Quote:
Originally Posted by Sterling01
I don't quite get what you mean here.
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In Higurashi, we don't really understand the "true workings" behind each chapter until it was explained to us in Minagoroshi and Matsuribayashi-hen. So even though we eventually come to understand chapters such as Onikakushi-hen as nothing more than a "failed example", we were still able to enjoy Onikakushi-hen for what it was at the time: an engaging and thrilling tale of suspense and drama.
In EP2 of Umineko, however, we have 2 characters who have essentially taken up a "commentator" point of view over the story development (similar to Bernkastel going over the chapter pieces in Minagoroshi and Matsuribayashi-hen), offering their opinions and analysis on the current development, and therefore "spoiling" the chance for the reader to become truly absorbed in the "actual story". With EP1 Battler and Beatrice assuming an "overseer" position, the actual story feels like it has been reduced to "something used in their argument". The player (you), of course, is the ultimate observer, so the presence of these commentators meant that we have to take a step back in order for us to take in not only the actual story, but the exchanges going on between these commentators as well. For me personally, having to examine Battler and Beatrice's "commentaries" has made the actual story in EP2 far less absorbing (many movie DVDs have "commentary tracks" that features the director or actors commenting on the movie as it played out. This is similar to that. Would you want to watch a movie for the first time with the commentaries turned on? No, because we wouldn't be able to focus on the movie itself)
Of course, Battler and Beatrice's exchanges aren't simply commentaries, the two of them are engaged in their own little world that can be considered part of the overall Umineko story as well. But for me, all their debates and definitions so far (red words, for example) simply made the actual story less appealing as a proper tale, but instead made it feel more liked a tool used in presenting their arguments. In the end, this ambiguity kind of ruined the story for me since I found myself unable to attach to anything out of fear that it's just going to be another tool for Beatrice or Battler's arguments.