Discussion topic for Dlanor A. Knox, Eiserne Jungfrau’s head inquisitor of heresy. Feel free to discuss the entirety of Umineko without [spoiler] tags, but please tag references to outside works, providing adequate context in parenthesis. This topic will contain massive spoilers, so if you have not finished reading Umineko yourself proceed with caution.
Well since Dlanor is my favorite Ryukishi character I figured I would kick of the discussion here.
Dlanor fills a very interesting role in the story. She provides a character who is antagonistic to Battler, but is also a friend. This happens at the same time Battler is learning to not view Beatrice as an enemy just because she is an opponent. Erika serves as the central target for Battler’s hate, while Dlanor serves as an opponent, friend, and mentor.
One of Dlanor’s most prominent character traits when she is introduced is her lack of emotions. However, this claim cannot be any further from the truth. To those who view her merely as a murder doll it’s easy to overlook her emotions. She executes her duties with swiftness and efficiency like a machine. And even though she works herself into a frenzy over her executions she does so regardless of her personal feelings for the accused.
But that is Dlanor’s behavior at work. We quickly get to see another side of Dlanor as she greets Battler and Virgilia in the Golden Land. We see a gentle and caring girl who holds earnest beliefs and strives to do her job even when it goes against her personal feelings. She is able to set aside her emotions, but she does not lose sight of them. She is one of the first people to tell Battler to look for the heart of the tale. She encourages Battler to grow stronger and defeat her, and she is disappointed by his failures and proud of his success.
Dlanor serves as a foil to both Erika and Will, our 2 other detective oriented pieces. Erika takes great satisfaction in exposing the truth and crushing fantasy, regardless of the consequences. Dlanor does the same just as ruthelessly, but does so with compassion and empathy. Will abandons his post when based on his personal feelings while Dlanor continues to fulfill her duties even when it means being subservient to Erika and Bernkastel and do acts she considers evil.
Dlanor’s relationship with these two characters is interesting as well. Dlanor feels pity and empathy for Erika despite her abusive treatment. Through her kindness she even manages to get Erika to think of her as a friend when previously she had only thought of her as a murder doll. Some of Dlanor’s best scenes have been in her private moments with Erika where she displays her understanding of the girl’s fragile nature. Which just makes it all the more satisfying when Dlanor tells Erika she should have cut her down for being evil the moment they met. She says this not just because Erika is working to destroy the catbox, not just because it would have prevented the current tragedy, but because it would have been salvation for Erika as well.
Dlanor and Will only interact a little in episode 8, but their relationship is very telling. Dlanor does not look down on or revile Will for abandoning his duties, the two show mutual respect for each other. Considering the contempt Will showed for others in his line of work during his introduction this respect speaks to the nature of both of these characters. They each understand the way the other lives their lives and do not judge them for it.
I’ve gotten pretty long winded but I can’t end this without saying how fantastic Miyuki Sawashiro is as Dlanor. Not only does the voice sound completely different from her normal roles (which is impressive because Sawashiro has a very distinctive voice) but it also fit’s Dlanor’s personality and subtle emotions perfectly. I’d say the only voice performance better than Dlanor’s in Umineko is Oohara Sayaka’s numerous roles as the Beatrices, Yasu, and Claire.
Welp, there is not much left to say but im really impressed that you didnt talk about Knox’s decalogue here too.
The Decalogue is the big apportation that Dlanor makes to the story and the game. It provides a base of rules to stick while trying todo solve the mystery and hope un knowing that the mystery isla fair to both the detectives inside the story and the readers. That its a huge deal un a story like umineko that its growing around a mystery and specialy if it gets meta at trying to solve it.
Dlanor represents that, she represente the Knox Decalogue and with it the hope of solving the puzzle of the story.
Also, ive got to ask, was Dlanor serving directly to Will? I mean, as I understand it the inquisition works in sectors and Will and Dlanor are inquisitor chiefs of their own separate sector (Well, Will not anymore, but you get the point).
Dlanor, inquisitor chief of sector seven, the einserne jungfrau and Williard, inquisitor chief of sector eight, the SSVD. Right?
You misinterpreted what I said here. I said she was serving as a foil to Will
Dlanor and Will are both in similar positions and do similar work, but they way they go about it is very different and they serve as excellent contrasts to each other.
Glad to see other Dlanor die-hard fans here.
What I most like about her character (other than being voiced by my favorite voice actress) is that she is quite literally The Rules. While she’s on duty she’s impartial, unbiased. Her duty is to make sure the story is Fair, not to outright deny and hate witches, as seen while she’s having tea with Virgilia, or when she goes to Beato’s to check her manuscript for fairness in Our Confession. She supposedly knows The Truth (to make sure one’s game is fair you would have to know what’s behind it after all), but doesn’t straight tell Battler: as a reader and as a detective, he must reach it on his own. She’s also the first confirmation we ever had about Umineko following the Knox decalogue, after all.
After Episode 5 she becomes more of a side-character, and we start to see her in a more human and at times funny way, until she becomes a cute comic relief in the EP8 tea party and Tsubasa (her stamp phobia is hilarious). As ctom said she still covers an important role in Dawn, aiding the characterization of Erika, and to an extent in the battle for the golden land when she demolishes theories with Will using the Decalogue, but I’m sure that that far in the story, whoever is reading has graduated from being a Goat with Goat theories.