Say it in Red Episode 70: Iwakura Aria
Yours is an old house, distinguished as much by its history as by its adamant defiance of decay and weathering. Its halls are lavish and narrow, its chambers dark and calm, and its rooms never quite feel large enough to fill its frame. One evening, the lady of the house calls you to her side. She beckons you from within her canopy bed, the drapery down and her voice unusually coarse. She says 'Come here, dear listener,' as she crawls on all fours. She says 'A little nearer...' as you part the curtains. She says 'Be still, and do promise you will not scream?' as she draws you close with one hand, and then another, and then another, and then another still. 'It is time,' she says at last, 'to share ghost stories.'Happy Halloween!This month, Sara and Runa discuss Iwakura Aria (2025), a game which just arrived in English at the end of summer. This tale of gothic suspense sports lavish sprites created in the style of oil paintings, watercolor and charcoal cut-ins, and a lush sense of style and design that often leaves you wondering whether you're really in 1966, when the events of the story take place, or further back in a Victorian drama. The game follows protagonist Ichiko, a 16 year old orphan who has just returned to the orphanage where she grew up after leaving her previous job due to the sexual harassment she faced from the men there. A well-dressed gentleman finds her on the street one day as she tends to a market stall for the orphanage - among the wares on offer, the orphanage staff have placed one of Ichiko's own paintings of a bluebird in flight. This gentleman, Amane Iwakura, takes notice of this painting and offers Ichiko a job working as a maid in his estate. With few other prospects, Ichiko agrees and it is at that manor where she meets Amane's daughter, Aria. Immediately struck by Aria's beauty and poise, Ichiko is flustered and feels she is blessed to be not only in such a lovely house, but to be maid to a beautiful girl like Aria. The house, however, is not without its mysteries and secrets. The distant sound of a crying baby rings in Ichiko's ears on her first nights there, though no baby resides in the manor. An umbilical cord preserved in a box on a shelf, a missing volume of architectural plans, the strange parties Amane hosts in which Aria entertains his associates, and several other curious details give Ichiko some cause for concern. More than anything, however, she is concerned for Aria who sometimes wakes cold as a corpse, barely eats, and seems so pale that even the slightest sunlight might burn her. As Ichiko falls in love with Aria, the secrets of the house and Aria's past threaten to crush them both without mercy or hesitation. As always, if you enjoy our show please consider writing us a review on your podcast platform of choice! You can always support us directly on Patreon at patreon.com/sayitinred where you will get access to all of our bonus episodes past and present, including our most recent episode in which our Umineko reading circle gathered to discuss the Umineko stage play adaptations!Content Warnings for this episode:Grooming of infants and childrenReligious abuseMutilations, particularly stabbing with sharp implementsIncestSexual harassment and assault
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