Welcome to my humble attempt at solving the mysteries of *Umineko*. At the time of writing these notes, I have finished reading the 5th arc, *End of the Golden Witch*. For transparency's sake, I admit that I have also started reading a tiny fraction of the 6th arc, but nothing of importance was revealed. ==**Everything that I will discuss here will only pertain to the first 5 arcs. There will be no spoilers related to the 6th arc and beyond.**== Without further ado, let us proceed. # General tips Here I list a few tips that I gathered from Reddit threads (bold is mine). I assume that users are trying to be as helpful as they can without spoiling too much; I'll see what I'll do with that. > [!The most important tip]- > **Without love, it cannot be seen.** > [!On the possibility of solving the game]- > - Per the author, the point of Battler saying he solved the mystery in episode 5 is to let the audience know "**by this point, for sure, it's possible to solve the mystery**". When the series was originally being released, pretty much all the major "truths" were surmised by episode 5's release, though few, if any, put all the disparate theories together and arrived at the actual solution. ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/gl3s94/how_long_will_it_take_me_to_solve_umineko_no/fqvu36g/)) > - By EP1 you should already be able to solve the *who dunnit* and the relevant mysteries in the EP. Each subsequent episode makes things easier and harder at the same time, it gives you more hints, but it also begins to misdirect you more. EP5 gives you the best hint hint possible for you to be able to solve it, **the Knox rules that are used in it**, and most importantly, **the guarantee it is solvable**. From my point of view, it is also your last chance to solve it without too much "cheating". ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/gl3s94/how_long_will_it_take_me_to_solve_umineko_no/fr0hjdo/)) > [!On your goal as a player and on other players' experience]- > - For one, your goal is not to prove definitively exactly what happened; **it is to deny witches**. If your explanation can get around all the red truths regarding a twilight and explain what happened with "humans", that's your win condition. **You don't need to prove anything, and you don't need to pin any culprits** (unless that is key to one of your explanations, such as saying only Character X was capable of commiting a certain murder). Second, **ignore other people's experiences**. Assuming Umineko is "solvable" because you have heard that other people have is a mistake. ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/146yq9o/how_do_i_know_if_im_solving_the_mystery_and_not/jnst10k/)) > [!On how much you need to solve the game]- > - When you've solved the mysteries, **the events of all the chapters will read like a confession from the killer**. How much do you need to solve it? I should specify solve it in this case is to understand whodunnit, whydunnit, and howdunnit. **Without pointing out the killer, the method and most importantly the motive**, you have not solved this. ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/146yq9o/how_do_i_know_if_im_solving_the_mystery_and_not/jnsta7r/)) > [!On what to solve first]- > - If you re-read taking into account all the red truths that have been spoken thus far + Knox's rules, then you'll notice a lot of things that help you solve the mystery. **Most important chapters are 3, 2, 1, 6 and 5 in that order**; try solving as much as you can of those first. Ignore 4 (except the red truths presented at the end). > - Pay attention to who the detective is in each chapter because of Knox's 8th (the clues found by the detective must be immediately presented to the reader). What this basically means is that everything the detective says or sees can be trusted. > - **Battler's sin is quite hard to figure out**. This should be the last thing you do after you've formed theories for the other bigger mysteries. > - **You don't need to solve the epitaph in order to solve Umineko**. Also it involves japanese history and knowledge of japanese language so it's really hard to solve without any clues for non-japanese people. > [!Reasoning tips]- > - EP3 provides you with a very valuable tool that a lot of people didn't get before then. If you feel lost, don't worry too much. Just pay attention to what you are seeing, **EP3 gives a very important hint very early on (around the first twilight in fact)** that will let you seriously start theorizing where it may seem impossible before. There are two seemingly obvious facts that I find help a lot. **One, remember that people can lie.** This seems trivial, but it's important to take this into account when revising what you thought happened. Two, **r07 likes to dangle the answer in plain sight.** Don't dismiss a theory proposed in-universe because it seems too obvious. It's always more complicated but take everything presented as possible hints. Finally, and this is just my opinion, pay attention to the theme. Logic might get you the answer, but intuition of the thematic intention of the plot might land you there too. **What is the central theme?** (this should be very obvious by the time the question arcs wrap up) **Which characters had a lot of screen time?** (this is almost a cheat code honestly) Can you line up character relations in such a way that the mystery (particularly the motive) and the central theme both fall in line? The first step is to sort out the facts. Then you find things that are not quite facts and try to see if you can find meaning in those too. ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/sakt0g/how_should_i_approach_solving_the_mistery/htunl7o/)) > - One of those keys is the talk with Virgilia in the third part. Think back on it and what it's trying to tell you. Then use that in conjunction with what the story has told you during these four parts. My biggest tip is… **don't overthink things.** If it smells weird/like BS, **it most likely is.** ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/xg4rmc/tips_for_solving_the_mystery_finished_the/ioqn0y3/)) > [!Some more material]- > - [Another comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/12ahhcf/tips_for_solving_the_mystery/jew1idc/) with a lot of spoilers which I did not dare to read. > - [Jokrono's playthrough](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9ERl3rqK2zxABFtUonCQGIwKAfjQCdv). (I did not watch any of it.) > - [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lGXmIFdQ0o&list=PLT9ERl3rqK2zxABFtUonCQGIwKAfjQCdv&index=50), Jokrono apparently solved the epitaph on the first try after reading EP3. I have not watched it. > - [Rose Matter's playthrough](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPlqrKHEmTrmbqMecdTO9EGZ9A2KTuWHZ). > - [Master document](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C7TWO4aGKpCbF31AO5kaPNVNh7AjGZGjLOsIQt0-hPY/edit?usp=sharing) containing very thorough notes for solving the mystery. > - [Let's Play of Umineko EP 1 to EP 4](https://lparchive.org/Umineko-no-Naku-Koro-ni/). > - [Let's Play of Umineko EP 5 to EP 8](https://lparchive.org/Umineko-no-Naku-Koro-ni-Chiru). (Beware of spoilers of later chapters!) In [this Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/umineko/comments/197aws6/questions_about_umineko_and_solving_the_mystery/), a user outlines a few relevant questions that I will try to tackle here as a warmup: - **What happens on each episode, beyond the specific murders?** - EP1: Natsuhi is the only remaining adult of the family. - EP2: Here, Rosa is, and she often talks about Kinzo, but <span style="color: ff0000">we know with EP4 that he's already dead when the game starts</span>. - EP3: This seems to be the "real" game that precedes the 1998 that is shown in EP4. Eva wins and inherits the gold, and everyone else dies. - EP4: "Kinzo" intervenes in the game, and Battler meets a woman he recognizes as Beatrice. - EP5: somewhat similar to EP1 as it is centered on Natsuhi, but the children (except Battler) die. - **What are the relationships between the characters, what is the history of the family?** - The four Ushiromiya siblings are the children of Ushiromiya Kinzo, a man who became rich thanks to a mysterious BEATRICE who gave him ten tons of gold. - **What is even happening to begin with? How is it possible that there's a game board where the same period of time can keep repeating?** - EP1 and EP2 are apparently stories that were found in two different bottles after the event of EP3 took place. - **What are witches?** - Not sure what to answer. LAMBDADELTA and BERNKASTEL are trying to fight boredom. BEATRICE… wants to show something to Battler? Something related to his sin? - **What is magic?** - Magic seems to be a metaphor for the emotions of the characters. Also, VIRGILIA says in EP3: "All magic exists to bring happiness to the human world." - EP4: "Ange… had accepted her isolated reality for what it was. But Maria… painted over her isolated reality with a reality of happiness. Ushiromiya Maria took a sad truth… and changed it into happiness. That was… the only, and yet very large, difference between me and Maria onee-chan." - Maria: "This is 'power'. I was able to find happiness with that power. Because you don't have that power, you can't find happiness, Ange." - Magic could be the ability to find happiness. - BEATRICE confirms it just after that, actually. - **What is the role of the Game Master?** - The Game Master presents a specific way the 4th and 5th of October unfold. - **What is going on in the world of 1998? Who is doing what, and why?** - Ange is trying to understand what happened in 1986, when Eva was the sole member of the family who returned from Rokkenjima alive. Eva has recently died. # Knox's decalogue From what I understand, I should be able to trust that Umineko adheres to Knox's decalogue. I have reproduced Umineko's version of it below: 1. It is forbidden for the culprit to be anyone not mentioned in the early part of the story. 2. It is forbidden for supernatural agencies to be employed as a detective technique. 3. It is forbidden for hidden passages to exist. 4. It is forbidden for unknown drugs or hard to understand scientific devices to be used. 5. *(not included)* 6. It is forbidden for accident or intuition to be employed as a detective technique. 7. It is forbidden for the detective to be the culprit. 8. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not presented. 9. It is permitted for observers to let their own conclusions and interpretations be heard. 10. It is forbidden for a character to disguise themselves without any clues. # In-game tips - [[The Witch's Epitaph]] # Episode-specific discussions Note: scenes are divided into 4 types: magical scenes (MS), scenes without Battler (sans-Battler, or SB), scenes with Battler (WB), and scenes in the meta world (MW). - [[Umineko EP 1 - Legend of the Golden Witch]] - [[Umineko EP 2 - Turn of the Golden Witch]] - [[Umineko EP 3 - Banquet of the Golden Witch]] - [[Umineko EP 4 - Alliance of the Golden Witch]] - [[Umineko EP 5 - End of the Golden Witch]]