Greywings Anime

This episode had its moments, and I’m digging the focus on theories and speculation. But I wish they would give Natsuhi a bit more screen time, and give her a chance to be the ‘heroine’ of this arc.

As I mentioned in the forums. I think that anyone who’s played the VN Umineko is probably too spoiled and too detail-inclined (spoiler?) in order to just sit and enjoy the anime version. And having gone through the games multiple times, it’s quite easy to get into comparison mode.  This is admittedly my first experience watching an anime after going through the source material (Pokémon doesn’t count…), and I must say it’s difficult and sometimes frustrating. I can’t imagine possibly trying to understand what was going on without having known the plot beforehand. Maybe DEEN is trying to let the viewers fill in the gaps, or get them to buy the game to find the parts which they are missing out.

However, I will say that the animation in this series could definitely stand to improve quite a bit. I really don’t see the need for the ‘shaky cam’ effect, nor the faux ‘dramatic motion’ blur, which actually takes away from the drama. And Eva’s voice is still the most difficult to accept. I want my shrill crabby power-hugnry mother, not droopy-chan. At least Hocchan is doing her best at making Maria the crazy loli that she is (face notwithstanding).

In spite of all that, it’s looking like Umineko is gonna be one of the big hits of the season, at least according to the AnimeNano tags (a statistic which Omo suggests indicates very little). I just think that DEEN had a great opportunity with a big name title, and a lot of hype from the Higurashi OVAs, and is letting it slip through it’s lazy hands.