Umineko - Flipping masters & servants

07th Discussion
#1

Hurray, I’m finally a Witch so I can start some fun discussions (or what I hope will be fun)~ While the topic may appear frivolous, I believe that it can help us understand the characters a little more by taking them out of the box so to speak.

So here’s my question: how would the cast of Umineko fare if you flipped their role? The servants all became masters and the Ushiromiya family became servants. Don’t worry about listing everyone, you can just talk about one or two characters if you prefer.

To start us off, here are a few of my guesses:

The masters made servants.

  • Kinzo is appointed the head gardener, where he’s kept out of trouble and can spend his day screaming at people to not touch his roses.
  • Natsuhi is Shannon’s prim and proper etiquette teacher. Her snooty attitude wins her few friends.
  • Kyrie is the gossip queen, aware of every family secret, she wields her knowledge as a weapon and ensures she has a cushy place among the servants in middle management.
  • Rosa was quietly dismissed after beating one of the trainee maids.
  • Rudolf is in charge of managing the master’s wardrobe, ensuring everything is the perfect fit.
  • Eva becomes the serving maid you never want to piss off, because she will spit in your soup.
  • George fawns over Shannon, becoming her manservant and follows her around constantly with a pot of tea.
  • Jessica is an adequate maid, she makes mistakes and gets easily flustered, but she tries hard.
  • Battler was fired years ago for clumsiness and tardiness. He’s useless.
  • Maria is more a rumour than a servant. Staff talk of seeing glimpses of her occasionally as she slips out of her various secret play spots to steal snacks.

Among the servants made masters.

  • Genji is the despairing head of the household, he “self-medicates” each evening while looking over the rose beds and the head gardener who keeps an eternal vigil over them.
  • Kumasawa is the kindly grandmother, always ready to offer a candy to any helpful servant.
  • Gouda is the insecure and over-achieving son of Genji and Kumasawa. He requires constant praise or else despairs.
  • Kanon becomes the stereotypical spoilt brat. Surly and demanding, he expects his servants to be on call at all times and any slip up is grounds for severe punishment. They’re only furniture after all.
  • Shannon spends her days in the gardens, having tea parties by herself.
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Introduce Yourself!
#2

Krauss was fired years ago after failing to manage money appropriately.

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#3

Krauss was fired years ago after failing to manage money appropriately.

@Restkastel haha, I think that could apply to all the second generation Ushiromiya members.

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#4

Hmm, if Jessica was a servant this time around, it’d be interesting to see if her and Kanon’s relationship goes anywhere.

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#5

Hmm, if Jessica was a servant this time around, it’d be interesting to see if her and Kanon’s relationship goes anywhere.

@Pandora good question. Kanon is pretty strict on social roles, what is and isn’t acceptable for a servant (or master) to do. His relationship with Jessica was maintained only because she could overrule his objections about only existing as furniture. Were it the other way around, were he the one in charge, that wouldn’t be possible. A master may overrule a servant, but a servant arguing with her master won’t be a servant for long.

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#6

Well, depends on if his inferiority complex actually turns into a superiority complex or stays the same. I could see them warming up to one another like Michel and Giselle.

Natsuhi as servant might actually feel pretty similar to Genji now that I think about it. And Hideyoshi would be the servant who’s constantly spouting random trivial knowledge, to the annoyance of Genji and Kanon who just want to sip their tea in silence.

(EP3 spoilers) Ronove would not change at all, lol.

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#7

Well, depends on if his inferiority complex actually turns into a superiority complex or stays the same.

@Karifean I’m not sure if it’s just an inferiority complex. He’s pretty obsessed with strict social roles (Huge spoiler)and berates Shannon for ever thinking she might ever have a relationship with George. Although I admit that could be an expression of his inferiority complex given ShaKaTrice.

Natsuhi as servant might actually feel pretty similar to Genji now that I think about it

Yeah I guess her current role already involved managing the household staff, so switching over to the servant side would put her in Genji’s shoes. You’re dead on with Hideyoshi too, I can totally picture that.

#8

George and Battler made me laugh way too hard! :wahaha:

I feel like Hideyoshi would be the kind of servant that would almost nothing, sort of like Kumasawa. I think he would provide emotional support for Eva, keeping her emotional side in check. I’d also like to think that sometimes he adds little things to the soup to make it taste better, as he’s always wanted to work at a restaurant. Too bad this makes it so the masters cannot tell whether or not Eva has spit in the soup. Though that might be the best result, as this keeps her out of trouble for the most part.

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#9

I can’t imagine Genji’s and Kumasawa’s marriage. Like, I’m trying and it’s just not coming to me.

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#10

@thesorceress

Can you not see the two of them spending late evenings together by the fireplace? Kumasawa chatting away about the day’s gossip and how various people’s relationships are going, Genji silent, with the occasional “yes dear.” He’s seemingly not listening, but inside, Kumasawa knows he enjoys their time together. She makes a joke or reference to something just the two of them know from ~40 years back and he can’t help but crack a smile.

I like to think that even as servants, they share a few late night drinks occasionally. With Genji enjoying listening to Kumasawa’s talk of older times.

However I admit it is hard to picture them as a honeymoon couple, but then it’s hard to picture Genji doing anything that doesn’t involve mimicking a mannequin.

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#11

And in this universe, the stake servants are actually Kanon and Shannon’s distant cousins who occasionally visit the mansion and wreck havoc everywhere. (Ep 7 spoiler)

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