Say It In Red | Episode 16: Umineko 1 - Legend of the Golden Witch

Say It In Red

Welcome to Rokkenjima. We've been waiting for you for a long, long time. Now that you're here with us, let's begin the Witch's Game.
This week marks the beginning of Say it in Red's journey into Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, a visual novel that's extremely dear to the hosts and one that they've both read and reread many times since it's initial release. To recapture the experience of reading for the first time, two Guest Readers will join Sara and Runa for the duration of this trip: KT Kelly and Raven have never read Umineko before, have minimial knowledge of it and no significant spoilers about any of its mysteries, and are eager to uncover the secrets of Rokkenjima, the Ushiromiya family, and the Golden Witch herself...
Umineko no Naku Koro Ni is the second series of When They Cry games published by 07th expansion and written by Ryukishi07. It focuses on the wealthy Ushiromiya family as its members gather on October 4th, 1986, on the remote island of Rokkenjima off the coast of Japan. At this family conference, the adults in the family all bicker and fight over their share of the family wealth and estate as the aging patriarch, Kinzo, is said to only have around 3 months left to live. This family conference also marks the first time in six years that Battler, one of Kinzo's grandchildren, has come to Rokkenjima after a long and bitter feud with his father, Rudolf. Unaware and unprepared for the state of the family after all this time, Battler steps onto Rokkenjima in high spirits and with the hope of rekindling his friendship with his cousins. After dinner, though, it becomes clear that something more ominous is about to occur... With tensions high and the adults arguing about the division of inheritance and Kinzo's wealth, Rudolf takes his wife, Kyrie, and son, Battler, aside and tells them both that by the end of the night, he might end up being killed. This is only complicated by the letter that arrived during dinner, the letter that came with Kinzo's seal and contained a message allegedly from Beatrice, the Golden Witch of legend who supposedly granted Kinzo the gold that formed the basis for the family's wealth. The portrait of this witch hangs in the main hall of the Ushiromiya mansion and contains an epitaph, a mysterious poem that describes what seems to be a brutal sacrificial ceremony aimed at resurrecting Beatrice. The evening passes slowly as the typhoon rages outside, and when the next morning arrives, six people have gone missing and a strange magical sigil has been drawn on the garden storehouse...
Umineko is a Mystery story about a series of murders that occurs on Rokkenjima in the midst of a typhoon between October 4th and 5th. Or, perhaps it's a story about an occult ceremony to revive a thousand-year-old witch and plunge the island into a mystical otherworld. Or, perhaps it's something else entirely?
If you've read Umineko before, join Sara and Runa as they enjoy rereading and seeing new readers experience it for the first time.
If you've never read Umineko before, join KT and Raven as they read through each volume, come up with theories, discuss their ideas, and try to understand the mysteries of the Rokkenjima massacre and the Ushiromiya family.
Please remember that KT and Raven are still reading as you listen to this episode, and help us make sure that they don't get spoiled for any of the mysteries and questions they're working hard to understand!
If you enjoy Say it in Red, you can follow our podcast at SayitinredPod on twitter, and please give us a rating and review wherever you listen!

Content Warnings for this Episode:
General warning for Murder, Violence, Death, Impalement, Shooting/Guns, Blood, and Gore.
01:09:00 to 01:12:30 - Discussion of Child Abuse
01:29:30 to - 01:35:00 Discussion of a 23yo man dating a 16yo servant of his family