Backlog Dialogues
Backlog Dialogues is the nerd culture podcast where we dig you out of your backlog, BEFORE it buries you. We attempt to bring a literary eye to nerd culture media, like video games, films, TV shows, and more. Think of us like a book club, but for video games and other types of media. Our second backlog-buster is: When They Cry!
Episodes
On the board, Kyrie proposes a stunning theory - Kinzo is already dead! But Battler is not able to fully capitalize on that, as Beatrice has changed her strategies and is refusing to use the red, meaning it's time to introduce a new rule!
But enough about those losers, it's time for even more of Ange's sad life and how she views Maria! At least there are stuffed animals. Oh, and Lambdadelta wants to make her a better offer than Ber...
It's almost time to start a new game, but before we can do any of that, we need to learn all about Ange! Her story is one of the most complex of any Ryukishi has written, taking place along a winding path through narrative time weaving between the space above the game board, her life at St Lucia Academy, and her life in 1998 after miraculously surviving her leap off a skyscraper. Let's try to make sense of it all! Let's also try to...
It's the belated Backlog Dialogues holiday minilog, covering Terry Pratchett's Hogfather novel. Our first but probably not last peek at the Discworld covers the time the titular jolly fat man got inhumed by a deranged assassin, and so Death has to step in to fill his job while Death's granddaughter Susan tries to figure out what happened to the Hogfather and why all these other innocuous gods keep appearing. An immensely quotable a...
God dammit we got got again! Join us as we discuss everything that happened on the last episode, as well as adaptations and our usual special black tea for those who have seen to the end.
It's time for a showdown as Battler and Beatrice face off against the demented witch EVA-Beatrice! Beatrice's noble turn and Battler's valiant deductions lead to a mind bending conclusion and some of the craziest turns yet!
Wait, Beato, why are you making that face? And... who is that?
The rampage of the new Golden Witch Eva-Beatrice cannot be stopped! The childish and brutal witch becomes increasingly deranged as she loses all sense of what it means to respect life thanks to the endless magic. As Battler suspends the game to let Beato go on a journey of self discovery, massive battles break out which reveal hidden sides of characters and unleash terrifying new magic on to the board - magic with bunny ears.
Schools out, it's party time! Now that we know how to deal with magic, it's time for everything to get crazier! Ushiromiya Eva solves the epitaph and becomes the new Golden Witch! It's just like in that one movie, you know, where a guy has to become Santa. It's legally binding! And it leads to some really violent stuff.
The First Twilight is here early, and Beatrice has turned her sights on the servants this time! Battler is increasingly flummoxed by the rapidly escalating scale and spectacle of the Golden Witch's magic, but finds an unlikely ally in another Witch, who takes on the name Virgilia. Now that Battler knows how to argue against magic, surely things will start to get more sane.
How many people are on Rokkenjima, really? This seemingly obvious and straightforward question leads us down a rather strange rabbit hole as Ushiromiya Rosa tells us a story about how she met Beatrice almost twenty years before the event of this story. Plus, we get to learn about Contrapositives thanks to Beatrice's favorite countermove to the Devil's Proof, Hempel's Raven!
A new game is about to begin, but before we do, we have to confront the cringe of our past! Beatrice, Eva, and Battler are all asked to think about their younger selves, and even talk to one in one case. Then, as the game begins, a demonic butler named Ronove pops in to let us know that things are only going to get wilder from here.
For our Minilog this week, we're covering a truly strange Weird Japanese Thing series, Migi and Dali! We follow the Titular Twins as they pretend to be the same person while investigating the death of their mother in a tale about revenge, forgiveness, individuality, and some extremely strange methods of child rearing. It's got everything you could want - strange maybe demon children, strange maybe demon parents, good dogs, a kid th...
We have finished Turn, let's talk about what we learned! Also, yap interminably and incoherently about Voice Actors. Also included, discussions of the manga and anime adaptations and a glimpse behind the curtain for those who have already navigated to the answer.
Beatrice has won. Play again?
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we fall and rise.
Our When They Cry map is becoming increasingly useless. As the storm rages and our ship drifts in to uncharted waters, we continue to be plagued with more questions than answers. Just what can the red truth not say? Just how many goats can Beatrice summon? What is Rosa's problem anyway? And for that matter, why does Beatrice get so mad about the subject of love? The answers to these questions will not be contained in this episode.
...
It's time for a new rule! Umineko has been going easy on us for a chapter and a half now, but this week it shows its cards and reveals that we're in for a very different story. As the First and Second twilights happen again, this time with a far more grotesque display, Beatrice reveals just how much magic she can muster - and it turns out to be a lot! But the game truly begins when Beatrice introduces the rule that will change ever...
And now, Umineko truly begins. As the family returns to Rokkenjima, Battler and Beatrice begin a game of their own, a contest to determine if a Witch is behind the murders on the island, or if a human could pull any of these bizarre cases off. Pseudo-logical arguments and lots of yapping abound in this episode, as Beatrice makes a bold first move, showing her in the flesh on the island!
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we prove devi...
Umineko's second episode starts by focusing on the lives of the two young servants on Rokkenjima, Shannon and Kanon. Both yearn for love, both yearn to be human, both yearn to be free from their fates as furniture. But Shannon makes moves that Kanon can not, and the mysterious witch Beatrice sees an opportunity to facilitate her revival through the servant's desires...
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we search for the one true elem...
For our first Umineko minilog, we venture west, with our first Western RPG discussion, Obsidian's Medieval Murder Mystery game, Pentiment! The Bavarian village of Tassig and Kiersau Abbey play host to the lives of many people, including visiting artist Andreas Maler, who gets swept up in the murder of a valuable patron of the Abbey's Scriptorium. We discuss the nature of truth in history, the role of religion in the lives of people...
It's time for a godcast, for real this time! We delve in to the TIPS, discuss the adaptations, and more. And of course, for all you witches out there, the spoiler section awaits.
Now that we've hit the end of a When They Cry chapter, it's time for an after party! Join the characters as they discuss the story like usual - wait, what? WHAT?! HUH?!?!?
This week on Backlog Dialogues, the End of the Beginning.
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