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Backlog Dialogues
@backlogdialogues.bsky.social
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The podcast that digs you out of your backlog before it buries you! We cover long running media series week by week, with discussions on characters, themes, and anything else that catches our interest.
Current Project: When They Cry
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Backlog Dialogues @backlogdialogues.bsky.social · Nov 6
We're Backlog Dialogues, the media discussion podcast that digs you out of your backlog before it buries you! Join John, Jared, and Matt each week for discussions on characters, themes, and other story elements for long running narratives and short one shots. Check out our archives here!
Backlog Dialogues | Backlog Dialogues
Backlog Dialogues is the nerd culture podcast where we dig you out of your backlog, BEFORE it buries you. We attempt to bring a literary eye to nerd culture media, like video games, films, TV shows, ...
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backlogdialogues.bsky.social
What makes history? Is it what is written? What is passed between people? The layers of story from one generation to the next? This week, our minilog is Pentiment. A strikingly unusual looking game that asks what's under the surface, and how did it shape that surface? #backlogdialogues #pentiment
Scene from the ending of Pentiment. Andreas Maler joins Andreas Muller and Ulrike Mulleryn in drawing on the side of the one windmill in all of the Bavarian Alps.
November 19, 2025 at 5:13 PM
backlogdialogues.bsky.social
So, these Humans wish to review the game after losing so badly? Very well, this Witch will be happy to guide you. But, A "God"Cast? What GOD influenced this? Remember, as you recount the telling of the tales, you're in the domain of Magic, not Divinity.
#backlogdialogues #umineko #whentheycry
Blu Ray release of Umineko When They Cry anime from NIS America. Truly a cursed object. Volume one of the Umineko When They Cry Legend of the Golden Witch manga, published by YenPress and illustrated by Kei Natsumi. Truly a blessed object.
November 12, 2025 at 5:06 PM
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To you who have found this tale, I ask of you only this. Believe in the Witch. Believe in her power. You've read all that she has done. Believe.

Please believe, or it will never end.
#backlogdialogues #umineko #whentheycry
Image from First Opening Video of Umineko When They Cry. A bottle containing a message washes up on the beach after a storm.
November 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
backlogdialogues.bsky.social
Two in an embrace
One in a dark place
One body in flames
Three carrying blames
Five the Twilights spare
But still the Curse Ensnare
As the clouds leave the sky
And the gulls resume their cry
Were any left alive?
#backlogdialogues #whentheycry #umineko
Image from Umineko When They Cry - Legend of the Golden Witch, Console Version. Ushiromiya Maria stands facing the parlor wall singing a children's song as the blood from the victims of the sixth, seventh, and eighth twilight splatters the floor and wall around her.
October 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
backlogdialogues.bsky.social
Despite ample warnings from the merciful Witch, disaster strikes the family conference. In the wake of the first move, the remaining vic- ahem, family members flail about for answers. Perhaps young Maria knows something? She seems quite pleased with herself.
#whentheycry #umineko #backlogdialogues
Image from Umineko When They Cry - Legend of the Golden Witch, Console version. After a gruesome murder is discovered in the gardening tool storage shed, Hideyoshi and Kanon observe the corpse of Shannon. Image from Umineko When They Cry - Legend of the Golden Witch, Console version. Upon being asked about what she knows about magic and witches, Maria begins behaving strange and erratically.
October 22, 2025 at 8:57 PM
backlogdialogues.bsky.social
When one sits down to dinner at a family conference, there is rules of decorum to follow. The line of succession will be reflected in seating. The servants will be impeccable. The letter from the witch will be held until dessert. Wait, what was that last one? #BacklogDialogues #WhenTheyCry #Umineko
Background image from Umineko When They Cry. An envelope with gold leaf trim and the wax seal of the Ushiromiya Family Head, purportedly from the Golden Witch, Beatrice
October 15, 2025 at 6:08 PM
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This week, we start another When They Cry. Another Mystery, and a mystery needs its players to introduce.
But holy CRAP does Ryukishi07 not hold back on the number of Dramatis Personae in this one.
Let us set sail for a mysterious island - be careful not to fall.
Image from the Opening Movie of Umineko When They Cry - Legend of the Golden Witch. The ominous visage of Kinzo rises behind the figures of the various members of the Ushiromiya family and its servants.
October 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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As we enter this season of magic and chills, Backlog Dialogues is back! After a well deserved rest, we have returned with the next work in the oeuvre of Ryukishi07. Join us as we travel to the shrouded island of Rokkenjima and get ourselves HYPED to discuss the story of the Golden Witch...
Cover art for Umineko When They Cry, depicting the portrait of the Golden Witch, Beatrice.
October 4, 2025 at 4:02 PM
backlogdialogues.bsky.social
We're still on break while we work on Umineko, but just in time for Watanagashi, here's a bonus episode about an adaptation of Higurashi that you might not know about - the 2016 Live Action! Regional Idols and Character Actors put together a surprisingly good albeit incomplete version of the story.
Promotional Image for the Higurashi When They Cry 2016 Live Action adaptation. Characters, from left to right: Bottom Row: Rika, Satoko, Rena, Keiichi, Mion, Shion Top Row: Hanyuu, Miyo, Ooishi
June 18, 2025 at 4:41 PM
backlogdialogues.bsky.social
When you're alone in the dark, don't listen to the voices that draw you to harm, but instead relish the connections you can make. This season's final #Minilog is Undertale, the kind game that also puts you through hell. We discuss the influence it had on us, and what it has to say.
#backlogdialogues
Image from Undertale. The Fallen Human looks in to a mirror in New Home, affirming their identity with the statement "Despite everything, it's still you."
May 7, 2025 at 4:02 PM
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It's time for one last look at Higurashi. We've reached the end of one tale, and it's time to take one last moment to discuss what this final tale tells us about one's character, about choice and will, and how it will inform what comes next. #higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Rei - Saikoroshi, Console Version. Hanyuu explains to Rika the stakes of her choice and why it must come down to her alone.
April 30, 2025 at 4:02 PM
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A human doesn't get to choose
A god doesn't get to live
If I had to decide which to be
I might be trapped in the what if.
I'm glad to be here with you.
The god inside me must go.
But we will be together, my friends.
#whentheycry #backlogdialogues #higurashi
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Rei - Saikoroshi, Console Version. Rika, having woke up from a month long coma, is greeted by her friends, overjoyed to tears that she is okay.
April 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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Rika is still trapped. As she disconnects from her human identity and falls more into the persona of a witch, she suddenly finds herself at a choice she didn't want. What is more real, the world she finds herself in, or the world she came from?
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Rei - Saikoroshi Console Arc. Rika eavesdrops on her parents discussing the troubling things Dr Yamamoto informed them that Rika was saying.
April 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
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What's this? The story is still going? Well, thats strange. This week we enter one last tale from the town of Hinamizawa. But with all the problems ended, what could happen now? It's not like Rika is going to suddenly do something stupid- LOOK OUT!
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Rei - Saikoroshi Console Version. Rika Furude horses around on her bike, causing Satoko to panic moments before a new tragedy sets in motion Rika's final journey.
April 9, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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What does it mean to grow up? Changing your interests? Finding out what you're good at? Changing who you are entirely? Everyone wants to grow, they just need a path. Today, we discuss Mob Psycho 100, and learn how much one quiet boy's story can mean.
#backlogdialogues #mobpsycho100
Image from the end of Mob Psycho 100 Season 3. Shigeo Kageyama, aka Mob, gives a sincere smile at the antics of the many people who helped him grow.
April 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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I always thought that I was not needed in the world
I believed that my role was to step into the background
But you told me otherwise
You told me that the world was less without me.
You told me that I had the right to stay
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version. From left to right, Shion, Hanyuu, Rika, Satoko, Keiichi, Mion, and Rena, cleanse themselves of their sins and wash them down the river in the Watanagashi Festival after a hard won victory.
March 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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That I met my friends in Hinamizawa is the true miracle of this story.
Image from Higurashi When They Cry - Onikakushi, Console Version. From left to right, Satoko, Rika, Rena, and Mion, welcoming Keiichi in to their circle of friends. Of note is Rika, who sings the line in this post in Dear You - Kizuna, who is both focal in this image and not central, signifying her importance to the narrative despite not initially seeming that way.
March 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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Time is short. This week, we take one last chance to look around before it all comes together. But what are the feelings of those tied up in it? An old fighter considers his path. One in shadow fears her ending. The festival will soon begin.
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version. As Detective Ooishi visits the grave of his friend and mentor, he is joined by the unexpected guests of Akane and Shion Sonozaki. Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version. Takano Miyo, in anguish over being unable to find Jirou Tomitake, finds her mental state reverting to her youth and crushing her under pressure.
March 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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This week, the club gets acquainted with their rather sudden new club member, but even a miracle has its costs. The race to thwart tragedy begins with gathering allies and information…
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi Console Version. Chie-sensei introduces the class to a new transfer student, the kyutest little horn girl, Hanyuu Furude. Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version. A single word, "Monster", displays on screen as Takano Miyo comments that Hanyuu's horns make her resemble one, a sensitive point for her.
March 5, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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Every time, a step short.
Every path, ended too soon.
Every hope, taken away.
Every will, no match for hers.
#higurashi #whentheycry #backlogdialogues
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi Manga. As an image of Keiichi runs in to the village, Rika gives a premonition. "...We'll band together... and crush the evils lurking in the village." Image from Higurashi When they Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi manga. The mysterious woman from Tokyo, Nomura, approaches a downtrodden Miyo with an offer. "I can teach you. The one thing you can do... to shake the world and make your wish come true." Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi manga. Having connected all fragments available to her, Furude Rika realizes that they still lack what is needed for a miracle. "And to get it it, I need one more time. I need the power of one more miracle. Somewhere in one of these countless fragments, please, respond to my voice. Please, answer me..."
February 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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The fragments stretch out before us as the long road to our final goal continues. As we travel, we take burdens upon ourselves, weighing us down. Whether we ask others to help us carry the weight, or we take everything on ourselves, we search for a miracle.
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi Manga Volume 2. Satoshi and Satoko Houjou, shown here in baseball attire. Over the course of the story, the two take on many burdens and sins. Title page for Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi Manga, Chapter 12. Shown is Takano Miyo, burdened with her goal of discovering everything about Hinamizawa Syndrome and elevating her grandfather's research, who will take on the burden of sin as she takes the curse in to her own hands and enacts the third curse on Rika Furude's Mother, seen in the background on this image.
February 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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Miracles require work. A path must be illuminated. The way is long, but don't fear. Join us as we begin the process of building the perfect world, by uncovering the truths of the worlds that came before and the people within them, in Connecting Fragments.
#higurashi #backlogdialogues #whentheycry
Background from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, console version. The sea of fragments lays out before us, showing disparate pieces of the various worlds. Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi Manga, Chapter 7. Hanyuu beseeches the reader to help them greet the ideal June 1983.
February 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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The maze nears its end, but we have not solved everything yet. What drives a person to awful actions? If there's any hope of finding our way out, we must understand our foe and the forces that drive them. Who defies God?
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version, Chapter 3. Miyoko Tanashi shouts defiantly at God to change her cruel fate after fleeing from an abusive orphanage. Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version Chapter 4. Miyo Takano confronts the god of Hinamizawa Oyashiro-sama as the curtains open on the final world of June 1983.
February 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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In this Minilog, we talk about one of the most prescient anime of the last decade and change. Gatchaman CROWDS is here to teach us about social media's ability to shape reality, the dangers of group think and populism, and how we all need a best girl Hajime to give us advice.
#backlogdialogues
Cast Shot of Gatchaman Crowds Insight from the end of the Opening Theme. From Left to right, Joe, Rui, Sugane, Hajime, Pai-man, Gelsadra, Tsubasa, OD, Utsutsun
January 29, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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This perfect world has come to its end with all truths revealed. But, we still missed the miracle, and we need to prepare for one final world. In this godcast, we discuss what we have learned, and prepare to reach the end. Let's take that plunge with all of our friends.
#backlogdialogues #higurashi
Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Minagoroshi, Console Version. After Rika's death, she floats in the sea of the afterlife, slowly hearing the voices of her friends. Image from Higurashi When They Cry Kai - Matsuribayashi, Console Version. The Board Game club reaches out to Hanyuu, the final missing piece needed to make a miracle happen, as they prepare to move to the final world.
January 22, 2025 at 5:05 PM