Umineko no Naku Koro ni (literally ‘When the Seagulls Cry‘) is a popular murder mystery sound novel created by the authors of the equally famous Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The story takes place in the year 1986 at a small, secluded island named Rokkenjima, owned by the head of a wealthy family. After a typhoon traps a number of visiting family members on the island, strange and deadly events start occuring.

The English fan translation of Umineko no Naku Koro ni has become well-known for having received official sanction from the original creator, Ryukishi07 of the doujin circle 07th Expansion. Having even a character in one of the episodes named after the group, the Witch Hunt were able to strike a deal with HOBIBOX to make the Japanese game available in the West through DRM-free download.

Over the course of the project the Witch Hunt have kept a very tight release schedule, releasing the translation of each episode before the following episode was released in Japan. For the last episode it took a year time before the full translation was released, the deadline eventually having been set to December 31, as 07th Expansion had announced it would then release a booklet with solutions to some of the puzzles and mysteries.

The Witch Hunt has kept a track record of finishing their translations before the release of the next episode, so as to give fans a chance to read the game before discussions of the next chapter become widespread. No plans have been announced concerning the release schedule of the episode 8. The translation is released as a Windows installer, a Mac installer and a cross-platform zip archive. It is compatible both with the DVD version and the download version by HOBIBOX.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (literally ‘When the Seagulls Cry‘) is a popular murder mystery sound novel created by the authors of the equally famous Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The story takes place in the year 1986 at a small, secluded island named Rokkenjima, owned by the head of a wealthy family. After a typhoon traps a number of visiting family members on the island, strange and deadly events start occuring.

HOBIBOX have collaborated with 07th Expansion in the past to create a number of Higurashi audio drama CDs and mobile phone ports of the games, and they were responsible for creating the physical CD copies of MangaGamer’s Higurashi translation that were first made available at Anime Expo this year. The Witch Hunt has also had a special relationship with 07th Expansion, as the doujin group has publicly given full, official approval for their translation and even added a reference to the translation group in episode 4 of the game.

As is usual with games by 07th Expansion episode 4 also contains the first three episodes, while episode 6 includes both episode 5 and 6. Following episodes will be made available by HOBIBOX as their respective translation patches are released.

UPDATE: The current pricing for the first two arcs appears to be promotional pricing until August 15.

The main entity that brought together Higurashi and MangaGamer is apparently HOBIBOX, a seemingly new member of an increasing number of companies behind MangaGamer. HOBIBOX, a multifaceted company with divisions that work on things like PC games as well as anime songs and drama CDs, has actually been working with 07th Expansion, the doujin circle that created Higurashi, for five years now. Some fruits of this collaboration include a port of Higurashi to the mobile phone in Japan, as well as a collection of drama CDs corresponding to each of the arcs. They were also at Anime Expo 2009 in side the MangaGamer booth, selling various music CDs and physical discs of the Japanese version of Higurashi. Before Anime Expo, HOBIBOX, not knowing about the fan translation for Higurashi, approached MangaGamer and sublicensed them rights to produce a commercial English release. This deal was sealed in June of 2009, literally weeks before the announcement at Anime Expo 2009 in early July. Furthermore, HOBIBOX also contacted and negotiated rights with the various music artists who provided music for the games so that they can distribute the music within the games as well, since 07th Expansion is not the primary rights holder of the music in their games.

Sonozaki Futago-tachi, real-life twins who were working on an English translation patch for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, eventually received an email from MangaGamer asking for their cooperation, both in proofreading their release and in the removal of their current patches. The twins agreed to remove their patches, and were in negotiations with MangaGamer on whether they would be able to help out with the official translation. However, due to the extremely fast schedule that was required of them, the twins felt they were unable to properly do the job and thus turned down MangaGamer’s offer for proofreading.

However, it appears that the rights on an English translation held by HOBIBOX and thus MangaGamer were not exclusive. That is, it would be possible legally for other translations to exist concurrently. Furthermore, given 07th Expansion’s attitude towards fan translations, as can be seen in emails both public and private, it appears that 07th Expansion still can and will likely still allow for fan translations of Higurashi, despite MangaGamer’s plans to publish a commercial English translation. Therefore, Sonozaki Futago-tachi have decided to continue in their efforts to translate Higurashi, but they also suggest MangaGamer’s version as well for people who do not want to wait as long.

Meanwhile, after some correspondence with MangaGamer staff, it appears that they have modified their usual workflow for translation. Instead of having a single editor and single proofreader follow the translation stage, there will be now a few proofreaders who will each read through the entire script. In fact, the rumor is that they’ve also managed to hire a well-known bilingual proofreader who is also a hardcore fan of the Higurashi games.

For the future, Sonozaki Futago-tachi are also working on enabling other translators to translate Onikakushi into their own languages. Meanwhile, HOBIBOX has written in an email to us indicating that they wish for people to stay tuned to the MangaGamer website for various Higurashi announcements in the near future. Higurashi is going to be released in two parts — the question arcs are projected to be released in October, and the answer arcs are projected to be released in December.

MangaGamer took out a full page ad on the back cover of the Anime Expo program guide, featuring a shot of Suika as the background, and advertising the products they were selling at the convention, as well as a list of Japanese “studios” (Circus, HOBIBOX, Navel, NEXTON, OVERDRIVE, the NEXTON brands, mashroom.jp, unidam, SOM, HanimeZ.net, HgameZ.net), free giveaways and a description of what bishojo games were. They shipped in a lot of goods for sale at their booth, including pillow cases, sheets, t-shirts, music CDs, mousepads and karuta sets, although a large portion of these weren’t available on the first day due to shipping issues. In terms of guests, MangaGamer brought Circus CEO tororo-danchou, illustrator Yuka Kayura, singers Aina Kase, miru (from Cy-Rim rev.), yozuca*, and OVERDRIVE illustrator Shinji Katakura. Representatives from HOBIBOX, SOM and HgameZ.net were also present.

The booth was enclosed on all sides and required people to be 18+ to enter the booth. Upon entering the booth, people were offered a MangaGamer demo disc (which includes trial verisons of Da Capo, Suika A.S+ and KIRAKIRA, and a translated version of SHUFFLE’s Japanese website) as well as a MangaGamer fan. There were posters, pillow cases and sheets adorning the inside walls. The first table offered Shin Koihime Musou t-shirts for sale, and the second table was mostly occupied by the artists, who would do custom drawings and signatures for $20. Next were CDs for sale from HOBIBOX, as well as some Japanese versions of the Higurashi no Nakukoro ni doujin release. Finally, the last table had running demonstrations of SOM’s products as well as a section for the HgameZ.net people.

Outside the booth was a small stage with a large flatscreen TV running some game openings as well as some concert footage from Dream Party. There was a small rehearsal on the first day, and three concerts were held, one on each of the remaining days. The first two concerts had Aina Kase and miru each performing four songs and yozuca* performing five, followed by the passing out of vouchers for free autographs. The concert on the last day was shortened due to time constraints, but was also the most attended since it was promoted at their panel on the night of the third day. At the end of the last concert, a rock-papers-scissors contest was held to raffle off goods and was followed by an impromptu signing session. One enthusiastic fan offered an electronic glowstick and Anime Expo plushie to each singer.

MangaGamer’s panel “The Future Trend of Bishojo Games,” was held on the third night of Anime Expo in a room that held hundreds of people. The interpreter first introduced the panelists, starting with the multi-talented head of Circus, tororo-danchou. Next was Yuka Kayura, illustrator for some of Circus’s games, including the Da Capo series and Suika. The performers were then introduced, starting with yozuca*, who is a singer-songwriter for many games and anime series and was guest of honor at Anime Expo in 2006. She was followed by singer-songwriter miru from the group Cy-Rim rev., who had performed the theme song for Circus’s game Da Capoker, and Aina Kase, who performed songs for Sora wo Tobu Mittsu no Houhou. Both Cy-Rim rev. and Aina Kase performed at Anime Expo last year. Finally, Shinji Katakura, illustrator from OVERDRIVE, was introduced. He was dressed up as a ninja, and he explained that since Japan is quite peaceful, there’s not much work for a ninja, and thus he has been working as a video game illustrator instead. He had to remove his mask before his explanation since the microphone wasn’t picking up his voice properly.

After introductions, tororo-danchou moved onto an explanation of the tie between music and games. Before he started, he also asked the audience “how many people here know bishoujo games?” The huge response in the affirmative made him gasp in shock. He then went on to explain that amongst bishoujo games, moe games and “naki” (crying) games are games where the music plays a very important part, especially during emotional and passionate scenes. The singers for these games are apparently called “utahime” in Japan.

The presentation then continued with the Suika A.S+ opening movie, followed by tororo-danchou’s one-phrase explanation of the game: “the nostalgia of one summer.” He then explained that “obon” (Bon Festival) was celebrated in Japan in August and that it is supposedly when deparated ancestors return, hence evoking a sad feeling and this is the feeling that the game brings. This time, only a few people raised their hands when he asked the audience “who has played Suika before?” He notes that Suika was what made Circus into a popular company in the beginning, but Da Capo was what introduced a lot of fans, and hence there may only be hardcore fans who know about Suika. Then, tororo-danchou tells the audience that this game is available as a download through MangaGamer and is currently available in English, although they would like to do different things in the future like different languages. He notes that since MangaGamer is based in Europe, they have to have prices in euros. However, he says that they have been talking to a lot of makers in Japan and hopes that the breadth of titles will make up for it. Lastly, he acknowledges that they had a “bit of difficulty” with localisation in the beginning, but says that the translators have been working hard and they are striving for quality that will please everyone.

The next segment of the panel featured MangaGamer’s latest release, KIRAKIRA. After playing the opening movie, the presentation moved onto illustrator Shinji Katakura’s comments about the game. He says that many bishoujo games are about memories of youth and romance that blossoms during that time. However, there are different types of memories, and KIRAKIRA in particular is about a group of students who form a band. Katakura also pointed out that the experience of forming a band might actually be more familiar to people in America than Japan. While he was explaining this, the singers all broke out laughing. When asked, they say that it is so bizarre that Katakura was being this serious, since he normally isn’t and that he was totally drunk two days ago.

Following Katakura’s segment, tororo-danchou was then asked to talk about MangaGamer’s future titles. He says that MangaGamer will be releasing games from Navel, as some of the attendees might already know from having visited the booth. Shuffle! will probably have a release date in late summer, but he told the audience to stay tuned to the website for more details. Other games from Navel are also in the works as well. tororo closed out the announcements section with “we’ve also acquired that famous doujin game. It’s a very popular title in Japan, called Higurashi no Nakukoro ni.” He notes that this is not an erotic game, but also feels that games don’t have to have erotic content to be 18+. He feels that if it’s a title adults can enjoy, then he would want to bring it over. The release is most likely going to be in two parts, with the first four chapters, the question arc, being released first, and then the last four chapters, the answer arc, being released later.

In response to people’s complaints that the games were too expensive, tororo-danchou asked the staff to offer a buy-one-get-one-free promo, where a key code on the back of the demo disc packaging would allow a customer to add two games to the shopping cart and not have to pay for the cheaper one. He noted that MangaGamer is still in the red and would appreciate it if people told their friends to buy their games online.

The last part of the panel presentation was a video of ai sp@ce, a “metaverse similar to Second Life.” In ai sp@ce, the player lives in a 3D rendition of the world of Da Capo, Shuffle!, CLANNAD and Akihabara. The player supposedly “lives there… with… bishoujo.” It was noted that there was talk about creating an English version, although they’re still in the process of deciding what to do.

There was enough time for a short Q&A section at the end of the panel. When asked about Da Capo II, the reply was that there are plans to release Da Capo II. When asked about their view on the recent EOCS regulations, the reply from tororo-danchou was that “I think there should be some sort of regulations, but I think it’s about making restrictions about avoiding extremes. Right now there’s talk about child pronography law applying to images and it might apply to anime as well. I think that’s going too far,” to which the audience erupted in applause. The final question was about whether MangaGamer was putting in any effort to work with fan translators, due to the presence of a sizeable number of fan translations of bishoujo games. The reply was that each game must be considered on a case-by-case basis, and that they have no preconceived notions that fan translations are inherently bad. Furthermore, they would be interested if they are able to work with fan translators and if they can obtain translations at a relatively affordable price and thus might be able to release games more cheaply. After the panel, we enquired about the current status of Higurashi, and it appears that translation on it has started already.

The panel ended with a raffle. Each attendee at the panel was given a raffle ticket and the panelists took turns drawing tickets from the box of raffle tickets. Unfortunately, Katakura’s ninja moves seem to have damaged the box, as tickets were falling out the bottom when the box was shook. A KIRAKIRA poster signed by Shinji Katakura was raffled off, along with a KIRAKIRA body pillow, CDs and a Da Capo 2 body pillow.

We managed to approach tororo-danchou afterwards for some questions. When asked about plans for Shin Koihime Musou, he notes that this game has a different engine and may might be hard to localise. We also asked him about users having problems reading the text due to a thin font in KIRAKIRA and he says that he will take that into consideration.

UPDATE: A tentative release schedule has been posted on Akihabara Channel.