Umineko...anime.....

[AsukaNeumaki]

I thought it was Umineko: When the seagulls cry...

Well technically the title translates to. Seagulls: When they cry which is the translation they went with or it could be translated When The Seagulls Cry or it could also be translated as When They Cry Seagulls. It is all based on whatever you prefer but the most popular translation is When the Seagulls Cry.

[Daverost]

I watched some of the anime and quit after about I'd say 14 episodes or so it wasn't anywhere near as interesting or engaging as Higurashi.

Probably true for the anime.

I considered the Higurashi VN better than the Umineko VN until Umineko Ep8 came out. The last episode was so good that I bumped Umineko up to "Favorite VN Ever" status.

I thought it was Umineko: When the seagulls cry...

"When the Seagulls Cry" is the literally translated title, just as Higurashi's is "When the Cicadas Cry". (Though technically, higurashi are only a specific variety of cicadas, just as umineko are only a specific variety of seagulls.)

The series name is "When They Cry", and can be seen on the logo for both Higurashi and Umineko.

Higurashi logo

Spoiler:

Umineko logo

Spoiler:

Higurashi is When They Cry 1, Higurashi Kai is When They Cry 2, Umineko is When They Cry 3, and Umineko Chiru is When They Cry 4.

The title is often simplified for English-speaking audiences to just "When They Cry." The Higurashi anime was released as "When They Cry", the English VN and English manga were released as "Higurashi: When They Cry", and the Umineko anime is being released as "Umineko: When They Cry."

The title isn't wrong here, just simplified.

[formerroadie]

And my usual response.... MORE NISA ANIME! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!

[youko]

I'm getting concerned now. I've never played the VNs does that mean I won't understand what is going on? Or does that mean I will be able to enjoy the anime because I haven't been spoiled by the VN?

[Daverost]

VN, not VA.

Not reading the VN won't be why you won't be able to understand it. You won't be able to understand it because the anime removes enormous chunks of narrative and plot to squeeze it all into its airing length. Good luck.

[youko]

VN, not VA.

Not reading the VN won't be why you won't be able to understand it. You won't be able to understand it because the anime removes enormous chunks of narrative and plot to squeeze it all into its airing length. Good luck.

Well that makes me feel dumb. ...and fixed.

So its useless to watch without doing some reading up. Homework just what everyone wants to do before watching a series. I'll put it at the bottom of my NIS anime list and if it has enough gore I'll make my sister watch it with me(she likes really gorey & barely there plot stuff).

[DizzyQViper]

Still wondering how people would think of the anime if they never went through the V/N

Cause all I ever hear is 'it shames the V/N', 'the V/N was better', etc...

And all that tells me is that people aren't able to have separate expectations for the two, and expect both to be the same. Which is just silly.

i Never played the v/n. i thought it started out good but turned meh halfway. I didn't care much for the characters either. Even though Higurashi's anime adaptation was not too great either it had a certain charm and a good cast.

Spoiler:

so when Keichi & co got brutally murdered one by one it made an impact. With Umineko's cast... not so much.

I loved Umineko's ED song though.

[Tokiko]

Still wondering how people would think of the anime if they never went through the V/N

Cause all I ever hear is 'it shames the V/N', 'the V/N was better', etc...

And all that tells me is that people aren't able to have separate expectations for the two, and expect both to be the same. Which is just silly.

i Never played the v/n. i thought it started out good but turned meh halfway. I didn't care much for the characters either. Even though Higurashi's anime adaptation was not too great either it had a certain charm and a good cast.

Spoiler:

so when Keichi & co got brutally murdered one by one it made an impact. With Umineko's cast... not so much.

I loved Umineko's ED song though.

I was a big fan of the opening for it tbh :3
and I dunno the anime adaptation for Higurashi wasnt that bad. Some could have been better, especially the Eye Opening Arc, the ending in the book I found to be the most emotionally devastatingly depressing thing I think I've ever seen in a book. The anime was meh by comparison.

And ya with Umineko the cast I cared less about, but I also think because there were so many more of them they couldnt get them as established each time. That and it did kind of jump around a lot.

[DizzyQViper]

Still wondering how people would think of the anime if they never went through the V/N

Cause all I ever hear is 'it shames the V/N', 'the V/N was better', etc...

And all that tells me is that people aren't able to have separate expectations for the two, and expect both to be the same. Which is just silly.

i Never played the v/n. i thought it started out good but turned meh halfway. I didn't care much for the characters either. Even though Higurashi's anime adaptation was not too great either it had a certain charm and a good cast.

Spoiler:

so when Keichi & co got brutally murdered one by one it made an impact. With Umineko's cast... not so much.

I loved Umineko's ED song though.

I was a big fan of the opening for it tbh :3
and I dunno the anime adaptation for Higurashi wasnt that bad. Some could have been better, especially the Eye Opening Arc, the ending in the book I found to be the most emotionally devastatingly depressing thing I think I've ever seen in a book. The anime was meh by comparison.

And ya with Umineko the cast I cared less about, but I also think because there were so many more of them they couldnt get them as established each time. That and it did kind of jump around a lot.

The art in the first season's artwork was pretty bad and it felt pretty rushed in the end. The second season was much better though. The Higurashi Rei OVA was great except for the final episode that was an embarrassingly bad attempt to turn the story of Higurashi Daybreak in an single anime episode.

Spoiler:

How awesome it would be to see Higurashi Daybreak Kai appear in English on STEAM *hint hint*

But still the manga adaptation is vastly superior. The Eye opening arc was amazing indeed in the manga.
On the other hand they had to cram 4 volumes in just 5 episodes orso and tbh quite a few anime adaptations often suffer from that problem.
/offtopic

[AsukaNeumaki]

But that's the thing the Higurashi and Umineko animes shouldn't have been only 26 episodes long that was the main problem. Each arc should've been about 8-10 episodes and they would've been able to cover a lot more. I think they should've just gone with a different company because DEEN is just...............it's Studio DEEN what do you expect.

[Saeval]

At least Higurashi has 26 episodes per series, and I found that the result is more than acceptable. The same cannot be said for Umineko though.

[AsukaNeumaki]

With Higurashi it is even worse. Umineko split 4 arcs into 26 episodes. Higurashi split 6 arcs into 26 episodes. The anime adaption of the kai arcs started in season 1 on episode 15. They compressed 4 visual novels into 14 episodes. This is the reason they had put in that extra arc at the beginning of Kai and why the last two arcs were so long. All of the arcs should've been as long as Minagoroshi-hen and Matsuribayashi-hen. Also Higurashi Kai was only 24 episodes.

[Saeval]

You're probably right, but still, after watching Higurashi I was quite satisfied, while after finishing Umineko I only felt the urge to buy the VN

[Daverost]

But still the manga adaptation is vastly superior.

I always tell people that if you're not willing to read the VNs for Higurashi or Umineko, at least read the manga.

[Ar Tonelico]

You're probably right, but still, after watching Higurashi I was quite satisfied, while after finishing Umineko I only felt the urge to buy the VN

This is probably why the PS3 releases were even made. It was handled properly, the updated animation is excellent, it uses the same voice cast as the Anime, and just this is how Umineko is supposed to be.

The Anime isn't horrible, but I did play the 1st release of Umineko on PS3 before watching the Anime. To me, maybe if they spent more time working on the Anime it would have been even better and not try to rush it or worrying about budget.

1 of the best things that happened to this Anime is having an Opening Theme Song sung by Akiko Shikata.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLL1594buRY