The truth is subjective, but love is eternal.
Creative Staff
Story: Ryukishi07
Art: Hinase Momoyama
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say
Episode 6: “Dawn of the Golden Witch Part 3”
So confident was Battler in the game he had orchestrated that he allowed his opponent, Erika, the use of her precious tape. Immediately, Erika set to work creating three perfectly sealed rooms – seemingly guaranteeing Battler’s downfall. Trapped in a logic error, Battler maneuvers deftly around Erika’s obstacles, impressing even Lady Lambdadelta. But there are no lengths to which Erika would not go in order to secure victory…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Battler cannot catch a break. Even when he’s in charge of the mystery, with all the power of the witches at his disposal, he can’t win.
After being tricked into a logic error by Erika, Battler finds himself locked in his locked room until he can formulate a solution for his puzzle. Beatrice pledges to discover a solution, but for Battler his time locked away is an eternity. His presence outside that room goes catatonic and Beatrice is forced to confront her other half to take up the mantle of her predecessor.
While that is happening, Erika decides to claim her victory by marrying Battler. The imagery surrounding the scene takes on a blatantly sexual tone and a non-consensual one at that. The translation leans heavily into it, but even if it hadn’t the imagery was more than enough.
None of the actions happening outside the game put a halt to the story playing out inside of it. George and Shannon, Jessica and Kanon continue their duel. The problem I have with their fight to the death is that the logic behind the game for love makes absolutely no sense. Even Jessica questions the logic of how being forced to kill off loved ones would allow them the happiness they seek. I feel that the actions go against the good natures of the kids. The adults have enough skeletons in their closets to be driven to murder, but these are four of perhaps the purest-hearted characters in the series. The nonsense this arc has built into it pushes the limits of what I’m willing to believe these characters would actually do.
Eventually, something had to give, and it was Beatrice assuming the role she was meant to play. There are questions of if she suddenly remembered who Beatrice really was or not, but apparently, she was coached into the evil, cackling role. She stands off against Erika, while Kanon sacrifices himself to undo the logic error of the puzzle. The final confrontation includes all of the bunny girls and insane faces we’ve come to expect from the series. In the end we get to watch Erika finally, FINALLY, get her just desserts while the witch who used her as a pawn steps away and doesn’t even bother to watch the game play out.
This arc ends with Battler’s sister Ange literally closing the book and ominously heading for the island while her bodyguard contemplates betraying her. Bern rematerializes at her former master’s domain, taking her place as the game master of the next story arc. The author urges the reader to continue onward to find the truth, but much like the eternal witches, I am growing bored of this game. It had become very frustrating watching each mystery resolve without an explanation as to how the murders could have been done. The sneering, the taunting, the gore… it’s all becoming a trite drag. I yearn for the finale.
The extras for this volume include a few color pages, some gag comics, and an author’s note.
In Summary
The Dawn of the Golden Witch arc of Umineko limps to its conclusion. The arc which was supposed to be a tale of lovers is more a grotesque example of how love can be twisted to murderous ends. The solutions to the long drawn-out puzzles are never explained, and at this point, I’m starting to doubt they ever will. I can’t help but feel that Battler was acting out-of-character for the length of this arc, and the strange about-face he pulls considering his thoughts and feelings on Beatrice feels unearned. Especially since we never see what the moment or memory that changed his opinion of her was. Once again, he wins through no effort of his own and Beatrice claims another victory, it just so happens that she was on his side this time. At least we no longer have to deal with Erika. The game resets once more, but what stories are there left to tell, and when are we going to finally learn what Beatrice’s secret is?
Content Grade: B –
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: Teen +
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: January 24th, 2017
MSRP: $20.00 US / $26.00 CAN
