[Anime] Umineko no Naku Koro ni - General Discussion

[GreyZone]

IMO in the Alliance of the Golden Witch part they focused too much on Rosa and Maria+Sakutarou (inb4 that's proof for Evatrice, lol). The time they spent on that was probably more than on the Battler vs Beato confrontation at the end...

[xPearse]

I've only got 2 episodes led to watch of the anime. Good, because its been only annoying after the third arc. I'm very dissatisfied with it after arc 3 being so good. I didn't like how R07 went all Magical Girl Maria. That was stupid. And I didn't like how she just teleported her mother into magic zone for torture, either. Because we can all just wish away our worries and problems in real life, right? What kind of lesson is R07 trying to teach us there? Also, if we're meant to take the Red Truth as fact, does that then mean that all the magic use is only a medium to show the murders, and not that it exists? I'm confused.

Originally Posted by Levani

Can't believe they cut that out when this is supposed to be a "mystery anime".

That's why we need a remake guys, from Ufotable

From the company that made the abomination known as Coyote Ragtime? No thanks. Nah, I'm just kidding with you, not the Coyote Ragtime remark, though. That show still gives me nightmares.
Anyway, I'm a bit cautious seeing how their latest FSN has turned out. But is a remake of Umineko even possible? Isn't interest in that area dead due to DEEN's attempt?

[Mr. Dent]

Originally Posted by xPearse

I've only got 2 episodes led to watch of the anime.

The last episode is the worst. It is literally nothing more than an enormous bloated bird flipping directed at fans of the visual novel. It ruins the content it adapts more than all of the show previous.

I didn't like how R07 went all Magical Girl Maria. That was stupid.

This is one of the most important aspects of Umineko, as well as the basic key to interpreting all of the magical murder scenes. This magic is a power fantasy, and though the creator truly views it as powerful magic, a less understanding soul could interpret it as Ange does, refusing to acknowledge one's misery. ...but yeah i hated sakutaro and the stake sisters by the end of the anime.

And I didn't like how she just teleported her mother into magic zone for torture, either. Because we can all just wish away our worries and problems in real life, right? What kind of lesson is R07 trying to teach us there?

It's harder to understand in the anime, but that was a dream sequence Maria was having while she fell asleep in the room with the cousins. And I don't believe it was intended to be a lesson in wishing, as you'll see in the later episodes, it's less about Maria escaping her problems, and more about her falling into violence and torture as the only way to assert herself. (Once again, power fantasy.)

Also, if we're meant to take the Red Truth as fact, does that then mean that all the magic use is only a medium to show the murders, and not that it exists? I'm confused.

Magic does not exist in the Gameboard unless Battler forfeits. Beatrice's tale is just a tale that covers the truth, and as long as Battler doesn't give up the resolve to see through her cover, it'll remain an illusion. The Red Truth relates to the truth behind the cover. However, if Battler gives up, reality is rewritten, and the illusion basically becomes reality.

Anyway, I'm a bit cautious seeing how their latest FSN has turned out. But is a remake of Umineko even possible? Isn't interest in that area dead due to DEEN's attempt?

All the problems with Zero and FSN are with the source material, not the adaptive work. They're sticking really close to the original material, with the only changes being adding details to make things more meaningful and more sensible, like having Taiga be visiting Kiritsugu's grave and changing Caster's backstory to make her more human and explain her backstory in a way that's not as obscure. And, no, I don't think an Umineko remake is impossible. The manga's been running up until now, the Light Novels by KodanshaBox are still coming out, with Episode 7 beginning this very month, and then there's the Umineko arcade game that recounts the plot, featuring new voice overs and fully animated segments.

Given that the arcade game is heavily based on the manga, I think that it'd be more likely to have an anime that's based more on the manga than a big UFOtable production based on the Alchemist remake. Although, honestly, I wouldn't mind either.

[Levani]

Anyway, I'm a bit cautious seeing how their latest FSN has turned out.

As if it turned out bad, it's my favorite anime of all time, along with Zero.

And I didn't mention Ufotable to derail this thread to Fate stuff, let's be on topic.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by GreyZone

IMO in the Alliance of the Golden Witch part they focused too much on Rosa and Maria+Sakutarou (inb4 that's proof for Evatrice, lol). The time they spent on that was probably more than on the Battler vs Beato confrontation at the end...

Well, it is an important part of understanding the nature of magic, but it becomes meaningless when we become incapable of actually applying this understanding. The anime managed to disjoint itself so far that it is only comprehensible if you know the answer, which kind of defeats the whole point.

Originally Posted by xPearse

And I didn't like how she just teleported her mother into magic zone for torture, either. Because we can all just wish away our worries and problems in real life, right? What kind of lesson is R07 trying to teach us there?

This is one of the elements that I meant when I was talking about how disjointed the anime is. This scene is meant to be chilling and horrifying, not only because of its gore, but also because of what it represents. Maria started out as a sweet girl, using magic to make life better, but as time went on her idea of magic began to warp. The anime didn't really make a deal of out it, but in both the VN and the manga Ange also comments how Maria gradually went from spells for making it rain candy to having a bully hit by a car and die.

Like other people already said, it is actually the very point that you cannot wish away worries in real life, that is what R07 is trying to tell here. Magic (or the belief in magic) can make your life easier to bear, but it doesn't change reality...so what is a person who is feeling totally trapped supposed to do?!

Also, if we're meant to take the Red Truth as fact, does that then mean that all the magic use is only a medium to show the murders, and not that it exists? I'm confused.

Think about it as a stage-performance. The 4 arcs are something like scripts that Beatrice uses to present her story to Battler, the characters are actors playing their parts, and the Red Truth is something like the absolute framework of that story. Yet, how Beato stages a certain scene is left up to her, and she decided to stage them with a witch committing those murders through magic.
Yet, that does not mean, if for example Ange in 1998 were to find something that could actually tell us the events that occured on Rokkenjima in 1986, that there would be any magic involved.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

The last episode is the worst. It is literally nothing more than an enormous bloated bird flipping directed at fans of the visual novel. It ruins the content it adapts more than all of the show previous.

I don't think it was that consciously bad. More like an enormous bloated bird trying to take off and miserably failing to do anything but flop around on the floor.

[xPearse]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

The last episode is the worst. It is literally nothing more than an enormous bloated bird flipping directed at fans of the visual novel. It ruins the content it adapts more than all of the show previous.

Well, I'll have to prepare myself for the fiasco tonight. I'll probably be pissed by the end of it.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

This is one of the most important aspects of Umineko, as well as the basic key to interpreting all of the magical murder scenes. This magic is a power fantasy, and though the creator truly views it as powerful magic, a less understanding soul could interpret it as Ange does, refusing to acknowledge one's misery. ...but yeah i hated sakutaro and the stake sisters by the end of the anime.

I never really liked either in the first place. The Stakes just came off as a stupid bunch of bland, uninteresting, sadistic schoolgirls. Oh, scary. The Sisiesta's were much better, nee hee hee.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

It's harder to understand in the anime, but that was a dream sequence Maria was having while she fell asleep in the room with the cousins. And I don't believe it was intended to be a lesson in wishing, as you'll see in the later episodes, it's less about Maria escaping her problems, and more about her falling into violence and torture as the only way to assert herself. (Once again, power fantasy.)

It was shown following the flashbacks and such so I thought it happened at the time or something. Though I understand it now. Just wish DEEN didn't mess it up so badly, but DEEN will be DEEN.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

Magic does not exist in the Gameboard unless Battler forfeits. Beatrice's tale is just a tale that covers the truth, and as long as Battler doesn't give up the resolve to see through her cover, it'll remain an illusion. The Red Truth relates to the truth behind the cover. However, if Battler gives up, reality is rewritten, and the illusion basically becomes reality.

I'm confused, does magic exist or does it not? Though I'm guessing people got annoyed by that in the end.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

And then there's the Umineko arcade game that recounts the plot, featuring new voice overs and fully animated segments.

Given that the arcade game is heavily based on the manga, I think that it'd be more likely to have an anime that's based more on the manga than a big UFOtable production based on the Alchemist remake. Although, honestly, I wouldn't mind either.

Also, this pinball machine is recent, isn't it? And how is the animation, any good? Seeing how a pinball machine company produced the Higurashi Outbreak Ova, could that mean the same may happen with Umineko?

Originally Posted by Levani

As if it turned out bad, it's my favorite anime of all time, along with Zero.

And I didn't mention Ufotable to derail this thread to Fate stuff, let's be on topic.

Just to clear things up, I meant the animation in how some of the characters look odd (Rin), not that it's bad or anything.

Originally Posted by haguruma

Think about it as a stage-performance. The 4 arcs are something like scripts that Beatrice uses to present her story to Battler, the characters are actors playing their parts, and the Red Truth is something like the absolute framework of that story. Yet, how Beato stages a certain scene is left up to her, and she decided to stage them with a witch committing those murders through magic.
Yet, that does not mean, if for example Ange in 1998 were to find something that could actually tell us the events that occured on Rokkenjima in 1986, that there would be any magic involved.

Well, episode 3 did end like a stage play with everyone clapping after a performance, so there's that.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by xPearse

I'm confused, does magic exist or does it not? Though I'm guessing people got annoyed by that in the end.

That is something you shall decide for yourself.
I'm basically quoting the VN. And yes, everybody who either read the VN or is currently following the manga will probably be snickering right now.

But yes, to answer this would likely rob the second half of Umineko of much of the fun that it could deliver to you. So I will leave this hanging in the air.
Again, the anime didn't do a very proper job in delivering that this is basically what the story is about, finding a position regarding the battle between magic and reality (or anti-mystery and anti-fantasy) by seeing how this all relates to these 4 stories that you were handed.

Also, since it fell a little under the table in the anime, though at least it was mentioned: Do you remember that at the end of the first arc there was a sequence describing a bottle letter washing up on the shore?! Do you remember that it was a plea to solve the murders, signed by Maria? And do you remember how Ange in arc 4 talked to a professor and he mentioned there being TWO message bottles and both describing different accounts of how people died?
What I don't remember...did the anime mention that it was NOT the handwriting of Maria?

The above might give you an idea of what these 4 arcs actually are and why Ange suddenly jumps in at the end of arc 3.

[jjblue1]

Originally Posted by xPearse

I've only got 2 episodes led to watch of the anime. Good, because its been only annoying after the third arc. I'm very dissatisfied with it after arc 3 being so good. I didn't like how R07 went all Magical Girl Maria. That was stupid. And I didn't like how she just teleported her mother into magic zone for torture, either. Because we can all just wish away our worries and problems in real life, right? What kind of lesson is R07 trying to teach us there? Also, if we're meant to take the Red Truth as fact, does that then mean that all the magic use is only a medium to show the murders, and not that it exists? I'm confused.

As said many times the anime is bad, messes up the general message of Umineko, ruins the characterization, removes important details and so on.
In short I wouldn't even say you saw how 'R07 went all Magical Girl Maria' because that part was changed into how 'Deen went all Magical Girl Maria'. Yes, there's a general common outline but ultimately Deen failed to portray how things went into the VN.
That's why you keep on getting confused, it's as if you're reading the summary of a book from which someone had ripped a good deal of pages and written by someone who hand't understood the book.

By the time you'll get to the end you'll be even more confused because due to the chuncks of story that are missing it'll become even harder to figure out what's going on with the characters.

Ep 1 9th twilight is wrong.
Ep 2 4th twilight is wrong.
Ep 4 is missing the investigations that are vital to figure out what happened during the episode.
I seem to remember there was something wrong in Ep 3 5th & 6th twilight as well.

Klashikari wrote some interesting analysis for the anime, especially for Ep 1. Although they aren't completed (they stop at the 3rd ep of Banquet) I recommend reading them to get an idea of how the anime failed even though they're old and written before the solutions came out so bits of how the anime fails in making the games solvable are left out.

Originally Posted by xPearse

But is a remake of Umineko even possible? Isn't interest in that area dead due to DEEN's attempt?

I doubt it unless something changes drastically. While Higurashi was pretty popular and has gotten not only a full anime adaptation but movies and spin off, Umineko didn't meet that fate (I guess it didn't help that Ep 8 VN version was messed up).

Anime has gotten pretty expensive. In order to invest in a remake Umineko should be much more popular than it is.

[xPearse]

Originally Posted by haguruma

That is something you shall decide for yourself.
I'm basically quoting the VN. And yes, everybody who either read the VN or is currently following the manga will probably be snickering right now.

But yes, to answer this would likely rob the second half of Umineko of much of the fun that it could deliver to you. So I will leave this hanging in the air.
Again, the anime didn't do a very proper job in delivering that this is basically what the story is about, finding a position regarding the battle between magic and reality (or anti-mystery and anti-fantasy) by seeing how this all relates to these 4 stories that you were handed.

Also, since it fell a little under the table in the anime, though at least it was mentioned: Do you remember that at the end of the first arc there was a sequence describing a bottle letter washing up on the shore?! Do you remember that it was a plea to solve the murders, signed by Maria? And do you remember how Ange in arc 4 talked to a professor and he mentioned there being TWO message bottles and both describing different accounts of how people died?
What I don't remember...did the anime mention that it was NOT the handwriting of Maria?

The above might give you an idea of what these 4 arcs actually are and why Ange suddenly jumps in at the end of arc 3.

I got the feeling it's meant to be ambiguous. Though I'll find an answer of my own when I get around to the VN. Anyhow, I do remember the bottle and all that other stuff. So, is the island stuck in another dimension and the flow of time is messed up so that's why there are two different accounts and bottles that reached the outside? Because that's what I think it is at the moment.

Anyhow, I found Kinzo's lines very suggestive after Maria's "test". He said something like, "she was good" and something else I can't fully remember. What exactly was her test, because the way Kinzo delivered his lines and how he laughed afterwards was very suggestive. Did R07 just want doujinshi?

[Mr. Dent]

Originally Posted by xPearse

I never really liked either in the first place. The Stakes just came off as a stupid bunch of bland, uninteresting, sadistic schoolgirls. Oh, scary. The Sisiesta's were much better, nee hee hee.

I like the Stakes more as characters, but the Chiesters are much scarier. Whenever their theme starts and their obnoxiously cutesy nasally whines begin, it's almost suffocating, because you know exactly what's going to happen and you know nothing can stop them.

I'm confused, does magic exist or does it not? Though I'm guessing people got annoyed by that in the end.

Yeah, the show gives nothing conclusive at all, but leans very heavily on it not being real and being definitively something to be defeated, which not only goes against the original VN but also annoyed a lot of anime viewers when magic wasn't denied. Instead of closure, newcomers were given a promise of "See you again!" that was never fulfilled, and large misconception of the VN's tone.

Also, this pinball machine is recent, isn't it? And how is the animation, any good? Seeing how a pinball machine company produced the Higurashi Outbreak Ova, could that mean the same may happen with Umineko?

Outbreak's something special, because that was actually animated by Studio DEEN who did all the animation for that Pachinko game, but the animation for the Umineko one seems to be done by the company that manufactured it. The art style is gorgeously recreated based on Kei Natsumi's work, and the sprites are absolutely gorgeous... ...but the actual animation quality isn't so hot. However, while it's as choppy and disjointed as one would expect from an arcade game, the direction alone is by far more ambitious and creative than DEEN's. You can tell that the people who worked on the cutscenes really did like Umineko, and really did want to create something visually engaging, and I think it's great. In fact, if there ever is an anime remake, I really hope it's something along these lines.

Anyhow, I found Kinzo's lines very suggestive after Maria's "test". He said something like, "she was good" and something else I can't fully remember. What exactly was her test, because the way Kinzo delivered his lines and how he laughed afterwards was very suggestive. Did R07 just want doujinshi?

Huh? I never got that interpretation, I kind of just assumed that Maria picked the same cut-throat answer Kinzo wanted, not... Whatever you thought happened. All the cousins received the same test, if I remember right, the questionnaire with the "You die, your lover dies, everyone but you and your lover die" questions.

Anyway, I have no idea where you are, but I'll help you out with what Beatrice says to Battler after his test.

Spoiler for Episode 4 & Battler's test:

Everything Beatrice says to Battler about him being part of the Tragedy's cause is supposed to be Red Truth.

Originally Posted by Haguruma

I don't think it was that consciously bad. More like an enormous bloated bird trying to take off and miserably failing to do anything but flop around on the floor.

Yeah, but they were so atrociously misguided in what they thought people would like and want that the final episode is almost grotesquely offensive. The lazily added "See you again!" in the credits doesn't excite me, it just madly bothers me.

[xPearse]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

Yeah, the show gives nothing conclusive at all, but leans very heavily on it not being real and being definitively something to be defeated, which not only goes against the original VN but also annoyed a lot of anime viewers when magic wasn't denied. Instead of closure, newcomers were given a promise of "See you again!" that was never fulfilled, and large misconception of the VN's tone.

I actually laughed at the see you again part. Since, you know, irony.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

Outbreak's something special, because that was actually animated by Studio DEEN who did all the animation for that Pachinko game, but the animation for the Umineko one seems to be done by the company that manufactured it. The art style is gorgeously recreated based on Kei Natsumi's work, and the sprites are absolutely gorgeous... ...but the actual animation quality isn't so hot. However, while it's as choppy and disjointed as one would expect from an arcade game, the direction alone is by far more ambitious and creative than DEEN's. You can tell that the people who worked on the cutscenes really did like Umineko, and really did want to create something visually engaging, and I think it's great. In fact, if there ever is an anime remake, I really hope it's something along these lines.

The red nails really kill Beatrice's design. What were they thinking? Though the animation itself appears very rigid and low quality, but decent overall. Also, is there any changes like that small thing to Beatrice to any of the other characters?

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

Huh? I never got that interpretation, I kind of just assumed that Maria picked the same cut-throat answer Kinzo wanted, not... Whatever you thought happened. All the cousins received the same test, if I remember right, the questionnaire with the "You die, your lover dies, everyone but you and your lover die" questions.[/SPOILER]

It's just the way he said it and how he laughed, or it's just me seeing things which aren't there like usual. Probably the latter. Anyhow, wasn't her mother and such already dead? Who was her second option?

Now, to the meat. I have just finished watching the anime. Yay! Overall, it was okay. I mean, it could have been better but I've seen worse. Though it's probably up there in terms of worse adaptions of all time. Either or, the anime did "not" turn me off from Umineko as a whole. It actually made me want to see want I missed, realise how the VN is better, and most importantly to know what happens after the fourth arc. Anyway, I want to read the VN but I'm unsure on what approach to take. Do I go it rough and bare and read it how it was originally released with R07 sprites? Or do I take a fancy for the PS3 sprites and the like? I'd like to have a bit of both, so I want to read it with the original sprites, backgrounds and music, but also with PS3 voices. Is that possible? Or are my options just PS3 or regular old R07?

[Klashikari]

I'm going to cut the chase before anyone does something funny.
There is no legal way to get PS3 sprites or voices for the VN, let alone these with the english translation. They are only available legally if you play the PS3 version of the game.

Any discussion related to illegal use of copyrighted content is de facto prohibited here.

[Mr. Dent]

Originally Posted by xPearse

I actually laughed at the see you again part. Since, you know, irony.

Yeah, I'd probably hate the anime way less if there were at least a second season to conclude the story. However, since Episode 5 literally hinges upon the four things that the final episode got the most wrong, it'd be almost impossible-

First off, Battler and Beatrice are unmistakably in love when they battle, and the reason Beatrice kept going back and forth between pained and inhumanly cruel was because she wanted to get Battler to finish her off, when he wasn't exactly looking forward to killing the girl he fell in love with.
Second, pretty much everything Battler said was wrong, and was proven to be wrong by Lambdadelta's red truth.
Third, the game cannot yet end, because Lambdadelta has literally chained Beatrice to the gameboard. She cannot leave no matter how horrifically painful it is for her.
Fourth, Lambdadelta and Bernkastel are actually lovers, pretty much in cahoots, stringing along Battler and Beatrice like dolls, enjoying their pain for their own amusement. They aren't cute dumb little girls stupidly fangirling over their favorite show, they're inhuman monsters feeding off of innocents they've manipulated into the perfect recipe for tragedy.

...and all of these are vital parts of Episode 5, meaning that the anime would have to pull some sort of crazy OVA to get Chiru to even make sense.

The red nails really kill Beatrice's design. What were they thinking? Though the animation itself appears very rigid and low quality, but decent overall. Also, is there any changes like that small thing to Beatrice to any of the other characters?

I don't mind the nails too much. Jessica's boob string was removed. As for the other characters, none from the original 4 Episodes were altered. However,

Spoiler for Umineko Chiru:

There's a few characters in Chiru who are supposed to have ambiguous genders, but the redesigns make them more noticeably masculine, with one character in particular being almost unmistakably male... ...and the Light Novel's illustrations that were revealed this month made the same character almost unmistakeably female.

It's just the way he said it and how he laughed, or it's just me seeing things which aren't there like usual. Probably the latter. Anyhow, wasn't her mother and such already dead? Who was her second option?

Her mother wasn't the second option.

Spoiler for Maria's Most Likely Answer (imo):

The second option was most likely Beatrice.

Now, to the meat. I have just finished watching the anime. Yay! Overall, it was okay. I mean, it could have been better but I've seen worse. Though it's probably up there in terms of worse adaptions of all time. Either or, the anime did "not" turn me off from Umineko as a whole. It actually made me want to see want I missed, realise how the VN is better, and most importantly to know what happens after the fourth arc. Anyway, I want to read the VN but I'm unsure on what approach to take. Do I go it rough and bare and read it how it was originally released with R07 sprites? Or do I take a fancy for the PS3 sprites and the like? I'd like to have a bit of both, so I want to read it with the original sprites, backgrounds and music, but also with PS3 voices. Is that possible? Or are my options just PS3 or regular old R07?

I'm glad to hear you're still interested! ...are you going to go straight to Episode 5 or play the original arcs? Either way, I'm not allowed to give you advice on how to experience it, but... You'll find your answer somewhere.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by xPearse

It's just the way he said it and how he laughed, or it's just me seeing things which aren't there like usual. Probably the latter.

The question here is, would you put it past Kinzo to violate a family member? And if you believe that he could, what would that tell about him?!

Anyhow, wasn't her mother and such already dead? Who was her second option?

Another thing the anime messed up is the mystery sorrounding Maria. In the VN there is a whole epilogue dealing with Battler searching the island on October 5th. He find's Maria

Spoiler for EP4 Tea Party:

not at the chapel where he was told she would be, but in the dining room next to Rosa's corpse. Maria has apparently ingested some form of poison and her arms are neatly folded over her chest, as if put to rest by somebody.

It actually made me want to see want I missed, realise how the VN is better, and most importantly to know what happens after the fourth arc. Anyway, I want to read the VN but I'm unsure on what approach to take.

The original VN takes a little while getting used to, but we all went through it and it's actually very well done, especially the very emotive faces.
Really the only problem with the VN is the final entry EP8, which was such a butchered job because of (a) generally awful editing (b) a too heavy timelimit till release and (c) Ryukishi wanting to keep up some of the mystery a while longer, that I cannot recommend it beyond its (as always) gorgeous music.

The manga of EP8 is really the way to go, and EP1-7 as a VN should really give you a feeling of how musical direction is done in the series, so I would almost recommend to switch to the manga for that one.

[xPearse]

Originally Posted by haguruma

The question here is, would you put it past Kinzo to violate a family member? And if you believe that he could, what would that tell about him?!

Ha ha, good point. Who knows what Kinzo is really capable of.

Originally Posted by haguruma

The original VN takes a little while getting used to, but we all went through it and it's actually very well done, especially the very emotive faces.

The manga of EP8 is really the way to go, and EP1-7 as a VN should really give you a feeling of how musical direction is done in the series, so I would almost recommend to switch to the manga for that one.

I've read a few of the Higurashi games with R07's art and music so you could say I'm already used to it. And I'll be sure to at least check out the final manga arc after its VN counterpart. Also, since the last arc was tweaked and changed, are there any other edits elsewhere in the manga?

Originally Posted by Mr. Dent

I'm glad to hear you're still interested! ...are you going to go straight to Episode 5 or play the original arcs? Either way, I'm not allowed to give you advice on how to experience it, but... You'll find your answer somewhere.

Going straight to EP5 would be a really bad move, so I think I'll go at it from the beginning. I'd miss a ton of info if I didn't.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by xPearse

Ha ha, good point. Who knows what Kinzo is really capable of.

You should probably put very few things past Kinzo. And even a dead man can be capable of causing quite the ruckus with what he left behind.

And I'll be sure to at least check out the final manga arc after its VN counterpart. Also, since the last arc was tweaked and changed, are there any other edits elsewhere in the manga?

Glad to hear that.
Apart from EP8 there have been very few changes to the manga. In EP3 there were two changes, one in terms of visually addressing a door that he failed to mention in the VN, and the other was giving Eva-Beato one more Red Truth to make a certain twilight a little more obvious.
Otherwise the manga adapts very faithfully, and I think everyone is grateful for that.

Going straight to EP5 would be a really bad move, so I think I'll go at it from the beginning. I'd miss a ton of info if I didn't.

I would have to agree. If you really want to challenge the mystery, you should start from the beginning.

[Nigale86]

This was posted on 4chan in the /a forum on Sunday night not sure it's even real but if it is it could mean perhaps ufotable are working on something to with Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru.

>Ufotable producer Kondo Hikaru tweeted, then deleted it less than 5 minutes after.

Spoiler for Chiru Character:

[Mr. Dent]

Originally Posted by Nigale86

>Ufotable producer Kondo Hikaru tweeted, then deleted it less than 5 minutes after.

That's incredibly incredibly incredibly dubious, and I doubt it's real, but at the same time, my heart's now racing. Don't think it's really, but want it to be- that's my stance.

[Levani]

Since there was no follow up, it's safe to say that it's fake.

Whoever did the joke, I hope they know that it's a really cruel joke.

[Mr. Dent]

It appears the image traces back at its furthest to this Twitter user, a few days ago, before even the 4Chan Thread. He doesn't seem to imply that it's a joke at all...

Of course if this doesn't work out, we can always have this.