Heartwarming / Umineko: When They Cry

• In episode 2, Maria proclaims the Witches' existence (again) and Battler, exhausted from arguing with Rosa (as he is trying to pin the murders on someone other than the known people) with tears in his eyes, says to Maria "Yeah...it's the witch's fault right?", Battler then collapses and falls into Maria's arms and she cradles him.
• Even more worthy of mention in the episode, and also kind of a Moment of Awesome for Kanon is the scene where Kanon denies his love for Jessica repeatedly until Beatrice threatens to attack her. He flings into action, protecting Jessica with his magic blade, and kills Beatrice's first summon, a goat servant. Unfortunately, Beatrice responds by summoning a more powerful creature, who turns into a stake and tries to stab Kanon in the back. However, it instead stabs Jessica, who anticipated the attack and hugged his back in defense. The witch states that it was "right where she expected it to hit". Another stake dispatches Kanon, and they die together. Sharing their last words, Kanon almost reveals his real name, but Jessica dies before he can say it and he then simply says "I've become.... hu...ma....." and dies himself (implying that his feelings for Jessica rose him above his "furniture" status). Unfortunately, Beatrice, hating the idea of love, "hides" Kanon's body and, until other evidence arises, everybody who later sees the scene believes that Kanon was the murderer.
• Also the scene where Beatrice taunts George and Shannon for not being able to share a night together before their death. They respond by pronouncing that they had no regrets, as they thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated all of the time they spent with each other and couldn't have asked for more.]l
• The end of episode 2. Rosa (after grabbing some gold) and Maria running from the goat servants to escape the island? But, of course, Rosa trips and injures her ankle. Rosa tells her daughter to run and try to escape without her, to which Maria refuses. Leading to Rosa's revelation that her daughter is the most important thing in her world and her very future. Right before they're eaten. But at least they're eaten together.
• It gets even better as Yumetabibito and Akatokuro talked about on their reread tumblr page. This scene, while completely filled with fantasy is Yasu's gift to Maria, where both Maria and Rosa are shown that the other one is not different persons, in Maria there aren't two sides, the side that Rosa hates and the side that she loves, there is just Maria. And it's the same for Rosa, she doesn't have a good side and a bad side to her, she does have issues, but she is Rosa and both of them can finally see that. This also reflects Yasu's issues and while s/he shows three sides of her (Beatrice, Shannon, Kanon) they aren't separate persons, just different parts of her personality (i.e. not DID) and once someone (i.e. Battler) sees and accept that s/he can rest in peace. ... I think that last part became more of a Tear Jerker once you thought about it...
• The events of Episode 3 are strangely heartwarming. When Eva Beatrice tortures Rosa and Maria repeatedly, Beato laughs, commenting on how she used to enjoy using magic that recklessly and asks Battler if he enjoys watching it too. After Battler reacts by slapping her and refusing to be in the same room as her, Beato gets upset that he really hates her and wasn't enjoying the spectacle as much as she was. She actually implores Eva-Beatrice to be less cruel, despite her own sadistic actions up to that point and the fact that she as a rule doesn't mess with the pieces on the board. It's sweet and quite saddening to see that she cares for Battler outside of just enjoying torturing him, especially since she loathes the idea of love. And he'll never know...
  • After the fifth arc, Battler knows the full truth, intentions, and feelings of Beato, including her love for him and her doing everything she could to help him find the truth.
• Episode 5: As if Battler smashing open Erika's closed room by diving out a third-story window weren't enough, he follows it up by catching Beatrice in his arms when she leaps after him. And yes, it's raining at the time - all that's missing is Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes."
• During the fifth game's hidden tea party, Battler facing off and defeating Erika, Dlanor, and Bernkastel was already a Moment of Awesome, but a truly heartwarming moment occurs a short while after he effectively proves that Kinzo is dead and Natsuhi is innocent- his declaration in red that "Natsuhi-oba-san is pure and faithful! I won't permit this vulgar tale you're all so fond of!"
  • After that battle, Dlanor and even Battler assuring a defeated and grief-stricken Erika that even though it exists independently to and in opposition of Battler's own truth, her own truth is worth defending and is not worthless like Bernkastel had been saying it was. Complete with Tender Tears from Erika when hearing Dlanor's words.
• Kyrie calling Battler her son in the fourth game. In the third game, you find out what Battler represents to her, and it's not a good thing. Her being able to get over that after Rudolf dies and being able to call him her son is just touching. "You are Rudolf's son. ....No, you are my son. Show me something I won't be embarassed to brag about. I entrust everything to you." "Understood, Mom".(Battler also always referred to Kyrie by her name, not by "Mom", though she is his stepmother.)
• What makes this scene even more heartwarming is that EP 8 reveals that Kyrie is his real mother and that she found out from Rudolf before the murders. So calling Battler her son before getting killed and Battler acknowledging her as his mom has a whole different meaning to it.
• The manga version of that scene also explains that in Ange's 1998, Battler being her full biological brother is a publicly known fact - the doctor confessed the switch - and it was one of the few bits of true happiness she had in those years.
• An unusual amount of wisdom and insight from Maria, who is usually limited to "uu-" and occult ramblings:
  Maria: "Maria is sad to be bullied, but thinks that it can't be helped."
  Ange: "It can't be helped...? Why?
  Maria: "There's a rule that says every class has to have a single bullied kid. If Maria wasn't there, then there'd surely be a new bullied kid chosen in Maria's place. By staying strong, Maria can protect that kid.
  • Sakutaro.
  Sakutaro: "From now on, I'll always be with you. Together for eternity. ...So don't let go of me, okay?"
• Beatrice's White Day. Poor Beato is upset that Battler returned Lucifer's Valentines Day present and not hers, and then proceeds to sic the Siestas on the Stake's presents and their gift-givers. Battler immediately tells her off, saying that she doesn't deserve a present and declares in red that he'll never get her anything for White Day. Then once Virgilia and Ronove get Beatrice to calm down, they tell her that they'll turn back time to February 13th, except not really. So Beato is failing at making chocolate, and when she realizes that it was still March 14, she gets even more upset than before. But in comes Battler.
  Beatrice: I wonder if the man I give these chocolates to will get me anything on White Day. . .
  Battler: Yep. I'm sure of it.
  Beatrice: Even if this man used the Red Truth to say he wouldn't get me anything on White Day? There's no way he can, right?
  Battler: No, he can.
  Beatrice: How?
  Battler: By using the Blue Truth. Like this. White Day is on the same day as Valentine's Day, just a month later. So, tomorrow, when the man accepts your chocolate, he'll reciprocate a month from the day it is given.
• Really seems like more of a Pet the Dog moment than anything, but in Episode 1, when Kinzo tells Natsuhi that the Ushiromiya family's one-winged eagle crest burns brightly in her her heart, despite her not having the right to have it sewn on her clothes. Unfortunately, this moment is later undermined by the reveal that Kinzo has been Dead All Along and Natsuhi is just imagining him praising her.
• No mention of Jessica giving Natsuhi the Scorpion Charm in Episode 1? Heck, Jessica and Natsuhi in general - they may butt heads frequently, but they are still a deeply loving daughter and mother respectively.
• Episode 6, Dawn of the Golden Witch. When Battler finds out that Beatrice has reformed, the evident happiness in his voice and face as he holds her and she tells him that she won't disappear is utterly touching, and a well deserved reprieve for him.
  • Episode 6, from Kanon saving Battler from the logic error to Erika telling Dlanor that for the first time, someone has protected her to the wedding scene between Battler and Beato.
  • Battler's choice as GM to create a scenario where no one would have had to die - if things had gone according to plan, the murders would've remained a prank and his family unharmed.
  • In a weird way, Battler and Beato honoring Erika's request to kill her in a dignified last stand rather than just letting her go out like a punk. Just shows there's no hard feelings in the end.
• The end of Episode 4's tea party. You know the one.◊
• Most of Will's scenes in EP7. For example, when he comforts Rosa about Beatrice II or Kinzo about the fact that he is not qualified to understand Kinzo's love, but is also not qualified to deny it and judge him.
  • Also, when Will is protecting Lion from Bernkastel. Bernkastel offers that she will let Will go without harm as long as he abandons Lion, and when Will rejects it, she turns to Lion, asking mockingly if it's really okay to sacrifice Will like that, and persuades Lion to beg Will to run away and leave him/her behind. Lion almost looked as if he/she was about to accept that, before...
  Lion: Please, don't let go of me! We will definitely escape together, so...!
  Will: Good. *smirks and hugs Lion tight*
  • Also this:
  Will: Take the rest of my arm, cats. You can have my legs too, if you want. But I'm never going to let go of Lion.
• EP8 is like a goldmine:
  • Any scene with Eva and six-year-old Ange, where it's revealed that Eva not only cared for Ange, but also viewed her as the daughter she always wanted. Eva is always shown doting on little Ange, and the scenes where she helps give her hints during the quiz tournament do nothing short of giving warm, fuzzy feelings inside.
    • Of course, this only makes their... strained relationship first shown in Episode 3 even Harsher in Hindsight, especially how Ange rejected Eva's love (with no small part from Bernkastel) and Eva pretended to hate her back to protect her from the truth of Rokkenjima. However, Eva tries to make the most of every second she has with little Ange to make up for her cruel behavior, even though she's prone to beating herself up over it whenever Ange's not around.
    • This, however, builds up to an even greater CMOH where Ange truly, finally makes peace with Eva after learning, and refusing to accept, the one and only truth of Rokkenjima that Eva tried to protect her from. She refers to Eva and EVA-Beatrice as 'mom' for the rest of the story.
  • There are a number of extra scenes in EP8 that are unlocked by solving quizzes and serve to give closure to some of the characters. One has Beatrice forgiving Natsuhi as Yasu, the child that Natsuhi had rejected nineteen years ago, and even calls Natsuhi "mother". Especially moving in the manga. Another features Rudolf finally telling Kyrie what he tried to tell her all the way back in EP1: that Battler is her real son, who he had switched with Asumu's stillborn child to escape the situation of having no legitimate son with his wife and a living son with his then-mistress. Kyrie takes it better than anything else she's said and done would have let on.
  • Rosa and Maria affirming that, despite all the crap they went through, they do love each other; and Rosa shoving a rifle barrel down Erika's throat when she tries to tell Maria otherwise.
  • An unexpected example occurs towards the end; when Battler seems content to leave Erika to wallow in her and her master's defeat, he stops when he hears Erika openly questioning herself now that Ange faced the truth better than she had and proved a better Witch than her. Battler tells his arch-rival that she's not a Witch - she's the Great Detective, and whenever there is truth that needs to be uncovered in a mystery situation, she will always be needed. This cheers Erika up (as she is much more at ease being a detective than a witch) and gets her promising Battler that she will always be around to help on Rokkenjima, with both of them mutually looking forward to "crossing blades again" in the future.
    • Earlier, Dlanor fights Erika, and despite feeling betrayed by Erika's heinous actions against the Golden Land, she still calls her a friend and vows to kill her quickly and painlessly, also saying that doesn't want her having to bear any more sins. And in the Tea Party, we learn that Erika and Dlanor made up after the aforementioned moment with Battler, so it seems the two of them are TrueCompanions after all.
• The scene in EP3 where Beatrice stands up to Evatrice in front of the room where Kanon and Jessica is. The scene is so good it's hard to know if its heartwarming or tearjerking (or possibly both) and to top it of it's probably one of the only times a Beat Still, My Heart moment has been beautiful.
• The ending of Episode 8's hidden tea party. "Yukari Kotobuki"/Ange meets up with Tohya Hachijo decades after the Rokkenjima incident. Tohya turns out to be two people, the writer, Ikuko Hachijo, and the scenario writer, Battler/Tohya Hachijo. While "Tohya Hachijo" couldn't accept his identity as Battler and as a result couldn't accept Ange, Yukari nonetheless invites Tohya to the reopening of the Fukuin House decades after it went out of business. Inside the orphanage, a dining hall awaited Tohya, redesigned as a perfect replica of the Rokkenjima mansion. Seeing this, Tohya/Battler finally comes to terms with his past. And then the ending theme plays while Battler gets reunited in his memories with everyone in the Golden Land.
• Battler and Ange's ending in Ougon Musou Kyoku. Ange and Battler win against Beatrice and Ange goes back to 1998, grieving over the fact she'll never see Battler again. Looks like a Tear Jerker, no? It isn't. Just as Ange is about to start crying, Battler appears beside her holding her shoulders and saying his Catchphrase. She did earn her happy ending.
• Ep 8: The implication that even though Asumu knew something was off, she still raised and loved Battler as her own son.
• In a twisted way, Bernkastel and Lambdadelta's relationship. As sado-masochistic as it is, the two of them feel for each other the closest thing to true love and affection that either one of them (especially Bern) could ever feel for any other individual. Particularly in the final tea party, where the two of them prepare to go their separate ways again but sincerely hope their paths will cross on a new Gameboard and they can play together again regardless of who gets to be the "good guy" or "bad guy" this go-round, and they even seem to directly address the player to let them know that they have indeed reached the end of their journey with this particular story. "See you again, when something else cries."
• The manga actually gives Bernkastel a fleeting moment of Adaptational Nice Guy: we and Battler both see in EP8 that she actually regrets sentencing Erika to oblivion for having failed her. She is aware that she set Erika up so that she would be the loser in place of herself, and feels guilty over her cowardice and selfishly punishing Erika for basically doing her job as a piece. As Battler remarks, it's only Bern's massive pride that keeps her from admitting her remorse to others and to herself.
• In Golden Fantasia, Eva-Beatrice is as cruel as ever to most of her opponents, but when facing Black Battler, one of her lines in particular stands out, showing that Eva does truly care about Ange to the point she speaks solemnly instead of her usual childishness.

  Black Battler: "Yo, Aunt Eva. I'm back to pick you up. With that, this island will really be rid of that catbox!"

  Eva-Beatrice: "I will kill you. This is my duty now. I will not allow you to go to where Ange is."

• The Halloween party thrown for Ange in Ep 8 is already very sweet, but becomes moreso when one recalls from Ep 5 that pieces on the game board can't act out of character. The Halloween party shows everyone in the Ushiromiya family at their kindest, and it's completely genuine.

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