I just finished Umineko as a novice reader
Umineko is my first somewhat serious visual novel (aside from Everlasting Summer) that I read from beginning to end, and two weeks later it still hasn't let me go.
I read it as a pure linear adventure, not really thinking about who the culprit was. Up until episode 6, I genuinely believed there wasn't one. I thought the magic kept escalating with each game purely to confuse Battler in his strange battle of denial. I was completely unprepared for the idea that, as a reader, I would be shown things that never actually happened.
So when Erika was introduced, I was honestly upset. The realization that magic doesn't exist, and that all fantasy is just an illusion, struck me so deeply. And yet, being a very emotional person, I was constantly swept away by the music and the plot twists. The scene where Ange tearfully embraces her brother in chapter four is burned into my memory forever. I really hope the magic ending is real. I feel so sorry for Ange and wish her all the best with all my heart.
I'm writing this hoping these thoughts will finally leave my head. These dialogues appear in my dreams every night. 10/10