Sillyhat Productions

Sillyhat Productions is an Affectionate Parody series of Umineko no Naku Koro ni, and that’s just the abridged version of it. To put it simply, Sillyhat takes the world of Umineko and, as if it weren’t twisted enough, seriously twists it, adding a dash of black humour and overall sillyness while still keeping everything within the context of the Visual Novels. That is not to say it is solely a humorous series, however; it does have its share of serious yet Awesome Moments and it has an actual continuity. Definitely worth watching for anyone who has caught up with the novels.

Think of it as "Umineko: The Abridged Series" in the format of the novels.

(A word of advice to those about to watch this series for the first time: These are not just random silly moments; each video ultimately connects to create one, singular storyline in fanfiction form, not to mention each gives away epic spoilers for the other. Watching any video out of order may result in Continuity Lock Out, so it is highly recommended you watch them in chronological order—start with "If Rudolf Could Sing" and go up from there. It should also be warned that while this series has its own continuity, it also contains very accurate spoilers for the real series.)

Tropes used in Sillyhat Productions include:

• Affectionate Parody
• Berserk Button: Claiming that George hurts animals is a very, very bad idea. Even if you are one.
• Big Damn Heroes: Ange on numerous occasions. Her most epic moment with this trope would have to be the end of "Magical Detective Erika-chan".
• Black Comedy
• Check, Please!: Uttered by Battler at the end of "Solving the Fourth Twilight".
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Of course, this being Umineko, the tradition is held up with “Anti-Plot VS Anti-Filler”.
  • The first twilight holds a few similarities to the first twilight of the second game, except for the murder method.
• Deus Ex Machina: The appropriately titled last episode is about averting this trope. Lampshaded twice by two different characters—Will says they shouldn’t have relied on this after the island is blown up in an attempt to destroy the goats, and later, Featherine shoots down a suggestion from Lambdadelta to resolve the climax with this as she wants the story to have some dignity.
• Diabolus Ex Machina: Combined with Yank the Dog's Chain in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch", as Bern's response to Battler's Out-of-Character Moment.
• Face Palm: Ange's reaction to Battler's less-than-stellar comeback at the end of "Epitaph".
• Fate Worse Than Death: Poor Erika. Sure, it’s funny the first time before Fridge Horror sets in as to how long she’s been going at it…
• Flanderization: Kinzo, though it could be argued he’s actually behaving quite in-character.
  • Battler’s incompetence is taken up to eleven in the Chiru parodies, though he does have a few awesome moments here and there.
• Funny Moments: Take your pick.
  • Many of them also lap over with Awesome Moments.
• Gallows Humor
• Harmless Villain: Battler accuses Beatrice of being one in "Battler’s Dream". She is not amused.
• Heartwarming Moments: The end of "Cat Box of the Golden Witch".
• Heroic BSOD: Played for laughs with Krauss when Kinzo dies. He is literally unable to do anything but look off into the distance and bemoan how his life will be ruined, what he will do about his inheritance, and what will become of his stamp collection. And he’s still going at it when the goat butlers start attacking.
• Heroic RROD: Again, played for laughs with Shannon in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch".
• Hypocritical Humor: “I would never hurt an animal!” Says George as he beats up one of the goats.
• Killed Off for Real: Dr. Nanjo for a few episodes.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: “Battler’s Dream” makes references to Battler checking out all of Ronove’s “sprites” and Ronove needing to leave to perform because he does not have the necessary “sprite” to perform.
• The Mole: Virgilia in “Trial of the Black Witch”.
  • Towards the end of "Deus Ex Machina", Hansel is revealed to be this for Bernkastel.
• Mood Whiplash: “First Twilight?” goes from the usual scene where Rosa is about to hit Maria to a sudden joke, and then Rosa hits her. As the creator puts it in the summary, “There’s only one thing I dislike more than recreating a sad scene, and that’s ruining it with jokes.”
  • One of the extra scenes shown in "Deus Ex Machina: S End" begins like the Tear Jerker from the actual "Magic" end where Battler and Beatrice almost escape the island, only for Beatrice to disappear with a gold ingot. Cue Ricordando Il Passato, Battler crying out Beatrice's name...and then demanding she give the ingot back to him.
• Only Sane Man: Ange takes up this role.
• Original Character: Hansel.
• Out-of-Character Moment: Battler deliberately creates one of these in "Cat Box of the Golden Witch" to make the story end happily for him, Beato, and his family.
• OOC Is Serious Business: Bern's response to the above.
• Put Me Down, You Bloody Nutcase! - Eva-Beatrice doesn't have to say a word and Kanon immediately regrets his choice of words.
• Rule of Funny
• Sadistic Choice: Presented to Battler in “Trial of the Black Witch”. As put by Virgilia, “You can’t win chess without sacrificing a few pieces.”
• Shout-Out: Battler first thinks Ange is a girl from his school who believes in aliens, time travellers, and espers.
  • George’s uncanny resemblance to Harry Potter is pointed out more than a few times. Including his sudden magical upgrade in “Magical Detective Erika-chan”.
  • Do not bother Battler while he is smashing the windows; he is only practicing his swing.
  • Tomitake, Oishi, and Irie were sadly not let in for the party.
  • According to Kinzo, 42 explains everything.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Gohda.
• Take a Third Option: Subverted and lampshaded by Featherine in "Deus Ex Machina".
• Turns Red: Just when Battler thinks he has Bernkastel cornered at the end of “Magical Detective Erika-chan”, she starts getting all sorts of new expressions.
• Too Dumb to Live: The last part of “Cat Box of the Golden Witch” has Kinzo falling victim to this trope. Really, Kinzo? You seriously think telling your son—-who is pointing a gun at you—-that you have the PIN and card he is willing to kill for in your pocket is a good idea?
• Took a Level In Dumbass: Oh, Battler. You can’t even name your own incompetence?
  • He can't even win against a cardboard cutout of Beatrice.
  • Surprisingly subverted in "Deus Ex Machina"--not only does Battler smarten up with only a few occasions of silliness, he also challenges Bernkastel with a riddle that she can't solve.
• Villainous Breakdown: Bernkastel goes through this the further "Deus Ex Machina" progresses, but special mention goes to when she can't solve Battler's riddle.
• Wham! Episode: Just when you think this is just another parody series, the end of “Epitaph” smashes that perception to pieces.
• Wild Mass Guessing: The more recent episodes are focusing on this. Justified, as they are based on Chiru, the core arcs.
  • The ending of "Magical Detective Erika-chan" has Battler putting forth a major one for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni that went onto its own WMG page.