Keeping up the tradition for the few reviews this manga has by starting it with a quote from the manga itself.
I'm going to try and keep this review brief as not to spoil anything which will be really difficult to do while explaining what made this episode in particular so great in the Umineko series. I will break it up into three parts. Story, Characters, and Lore.
Story: 8/10
Of course the story is a continuation from the previous episodes and revolves around the incident on Rokkenjima, however it also focuses on the future and Ange after the incident already took place. The story throughout the entire series is pretty solid but what makes it particularly stronger in this episode is we get to see the true consequences of what happened on the island. The time travelling aspect is not as simple as everything gets fixed. People have been hurt, tormented, and continue to suffer because of the events that took place and this episode REALLY shows this. This episode isn't only focused on the island rather it's Ange's story. Her story of rescuing her family. Even if that may not save herself. I can't say much more from this without spoilers.
Characters: 10/10
This is what really makes this manga and this episode so amazing for me. In particular Ange's character obviously, but also Maria were the two greatest. In the future while Ange continues to suffer from current circumstances due to the Rokkenjima incident, the only slight solace she can find is in Maria's diary, which is all that remained from the incident. As Ange reads through the diary memories of the past and Maria's life are recollected and we get a lot of insight into who these characters were and who they are. There are also events that take place that shows Battler, the overall MC of the story, the consequences of his choices and not escaping Rokkenjima. Again unfortunately I can not say much more here without spoilers. But the dynamics of these characters and how the world and events plays on them is heart gripping.
Lore: 9/10
On top of everything we get a LOT of lore behind the witches, who they are, their personalities and much more in this episode. There are still certainly more answers needed by the end of the episode but we see that characters we thought were allies never were or will be and even some characters that would be considered enemies were just more puppets suffering as they're manipulated by powers way beyond their control. The lore introduced in this episode really shows how terrifying the antagonists really are and what truly makes them so evil. I was reminded a lot of the insanity Kefka from Final Fantasy 6 displayed and how uncaring he was about the damage he did. They do it because they can and simple.
This is the first manga review I will have ever written. This episode really made me want to because it's such a hidden gem. I don't cry at manga anime or games very often, like practically never, but there were so many points this episode had me in a sobbing mess.
