Umineko no Naku Koro ni Manga Dub

Project Details:

This is a dub to the manga adaptation to Umineko no Naku Koro ni. For those who don't know Umineko, it's a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion aka Ryukishi07. The manga adaptation of Umineko no Naku Koro ni was supervised by Ryukishi07 and drawn by several artists, who differ from episode to episode. This allowed multiple episodes to be serialized concurrently. It first began serialization with the adaptation of Legend of the Golden Witch by Kei Natsumi, which released on the January 2008 issue of Square Enix's Gangan Powered. The manga was later collected into tankōbon volumes and released under the Gangan Comics imprint.

The manga was licensed in English by Yen Press under the name Umineko WHEN THEY CRY. It was released in an omnibus format, where each volume of the manga would contain two or more Japanese volumes worth of content. The English release was translated by Stephen Paul with lettering by Jennifer Skarupa (Legend of the Golden Witch Omnibus 1), Carl Vanstiphout (Legend of the Golden Witch Omnibus 2 and Turn of the Golden Witch), Stephanie Lee (Banquet of the Golden Witch Omnibus 2), and Abigail Blackman (all other volumes). Due to cost limitations, the colored text in the story is instead represented with different fonts.

The manga adaptations of episodes 7 and 8 contain additional content by Ryukishi07 that provides explicit answers to many of the story's mysteries.

Story Details:

Umineko takes place primarily from October 4 to 5, 1986 on Rokkenjima, a small island privately owned by the wealthy Ushiromiya family. The Ushiromiya family gathers for the annual family conference, which concerns the division of assets belonging to Kinzo, the ailing family head. In addition to 12 family members are 5 of their servants and Kinzo's physician, Terumasa Nanjo, comprising a total of 18 people.

The protagonist Battler Ushiromiya, one of Kinzo's grandchildren, has been absent from the family conference for the past six years due to personal family circumstances. Upon his return, Battler becomes reacquainted with the legend of the "Golden Witch" Beatrice, who is rumored to have given Kinzo ten tons of gold in the past to revive the Ushiromiya family, which had been crippled in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. A portrait of her lies in the entrance hall of the Ushiromiya family mansion, and a puzzling epitaph is written below it. It is rumored that whoever solves the epitaph's riddle will receive the gold and become the successor to the Ushiromiya family. After a typhoon traps the family on the island, mysterious murders begin to occur, often in ways that seem impossible for a human to have committed.

Episode Details:

The story is divided into 8 episodes, all of which are divided into one book per episode.

*1st episode is Legend of the Golden Witch. On October 4 and 5, 1986, the Ushiromiya family has gathered on the private island of Rokkenjima for their annual family conference. Chief on the agenda concerns the struggle for the inheritance assets of the ailing family head, Kinzo. But as the family is trapped on the island by a typhoon, they receive a letter claiming to be from the rumored witch of the island, Beatrice, and mysterious events begin to occur.

*2nd episode is Turn of the Golden Witch. This episode develops the confrontation between Battler and Beatrice, who each try to disprove the other's position regarding the existence of magic. The conflict between them plays out in a higher-level plane, allowing them to oversee the events on the island, where the murders repeat once again under different circumstances. The episode also focuses heavily on the relationships between Jessica and Kanon, George and Shannon, and Maria and Rosa.

*3rd episode is Banquet of the Golden Witch. This episode continues the battle between Battler and Beatrice, with the events on the island having a special focus on Eva Ushiromiya. Battler's debate against magic is further complicated by the introduction of new witches and demons, and as the Ushiromiya adults make a serious attempt to solve the epitaph, Battler starts to learn more about Beatrice's past and the state of the island.

*4th episode is Alliance of the Golden Witch. This episode introduces Battler's sister Ange as a secondary protagonist, who was absent from the 1986 Ushiromiya family conference and was taken in by Eva, the only survivor of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders. The narrative shifts between the gameboard and the outside world, showing readers the impact of the incident on Ange's life and exploring her relationship with Maria and magic through Maria's diary.

*5th episode is End of the Golden Witch. Lambdadelta takes over as Game Master following Beatrice's defeat at the end of the previous episode while Bernkastel takes primary control of the human side in the game. Battler meanwhile tries to understand the truth behind Beato's games and comes into conflict with Erika Furudo, a detective character created by Bern who approaches the island murders from a "mystery" perspective, in contrast to Battler's "anti-fantasy" stance. This episode also has a focus on Natsuhi, who receives threatening phone calls from a "Man from 19 Years Ago".

*6th episode is Dawn of the Golden Witch. Having become the new Game Master at the end of the previous episode, Battler is tasked with the creation of his own game board as a way of demonstrating his understanding of Beatrice's game. Beatrice is also reborn, but her new self lacks the memories of the original and possesses a timid personality. Battler's game has a focus on the couples George and Shannon, and Jessica and Kanon, who participate in "Love Trials" to determine which of their relationships will succeed. Beatrice joins these trials as part of her quest to discover who she once was and meets another version of Beato while Erika takes on Battler's game. Alongside these events, Ange reads a manuscript by the mysterious forger Tohya Hachijo, the author of the tales of the third to sixth games.

*7th episode is Requiem of the Golden Witch. This episode presents an alternate reality where Battler does not come to Rokkenjima, the Golden Witch does not exist, and a mysterious child named Lion is now the designated successor to the Ushiromiya family. The detective Willard H. Wright is tasked by Bernkastel to investigate this strange world and uncover the truth behind Beatrice. This episodes delves into the past experiences of several characters, including Kinzo and the person who would become Beatrice.

*8th episode is Twilight of the Golden Witch. The final episode focuses on Ange, who in her quest to discover the truth behind the events of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders is given the chance to go to Rokkenjima as a six-year old by Battler. The central conflict revolves around the struggle between Battler and Bernkastel to convince Ange of their own perspective towards how she ought to approach the truth and her quest for it.

Requirements/Guidelines:

* Make sure there's no background noises or any other noise that can distract you from recording.

* Speak loudly and clearly.

* Do multiple retakes and put as much emotion as you can within your voice. I do not want you to submit any auditions with a dry tone or monotone voice, unless if it's necessary for the character you're auditioning for.

* If you are cast, please respond within a week, and if I don't have your Discord, please send it to me, so I can add you to the server for that.

* If you don't know what the characters sound like, I suggest you read the Umineko VN with the VA patch (which btw, it's free to download and don't worry, it doesn't contain any viruses), or watch the playthrough if you can't afford to buy the game. The playthrough's link is right there. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdyU6Nd-103adhYebWb_yha3RNuadQ0Om

* If I don't get the entire cast by the deadline, I'll extend it for certain characters that didn't get the role yet.

* Have fun on auditioning for this project.

Btw, I'll be putting in characters that make their debut in the first episode to audition and close the auditions once I get the entire cast. I'll be reopening auditions to include more characters once we get to each episode. As for Maria and Shannon, I'll be voice acting those two characters.