Biggest plot twist I've seen in my entire life. Holy fuck

I was thinking that chapters 1&2, although very interesting and complex, were not as mind blowing as the first Higurashi chapters, but this one is an absolute ride. The story is taking off and I cant even imagine what's to come

63 hours in and im not even halfway through, oh boy... Please Ryukishi07 keep lying to me for 100+ hours straight, you are the best at it

During Tatarigoroshi: Keiichi may be the greatest character of all time

During this chapter: Holy shit he really is

And the last scene is the most powerful and memorable antagonist's speech in all fiction

Actually one of the best experiences of my life. Starts pretty light with mainly SoL, and it slowly becomes bleaker and bleaker. It's a pretty ''quiet'' tragedy, like a light slowly going out, that really ended making me believe there was no hope. And that's the most effective kind of tragedy for me. Accompanied by absolutely beautiful music, it made me experience an infinite sadness that felt like too much to bear at times (literally my kind of shit).

It's also special to me the outlook it gives on life during certain points of the story, I think it's a very feel-good and optimistic VN at its core even if it ripped me apart in the most hideous way imaginable.

I've enjoyed pretty much everything i've immersed in during my JP learning journey, but this is the first time something has impacted me this hard, and that makes me even gladder i started learning JP in the first place

My favourite chapter is Minagoroshi because it is the one that resonated with me the most, but this one is the best in terms of writing.

Everything that Higurashi does well (doubts, theories, lies, convictions, paranoias, inner monologues, friendship, and fucking Maebara Keiichi) is made better than ever in this chapter.

A masterpiece

Higurashi was what I considered the peak of fiction, and Ryukishi is able to surpass himself

It is overwhelming just trying to understand the amount of effort, dedication and love that one has to pour into a story to create something like Umineko, it blows my mind

I still prefer Higurashi tho, i think the highs are way higher, it is more memorable, and Maebara Keiichi is the undisputed GOAT (although Beatrice is almost as good)

I love how, during the whole series, the studio doesn't settle for the characters they have previously created, and instead try their luck with new ideas

That has led them to create way more amazing characters than pretty much any other series and, in this case, my favourite Yakuza character. Ichiban was a blast specially during the last part

I fucking hate the new combat system tho