Nippon Ichi Software America, a North American localizer and publisher of anime and video games have today announced that pre-orders have opened for their upcoming anime release Umineko: When They Cry. The entire series is set to be spread over two volumes, the first containing episodes 1 through 18 (Arcs 1-3) while the second is set to be cheaper but contains only the remaining eight episodes (Arc 4). Both volumes are set to come with 28-page hardcover artbooks and the second volume is also set to include clean OP and ED sequences on disc.
This is a blu-ray exclusive release at the moment, with Volume 1 to set you back $63.99, Volume 2 to set you back $39.99 and a complete series collection to set you back $103.98 with a bonus “Killer’s Gambit” mystery game set of cards. All collections are to be released simultaneously on the 4th December 2012.
Based on the first four arcs of 07th Expansions visual novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni, the series follows the Ushiromiya family who attend their annual family conference on Rokkenjima island. As a storm begins they find themselves being murdered by an unknown force – possibly by a human or possibly by the Golden Witch Beatrice.
Volume 1: The affluent Ushiromiya family patriarch, Kinzo, is on his deathbed, and his family has assembled at their private island to discuss the division of his estate. As they bicker over their father’s immense inheritance, a typhoon closes in, trapping them on the island. They suddenly receive an eerie word of warning…and then, in the dead of night, the murders begin. One by one, family members are discovered murdered in bizarre and inhuman ways. Some within the family turn to superstition, blaming it on a witch rumored to inhabit the island. But one of them – the young Battler Ushiromiya – refuses to accept the supernatural and vows to uncover the real killer behind the seemingly impossible slaughters. He soon finds himself confronted by the apparent witch, and enters into a life-or-death battle for the truth.
Volume 2: Trapped on an isolated island in the middle of a raging typhoon, Battler Ushiromiya has found himself locked in an unending struggle with a woman calling herself the Golden Witch Beatrice to uncover the truth behind the gruesome murders of everyone in his family. Are these killings the supernatural work of an ageless witch, or is that just the cover story for a far more ruthlessly human plot? As he searches for clues and draws closer to the truth, a mysterious young girl suddenly appears on the island. She claims she can help him, but could this fiery ally be nothing more than a trap set by the “witch” herself…?
