Aaaand the building-up continues yet again. My patience is getting tested quite a bit for this series, and it really looks like the final arc of this series will be around nine episodes of building up, with the climax taking up only two of them. I’m still not sure whether this was a right decision to make. I mean, the climax has to be really good in order to make up for the episodes that it kept us hungry for any actual development. Can the creators really pull it off, without going through the obvious routes in which Takano dies and the others live happily ever after?
In this episode, Rika teams up with both the major children and adult-characters, and they come up with the plan to fake Rika’s death to cause confusion to Takano. Tomitake goes into hiding, and meanwhile investigates on Takano, discovering what we knew already, Akasaka remains in Rika’s house to make people believe that the house is still being inhabited by people, while Rika, Satoko and Hanyuu hide, Irie continues to keep an eye out, and basically forms Akasaka’s link to the outside world, since his phone will probably be tapped and Oishi is going to be the one to spread Rika’s faked death.
Meanwhile, the woman we saw with Takano turns out to be someone who’d like to see Takano’s antagonists fall too, which explains the support she gives to her. The next episode will probably consist out of everyone getting ready for the major plan. Episode 48 will then probably deal with the start of the plan, while the real climax will take place in episodes 49 and 50. Let’s hope the creators know what they’re doing.]]>
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – 46
The first 5 episodes were more about answering the lingering questions than build up. Until 19 the only build up in Matsuribayashi were from the scenes after the credits.
I’m surprised you’re not enjoying this “build-up” more, as I actually find it to be in many ways MORE exciting than what you usually find in a Higurashi story arc. It’s like the pieces are being set up for the inevitable game of chess, and it’s fascinating to see this intricate plan unfold. They could devote another 5 episodes to this, and I still wouldn’t be tired of it. (:
-Tom
Wyrdwad: well, my main problem with these episodes of building up is that it’s so completely different from the first season, which featured all kinds of betrayal and mystery and was incredibly chaotic, something you rarely see effectively used in other anime, and I quite enjoyed this. I guess I’m most of all disappointed that that part is gone now. It’s strange. Usually I like building-up as well.
I can sort of see where you’re coming from… but really, these episodes are NEEDED, BADLY. In order for this show to achieve the level of greatness it’s capable of, it needs to wrap up… and in order to wrap up, it needs to do something big and complex… and in order for that, there needs to be a lot of setup.
I guess I was just kind of EXPECTING the show to go in this direction… and not in a “predictable” way, but in a more “they better not leave this part out” kind of way. (:
-Tom