jobs." Maria's sincere words probably spoke for everyone. When George-aniki stroked Maria's head, she giggled like a happy kitten... Is that even a thing kittens can do? This game is...not good at metaphors, sometimes.  : "...Pardon me. Your meal is prepared."A timid knocking sound and an equally timid young woman's voice came through the door. Jessica answered brightly. : "Shannon, come in! You remember Battler, don'tcha?!"Jessica stood up from the bed and opened the door. There stood a servant girl who was definitely about our age.  : "...Ah...! Jessica had me surprised, but, Shannon-chan! You too, you've gotten to be a completely beautiful woman, haven't you!": "Y-...your words are too good for me, I'm flattered...": "Bu~ut, food on this island must be reeeally nutritional, hmmmm? What are you eating, where are you training, to get boobs that big?~!! Let me feel them a bit and see whether yours or Jessica's are bigger, oka~ay?!”And sticking with that earlier genre misunderstanding, he's aiming straight for the harem route already.  And here's our first offhand reference to Higurashi. The itchy lymph nodes are one of the major symptoms of Hinamizawa Syndrome, alongside paranoia, hallucinations, and a tendency to default to murder as a solution to perceived problems. And tended to result in the sufferer eventually tearing their throat open with their bare hands. Fun stuff! Groping had nothing to do with it, though, despite the main there being every bit as pervy as Battler.  ...W-well, that means that I really do get to touch them on that one-in-ten chance, though, right? Ihihyahyahya, like I really expect that'd ever happen?!  ...Whoawhoaaa, well this is unexpected!! C-c'mon, you gotta smack me or something, I'm seriously gonna touch'em if this goes oooonnnn?! ...Which is why I was glad that Jessica chose that time to drive her elbow into the back of my head. : "Guaaaah, ooooowww, thank you Jessicaaaaaaa~!!": "W-w-why the hell are you thanking me?! ???": "No, no, my bad, Shannon-chan. Looks like I got a little too absorbed in your hypnotic chest... So now we can see that if I get too close I degenerate into a big pervert after all. Seriously, you've got to resist!": "...P-perhaps, but, ...you are, ...an important guest, Battler-sama..." : "...I-I couldn't do such a thing...! We are..., ...that is, furniture and..."Of course she didn't want her breasts touched, but..., if a guest so desired, she intended to sacrifice her own needs in response anyway. ...A girl like this needs some urgent protection...!  : "I...I cannot obey your request. Because I'm furniture. ...But, ...if it's an order, I'll obey you. ...Because that is my duty."To partially explain the furniture thing, Kinzo latched onto the idea that a good servant should be like living furniture and shoved that onto his personal servants, encouraging them to think of themselves as furniture and be complete doormats. There's a bit more to it, but that'll wait until later episodes. : "Ahaha, then I'll make it an order. The next time Battler-kun tries to touch your breasts, counterattack with a slap. Alright?": "...Y-yes. I'll do as you wish. From now on, please allow me to do so. Battler-sama, please accept this..."Shannon-chan announced this while bowing elegantly to me. Her facial expression was radiant. I gave her a thumbs-up to signal that it was OK with me.  : "Yes, I've had the pleasure of serving this household for ten years." ...Maybe it's like a servant's 'professional name' or something. ...If so, I can kind of understand why that Kanon-kun's name sounds the way it does. She's a long-term servant who's served here since she was six years old. As far as the Ushiromiyas are concerned, child labor laws are for the poor. ...Actually, make that child welfare laws in general. Since her body had changed radically, she didn't match my memories, but I got acquainted with her six years ago. It looked like she was just as shy she had been in the past, but I got the feeling that the charm befitting a girl her age came naturally to her. Especially her breasts, her breasts.  : "Haha! He's the same as always. It's such a shame that he doesn't act just a bit more sociable.": "...It seems Kanon-kun has caused trouble,...I apologize...": "He didn't cause any trouble at all! As a fellow man, I understand how moody you can get at that age. It's no surprise that he's unsociable!": "Uu-! Maria gets called that all the time too! Gets called unsociable! Like Kanon! Uu-!": "*giggle*,...Maria-sama is not unsociable at all.": "Uu-? It was nice to be like him... Uu-." We realized that if we made her stick around for any more light conversation, it would actually make it harder for her to do her job. We got up off our butts to avoid interfering with her work any further. : "Then, shall we go to the mansion? Everyone's probably hungry, right?": "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to Gohda-san's food. That guy, seems he was a chef at this famous hotel, so he's super good at cooking!": "Ooooh! I'm looking forward to it!! Let's go Maria! We're gonna stuff ourselves like pigs!!": "Uu-! Stuff ourselves like pigs!" Under Shannon-chan's guidance we headed towards the mansion. Met once again by the magnificent rose garden, we continued onward as it came into view...the intimidating mansion of the Ushiromiya Head Family.     : "...Battler-sama, we have not met in a long while."As our eyes met, he saluted us with a composed voice. He didn't give quite as refined a bow as Gohda's, but even so, and even though it felt rustic, it was a bow that had feeling. : "Genji-san, it really has been a while! You look well.": "Thank you, I have been quite well...Battler-sama, you have become a splendid young man. ...You have grown to resemble the Master in his youth."They are literally palette swaps of each other. Seriously. : "I'm looking like Grandfather? I guess that means that Grandfather was pretty popular when he was young, Ihihi!": "...From here on, I shall take Shannon's place and accompany you. Please, come this way."Shannon-chan bowed deeply and saw us off. Leaving the entrance hall, we headed to the dining room under Genji-san's guidance.  Genji-san was a silent and diligent person. He was like Grandfather's close aide or caregiver, ...in fact, you could even go so far as to say he was Grandfather's right-hand man. Actually, it seems that he was by Grandfather's side more than my late Grandmother was. According to Jessica, Grandfather trusted him more than any of his blood relatives. But I wonder how long he's served. I've never heard the details, but I'm pretty sure he's been here since the beginning, when this mansion was constructed. ...That is to say, he had dedicated half of his life to serving here. ...In other words, he's both trustworthy and faithful.    If memory serves, on a fresh copy this portrait appears in the background when you choose episode 1 at the start menu. Unfortunately, I can't definitely confirm this at the moment, as whatever files contain the saves seem to be stored somewhere utterly unintuitive, and I'd rather not go through all the resets and language switches involved in uninstalling and reinstalling the game just to double check it.  Without thinking, I stopped walking, under its spell... Since I'd suddenly stopped, Maria, who was following behind me, ran into my back. : "Uu-?": "...Aah, sorry. ...Hey, Jessica. Did that picture used to be there?"I pointed at the big portrait that caught the eye, hanging in the hall. Everyone else stopped too. : "...Aah, ...Right. When you last came here, that hadn't been hung yet, had it? When was it again...": "I think, ...If my memory doesn't fail me, I think it was around the year before last." : "Grandfather did that? So, he went out of his way to have it drawn..."The portrait was appropriate for this western style mansion, and that woman wearing an elegant dress gave off a sense of refinement. ...I couldn't have guessed her age, but judging by her obvious strength of will and the sharpness in her eyes, she radiated youth. It was a different feeling than the composed mood of middle-aged women that are often in famous pictures. If this woman had normal black hair, I might have thought it was a portrait of my long-deceased Grandmother in her prime. I believe this update covers...drat near everything the game ever says about Kinzo's wife. Even within the backstory, she is more or less a complete non-entity. I don't think she even gets a name. However, the woman in the portrait had beautiful blonde hair and didn't look Japanese at all.  : "Uu-! Maria knows. She's Beatrice!": "Bea,...what?": "...Beatrice. She's the witch. Didn't you ever hear about her, long ago?": "The witch. ...you mean, ...of this island?"...I think I already said this, but Rokkenjima is a small island that only spans about ten kilometers. However, considering that only the Ushiromiya family lives here, that's quite large. So, only a harbor and the site around the mansion were set up to be lived in. Beyond that, the island remained as untouched as it was when it was still uninhabited.  If it got dark, the forest, where there were no streetlights, was wrapped up in complete darkness. And also, since it didn't have any guideposts, it would be easy to get confused and lost, losing your sense of direction inside the dark forest. Nowadays, most people see a forest as a peaceful place, but to the people of the bygone eras, before the light of civilization drove out the night, forests were as geographically separated from civilization as the ocean. Like an ocean above the ground. Just like how fishermen who go out into the ocean are threatened despite their technical knowledge... Hunters who go out to the forest have technical knowledge as well, yet are also in danger.  Kinzo, on the other hand, encouraged them to go play in the forest alone. What the game never quite comes out and says is that there were originally about a dozen Ushiromiya kids. The four we see are just the ones who survived. ...There's a terrible witch in the forest, so you must not go in. Thus, Rokkenjima's ghost story was born. That is the legend of the witch of Rokkenjima. The Golden Witch of the episode titles herself. Does she really exist? Is she really hanging around invisibly watching Kinzo go insane? Will Battler try and feel her up too? All questions that will be answered in due time.  Beatrice, was it? ...When Aniki told me and I searched my memory, I was sure I remembered hearing a name like that when I was little. : "...Right. Still, I completely forgot that the witch of that legend had an elegant name like Beatrice. ...Since us grandchildren didn't believe Grandfather, he went out of his way to have her depicted in this painting?" : "...Milady. ...To the Master, this is an important portrait. ...I beg of you, do not say such a thing in front of him.": "...I get it. You don't need to beg."Jessica turned away, after glaring a second at the portrait.   That slightly unsettling feeling of misfortune that I had felt when I learned the Tutelary God's shrine had been struck by lightning on the boat trip revived within me a bit. At that time, Kumasawa-san had tried to tell an ominous story about Rokkenjima and had been stopped by Jessica. ...I didn't know what she had tried to tell us about this island.    : "...I have brought the children. If you will excuse me..."The door was opened and we were invited inside.    : "You're late, brats. Hurry up and take a seat."The old bastard pressed us to sit. Only the places where we would sit were empty at the long table, which only made us feel our tardiness all the more. The seat at the head of the table, called the Incipient's Chair, was for the most highly ranked, reserved for Grandfather. It was still empty. ...He was probably planning to come in last to ham it up.  ...It looked like Oji-san hadn't arrived yet, so that seat was empty. And then to his opposite, on the right side of the first row sat the eldest daughter of the family, Eva oba-san, ranked at number three. The left-hand side of the second row was for number four. There sat my old bastard, Rudolf, as one of the three siblings already present. Opposite him sat number five, the youngest sibling, Rosa oba-san.  Then, finally, next to me on the left-hand side of the fifth row was number ten, Natsuhi oba-san. ...Opposite her was Hideyoshi oji-san. Next to Natsuhi oba-san, in the sixth row and in the final seat on the left-hand side, was Kyrie-san. There's an odd gap here. The four cousins we've seen cover 6-9, and then 10+ is the spouses, except...there's another cousin they're leaving out. Rudolf and Kyrie also have a daughter named Ange, who was briefly mentioned back in the first update. Presumably she's the real number 9 after Battler and bumps Maria and the spouses down a spot each, but it's not completely clear. The seat opposite to Kyrie-san was empty even though everything had been set out. According to this ranking system, that spot was the seat where Rosa oba-san's husband should be sitting. ...Even though he wasn't supposed to be coming, his place was made up. It's also possible she got Battler's spot and he lost his rank entirely when he walked out on the family, I suppose, which would explain why she doesn't have a spot set aside for her but a deadbeat dad who never shows up to these in the first place does. Though then again, that guy didn't lose his spot, and he didn't even have an actual blood connection going for him, so... ...Man I dunno. The more I consider this the more likely I start thinking it is that the author just wanted to have them in neat blocks of four, forgot to consider Ange, and I'm overthinking the hell out of it.  ...It's terrible, but according to that ranking order, Grandmother, when she was alive, would have been in a position even lower than mine. In their youth they obey their father; after they get married, their husband; after aging, their children. There's the old saying, 'Women, whether in their past, present, or future, have no home'. Long ago, when I was still incapable of figuring all this out, I'd thought it was so great that we could all chat, with the adult siblings in their group and us cousins in ours. However, now that I can reexamine the seating order after growing up a bit, it stirs up some very complicated feelings in me... Natsuhi oba-san, married to the eldest son of the family and number two in managing the house, sat to my right, ...which meant that she was two steps lower than me in the ranking order. ...It was difficult to guess what was going inside Oba-san's head. That's why I made a small apologetic gesture before sitting down.  : "How nice to see you, Battler-kun. You've grown quite tall, haven't you?": "Huhh, ah, yeah! I ate and ate and ate meals and before I knew it I got this tall." : "Huh? ...Aah, *giggle*, I'm sorry."Oba-san, after a moment, gave a small laugh, but it seemed she couldn't quite figure out what she was supposed to be laughing at.  Umineko: Family drama for people who don't quite get how families work. She never got into our kids' circle, and she always looked difficult to get along with. And it didn't help that she gave the impression that she was at odds with the other parents. ...The fact is that having barely ever exchanged words, I hesitated a lot about how to approach her. ...And I ended up empty-handed. The silverware had been tidily set up on the table, but the meal itself hadn't been brought in. In essence, until the man at the head of the table had taken his seat, the meal wouldn't start. So, as long as Grandfather, the highest ranked, didn't come, lunch would be indefinitely on hold. Not even the appetizers would come.  All part of his new plan to divvy up the inheritance. Eventually, the hunger will become unbearable, and they will raid the kitchen only to find that Kinzo has hoarded all the food for himself, and the boat isn't coming back for a good loooooong time. After a while longer, desperation will set in. When Kinzo emerges in a few months, the last one standing will be declared his least disappointing descendant and get everything to themselves. It's just that the Grandfather I remembered, when we ate together like this, always showed up at the right time. ...He was supposed to be the kind of person that would never be so late that he'd keep everyone waiting, even though they were all present. : "Grandfather's pretty late. ...As far as I can remember, he was always strict about staying on time. : "Well, that might've been true six years ago, ...but it hasn't been that way lately. Seriously, he's off in his own little world so often that he doesn't even show up at family meals. ...Even so, I figured that he'd at least stick around for today's meal. ...Still, I feel more relaxed and happier without him.": "...Jessica!"After being scolded by her mother, Jessica faced the other way, sticking her tongue out.    It's just barely visible in the sprite, but instead of wearing the Ushiromiya's one winged eagle somewhere on her like the bloodline members of the family and the other favored servants, Shannon has elected to mimic Eva and get it tattooed right onto her. And to then wear a skirt with a slit in it to show it off. And to top it off by having a sprite that...cuts off high enough that you can just barely see the head in the normal game. I'm not entirely certain why it's not just in a more readily visible spot like...well, pretty much every other instance of that crest in the game.   We're almost caught up on bios. Just three more, and we've only met two of those. And for anyone starting to suspect a pattern of it only adding people as Battler directly meets them, be assured that this is not in fact the case, making it all the weirder. Next time: The last member of the core cast is introduced, and Kinzo is a loving lunatic. Mostly the second one. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 01:09
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LordMune posted:Hey OP, any plans for an update using the original backgrounds? I'll probably do some with the original graphics eventually, backgrounds included. There are some things from the original, like the trollfaces and a few other choice sprites, that simply need to be shown off at some point for the True Seacats Experience.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:15
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The first music link of the update is busted, nothing plays on the tindeck link.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:50
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Honestly I think most of my love for the old style sprites might just come from the fact they resulted in the Umineko Screenshot Generator (if you haven't played the game, don't look it up as it spoils poo poo), which turned into months of fun for /a/ and /jp/. The faded backgrounds were straight up better than the PS3 version though. Shiny777 posted:Also Kinzo is a loving lunatic
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Aug 15, 2012 02:03
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Kinzo is without question the most hilarious character Ryukishi has ever written, and that says a ton. 
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Aug 15, 2012 02:10
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Huh. Somehow ended up with the old .ogg version there. Fixed that.
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Aug 15, 2012 02:10
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So if I am right about the ranking it goes this way. 1. Kinzo 2. His oldest son who I don't think has been named yet. 3. Eva (because she forced her husband to take her name) 4. Rudolf 5. Rosa 6. Jessica 7. George 8. Battler 9. Maria 10.Natsui 11.Hidiyoshi 12.Kyrie
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Aug 15, 2012 02:53
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Yeah that's right. It's pretty much tailor made to create resentment and spite!
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Aug 15, 2012 04:18
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I've been waiting for someone to LP this game for ages, since I could never get it to work right on my PC. So you better not abandon it! 
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Aug 15, 2012 04:56
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I like the ambient music the last few updates have had. They set the tone very well.
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Aug 15, 2012 05:58
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Smooglii posted:The black-tailed gull is literally called "sea cat" in Japan and "cat gull" in Korea because I guess they sound like cats, which is why Rosa said "myaa myaa cries." Also now you guys have me all excited for some crazy raving old man totally smashed on absinthe or some Asian equivalent thereof. Seriously if that's absinthe that he's drinking, then diluting it with water is supposed to be the standard way of preparing it. If he's been imbibing it straight his whole life he must be pretty badass and crazy.
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Aug 15, 2012 20:30
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heroiccreampuff posted:Ah cool, thanks for the correct. I had been wondering if it wasn't a specific breed.
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Aug 15, 2012 22:12
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heroiccreampuff posted:Ah cool, thanks for the correct. I had been wondering if it wasn't a specific breed. Hoooooo boy you have no idea.
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Aug 15, 2012 22:38
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KamikazePotato posted:I like the ambient music the last few updates have had. They set the tone very well.
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Aug 15, 2012 23:14
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Part Six: BEATOOOOOORIIIIIIIICHEEEEEE!  Somehow I managed to not notice the artist input field on Tindeck at all until just now. Derp. At some point in the next few days I'll go through and correct the other tracks so far. The clock showed noon, but he didn't even attempt to get up. Putting his spectacles on, he piled up one by one beside him old-fashioned books with elaborately designed bindings, and immersed himself in their reading. It definitely didn't look like it was for his leisure; on the contrary, he exuded impatience, crisis, as though every minute, every second were precious. The inside of the sealed room, where dense dust danced, stagnated, steeped in the suspicious stench of smelly medicine. ...Somehow, sweet, heavy. For anyone with an good nose, the first thing they'd do after entering would be to open a window and ventilate the room. The knocking against the study door had been going on for a while. A voice calling 'Father' sometimes mingled with the knocks. As Kinzo heaved a deep sigh, he snapped the old book he had in his hands shut and slammed it on the table. Then, he yelled at Krauss who was still knocking on the door.  Unauthorized knocking on the study door: punishable by old-school execution. And this isn't just me making up outlandish poo poo anymore. It is very, very hard to make Kinzo look much more batshit than the game does on its own.  : "...Father. Isn't today the annual family conference? Everyone's gathered down there. Please come out."Krauss called out to his father through the door. ...Kinzo always shut himself up in the study and hated it when even his family entered the room. For that reason, Krauss had no choice but to call out thus from the corridor...  You want crazy ranting? Have some crazy ranting! Also, you guys underestimate Kinzo's insanity. Yeah, he binge drinks absinthe without watering it down, but he doesn't stop there. Human absinthe is too weak for him, so he needs the poo poo demons drink to get smashed. And to talk to fairies, apparently. This demonic absinthe may also be the Apocalypse in liquid form. Or maybe that line is completely unrelated. Who can say? ...Before the door, Krauss, Nanjo and Genji kept waiting for the master of the house, who would not come out.  The last of the 18, Krauss, Kinzo's oldest son. His name is sort of odd and pattern-breaking. From the searches I've done, Krauss doesn't seem to be a real first name. His portrait files use “cla” for his 3 letter designation, so it's possible it's supposed to be Claus and the Witch Hunt got it wrong. But then again, the portraits have some other weird designation that don't match with official romanizations... Also he is the smuggest fuckin' dude. 64 sprites in the patched version and 25 of them are some form of smugface. I'm pretty sure that puts him either solidly at the top or drat close by percentage. ...He himself hadn't really believed his father would answer his calls. However, as it was the duty of the eldest son, he had formally made the request.  : "...Kinzo-san. Aren't your sons and daughters and your grandchildren coming to see you...? How about you show your face, just a little...?" Kinzo slammed the old, heavy book on the table over and over. The racket obviously indicated his highest displeasure. Kinzo put his spectacles down and flew up from his chair. He spread his arms wide open, as if to sing to a packed opera house, as if appealing to someone, and yelled.  : "Why?! Why is there always something in my way?! I would throw it all away, I would offer up everything, and there is only one thing I ask in repayment!!” Maybe you shouldn't have signed everything away without putting that in the contract, then, eh?   Krauss clearly has not been paying attention to his family at all because he is implying Kinzo was ever not a nutjob. : "Krauss-san... Isn't that a bit harsh, to your birth father...": "My father is already dead. ...All that's here is a phantom of what Father once was. At any rate, as long as he has no intention of coming out, there's nothing we can do.": "...Kinzo-san."Choking coughs continued to pour from the study...  Krauss spun on his heels. He looked at his wristwatch, mumbling and acting as though he had wasted time doing something he knew would be in vain. : "Genji-san. ...Father is calling for you. Keep him company.": "...Certainly.": "Doctor Nanjo. Let's go eat. ...If we stay here any longer, even our sense of taste will go insane from this sweet smell."Without waiting for Nanjo, Krauss went downstairs. Genji urged Nanjo to go and eat. ...Nanjo looked first to Krauss's back as he disappeared down the stairs, then to the study door, and he let out a deep sigh.  Nanjo, the dude has spent his life binging on demonic liquor and he's still alive well into his 70s. I think at this point you need to consider the possibility that he -or at least his liver- is just flat out invincible. : "Is Genji not here yet?!!! Who dares keep Genji from coming?!! Aah, Genji, where are you, call for Genji!!!": "Now, ...please leave it to me.": "...*nods*. ...Sorry."Nanjo gave a small duck of his head and descended the stairs... Genji saw him off, and knocked at the study door. : "...Master. It is Genji." : "Yes. I am alone."Kinzo returned to his seat in the study and pressed an old-style switch on the table. ...After a small delay, the heavy sound of the door unlocking could be heard. Kinzo believed that his family might try to break in his study. Perhaps someone once opened the window for some air and scattered important documents and other stuff? Is that what made him so nasty? ...Now, Kinzo had placed a secure lock in his own room, making it so that without his permission nobody could enter, and locking himself in the dungeon he'd created. Genji, who he trusted the most, was relatively free to enter the room, but that was also not absolute. If Kinzo was in a bad mood, even he wouldn't be able to enter. ...Anyone else would be limited to holding a conversation through the door, not even seeing his face. And most of the time, they wouldn't even get a real conversation.  ...They were happy that he didn't come out of his study and, putting him in the hands of the servants, they themselves also tried to avoid him.  : "Genji, my usual. I'm busy.": "...Yes."Genji headed to a corner of the study. There, a suspicious-looking bottle boasting a venomous color was displayed. ...It was actually liquor, but, considering that it was placed in this suspicious-looking room, one begins to doubt whether it isn't actually some kind of ghastly poison. Inside the study, the mysterious collection of books that Kinzo had gathered had grown into a mountain. They were bizarre ancient or banned books, all of them either forbidden, cursed, or sealed.  There were many mysterious objects, like a candle suspiciously melted and molded into a strange shape, which probably had something to do with black magic. The constellations drawn on a certain celestial globe contained quite a few dots that a person who knows the night sky well would tilt their head at. The illustrations inscribed in old, casually opened books were all full of religious, or possibly demonic, grotesque arcana, as well as the weird shapes of various magical circles. And above all, the sweet, poisonous smell that filled the room profoundly assaulted those who entered for the first time in their sense of sight and smell, then all their senses, making them lose their grip on reality ... Inside that study, Genji, with his well trained hand, prepared Kinzo's usual drink. If you didn't know that the ominous dark green liquid that filled the complexly designed bottle was liquor, you really wouldn't want to put it in your mouth. ...He poured a small quantity of the spirits into the glass. After placing a cube of sugar in a strangely shaped spoon, he then poured water from a pitcher over it.  I was going to ask if this is accurate to how absinthe works, lacking much in the way of booze knowledge, but I suppose the normal rules wouldn't necessarily apply here anyway. Though I guess if we've got any experts on demonic liquor in the audience, do speak up. ...There was no recipe. Its success was measured only by Kinzo's mood swing when he drank it, and he had learned how to make it only after many decades. Genji placed the glass in the tray, and faced Kinzo. Kinzo was now gazing out the window.  In that man's back dwelt a dignity and intelligence made plain simply by how he tilted his glass and gazed down at the scenery beyond the window. Genji, in order to allow Kinzo to set down his glass any time, motionlessly waited behind and to Kinzo's left, as though he were a living sideboard. While the other furniture servants are merely doormats, Genji, as the head servant, gets the privelege of being an actual piece of furniture. Thereupon, while Kinzo looked out the window, he stuck out only the glass. There was just a mouthful remaining. It was not a gesture intended to set it upon the tray, as Genji expected, but was an motion to hand the glass over to Genji.  : "...Thank you."Genji respectfully received the glass and inclined it a little to taste its contents. After that, he agitated it. : "I attempted to imitate your concoction, but no matter how I try I cannot replicate the taste. ...The way you make it is pure relish.": "...Thank you very much. It is the fruit of your guidance, Master.": "Hmph..."Kinzo smiled at his loyal subject who refused to put aside rank even when asked to. However, he was not making fun of him; it was relaxed, like a smile at a close friend's unriddable bad habit. : "...We have grown old together. I forgot my age a long time ago.": "Being allowed to live here until now has all been thanks to you, Master."Kinzo gave a thin smile, as if to say he didn't need compliments.  : "...I do not have much time left to live. ...My sons are vultures, lazily waiting for my inheritance to fall into their hands.": "..." Eva has been doing some occult research of her own, and has concluded that eating Kinzo's corpse will grant her his powers. Why she plans to go with soup instead of the classic “rip out and devour the heart” method, only she knows.  Maria is actually the one relative Kinzo likes, in large part due to their shared obsession. However, he is adamant that pink and black are not her colors and that her tiny crown looks dumb as poo poo, and refuses to have anything to do with her until she learns herself some fashion. Also once again Ange's existence is apparently forgotten entirely.  I know the obvious thing to look at here, other than the text, is Kinzo's various ranting expressions, but take a look at Genji. He's locked in a room with a drunken ranting nutcase and his assortment of satanic artifacts and he does not give a single gently caress. This is just another Saturday for the poor bastard. : “If you want to hate me, you can hate me! If you want to run away, you can run away!! I won't let you go, I won't let you go won't let you go won't let you go!! You're mine!! You cannot be anywhere but in my arms! For all my life! You'll continue to whisper for all eternity in my bird cage to me, only to me!! Beatrice... Why, ...won't you give me back your smile... OOOoooooh, OOOooOOOoooh...!! BeatriceeeEEEeeee!! OOOoooOOOOoohh..."After howling, Kinzo choked once again. Genji set the tray and the glass down and patted his master's back... Genji's facial expression did not change. ...It was always like this. : "...*cough*... Hmhm. ...Thank you, my friend.": "..."The outburst, like his previous agitation, had calmed, and Kinzo regained his composure again. ...His change of stance was like seeing two different people, a wild Kinzo and a composed Kinzo, living together inside one body.  : “Many miracles that happened in myth can be said to be the crystallization of a shocking magic power, that had a low probability of happening and an astronomical risk! That Moses parted the waters of the sea was not a miracle of God - the risk of that desperate situation, cornered by soldiers on the Red Sea's shores, weighed upon the scales of slaughter, gave birth to the miraculous magic power. Even if the same thing occurs again, on same scope, the sea will no doubt not part.” : “However, people who truly have magic power grab that miracle and fulfill the mystery!! And if that power exists within me...! I'll seize that miracle and I'll be able to make the wish I devoted my life towards come true!!"So here's our first explanation of magic in Umineko. It comes down to betting on a ridiculously unlikely miracle, having the right innate aptitude, and then getting lucky as hell. Or at least Kinzo's magic works that way, some of the other kinds that show up don't really fit all that well into that. Actually, I think even some of the things he does with it down the line don't quite fit, but...well, we'll come back to that when we get there. Kinzo looked up to the sky outside the window. He spread his arms as if appealing to someone up in the skies. : "If only!!! If only I were capable of gaining that miracle!! ...Oooh..., Beatrice..., Beatrice... Show me your lovely smile once more... No matter how much time passes, your face does not vanish... I just want to see your smile..., that is all...! I'll return everything you granted me! I'll return all the glory I've gained since that day! I don't need fortune, prestige, gold!! I'll return everything you granted me!! I just want to see your smile!! For goodness' sake, Beatrice!! OOOoooooOooh...oOoOOoh...ooh...!!"...His nonsensical yells segued into a scream...and then into a wail.  Already we see the moral of Umineko: Always think your terms all the way through and double check the catches before committing to a Faustian bargain with a witch. Especially if she is a known troll. Truly a lesson we should all take to heart.    : "Certainly. I shall begin today's luncheon." : "...Doctor Nanjo, is Father's condition that bad? It would have been nice if he at least showed his face, right?": "Rather than his physical condition, it's his mood... And for that, there is no medicine I can prescribe." : "...Are you kidding?"Rudolf shrugged. Apparently, even though Rudolf seemed to resent the way his father did whatever he pleased...he'd rather avoid seeing his father's face if he could help it.  : "Does it seem like his mood will improve before dinner? Krauss nii-san?": "I have no idea. You can try and ask Father directly. ...Although, I think his mood will improve faster if we don't bother him.": "The only one who can get Grandfather better is Genji-san. It sucks though, making the servants deal with your own parent's bad mood.": "Jessica. Don't speak out of turn."She'd planned for her complaint to be heard only by her cousins, but it had reached even Krauss's ears. Scolded, Jessica scowled and turned away, sulking.  : "It's because Grandfather has especially strong willpower. ...But, it doesn't mean that his body will always follow that. Since last year, they keep saying that he has three months left. ...If the initial diagnosis was correct, Grandfather has been prolonging his life by willpower alone. ...It should be a cause for concern."Or perhaps it's less to do with willpower and more about Death, like so many others, being too terrified of Kinzo to go anywhere near him.   And now we finally get Kinzo's bio. The actual pattern to them is that they're added when they get that special introduction with the Japanese spelling of their name, regardless of when or where that happen and whether or not Battler is present. Which makes some sense with the patch, but makes you wonder what the logic was in the Japanese version, since the characters would presumably be on display the first time everyone's name is mentioned. Maybe they had English versions in parentheses. Or maybe it was completely arbitrary and Witch-Hunt created something resembling a pattern. Never tried playing it without the translation patch, lacking any ability to read Japanese, so I've got no idea there, really. Next time: The family dinner.
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Aug 18, 2012 09:39
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Shiny777 posted:Perhaps someone once opened the window for some air and scattered important documents and other stuff? Is that what made him so nasty? Should that be in Italics? It sounds like one of your comments. Kinzo is such an awesome character. There are just so many facets to his personality, it's downright fascinating. The characterization is one of Umineko's best aspects in my opinion, and Kinzo is already a good example, even though this is only his second appearance. Trust me, it gets even better
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Aug 18, 2012 10:46
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As far as I know, that's exactly how absinthe is prepared. Kinzo is hardcore batshit awesome.
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Aug 18, 2012 11:21
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I'm pretty sure that if you're 70 and drink booze from Hell itself while regularly screaming so much you lose all breath from your lungs, Death comes and High-5s you every few years instead of taking your soul.
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Aug 18, 2012 11:37
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Omniphile posted:As far as I know, that's exactly how absinthe is prepared. Omniphile got it right. Apparently it has something to do with the anise flavouring in absinthe. For any curious viewer, Wikipedia teaches how absinthe should be prepared. By the way, could the characters all have English-sounding name because the game makers are targetting the English-speaking world in the first place?
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Aug 18, 2012 11:41
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Jeek posted:By the way, could the characters all have English-sounding name because the game makers are targeting the English-speaking world in the first place? There is a very major plot point in the game's story that makes this 100% impossible. Ryukishi IS aware of the English fanbase though, Witch Hunt has his official approval.
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Aug 18, 2012 13:40
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Jeek posted:For any curious viewer, Wikipedia teaches how absinthe should be prepared. Also, according to the Wiki article on absinthe, "[absinthe] is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the green fairy)."
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Aug 18, 2012 15:28
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Jeek posted:By the way, could the characters all have English-sounding name because the game makers are targetting the English-speaking world in the first place?
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Aug 18, 2012 15:39
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Kinzo's ranting is the best part of early Episode 1. Such great insanity.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:36
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Scratch that, Kinzo's facial expressions are the most wonderful part of all of Umineko.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:53
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I know absolutely nothing about these games, but Kinzo is easily the best character. That level of batshit insanity right off the bat is unparalleled.
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Aug 18, 2012 23:48
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Stumbling across this thread spurred me to go back and finish the anime. ... I am really interested to see how the VN handles things. 
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Aug 19, 2012 00:20
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I never did end up finishing Umineko, I caught up to the translation after Episode 6 and just never got around to getting 7/8. It'll be interesting to see all the newer portraits and how they handle certain scenes with improved art.
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Aug 19, 2012 01:40
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Another person who has played some of this before (I am on the First Night of Episode 3 in my save file currently.) It is likely the game I have wrote the most notes for (and I have recently playing through the Myst series.) trying to write down my hypotheses about what is happening later on in the game and making sure to get the "[colour]" down. I also started playing it after watching the anime and getting the feeling I was missing something with the ending. I have managed to avoid spoilers for things past Episode 4 (Where the anime ends.) and look forward to playing along when you catch up.
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Aug 19, 2012 03:24
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Shiny, can you post some examples of the voice acting? I'm curious to see how it compares to the anime. Do they use the same voice actors?
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Aug 19, 2012 03:32
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Wandering Knitter posted:Shiny, can you post some examples of the voice acting? I'm curious to see how it compares to the anime. Do they use the same voice actors? I'm pretty sure they do use all the same voice actors, yeah.
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Aug 19, 2012 03:38
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Carpator Diei posted:Should that be in Italics? It sounds like one of your comments. Nope, that's straight from the game. Jeek posted:Omniphile got it right. Apparently it has something to do with the anise flavouring in absinthe. Huh. Interesting. And probably not. On top of what's already been said about the reasoning, in his letter to the Witch Hunt, the creator was surprised there was an audience for it outside Japan, and encouraged them to keep going instead of slapping them with a cease and desist. Safe assumption that bringing it over officially wasn't part of the plan. Wandering Knitter posted:Shiny, can you post some examples of the voice acting? I'm curious to see how it compares to the anime. Do they use the same voice actors? Same VAs as the anime, as far as I know. I can see about getting some samples together.
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Aug 19, 2012 06:36
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Here's the translation of the first part of his letter to Witch Hunt for the curious, I left out the rest because of some minor spoilers.Ryuukishi07 posted:I did not think that our "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" would be played even by all of you in foreign countries, and I am very surprised. Also, I am deeply moved by the passion which drove you to translate a tale that long into English.
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Aug 19, 2012 06:43
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