To be fair, Rose Gun Days was set in an era before the internet, cell phones, etc and it focused more on the night life back the post WWII days a bit so I don’t think Ryuukishi will have problems writing a different atmosphere.
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I’d also like to contribute to this; except I’ll go by fabricating some plausible lies with shady reasoning.
First the picture. As Funyarinpa pointed out, this is a Dubai skyline. The building MAG 214 is the only “obvious clue” and it has a construction crane on top of the otherwise finished looking building. Google research states the building construction started 2005 and ended 2007.
Using wikipedia as the ever-reliable source, Japan’s most interesting events in this time frame would be:
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(2005) World Expo in Aichi, Japan - “Love the Earth”
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(2006) Livedoor raid - Large, shady Internet company scandal results in fraud arrests
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(2006) Government Scandal, Structural Calculation Forgery Problem - Building architect/engineer fakes safety reports resulting in bankruptcy of several Japanese construction companies
2007 was boring. If corporations and buildings are the theme, 2006 is the likely setting year.
Now the name. I’ve always felt that Ryukishi placed special emphasis on his naming:
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Higurashi - Now I have no clue how to break down this word with english translation, but translation to chinese yields as the sun sets (evening).
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Kai - This kanji in chinese can mean solve, untie/release (knots/cycles or bonds) or to reach understanding.
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Umineko - Cat box beneath the sea
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Chiru - This kanji in chinese can mean to end (a show or gathering), disperse or spread (ie sowing seeds).
For the most part the crying entity appears to be what the story is based around and the single kanji is how the story is resolved. The name therefore is a creature whose characters can be decomposed into a central story concept (as opposed to an abstract concept, which the single kanji is used for). As I don’t know japanese, I can think of no creature, however a Japanese speaker probably could.
Finally the story/theme. The clue given is that “it will be different from both Higurashi and Umineko”. This likely refers to things belonging to a set that was unique to either, as opposed to things that were shared by both. So mystery and supernatural elements are likely to return.
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Higurashi - Horror, Friendship, Trust
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Umineko - Fantasy, Truth, Love
So whats left? Ryukishi loves Aesop themes, so speculating from that… Justice? Responsibility? Freedom?
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i hope it’s “When the dolphins cry”.
Just so I can make jojokes.
I contributed so much to this thread. Wooooooo go me!
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Prepare your fragments boys and girls. After many years of eager anticipation, Ryukishi07 himself has finally dropped the bomb that a new When They Cry series is on it's way, and development is scheduled to commence in 2017! The source of this news is a random tweet he made today, the 30th of December 2016.
昨日のコミケにうみねこレイヤーさんたちが居たと、スタッフに聞きました…。寒い中、僕の作品の衣装を選んでいただき本当にありがとうございます。 次回の「なく頃に」シリーズは、2017年始動予定です。「ひぐらし」「うみねこ」とはガラーッと変わった作品にするつもりです！よいお年を！（竜）
— 07thExpansion (@07th_official) December 30, 2016
Reddit user Spymotox has provided a translation of the tweet as seen below:
"Yesterday, I heard from the personal that there were a lot of Umineko fans at the comiket booth... For seeing that much people cosplaying our characters even in the middle of the winter, I would like to thank you. The development for the next game from the "when they cry" series is scheduled to start in 2017. It is expected that this game will be completely different compared to "Higurashi" and "Umineko". I wish you a happy new year."
Quite a bomb to just suddenly drop on Twitter. Not a lot we have to go by, but I think we can agree it's been made pretty unambiguous that this IS going to be When They Cry 5, and not another non-WTC series or a new Higurashi arc. What remains to be seen is what truly defines a When They Cry game according to Ryukishi. We can make inferences based on the similarities between Higurashi and Umineko (murder mystery stories with repeating series of events), but considering his comment that this story will be completely different to Higurashi and Umineko, anything is possible. Will this new When They Cry be the game to quench the fans' thirst? Or will it appeal to an entirely new demographic? Only time will tell.
Suffice to say, we at Rokkenjima will be keeping both eyes keenly focused on its development and report everything we find. And once it does release, we hope to provide a space for readers to analyse and discuss the series on the forum.
Now then. Let the baseless speculation begin!
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://rokkenjima.org/new-when-they-cry-series-announced/
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TRianThology’s visual presnetation was ace, so I’m really excited to see a When They Cry game that looks as pretty as it sounds. That said, it’s the least of my concerns ultimately.
We don’t know what defines a When They Cry game, but I at least hope the title is reserved for a certain, pedigee of stories. That and mystery. It’s not When They Cry without mystery! Maybe he’ll be doing away with the repetition thing with this one though, who knows. Will there be fragments? Will there be another Bern lookalike?
The questions are as terrifying as they are exciting. We have no idea what to expect.
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NO FUCKING WAY. This can’t be real right now. I’m still dreaming.
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Hype train started, end is in…2020 or so, probably. Can’t wait either way!
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But will it be sooner than KH3?
A new When They Cry? I haven’t even finished what I’ve got… 
Well, I do look forward to it, at least. Since Ryukishi’s been writing in a few other literary genres recently, I’m betting this new When They Cry is going to have a sci-fi edge to it. I haven’t read TRianThology yet, but it’d be interesting to see Ryukishi do a dystopian sci-fi murder mystery inspired by the works of Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov. (Speculation aside, I am aiming to be surprised with whatever Ryukishi comes up with. ^^; )
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I contributed to this post yay!
On the other hand, I would feel so bad if I actually have mistranslated this ;_; (neither japanese nor english is my native language)
Joke would be that it would translated WTC won’t start production in 2017.
Guys, guys, @pictoshark has the right idea here. All speculation needs to be focused on what animal will be crying. After all, that is what truly makes a WTC game WTC.
After long thought and consideration, I think its gonna be “When the Lambs Cry”, or こひつじのなく頃に. Since its been an insect and a bird, I think its about time for a mammal. This not only fits the four syllable pattern, but the metaphor of lambs screaming has also been used well before, in another series with a somewhat similar tone.
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But seriously, this is huge. It’s been 6 years since Umineko ended, and love it or hate it, fans have been waiting all this time for a new story to sink their teeth into. Hell, many many people became fans of 07th Expansion AFTER the game was finished, and never had the experience of playing the game as it came out.
Assuming this is an Episodic series again, what it means is that the 07th Expnasion fandom can finally truly unite as one again, to discuss and share theories and collaborate. Higanbana and Rose Guns Days and TRianThology just haven’t managed to stir up the interests of the fandom like Umineko once did. Ultimately, we’re all here for When They Cry in the end.
And now that we have this community here, we can experience all of this together. This changes everything for Rokkenjima. We have a strong guiding purpose now.
I can’t wait to get wrapped up in the excitement all over again.
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i’m so excited for this!! i’m super glad that i finished higuarshi & umineko before this came out.
umineko spoilers:
i really, really hope that there will be lgbt characters in this wtc like in umineko. umineko cemented itself as one of my top favorite stories of all time because of sayo. i don’t ask for much, ryukishi07, but i just want complex, nuanced, (& happy??) lgbt characters ;;
Oh this is gonna be good 
I hope it doesn’t take 10 years to be written and translated^^
Can’t wait to find out which animal will cry this time^^
Though I wonder what happened to Hotarubi no Tomoru Koro ni. I know it’s just a manga, but is that considered to be a part of the WTC series?
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Cicadas, seagulls… I feel like the next one will be another “natural ambient sound” that cries. That’s the trait that strikes me as defining cicadas and seagulls, within the context of their VNs.
Hell, maybe it won’t even be an animal! “When the Waterfalls Cry” sounds good to me haha.
When The Cuckoos Cry?
It isn’t registering that I will be around for the development of an actual new WTC title. If it really has been six years, I’ve probably been playing around in middle school while people were debating Umineko’s EP6. Holy shit, dude. Holy, shit.
Edit: I have a hunch that it will relate to water. When The Streams Cry? When The Creeks Cry?
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Me too, I can barely understand it myself! I found Umineko too late for me to be active in the debates around the series (I got into it after the release of Ep 7) and since there were no announcements of a new WTC-series I thought that Ryukishi had given up or gotten tired of the franchise.
So I cannot wait to the release of the new series (and its translation) so that we can try to solve it together!
Regarding the name I’m on the idea that it’ll be a mammal this time and as Higurashi and Umineko have animals with sad, melancolic sounds to increase the mood my personal theory is that the title will be “When The Wolves Cry” or something? (I’m aware that wolves are extinct in Japan, but maybe the next WTC-title will either be more historic, and take place at a time when wolves were still around, or actually take place in another country where wolves still exist. Considering the rather large foreign fanbase of WTC the last one could be rather interesting).
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Prehistoric WTC in a cave called When The Mammoths Cry perhaps.
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OMG! About time! I really am glad that I can be around this time, found Umineko a bit too late, back when I was just starting high school so that makes it…2012? Man it actually has been long. Thanks Ryuukishi. You rule.
And it is obviously gonna be “When The Sharks Cry” because @pictoshark here will cry trying to solve it. 
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