MAJOR spoilers for all of Umineko When They Cry 500https://i.ur.com/ytrvSHz.jpeg Without love it cannot be seen This is a motif that is reiterated time and time again over the course of the series. And yet I wasnt able to fully appreciate what this actually meant until the end. Over the course of the series we see the main characters search for their idea of an objective truth. However the idea of an objective truth is paradoxical in nature. Oftentimes due to the nuance of the human psyche and how looking at something collectively in an objective manner is nearimpossible discovering such an objective truth can be exceedingly difficult. Generally speaking there usually isnt any one infallible perspective in any situation. Take Ange for instance. Ange claimed she was viewing things objectively hence why she believed for her entire life that Eva is evil and when viewing the story from Anges own perspective it does appear to be the fact. In reality Ange was just projecting her own resentment and cynicism onto Eva a woman who was far from guiltless but was also suffering and in turmoil. Theyre both victims in the end and it becomes far more easier to empathize with Eva after having learnt the identity of the true culprits knowledge that we the reader now recognize why Eva went to such great lengths to withhold it from Ange. By never trying to understand the heart of Eva and solely viewing her as a culprit Ange fell deeper and deeper into her cynicism and pushed their relationship into something irreparable. 550https://i.ur.com/5czrjTz.png Without love it cannot be seen signifies that you need to approach situations with love that you need to place your faith in the goodness of people and believe in the love that exists in everyones heart in order to shape your perspective and find your own truth. Even when you are feeling dubious and uncertain of things its your own love and belief that will define how you view everything. On the flip side if you view something without love then you will view that something in a darker more hopeless light oftentimes distorting the truth. This aforementioned idea exists in Erika who views everything in the light of cold logic and without love. Its why Erika was unable to find the true culprit in game 5 she was so insistent on the truth that relying entirely on the red truths she never once contemplated Natsuhis own love for her husband and the Ushiromiya family honor. There is always a time and place to consider a persons love and trust in understanding a situation and its or rather the lack of doing so why Erika was entirely wrong in placing the blame on Natsuhi as the culprit. This leaves the question: why did Battler demonstrate such an overtly saccharine almost parodic world to Ange? Battlers scenario serves as what is essentially the antithesis to Anges own beliefs. While Anges viewpoint on her family tinged with bias was that of greedy terrible people that clawed at each other over the inheritance Battler shows Ange the complete opposite: a happy uncomplicated family teeming with meaningful togetherness. Battler did this not because he thought Ange would blindly believe in that scenario but rather he wanted Ange to acknowledge both sides of the equation and realize that as mentioned earlier her own bias is obfuscating the full picture. Neither scenario is correct rather the truth exists in the space between the two and cant be defined to mere extremes like the scenario Battler presented or the belief that Ange held onto. 550https://i.ur.com/JsgAYDJ.png Magic is representative of many things: it embodies empathy happiness and love among many other qualities. As is pointed out throughout the series the magic is quite frail and can easily be shattered but above all it allows you to understand the heart of people even those that have done wrong. At the end of the day all of this comes down to the fact that the complete objective truth is wholly unknowable gone away with the bomb that devastated the islandits on Ange to decide on a version of the truth that shes able to accept. By choosing magic Ange is able to reject the cynicism that defined much of her life. She understands that her family was far from perfect but ultimately comes to the understanding that the situation is too nuanced to define her family members to unquantifiable constructs of good or evil. I dont believe that Umineko wanted to answer the question of whether they were redeemable or irredeemable thats something for the reader themself to deliberate on rather I believe its more imperative to understand the cycle of abuse that everyone was a victim of and why the family members came to do such terrible deeds. Despite all of their sins they were merely people that were hurt and hurt others as a result. Of course this doesnt absolve them of their sins but at the end of the day every one of them had goodness in their heart and were capable of being loving people just as much as they were bad and trying to haphazardly define each and every one of them into spectrums of good or evil is a fruitless endeavor. Admittedly this is a bit of a cloying even slightly pretentious thematic line presented by Ryukishi07 but I really do believe it works here. Love is truly wiseit has the power to influence your beliefs and how you view the world. It can even triumph over the truth. And this is not to say that the truth is necessarily irrelevant here but it is showcased throughout the whole series that hyperfixating on that premise can lead to disastrous consequences especially in Anges case where it is clear that she is using her journey of unearthing the truth as a means to provide closure for her planned suicide. Lets bring up Erika again who by proxy serves as a sort of criticism to the audience as intellectual rapists. Anges character in the trick ending vividly reflects Erika becoming a person without love and greatly consumed by the desire to discover the truth almost dehumanizing her in the process. In the magic ending Ange chooses to view everything that has happened with love. She accepts that terrible and heinous acts have been enacted on the island by her beloved family members but simultaneously understands that the complete objective truth can and should never be fully realized locked away forever in the catbox of October 45 1986 of Rokkenjima. Theres no use in viewing them in any extreme considering they are all deceased and gone forever. In the end its all up to Ange to accept different parts of the known truth and form the truth that she wants to believe in and doing so in the process leads her to live a far more fulfilling and happier life becoming an author and supporting orphaned children. 550https://i.ur.com/VQtGY73.png In my opinion what makes Umineko so unequivocally powerful is how it challenges the notion of uncritically accepting a single dogmatic truth and this is the core of what I believe without love it cannot be seen really means. Ive seen some people claim that the message of the story is that its fine to delude yourself or remain in denial of reality but I could not disagree more. The message is a simple be openminded and not allow a single viewpoint to take control of what is a multifaceted truth to view them with love and find meaning in it in the end. Take an idea like Santa Claus for example. Its true that Santa Claus isnt real in an objective sense but hes real in the sense that his conceptual existence brings joy to countless kids across the world and that shouldnt invalidate any of the happiness that the kids have had at the time. In the same vein we have Maria who chose to believe in optimism and the good of her mother Rosa through magic. Cold logic may tell you that Maria lived a terrible lonely life but Maria herself will tell you that she lived a fulfilling life with her magical friends and the mother who also shared a very positive side despite the bad shes done. Ultimately Umineko was so influential to me because it told me to maintain empathy and create meaning in my own reality in spite of the many shitty things that may have been dealt to me instead of spreading misery and creating a burden on not only myself but others around. Sayo could not do that but Ange managed to do so which fundamentally represents the core of the parallel between the two that Twilight put so much effort in emphasizing. Its why love can be stronger than truth its not about shying away from reality but rather having the strength and belief to face that reality and make it a better one for yourself. 550https://i.ur.com/Hp4j91G.png