Welcome one and all, to the delectable news that I can bring to any English-speaking 07th Expansion fan. The live-action Umineko: Stage of the golden witch, has been fantranslated! I’d like to also express my gratitude to Uminetta‘s circle for this beautiful fan project!
Localization Credits
Translation: Meera Malhotra, VampyricMaid, Uminetta
Editors: cj_iwakura, LettuceKitteh
Typesetting, Timing: Cyouni
Many of you may not know this about myself, but I happen to be an avid 07th Expansion enjoyer. Especially in the medium of visual novels, as I have collected them on Vita. Currently I am 60 hours into Higurashi When They Cry, and nowhere near finished.
I am happy to share that Williard H. Wright’s voice actor (Takahashi Hiroki) is playing the role of Krauss. Not only is Hiroki known for his portrayal in visual novels, he is also famous for roles in anime (School Rumble as Harima Kenji). Overall a very strong choice for the role of Krauss, as his promo image alone demands attention. Hiroki seems to be the only reappearing role from the visual novel; however, he is portraying a different character this time.
For a full breakdown of all actors in this performance, they are as follows:
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Ushiromiya Battler | Kawasumi Bishin 川隅美慎 |
| Ushiromiya George | Ito Kotarou 伊藤孝太郎 (ep1) Shuto Washio 鷲尾修斗 |
| Ushiromiya Jessica | Aoki Hina 青木陽菜 |
| Ushiromiya Maria | Abe Erina 阿部恵理奈 (ep1) Ayame Chiaki 菖蒲千明 |
| Ushiromiya Krauss | Takahashi Hiroki 高橋 広樹 (ep1) Tsukamoto Tatsuya 塚本拓弥 (EP2) |
| Ushiromiya Natsuhi | Suzu Maihara 舞原鈴 Motomiya Hikari 本宮光 (EP2) |
| Ushiromiya Hideyoshi | Sato Keisuke 佐藤圭右 |
| Ushiromiya Eva | Hirayu Juri 平湯樹里 |
| Ushiromiya Rudolf | Moriyama Eiji 森山栄治 |
| Ushiromiya Kyrie | Yazawa Rio 矢澤梨央︎ |
| Ushiromiya Rosa | Namekawa Kyoko 滑川恭子 |
| Ronoue Genji | Funaki Mahito 船木 まひと |
| Shannon | MIO |
| Kanon | YAE |
| Gohda Toshiro | Koiso Kazunari 小磯一斉 |
| Kumasawa Chiyo | Aota Izumi 青田いずみ |
| Nanjo Terumasa | Kato Takahiro 加藤隆浩 |
| Ushiromiya Kinzo | Ishizaka Izamu 石坂勇 (Ep 1) |
| Beatrice | Ohara Sayaka 大原さやか (Ep1) |
| Additional roles | Yamada Seira 山田せいら Waka 倭香 (Butterfly + Satan) Watanabe Kana 渡部加奈 Uchide Natsumi 打出菜摘 (Butterfly + Asmodeus) |
From the information that I have been able to gather, the Umineko stage performance appears to be cut into three separate live performances. Unquestionably a re-telling of the original beloved mystery visual novel, but this time on stage, under the hands of Shingidan as the producers of this play. There was also the mention of a DVD release of part 2 around September 30th!
This is where it can be tricky. In order to apply the English subtitles, you must have the DVD copy. Sadly, this is the only way as the patch is a text file only. If you were to watch it in the VLC media player, you can use the files inside of this player with no problems.
I appreciate Uminetta for providing two separate translations: a partial localization, and a full one. The partial localization maintains the Japanese honorifics, for people who prefer them — people like me. Whereas the full localization is more aimed at casual fans who prefer a more natural English way of speaking. Please note that I have not inquired Uminetta on the specifics.
If you have watched this play already, please let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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