Anime Review: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry)

[juushika]

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry)
Studio Deen, Chiaki Kon, Ryukishi07, 2009
26 episodes
In October 1986, the Ushiromiya family gathers on an isolated island to discuss the future of the family's fortune—but their family conference is interrupted by a typhoon that traps them on the island and a slew of bizarre murders which threaten all of their lives. Battler, one of the youngest in the family, pits himself against Beatrice, a powerful witch, in order to solve these murders—or else they will repeat indefinitely.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry) is, in a word, strange. It's a murder mystery that the viewer can't solve (because the solution is a constantly moving target when it exists at all), it's a paranormal event which denies the paranormal, a horror story filled with frivolous humor, a character drama chock full of overacting and off-the-wall artifices. Yet despite and often because of this mishmash of strange and incomprehensible aspects, Umineko is also a surprising success. By engaging and then rejecting murder mystery conventions, by indulging in but constantly questioning the paranormal, it transcends the limits of its genre—and the result is unusual and thought-provoking. The mood whiplash between humor and horror often serves to make the horror elements that much harsher and darker by comparison, and the excessive plot twists and strange story conventions orchestrate interesting character developments and interactions, sometimes to great emotional effect. It's still a strange story, but like the gratuitous violence that's rather the point: if you're not there for the creepy child, maniacal witch, and silly overacting, if you haven't come for the impalings and strewn entrails, then you're in the wrong place. But if you have, Umineko transforms this mishmash into something delightful: it's over the top but authentically creepy, absurd but surprisingly meaningful, and always a thrill to watch. To the right sort of viewer I recommend it with glee—I found Umineko as enjoyable as it is strange.