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Well, it may go for multiple seasons, ala Higurashi. There's only 4 games out right now if I recall so that's probably what the Anime will cover in this season.

downloading first episode now. I can't wait to watch it and then I'll give my full opinions in reads to my views of someone who's not read a manga and knows nothing.

For what it's worth:
[spoiler]Volume 1 of the Manga covers what will probably be at most 2 episodes of Umineko, though I'm betting it'll only be the first half of Episode 2. Volume 1 ends shortly after Beatrice's appearance to Maria, which is where Episode 1 ends.[/spoiler]

Now, some other thoughts (actual Manga spoilers probably and somehow Higurashi got in here too):
[spoiler]The events are MUCH longer in the manga, such as the dinner with the relatives which gives you more grounds to ... well, pretty much loathe and despise everyone, feel sorry for certain people (pretty much every adult that isn't a Ushiromiya + Natsuhi), and pretty much more insight on the characters. Episode 1 ends at Chapter 4 of the Manga (of a 5 chapter volume) and it pretty much sums up the introduction of the family in like two minutes as opposed to two chapters.

They also didn't read the instructions for the [s]Death Note[/s] Legend of the Golden Witch if I recall, just merely mentioned that Maria knows the entire thing (and a glimpse of Batora finding it). So I guess that'll be saved for Episode 2 where they wonder where the gold is and how creepy the tablet is (Sacrifices, Gouging body parts and killing, everyone will die, etc.). Probably will do this with the deduction that Beatrice is someone on the island I guess. It has to be done by then though for the exclamation from Batora's father that he'll die before the end of the night since ... it makes no sense without it.

I have no idea how the game plays these scenes so ... yeah. It'll probably be like Higurashi's VN -> Anime -> Manga where the Manga adds a lot of extra stuff that both didn't have (like Frederika Bernkastel appearance in Minagoroshi-hen, but it plays out pretty much the same as the Anime version). [/spoiler]

Well, so far, my opinions are: the girl's breasts are WAAAAAY too big and/or pronounced.

Meh, whatever...

That being said, I agree with your assessment that the opening isn't as good as any of the three Higurashi ops and well, I never liked any of the Higurashi endings. Still... while I wouldn't say I am a fan (yet), I feel I could definitely get into both aftering listening to them for a while. Though I would have to say that I prefer the ed over the op. I dunno... I like it for some reason XD

So far the voices worry me though... you're right, they just don't seem like they are going to get "creepy" enough. Maria especially has me worried. She is the one that gets the creepy-WIN shot in the OP yet... her voice is more annoying than creepy.


The family: no, trust me, I go tthat we are DEFINITELY suppose to be disgusted with them. There's not a single redeeming quality amongst any of them, though I think the one who ran away crying might have some potential.

I get the feeling Battler (weird name) has something he's hiding. A few of the shots seemed... strange. LOL.

*blinks* Wait... Rie is Shanon, right? ... o_O I've never heard her give that voice performance before. Usually I can pick her up easily (I can always imagine her as Shana screaming URESAI URESAI URESAI)... ^_^ that's going to be fun.

And why does Kanon remind me of Wriggle from the Touhou games XD I actually half expected him to be female and I'm still waiting for that to be discovered LOL

Nothing much to go on so far. It is more or less just a intro vid. Meh, at least they are getting this stuff out of the way in one ep so we can focus on the yummy parts. XD

I think Studio DEEN just got creative with the breasts, though they're relatively pronounced even in the Manga AND VN. I mean, They didn't do anything too out there with Higurashi, though sometimes Mion/Shion stacked-ness was extreme I guess.

Shots from the game (no spoilers, just size):
[spoiler]Natsuhi + Jessica


Shannon:


Natsuhi + Eva:


Kyrie:
[/spoiler]

It's not so much the voices that lack creepy, though Horie Yui as Maria was more adorable (and then annoying UUUUU) than creepy, but that the depictions of the characters lack some of the creepy. They did a good job in Higurashi when it was necessary so I'm not too worried but the episode as a whole lacked it when Maria shows it in spades.

And, yes Shannon is voiced by Kugimiya Rie~. Horie Yui is Maria, Inoue Marina is Jessica, Koshimizu Ami is Eva, and quite a few others that have some noteworthy roles (for the female cast ... and Kanon, who's voiced by Kobayashi Yu but I don't think he's a reverse trap). A few noteworthy Males (Daisuke Ono is Battler, for one) too.

As for Battler, he might be, I don't really know. I do know he has absolutely no belief in the supernatural but that may be due to something in his past (most likely) rather than anything else. Well, hopefully that and not just "we needed a non-believer" for the inveitable ONE OF US chanting later. He is, for all intents and purposes, the opposite of Maria. Coming from K1, he loses some points for [s]not having a neat shorthand for his name[/s] being a perverted loser at first glance.

Edit: Here's the entire epitaph that they reference in the episode (Battler remarks it's weird before the eyecatch) but they don't show it to you oddly enough. It'll be shown in Episode 2 most likely (it has to, it's the entire crux of the fucking plot) if you want to wait but I want to discuss the first line of it.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

And the thoughts:
[spoiler]According to the first line there, 6 people will be offered as sacrifices. Which six? There's little to go off of as to who will die but I'm thinking most the "oh god terrible" people will survive this "round." The deaths will probably go through some unlikely targets (i.e., Shannon) and Battler's parents (Rudolph and ... well, Kyrie, though she's just the step-mother).

That's 3. No idea beyond that. Maybe Maria's mother, if it IS Beatrice doing the killing, so that's 4. Krauss, as the current expected heir, probably needs to die so there's 5. I honestly have no idea for a 6th besides random pick of the rest of the asshole family of fucks but I think another servant will be picked off. Maybe.

To be honest, I only really have faith in two picks (Rudolph and Kyrie) and the rest are just hunches and "man, I wish I had a hat to draw names from" guesses.[/spoiler]

It's not the fact he says weird (was just using that as an indicator to what I'm talking about haha) it's that they glossed over it completely, though I guess the only super important part was covered. I guess the bigger "problem" is that the subs I have didn't bother translating the whole thing but that's pretty typical speedsub quality.

That and I wasn't paying enough attention I guess during the scene to notice the epitaph is on-screen long enough to be fully read and that's all that matters. In short, I'm dumb. I have the translation of the entire thing if you care (it starts with a bit about the location of the gold and then goes into the [s]rules for using the Death Note[/s] Beatrice legend).

[spoiler]As far as I know, his reaction is pretty much the same towards the epitaph. That it's just silly nonsense but he agrees with Maria to stop her screaming (and eventually leads to the talisman being handed over). It's a pretty lengthy discussion over the epitaph and the legend and the validity of the whole thing.[/spoiler]

It's probably in the 2nd episode just for the fact of not getting too "yeah shit's going down yo" in the first episode.

Oh and, I really do think this is her first role at anything remotely creepy (though she did voice Hanyuu). UUUUUU indeed.

Edit: I guess speaking of voices, most the cast is merely returning members of the Higurashi voice cast. Guess I didn't realize how robust that cast was too, though a lot of big-name people got small-ish roles.

[spoiler]And I think Mion would totally have let him. In private. But that sounds like an H-doujin plot now...

...'course, we'd end with some weird Meakashi-hen like situation of murders due to that so I think it's all for the best that K1 doesn't make a move on the girls. Or a guy. Or an inanimate object.[/spoiler]

Wait, who all is the "returning cast"? 'Cause I know Battler isn't voiced by Souichirou (disappointing... ) and when I checked on Anime News Network, none of the girls were on this one. Horie is the only one I know.

Recently finished:
Sasami - Magical Girl Club - I needed something light-hearted and fun, and this anime seemed to fit.
So far it looks a little childish, but it is fun and cute and colorful
Sasami - Magical Girl Club Season 2 - Hmm, things get rather more complex and sinister in this season (actually, at the end of season 1).
These two seasons actually make up one continuous story. No idea why it was split this way. The ending was a little meh in that it didn't really resolve the bigger problems other than the girls getting rid of the bad guys. There wasn't really much fanservice, although there are some hints that the makers were very much aware of the seinen demographic among their audience. The insert song "Daichi No Uta" (song of the earth) is beautiful, although not a perfect fit in the setting. Overall I'd rate the series between Good and Decent.

Scrapped Princess - Oh, this looks like it'll be fun. The main character is a woman, and there's lots of magic.
I ended up watching almost the whole anime twice because I got distracted back in January. The first time I thought the writers had crammed too many ideas into one story. The second time it made more sense how everything fit together. I think Pacifica was realistic as a naïve fifteen year old kid, but towards the end her apologizing for being who she was got to be a bit much. Otherwise it was a good anime, although I would've liked to see more of Raquel and less of Shannon. She was much more fun than her brother.

Daughters Of Mnemosyne - Oy, lots of violence here, of the bloody kind. And lots of fanservice too, of the explicit kind. The story is intriguing though, and at 45 minutes per episode it's almost as long as a regular half-season anime.
It's a pity that the fanservice is so extreme (it's almost porn at times), because the mysteries and science fiction are really interesting. The bad aspects completely overshadow the good ones though. The symbolism of the interactions between the main characters and their opponents is just disgusting in so many ways.

Real Drive - Oh, this looks very nice. Modern production and a nice tropical sea setting. The character design is a little peculiar, round-faced, sometimes even a little plump, and the women often have half-open pouty ('pornface') mouths. So far (2 eps. in) the story is still mysterious, but looks to be unconventional.
Hmm, I wasn't expecting this much slice-of-lifeness in a (post-)cyberpunk setting, but it is not bad. Not bad at all. The scenery is very beautiful, the music varies from regular classical fare to catchy. Near the end, the overarching plot gets a little out there, but overall I'd still rate this series closer to Excellent than Very Good.

Currently watching:
I don't usually watch currently airing anime because I hate waiting for episodes. I couldn't resist Aoi Hana though. I just watched the first ep. Aww, this is going to be wonderful, I just know it. The art is beautiful too, everything looks like it's hand-drawn with pencil and water-color. I really felt Fumi's devastation when her cousin left her. She's so cute. I'm sure Akira will cheer her up again though. I so hope this anime will end happily. The manga has a good reputation, so it probably will, but I can't help but worry, what with how lesbian relationships rarely get more than a passing nod (and some fanservice shots ).

Minami-ke Okaeri - And here we go with season three. I'm having a little trouble remembering who is who, but the Minami sisters are funny as always.

Lined up next:
Armitage III, Jigouku Shoujo Mitsuganae (aka Hell Girl season 3), Venus Versus Virus, Kanon (2006), and Mai-Otome ~ S.ifr

Minami-ke? That's the one with the LEGENDARY TERRIBLE PRODUCTION QUALITY right?

idunno man

No, I swear some episodes of Jigoku Shojo were worse than that.