Caution: contains spoilers for the entirety of Umineko When They Cry. Do not read if you have not finished the novel.
“Say it in red, Troonella, say you’re a real woman!”
“I am a real wo—AACK! I can’t!”
Trannies in every community are a venomous poison, a parasite with a viper tongue who intoxicate all, who make everything revolve around them and their disgusting sexual fetish. For Trannies, all they read and see, everything they consume, can only be understood through the optics of self-inserting. For the true story, the true characters, all they boast “media literacy” about is none of their true concerns, these are all secondary. Their true interest is in how they can take over its corpse, after they kill it, and wear its skin. It is only important if they can self-insert themselves into it, the characters and the story must revolve around them somehow. And if it doesn’t, there is nothing they can’t twist with enough pilpul, everything contradicting their headcanon is memory holed.
Their attitude is indeed damaging, and perhaps their over fixation on the manga, instead of the much superior novel, is a symptom. One must wonder if they’ve even genuinely read the novel, or if they just skimmed through the pages of manga so they could be “part of the community” as fast as possible to confirm their own narratives and delusions. It is damaging because they do not care about the work, they do not care about the characters, they parade it around as a symbol. They tell people to “read it” because it has a “trans character”, which beyond not being true, is a terrible reason to read the work. And it is a considerable spoiler too, not because it’s true, but because it hints towards a character crossdressing, making new readers hypervigilant on that aspect and missing out on what it means to read it blind.
The time has come for me to dispel the worst illusion of all. The foe this time is more monstruous and wicked than all witches combined. It is the horde of tranny goats who inhabit Reddit and Tumblr, who have deceived everyone and made them think they have opened the cat box. I am here to propose my blue truth, it will certainly not open the cat box, but it will prove to be much more elegant than the delusions of trannies. Regarding the start of this letter, I will be dividing it in two categories. I shall start in the first category by of course countering the trannies’ delusions, starting from what they probably believe to be their strongest argument down to the weakest. In the second category, I will elaborate on my own claims.
Important note. Whenever I want to use the Blue Truth, I will use italics, and whenever I want to use the Red Truth, I will use bold.
Golden Copes
First, the fall, of course. They claim Sayo’s male genitals were damaged because of the fall, and he was raised as a girl instead. It would be easy to simply say this is never said in the novel, but I know what they’re talking about. They’re talking about something said in the manga instead. Indeed, the manga has many problems, including the certain circumstances in which this chapter “Confessions of the Golden Witch” is found. But these problems, the inferiority of the manga at conveying the true story, and its modifications compared to the novel are different topics to discuss. For argument’s sake I will take this chapter at face value. Supposedly, Genji says Sayo suffered a “large laceration on the lower abdomen and genital region”. However, a further analysis of the original Japanese text (あんたは下腹部に大きな裂傷を負っていながらも、奇跡的に生きていたんだ。) has made clear that the “and genital region” part is manufactured in the English version. I’ve already consulted with both native and non-native speakers who were able to confirm me the “genitals” part is quite a stretch from what you could interpret from the original text. The lower abdomen area is that of the hypogastrium, which contains the uterus, and a damage in such area could have led to an ovarian failure, which in that area of the body is much more likely than an injury to male genitalia. This serves already a fatal blow to the man theory, since they overfocus on genital mangling which is one of their main snuck premises.
Moreover, given what we know about Nanjo, who is a general practitioner, it’s highly unlikely he would be able to perform what would basically be a sex reassignment surgery on a baby. We (and especially they) know what that procedure is like. It requires constant hormonal treatment and even surgical corrections over the years, as well as daily dilation to prevent the open wound (which is what this so-called vagina really is) from closing, which of course Sayo never got. The artificial neo-vagina is a mangled axe-wound that won't even grow functionally with the child as they quadruple in size. If Sayo had a butchered abomination down there, do you think she would not have known? In this sense the manga’s depictions work against them, as Sayo is shown looking at an anatomy book (her real concerns are about puberty, i.e. periods and breast growth, which is why we see the other girls from Fukuin in their underwear, not her vagina). This theory is full of holes and there’s just nowhere to pick it up.
To present it as a blue truth: Sayo was born a biological woman. The cliff incident rendered her infertile by internal organ damage due to the impact of the fall, damaging her uterus and ovaries. This could already be considered a miracle. Now, in the novel, when Sayo discovers the truth after solving the epitaph, this is what she says:
“Why...?!! Why did you save me?! Why didn't you let me die?! Because of that terrible injury,...I've been forced to live in a body like this!! I never wanted to live in a body like this!! This body that isn't even capable of love...!! What's...what's the point in living like that?! This isn't a human's life...! It's like being furniture!!”
It all makes sense if she had just been told that she was infertile due to the damage in the uterus. Honestly, after everything which happens beforehand in the novel, nobody could seriously believe for a second that a “body capable of love” is just a euphemism for “putting penis in vagina” (oh if only she had learnt about sodomy, they think) given how love is such a central element to the work. I interpret this as a “body capable of bearing love”, as in, carrying a child in her own body.
“Creating a universe” would be a good metaphor for this. By creating a child in her own body, she would have truly become a Witch of Creations, a title given to Maria, and a theme common to her given the parallels Maria herself establishes to the Virgin Mary (believing she was immaculate conception), again, returning to giving birth. It even makes more tragic the scenes where George talks to Shannon about forming a family, because she knows she can’t have children. It could also lead us to speculate that due to this knowledge, she treats Maria like her own child, in place of the children she will never bear in her own body due to the accident. This puts Genji, Kumasawa and Nanjo in a brighter light, since it’s not like they lied to her about her gender for 19 years, they would have not been so careless after everything. They never told her she was never going to be able to conceive, hence her reaction, which could lead her to seek revenge due to what was “taken from her.”
Second, they declare Sayo must be a man, because Natsuhi claims in the fifth game that the baby from 19 years ago must be a man. However, there is a problem with this nonsense: The fifth game was mastered by Lambdadelta. It is only in this episode that “The Man from 19 Years Ago” is mentioned, in later episodes he becomes “The Baby from 19 Years Ago”. Surely, such episodes were mastered by Bernkastel, but the fact this was tampered with opens the likelihood Lambdadelta tampered with it as well. In fact, she tampered with the fifth game a lot; she made Battler an accomplice, something Beatrice would never do, and even had the nerve to show Kanon and Shannon at the same time in multiple scenes, using the trick of having Erika as the reliable narrator yet the perspective bound to Battler, an unreliable narrator.
Even in the calls, Natsuhi is not even sure about the gender of the caller, after all, she says:
“He sounded like a young adult, but he might actually have been of middle-school age, or an adult whose voice still hadn't deepened. In fact, it might have been premature to assume this person was a male at all.”
Natsuhi’s memory from 19 years ago is also unreliable. People claim Natsuhi should have obviously been able to remember the baby’s gender, but this is not obvious at all. If that was the case, why did she not remember the baby’s name too, and used that to refer to them instead of something vague like “The Man from 19 Years Ago”? Kinzo had already decided for the baby’s name to be Lion, and in the miracle fragment where Natsuhi accepts the baby, she gives her that name. Did Kinzo not tell Natsuhi that name when she gave the baby to her? Natsuhi hated the baby, are we supposed to believe she changed her diapers to find out the sex? What we do know, is that she shoved the baby to a servant, who followed her around while the baby cried. This is the truth I can offer: Natsuhi thought that, if Kinzo was to select an heir in place of the baby she could not bear in her womb, it would have been a male, as she was aware of Kinzo’s beliefs.
Third. We know Sayo is flat-chested. But all the Ushiromiya women have large busts, and so did her mother and grandmother. And she has no periods. This doesn’t really say anything, after all, Sayo is not equal to the rest of the family, she is product of incest, so comparisons with the rest of the Ushiromiya stock and even to her own mother and grandmother is not valid. Kinzo is both her father and grandfather, it’s not a surprise her genetics would be all messed up. She might have Turner’s syndrome, or just not gifted by the genetic lottery, or any medical condition X which would delay her puberty by a lot, or make it not happen altogether, thus not developing her sexual secondary characteristics.
Fourth. They claim Lion must be a man because she wears a suit and Ushiromiya women wear dresses. Yes, I’ve read this one. Again, we come with this ridiculous claim that is supposed to be an indicator of anything. It is not weird for girls to wear pants, but it is for boys to wear dresses. If Ryukishi wanted to make an androgynous character, he obviously would make them wear pants, and not a dress. But, it’s not even true all Ushiromiya women wear dresses. Eva wears pants, and so does Kyrie.
Fifth, a tweet from Ryukishi where he is acting “”in-character”” for Lion. Someone asks the following: “Good evening! Are there any subjects that you are good at or are not good at, although you are the student council president, and you are a model for students? After all, are you not good at cooking ...?” and Ryu answers: “I like most subjects, but probably the one I like least is English. It seems my pronunciation is too native - my classmates laughed at me, which was a little uncomfortable. I’m also skilled at cooking. Gender equality, after all. I think that regardless of gender, one should be able to stand in the kitchen.” The last bit is supposed to be the evidence, as it’s expected for women to be in the kitchen. This is however a standard line, Will makes a joke about being for gender equality because he will smack anyone regardless of their gender, and Lion follows up with a joke about being for gender equality because she will pinch anyone’s butts regardless of their gender. People are reading too much into Ryukishi’s “”in-character”” shitposts which he also uses to say what the color of the underwear of characters is and roleplay as Erika to comment on erotic fan art of Bernkastel. If you look up the phrasing used in the tweet about it in Japanese, there’s no discussions in Japanese about the tweet, either.
Last and least, the sixth claim. They claim Lion is a man because they responded naturally to Will calling them “bocchan”, a male-gendered term for "young master", whereas the female equivalent is “ojousama”. If Lion is frequently asked what her gender is due to her androgynous nature to the point she won’t answer the question, it’s natural she would just get used to these kinds of terms and not pay them attention.
Blue Ropes against Trannies
First, my strongest claim, Genji concealed the child from Kinzo fearing the sin would repeat. This makes no sense at all if Lion was a man, if that was the case, he would have never grown up to resemble his mother, and Kinzo would have never thought of him as a reincarnation of Beatrice. Genji intended to have Kinzo realize the child was alive and reconcile them. Making male-Lion disguise as a girl puts unnecessary obstacles for this, what could happen if Kinzo believes that “Beatrice” (female) has again resurrected? Either Kinzo never learns Beatrice’s baby is alive and dies with the guilt, or Kinzo becomes deranged again and rapes the child, these are two likely outcomes. If Lion was male, that’s unlikely to happen. In short, Genji’s mental process becomes irrational if Lion is not a girl.
Second, Lion is frustrated by the fact that her gender is not obvious and prefers to be judged by appearance. This indicates she has no actual disaffection with her gender. The behavior can be explained only if Lion is a girl. Kinzo wants to make Lion his heir, to atone for his sin, he wants this so bad that the silver heir ring only makes its appearance in the world where Natsuhi accepts Lion. But knowing Kinzo, he would want his heir to be a “son of Ushiromiya”. Therefore, Lion was raised to act as such. Jessica is already a tomboy herself, being born as the heiress in Lion’s place. If Lion is a girl, that explains her behavior and it explains the androgyny. She can’t do things girls do like she would want to, and this frustrates her. If Lion was a male, there is no cause for this androgyny at all unless for nature, and if that was the case, then it’s unlikely she would not outright state this. However, the Lion we see was tampered with by Bernkastel, who has gone out of her way to remove everything that could reveal her sex, so we can’t be sure Lion is genuinely reluctant to answer by her own will.
Third, Kanon has always been the “cast aside” persona, the last and least one created only to put aside her feelings for Battler. Kanon only becomes determined for “his feelings towards Jessica” in Episode 6, a game mastered by Battler. In the other episodes he chastises Shannon for pretending to not be furniture and falling in love, with the implication he can’t even do that. Jessica’s love is never fulfilled, in Episode 6, it’s Shannon who wins the duel. The most likely explanation is that Jessica obviously wants a boyfriend, and Sayo knows she can’t provide that. Moreover, Kanon is the only male persona she makes, and as I said, it’s the last and least.
Fourth, the representation of Furfur and Zepar. Furfur is the 34th demon of Hell, Sa-yo can be read as 34 in Japanese. Zepar is the 16th demon of Hell, Yo-shi-ya can be read as 448, which summed together results in 16. Furfur thus represents Shannon, and Zepar represents Kanon (in case you could not tell by the female and male voices), so it’s interesting that it’s indicated both go after men despite being of “opposite genders”, and they both have the same womanly body.
Lastly, the Japanese and other Eastern communities overwhelmingly consider her to be a biological woman. It’s only in the western one where this is a discussion, due to the abundance of freaks who want to self-insert themselves into everything they read, regardless of how detached from reality it might be.
ADDENDUM
Umineko is a work which truly can only be fully understood when you’re a writer, whether professional or amateur, and when you know Higurashi’s writing story and reception of individual episodes. Beyond the story it tells, underneath it tells the tales and anxieties of an insecure writer, as Ryukishi himself is. Of course, this is part of what makes the detailed read impactful and inspiring for whoever can see it. All writers, some more than others, are insecure about their own creations. The way Dragon approaches these aspects is done with great maturity and insight. The obsession with the cat box, the logic errors, the pieces, the red truth, the goats… All these represent anxieties and fears in the mind of every writer, and indeed all wish they could shove them into a cat box… When he refuses to reveal or clarify something, it is for many reasons, but in part also because he’s afraid. Not only afraid of the reception, but also of that logic error somewhere which may contradict his newly revealed truth. One should not approach or study Umineko without this in mind.
To finish off, even in the remote case Sayo was a biological man, it would still not make him a tranny. If that was the case, Sayo is not mentally destroyed because he wants to be something other than what he was born as, like trannies. He’s destroyed because due to an accident he can’t be what he really was born as.
>be Sayo
>find the hidden gold, learn that your employer is your father and grandfather, and you are a product of rape and incest
>realize you are romantically in love with your cousins, who are also your nephews and niece
>also realize your lifelong dream of having a family can never be fulfilled because you were thrown off a cliff and castrated as a baby
>possibly lied to about your biological sex, never told you were infertile for your entire life, leading to self-loathing and a desire to kill yourself as well as your entire family
OMG JUST LIKE ME TRANS RIGHTS! The last part do be like them though.