History Characters / HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi

The cast of ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' and ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai'', and associated tropes. Beware of '''spoilers'''.

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Protagonists]]
!!"[[TheCharmer Magician of Words]]" Keiichi Maebara
!!!Voiced by: SoichiroHoshi (JP), GrantGeorge (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/78939.jpg
'''Keiichi Maebara''' is the main protagonist in the "question" arcs. The son of a famous artist, his family recently moved to Hinamizawa after an unfortunate event involving him in their hometown, [[spoiler:where he was the perpetrator of a series of crimes involving shooting young girls with his model gun]]. His charisma and remarkable talent for speechmaking allow him to easily make new friends and become popular in the village.

[[spoiler:Early in the story, in ''Onikakushi-hen'' and ''Tatarigoroshi-hen'', he is the one affected by the paranoia and driven to commit murder; however, the inner strength and unshaking belief in his friends he acquires in the other arcs are one of the keys to solving the mystery. Eventually, he is even able to recall some of the events of the past repetitions, which helps inspire Rika to defeat fate]].

His arc is "Onikakushi-hen." ("Spirited away by the demon" in the dub)
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* AdaptationDyeJob: Eye variation. The anime and the Mahjong game are the only continuities in the series that display him with purple eyes, though occasionally a manga color will show him with purple.
* AllMenArePerverts: Strong believer of this and proud of it.
* [[spoiler:AmnesiacDissonance]]: "[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone What have I done?]] [[spoiler:I killed Rena and Mion!]]"
* AntiHero: [[SlidingScaleofAntiHeroes Type IV]] in the Curse Killing arc.
* TheAtoner: In ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' ("Atonement Chapter"), naturally.
* BadLiar: Whenever he does anything that will get him in loads of trouble, he will act very guilty and his lies are horrendous, especialy in Watanagashi-Hen and Tatarigoroshi-hen.
** However, in all other cases, he is an absolute ''god'' at getting people to believe crap that he makes up.
* BatterUp
* BerserkerTears: [[spoiler:He cries his heart out while killing his two best friends in what he ''thinks'' is self-defense.]] [[RRatedOpening This is pretty much the first thing you see in the series.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: An incredibly dark twist on it.
* BigFancyHouse: Called "the Maebara Mansion" by the villagers, though about 2/3 of it is taken up by his father's art studio.
* BishieSparkle: Used in liberal amounts.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's noticeably pretty and even [[BishieSparkle sparkles]] on various occasions.
* BookDumb: Played with. In the first episode, he's seen helping Rena and Mion to understand their work, and in Tatarigoroshi-hen, it's shown that part of the reason he was teased so much in his hometown was because he was doing too well in school. He just has a different learning style.
* BreakTheCutie: Tends to "snap" rather than "break", though.
* BrokenAce
* ButtMonkey: The other members of the club seem to take glee in pulling pranks and embarrassing him even outside their usual punishment games. Especially Satoko who spends hours designing and setting up traps just to humiliate him and Mion whose [[spoiler:tabasco sauce/]]needle filled ohagi convinced him they were trying to kill him. In fairness if your friends treated you like they do [[spoiler: and you were suffering from a disease that causes ''extreme'' paranoia]], you would have probably come to the same conclusion.
* BuxomIsBetter: Averted in the manga[[note]]Onikakushi, Volume 1, Chapter 3, Page 16[[/note]]! He tells Mion her boobs are too big and that he prefers Rena's more average size. Then again, he may say that both to upset Mion and to make Rena blush.
* TheCharmer: Called The Magician of Words for his supreme charisma and talent in bullshitting.
* ChickMagnet: Though it can also work against him. [[spoiler:Shion was attracted to him in Watanagashi/Meakashi and it's one of the things that set her off since she didn't want him to replace Satoshi in her heart.]] Either way, he has Mion, probably Rena and maybe Satoko based on one of her last lines in Tatarigoroshi as well as general popularity. Furthermore, the manga Kataribanashi-hen (drawn by various artists with the approval of Ryukishi07) suggests that Rika likes him as well.
* ChivalrousPervert
* CryCute
* DarkAndTroubledPast: His family moved to a little town in the middle of nowhere for a reason...
* {{Determinator}}: In sharp contrast to Rika's fatalism.
** {{Foil}}: To Rika.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: In the sound novel, he wonders why the other club members can read his wacky thoughts like an open book when he is nervous. When the narration switches to Rena in ''Tsumihoroboshi'', it turns out it's because he doesn't just think them.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Has an entire army of loyal fanboys that call him Comrade K because he helped them embrace that AllMenArePerverts.
* {{Fanservice}}: ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei'', first episode. That's all.
* FeaturelessProtagonist: In the sound novels he was this, but only for the first half of the series, after which he gets a portrait like the other major characters.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the sound novel, Keiichi hears [[spoiler:Hanyuu's voice apologizing]] as soon as just after the title screen of the first chapter. [[spoiler:Since he has been away from the village for a few day, he has already started to develop the syndrome.]] At that moment though, he's half-asleep and thinks it's just a girl apologizing to someone.
* TheHeart: [[spoiler:When he's not a VillainProtagonist. Also, his presence is what gives hope to Rika, since according to her he didn't move to Hinamizawa in two unseen timelines and these were "sad and doomed worlds".]]
* TheHero: [[spoiler:Takes up the role in ''Tsumihoroboshi'' and ''Minagoroshi.'' In two of the prior three arcs he's actually a VillainProtagonist.]]
* HeyItsThatVoice: [[SoichiroHoshi Kira]] [[MobileSuitGundamSEED Yamato]] decided to move to the countryside for some [[{{Irony}} peace and quiet]].
--> Rika-chan, to us men, terms like "Fate" and "[[MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Destiny]]" hold quite a special meaning.
* In the dub, [[GrantGeorge he's]] none other than [[FateStayNight Gilgamesh]]!
* HotBlooded
* ImageSong: "Cool ni Nare". Also has a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny rather humourous]] rap with Ooishi [[spoiler:at least [[SanitySlippage until]] [[DrivenToSuicide the end]]]].
* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: In the Tatarigoroshi-hen arc, its revealed in a flashback that he was bullied for being too smart. As a result, he tended to be isolated from the class and even had a dead rat placed on his desk as a result. You know the rest, but this leads him to becoming {{Book Dumb}}.
** [[spoiler:LonersAreFreaks]]: Once, he got bored of studying and [[spoiler:decided to shoot down random kids with a BB gun. He stopped and turned himself in because he hit a little girl in the eye.]]
* InterruptedSuicide: The full ending of [[spoiler:Tatarigoroshi-hen]].
* IWishedYouWereDead: ''Tatarigoroshi-hen''.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: In Tatarigoroshi.
* TheLeader: Type IV - Charismatic. While [[spoiler:not the focus of the story - that's Rika]], his charisma and force of personality are essential to bringing everyone together as a group. [[spoiler:Rika]] mentions that [[spoiler: there have been worlds where Keiichi never moved to Hinamizawa - all of them doomed to failure.]]
* LethalChef: Screwing up some basic stuff like Miso soup or rice is a thing. Almost setting fire to your house while cooking vegetables is [[EpicFail Homer Simpson level]].
* {{Lolicon}}: In ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei'', he is revealed to harbor a rather [[{{Squick}} squicky]] attraction toward Satoko.
** And he even got a nosebleed at fantasizing at Rika going to a brothel in one of the TIPS.
** The first episode of ''Kira'' is [[ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels just as bad.]]
* TheMessiah: In the later arcs.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: [[AvertedTrope Nope. Please try again.]]
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The first is that he realized what horrible things he had been doing back in his old life when he was shooting at children with a BB gun. He later confesses this to his friends, which leads him to remember Onikakushi and having an even ''worse'' case. Both of these occur in Tsumihoroboshi, or Atonement Chapter.]]
* NaiveNewcomer: ''Onikakushi'' might be a {{Deconstruction}}. The fact that Keiichi knows nothing about Hinamizawa or important past events and feels like an outsider, is a major cause of his growing paranoia and suspicion toward his new friends; and serves to lure the equally clueless reader as well.
* ObliviousToLove: Can't seem to catch on to Mion and Rena's attraction to him. Taken UpToEleven in ''Musubienishi-hen''.
** Actually, in the latter it isn't so much that he doesn't realize, rather that he doesn't want to chose.
* [[OddFriendship Odd]] IntergenerationalFriendship: In ''Minagoroshi-hen'', [[spoiler:with Ooishi.]]
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: In ''Onikakushi'', a few days after he ate [[spoiler:the Ohagi with the "needle" (actually tabasco sauce) inside]], he screams at Mion, saying that her ohagi was so good he almost died. She answers, almost crying, that it was just a little prank. It's obvious in this exchange that they are ''not'' talking about the same thing.
* RedOniBlueOni: The "furious red flame" to Rena's "silent blue flame". Later plays the same role, but to Rika instead.
* RousingSpeech: An expert on these. Mion goes so far as to call him a master of words. Becomes a plot point in ''Minagoroshi-hen''.
* SmarterThanYouLook: He's actually among the most intelligent people in the main cast. Shion in particular doesn't think much of his brains.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: In-universe, it's a plot point that he bears a lot of similarities to Satoshi. From a determined, hotblooded demeanor to using his old bat as his primary weapon.
* [[spoiler:SupportingProtagonist: The story is really about Rika. However, he ''is'' the character that inspires her the most.]]
* [[spoiler:SympatheticMurderer]]: In ''Tatarigoroshi.''
* [[spoiler:UnreliableNarrator]]: In many of the early arcs, especially Onikakushi-hen.
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist]]: In ''Onikakushi'' and ''Tatarigoroshi.'' More so in the former than the later.
* WeaponOfChoice: Houjou Satoshi's baseball bat.
* WhatTheHellHero: When Rena finds out some things about his past, she calls him on this. Also the catalyst for the Atonement Chapter having the name it has.
* WouldHitAGirl: If said girl set up a combo-trap for him on his first day at his new school, yes he would.

!!"[[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe Cute Mode]]" Rena Ryugu
!!!Voiced by: MaiNakahara (JP), MelaLee (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/33921.jpg
'''Rena Ryugu''' is a girl who returned from Ibaraki to Hinamizawa one year ago, and she is in same grade level as Keiichi. She has an obsession with things she perceives as cute, whether they're actually adorable or butt-ugly. Every now and then, she goes treasure hunting in the town's trash heap, searching for "cute" things to collect, and upon finding something "cute", it's difficult to stop her from taking it home. Despite this disarming trait, Rena is shown to be amazingly observant and perspective about the things around her. According to Mion, while Rena might seem cute herself, people should be careful not to anger her as she becomes quite scary. She is especially sensitive about the topic of Oyashiro-sama, who she fears will curse her for leaving Hinamizawa.

Her arc is ""Tsumihoroboshi-hen." (Atonement in the dub)
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* AgentMulder
* AllMenArePerverts: Somewhat subverted. She thinks men are physically unable to resist a hot woman trying to seduce them; but that's also why she despises women who use that to control men.
-->'''Rena:''' Even if I denounce her, she will just have to press her breasts against Daddy's back and he will want to protect her. It always works without fail.
* AlliterativeName
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: As a BackgroundBoss in the "Strolling Rika" mini-game.
* [[{{AnAxeToGrind}} A Billhook To Grind]]
* ArmorPiercingSlap: On Keiichi to push him to apologize to Mion in ''Watanagashi''. It kind of feels like a mother scolding her kid…
* AxCrazy: Billhook Crazy!
* [[spoiler:AttemptedRape]]: Subverted, as [[spoiler: she was at level 5 at the time and possibly only ''thought'' this is what they were going to do]] and she nearly kills the boys as a result.
** Though [[spoiler:they could have tried and that was the reason they refuse to talk.]]
* BadassAdorable
* BerserkButton: Don't mock her belief in Oyashiro-sama.
** Also, being called "Reina-chan" by Rina [[spoiler:in the same way as her hated mother.]] In this case though, the problem is not so much the button than the ''person'' who presses it.
* BreakTheCutie: Like Keiichi, snaps more often than breaks
* CatchPhrase: [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe "HAU~! OMOCHIKAERII!"]]
* TheConfidant: To Mion in ''Watanagashi''. She also helps Keiichi realize that he hurt Mion's feelings, so it may be a indirect case of PlayingCyrano.
* CovertPervert: , [[ItMakesSenseInContext she blushes when she hears Keiichi say that it's soo hot his crotch is getting sweaty to both her & Satoko in the VN.]]
** Also, in Rei.
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: In ''Tsumihoroboshi'', she may not be all there but there are a few things that she actually gets ''right''. [[spoiler:Notably the Okonogi gardeners being a fake society hiding secret agents, the fact the Hinamizawa Syndrome is being researched at the Irie Clinic, or the fact that there is ''some kind'' of relationship between said research and the mysterious deaths.]] Of course she is completely off the mark about all the rest, but that's still ironic.
* CuteAndPsycho: She supplies the Page Image. [[spoiler:Though in truth it is a subversion. It's not actually in her normal personality to snap like that.]]
* CuteBruiser: Able to snap the rope that has her tied up with ease. Can wield the billhook without any difficultly also. And probably brought home the statue of Col. Sanders[[hottip:*:the KFC mascot]] that's bigger than she is without any assistance.
** When HilarityEnsues she doesn't hesitate to hit her friends, and she's thrown tables a few times when things get rough. She's apparently quite strong.
** Keiichi thinks that he wouldn't be able to beat her in a fight. The climax of ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' shows [[spoiler:he was ''right''.]]
* CutenessProximity: One of her [[RunningGag Running Gags]].
* [[DaddysGirl Daddy's Girl]]: Remained very loyal to her father after her mother betrayed/cheated on him, and as shown in ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' she is willing to go to [[MurderIsTheBestSolution extreme lengths]] to protect him.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: She discovered that her mother cheated on her father. While her parents were finalizing their divorce, she [[spoiler: attacked her classmates while suffering from Hinamizawa Syndrome.]] [[spoiler: She then attempted suicide and was treated with medication and therapy]]. She and her father then moved back to Hinamizawa to start a new life.
* GenkiGirl
* [[GiantWaistRibbon Giant Back Ribbon]]: Part of her usual outfit.
* GirlWithPsychoWeapon
* GirlyBruiser
* HotBlooded: She defiantly shows this, sometimes to the degree of Keiichi, whenever she snaps out of her calmness.
* HyperAwareness: Seen best in ''Watanagashi-hen''. Most of the time [[ObfuscatingStupidity she hides it very well.]]
* IfItsYouItsOkay: Pulls that move on Keiichi during the zombie-tag game to "paralyse" him.
* ImTakingHerHomeWithMe: TropeNamer.
* ImageSong: "Egao Happy Peace"
* [[spoiler:InterruptedSuicide]]: Motivated her to return to Hinamizawa.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58UO_uRup-U "Lunch Time"]]… [[WastedSong although you only hear it in the first novel.]]
* LightningBruiser: ''Very'' fast when in Cute Mode. Avoiding her punches is actually a reflex-based mini-game.
* MacGyvering: A rare non-heroic example. She makes [[spoiler:a school-blowing bomb with a little gasoline, a cook timer and a base-ball.]] And it works horribly well, as ''Yoigoshi-hen'' shows us.
* MeaningfulRename - She changed her name from "Reina" to "Rena" to reinvent herself when she returned to Hinamizawa. She felt that, by removing the "i", she was removing her bad memories.
** Note possible MeaningfulName: "Reina" is the Spanish for "queen".
** She also changed the writing of the name from Kanji to Katakana; using katakana in a name was quite unusual at the time, too.
* [[spoiler:MurderIsTheBestSolution:]] She seems to believe that it will prevent Hinamizawa from being destroyed.
* [[MrExposition Miss Exposition]]: In ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'', as she explains Miyo's scrapbook to Keiichi.
* MoodSwinger - It's hinted in the games that she's actually bipolar.
* NightmareFetishist: She finds some very odd things to be "cute". One of the TIPS say that [[spoiler:this might be a psychological reaction to prevent other people from entering and ruining her household.]]
* {{Nosebleed}}: Has frequent ones in the Visual Novel, triggered by the presence of cute things.
* [[spoiler:ObfuscatingStupidity]]: Compare her behavior at the end of episode 4 of ''Rei'' with her behavior in episode 5.
** For that matter, see the end of Watanagashi-hen. She figures out the identity of the killer [[spoiler:(mostly)]] just based on a flyer and the state of Rika and Satoko's dinner.
* ParentWithNewParamour: Rena's mother divorced her father and married another man, resulting in a permanent estrangement between them.
* RedHeadedHeroine
* RedOniBlueOni: The "silent blue flame" to Keiichi's "furious red flame".
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: In ''Kira'', she gets up from her bath in front of Satoko and Rika and runs away with baby Rika without bothering with clothes.
* SmarterThanYouLook: She's often underestimated due to her cute mannerisms and vaguely ditzy/detached manner. However, she possesses one of the most analytical minds among the cast.
* [[spoiler:StepfordSmiler]]
* SupremeChef
* [[spoiler:SurvivalMantra]]: "Hauuu~ I'm taking her home with me!"
* TheBigGuy: Don't underestimate Rena because of her size. She looks [[{{CuteBruiser}} cute]], but [[{{BewareTheNiceOnes}} get her mad]] and she'll have [[{{AnAxeToGrind}} a cleaver to grind with you]].
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted. She ''did'' see a therapist after the little... ''incident'' at her old school.
* ThirdPersonPerson
* ThroughHisStomach: She tries this with Keiichi in the third episode of ''Kira''.
* TheUnsmile: There is her happy and cheerful [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe "cute mode"]]. There is also her "Oyashiro-sama mode". In the latter, her smile is… [[http://mangafox.me/manga/higurashi_no_naku_koro_ni_kai_meakashihen/v01/c003/26.html not quite as communicative.]]
* VerbalTic: She has a case of Palilalia which is the ocasional repeating the last words of her sentences, most notably "kana, kana?" ("I wonder, I wonder?"). Done to very sinister effect in ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen''.
* WeaponOfChoice: A billhook. Though some confuse it for a machete or cleaver, hence the nickname "Cleaver Girl."
* [[spoiler:WellIntentionedExtremist]]: ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen''. [[spoiler:She genuinely believes that her actions in that arc are going to save Hinamizawa from the disaster. Ironically, it might actually have, at the cost of the lives of all her hostages.]] She also just wants the happy days in Hinamizawa to last, [[spoiler:it's just that she thinks that MurderIsTheBestSolution.]]
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: ''Tsumihoroboshi'' clearly shows it, especially the sound novel.
* WomanInWhite
* ZettaiRyouiki: In an odd way in the VisualNovel. [[http://imgur.com/oz59Q.jpg Is she wearing anything at all under there?]]
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvhBkNAUMow&feature=relmfu Well, it's possible she doesn't…]] (NSFW)

!!"[[TeamMom Club Leader]]" Mion Sonozaki
!!!Voiced by: SatsukiYukino (JP), MeganHollingshead (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mion_9952.jpg
'''Mion Sonozaki''' is the oldest classmate in Keiichi's class. As the elder, she is the class president and everyone looks up to her as the leader. Her social skills are on par with Keiichi, whom she highly respects as a friend and rival (though it is later shown that she has a crush on him). She acts like a tomboy, but has a hidden girlish side. She is next in line to be the head of the Sonozaki household, one of the Three Families which holds tremendous influence in Hinamizawa. Her position as heir is marked by an oni tattoo on her back.

[[spoiler:She's really the younger twin, who was born with the name "Shion", but was [[TwinSwitch forced to trade identities with her sister]] when she received the oni tattoo by mistake]].

Her arc is "Watanagashi-hen." (Cotton Drifting in the dub)
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* BadLiar
* BlatantLies: In ''Watanagashi'', Keiichi first thinks her having a twin sister is this. He was… wrong and right at the same time. [[spoiler:The few times they meet at the beginnig it's ''really'' her pretending to be her twin. The last time though, it's the real Shion…]] [[BadLiar Her red face and stuttering when asked about Shion and Angel Mort really don't help.]]
* BreakTheCutie: However, compared to the others, she doesn't have as much of a DarkAndTroubledPast, and is one of the more psychologically well-adjusted characters in the cast.
* {{Bokukko}}: To the point of using ''ojisan'' ("old man") as a first-person pronoun. She does use ''watashi'' sometimes though.
* BrilliantButLazy / BookDumb: Don't think she's stupid because she asks Keiichi for help on her schoolwork despite being in a higher grade.
* BoobsOfSteel: Very busty and ''very'' competent in close combat. She hands [[spoiler:Okonogi's]] ass to him beautifully in ''Matsuribayashi''.
* CainAndAbel: The Abel versus Shion. [[spoiler: Though not as much as you are lead to believe, since Mion and Shion genuinely love each other. She even had three of her fingernails ripped out because she thought it wasn't fair that only Shion had to suffer.]]
* [[spoiler: CallingTheOldManOut: Calls Oryō out over her unfair treatment of the Hojo siblings after the [[{{MoralEventHorizon}} "distinguishment incident"]] offscreen (talked about in the Eye Opening chapter). The incident was the last straw as Mion was comtemplating KILLING HER in a NobleTopEnforcer style rebellion.]]
* CannotSpitItOut: Even [[spoiler:pretending to be Shion to show her feminine side to Keiichi]] doesn't really help.
* ChivalrousPervert: Prevalent in the manga where she does such wholesome things as grope Keiichi's rear in the Cotton Drifting chapters and raunchily stares at his crotch in the Curse Killing chapter.
* ComatoseCanary: In the Playstation 2-only Taraimawashi-hen, the inspiration for Satoko's scene in Yakusamashi-hen.
** Also in the one-shot chapter ''Hinageshi-hen''.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* DualWielding: She uses the traditional "katana and wakizashi" combination in ''Yoigoshi-hen''.
* EmptyShell: See ComatoseCanary.
* {{Expy}}: Jessica is basically her equivalent in ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', minus the [[TheGadfly Gadfly]] part.
* [[spoiler:{{Fingore}} - Similar to Shion below, she pulled off three of her own fingernails (though unlike Shion, she did so off screen) because she felt it was unfair that only Shion got punishments despite them being identical twins.]]
* AFriendInNeed: The origins of [[spoiler: the club]].
* TheGadfly: Really loves cranking Keiichi's chain, in part because she's really bad at expressing how she really feels. Her punishment games do however go into borderline {{Troll}} territory (still good spirited).
* GagBoobs
* GenkiGirl
* ImageSong: "Futari no birthday" and "Ienai Kotoba".
* LadyOfWar: Becomes this in spades in the alteverse sequel manga, Yoigoshi-hen. [[spoiler: This technically applies to her twin sister Shion as well, whose body she is possessing.]]
* LargeHam: She can get '''very''' hammy during club games.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmmU8HWWgvg "Spring Step"]] (shared with Shion).
* LuminescentBlush: Happens every time Keiichi says nice things to her. And that's adorable.
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler: The reason she refuses to talk about Satoshi is because she was unable to save him.]]
* NiceGirl: Once you get past her playful competitive side, she's one of the kindest members of the cast. [[spoiler:And unlike Rena, who is just as nice, she technically has no dark backstory and according to Rika she never succumbs to Hinamizawa Syndrome.]]
* ObliviousMockery: In ''Tatarigoroshi'', she eagerly and repeatedly mocks Keiichi's lunchbox, pointing out what a terrible cook he is, with Satoko nodding and snarking in agreement. Except Satoko is actually the one who made the food in said lunchbox.
* TheOjou: Heir to a prestigous family, though she doesn't quite act the part, except when she is in a formal meetings [[spoiler:or has to witness her sister's punishment.]]
* OneOfTheBoys: Mion has trouble not just getting her feelings across to Keiichi but also getting him to acknowledge her actual gender.
* [[spoiler:OnlySaneMan: She's the only one in the cast without a DarkAndTroubledPast, and other than Rika, the only one who doesn't suffer from Hinamizawa Syndrome in the series (although it's hinted that she does in other Fragments).]]
* RedOniBlueOni: Red Oni to Shion's Blue. [[spoiler:But her ''true'' personality is Blue; she acts Red because it is expected from the "older twin" role she is forced to play]]. The archetype is referenced by her blue oni tattoo.
* SiblingYinYang: Mion is boyish, openly perverted but secretly shy, generous and calm when not playing games. Shion is much girlier, TheTease instead of perverted and tends towards being selfish and hotblooded. Mion herself states that she's the warm friendly one while Shion is cold.
* ShipperOnDeck: She plays this role for Keiichi and Rena during the festival in ''Onikakushi'' (especially in the sound novel). Which is quite baffling when we learn her feelings for Keiichi in the following arc.
* {{Shorttank}}
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Revealed to be the reason she likes Keiichi so much during the Eye Opening chapter.
* SignatureLaugh: An awesome one can be heard a few times in the anime, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9juWiTRRtjw notably at the end of the Zombie Tag.]] GAHAHAHAHA!
* SpiritedCompetitor: Moreso than the rest of the club unless Keiichi or Rena get fired up.
* TheStrategist: "If she had joined Napoleon, Siberia would be French territory by now. If she had joined Hitler, the Third Reich would be all over Europe".
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. S-stupid Kei-chan! I'm just accepting this doll be-because you insist, n-not because I like it! S-so don't get the wrong idea!
* TheLancer / TeamMom: Was the group leader prior to [[{{TheHero}} Keiichi's]] joining of the club, but directs the groups' activities even now. As the oldest member, she usually coordinates the abilities of everyone to [[TheStrategist maximum and frightening effect]] in and out of battle. Thus showing [[BrilliantButLazy her brilliance despite being the most laid back of the group.]]
* TheTease: In the manga especially, she has quite a few moments of this in the beginnings of different arcs.
* {{Tsundere}}: A unique type. She neither acts terribly tsun nor dere, but has the classic signs of denying her attraction or her desire for things. Note that since her "nice side" is the dominant personality, she has slight type B leanings.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She's a tomboy, while her twin sister Shion is more feminine. [[spoiler:At least it appears as such. As noted under RedOniBlueOni, the two act this way because it is expected from them. Deep down, Mion is quite girly, while Shion is, [[BreakTheCutie well]], [[{{Yandere}} you]] [[AxCrazy probably]] [[KillEmAll know.]]]]
* TomboyishPonytail
* TwinSwitch: Frequently with Shion. [[spoiler:As children, they switched ''permanently'']].
* UnreliableExpositor: The Sonozaki family is often implicated in the goings on in the village, meaning that of all the cast she has some of the best reasons to lie. [[spoiler:Subverted. More than just about anyone else, you can trust what Mion has to say. However, tricks can be played on the reader such as 'Mion' confessing to all the murderers and talking about the history of the village and really playing up the angst. However, not only is this not Mion, Shion was actually bullshitting throughout the entire thing, meaning that at least half of what she said was a lie.]]
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one ever comments on the gun she carries around. It's an airsoft gun, but you'd still think it would draw some attention...
** Then again, she is a YakuzaPrincess and heir apparent of the Sonozaki household.
* WaifFu: [[spoiler:Matsuribayashi reveals that she's excellent in hand to hand combat.]]
* WeaponOfChoice: [[spoiler:[[IKnowKarate None]]]]. However, in ''Higurashi Daybreak'', she wields her airsoft gun, and in the manga-only chapter Yoigoroshi-hen, she is convinced that KatanasAreJustBetter.
* YakuzaPrincess
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Green Hair]]

!!Shion Sonozaki
!!!Voiced by: SatsukiYukino (JP), MeganHollingshead (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/76953.jpg
'''Shion Sonozaki''' is Mion's identical twin sister, who currently resides in Okinomiya. In spite of their different personalities, she and Mion often switch places, and it can be difficult to distinguish between them. She was sent by the Sonozaki family to a private boarding school, but escaped and returned to live near her hometown, where she lives with Kasai. She was in love with Satoshi, and blames the Three Families of Hinamizawa for his disappearance. She works as a waitress at the ''Angel Mort'' restaurant and is the manager's assistant for the Hinamizawa Fighters little league team.

[[spoiler:She's really the older twin, who was born with the name "Mion", but was forced to trade identities with her sister when she didn't receive the oni tattoo by mistake]].

Her arc is "Meakashi-hen." (Eye Opening in the dub) Legendary for its infamy. YouHaveBeenWarned.
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* [[spoiler:AttemptedRape: No, she's not the recipient. When she is getting ready to torture Keichii in Meakashi-hen/Watanagashi-hen but decides she might spare his life instead, it's implied this is going to happen. Rena and Oishi show up before she tries anything however.]]
** Note that in the VN version of Meakashi-hen, this was never implied, nor did it ever happen. [[spoiler:She already knew she was cornered, and just tased Keiichi and went off switch with Mion one last time.]]
* [[spoiler:TheAtoner: After realizing what she did in the Eye Opening Arc, she becomes especially aggressive in protecting Satako in later arcs.]]
* [[BigLittleBrother Big Little Sister]]: Seeing how she plays Mion like a harp and acts somehow superior to her, you really wouldn't think she's the younger twin. [[spoiler:[[{{Foreshadowing}} And that's because she is the older one.]]]]
* BoobsOfSteel: Similarly to Mion.
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler: Warnings about tormenting cute things apply. She doesn't simply break or snap, she ''explodes''.]]
* BringMyBrownPants: In the anime, [[spoiler:she wets herself after killing Satoko and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone suddenly remembering Satoshi's last wish.]]. Some theorized that what comes out between her legs is… not urine.]] Not that she cares anymore at that point.
* CainAndAbel: The Cain versus Mion. [[spoiler: Though not as much as you are led to believe, since Mion and Shion genuinely love each other.]]
* TheChick
* ColdBloodedTorture: Her MO. Ironically, she was the victim of it herself.
* CoolBigSis: To Satoko, as a promise she made to Satoshi. [[spoiler: And horribly screwed with in arcs where she goes insane.]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* DangerouslyShortSkirt: In the anime only, curiously. In other versions, she wears a long skirt.
* DisneyVillainDeath: In the Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening chapters.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: She hates canned foods because Kasai traumatized her into thinking that human meat gets packed inside.
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide]]: In Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen, excluding the anime.
* FanserviceWithASmile: Her job at ''Angel Mort''.
* [[spoiler:{{Fingore}}: Forced to pull out three nails in order to protect people she had endangered.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: From Frederica Bernkastel's poem in ''Meakashi-hen'': "How many years will pass before she wonders if she really dropped them?"
* FutureBadass: In the manga-only arc Yoigoshi-hen. However, [[spoiler: She was being possessed by Mion, making ''her'' the true badass despite the staggering disadvantage of being ''dead'']].
* GreenEyedMonster: [[spoiler: Normally suppressed, but she has some resentment for Mion because she can still see the boy she likes.]]
* [[spoiler:IgnoredEpiphany]]: Her reaction to realizing she just [[spoiler:crucified Satoko]] was, number one: [[spoiler: wetting herself]]. Number two: Saying "Oh, what the hell". In the VN, it's expanded upon: [[spoiler: She realizes that she forgot her promise to Satoshi, it's just that she felt it was already too late to atone, and she had no choice but to continue what she was doing.]]
* ImageSong - "Futari no Birthday" and "Ienai Kotoba", along with Mion.
* [[ImaginaryFriend Imaginary Boyfriend]]: She thinks [[spoiler:the footsteps belong to Satoshi]] and starts talking and laughing with "him". They actually belong to [[spoiler:Hanyū.]]
* IWillWaitForYou: Although two arcs involve what happens if she forgets.
* [[spoiler:[[KnightTemplarBigBrother Knight Templar Big Sister]]: For Satoko after Meakashi arc concludes and she remembers in future arcs that she was asked to protect her.]]
* LaughingMad :In Meakashi and Watanagashi.
* LoveAtFirstSight: She falls head-over-heels for Satoshi after he merely pats her head. She wonders herself how that could happen so easily.
* [[spoiler:LoveMakesYouCrazy [[LoveMakesYouEvil And Evil]]]] : ''Meakashi-hen''. Enough said.
* MatchmakerCrush: Kira, episode 3. Also, in ''Watanagashi'', even if she takes a rather unsympathetic delight at making Mion jealous, she does make Keiichi realize that Mion loves him. Then things go downhill from there…
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After torturing Satoko to death she remembers that Satoshi asked her to take care of his little sister and that while she gave up on Satoshi coming back and went for revenge, Satoko never lost faith. Has a straight example in the Massacre chapter after recalling what she did.]]
* OffToBoardingSchool
* TheRashomon: ''Watanagashi-hen'' was told from Keiichi's point of view, and Shion retells it in ''Meakashi-hen''. [[spoiler:Sorta. They actually ''are'' different ways of playing out the same sequence, but a few details differ such as who knocked over the bike and had someone come to their rescue, or the fact that Rika [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled "exits the stage" herself]] in ''Meakashi''.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue Oni to Mion's Red. [[spoiler: But her ''true'' personality is Red; she acts Blue because it is expected from the "younger twin" role she is forced to play]].
* [[spoiler:RoaringRampageOfRevenge]]
* [[spoiler:SerialKiller: Unlike other arcs, her murders occur over the course of days. Visionary type combined with revenge sub-type due to Hinimizawa syndrome.]]
* SiblingYinYang: Between her and Mion. See Mion's entry for details.
* SixthRanger [[spoiler:/ SixthRangerTraitor in some early arcs.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her actions in Watanagashi and Meakashi are what saves the village in those two arcs. [[spoiler:More than two days pass between Rika's death and the finding of her body, but no villager has gone insane, destroying the basis of the Emergency Manual 34, and thus preventing the Hinamizawa disaster. Too bad Shion tortured and killed half of the main cast in the process.]]
* StarCrossedLovers: Her family is not happy about her being in love with Satoshi. [[spoiler:Subverted: Her grandmother long sinced stopped detesting the Houjou family but has to keep up appearances.]]
* StartOfDarkness: Subverted with the "distinguishment scene". It is so in arcs where she snaps but not in arcs where she doesn't.
* [[TallDarkAndBishoujo Tall, Green-Haired and Bishoujo]]
* TheTease: Regularly and unsubtly hits on Keiichi, ''especially'' if Mion is with them. MarshmallowHell optional.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The girly girl. [[spoiler:At least it appears as such. See Mion's entry for details.]]
* [[spoiler: {{Troll}}: Becomes an exceptionally nasty one on par with [[{{Umineko}} Beatrice]] in arcs where she snaps.]] See WoundedGazelleGambit below.
* TwinSwitch: Frequently with Mion. [[spoiler:As children, they switched ''permanently'']].
* TheUnfavorite: As the younger twin, she is denied any family privilege. Especially painful because [[spoiler:she is really the older twin, and thus should be the Sonozaki heir]]. However, it seems that for the most part she doesn't entirely mind because it's not very fun having the responsibilities of the Sonozaki heir.
* UnreliableExpositor: Like a lot of the cast are at varying points. However, this is specifically referring to [[spoiler:almost the entirety of what she says at the end of ''Watanagashi'' being bullshit.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: In Meakashi-hen.]]
* WeaponOfChoice: [[spoiler:A taser, as well as the contents of the Sonozaki family's torture cellar. She also knows how to handle an ''assault rifle''.]]
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: '''GOOD''' '''''GOD'''''.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: She has frighteningly good acting skills and can summon DistressedDamsel tears at will. She meets Satoshi thanks to that.
* YakuzaPrincess
* [[spoiler:{{Yandere}}: During the arcs where she snaps.]]
* YoungerThanSheLooks: Maybe it's her civil outfit, her behaviour and personality or her RapunzelHair, but for some reason she looks older than Mion. Add to that her apparent military training and experience with guns, and it's really easy to forget that she is 16.
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Green Hair]]
* {{Yubitsume}}: What she had to do to gain forgiveness from her grandmother for running away from her boarding school.


!!"[[TrapMaster Trapmaster]]" Satoko Houjou
!!!Voiced by: MikaKanai (JP), Minx Lee (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/33916.jpg
'''Satoko Houjou''' is a younger classmate in Keiichi's school. In spite of her young age, she seems to have an impressive arm strength and is quite clever in setting up traps, which she likes to practice on Keiichi. Although her personality is quite energetic and mischievous during the events of the games, Satoko's past was full of trauma; her family were outcasts for supporting the dam project that would have destroyed the village [[spoiler:though by the time of the series any real hostility towards the Houjous as long since petered out and their pariah status is entirely the product of social inertia, which Keiichi helps to overcome to save Satoko from her uncle]], her parents died in an accident [[spoiler:caused by Satoko while under the influence of Hinamizawa Syndrome]], she was abused by her foster parents (her aunt and uncle), and her beloved brother Satoshi disappeared. She greatly misses Satoshi, and feels that by being strong, he will return. [[spoiler:Satoko suffers from Hinamizawa Syndrome, and receives regular injections at the clinic to keep the symptoms under control. She is unaware of her condition, and believes them to be vitamin shots]]. She cannot tell the difference between cauliflower and broccoli because she is color blind.

Her arc is "Tatarigoroshi-hen." (Curse Killing in the dub)
-----
* BadassAdorable
* BrattyHalfPint: ''Especially'' in the first ''Higurashi: Rei'' episode.
* BreakTheCutie
** BreakTheHaughty: Rei Episode 3.
* CheerfulChild: Usually.
* TheChewToy: Besides her tragic past, it seems that, no matter who dies over the course of the series, one thing that's almost guaranteed is that Satoko's going to get beaten up at some point (most likely with a chair).
* ComatoseCanary: In ''Yakusamashi-hen''.
* CovertPervert: In Rei.
* CuteBruiser: She's strong enough to shove Keiichi across the room. [[spoiler: Or off a bridge.]]
* CuteLittleFangs
* CrazyPrepared: Sometimes you wonder how and when she sets up some of the traps that she does and how she times them so well.
* [[DoesNotLikeSpam Does Not Like Pumpkins]]
* DropTheWashtub: A preferred prank. She can summon them ''anywhere''.
* EntendreFailure: Presumably because she's one of the [[TokenMiniMoe Token moes]], she is particularly prone to this. The one to lampshade this is usually Rika, the other one. Notably, she always gets it. Occasionally, it seems like she ''chooses'' not to understand the entendre.
* {{Expy}}: Some people noted that [[UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Lambdadelta]] borrows a lot from her − her NoblewomansLaugh, trickster nature and ''very'' close relationship with Rika's expy Bernkastel.
* FanDisservice: Her appearing fully naked (and ''not'' in BarbieDollAnatomy) in the bridge scene of the ''Tatarigoroshi'' sound novel only makes it more disturbing.
* HairDecorations: She nearly always wears a black hairband.
* GenkiGirl
* ImageSong: "Sukisuki Nii Nii".
* InsistentTerminology: They are not "pranks", they are "traps"!
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxhEa_e9aZQ "Small Town".]]
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: We can assume that if not for her, Rika would have given up long ago.
* MoralityPet: To different character in different arcs, most notably Irie.
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone]]: You might miss it and you won't understand it at the time, but it happens at the end of ''Minagoroshi'' chapter [[spoiler:when she realizes that her parents weren't trying to kill her and she didn't need to push them off the cliff.]]
* NoblewomansLaugh: "Oh ho ho ho!" Which somewhat goes along with…
* {{Keigo}}: She speaks in an extremely formal way, using the first-person pronoun "watakushi", forms like "de gozaimasu" and the honorific -san with even her close friends, as well as the request formula "-kudasaimase". There is no clear explanation, but according to Rika that's because she forced herself to be hyper-polite not to be a target of gossip when the Hōjō were ostracized. It didn't really help.
* ParentalAbandonment: Boy, does poor Satoko get it bad. Her mother, father, aunt, and brother all died or disappeared, and her uncle skipped town.
** That last one ''really'' isn't a bad thing.
* [[spoiler:SelfMadeOrphan]]: An accidental, tragic example.
* TechnicolorEyes: Pink and in some versions, Red.
* TheSmartGuy: The "Trap Master" of the group. She can [[{{MacGyvering}} make weapons and traps out of anything]]. Her expertise even allows her to understand and figure out the things others make, such as [[spoiler:[[{{ChekhovsSkill}} quickly concluding that the bomb Rena created was hidden in the rain gutter on the roof.]]]]
* TokenMiniMoe
* TrapMaster: It's her club title. [[spoiler: She can make traps that can catch trained soldiers off guard!]]
* TraumaCongaLine: [[spoiler:First, her parents die due to a tragic accident. Then, she and her brother are forced to move in with her abusive aunt and uncle. Then, her aunt is killed by her brother, her brother disappears a few days later, and her uncle abandons her.]]
* WeaponOfChoice: It's given more importance in the games, but she is quite good at making [[RubeGoldbergDevice traps]].
* YaoiFangirl: She seems a little bit TOO happy at the sight of [[spoiler: her brother about to feed Keichii will a spoon held in his mouth]] in the first episode of Kira.
** Then again, [[spoiler:[[AllJustADream Keiichi was dreaming that entire sequence]] so it might not be true.]]

!!"[[DeliberatelyCuteChild Raccoon]]" Rika Furude
!!!Voiced by: YukariTamura (JP), RebeccaForstadt (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/30311.jpg
'''Rika Furude''' is the main character of ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai''. She is a younger classmate in Keiichi's school, and is in the same grade level as Satoko. Naturally, she is great friends with her, as they live together in the same house. She is the {{Miko}} of the Shrine of Oyashiro-sama, and some of the villagers revere her as a prophet. She has been the head of the Furude family since her parents died, but rarely attends town meetings due to her young age.

[[spoiler:She is the only human to retain memories of the GroundhogDayLoop, and is mentally anywhere from a hundred to four thousand years old, but hides this and continues to act like a child so as not to alarm her friends]]. She is the only one who can see Hanyu, whom everyone else thinks is an ImaginaryFriend.

Her arc is "Minagoroshi-hen." (Massacre)
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* ACupAngst: Rika at one point laments her small breast size (due to not being done with puberty yet), and a DVD extra has her do a SkinshipGrope of Mion. There is also a manga omake where she is jealous of Hanyū's breasts (Hanyū is adult when in her ghost form in the manga).
* BadassAdorable
* BadassLonghair
* [[spoiler:BarrierMaiden]]: [[spoiler:Her role as Infection Queen. However, this is subverted when the FridgeLogic of the ending of Meakashi-hen settles in.]]
* [[spoiler:BetterToDieThanBeKilled]]: [[spoiler:She is captured and tortured to death by Shion]] in ''Watanagashi''; when she ends up in the same situation in ''Meakashi'', [[spoiler:she prefers to skip the torture part and stab herself with a kitchen knife.]]
* BlushSticker: As a little child.
* {{Bokukko}}: Uses "boku" as a first-person pronoun, probably a habit acquired from Hanyu. She uses "watashi" [[spoiler:when she is her "real" self.]]
* CassandraTruth: Rika has long since given up trying to convince people that she knows the future.
* CatGirl: More subtle than other examples, but between her punishments (often involving cat ears) her VerbalTic ("Mii~"), and her general behaviour, characters in the sound novel often compare her to a kitten. And there is a mini-game where she's an actual one. The theme is perpetuated by Bernkastel in ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', who has a cat tail and can turn into a cat.
* CheerfulChild: Or so it seems…
* [[spoiler:TheChessmaster]]
* TheChick
* CovertPervert: In Rei.
* CreepyChild: She occasionally acts in a knowing, creepy manner completely unfitting her age. [[spoiler:There's a reason for this.]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* DeadpanSnarker: In the silly episode previews.
** Also a majority of her dialogue consists of this when she isn't being innocent or serious.
** LittleMissSnarker: At firt you may think her patting the head of people is to comfort them; you quickly realize it's her way of ''mocking'' them.
-->'''Satoko:''' Mion must have caught a cold, she looks a bit feverish. Hey, Rika, why are you patting my head?!\\
'''Rika:''' Satoko, you too will catch a cold someday.
* DeliberatelyCuteChild
* [[spoiler:DeterminedDefeatist]]
* DrowningMySorrows: She drinks wine, despite being underage.
* EmotionlessGirl: She is not, but is afraid of becoming one [[spoiler:because of the repetition of an increasingly short period of her life.]] This is elaborated more in the ''Minagoroshi'' sound novel.
* {{Expy}}[[spoiler:/EnemyWithout]]: Bernkastel in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi, who is actually [[spoiler:an incarnation of all the Rikas who didn't survive June 1983; so basically, {{Jerkass}} Rika turned UpToEleven, deprived of all positive feelings, and wandering endlessly to escape boredom. The result isn't pretty.]]
** Along with CanonSue Erika Furudo, [[spoiler:unleashed upon Umineko canon by Bernkastel for her own nefarious purposes]], although she only shares the name and hair colour.
* [[spoiler:GroundhogDayLoop]]: [[spoiler:For many, many, many years. The loops vary in length, but there could have been up to two thousand six hundred of them]].
** [[spoiler:Unlike the typical loop, however, these function more as alternate dimensions to be travelled between than any kind of TimeTravel]]. And yes, this is a plot point [[spoiler:in Umineko.]]
* [[spoiler:GuileHeroine]]
* HimeCut
* [[spoiler:HiveQueen]]: It's noted that the older residents in the city are all incredibly fond of her. [[spoiler: This is due to a pheremone signal she releases for her "subjects". Though this is the extent of her power; she theorizes that the effect could have played the trope more straight in the past.]]
* [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Granddaughter]]: She looks a hell of a lot like her ancestor Ōka.
* ImageSong: "Mugen Kairou", and "S A G A Rinne no Hate ni".
* [[spoiler:ImaginaryFriend: When she was growing up, her mother was bothered by her imaginary friend Hanyu. Not helped by the fact that Hanyu taught her to cook and do laundry.]]
* [[spoiler:ImmortalImmaturity]]: [[spoiler:While she says she's mentally hundreds of years old, it becomes clear that it's not true. Instead, she's actually grown desperate rather than truly growing old. While she does not act her apparent age (somewhere around nine to eleven) it's clear that she's really still pretty childish.]]
** [[spoiler: This could be a case of FridgeBrilliance - due to still being preteen, she cannot achieve complete mental maturity, simply because certain changes in the brain that occur during puberty haven't occured for her yet. A line in the visual novel suggests she hasn't even gotten her first period yet.]]
* [[spoiler:JadeColoredGlasses]]: In the first half of ''Minagoroshi''. You can't really blame her.
* JapaneseHonorifics: The elders of the village (and, curiously, Shion) call her with the rather unusual honorific "-chama".
* {{Jerkass}}: Other than her behaviour towards Hanyū, [[spoiler:some of her monologues in ''Minagoroshi'' make her appear not only cynical but also disturbingly selfish, only worrying about people's safety if that can allow her to survive (physically or mentally).]] The worst in all that? [[spoiler:She perfectly knows that the Mountain Hounds killed her parents and ''she doesn't even care'', since she considers it's her mother's fault for opposing the experiments in the first place.]]
** Possible FridgeBrilliance for those who read {{Umineko}}, considering the "splinter personality" that was growing insider her during the chain of events [[spoiler: and was purged from her subconscious after surviving, giving birth to Bernkastel]].
* [[spoiler:LadyDrunk: A bit of a disturbing example. ReallySevenHundredYearsOld or not, she ''is'' physically a prepubescent girl. In large part it's a way for her to pick on Hanyu.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHU5C3uKYTM Baby's Walk]]; also used in some situations where a character ridicules himself without getting what's going on.
* [[spoiler:MentalTimeTravel]]: By unusual means ([[spoiler:using {{Alternate Universe}}s rather than actual TimeTravel]]), but ultimately to the same effect.
* {{Miko}}
* [[spoiler:NotGrowingUpSucks]]
* [[spoiler:ObfuscatingStupidity]]
* OracularUrchin: Somewhat subverted. [[spoiler:She doesn't "predict the future" so much as she "remembers" it because of the GroundhogDayLoop.]]
* [[spoiler:OutOfContinues: Unlike other examples of GroundhogDayLoop, the period of time she and Hanyu can rewind becomes progressively shorter, meaning that her attempt in ''Matsuribayashi'' was probably her last chance.]]
* [[spoiler:OutOfTimeOutOfMind: Averted, though she puts on an act so as not to freak people out.]]
* PrecociousCrush: Strongly implied towards Akasaka.
* PurpleEyes
* [[spoiler:ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: She's mentally much older than her physical form due to the time loops though not as much as she thinks: Note that her way of thinking has never really matured.]]
** [[spoiler:This can also be explained by the fact that her body has not yet reached puberty, so her brain is not fully developed, and thus she simply cannot be completely adult in mind since she is not physically capable of it. But it is implied that she has done the loop for years on end, and even she is not sure how long is it, but it is possible that it's hundreds of years...]]
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Partly due to [[spoiler:being a StepfordSmiler]] but not only.
* [[spoiler:SupportingProtagonist: Shares the status with Keiichi. Basically, the whole story is about her and the latter half is frequently from her perspective, but despite this, it is mostly Keiichi and the rest who act to save Rika from her fate.]]
* TaremeEyes
* [[spoiler:TheManyDeathsOfYou]]: Most of the time [[spoiler:she is disemboweled following the "gut drifting" ritual.]] But there are also worlds where [[spoiler:she is tortured to death by Shion, stabs herself not to be tortured to death by Shion, burns when Rena blows up the school, or is killed by Teppei when trying to save Satoko.]] And probably others in the early worlds when she actually tried to do something.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Bernkastel Wine.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior
* VerbalTic: "Mii", "Nipa~"
** The "nipa~" could actually be [[spoiler: foreshadowing of somesort. Turns out, "nipa~", as well as being the Japanese onomatopoeia for "smiling", is also the name of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henipavirus a virus that causes neurological failure and death in humans.]] ]]
** Like Hanyu, she ends all her sentences with "desu" or "nano desu", even when it makes no gramatical sense.
* VitriolicBestBuds: She and Hanyu are close friends, no doubt about it; that doesn't prevent her from regularly punishing Hanyu with wine and spicy food or outright shutting her up when she finds her annoying. The "vitriolic" part is mostly one-sided though.
* VocalDissonance: A twelve-year old little girl is ''not'' supposed to sound like that!
* WaifProphet
* WeaponOfChoice: [[spoiler:Satoko's Hinamizawa Syndrome medication]], and strangely enough, a mop.
* YaoiFangirl: In the preview at the end of Kai episode 7.
* YouCantFightFate: Or so she believes. [[spoiler:Inspired by Keiichi, she keeps trying, though, and eventually gets it right]].
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair

!!Hanyu[[spoiler:/Oyashiro-sama/Hainryun Ieasomuru Jieda]]
!!!Voiced by: Creator/YuiHorie (JP)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/82280.jpg
'''Hanyu''' is the mysterious "transfer student" in ''Matsuribayashi-hen''. She has a pair of dark-colored horns on her head, one which is chipped slightly. In fact, she has appeared to Rika all her life, but only in ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' did she gain the power to interact with others. She is very meek and often makes the noise "Au au au¦" when she is nervous or uncomfortable. She dislikes alcohol and kimchi, which Rika uses in large amounts when Hanyu is being particularly annoying (Hanyu's and Rika's senses are linked together).

[[spoiler:Hanyu is the basis of the legend of Oyashiro-sama, but the legend has become distorted over hundreds of years, and she is horrified by the actions carried out in her name. She is the one responsible for the eternally repeating June 1983, which she created in order to save Rika's life]].

Her arc is "Matsuribayashi-hen." (Festival Music)
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* [[spoiler:AngelUnaware: An inversion. First, Oyashiro is definitely stated to be a god. However, it becomes ambiguous when she defines what appears to be a god in the setting. All in all, she ''may'' have originally simply been a human who ascended to godhood by dying for the sins of others.]]
* [[spoiler:AbsurdlyYouthfulMother]]: See ImmortalImmaturity below.
* ApologisesALot: "Gomen nasai..."
* {{Bokukko}}: Uses "boku" as a first-person pronoun, despite having none of the defining traits of the trope. According to her, that's because in her time (she is 1000 year old after all) boys and girls didn't speak differently.
* BreakTheCutie: Quite a lot, though often missed in the anime adaptation or replaced with a more cute reaction.
* CantHoldHisLiquor: A fact that [[spoiler:Rika]] likes to take advantage of.
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: [[spoiler:The reason why her powers are failing lately]].
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* CuteGhostGirl: Before ''Matsuribayashi''.
* [[spoiler:DeathByAdaptation: In Miotsukushi-hen, the new ending for the PS2 port.]]
* [[spoiler:DeityOfHumanOrigin]]
* DetachedSleeves
* [[spoiler:DeterminedDefeatist: In a slightly different manner from Rika. While Rika has a tiny sliver of hope that the perfect circumstances may line up, Hanyu is only doing it because she wants to spend more time with Rika.]]
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Wine and spicy food.
* {{Expy}}: Featherine Augustus Aurora from UminekoNoNakuKoroNi.
** One in name only, as they are only connected by vague details such as her horn-like head device, her name, her way of speaking ("Child of man") and by the fact [[spoiler:Bernkastel is her Miko]]. Likely an [[TrollingCreator act of "trolling" by R7 directed at WMG types]], considering Umineko runs on these.
* FreakinessShame: She has something of a complex about her horns. Rena thinks they're cute. The only one to react negatively is Takano, and even she probably didn't really care. It's implied that her complex comes not from her current-day friends' reactions (or lack thereof) but rather the fact that [[spoiler:her horns existed when she was originally human, and are a large part of the reason why she was chosen as a sacrifice.]]
* [[spoiler:GodsHandsAreTied]]: In fact, she even goes so far as to describe herself as "[[spoiler:a powerless god]]".
* [[spoiler:GodWasMyCopilot]]
* HornedHumanoid
* [[spoiler:HotMom: In the past]]
* ImageSong: "Nano Desu".
* ImmortalImmaturity: Especially jarring when you consider a TIPS that reveals that, [[spoiler:back when she was human, Hanyu had a ''daughter'']].
** Heck, the sound novel has an arc based off [[spoiler:adult Hanyu]] and we see her [[spoiler:daughter]] in one arc.
** Her immaturity is quite toned down in the manga, where she is drawn as an adult. And more generally, she can ''really'' act and sound like a thousand-year old goddess when she is serious, even calling [[spoiler:Takano]] "human child" at the end of the last arc. She actually seems to have the same kind of dual personality as Rika.
* IntangibleMan
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqpPqPhyjuo "Over the sky"]] represents the "Goddess" part of her character. Really makes you feel like you are hovering above the clouds. The human part is represented by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jM5OslNI3w&feature=endscreen&NR=1 "Air Pizz"]].
* MessianicArchetype: Subverted. Hanyu was one in the past, [[spoiler:allowing herself to be killed via Watanagashi to atone for the sins of the inhabitants of Hinamizawa]], but now disagrees with the idea of people sacrificing others in the name of purifying their own sins.
* [[spoiler:MisappliedPhlebotinum: For every arc until the last she is undetectable to anyone that is not named Rika or in the later stages of Hinamizawa syndrome. [[FridgeLogic It apparently never occurred to Rika to utilize her invisible ghost spy to do anything like figure out who killed Tomitake]].]]
** [[spoiler:Then again, Rika is still quite the child, even though it sometimes seems otherwise. And quite pessimistic at that, with the whole "what's the point" attitude.]]
* [[spoiler:NotSoImaginaryFriend]]
* NewMeat: After she joins the club, Mion calls her the "newbie".
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Most people call her [[spoiler:Oyashiro-sama]], people who know her call her Hanyu, but her real name is [[spoiler: Hainryun Ieasomuru Jieda. She got the nickname of Hanyu because her husband couldn't memorize her full name.]]
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]: But only in ''Matsuribayashi-hen''. [[spoiler:It appears to be a significant step down on the power scale.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: A weird example. She replaced Rika's mother in teaching her cooking, sewing and so on, while the latter was ''alive and living with her''. Naturally, her real mother was pretty freaked out and upset to see her daughter talk with an ImaginaryFriend ''and'' do things she never taught her.
* PurpleEyes
* [[spoiler:ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: As the origin of the Oyashiro-sama legend she's around a thousand years old. Even older when you factor in the [[GroundhogDayLoop Groundhog Day Loops]].]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The few times she is seen legitimately angry.
* [[spoiler:SelfMadeOrphan: As part of the deal to allow her people to live in Hinamizawa, she allowed herself to be set up as a scapegoat and killed by her daughter via ritual butchering. As her daughter was also the daughter of one of the village priests, this brought unity to the two factions.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: She teases Rika quite a bit when she is when Akasaka comes to her home [[spoiler:to occupy the house while she and Satoko are hiding at Mion's place.]] As a response, Rika eats dinner with Akasaka; [[FunnyMoments a super-spicy dinner.]]
* SpiritAdvisor: Subverted actually. The only "advice" she gives Rika is to not let her hopes up to avoid disapointment. Which only served to make Rika a cynical {{Jerkass}}…
* SweetTooth
* TagalongKid: Even before [[spoiler:the group aside from Rika could see her]].
* [[spoiler:TimeMaster: Can stop time, though it's only really good for speaking because when she stops time not only do bullets stop moving, but so do people. She's also the one responsible for sending Rika back in time each time.]]
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: {{Subverted}}, as the games reveal that [[TheNotSecret everyone did notice her horns]] but avoided mentioning them because they either were [[IgnoreTheDisability too polite]], [[FreakyIsCool they liked them]] or they thought they were some kind of accessory. It was the BigBad crudely pointing them out that jogged her and Rika's memory. Interestingly, [[spoiler:she had them even when she was a human, hinted to be due to a recessive genetic defect in the Furude family line. They are the reason she was declared a demon and willingly sacrificed]]. [[AdaptationExplanationExtrication None of this is mentioned in the anime]].
** [[MemeticMutation Why doesn't anyone her horns?]]
* VerbalTic: "Au au auu~" and "Nano desu"
* TheVoice: Until ''Minagoroshi-hen.'' "Gomen nasai..."
** In Onikakushi, in at least the sound novel remakes, you can hear her in the scene where Keiichi looks out his window at Rena. It's scary.
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Purple Hair]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Supporting Characters]]
!!Satoshi Houjou
!!!Voiced by: MitsukiSaiga (JP - drama CD), YuuKobayashi (JP - anime), Darrel Guilbeau (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/33920_9231.jpg
'''Satoshi Houjou''' is Satoko's older brother, who disappeared a year before the story began. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:he killed his aunt to protect Satoko, but then succumbed to Hinamizawa Syndrome and was taken to the Irie Clinic's basement, where he remains in a coma]].
-----
* BigBrotherInstinct: Subverted - while he was ''very'' protective of Satoko, a repressed part of him was also tired of protecting her from their aunt and hearing her constant whining.
* {{Bishonen}}: Quite handsome along with Keiichi.
* BreakTheCutie
* ChekhovsGunman: His disappearance is a major part of what sets off the killers in three of the four question arcs fueling Keiichi's paranoia (Onikakushi), Shion's grief (Watanagashi and Meakashi) and Keiichi's protectiveness (Tataragoroshi).
** [[spoiler:ChekhovMIA: he's in a coma in Irie's clinic.]]
* [[spoiler:ConvenientComa: Subverted to an extent. It means he's not dead, but he's still sick at the end of the story. He'll be kept in the coma at ''least'' until there's a real cure.]]
* CrossdressingVoices
* {{Foreshadowing}}: From Frederica Bernkastel's poem in ''Meakashi-hen'': "How many years will pass before she wonders if she really dropped them?"
* IllBoy: According to Dr. Irie, he was frail due to a heart condition.
* ImageSong: "Yellowsick". Ironically, he has one of the most energetic and hot-blooded image songs of the cast.
* [[spoiler:KnightTemplarBigBrother: He killed his aunt in order to protect Satoko. In large part it was due to Hinamizawa syndrome, though.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: All character development is done through flashback [[spoiler: And the OVA despite it being alternate universe.]]
* PromotionToParent: For Satoko.
* TechnicolorEyes: Pink.

!!Kuraudo Ooishi
!!!Voiced by: {{Chafurin}} (JP)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/62518_5891.jpg
'''Kuraudo Ooishi''' is a veteran police investigator at Okinomiya who has vowed to solve the mystery of the Hinamizawa murders before his retirement, due to personal reasons. Due to his uncouth tactics and the lengths that he goes to in order to solve the mystery, he is looked upon as a nuisance by the villagers. He approaches one of the main characters to become his informant in several arcs, and is sometimes unwittingly responsible for triggering their paranoia.
-----
* FanNickname: Mr. Delicious, since his name sounds like "oishii", the Japanese word for "delicious".
* InspectorJavert: He's usually right, though, like in [[spoiler:Tatarigoroshi-hen]] and [[spoiler:Onisarashi-hen]]. [[spoiler:But he's completely wrong in the most important way in that he thinks the Sonozaki's are behind everything. This keeps him from approaching the only person in the group that never goes insane.]]
* ItsPersonal: The dam construction manager who was the first murder victim was a {{Mentor}} to him. Once he finds out he was murdered and suspects the Sonozakis of it, he becomes determined to crack the case. [[spoiler:However, as noted, this actually works against him because he starts looking for links between events that just aren't there, which impedes his effectiveness.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HN8tmCoKwM "Big Bear".]] Also, "Dancers 5" in ''Himatsubushi''.
* {{Mentor}}: The "old man". Ooishi's father died in a bombing just after the end of World War II and spent the few years after that reluctantly arresting starving people who bought rice on the black market. While he was chasing one, a guy who looked just like his father punched him and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech scolded him in front of everyone.]] He started to consider that man as a second father.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: His drawling accent, casual manner and crude humor put people off their guard. Unfortunately, it makes him come off as arrogant and causes distrust in him.
* [[OddFriendship Odd]] IntergenerationalFriendship: With [[spoiler:Keiichi]] in ''Minagoroshi-hen''.
** OddFriendship: [[spoiler:With Akane Sonozaki]] in ''Matsuribayashi''.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: In most of the arcs.
* {{Retirony}} - In the arcs where he is killed, due to the short time limit that he has to solve the case before he retires.
* SignatureLaugh: Nfufufufu!
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: He doesn't realize it, but his actions frequently wind up just making a given arc worse and making it so that there's really no one sane left for [[spoiler:Rika]] to get help from. Particularly egregious in [[spoiler:Onikakushi-hen]], where he's arguably the ''cause'' of [[spoiler:Keiichi]] going off the deep end, but he also exacerbates [[spoiler:Keiichi's and Rena's]] jumps off the cliff in Tatarigoroshi-hen and Tsumihoroboshi-hen, no matter how much help he might turn into near the end of the latter. And his consistent mistrust of the Sonozakis makes it impossible for anyone to trust [[spoiler:the one reliably sane person]] in the group.

!!Jirou Tomitake
!!!Voiced by: TohruOokawa (JP), KyleHebert (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tomitake_9731.jpg
'''Jirou Tomitake''' is a freelance photographer who comes to Hinamizawa occasionally. He gets along well with Miyo Takano because of their similar interests in photography. Despite being only an occasional visitor, he seems to know a fair amount about Hinamizawa's past. Ooishi and the police are suspicious of his identity.

In the first six arcs, he is consistently found dead of suicide on the night of Watanagashi, triggering many of the events that follow. [[spoiler:It turns out later, however, that he is actually murdered by Miyo, who gives him a dosage of Hinamizawa Syndrome that results in him clawing his own throat out]].
----
* {{Badass}}: Not to the level of Akasaka but [[spoiler:he gives the six Mountain Hounds who try to immobilize him a run for their money.]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* DarkAndTroubledPast: One of the very rare recurring characters who ''doesn't'' have one.
* DesignatedVictim
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide: In most of the arcs due to being injected with level 5 Hinamizawa Syndrome.]]
* EmbarrassingNickname: [[spoiler:Irie calls him "Risa-san"]] As a subversion, this conveniently serves to hide their connections to the reader in the early arcs.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: He can hear [[spoiler:Hanyuu's fuss]] in the shrine storage. Meaning that [[spoiler:he was already at least at level 4 of the Hinamizawa syndrome at that time.]]
* [[spoiler:FriendlySniper]]
* [[spoiler:ImprobableAimingSkills: Called out on this by the Mountain Hounds when sniping on a moving vehicle while on rough terrain.]]
* [[spoiler:LoveMartyr]]: Especially evident in ''Matsuribayashi-hen''.
* [[spoiler:ObfuscatingStupidity: He's a veteran sniper.]]
* [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Only Known By Their]] StageName: It's mentionned in several arcs that Jirō Tomitake is not his real name, but we never learn what it is.
* WeaponOfChoice: Camera. [[MemeticMutation "TOMITAKE FLASH!!!!"]] [[spoiler:His weapon is actually a sniper rifle.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: He usually dies too early to get any kind of development.

!!Miyo Takano[[spoiler:/Miyoko Tanashi]]
!!!Voiced by: MikiIto (JP), FuyukaOoura (JP - young), KarenStrassman (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miyo_5314.png
'''Miyo Takano''' is a nurse at the village clinic who has a keen interest in Hinamizawa's past and culture, recording all her speculation in notebooks. At times, her storytelling can be very mysterious and chilling, and she seems to enjoy putting people on edge. In the first six arcs, she consistently disappears on the night of Watanagashi, and an incinerated body thought to be hers is found in the mountains.

[[spoiler:It turns out that she is the mastermind of the events taking place in Hinamizawa, and wants to murder Rika and set off Hinamizawa Syndrome in the whole town so she can prove her grandfather's research. Since her will and manipulations are so strong as to affect the people in the village both directly and indirectly, she in fact fakes her death through the first six arcs of the story (the corpse in the barrel being a stolen corpse), and murders Rika in five of the eight arcs.]]
------
* [[spoiler:AGodAmI]]: The end of ''Minagoroshi-hen''.
** Specifically, [[spoiler:it was influenced by a comment her grandfather offhandedly made, saying that if his research proves fruitful his legacy will live forever, like that of a god.]] Fast-forward to modern day and Miyo [[spoiler:raves about how if she proves her grandfather's research is true, and re-inspires fear of Ooyashiro-sama in the process, she will in effect '''''become''''' Ooyashiro-sama and live forever with her grandpa.]]
* [[spoiler:AttackAttackAttack: Lampshaded in a serious manner. She keeps sending in the Yamainu to attack an entrenched enemy on their territory no matter how many casualties they take nor how demoralized they are. Any sensible commander would have done a tactical retreat to regroup at the very least.]]
* [[spoiler:BigBad]]
* [[spoiler:BlondesAreEvil]]
* BreakTheCutie
** [[spoiler:BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: the consequence of being tortured into pretty much ''insanity'' in the OrphanageOfFear from her past.]]
* TheChessmaster
* [[spoiler:CuteAndPsycho]]
* DeadlyDoctor: Although she's always one of the first two victims of Watanagashi, she isn't quite so helpless as you'd think. [[spoiler:Especially since she isn't ''really'' a victim.]] Plus, her weapons of choice in Higurashi Daybreak are syringes.
* DesignatedVictim: [[spoiler:Subverted]].
* [[spoiler:DeusAngstMachina]]
* TheDeterminator
* DissonantSerenity: To contrast all other [[AxCrazy infected]] [[UnstoppableRage ones]].
* DrowningMySorrows: After she learns that the research will be stopped, [[spoiler:indicating that she has crossed the DespairEventHorizon.]]
* EpilepticTrees: A perpetuator of these in-universe. They range from the clearly correct (the prevalence of the "oni" character in the Sonozaki and Kimiyoshi family names), to the plausible but unprovable (the possible alternate spelling of "Oyashiro"), to the clearly insane (a UFO crashed in the swamp and Oyashiro was an alien doctor!)
* [[spoiler: EvilLaugh: Gets a truly epic one when she's revealed to be the BigBad.]]
* {{Expy}}: CuteWitch Lambdadelta in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi looks like a young Takano, and is voiced by FuyukaOoura.
** [[AllThereInTheManual One of Umineko's extra TIPS]] implies that [[spoiler:Lambdadelta helped Miyo achieve her goals.]] Other than that, they have no other connection. Possibly.
-->''She could grant any kind of wish, as long as they were supported by a certain willpower. Even the wish of a girl wanting to [[spoiler:become a god.]]''
* [[spoiler:FakingTheDead]]
* FanNickname: Droopy-Tan, for her 'droopy' features that make her appear sleepy-eyed.
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Grew up in a hellish OrphanageOfFear. Almost immediately after the flashback you are ''loudly'' reminded that yes, she's still a sociopathic bitch]].
* [[spoiler:FromNobodyToNightmare: From sweet kid to BreakTheCutie to detached nurse to sociopathic, murderous researcher.]]
* [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn]]: But only in the very end of the series.
* ImageSong: "Bon Karma".
* IronicEcho: Not exactly a quote, but the scene near the end of ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' where [[spoiler:her bullet misses Hanyu]] very closely echoes the scene near the beginning of the arc where [[spoiler:"God"'s lightning bolt narrowly misses Takano, immediately after she asks God to either give her a better life or kill her. Since she was spared, she took this as a sign that she is meant to live, and as a result, she became something of a Determinator]]. It can be interpreted that [[spoiler: her bullet missing Hanyu is a sign that Rika and Hanyu's determination to live has finally reached the same level as Miyo's will to live on that day.]]
** [[spoiler: It didn't miss on purpose. [[CompressedAdaptation Although the anime does not show this]], Hanyu stops time and realizes that the bullet won't miss. Then Rika starts moving, despite time being stopped, and ''grabs the bullet'', moving it so that it won't hit anyone.]]
* HelloNurse
* [[spoiler:KarmaHoudini]]: Hello, [[spoiler:she tries to kill an entire village over and over again, and what does she get? Treatment for a disease that it wasn't well-established she had and a good cry in her lover's arms. While in that chapter she didn't manage to kill anyone, she's still responsible for Rika's parents, the first murderer and generally being a sociopathtic researcher]].
* KnightOfCerebus
* {{Lack of Empathy}}
* MeaningfulRename
* [[spoiler:MilkmanConspiracy]]- [[spoiler: BigBad or not]] she's still just a nurse when it comes down to it.
* NaughtyNurseOutfit: Irie once notes that since she is a doctor she isn't supposed to wear a nurse outfit (with an impressive ZettaiRyouiki to boot), but she does just for the hell of it. Mion and Shion also tease her and Tomitake about their "foreplay" with that kind of outfit.
* {{Naytheist}}: Highly disparaging of the local religion. She actually hates God despite appearing to be a Christian.
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: [[spoiler:Just before the Final Operation, she realizes that because of her obstination to continue the research on Hinamizawa Syndrome, instead of staying in history, her grandfather's research is going to be erased and forgotten, whether a cure is found or the Manual 34 is implemented.]] She is the only one who regrets it though.
* NumericalThemeNaming: The kanji for her name uses the kanji for three (三) and four (四). [[spoiler:Just like how her adoptive grandfather's name is written as one (一), two (二), three (三).]]
* NiceHat: Her nurse's cap. Also, [[spoiler: her ''epic'' special forces beret.]]
* NightmareFetishist: Over the legends of Oyashiro-sama.
* OfficialCouple: DoubleSubverted with Tomitake. In the first season, they merely look like an OddCouple. [[spoiler:After ''Minagoroshi'', one can think Takano was merely playing Tomitake and that he was the only one in love. But the following arc shows she genuinely loves him and isn't really eager to kill him.]]
* OrphanageOfFear: She was sent to one of these after her parents died, witnessing and suffering lots of horrors there. [[spoiler: She got so throughly broken that she went INSANE and became the BigBad with time.]]
* PluckyGirl: Enough will to [[spoiler:alter fate itself]].
* PsychopathicWomanchild: Despite many characters describing her as a mature adult woman, her personality is actually frighteningly childish.
* [[spoiler:SmiteMeOhMightySmiter]]: [[spoiler:She challenges God to give her a better life or kill her. A subsequent lightning bolt narrowly misses her.]]
* [[spoiler: UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Whether it's intentional or not, she's partially responsible for causing Rena to go off the deep end by giving her the scrapbook.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid: The sweet girl who collected flags and loved to go out with Dad and Mom? Yeah, she grew into an horrible bitch after she was tortured in the orphanage. Although she still was a sweet child when with Dr. Takano.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown: Started in Matsuribayashi-hen when Rika was falsely reported as dead for 48 hours and it just got worse after she was beaten.]]
* [[spoiler:WomanInBlack: In Minagoroshi-hen, right before she kills Keiichi and the others one by one until she sacrifices Rika.]]
* [[spoiler:WouldHurtAChild: A woman who ''disembowels'' a little girl? After shooting her friends? Holy crap.]]
* ZettaiRyouiki: As part of her nurse uniform.

!!Kyousuke Irie
!!!Voiced by: ToshihikoSeki (JP), Dave Mallow (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Irie_109.jpg
'''Kyousuke Irie''' is the head doctor of the village clinic. Initially interesting in being a doctor just for the money, he became devoted to the field of psychosurgery after a head injury changed his father's personality. Despite his young age and the fact that he has a severe maid fetish, he is highly respected in the community. He cheerfully makes house calls and seems to truly care about everyone's health. He has (half-jokingly) admitted that [[TheJailbaitWait he wishes to marry Satoko when she is older]], but is not above chasing after Rika when she is wearing one of the uniforms from the restaurant ''Angel Mort''. In addition, he is the manager of the village's baseball little league team, the Hinamizawa Fighters. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that he works under Miyo, where he is trying to find a cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome while not knowing of his employer's true desires]].
----

* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* [[spoiler:DeadlyDoctor]]: [[spoiler:He performed psychosurgery on unwilling patients in the past, although he had good intentions. Patient consent wasn't required at the time.]]
* DomesticAbuse: Figures a lot in Irie's backstory. [[spoiler: After his father suffered a traumatic brain injury, he began to act abusive toward Irie's mother. The two ended up hating each other, a fact that Irie regrets]]. This serves as a major motivator for, among other things, [[spoiler:joining work with Takano on Hinamizawa Syndrome]].
* FanNickname: Pedodoctor.
* LargeHam: When he goes into a Keiichi-esque nonsensical rant about Maids in ''Matsuribayashi''. [[spoiler:''[[MoodDissonance In the middle of a life-or-death situation!]]'']]
* {{Lolicon}}: Played for laughs.
* {{Meido}}: His fetish.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He always listens to the main characters' worries about what's going on and helps them if possible. Unfortunately, when he figures out what's going on, it's not always to the benefit of the character telling the story...

!!Mamoru Akasaka
!!!Voiced by: TakehitoKoyasu (JP - drama CD), DaisukeOno (JP - anime), PatrickSeitz (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Akasaka_8757.jpg
'''Mamoru Akasaka''' is a young police investigator at the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo. He befriended Rika while investigating a case in Hinamizawa four years ago, all due to a prophecy about his wife which came true; he, however, just brushed it off as coincidence.

[[spoiler:In an untold world, Mamoru regrets being unable to save his wife and Rika, learns martial arts to clear his mind, and hopes to relive the time before the Time Wasting Chapter to save them. Through a miracle, Mamoru inherits his martial art skills in ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', and decides to save Rika from her destined death as a payment for saving his wife through her prophecy]].
----
* AlliterativeName: If you call him "Akasaka-san"…
* {{Badass}}: In ''Matsuribayashi'' it becomes clear why Rika had so much faith in him.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Hoo boy.]]
* ChekhovsGunman
* [[spoiler: EleventhHourRanger: In the Festival Music Arc]]
* FairCop
* FutureBadass: [[spoiler:In the worlds where his wife dies.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtyE3kUIeLY And a pretty cool one.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Mamoru" means "To protect" in Japanese.
* RedemptionQuest
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Himatsubushi'', he's just a greenhorn. In ''Matsuribayashi'', he is refered multiple times as a monster.
** And learned the [[SuperSmashBros Falcon Punch]] during the Level Grinding. [[spoiler:He punches a bulletproof windshield, causing it to shatter.]]
** In the VN, [[spoiler:he doesn't only shatter the winshield, he ''destroys the entire van'' with his punch!]]

!!Oryou Sonozaki
!!!Voiced by: Shizuka Okohira (JP), BarbaraGoodson (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oryou_6961.jpg
'''Oryou Sonozaki''' is Mion and Shion's grandmother and head of the Sonozaki household. She appears to be a very harsh old woman and is considered the most powerful person in Hinamizawa. Shion call her "Oni-baba" ("demon granny").

Shion [[spoiler:incorrectly]] suspects that she was the mastermind in Satoshi's disappearance [[spoiler:and accidentally kills her while attempting to interrogate her in ''Watanagashi-hen'' and ''Meakashi-hen'']].
----
* [[{{AbusiveParents}} Abusive Grandparent]]: Treats Shion like garbage. [[{{SarcasmMode}} Best grandmom ever!]]
* ColdBloodedTorture: The "distinguishment" scene.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Motive for the "distinguishment" scene.
* EvilMatriarch: Her granddaughters call her ''demon granny'', what more do you need to know? Hey! She even has the voice of [[MightyMorphinPowerRangers Rita Repulza]] so why not?
** [[spoiler: In reality, she's not actually evil, just a {{Jerkass}}.]]
* [[spoiler: {{Fingore}}: Again, standard punishment among the Sonozakis. First she had that done when young, then she forced Akane to do it when she didn't like her choice in men, and ultimately makes Shion go through it. (And as a bonus, Mion does it on her own.)]]
* [[spoiler: MayDecemberRomance: See Crack Pairing above.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Oryou" contains the character "oni", as do all the names of the Sonozaki heirs. Oryou's daughter Akane (Mion and Shion's mother) used to have an "oni" in her name, but was forced to change the spelling when she was disinherited for marrying an outsider.
* NeverMessWithGranny
* PetTheDog: When she gives her support to Keiichi in ''Minagoroshi-hen'', and later in ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' when it is revealed that she was pulling the strings on [[spoiler: Keiichi, of all people -- she put real estate up for sale for the explicit purpose of having an energetic outsider kid like him move and clear up the village resentment against the Hojou family.]]
* [[spoiler: RedHerring: She is an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom with a SureLetsGoWithThat policy, and the {{Yakuza}} background is '''not''' helping her case.]]
* [[spoiler: SlaveToPR: She actually does love her daughter and Shion, plus she forgave the Houjou family long ago, but she has to keep up appearances.]]
* SureLetsGoWithThat: [[spoiler:A policy she has in place. If anything mysterious happens and it's credited to the Sonozaki's, she acts like she is responsible without confirming it. Nastily deconstructed as [[RedHerring this causes]] [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom a lot of problems.]]]]
* [[spoiler: UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Major offender of this trope; the Sonozaki family's policy of making them look tougher than they really are bites everyone in the ass by causing them to become incredibly suspicious and cause distrust in the OnlySaneMan of the club. Onryu's actions are the primary cause of the Cotton Drifting/Eye Opening chapters. Her SureLetsGoWithThat attitude is a cause for Ooishi being one himself, which causes her to be indirectly responsible for the Spirited By the Demon and Atonement chapter. Her stubborness towards not cleaning up resentment towards the Hojou siblings is a contributing factor in their problems with the HatePlague.]]
* {{Tsundere}}
* [[spoiler: YouGotSpunk: Has this opinion of Keiichi after he threatens to split her head open if she doesn't give her support to rescuing Satoko from Teppei.]]
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Minor Characters]]
!!Rumiko Chie
!!!Voiced by: FumikoOrikasa (JP), Sam Carr (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chie_rumiko_314.png
'''Rumiko Chie''' is the female teacher of Keiichi's class, who is a parody character of ''{{Tsukihime}}'''s Ciel-senpai (permission for her usage was given by [[{{Nasuverse}} Type-Moon]]). The seiyu for her character in the anime series is the same as the seiyu of Ciel from the Tsukihime anime. Going along with the parody, her favorite food is curry rice, just like Ciel.
----
* BerserkButton: Don't you dare insult curry in front of her. It won't be pretty. Sometimes she can hear an insult even when she's not in the room!
* {{Expy}}: If the above wasn't enough, in ''Higurashi Daybreak'', many of Rumiko's moves are direct references to some of Ciel's moves from ''Melty Blood''. In the ExpansionPack, one of Rumiko's alternate outfits is Ciel's nun outfit and, if the player uses this costume, she will talk very much like her ''Tsukihime'' counterpart.
** More specifically, she's an Expy of Ciel-Sensei - she even wears the same pendant. Unlike Neko Arc, her status as just Ciel in a teacher's uniform or as a separate character is not quite confirmed. At least one story in Kagetsu Tohya seems to suggest Ciel Sensei is a separate character, which would make Chie an Expy of an Expy.
* HotTeacher
* MyNaymeIs: Her name is oddly spelled "Lumiko Cie" in the French version…
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Unfortunately, there's generally little she can do.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Curry.
* TwoTeacherSchool: Justified. It's a pretty small school, though Keiichi is still impressed that she manages to teach a class full of students from different grades.
** Higher grade students are also expected to teach to lower grade ones during free study periods, effectively raising the number of teachers.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair

!!Tatsuyoshi Kasai
!!!Voiced by: FumihikoTachiki (JP), SteveKramer (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kasai_7810.jpg
'''Tatsuyoshi Kasai''' is an employee of the Sonozakis, who looks like a secret agent. He was more active in the past, but has settled down to become Shion's caretaker.
----
* {{Badass}}
** BadassBeard
** RetiredBadass
* CoolShades
** SunglassesAtNight: He is ''always'' seen wearing sunglasses.
* RedBaron: "Shotgun Tatsu". Do ''not'' mess with this guy!
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: According to Shion, her father, Kasai and Akane had a LoveTriangle in their youth. Kasai lost but stayed close to Akane as right-hand man.
* {{Yakuza}}

!!Teppei Houjou
!!!Voiced by: Katsuhisa Hoki (JP), SteveKramer (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Teppei_6177.png
'''Teppei Houjou''' is Satoko and Satoshi's uncle/foster father. He and his wife were forced to take care of Satoko and Satoshi after the death of their parents, but they abused them. He left Hinamizawa after Tamae's death, and currently lives in Okinomiya. According to Kasai, he is a pimp and uses his lover Rina to swindle men out of their money.
----
* [[{{AbusiveParents}} Abusive Uncle]]: Not only does he treat Satoko like crap and hits her, one of the TIPS flat-out states that if she had been a few years older, he would have had no qualms about abusing her sexually too. It doesn't end well for him.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:In Tatarigoroshi and Tsumihoroboshi. Also in the PS2 Exorcism chapter.]]
* BlondeGuysAreEvil
* EvilUncle: to Satoko and Satoshi. He's not even their real uncle. His older brother was their stepfather.
* KarmaHoudini: By the end of the series, he miraculously survives due to not showing up in Hinamizawa again, after [[spoiler: having killed Rina before the start of the arc.]]
* [[spoiler: KarmicDeath:]] In Tatarigoshi and Tsumihoroboshi.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Frequent target of it.
* OhCrap: That's how most normal people react to [[spoiler:putting the light on and seeing what was a cute teenage girl 2 seconds ago, brandishing an axe ready to cleave your head in two.]] He doesn't have the time to say it out loud though.
* OutlawCouple: With Rina
* TheyKilledKenny: Dies… quite a lot, mostly to his own evil acts biting him in the ass.
* VigilanteExecution: Vigilante action (for NASTY child abuse and badger games) is the common motive in his many deaths throughout the arcs.
* WouldHurtAChild: As long as he has someone to hit, he's not picky about the age. He also [[spoiler:kills Rika]] in an unseen world.

!!Rina[[spoiler:/Ritsuko]] Mamiya
!!!Voiced by: KyokoHikami (JP - drama CD), MisaWatanabe (JP - anime), Jean Smart (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rina_7086.jpg
'''Rina Mamiya''' is a woman who appears in Rena's life in ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen''. She is the lover of Teppei Houjou, and together they swindle men out of their money through intimidation and blackmail schemes. Her real name is Ritsuko, but she uses Rina as a fake name.

In ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'', [[spoiler:Rena kills her ''bloodily'' to protect her father]]. Also, in ''Tatarigoroshi-hen'' and ''Minagoroshi-hen'', [[spoiler:she is murdered by members of the {{Yakuza}} when she tries to flee Okinomiya, prompting Teppei to move back to Hinamizawa]].
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* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:In Tsumihoroboshi.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She's even worse in the manga compared to the anime. In the anime we know right away she hates Rena. In the manga, Rina confronts Rena about the fact that she doesn't like her, and Rina puts on a pretty convincing act about how she genuinely loves Rena's father. Rena falls for it and starts to reconsider her view on Rina before she overheard her and Teppei badmouthing her father.
* BlatantLies: "I'm pregnant. And since I'm a Christian I can't have an abortion."
* DistinguishingMark: A red star-shaped tattoo on her left thigh. [[spoiler: Useful for identifying her mangled, rotted corpse.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In case you don't spot her right from the beginning, the first TIP of ''Tsumihoroboshi'' after she appears tells us her name and her work: the same as Teppei's mistress who was killed horribly three arcs earlier. Woops.
* GoldDigger
* {{Gorn}}: In a series full of FamilyUnfriendlyDeath and {{Gorn}}, her death at the hands of [[spoiler: Rena]] may just be the crowning one.
* HoneyTrap: And how. [[spoiler: It ends ''badly'' for her]]
* [[spoiler: KarmicDeath]]
* MeaningfulName: Rena took the "i" out of her name to signify the removal of all "ickyness" from her life. Could it really be a coincidence that Rina is nothing ''but'' horribleness?
* OutlawCouple: With Teppei.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Major hint that there's something not right about her.
* TheSchlubPubSeductionDeduction: … has stricken again. Poor Rena's dad…
* TallDarkAndBishoujo: Despite her bitchy behavior she is ''rather'' good-looking.
* TattooedCrook
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Pink Hair]]
* WouldHurtAChild: A rare female example.

!!Akane Sonozaki
!!!Voiced by: KikukoInoue (JP)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akane_sonozaki_6498.jpg
'''Akane Sonozaki''' is Mion and Shion's mother. Although one of her daughters is still the family heir, Akane herself was disowned after marrying someone of whom her family disapproved.
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* ActionMom
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* [[spoiler: {{Fingore}}: Akane was in the receiving end of it due to her feud with Oryou over marrying a guy the clan didn't approve.]]
* HotMom
* KatanasAreJustBetter
* MissingMom - She's rarely on screen due to her estrangement.
* [[spoiler:OddFriendship: With Ooishi.]]
* OddNameOut: She's the only female of her family not to have the character for oni in her name. She used to, but had to change the spelling of her name when she was disowned.
* RedBaron: The "Demon Princess of Shishibone".
* ShipperOnDeck: She really wouldn't mind having Keiichi as a son-in-law with either daughter (preferably Mion) as stated in the Massacre chapter.
* WeaponOfChoice - A katana. Mion must have got it from somewhere.
* {{Yakuza}}: Her husband is a crime boss.
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Green Hair]]

!!Kiichirou Kimiyoshi
!!!Voiced by: Masaaki Tsukada (JP), KyleHebert (EN)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kimiyoshi_3277.jpg
'''Kiichirou Kimiyoshi''' is the head of one of the Three Families and the official village chief of Hinamizawa. He seems to be a kindly old man, but is vehement in his hatred for Hinamizawa's enemies. [[spoiler:As this includes Satoshi and the rest of the Houjou family, he is killed by Shion in ''Watanagashi-hen'' and ''Meakashi-hen.'' In ''Minagoroshi'' it's revealed that he actually has nothing against Satoshi at all but couldn't publicly state it, eventually supporting Keiichi's efforts to protect Satoko]].
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* MeaningfulName: The characters for "Kimiyoshi" can be rearranged to form the character "oni".

!! Hifumi Takano
!!!Voiced by: Kazumi Tanaka (JP)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hifumi_5254.jpeg

'''Hifumi Takano''' is a scientist who devoted his entire life to researching a disease he calls Hinamizawa Syndrome, which he thinks could shake the entire scientific knowledge about the human brain. However, his research is shunned and mocked by the academic world. [[spoiler:When Miyoko Tanashi, the daughter of one of his students, calls him for help during her failed attempt to escape her OrphanageOfFear, he comes to pick her up and saves her from certain death. He becomes her grandfather afterwards.]]

----

* AGodAmI: A rare case where it's not a megalomaniac rant. He just thinks that if his research is acknowleged, he will become some kind of eternal being, just like a god. [[spoiler:The problem is, his beloved granddaughter [[GoneHorriblyWrong took it a bit too seriously.]]]] His final letter to her really didn't help though (see UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom below).
* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: His first name is written 一二三 (one two three). [[spoiler:Then Miyoko became Miyo (三四 three four).]]
* DrivenToSuicide: When he realized he was [[SanitySlippage going senile]] in his late years.
* JapaneseChristian
* JustInTime: Had he come to the orphanage only a day later, [[spoiler:Miyoko would probably have died with her head in that latrin.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: To Miyoko.
* PosthumousCharacter
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: You don't understand the first time (because it seems irrelevant in that arc), but [[spoiler:the first TIP of ''Minagoroshi'' is his [[DeadManWriting suicide letter]] to Miyoko. He tells her that he coudn't become a god and that she must become one in his stead.]] Worst. Will. Ever.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Characters]]
!!Nomura
!!!RieTanaka (JP )

Nomura is a woman from the organization 'Tokyo'. [[spoiler:She first appears after Koizumi dies in 1981 and confronts Takano Miyo about the future of her research on the Hinamizawa Syndrome.Her true motive is to have the Old Koizumi faction in Tokyo fall down due to the Great Hinamizawa Disaster and the research project becoming a mess afterwards along with wanting to see how far they can decieve people with the syndrome, real or not. She is shown to be a skilled manipulator of emotions, using Takano's grief and acting as though she understands in order to gain her trust and become the new backing up of the research institution.]]

* {{Badass}}: Is shown to be this in the dream at the beginning of Ayakashisenshi-hen, seeing just how damn skilled she is at using her telephone cord as a chain to wrap around the arm of a big-breasted, adult version of Magical Girl Oyashiro Rika.
* IHaveManyNames: She uses a different alias for each of her contacts. We don't know her real name.
* [[spoiler:KarmaHoudini: Lampshaded in the author's notes at the end of the game, saying you have to draw the line somewhere on where the story ends. Thus, she is never held responsible for her actions and in the vast majority of timelines succeeds entirely.]]
* ManipulativeBitch: She convinces [[spoiler:Takano]] by taking advantage of her emotional state, and probably not only her.
* [[spoiler:[[ManBehindTheMan Woman Behind The Woman]]:To Miyo Takano]]

!!Okonogi
!!!JurotaKosugi (JP - drama CD, anime), KenNarita (JP - games)
[[MemeticMutation Beware the Gardeners, for they are Anonymous, and they are Legion!]] ... They are actually called the Yamainu ("Jackals"), but they look more like janitors than anything else. Headed by Okonogi, they serve as TheMenInBlack for the majority of the arcs. [[spoiler:They are eventually revealed to be a tactical military unit, supposedly for Rika's protection but long ago bought out by Takano]].
----
* [[spoiler:EvilerThanThou]]: [[spoiler: Okonogi reveals to Takano that she was just being used by Tokyo, then tells her [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness to commit suicide.]]]]
* {{Expy}}: Tetsurō Okonogi in ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi''; considering the two series take place in the same universe, they may or may not be the same person…
* GovernmentConspiracy
* InformedAbility: [[spoiler:Okonogi loses to a teen girl in hand to hand combat. Losing to Akasaka can be forgiven, but Mion is stretching it. He's also completely outmaneuvered tactically throughout the chapter.]]
** [[spoiler:It's stated the Yamainu are actually a surveillance organization above everything else. So there's adequate reason to suspect their supposed "prowess" in other areas (combat, tactics, etc.) is mostly bluster.]]
* TheMenInBlack
* ThemeNaming - Despite being called the Jackals, titles within the organization are bird-themed.
* [[spoiler:YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]] - [[spoiler: Okonogi gives Takano this treatment when he realizes things aren't going their way. Presumably she doesn't fair any better on other sequences. Strangely enough, this surprises her despite the fact that she knew it would happen ''even if she won.'']]
* TheWorfEffect - [[spoiler:They consistently fail in ''Matsuribayashi.'' By the end, the entire unit has lost to a bunch of children and Okonogi himself has lost to Mion in a curbstomp battle despite supposedly being an expert in hand to hand combat.]]
** To be fair though, he wasn't exactly in his best shape [[spoiler:since he and his men were already exausted after walking in the mountains for hours.]]
* [[spoiler:Worthy Opponent]] - To Mion

!!Oyashiro-sama
'''Oyashiro-sama''' is the guardian god of Hinamizawa, a demonic god of torture and bloodshed. The old legends say that Onigafuchi used to be inhabited by demons, until a sacrifice by Oyashiro turned them human, and that the inhabitants of Hinamizawa are descendants of those demons. Oyashiro-sama is honored by a "Cotton-Drifting Festival", which has dark roots in cannibalism and human sacrifice. Five years ago, when a dam endangered Hinamizawa, the residents prayed to Oyashiro-sama for protection. The dam was cancelled, but ever since, on the day of the Cotton-Drifting Festival, one person has died and another has disappeared, all people who supported the dam. This is the Curse of Oyashiro. [[spoiler:Oyashiro-sama is in fact Hanyuu, Rika's NotSoImaginaryFriend.]]
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* CorruptChurch: [[spoiler: The practice is the problem, not the deity.]]
* [[spoiler:DeityOfHumanOrigin]]
* [[spoiler:DiscOneFinalBoss]]
* GodIsEvil: [[spoiler:Subverted with the true nature of Oyashiro-sama. See below.]]
** [[spoiler: GodIsGood]]
* MeaningfulName: "Oyashiro" can be literally translated as "the deity is the shrine itself" or "the deity of every eight generations", depending on the characters used to spell it. Normally, it's just written in katakana, though.
* ReligiousHorror: The worship of Oyashiro-sama is a form of anti-Shinto. [[spoiler: She is not very fond of it]]
* UltimateEvil: [[spoiler:Subverted heavily by Hanyu's [[SilentScapegoat true nature.]]]]

!!Frederica Bernkastel
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Frederica__9893.jpg
'''Frederica Bernkastel''' is a mysterious figure in the ''Higurashi'' universe, author of a series of poems ([[http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=31811 fan translated version]]) ([[Trivia/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi official translation]]) about the series. The most direct information about her comes from "A Message From Frederica Bernkastel", which basically consists of her laughing about the WildMassGuessing that she's Rika Furude or Oyashiro-sama. Frederica has exactly one scene in the anime, after the credits of the final episode, and a few appearances in the manga.

It is unclear whether she and [[UminekoNoNakuKoroNi the Witch of Miracles Bernkastel]] are the same entity or not, but they are both born from [[spoiler:Rika's endlessly repeating fate.]]
----
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the games, Frederica will directly address the player, a habit she/her {{Expy}} carries over to UminekoNoNakuKoroNi.
* DemotedToExtra: The anime only includes one appearance by Frederica, and none of her poems.
** Even worse, most people thought that was an [[{{Mindscrew}} ''adult'' Rika.]]
** The animation studio wasn't completely unfaithful. The next episode previews from the original series may have been a homage to Frederica's poems from the game, given their cryptic nature.
** Rika also mentions her in Rei.
* MeaningfulName: "Frederica" is more or less "Furude Rika" in katakana with a minor change, and Rika drinks Bernkastel wine. They also strongly resemble each other. Nevertheless, Frederica insists, "Frederica and Rika Furude aren't the same. Shame on you if you thought so."
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:In an alternate ending, Frederica prevents the death of Miyo's parents at the end of Matsuribayashi-hen, giving her a happy ending as well. Which means she won't end up screwing up everyone's life in the future...]]
** [[spoiler:KickTheDog: ... except for the fact that the village is doomed if Miyo never comes. And this may well have been her intent.]]
*** [[spoiler: That act is possibly responsible for the "Dice Killing" chapter of Rei. If she and Umineko's Bernkastel aren't the same, then she [[{{UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom}} is indirectly responsible for the "birth" of "Trollkastel" and all the havoc that ensues.]]]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Actually, [[spoiler:like Rika]], she's quit counting her age.

!DS & Manga-Exclusive Characters

!!Tomoe Minai
!!!Voiced by: Nana Inoue (JP)
'''Tomoe Minai''' is a detective who investigates the curse of Oyashiro and the gas disaster. Initially, she got involved through the case of [[spoiler:Rena Ryugu]] back in 1982. She later on gets deeply involved with Natsumi's problems through her investigations. She is included in only the DS renditions of what was known in the manga as Onisarashi-hen. These became Someutsushi-hen and Kageboushi-hen. She also appears in the DS rendition of Miotsukushi-hen and a DS-only arc called Tokihogoshi-hen.
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* FairCop
* InspectorJavert: Similar to Ooishi, [[spoiler:and just as similarly proven to in fact be right]] in those situations.
* PromotionToParent: Became this to her younger sister Madoka after their father`s death.
* SeekerArchetype

!!Natsumi Kimiyoshi
!!!Voiced by: KaoriMizuhashi (JP)
'''Natsumi Kimiyoshi''' is a girl whose family used to live in Hinamizawa. After the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, her grandmother starts acting strange, setting off a horrific chain of murders [[spoiler:which Natsumi is actually responsible for]].
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* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Happens to Natsumi ''three times''. [[spoiler:Subverted, because her bloodiness is eventually used to prove that she's not so innocent after all]].
* ContinuityCameo: In the original (PS2) Miotsukushi-hen, she pops up briefly as a nod to people who had read Onisarashi-hen.
* CountryMouse: Okinomiya is a bigger town than Hinamizawa, but this sort of dynamic still plays pretty strongly when she moves to the city.
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide]]: Someutsushi-hen only.
** [[spoiler:SuicidePact]]: She tries to [[spoiler:force Akira into one of these]] in Someutsushi-hen. It doesn't go exactly to plan.
** NeverMyFault: She actually spends [[spoiler:her last words]] in Someutsushi-hen [[spoiler:blaming Akira]], presumably for [[spoiler:her own death]], although possibly referring to [[spoiler:her entire episode of Hinamizawa Syndrome]].
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Miotsukushi-hen in the DS rendition. Also somewhat used in the Onisarashi-hen manga.
** GirlishPigtails
** RapunzelHair
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Before Akira admits he likes her too, her apparently UnrequitedLove was largely full of this dynamic.
* [[spoiler:IAmAMonster]]: At the end of Someutsushi-hen. Ends about as well as [[spoiler:Shion's]].
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone]]: "Help me... Toudou... he... [[ItsAllMyFault It was my fault...]]!"
* NewTransferStudent
* OdangoHair
* [[spoiler:TheOphelia]]: In Onisarashi-hen's epilogue. She never gets over the guilt from [[spoiler:having killed her parents and attempting to kill Akira. After a failed attempt at living with some other relatives who consider her cursed and a failed attempt at living with Akira, she winds up institutionalized, although Akira comes to visit her regularly]].
* RoomFullOfCrazy: The room with all of the seals [[spoiler:that she's locked into by her relatives during the epilogue, in order to protect to relatives from "Oyashiro-sama's curse"]]
* [[spoiler:SelfMadeOrphan]]
* ShoutOut: In the PSP game Higurashi Day Break, her charge move looks alot like what Sekai does to Makoto in the finale of the VisualNovel/SchoolDays anime.
* ShrinkingViolet
* TraumaCongaLine: In the manga too, but it's definitely stepped up in the DS version. The gas disaster and her entire family's murders happen in all versions, but Someutsushi-hen tosses in all sorts of college related trauma - she finds out that even though all of her friends are shooting to go to one university, she's being cut off due to weaker grades - and the murder of her boss at a retirement center where she works part-time that was done by a Hinamizawan guy she had just befriended a few days earlier. Of course, [[spoiler:She was the one who murdered her family]]. Also, her [[spoiler:attempted murder of Akira, though at that point, she was already pretty well off the deep end]].
* [[spoiler:TraumaInducedAmnesia]]: [[spoiler:complete with FakeMemories]]
* [[spoiler:UnreliableNarrator]]
* [[spoiler:{{Yandere}}]]: [[spoiler:Her entire episode of Hinamizawa Syndrome is triggered when she freaks out about Akira seeing paper cut-outs in front of her house intended to ward off evil]].

!!Akira Toudou
!!!Voiced by: SatoshiHino (JP)
'''Akira Toudou''' is a classmate of Natsumi's who she has has a crush on. He admits to liking her back fairly early on and is quickly drawn into the madness surrounding the Kimiyoshi household. Depending on which version, his intervention leads to either [[spoiler:a bittersweet ending]] or [[spoiler:a tragic one]].

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* TheCaretaker: [[spoiler:To Natsumi in Onisarashi-hen's epilogue.]]
* CoolDownHug: [[spoiler:To Natsumi. Subverted, leading to...]]
* DespairEventHorizon: The outcome of [[spoiler:Someutsushi-hen]].
* TheFarmerAndTheViper
* [[spoiler:LoveMartyr]]: [[spoiler:Even after she tries to kill him, he's still either pledging his love to her or crying over her dead body right until the end]].
* LoveRedeems: His last-minute usage of ThePowerOfLove [[spoiler:saved both him and Natsumi]] in [[AlternateUniverse one version only]].
* OneSteveLimit: Averted - he shares a name with the main character in Yoigoshi-hen. Of course, it's assured that the two of them will never interact, since the arcs have a 20-year long distance between them.
* TheQuietOne: He's for the most part a pretty darn quiet character who mostly expresses himself through his artwork. His expressions are also a heck of a lot blander than most of the other characters. Of course, once the horror kicks in, he's NotSoStoic [[DespairEventHorizon anymore]].
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan
* SugarAndIcePersonality

!!Chisato Saeki and Tamako Makimura
!!!Voiced by: EriKitamura (JP - Chisato), YukariFukui (JP - Tamako)
'''Chisato Saeki and Tamako Makimura''' are two of Natsumi's friends. Both of them first appeared in the Onisarashi-hen manga and were given expanded roles (especially Chisato) in the DS remakes of that arc, Someutsushi-hen and Kageboshi-hen. [[spoiler:In the latter arc, Chisato is attacked and hospitalized by Natsumi. Later, she meets Natsumi in the hospital. Although the two struggle for a bit, Chisato is able to calm Natsumi down.]]
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* BrainyBrunette: Tamako. Really, her hair's purplish, but Natsumi (although her hair's greenish-blonde) actually fits [[ShyBlueHairedGirl that trope]] better, and Tamako overall fits this one better, especially since [[HairColorDissonance the purple's pretty darn close to black]].
* BlushSticker: One of Chisato's standard expressions in the DS.
* DeadpanSnarker: Tamako.
* FieryRedhead: Chisato
* GirlishPigtails: Chisato
* MeaningfulName: Tamako's is commented on the manga omake. "Tama" means round. The manga artist wonders if her name is so because she's roly-poly.
* PluckyComicRelief: Chisato in spades.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Chisato has a bunch of jokes toward this with Natsumi
** LesbianJock: Chisato. Though she apparently used to have a crush on Akira, her childhood friend.
* ThoseTwoGuys

!!Akira Otobe
!!!Voiced by: KoukiMiyata (JP)
'''Akira Otobe''' is a boy who wanders into Hinamizawa 23 years the events of Tsumihoroboshi-hen occur ([[BadFuture with a small twist]]) He gets separated from the group he was traveling into the village with and runs into someone claiming to be Mion Sonozaki, who confuses him with [[IdenticalStranger Satoshi]]. [[spoiler:In his hometown, he ran away from his home and [[DrivenToSuicide got so deep in debt that he came to Hinamizawa with the group in order to comit suicide]], only to ditch them at the last minute]].
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* DontGoInTheWoods
* IdenticalStranger
** TechnicolorEyes: Pink eyes, just like Satoshi and Satoko.
* [[spoiler:LovableCoward]]
* OneSteveLimit: Averted - he shares a name with Natsumi's love interest in Onisarashi-hen. Of course, it's assured that the two of them will never interact, since the arcs have a 20-year long distance between them.
* [[spoiler:SuicidePact]]

!!Ryunosuke Arakawa
!!!Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno
'''Ryunosuke Arakawa''' is a reporter who goes to Hinamizawa in order to investigate some of the rumors of what happened there over 20 years ago.
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* GoingForTheBigScoop: "I'll go just because they say [[DontGoInTheWoods not to go in June]]. I'll write an article for the readers who are not afraid of danger. This is journalism, right!"
* IntrepidReporter
* PermaStubble

!!Yae Towada
!!!Voiced by: RyokoShintani (JP)
'''Yae Towada''' decided to visit Hinamizawa with her boyfriend, Takumi, where she meets Otobe. [[spoiler:She suggested the trip to him in order to murder him there, having been driven to that point by his abusive nature]].
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* ComfortingComforter: [[spoiler:Subverted once you find out that the reason she covered him like that was to make it look like he was sleeping, when he was actually ''dead'']].
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* DomesticAbuse
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Yae feels no remorse for killing Takumi until Mion proves to her that he intended to get a real job and turn over a new leaf by speaking to him from beyond the grave and finding an employee's notice on his body.]]
* [[spoiler:SympatheticMurderer]]
* [[spoiler:UnreliableNarrator]]
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Pink Hair]]

!!Takumi Kurosawa
!!!Voiced by: AkiraIshida
'''Takumi Kurosawa''' accompanied his girlfriend, Yae, on an outing to Hinamizawa. Early on, it is established that he is rather abusive to his girlfriend. [[spoiler:He tried to use the trip as a way to mark having started over by getting a real job and being able to provide a good life for Yae; unfortunately, Yae had not realized this and murdered him in his sleep]].
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* BeautifulDreamer: With Towada
* DeadMansChest: [[spoiler:His body is found shoved in a closet under some sheets]].
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife
* DomesticAbuser
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
* [[spoiler:PosthumousCharacter]]

!!Miyuki Sorimachi
!!!Voiced by: MiyukiSawashiro (JP)
'''Miyuki Sorimachi''' is a freelance writer who appears in the DS rendition of Yoigoshi-hen, accompanying Otobe and everyone else. [[spoiler:It turns out that she's actually Miyuki Akasaka, Mamoru's daughter as an adult, and is actually an undercover police officer.]]
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* TheDanza
* [[spoiler:FairCop]]
* [[spoiler:SheIsAllGrownUp]]

!!Nagisa Ozaki
!!!Voiced by: Mayako Nigo (JP)
'''Nagisa Ozaki''' is a childhood friend of Rena's from Ibaraki [[spoiler:and a relative of one of the boys Rena assaulted]]. She appears in Tokihogushi-hen. She helps with Tomoe's investigation into Rena's case. [[spoiler:She finds out about Tokyo's plan and tries to warn Tomoe and Rena, only to be knocked out and kidnapped. She escapes, only to be run over by a truck in the process.]]
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* [[spoiler:[[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]]]: The reason she is [[spoiler:kidnapped]].
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair

[[/folder]]

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http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Frederica__5381.jpg

* [[spoiler:OutOfContinues:]] [[spoiler:Unlike other examples of GroundhogDayLoop, the period of time she and Hanyu can rewind becomes progressively shorter, meaning that her attempt in ''Matsuribayashi'' was probably her last chance.]]
* [[spoiler:OutOfTimeOutOfMind:]] Averted, though she puts on an act so as not to freak people out.

* [[spoiler:GuileHero]]

* [[spoiler:JadeColoredGlasses]] In the first half of ''Minagoroshi''. You can't really blame her.

* [[spoiler:TheManyDeathsOfYou:]] Most of the time [[spoiler:she is disemboweled following the "gut drifting" ritual.]] But there are also worlds where [[spoiler:she is tortured to death by Shion, stabs herself not to be tortured to death by Shion, burns when Rena blows up the school, or is killed by Teppei when trying to save Satoko.]] And probably others in the early worlds when she actually tried to do something.

She also appears (or does she?) in ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', in which she gets a much more visible role.

* {{Expy}}: Bernkastel in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi, who is actually [[spoiler:an incarnation of all the Rikas who didn't survive June 1983; so basically, {{Jerkass}} Rika turned UpToEleven, deprived of all positive feelings, and wandering endlessly to escape boredom. The result isn't pretty.]]

* {{Expy}}: CuteWitch Lambdadelta in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi (an expy of her younger self to be precise).

* {{Expy}}: Bernkastel in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi, who is actually [[spoiler:an incarnation of all the Rikas who didn't survive June 1983; so basically, {{Jerkass}} Rika turned UpToEleven and deprived of all positive feelings, and wandering endlessly to escape boredom. The result isn't pretty.]]

* {{Expy}}: Bernkastel in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi, who is actually [[spoiler:an incarnation of all the Rikas who didn't survive June 1983; so basically, {{Jerkass}} Rika turned UpToEleven and deprived of all positive feelings, and wandering endlessly to escape boredom. [[CompleteMonster The result isn't pretty.]]]]
** Along with CanonSue Erika Furudo, [[spoiler:unleashed upon Umineko canon by Bernkastel for her own nefarious purposes]], although this time she only shares the name and hair colour.

* {{Expy}}: Bernkastel in UminekoNoNakuKoroNi. [[spoiler: Or is [[EnemyWithout she?]]]]
** Along with CanonSue Erika Furudo, [[spoiler:unleashed upon Umineko canon by Bernkastel for her own nefarious purposes]]. Sadly, these characters are Expies in appearance only, not in nature.
* TheFatalist

-->'''She could grant any kind of wish, as long as they were supported by a certain willpower. Even the wish of a girl wanting to [[spoiler:become a god.]]''

** One in name only, likely [[blue: as an [[{{TrollingCreator}} act of "trolling" by R7 directed at WMG types.]]]]

* HoneyTrap: And how. [[spoiler: It ends ''badly'' for her]]

** One in name only, likely [[blue: as an [[{{TrollingCreator}} act of "trolling" by R7 directed at WMG types.]]

* EyesOfGold

* {{Expy}}: [[UminekoNoNakuKoroNi His succesor Battler]] inherits most of his traits: TheHeart, [[SmarterThanYouLook smarter than he looks]], perverted, prone to awkwardly insensitive jokes, [[DeTerminator and never gives up for very long.]]

** Given his personality, it's practically a ShoutOut.

** Possible FridgeBrilliance for those who read {{Umineko}}, considering the "splinter personality" that was growing insider her during the chain of events [[spoiler: and was purged from her subconscious after surviving, giving birth to [[CompleteMonster Bernkastel]]]].

* CreepyChild: She occasionally acts in a knowing, creepy manner completely unfitting her age.[[spoiler:There's a reason for this.]]

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: We can assume that if not for her, Rika would have given up long ago.

* {{Jerkass}}: Other than her behaviour towards [[spoiler:Hanyū, some of her monologues in ''Minagoroshi'' make her appear not only cynical but also disturbingly selfish, only worrying about people's safety if that can allow her to survive (physically or mentally).]] The worst in all that? [[spoiler:She perfectly knows that the Mountain Hounds killed her parents and ''she doesn't even care'', since she considers it's her mother's fault for opposing the experiments in the first place.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing

* CreepyChild: She occasionally acts in a knowing, creepy manner completely unfitting her age.

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqpPqPhyjuo "Over the sky"]] represents the "Goddess" part of her character. Really makes you feel like you are hovering above the clouds. The human part is represented by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jM5OslNI3w&feature=endscreen&NR=1 "Air Fizz"]].

* BlueEyes.

* BlueEyes

* BlueEyes