Umineko no Naku Koro ni episode 05 was mindfuck enough with that whole other world thing. Then there was that one witch Bernkastel. Who looked and sounded very much like Furude Rika from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. I thought this was just a coincidence so I didn’t think much about it. What was on my mind about the episode was what is going to happen next, a reset a la Higurashi perhaps, and what happened to everyone else. I guess they died, that’s the whole Beatrice coming to life deal…
Anyways, I remembered that I have not seen Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei episode 04 yet, so I went and watched…It too was mindfuck as Rika was stuck in a sinless world and she needed to kill her own mother to go back to the world she fought so hard to get. When she woke up from her ‘dream’, her friends pointed out how Rika was worrying over her choice, whether it was correct or not…something about a worry that only gods should have. She then spilled out a word that triggered something…witch. With that trigger, I literally got on the edge of my seat and read the next line:
Right then and there…BRICKZ WERE SHAT! RIKA AND THE BLUE WITCH IN UMINEKO ARE THE SAME PERSON!!!!!! HOLY SHITTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!! ZOMFGWTFRLY!?
That really took me by surprise! If I had seen ep 04 of Higurashi Rei when it came out, I probably wouldn’t have been as surprised by this Bernkastel is Rika thing. This was a coincidentally timed MINDFUCK! lol
Hmm, I had always thought that Bern and Rika were separate of each other. Extremely similar that they mind as well be the same person, true, but according to what I read on wiki and after watching ep 4 of Rei, on Bern:
and for Rika, didn’t she mention several times that she was the incarnation of Hanyuu/Oyashiro?
That’s what confuses me. Then again, if Rika is really Bernkastel and vice versa, it won’t be so surprising that she can continually revive (though only through Hanyuu’s power) since she’s a witch.
I don’t really know enough about Higurashi (as I didn’t finish watching everything yet) or Umineko to say more but I guess it’s not too wrong to theorize that witches can take on a human form in front of normal people if they fancy the idea. Beatrice just kept her identity as a witch while Bern (if she and Rika are really the same) became a loli. Oic. *shrug*
…oh, and there’s also the Lamdadelta/Miyo business, too. Wuuuuut. D/ So confusing. Need to read up on this more.
In any case…witches are awesome. <3
By: Xiao Jie on July 31, 2009
at 11:57 am
After getting my bearings back I realized something:
Both anime take place in the same era, Higurashi 1983, Umineko 1986…so Rika and Bernkanstel may not really be the same person but the collective reincarnations of Rika like you mentioned…which is still confusing…
By: 53RG10 on August 1, 2009
at 6:16 pm
All this must be Takano’s doing again.
By: fangzhao on July 31, 2009
at 8:12 pm
That Takano…always plotting something…
Takano >>>>>> Beatrice
By: 53RG10 on August 1, 2009
at 6:18 pm
In my opinion: Rika –> Bernkastel in the same way Miyo –> Lambdadelta.
And yes, there will be a reset. Bern herself mentioned that she will be lending her magic of miracles to aid the player (or Battler depending on how you interpret it).
By: DK Eternity on August 4, 2009
at 1:16 am
I dunno who/what Lambdadelta is… >_>
Taking a while guess…I’ll say that [Takano] Miyo is also a witch [Lambdadelta]…SPOILAR??
By: 53RG10 on August 4, 2009
at 1:28 am
No, miyo isnt lambda…. miyo was belived to be a distant relative of her, eva is probally miyo….
lambdadelta> satoko houojou
By: RENA on August 7, 2009
at 9:18 am
There are many speculations on the Bernkastel/Rika and Miyo/Lambdadelta relationships. It gets even more confusing if you involve Frederica Bernkastel from the Higurashi manga and VN. But from reading a message shown in the Higurashi VN, supposedly written by Frederica Bernkastel, my theory is as follows.
It’s been outright said that Bernkastel and Rika aren’t the same person, as well as that Frederica and Rika aren’t the same person. But it is clear who Frederica Bernkastel is, as she says so herself in the manga and VN. Frederica is, as people have said, one entity created form the collective reincarnations of Rika. After a scene involving both Frederica and Rika, set right before Minagoroshi-hen, it seems the two merged, creating the adult speaking, somewhat creepy Rika we see in the last two arcs of Higurashi Kai and in Rei. Now I can only speculate, as the final episode of Rei isn’t out yet, but I would guess Bernkastel the witch was created when Rika and Frederica separated, which is what Rika is talking about when she says she should stop being the witch Bernkastel. Bernkastel is different form both Rika, who became her own person once again, and Frederica, who was simply one entity made up of several Rikas. Bernkastel is an entity separate from both, a whole new person. And believe me, Bernkastel’s personality is very much different from Rika’s.
There is one thing that needs clarified though. While Higurashi and Umineko are set in the same era, 1983 and 1986, they are not set in the same world, so any number of years could be between Bernkastel’s creation and Umineko’s start. You may be wondering how Bernkastel can be in Umineko then. Well, she’s a witch, what do you expect?
As for Miyo and Lamdadelta, the Satoko theory we can push away at once. Lambdadelta written with Greek letters become 34, and the Kanji that make up Miyo’s name are the ones for three and four, thus making both names essentially meaning 34.
Once again I theorize. I recently read a diary page supposedly written by Lambdadelta, where she actually speaks about Rika and Bernkastel, saying that a new witch was born through the ordeals she set a girl through. This would mean that Miyo is either a lesser part of Lambdadelta meant to start the events of Higurashi to start that game, as that is how Lambdadelta sees it, or a representation. But Lambdadelta was behind Higurashi, she herself said that, as did she say that Bernkastel was born from Higurashi, which supports my theory about her.
By: Salihs on August 10, 2009
at 12:12 pm
Actually Lambdadelta has never said that she was behind Higurashi. This is just fan speculation but it isn’t explicitedly said anywhere, just that there is some strong evidence for it based on Lambda’s diary.
Personally I think Lambdadelta was born from Miyo Takano in the same way EVA was created from Eva.
By: punkisanoob on September 10, 2009
at 11:41 am
i donno…when i first saw bernkastel i was almost certain it’s rika….it is after all by the same composer. after watching rei just confirms me…it didnt shock me much, but it did make me really happy.
do you know why bernkastel has a cat tail in umineko though?
By: j.wu on August 15, 2009
at 11:54 pm
The witch Bernkastel is not Rika… The problem is that the Higurashi anime cut the existence of Bernkastel from the plot. The only time you actually see the real Bernkastel in the anime is the final scene of Kai, and that definitely isn’t enough to explain her existence and just left everyone extremely confused, going “WTF?!”.
I have not read the VN myself, but have spoken to someone who has. From this discussion my interpretation was that Rika lived for hundreds of years (hence her adult way of speaking when she doesn’t act like the child-like Rika), on the other hand, Bernkastel is a being created as the combination of all Rikas that have been overwritten by the main Rika character. So whenever Rika transfers to another fragment, the old Rika becomes part of Fredrika Bernkastel.
I don’t know if Bernkastel merged with Rika at any point as suggested by someone else earlier, but this seems unlikely. Also, do remember that it wasn’t just the last two arcs in which Rika spoke like an adult, if you really think back, she did it all the time, they just didn’t make it so obvious in the beginning. I think the line from Rei is just an attempt by the anime studio to make the connection between Umineko and Higurashi a little more obvious since they screwed up by basically removing the Bernkastel character. Now they have to fudge things a little bit to make it obvious that there is a connection.
Short version:
Rika = a person who has lived for hundreds of years by transferring from fragment to fragment, replacing the old Rika from that world. She is wise and just wants her friends to be safe and to live one complete life to old age.
Fredrika = a combination of all the other Rikas that have been overwritten. She is kinda twisted and hates getting bored, so she keeps messing with the fragments to create new and interesting worlds for her entertainment.
By: DarkJedi on August 22, 2009
at 9:45 pm
Dang, all of this confuses me…maybe because I haven’t read the Visual Novels.
All I can get is that Rika != Bernkanstel, but exists because of Rika…
I won’t even think about Redrika or Delta or any other witch/entity.
By: 53RG10 on September 10, 2009
at 9:11 pm
[...] This post explains it all! ;) [...]
By: Twelve Anime Moments of ‘09 – #07 « Open Your Mind on December 19, 2009
at 12:31 am