#oh shit i haven't read part 2 of the novel the anime might be my intro to it— NOPE I REFUSE

[sylhea-raemi]

WAIT ISAAC GOT A BITCH IS IT FR FR?

[rontra]

i am SO PUMPED for skin game even tho i have never read any of the source content.... i should probably read it huh (where might i read the source content bc i am an internet noob and haven't been on tumblr recently bc of school)

POSES LANGUIDLY......SLOWLY DABS im glad youre excited 8))))) im v stoked as well!!!!!

as for the original materials....OH NO THIS GOT LONG SORRY

you probably wont have time to read it all in time for ch1 release (lmfao) BUT THEYRE VERY GOOD SO LIKE...DO IT....!!!!strictly speaking, as far as skin game is concerned, you dont ABSOLUTELY NEED the originals (as long as you can live with (1) Mild Spoilers including character spoilers, (2) missing some of the ‘punch’ i guess a familiar reader would have at certain character names/appearances :p (3) missing “assumed knowledge” from character backstory/etc that the fic will summarize but won’t detail too much)  HOWEVER they’re good experiences in their own right and ... my big faves SOOOO READ IT /poses

SO Skin Game is a higurashi/umineko crossover AU. Higurashi and Umineko aren’t actually related as stories (beyond a handful of notable references, shout-outs and potential red herrings :p) but they’re both part of the “when they cry” series and both received very bad anime adaptations, so they’re good friends.

both Higurashi and Umineko are available in original VN format and manga adaptations....both formats have their pros and cons imo :p i’ll try to be pretty impartial but ... i personally didnt actually read the higurashi vn DKSDKSKD i’ll link to a post by my pal Tiger at the end of this reply for higurashi advice!

the VNs are a long read, but the soundtracks add a lot and it’s a pretty, uh, thorough experience. A for-sure pro to these is the overall experience of audio+reading; the atmosphere is pretty killer. Umineko is also available with a fully voice-acted patch, which is amazing tbhDepending on your preference, the length of reading may be a con: going through both full visual novels easily tallies up to 200+ hours imo (ofc depending on your speed)

The manga adaptions are generally considered overall solid. I’ve read umineko in both vn and manga; for the last arc, the manga’s execution surpasses its original, in my opinion xD it’s very fun to see an adaption outdo its foundation like that (of course, the original author was in on it :p)Naturally, reading the manga cuts down a lot of reading time and will spare you some of the lengthier slow sections, which can be a blessing depending on your viewpoint xDOf coure, the sense of characters physically interacting and occupying the same space is far more visceral in manga format than in the static sprites of the vn; whether trading that for the BGM is a worthy deal is up to you, honestly.

I sometimes recommend to pals who aren’t super-into lengthy visual novels (or huge books in general) to start with the manga and consider doing the vn if they end up liking the story :9

To read the visual novels...

you can find complete non-commentated playlists of them on youtube: (Higurashi) (Umineko)

you can track down the original discs and download free translation patches (is this obsolete now that everyone’s doing playlists and torrents and stuff? lol) (Umineko translation patch by witch-hunt)

i’m not giving out links but i’m sure someone out there has a download or torrent for a pre-patched full version :p

MangaGamer is releasing them in english on Steam, though it’s not yet complete (Higurashi: arcs 1-5 available) (Umineko: arc 1-4 available)mangagamer’s reputation and the sprites they chose: YMMV

Now as we know, reading manga online has some wacky translation quality, and higurashi has entire arcs online that are like...incomprehensible. umineko is slightly better (though it still fkcfnf goes off the rails a few times, translation-wise)  BUT if you can’t afford to keep up with the official yenpress release you may as well, right (and if you’re like me, youve read enough bad scanlations to kinda follow along anyway xD)

the main problem is that for some reason some arcs have missing chapters? this goes for both, though higurashi seems to be just kind of more universally janked in some aspects, though you can probably ask @sg2tiger to post the fixes they made for me xD

To read the mangas, I recommend using batoto--you have to sign up to use it, but many other sites are missing vital chapters of umineko for some reason and batoto’s okay for umineko but...batoto has issues with higurashi as well!! it’s cursed!!, but see Tiger’s post below again for more on higurashi xD IM BEST AT UMINEKO SORRY i need tiger’s guidance

Each story is in 8 arcs/”episodes”. Umineko was kind enough to number them, but Higurashi’s are a little less forthcoming, so here’s the reading order if you need it xD

Onikakushi-hen

Watanagashi-hen

Tatarigoroshi-hen

Himatsubushi-hen

Meakashi-hen

Tsumihoroboshi-hen

Minagoroshi-hen

Matsuribayashi-hen

(and then theres some side arcs i didnt read)

Tiger’s more in-depth reply on Higurashi specifically: http://rontra.tumblr.com/post/158933410364

Content warnings

Universal: blood/gore, body horror, child abuse

Higurashi specific: That Squicky Torture ShitUmineko specific: Incest (mentioned), sexual assault (mentioned)