Umineko WHEN THEY CRY Episode 2: Turn of the Golden Witch, Vol. 2 - manga

Umineko When They Cry (Manga English Numbering ) #4

by Ryukishi07, Jiro Suzuki (Illustrator)

With the six sacrifices of the first night claimed, Beatrice, the Golden Witch, turns her attention to selecting the sacrifices for the second night: the "Two Who Are Close." As the corpses begin to pile up, Battler struggles to disprove that the deaths can only be explained by the existence of magic, and the crafty Beatrice is using every strategy in her playbook to trip him up. Logic and truth perform an acrobatic dance in which a single misstep could spell certain death. Can Battler defeat Beatrice in this match of wits and wills? Or will he find himself kneeling at the witch's feet?!

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural, Graphic Novels, Comics

548 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2013

About the author

Ryukishi07 (竜騎士07, Ryūkishi Zero Nana?, born November 19, 1973) is the pen name of a Japanese man originally from Chiba Prefecture who is well-known as the original creator for the idea of the visual novel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. He is the representative member of the group 07th Expansion. His pen name originated from the Final Fantasy series, "Ryūkishi" being the Japanese term for "Dragoon", and "07" goroawase for the name "Lenna". His illustration style is recognizable from the large hands he draws on people.

Reviews

[Ray Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
This volume got really frustrating because Beatrice corners Battler and he gives in to her –he finally accepts her existence and her magic, so the Golden Witch wins once again.

One thing to highlight in this 2nd episode is that we got to know a little bit more of Shannon and Kanon, and how they truly wanted to become human instead of remaining as mere furniture created by Kinzo.

For the most part, it is heartbreaking to see how these people, these relatives and servants doubt each other, but at the same time, I admire their will to fight for the ones they love. I’ve always thought that this story in particular always show us the raw side of humans: when they’re utterly in love and when they feel joy, but also when they’re crumbling down to their knees and the devastating feeling of self-loathing too. We see different shades of love, loyalty, obsession, respect, mistrust and obedience.

Still, the big question remains: why did Kinzo want to see Beatrice once more? What does it have to do with him? Was she really his lover? Why can’t he see her despite all his efforts? The man is crazy, don’t get me wrong, but there is something more to his obsession with the Golden Witch.

Though I really want Battler to won, I feel like Beatrice is more than just an evil witch and I kind of want to see more of her past. Also, the supernatural factor and the explicit scenes are a nice combo for the people who are into the genre, like me.

I must add that Maria always gives me the creeps but I kind of understand that she developed a split personality due to her mom’s constant abuse. And the body proportions are still so weird, along with the expressions, but I guess this is on purpose ‘cause like I said, Umineko explores the raw emotions of human behavior.

I’m really glad I’m reading this with a friend because we share our crazy theories. I can’t wait to read the 3rd episode!

PREVIOUS REVIEWS:
EP 1: Legend of the Golden Witch
Volume 1 | Volume 2

EP 2: Turn of the Golden Witch
Volume 1

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!
i’m really enjoying this series, beatrice is so incredibly smart. her relationship with battler is one i’m super excited to see develop. rosa and maria need to go to therapy together istg. KANON/JESSICA AND SHANNON/GEORGE OH MY GOD. so much to talk about when it comes to episode 2. great episode and i cannot wait to read episode 3!

[✨Rebel Fairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: Abuse: child and emotional, occult rituals, graphic murders, and canabalism (at the final night).

Another bad ending... Battler submitted, ye couldn't prove the murders were done by a human hand, but he found his will, and another game will be set in motion.

Two witches are witnessing Beatrice's endless game. Beatrice tries to make everyone praise her name and leave hints on how to stop these murders occurring.

The turn of the golden witch sets eyes on Aunt Rosa and Maria's lives, but slowly, you form a picture on the siblings and cousins.

At vol 21, I will give an overall explanation to the manga with all my thoughts collectively.

It is still the season of the witch, who will ultimately win I. this game of chess?

[Nicole Mello · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a fucking roller coaster!! we are all invited to Beatrice's Mad Tea Party and it is absolutely insane!! this episode truly feels like it went from 0 to 60 in a breakneck second and i enjoyed it!! the characters are bonkers!! the mystery is intense!! the plot is creative!! the ending was dope!!!! i want to read the next volume immediately!!!!!!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is why high expectations tend to lead to disappointment. I think I've finally figured this mangaka's style out. It's very good for dialogue-heavy scenes (Her facial expressions - though over-exaggerated, which they must be in any When They Cry installment - are phenomenal as far as impact is concerned). This led to some really good scenes, such as the exchange in the servants' room and the two tea parties. This worked really well in the first volume of this arc because the core scenes of that volume are very dialogue-heavy, with emotional attachment being the most important thing. However, the core scenes in this volume - Jessica's and Kanon's deaths and George's and Shannon's deaths, as well as the famous Musou Rosa scene - are all very action heavy. And I'll be blunt - if I hadn't already read the VN of this arc and seen the anime, I would not have been able to follow exactly what was going on a few times. I'm not talking about explaining it - god knows you shouldn't be able to do that by this point - but simply seeing the actions that the narrative was trying to show. This volume really suffered from that. It led to a really anticlimactic feel to some of the most important scenes, not just of the arc, but really of the entire series, as far as demonstrating Beatrice's motivations.

[Past · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume had a lot of fantasy stuff. At first I was a bit bored, but then I started to seek signals of what could lead to make them see all that "magic" (at this point, the surprise will be that all the fantasy is real, which I really hope is not because then the mystery is gone). When the servants talked for the first time about being furniture in episode 1, I thought they could mean it literally... Maybe not that, but at least we know now than they aren't regular "humans" (Not by Beatrice's fantasy standars, at least). Also I hated Rosa's "redemption", because it wasn't. I can't sympathize with her.

However, I must say that is a spoiler I read after finishing the volume what got me pretty hyped. I usually hate spoilers, but sometimes they are a boost. It was so weird and BIG that I have to keep reading because I need to see the clues for that; in this volume there was a red truth that actually pointed slightly in that direction... And that red truth is actually the best thing about this volume, cause it made me pretty interested even before I read the spoiler.

[Libbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Writing a grouped review for the entirety of the manga and copy/pasting. I started reading this 6 months ago at the time of writing and read over a few months and don't remember specifics about every single volume except what I rated them ✨

Umineko has an intriguing premise and good execution which does a lot right. The author manages to create such eerie and scary atmospheres and have the reader on edge wondering what is going to happen next. I particularly enjoyed a lot of the locked room scenarios and discussions and explanations.

Where this manga fails is it's extreme repetitiveness. It wears down on the reader very quickly. As a result I'm not sure this is a manga I would recommend to many people.

I will eventually watch the anime, whilst a short run this may be something I'd be inclined to recommend more as the premise itself is well done.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another really great volume. It was also a really sad one, I cried a few times.

And we finally see the Stakes of Purgatory in flesh instead of the daggers/stakes they normally are.

What happened to Battler near the end was quite disturbing, though I expected it, since I saw some wallpapers/scans with that art, but nonetheless still disturbing.

Can't wait for the next book!

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was disturbing and gory.

[Soyorin · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the six die on the first night, Beatrice mocks Battler, who still insists a human culprit is behind it all. Beatrice then appears as golden butterflies (a departure from Episode 1). The arc concludes with everyone else dead, and Battler weeping (p.350:“You exist! I admit it! Beatrice! Show yourself!”).
Rosa and Maria confront Beatrice and die together—a moment that birthed iconic lines from Rosa, like:
p.412：“Touch Maria again, and I’ll show you just how lukewarm the hell you sprang from really is!”
p.414：“I’m going to show you what a golden dream looks like!!!”
Battler loses hope and crawls before Beatrice. Bern shows disgust.
I’m surprised by how many Chinese fans adore Chapter 2. In fact, the “Rosa Unparalleled/楼座无双” meme was my first introduction to Umineko, long before I knew who Battler was. Initially, learning the chessboard reality holds no magic (meaning Rosa, not Beatrice, is the killer) disgusted me—how could she feign grief while committing such atrocities? But we later learn Umineko’s “chessboard rule”: characters cannot act against their established personalities. So Rosa’s words to Maria are painfully sincere—if a real Beatrice existed, Rosa would indeed fight her as depicted. Like Natsuhi clinging to the One-Winged Eagle, the truth is bitter (Natsuhi was never acknowledged; Rosa became a mass murderer driven by greed and hatred). Yet neither has entirely lost their humanity. Such complexity—ugly, paradoxical, unforgivable—makes Rosa’s character uniquely haunting. For that, I’d give it 8.5/10.
P.S. I’ve seen fans note that the wilted rose Maria insistently defends in the garden early on is a deliberate allusion to Rosa. Even amid the garden’s vibrant blossoms, Maria fixates on that one dying flower—not because it’s beautiful, but because it’s hers. Like how Rosa is Maria’s only mother, flaws and all.
What makes their dynamic so tragically mesmerizing is the paradox: Rosa would die without hesitation to save Maria if forced to choose, yet she also hurls her ugliest resentment at the child in moments of pain. (Contrast this with Kyrie, who’d likely shoot her child immediately...) It’s this jagged collision of devotion and cruelty—love and loathing tangled beyond untangling—that both repels and captivates.

[Aria · Rating 4 out of 5]

No entiendo que acabo de leer. O sea creí que si la mayoría del tiempo, pero el capítulo en que se ven las brujas me dejo confundida.
Bueno desde el principio sabiamos que Kinzo estaba loco, mira que planear todo esto para el regreso de Beatriz es demasiado, pero dejarse comer fue demasiado.

Creo que incluso con el final que tuvo Rosa y María en este juego sigo odiando a Rosa, no porque al final se arrepienta de todo lo malo que le ha hecho a su hija significa que sea buena. Me da una pena horrible que María tiene que justificar el mal comportamiento de su madre con que "la bruja mala la poseyó" y que incluso después de todo el maltrato sigue queriendo ser amada por ella.

Una cosa extra, en la mayoría de los capítulos vi comentarios en los que se burlaban de Battler e incluso decían que era un inútil cosa que me molesta. Me pregunto seriamente si entienden lo que se supone es Battler; es un chico de 18 aficionado a las novelas de misterio, nada más. Siendo sinceros en realidad se puede entender sus reacciones e ideas mientras pasa la partida.

[SSRI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I would like to state my hatred for e-books. They're garbage - do not buy them, especially e-manga. Digital books are not books. This move to 'savings trees' is a dogmatic cackling of companies to push the sale of their technology, specifically tablets. It might be a little expensive to buy an out-of-print manga like Umineko but I'd rather pay three times as much knowing I own a physical copy.

Please consider reading the Visual Novel before reading the manga.
Turn of the Witch is an unrelenting unfiltered second tale of Yasuda under the conspiracy of Maria's message bottles. Ryukishi07's story-telling is so brilliant in contrasting later events with this absolutely mind-bending preliminary. The key take-aways are: understanding before judging, loving others, and ultimately not judging a book by its cover.
Again, if you yourself enjoy the manga please try the Visual Novel. You can find it for free here or buy it on Steam.
https://umineko-project.org/en/

[Renan Fontes · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the grand scheme of things, I liked Episode 2 WAY more in the manga format than I did as a visual novel. I think the faster pace helps, but the benefit of understanding what's going on also helps tremendously. The second half of the episode is also strong. Beatrice gets a lot of time to shine here. I forgot how vicious she is at the start. The game between Battler & Beatrice is extremely compelling. I love their back and forths, and the episode does a great job into tricking you into thinking Battler knows what he's doing. Battler's surrender is morbid and puts into perspective just out of his depth he is. The real star of Episode 2 is definitely Rosa and Maria's relationship, though. It's uncomfortably human and real and one of the best/most realistic depictions of abuse I've read.

Episode Ranking:
2 > 1

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

*log for the visual novel, not the manga*

I was not a big fan of episode 1. While I loved parts of it, it just sadly didn't have enough for me to love it. Episode 2 takes what Episode 1 had and expands on it perfectly. What makes it work as well as it did is the character of Beatrice. I haven't fallen in love with a character as quickly as I have with Beatrice. Out of any character I've seen, she easily is one of the characters with one of the most charisma ever. The rest of the cast as well is perfect and adds extra depth here that makes them interesting.

Umineko has a lot of potential and from what I've seen of episode 3, it seems to be expanding further. Really excited to see what's next.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Previously on...Umineko:
They all died.
Then they weren't dead, just in a loop (of death).
We knew what the relationship between Shannon and George was like. Now it's Kanon and Jessica's turn.
As Shannon wanted to be "human", her sibling didn't cuz it was painful. I really feel sorry for him, damn.
Then we know just how violent Maria's mother is.
The cherry on top is that this time Beato doesn't wait for the ritual to be completed to show herself, but at the very beginning everyone on Rokkenjima sees her (or a younger version of Beato).

Battler still doesn't want to acknowledge her as a witch. And this infuriates Beato.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A descripción do castigo a Rosa por parte de Beatrice é absolutamente terrorífica, de pesadilla. Realmente revolve as tripas.
Toda a secuencia da victoria de Beatrice é tremendamente dinámica, tensa e fascinante. Poucas veces resulta tan satisfactorio un revés de Battler a Beatrice como o que dá para salvar a Rosa, aínda que o listón está alto. Sin duda o episodio 2 é o máis confuso, pero tamén é unha criba importante de lectores.

[kerrycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

so splattery - I'm glad I'm not the one who has to get all the blood out of the carpets/floors/walls/furniture, etc. when this happy family gathering is over.

[Michael Garrity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[Monif Chowdhury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. Still don't get why Battler constantly need to disprove witch? That doesn’t make much sense...

[Aeriven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beatrice was way too heavy-handed in securing her victory in this arc. Knowing what I do makes it easier to solve the mystery. Still enjoying going through this story again.

[Vampjuliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

beato and friends literally ate

[Doc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part two of two of the Turn of the Golden Witch chapter turned out a bit better then the first part in my opinion. In his chapter the overly resistant and appropriately named Battler continues his resistance to the Golden Witch Beatrice's insistence that the entirety of the first chapter was indeed her doing and it was done with magic(or at least that is what I got from it...it can be a little confusing at times.)Just don't be surprised that the book will have plenty of gore.

One thing I can cling to in this chapter is the stories revolving around the relations of certain characters as the second reliving of night of the story comes to an end. It is interesting to be able to tell a character's point of perspective from different angles and not knowing who will die in the next chapter when it comes out.

Battle on Battler-kun...the Banquet is soon upon us.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rules have changed! While the cast, and setting remain the same, roles switch because of Battler's and Beatrice's chess match. Events play out completely different as they try to outwit one another. This variation is immensely more intriguing than the one-sided nature of Episode One, for it actually feels like Battler is facing an opponent, and the chess reference allows for back and forth play. Against such an overwhelming foe though, the chance of victory is slim, and hope quickly fades. This brutal play means the return of equally brutal murders that are depicted in quite a bit of detail. Both shadows and highlights are beautifully, or disturbingly effective, depending on the context. On the one hand the magic butterflies are enchanting, while Beatrice's twisted glee is the complete opposite; this artist is brilliant in both spheres.

[C.T. Yen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This round is a bit cruel and, indeed, one-sided. Rosa holds on to the end and protected Maria the best she could. The meal Beatrice prepared for her is by far the cruelest I've read (unlike Thomas Harris's Hannibal's cuisine which is completely different).

And in the end we are introduced to Bern and Lambda! These two are scarier than Beatrice...