MAJOR spoiler ahead. This episode comes with the single biggest revelation of the entire series, so DO NOT read this entry if you haven’t seen it! Unfortunately, I was spoiled beforehand, but I do want to prevent others from this. This is a random sentence to fill up all the space in the blog-aggregators. This is another one. So, this should be enough.
SO, Takano is indeed the big culprit. Obviously, the revelation didn’t have the impact because I’ve already been spoiled, but I’m glad that it comes relatively early in the series, and now it’s about to get really interesting. Not only that, but I can talk a bit more freely, without having fears of spoiling everyone.
I also must praise Cos. He basically figured out most of the mysteries after only episode ten, and he even predicted that Takano was behind everything. Quite amazing, if you ask me.
In any case, here’s a quick rundown on all the new information:
– Takano was indeed the one who killed Tomitake by injecting him with an overdose of the disease, causing him to go in level 5. She indeed was getting rid of Tomitake’s body in the third arc, when Keiichi met her.
– Takano never died. She just used a fake body that was found somewhere to cover up her death.
– The Yamainu has been under Takano’s orders all along.
– The sight of the dead Tomitake probably drove Irie himself insane (probably due to the disease).
– Takano’s ultimate objective is awakening the Hinamizawa-disease within everyone. Strangely, she never mentions the use of Rika’s intestines.
I’ve got lots of questions, though, after this. What was up with Irie in the first arc? What was different there, that didn’t cause him to kill himself? What were Tomitake and Takano doing in the festival shrine anyway? Why did Takano give Rena her scrapbooks?
Actually, I think I can answer that last one: it was used as a cover-up. She’d just have to leak it to someone and the fake information about the aliens, it would distract from the theories about the disease, which only a few people knew about anyway. The thing I wonder about, though is what happened to these scrapbooks in the other arcs?
The thing also is: Takano doesn’t seem to know about Hanyuu. If that’s the case, then why does every arc turn out different? Who causes the subtle changes for each world? Rika does have some influence in this, but definitely not all of it.
I’m also interested in where this arc will go afterwards. Remember that we’re only at the end of the Watanagashi, which often is just the half-way point. In most arcs, it’s the second half that really got interesting.
There’s another thing I wondered: will we ever get an answer about a question that was raised in the first arc? I’m referring to the letter Keiichi wrote. Why did Takano find it necessary remove parts from it? What exactly did Keiichi write? Will we also ever know how Rika’s parents and Satoko’s family died? And who removed Satoko’s uncle’s body in the third arc? There are so many questions that still need to be answered.
Oh, and yes. Seeing Satoko get saved was so awesome. :)]]>
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -37
The question that’s been bothering me most all this time is from the ending to the second arc. If both Mion and Shion were dead (which seemed pretty definitive), then who was that under Keiichi’s hospital bed with the taser? No one else seems bothered by this, but that’s the question I want answered more than any other, as it seems like the most difficult one to explain.
But yes, this episode was OUTSTANDING. Probably the best so far for me, in EITHER series.
-Tom
Though I’m actually guessing the Minagoroshi-hen will be ending with the next episode. It’s not called the “Massacre” chapter for nothing… I bet EVERYONE dies next episode, and the next arc begins with ep 13.
Sorry for the double comment.
-Tom
Ah, no problem. Regarding the end of the second arc, I’ve always believed that that part was just Keiichi’s imagination, because of the disease. Perhaps that was even the great Hinamizawa-disaster.
I also think there’s more to this arc, though. After all, we have no idea how Rika’s going to react to everything, especially with the support she has from everyone.
Well Takano was the only character wich didn’t get killed in a bloody way, it was way to suspicious. Irie would had been a nice bad guy too, but we now know that he is in fact a good guy.
In fact there may have been too much revelations in this ep, now we have the bipolarity of the cast that is perfectly established, it’s a little frustrating thought, because it was really fun to not know which character you could trust.
I think that the reason they have gone to the shrine was pure curiosity, and maybe Irie won’t go crazy but will later undergo the same treatment as Tomitake. This would explain why he still was fine in the first arc, thinking that Takano was really dead and trying to save the kids, after all the first Arc ends quicker than the others.
As for why Rika has to be killed, she must be some sort of trigger for the disease, she’s the test subject after all. Still I don’t understand why she doesn’t remember who kills her while she remembers everything else.
And finally for the subtle change between each world they are in my opinion a mix of key events done differently as well as a little randomness.
I’m still very curious about Takano’s “dream”, and what is this all about. I mean she must have a reason to spread a mortal disease besides being mad. She must hold a grudge against the government I think, since she talks about exposing them or something like that, maybe she was a victim of the Hinamizawa dam disaster.Still I love her beret.
minagoroshi ends in 2 episodes (they have episode titles at ANN)
and don’t count Irie as a ‘good guy’ just yet :3
don’t worry, we’ll get to know how satoko’s and rika’s parents died… little to nothing is unexplained in the game at least and since they are having so many episodes left in the 2nd season of the anime i don’t know why we shouldn’t see everything in there as well.
I don’t understand why they choose to make 24 episodes instead of 26 like in the 1st season though… matsuribayashi is SO huge and 13 episodes would have been great for the arc to cover everything but oh well, i think they’ll still do a great job.
Tom/Wyrdwad
People don’t discuss it because people have already deduced that that was K1’s hallucination. Frankly, I think it’s quite obvious.
I don’t buy that, to be honest. There are no other moments in the entire show that are meant to be hallucinations. Everything that happens in this show is supposed to be REALLY HAPPENING to its characters. I don’t see why this one small scene at the end of a story arc would constitute the show’s one and only unreal event… if that’s what was intended, then I chalk it up to poor writing.
-Tom
I don’t actually think that that was the only hallucination. The first arc also had them, and that has been proven in the sixth arc. Keiichi saw Rena laughing hysterically, while she was in fact embracing her.
My main theory is that that actually turns out to be the main symptom for the Hinamizawa-disaster, and I think that it was that time where Takano set the “bomb” off.
You’re right thouth that this is based off some pretty new information. I nearly forgot all about it.
I hate Takano now as a person because of that look-alike she had burnt and her position behind the Hinamizawa Disease, but I have to admit she’s an awesome character. and I love her outfit as well. *thinks she’d be fun to cosplay*
^_^ I seriously thought she’d tell Tomitake she was pregnant in that scene where they got into a fight, but she didn’t. was a lot better than I thought, and was wonderful. Was also glad Satoko turned her uncle in – finally!
5 stars out of 5.
Tom/Wyrdwad
There were a lot of places where the 1st season threw people off with hallucinations.
K1 hallucinating in Onikakushi-hen (the needle in the ohagi, etc.)
K1 hallucinating Mion/Shion underneath the bed in Watanagashi
Satoko hallucinating that Teppei was alive in Tatarigoroshi
K1 overhearing Irie that “he’s showing the symptoms” after he told him about killing Teppei to him in Tatarigoroshi (now we know what Irie meant by that)
Shion’s moments of insanity particularly show her in hallucigenic mode several times in Meakashi-hen
Rena hallucinating that maggots were inside her (Tsumihoroboshi-hen)
Besides, I think everyone by know had read the TIPS.
I’ve never read a single one of the TIPS, nor played the games. I’ve only been watching the anime.
I also still think that some of these events — the needle in the ohagi and the extra Mion/Shion under the bed, for example — did NOT seem like hallucinations. If they were meant to be, then I still chalk it up to bad writing… poorly conceived attempts at red herrings.
And if the needle in the ohagi was meant to be a hallucination, then I’m actually VERY disappointed, because I found that scene extremely creepy and memorable, and it would be almost OFFENSIVE to me as a viewer if it didn’t really happen.
No, until the series has officially ended, I’m going to continue believing that these events DID actually happen… and if it turns out that they were indeed hallucinations, that’ll just be a mark against the series for me, I guess.
-Tom
So have you heard the news?
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070921p2a00m0na021000c.html
Absolutely ridiculous, if you ask me. And right as the show was getting to the best part, too! I was looking forward to this episode all week, and now I probably won’t get to see it AT ALL until it’s released on DVD.
-Tom
Episode 12 aired on a different channel this time, so no, Higurashi isn’t cancelled after Axe-tan.
Tom/Wyrdwad
>I’ve never read a single one of the TIPS
You should read at least the TIPS man. They give you more insight into smaller things that the anime left out.
Philantropy Sub has (the hardsub for) Episode 12 out.
Isnt this the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni KAI** the 12th ep