History WMG / HigurashiWhenTheyCry

[[WMG: Rika Furude, Frederica Bernkastel and [[spoiler:Umineko's Bernkastel]] really aren't the same being.]]

* If the above is true, then this action is what [[spoiler:Umineko's Bernkastel]] into being. If Rika did get rid of the [[spoiler:splinter personality]], then where could it have gone? Perhaps it didn't cease to exist, but was [[spoiler:the Rika left all alone in the "perfect world", crying over having just killed her mother, with her cries going unanswered by Hanyuu because the real Rika was waking up in her own world [[FridgeHorror and was thus completely oblivious to the second Rika]]. Feeling abandonded, betrayed and left to wallow in her own misery, she eventually became the "[[{{Troll}} Trollkastel]]" we now know as the Witch of Miracles. Unlike Frederica however she doesn't make any outward claims that she isn't Rika Furude, because as far as she knows, she ''is''.]]

...A.K.A [[{{Batman}} Scarecrow]]. Crane was bullied back when he was a kid. With that, he thought that he shouldn't be a weakling anymore. He grew up to become a psychologist at Arkham Asylum, secretly experimenting with his [[PsychoSerum fear toxin]]. Donning his scarecrow outfit and using his fear toxin, Crane spreads fear upon the people of Gotham just to show that he is someone not to be messed with. Similarly, Takano had a similar [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil childhood]], thought that she should show the people of Hinamizawa she ain't a loser, grew up to become a nurse just so she could experiment with the Hinamizawa diease, all with the intend of unleashing it upon the village and showing them who's boss. Now all she needed was a scary (and [[{{Stripperiffic}} sexy]]) scarecrow outfit but that black dress worked out fine anyways.

* Possibly the icing on the cake: [[spoiler:Rika most definitely has some Witch-like powers, though they only see use in one instance ([[AdaptationDistillation though it's only explicitly shown in the manga, not the anime]]). It's when Takano is about to shoot Hanyuu; when Hanyuu stops time to see that the bullet won't miss, Rika someone moves '''despite time being stopped''' and changes the bullet's direction herself. This happens before Saikoroshi-hen, and thus before she gives up on being a witch, so she might even have known what she was all along and just [[DeterminedDefeatist didn't think her power could be of any help]] until that crucial moment.]]

* Possibly the icing on the cake: [[spoiler:Rika most definitely has some Witch-like powers, though they only see use in one instance ([[AdaptationDistillation though it's only explicitly shown in the manga, not the anime]]). It's when Takano is about to shoot Hanyuu; it's been established that Hanyuu has limited time-manipulation abilities, but in this case, it's ''Rika'' who stops time and changes the direction of that bullet.]]

His frequently and [[LargeHam flamboyantly expressed]] obsession with maids is on the order of HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday And so is the duplicity. For all his talk of training maids and keeping them as oppressed as slaves, he's quite pushover boss. He's always solicitous of their feelings, concerned about their happiness, responsive to their complaints and compliant to their demands; and yet he puts only yielding pressure on them to keep up the minimal expectations of their duties. Shion is aware of this and takes frequent advantage to slack off and unsuccessfully taunts him to fire her. When it was implied that Keiichi wear a maid outfit to clean as a punishment, Irie was thrilled to talk about dressing and serving as a meido, and dwelt on the idea for an uncomfortably long time.

** It makes perfect sense for the body to have died before the storage room visit [[spoiler: if it wasn't really Takano's body.]]

[[WMG: Demon Granny Onyuu is nowhere near as nasty as she's portrayed.]]

Unlike them, its only on a subconscious level, and it only starts to occur during the Massacre chapter. Keiichi's mom said something about the perfect crime again as it relates to Teppai. Onryu's BatManGambit involving Keiichi (revealed during Festival Music) may be the result of realizing that 1. her actions were the cause of her death in the Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening chapters, and 2. on a subconscious level, she's aware of his incredible charisma and intends to use it to bury the resentment against the Hojos due to events of the Massacre chapter. Akasaka figured out that he needed to fall back due to Rika's prophecy. His need to help Rika in her time of need may of also been a catalyst for him to develop that CQC training MUCH earlier than he normally does.

** Well, that's because Mion [[spoiler:was actually Shion pretending to be Mion.]]]]

** Well, that's because Mion [[spoiler:[[IdenticalTwinSwitcheroo was actually Shion pretending to be Mion.]]]]

** Well, that's because Mion[[spoiler: was actually Shion pretending to be Mion.]]

Not really. It fits Rika much more than Takano. MUCH more.

This troper got this theory out of a random brainwave when looking up the origins of the syndrome[[note]]in fact it made so terrifyingly much sense to me that I almost put it on the Fridge page by mistake[[/note]]. Let's count the ways:

* 2) The game board needed something to drive its protagonists and antagonists, and the Hinamizawa Syndrome wound up accomplishing this in spades. Plus it's been all but confirmed that [[spoiler:Takano]] was her piece, who because of the disease would [[spoiler:exterminate everything in Hinamizawa]].

[[WMG: [[UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Lambdadelta]] created the Hinamizawa Syndrome.]]
This troper got this theory out of a random brainwave when looking up the origins of the syndrome[[hottip:*:in fact it made so terrifyingly much sense to me that I almost put it on the Fridge page by mistake]]. Let's count the ways:

* 2) The game board needed something to drive its protagonists and antagonists, and the Hinamizawa Syndrome wound up accomplishing this in spades. It's also been confirmed that [[spoiler:Takano]] was her piece, who would wind up using the disease as an excuse to [[spoiler:exterminate everything in Hinamizawa]].

* 3) Her opponent in the game is heavily implied to have been ''[[AuthorAvatar Fea]][[RetiredMonster ther]][[PhysicalGod ine]]''. It goes without saying that conventional tactics wouldn't work on her, so Lambdadelta had to get creative with a HatePlague to make the protagonists tear ''each other'' apart instead of the antagonists.
* 4) '''She's a freaking {{Troll}}.''' A Troll with no regard for the pieces she uses, no less. Doing something like this is ''very'' much within her character.

This troper got this theory out of a random brainwave when looking up the origins of the syndrome. Let's count the ways:

1) The two most popular methods of the syndrome coming into existence - either an alien spaceship crash or a synthetic plague - are both equally ridiculous. But that isn't to say they're outside of the realm of possibility, and Lambdadelta, being the Witch of Certainty, ''could'' make that OneInAMillionChance happen.
2) The game board needed something to drive its protagonists and antagonists, and the Hinamizawa Syndrome wound up accomplishing this in spades. It's also been confirmed that [[spoiler:Takano]] was her piece, who would wind up using the disease as an excuse to [[spoiler:exterminate everything in Hinamizawa]].
3) Her opponent in the game is heavily implied to have been ''[[AuthorAvatar Fea]][[RetiredMonster ther]][[PhysicalGod ine]]''. It goes without saying that conventional tactics wouldn't work on her, so Lambdadelta had to get creative with a HatePlague to make the protagonists tear ''each other'' apart instead of the antagonists.
4) '''She's a freaking {{Troll}}.''' A Troll with no regard for the pieces she uses, no less. Doing something like this is ''very'' much within her character.

** According to WordOfGod, [[spoiler:Bernkastel is a representation of all the Rikas who never made it past the June of 1983]].

* Hinamizawa syndrome isn't a real disease and it isn't supernatural - everyone just has anxiety and/or depression. The symptoms of the syndrome often coincide with those of both anxiety and depression and also post-traumatic distress syndrome. For example, Hinamizawa syndrome always becomes worse in the characters suffering from it because they don't go to anyone else for help, a point explored in Minagoroshi-hen. Anxiety can also cause itching on any part of the body. Scratching damages the skin and causes it to itch more. In real life, it almost never gets that bad, but this is a work of fiction we're talking about here. Often, the characters end up having dark thoughts without even considering a more reasonable explanation. These fantasies will then spiral out of control in their minds, becoming so convincing that the patient will believe it's true themselves, a trait common amongst sufferers of anxiety and depression. This is all made worse because they are repeating the "bad worlds" continuously for over 100 years, which subconsciously makes the main characters afraid that something terrible is going to happen.

[[WMG: Hanyuu is an [[PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Incubator]] ]]