I’m beginning to love the concept of the show more and more. If only because the fact that the murderous Rena now acts as a side-character, and suddenly acts totally friendly with Keiichi again. This arc has yet to bring the craziness of the first arc, though. Especially this episode was more explaining than frightening. Still, it had some very good parts in it.
We start with the afternoon before the Watanagashi, with Keiichi helping to build it up. Shion brings him a cup of tea, after which Mion discovers them. Apparently, she also wanted to bring Keiichi some tea. Then it really becomes clear that Shion manages to keep control of her twin sister, and not vice-versa.
Then Tomitake and Takano run into the group, and then we get a quick explanation in one minute about the Watanagashi and Oyashiro’s curse, as wel as an introduction of Oishi-san. An interesting new fact that we get to know: Takano works at a hospital. This time, Shion’s, Takano and Tomitake fill Keiichi in about the murders. Shion apparently wants Keiichi to know for some reason, so that’s why this explanation comes sooner than in the previous arc.
Another interesting fact is that because Oishi isn’t the one who explains the link between each murder and disappearance, we get another perspective on that issue as well. In the previous episode, the perspective was “one person gets killed and one person goes missing”, though this episode featured the perspective of “one person gets killed, so one person gets missing”.
Anyway, that evening, Rika performs. Shion, however, takes Keiichi to a sacred temple in the woods. Only certain families can enter, and there they see Takano and Tomitake trying to open its doors. The two groups discover each other, and Takano, Shion and Keiichi enter the temple while Tomitake stands guard. Then we get to know a few more interesting fact. The residents of the village are half-demons. This would explain their behavior from the last arc. There’s also a large number of body-dissecting material present inside the temple, and the plough that Rika uses in her ritual, is meant to cut open stomachs.
The two parties say goodbye, Takano and Tomitake go to the rivershore, Shion leaves as well, and after a couple of seconds, the others manage to find him. Keiichi lied about what he was doing before, and he immediately gets cornered by Mion again (and a bit by Rika). How the heck to they always know what happened? Anyway, she doesn’t go as far as Rena went in the previous arc, though she does remind him again, and gives some very obvious hints that she knows he’s lying.
That evening, Shion invites Keiichi, though she uses it as an excuse for him to meet Oishi. She leaves once the two see each other. Oishi questions him again about the night before, but he doesn’t give any answers, like he did in the previous arc. He does reveal, though, that Mion and Shion’s family is sortof like the mafia. Mion’s supposed to inherit the entire family.
That night, Shion calls Keiichi, and she gets to be the one who informs him about the deaths of akano and Tomitake. Though something’s different: this time, two persons got killed. That must mean that two persons will go missing. Guess who that’ll be? Keiichi finally gets paranoid, and begins to yell to Shion, putting all the blame on her. She hangs up.
Shion is definately planning something, though what? And why did she go along to the temple while she knew what was coming? The same goes for Takano and Tomitake: why did they enter the temple in the first place? And the person who disappears? Shouldn’t this person be disappearing at the same night as the murder takes place? Why is it delayed this time? And why does entering the temple mean being killed?
Anyway, while the previous arc focused on Keiichi vs Rena with a bit of Mion, this arc focuses on Keiichi vs Shion with a bit of Mion. It’s a pity that Shion’s the only member of the cast I dislike. She just seems so boring, in contrast with the incredible Mion. She’s way too calm for this show, even when she’s serious. Actually, we still have yet to see any paranoid face, other than Keiichi’s, and last arc also had a surprise-element at this time of the episode (my favourite still remains Rena entering Keiichi’s house). This time, this wasn’t as evident.
Well now, let’s try to name as much changes with the previous arc as possible. It might help for future references:
– Keiichi didn’t help in the first arc.
– Shion was entirely oblivious in the first arc. People say that she might’ve been Shion in disguise, but the fact remains that their seijuu are different. If I recall correctly, Mion had the same voice all over the first arc.
– Mion didn’t show any signs that she fancied Keiichi in the first arc.
– Tomitake was introduced earlier in the first arc. This also means that the murder-story was only introduced in the second episode of the second arc, while the first arc already had the first episode talking about it.
– Keiichi meets Takano at the day before the festival in the second arc, while he only met her the evening of the festival in the first arc. She also speaks for a longer while, goes into more detail and both Mion and Shion are also there when he meets them. In the first arc, he met them on his own.
– Rika made a mistake in the second arc.
– Keiichi went to the storehouse/temple in the second arc, while he just watched Rika in the first arc. There’s been put a lot more emphasis on the night of Watanagashi in the second arc if you compare it to the first arc. In there, it was just a minor event, though this time, it seems central.
– Tomitake is never seen without Takano.
– Tomitake and Takano are last seen at the riverbank in the first arc. They’re last seen while going to the riverbank at the second arc.
– Rena never gets paranoid, or any reason to be suspicious in the second arc. I know I’ve said this lots of times before, but damn, it keeps bugging me.
– Actually, almost each of the characters has a small change in personality: Mion’s got more introvert and shy, Rika’s gotten a bit more friendly towards Keiichi, the yellow-haired girl calmed down a bit, Tomitake’s gotten less outspoken and Oishi’s gotten less serious.
– Tomitake, Shion and Takano fill Keiichi in about the past events concerning Oyashiro-sama in the second arc, while Tomitake, Takano and Oishi did this in the first arc.
– Mion started to get suspicious in the third episode of the first arc, while she started getting suspicios in the second episode of the second arc. She also gets to be the one to corner Keiichi for the first time in the second arc, while Rena did this in the first arc.
– Oishi first saw Keiichi a couple of days after the Watanagashi, during class in the first arc. He saw him right the day after the Watanagashi in the second arc. Oishi also didn’t see Keiichi as the critical link in the murder in the second arc, so he was fine with being interrupted by another police-officer.
– Takano got killed as well, instead of just missing.
– There is no word about one of the killers of the first murder still running free.
Some of the similarities were:
– Rena’s enthusiasm at the beginning of the Watanagashi.
– The scenes at which our group has fun during the festival, although played at a greater speed. (this has a nice effect, by the way).
– Rika cutting her plough in the Futon.
– Takano’s personality. It’s exactly the same as last time, even though she gets more airtime.
– The ease of Keiichi to get freaked out and yelling people he suspects.
– Tomitake cuts his throat with his nails. Seems to be a pretty popular way of suicide.
I actually prefer Shion despite her generic nature; I’ve no idea why. I still love this show almost too much, with the dark vibes smothered in childish fun. Takano was a very interesting character, not to mention slightly ghoulish; Oishi seemed a far less benign figure this time, too. Perhaps it is all a matter of perspective; at this point in the first arc, K1’s world was already beginning to crumble.
Indeed, though I think this is because in the first arc, Keiichi started to get suspicious more than half an episode sooner than in the second arc. All because Rena didn’t ask him to give her a hand. Because of this, the Keiichi of the first arc already had his time to get paranoid enough at the end of the second episode, while the Keiichi of the second arc still needs a bit more time.
I do believe both Shion and Mion are voiced by Yukino.
And, regarding:
– Takano got killed as well, instead of just missing. Tomitake cut his throat with his nails, instead of being brutally dismembered in the first arc. Keiichi also was the one who cut his throat with his nails in the first arc.
I clearly remembered them say he slit his throat with his nails in the Onikakushi arc, so I went back to check, and so it says. Double-check before posting! lol. xD
If you are really alert you’ll find out that the shows show much Mion and almost no-Shion,since both Mion and Oishi asking him about Takano,the photographer and Shion(eventhought nothing seem to have happened to her)!Also Oishi tell Keichi at the library that he is a two-timer but Oishi saw Keichi with Shion at the festival,this may also explain why “Shion” leaved so soon,in fact she didn’t want to be exposed.So we can suppose that it wasn’t Shion in the library nor on the phone but Mion.Also maybe Mion was also taking SHion post in thee warehouse since she seems to know about it and “Shion” disappear just before the apparation of Mion and the Gang…
Dammit… seems like I made a lot of mistakes again. I was so focused on the fact that Mion and Shion have different voices that I wasn’t able to think of the possibilities that Mion might be setting up her voice. This indeed changes the entire perspective of this episode. Still, it doesn’t explain how she was with the others when she ran into Keiichi at the temple, and why did she dress up as Shion when she talked to him on the phone?
kacpy: dammit, I could’ve sworn he was murdered back then, and didn’t commit suicide. Ah wel, fixed it.
I think her dress on the phone conversation was just something to put the viewers in doubt,maybe it was just what was imagining Keichi.
If you were alert in the first arc,Keichi becames little by little crazy and imaginate thinks(like the dreadfull bento)also in Ep.4 when Mion and Rena give a punishement game to Keichi,it isn’t a syringe they are try to use on him,it’s just his imagination,in fact they use a marker like in the punision game frome Ep.2.You can even see in the back of his clock that he wrote a small quote:”don’t misunderstand the syringue and the marker” or something like that.I think that in each arc you see Keichi mental health parting little by little,and at the end commit a violent action such as killing or suicide,and the watcher’s goal is to find what has turned bad,what are the triggers that drives him crazy.