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| 4 | %% Images restored per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1654959677008583100 |
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| 10 | ->[[center:[[Characters/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/HigurashiWhenTheyCryProtagonists Protagonists]] | '''Supporting Characters''' | [[Characters/HigurashiWhenTheyCryMinorCharacters Minor Characters]] | [[Characters/HigurashiWhenTheyCryMiscellaneousCharacters Miscellaneous Characters]]]] |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 13 | !!Supporting Characters |
| 14 | [[folder:Satoshi Houjou]] |
| 15 | !!Satoshi Houjou |
| 16 | !!!Voiced by: Creator/MitsukiSaiga (JP - drama CD), Creator/YuuKobayashi (JP - anime), Creator/DarrelGuilbeau (EN, Bang Zoom), Creator/CaseyMongillo (EN, Funimation) |
| 17 | !!!Portrayed by: Toshiki Seto (drama series) |
| 18 | [[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/higu_satoshi_5078.png]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Satoko's older brother, who disappeared a year before the story began. |
| 21 | ----- |
| 22 | * AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Often did this to Satoko and Shion, the latter stunned at herself for how easily such a simple gesture made her fall for him, and somewhat developed feelings for Keiichi when he imitated this behavior. |
| 23 | * 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. |
| 24 | * {{Bishonen}}: Quite handsome along with Keiichi. |
| 25 | * ChekhovMIA: For most of the story, no one has any idea of where Satoshi disappeared to the night of the Cotton-Drifting Festival. [[spoiler:In the Matsuribayashi-hen, Shion discovers Satoshi is in a coma in Irie's clinic and he'll need to stay like that at ''least'' until there's a real cure for the Hinamizawa Syndrome. He actually recovers in Miotsukushi's epilogue.]] |
| 26 | * 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). |
| 27 | * ColorBlindConfusion: Shion was partly amused and partly exasperated by his inability to distinguish broccoli from cauliflower. |
| 28 | * DumbBlonde: A rare male example. Satoshi has a reputation for being somewhat air-headed and unfocused. |
| 29 | * FamilyThemeNaming: '''Sato'''shi, older brother of '''Sato'''ko (though the kanji are completely different). |
| 30 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: From Frederica Bernkastel's poem in ''Meakashi-hen'': "How many years will pass before she wonders if she really dropped them?" |
| 31 | * FreakOut: [[spoiler:The day of the Watanagashi festival in 1982, Satoshi finally snaps and murders his aunt to prevent her from abusing him and Satoko any further. He fulfills his plan to buy Satoko a giant stuffed bear for her birthday, but as Irie is driving him home, the last of his sanity is finally shed and he begins to hallucinate and see his aunt's face in nearby drivers and pedestrians. This forces Irie to take him to the clinic and begin treating him for Level 5 Hinamizawa Syndrome.]] |
| 32 | * ImageSong: "Yellowsick". Ironically, he has one of the most energetic and hot-blooded image songs of the cast. |
| 33 | * JerkassBall: As his emotional and physical health decline, he quits the Hinamizawa Fighters and becomes bitter toward Mion (actually Shion), as his contempt toward her family spreads to her despite all the time they'd spent bonding. When Shion later starts beating Satoko for being overly dependent, he assumes that she's just taking part in the village's discrimination against them, despite later admitting that she'd never done so. |
| 34 | * KnightTemplarBigBrother: [[spoiler:He killed his aunt in order to protect Satoko. In large part it was due to Hinamizawa syndrome, though.]] |
| 35 | * TheLostLenore: His disappearance causes no small amount of grief for Shion. [[spoiler:In ''Meakashi'', [[LoveMakesYouCrazy it makes her go crazy]]]]. |
| 36 | * NiceGuy: Usually nice and kindhearted, even moreso than Keiichi. |
| 37 | * PosthumousCharacter: Although whether he died or not is an open mystery for the bulk of the series, the story largely treats him this way, with almost all of his character development done in flashbacks and the testimony of other characters due to his PresentAbsence. Near the end of the story, it is revealed once and for all that he is [[spoiler:comatose, not dead]]. |
| 38 | * PresentAbsence: Satoshi went missing a year before Keiichi moved to Hinamizawa. The mystery of what happened to him and how his disappearance affects the emotional state of his little sister Satoko and Shion who loved him are prominent elements in the tragedies of almost all arcs. |
| 39 | * PromotionToParent: Satoshi steadily becomes more and more of a caretaker to his sister, almost from the time she was born. Satoko has trouble bonding with the men her mother meets and emotionally pushes them away, resulting in Satoshi trying to serve as mediator. When both of their parents die and they wind up in the care of their abusive aunt and uncle, Satoshi is forced to endure their abuse and constantly come to Satoko's rescue. |
| 40 | * SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:A notable aversion. Despite the stress of everything that's going wrong in his life, Satoshi is remarkably adept at keeping up appearances, with only his coach, Irie, knowing how much he's suffering. When he finally snaps, it is not in small measures, but [[FreakOut in one sudden outburst.]]]] |
| 41 | * TechnicolorEyes: His eyes are pink. |
| 42 | * TraumaCongaLine: Satoshi's mother falls in and out of relationships constantly, resulting in emotional trauma for Satoko (and likely Satoshi too) that eventually makes her refuse to trust in anyone but her brother. Then their parents come out in support of the dam project, resulting in the entire village ostracizing the whole family. Then their parents wind up dead in an accident. Then Satoshi and Satoko wind up in the care of an abusive aunt and uncle and Satoko's emotional outbursts start getting worse. Satoshi, worn to exhaustion with school and a part time job, confides in his coach that he feels his emotional and physical strength crumbling. [[spoiler:He finally snaps, murders his aunt, and is overcome by Level 5 Hinamizawa Syndrome.]] |
| 43 | * VerbalTic: He often utters "Muu~" when troubled. |
| 44 | * WouldHitAGirl: He hits Shion, although justified since he did it to save his sister Satoko from her beatings. [[spoiler:He also bludgeoned his aunt to death.]] |
| 45 | [[/folder]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[folder:Kuraudo Ooishi]] |
| 48 | !!Kuraudo Ooishi |
| 49 | !!!Voiced by: Creator/{{Chafurin}} (JP), John Snyder (EN, Bang Zoom, credited as Joe [=DiMucci=]), Mark Stoddard (EN, Funimation) |
| 50 | !!!Portrayed by: Tetta Sugimoto (film), Shinobu Tsuruta (drama series) |
| 51 | [[quoteright:265:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/higu_ooishi_9112.png]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | 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. |
| 54 | ----- |
| 55 | * AdaptationalJerkass: InUniverse example; In ''Onikakushi-hen'' and ''Watanagashi-hen''; he's a pleasant person to talk to Keiichi and gives helpful infos to him about Hinamizawa and the mysterious incidents but in ''Tatarigoroshi''-hen, he's a downright asshole who never hesitates to squeeze Keiichi's shoulders literally painful enough to intimidate him and as he interrogates Keiichi while his fellow men dig up [[spoiler:Teppei's corpse]] in the forest, he throws muddy waters on him to force the truth out of him. Keiichi wishes he dies which is by coincidence granted as he suddenly disappears as he rescues Satoko. |
| 56 | * CryLaughing: In Matsuribayashi when he learns that [[spoiler:the Sonozakis have nothing to with the annual murders, relieving his animosity toward them.]] |
| 57 | * DirtyOldMan: It's more apparent in the manga and [=VNs=], but he really does have a strong interest in porn, gentleman's clubs, and brothels. |
| 58 | * DrinkingOnDuty: Ooishi's carefree attitude on the job does have him indulge in a drink every so often. He drinks with the thugs he arrests in Chapter 4 of Watangashi. |
| 59 | -->"Beer is best when you drink on the job!" |
| 60 | * FireForgedFriends: With Akasaka after the events of ''Himatsubushi-hen.'' They start of not thinking much of each other, but after going through a dangerous fight to rescue the Minister's grandson from kidnappers together they become quite good friends. |
| 61 | * {{Foil}}: Old, perverted, and usually implementing a very signature brand of ObfuscatingStupidity, to Akasaka's more young, straightlaced, and straightforward persona. He also foils a little bit against Kumagai, his relatively straightlaced assistant who is much calmer and better at negotiation, whereas Ooishi intentionally puts people off with his brash attitude. |
| 62 | * GallowsHumor: There's a bit of an on-going dark joke between Ooishi and anybody he has visiting to investigate the Tomitake murder where he'll end a conversation with, "Have a nice year!" in reference to the serial Watanagashi murders. It shows up repeatedly in the Onikakushi-hen TIPS. |
| 63 | * 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 Sonozakis are behind everything. This keeps him from approaching the only person in the group that never goes insane.]] |
| 64 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: With Asakasa in ''Himatsubushi-hen'' and [[spoiler:Keiichi]] in ''Minagoroshi-hen''. |
| 65 | * KnightOfCerebus: In most arcs, he signals the end of comedy, or a [[FromBadToWorse sharper dive into tragedy]] and a ramping up of the FolkHorror elements, not always in his first appearance, but in his first confrontation with the arc's protagonist. Lampshaded by Dr. Irie. |
| 66 | * 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.]] |
| 67 | * TheLastDance: Although not dying, Ooishi is coming up on his mandatory retirement age and is slated to leave the police force within a year. The summer of 1983 represents his final chance to solve the mystery of Oyashiro-sama's curse before his imminent move to Hokkaido to be near his elderly mother. |
| 68 | * {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HN8tmCoKwM "Big Bear".]] Also, "Dancers 5" in ''Himatsubushi''. |
| 69 | * MrExposition: Ooishi has been investigating the murders from before the game started and as such fills Keiichi (and the audience) in on numerous details of the case and Hinamizawa's history. |
| 70 | * MyGreatestFailure: His inability to solve the Hinamizawa murders [[spoiler:and the eventual disaster that almost inevitably befalls the village]] serves as this for Ooishi in most of the endings. |
| 71 | * NeverTheObviousSuspect: [[spoiler:Invariably, if Ooishi winds up in close contact with someone in an arc, that person will either succumb to psychotic madness and go on a killing spree in short order or, in the case of ''Tatarigoroshi'', will have already begun their descent into insanity. ''Minagoroshi'' even highlights this as an obvious pattern. As it turns out, this is simply coincidence and Ooishi is not, in fact, responsible for any aspect of Hinamizawa Syndrome.]] |
| 72 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: In Tsumihoroboshi-hen, the narration notes that the way that Ooishi operates is actually pretty similar to the stereotypes of the {{Yakuza}}, embodied in the story by his [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]], the Sonozaki family. |
| 73 | * 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. |
| 74 | * OddFriendship: With Keiichi in ''Minagoroshi-hen'' and Akane Sonozaki in ''Matsuribayashi''. |
| 75 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: In most of the arcs, he acts as a fairly reasonable police investigator even if he goes around spreading suspicions on those involved in the murderers. |
| 76 | * RedHerring: [[spoiler:Whenever he contacts someone in the main group one-on-one, they either will go or already are going insane (Keiichi in Onikakushi and Tatarigoroshi, Shion in Meakashi, and Rena in Tsumihoroboshi), which makes him an obvious candidate as the force behind the Curse of Oyashiro-sama. This is actually a false lead, meant to draw attention away from the *other* constant trend in the stories: that Tomitake and Takano always die the exact same time and way, which is the actual clue to the real mastermind.]] |
| 77 | * {{Retirony}}: Averted in most arcs; [[spoiler:while most of the rest of the cast dies in the lead-up to or the events after the Great Hinamizawa Gas Disaster, Ooishi is one of the few that relatively reliably stays alive]]. In Tatarigoroshi-hen and Someutsushi-hen, [[spoiler:he goes missing]], but his death is still unconfirmed even then. Most of the time, he and Akasaka do what they can after [[spoiler:the disaster]] to [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture encourage someone to solve what they couldn't]]. |
| 78 | * SignatureLaugh: He likes to occasionally [[LaughingAtYourOwnJokes chuckle at his own witticisms]]. The subtitles renders it as "Nfu-fu-fu-fu!" |
| 79 | * StoutStrength: He's got a stocky frame but Keiichi notes that he's "packed with muscle." |
| 80 | * ThatOneCase: Getting to the bottom of Oyashiro-sama's curse -- or rather exposing the more earthy conspiracy behind it -- is this to him. And he is willing to bend, or even break regulations to investigate it, no matter how much trouble it might get him in with his superiors. |
| 81 | * 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. [[spoiler:Rika expresses contempt for him and Takano (even before learning that the latter is the BigBad) in ''Minagoroshi-hen'' for constantly triggering her friends' paranoia.]] |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Jirou Tomitake]] |
| 85 | !!Jirou Tomitake |
| 86 | !!!Voiced by: Creator/ToruOkawa (JP), Creator/KyleHebert (EN, Bang Zoom), Creator/JohnBurgmeier (EN, Funimation) |
| 87 | !!!Portrayed by: Masashi Taniguchi (film), Yuuma Ishigaki (drama series) |
| 88 | [[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/higu-tomitake_766.png]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | 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. |
| 91 | \ |
| 92 | In the first six arcs, he is consistently found dead of suicide on the night of Watanagashi, triggering many of the events that follow. |
| 93 | ---- |
| 94 | * AfraidOfNeedles: He always averts his gaze from injections, [[spoiler:leaving him oblivious to Takano faking his inoculation to Hinamizawa syndrome.]] |
| 95 | * ClawingAtOwnThroat: In most of the arcs, he claws his throat out the night of the Watanagashi Festival [[spoiler:due to being injected with H173.]] |
| 96 | * CurtainsMatchTheWindow: He has brown hair to go with his brown eyes. |
| 97 | * DesignatedVictim: Like Takano, in most arcs, he is found dead on the night of Watanagashi. |
| 98 | * EmbarrassingNickname: [[spoiler:Irie calls him "Risa-san"]] As a subversion, this conveniently serves to hide their connections to the reader in the early arcs. |
| 99 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: He can hear [[spoiler:Hanyu's fuss]] in the shrine storage. Meaning that [[spoiler:he was already at least at level 4 of the Hinamizawa syndrome at that time.]] |
| 100 | * FriendlySniper: He's a good guy who is also a skilled sniper. |
| 101 | * TheGunslinger: He's a veteran sniper. |
| 102 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: [[spoiler:Called out on this by the Mountain Hounds when sniping on a moving vehicle while on rough terrain.]] |
| 103 | * InformedDeformity: He is visibly ripped, yet in ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', Takano views him as plain looking with a bit of a belly. |
| 104 | * MrFanservice: Is shown as being ripped; the first episode of the ''Rei'' OVA has him shirtless due to it being the PoolEpisode of the anime, and he even stops a missile with his pecs. |
| 105 | * NiceGuy: His most defining trait is just how kind he is. |
| 106 | * OfficialCouple: He's dating Miyo Takano. |
| 107 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: It's mentioned in several arcs that Jirō Tomitake is not his real name, but we never learn what it is. |
| 108 | * WeaponizedCamera: Camera. "TOMITAKE FLASH!!!!" [[spoiler:His weapon is actually a sniper rifle.]] |
| 109 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: He usually dies too early to get any kind of development. |
| 110 | [[/folder]] |
| 111 | |
| 112 | [[folder:Miyo Takano ('''UNMARKED SPOILERS''')]] |
| 113 | !!Miyo Takano (born Miyoko Tanashi) |
| 114 | !!!Voiced by: Creator/MikiIto (JP), Creator/FuyukaOura (JP - young), Creator/KarenStrassman (EN, Bang Zoom), Creator/MallorieRodak (EN, Funimation), Creator/SarahWiedenheft (EN - young, Funimation) |
| 115 | !!!Portrayed by: Ayako Kawahara (film), Rie Kitahara (drama series) |
| 116 | [[quoteright:155:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/higu_takano_5877.png]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | 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 [[TheGadfly she seems to enjoy putting people on edge]]. Unlike the other villagers, she opposes the almighty Oyashiro-sama. |
| 119 | \ |
| 120 | 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. |
| 121 | ------ |
| 122 | * AmbiguousSituation: At the end of ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', Tomitake tells the Bloodhounds trying to arrest her that she's deep into Hinamizawa Syndrome. It's debatable if her scratch marks came from simple stress and running through the wilderness, or her inoculation wasn't working properly, but Tomitake's intent was likely just to reduce Takano's punishment and give her a second chance at life. |
| 123 | * AttackAttackAttack: Lampshaded [[PlayedForDrama 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. |
| 124 | * BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: She was tortured into pretty much ''insanity'' in the OrphanageOfFear from her childhood. It's heavily implied that she suffers from severe PTSD as a result. As a result, she thinks nothing of committing mass murder just to prove her grandfather's theory. |
| 125 | * BigBad: She's revealed to be the main perpetrator behind the Great Hinamizawa Disaster in multiple timelines. |
| 126 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: She's a nurse who acts kind and pleasant on the surface until it was revealed that she is the main villain responsible for much of the chaos in the story. |
| 127 | * BreakTheCutie: She UsedToBeASweetKid, and then her parents died and she was sent to an OrphanageOfFear, where she was made to undergo Hell that no child should have to suffer through. |
| 128 | * BrokenBird: Everyone who supported her in her life died - first her parents, in a train accident; then her grandfather, in suicide due to the onset of senility; and finally Koizumi, from old age. Koizumi's death also put a 3-year deadline on her research because nobody else was taking it seriously, after which it would vanish into obscurity. This twisted her personality and psyche, making her ready to do ''anything'' to prove her grandfather's thesis. |
| 129 | * ComplexityAddiction: She's aware that [[FakingTheDead her decoy corpse]] is a day too old given when she was last seen in public, but decides to use it anyway to make things more mysterious even though it could spoil her plans. By the time the body's time of death comes up, the arc's protagonist is often too shaken up by other events to think about it rationally, and will come to odd conclusions like coming back from the dead or alien clones. |
| 130 | * CriminalMindGames: A somewhat strange example. In ''Tsumihoroboshi'', she gives an increasingly-unstable Rena a book of notes for the girl to pore over. These notes, somewhat surprisingly, contain some accurate details about what's actually going on in Hinamizawa (like the Okonogi Gardeners not being who they seem, or the fact that Hinamizawa Syndrome is being researched in the Irie Clinic) - details that Takano, as the plan's mastermind, knew were true. However, the books also contain a significant number of wildly inaccurate statements and also serve as one of the triggers that cause Rena to succumb to Hinamizawa Syndrome. Given that Takano had nothing to gain from making Rena fall into psychosis, it appears she simply did this to amuse herself while she waited for the right time to enact her plan. |
| 131 | * DeadlyDoctor: Although she's always one of the first two victims of Watanagashi, she isn't quite so helpless as you'd think. Especially since she isn't ''really'' a victim. Plus, her weapons of choice in ''Higurashi Daybreak'' are syringes. |
| 132 | * DesignatedVictim: Like Tomitake, in most arcs she goes missing on the night of Watanagashi, and is later found dead. Subverted, since she was faking her death. |
| 133 | * {{Determinator}}: A villainous example. Takano is so traumatized by her youth, so grateful to her grandfather for saving her, and so agonized by the disrespect to his work, that she resolves she will make the world see his brilliance, thus immortalizing him forever. Her will to do this is so strong and unbreakable, it drives the entire plot and it takes virtually the entirety of the cast, along with a few strokes of good fortune, to stop her. After learning that she's the BigBad, Hanyuu reluctantly acknowledges that her strong will that made most of the arcs go her way puts her near the realm of godhood. |
| 134 | * DrowningMySorrows: After she learns that the research will be stopped, indicating that she has crossed the DespairEventHorizon. |
| 135 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Right near the start of the very first chapter of the game, Onikakushi, you come across Miyo when Rena and Mion are showing Keiichi around Hinamizawa. She's simply mentioned as the third of three people (along with two extras) the trio run into who is named and briefly described by the girls to demonstrate how everyone in Hinamizawa know all about everyone else- she doesn't even make an on-screen appearance or have any lines ascribed to her. Except in the manga version, where she ''does'' make a physical appearance. |
| 136 | * EasilyForgiven: By Tomitake in the realities where he lives, even though she attempted to kill him. Seeing her in a defeated, pathetic state probably helps, it's difficult to hate someone in that position. Not to mention that Tomitake is more aware of Takano's sad past and motivations than other characters. |
| 137 | * EpilepticTrees: A perpetrator of these InUniverse. 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!). These trees are her tactic of choice in [[{{Troll}} her trolling the cast]]. |
| 138 | * EvenEvilCanBeLoved: To prove her grandfather's research, she kills Rika's parents, Tomitake, and the entire Hinamizawa village in many fragments. Despite this, her boyfriend Tomitake loves her deeply and is determined to help Takano start anew with a better life once her plans are ruined in ''Matsuribayashi-hen''. |
| 139 | * EvilLaugh: Like [[DysfunctionJunction most of the characters]], she gets one at some point. A truly epic one when she's revealed to be the BigBad. |
| 140 | * EvilWearsBlack: When she's revealed to be the main villain, Takano wears a completely black military uniform due to her position as a major of the Tokyo organization. |
| 141 | * FakingTheDead: She fakes her death in each arc on the night of the Watanagashi festival in order to divert attention away from her plot to kill Rika and enact Emergency Manual 34. While the burned corpse is identified as her through dentition, careful examination reveals that it's just a day too old for when she was last seen, though shit has usually hit the fan by the time anyone figures this out. |
| 142 | * ForScience: While Irie has taken some questionable actions (namely dissections of living peoples' brains), he at least [[WellIntentionedExtremist genuinely wants to solve mental disorders.]] Takano actually just cares about the research itself building fame over anyone benefiting from it. |
| 143 | * FreudianExcuse: After losing her parents, she had to live in a hellish OrphanageOfFear. She was rescued from the orphanage and raised by a loving, kindly old man and now wants to prove his research, no matter what. Unfortunately, the trauma she already had from the orphanage led to her taking a few things that her grandfather said the wrong way, which, combined with people treating her grandfather's thesis as garbage, as well as her underlying selfishness and 'us-vs-them' mentality, led to her becoming a heartless monster. |
| 144 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: From sweet kid to [[TheSociopath sociopathic]], murderous researcher. |
| 145 | * GenreBlindness: Alluded to in AttackAttackAttack above, while the entrenched enemy in question is [[JustAKid a group of schoolchildren]], they also happen to be [[TheHero the protagonists]]. Who also have a sort-of-PhysicalGod on their side ''[[VillainBall whom Takano had actually met with and thus ''knew'' would be acting against her at the start of the arc]]''. Failure to acknowledge any of this leads to her downfall. |
| 146 | * GodhoodSeeker: She wants to immortalize herself and her grandfather as "gods" by making people acknowledge the latter's research. Specifically, it was influenced by a metaphor from her grandfather, saying that if his research proves fruitful his legacy will live forever, like that of a god. Fast-forward to modern-day and Miyo raves about how if she proves her grandfather's research is true, and re-inspires fear of Oyashiro-sama in the process, she will in effect ''become'' Oyashiro-sama and live forever with her grandpa. |
| 147 | * GreenEyedMonster: In the climax of Miotsukushi, he starts spewing hatred at Rika for being seen as divine from birth as Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation while she and her grandfather had to claw their way up just to try getting such reverence. |
| 148 | * HappilyAdopted: After some ''very'' nasty experiences at her OrphanageOfFear, she was adopted by Hifumi Takano and was able to live a relatively happy life with him until he died. Unfortunately the trauma from her time at the orphanage eventually caught up with her, and she became willing to go to extreme methods to continue her adopted grandfather's research... |
| 149 | * HatesBeingAlone: Her desire to immortalize herself and her grandfather is out of a pathological desire to never be alone again. She also tries to keep Tomitake on her side as her plans commence, even desperately offering herself from head to toe in Matsuribayashi, because she knows that the Yamainu and Nomura only have financial interest in her. |
| 150 | * HeroKiller: She's the one killing Rika in most timelines, [[GasLeakCoverup setting off the Great Hinamizawa Disaster to preemptively stop the supposed resulting Level 5 outbreak.]] Minagoroshi-hen in particular has her personally killing the entire Club shortly beforehand. |
| 151 | * HospitalHottie: Her outfit consists of a really short skirt and a pair of [[ZettaiRyouiki high black stockings]]. |
| 152 | * ImageSong: "Bon Karma". |
| 153 | * IronicEcho: Not exactly a quote, but the scene near the end of ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' where her bullet misses Hanyu very closely echoes the scene near the beginning of the arc where "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 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. However, 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. |
| 154 | * KarmaHoudini: She tries to kill an entire village over and over again, but at the end of ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', she gets treatment for a disease 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 the death of Rika's parents and generally being an amoral researcher. It's particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} in the worlds where Rika fails, Takano succeeds in murdering everyone in Hinamizawa, and she gets away with it scot-free aside from possibly dying of her own free will as part of the cover-up. It actually makes sense in context a bit with Hanyu offering to forgive Takano of all her sins. |
| 155 | ** The author's notes at the end of the last VN actually invokes this, with the author saying that he had gotten tired of stories where the BigBad being punished wraps everything up, which is also reflected in Takano's monologue about how the world always seeks to find a scapegoat to pin blame upon and how all conflicts need a "loser" in order to be resolved. Takano is spared in order to reject this nihilistic view and to end the cycle of suffering for everyone, including her who [[BreakTheCutie suffered greatly before turning to villainy]]. |
| 156 | * KickTheMoralityPet: She genuinely loves Tomitake and isn't really eager to kill him, but that never stops her from making him the victim of "Oyashiro-sama's curse" in all the fragments. |
| 157 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: Familial love example. Takano loves her adoptive grandfather more than anything in the world and couldn't forgive society for ridiculing his research to the point he was pushed into commiting suicide. Proving her grandfather's research and being immortalized with his memory are the primary motivators behind her going to inhuman extremes in her Hinamizawa Syndrome research, culminating in her planning the massacre of the Hinamizawa village. |
| 158 | * LoveRedeems: Implied by the ending of ''Matsuribayashi-hen''. Takano's plans are ruined and she's going to be arrested, but Tomitake steps in by declaring Takano needs to take treatment for the Hinamizawa Syndrome. Even though he knows Takano was going to kill him, Tomitake tells Takano he's going to help her reform and start again. |
| 159 | * ManipulativeBitch: The biggest in the series. She manipulates Keiichi, Rena, and Shion with both her scrapbooks, the Oyashiro Curse and faked her own death in order for them to succumb to Level 5 and throw a giant suspicion on the Sonozaki Family. |
| 160 | * MeaningfulRename: After being adopted by Hifumi Takano, she changes the kanji in her name to follow his NumericalThemeNaming. She later changed the "Taka" in his surname meaning "high" to a homonymous kanji meaning "hawk" so him being her motivation wouldn't be as obvious. |
| 161 | * MentorArchetype: Her main role in the story before being revealed as the BigBad is to inform the heroes of the legends of Hinamizawa and help them in defeating the conspiracy. |
| 162 | * MilkmanConspiracy: BigBad or not she's still just a nurse when it comes down to it. |
| 163 | * MoralMyopia: She's motivated by devotion to her adoptive grandfather, yet complains about Irie's shaky support for her plans and outright kills Rika's mother for opposing her experiments on Rika, viewing ''their'' familial attachments as a nuisance. |
| 164 | * MsFanservice: She's [[HeadturningBeauty a fairly attractive woman]] with ample assets who wears a few revealing outfits, such as her nurse outfit. She also SleepsInTheNude and wears a BarelyThereSwimwear during the BeachEpisode. This makes the fact she's the BigBad all the more shocking. |
| 165 | * 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. |
| 166 | * NayTheist: She studies myths, religion, and the occult, but doesn't actually believe in any of them. In fact, she ''hates'' the local god Oyashiro-sama and will do anything to bring them down, in part because of her DarkAndTroubledPast. In Matsuribayashi, she notes the irony that she denies Oyashiro-sama yet has no doubt about Hanyuu's identity when they meet face-to-face in front of the latter's shrine. |
| 167 | * NeverASelfMadeWoman: She became devoted to her adoptive grandfather's research to repay him for saving her from an OrphanageOfFear. After his research was unfairly ridiculed, she became a top-tier doctor just to further his studies and salvage his reputation (she changed the kanji in her surname so this wouldn't be too obvious). She's willing to throw people's lives away and even weaponize the Syndrome as long as Hifumi's research is validated. |
| 168 | * NightmareFetishist: Her personal hobby is researching the spooky legends about Hinamizawa's demon heritage and the old rituals involving eating people, human sacrifices, and curses from the town's EvilGod. |
| 169 | * NoblewomansLaugh: Gets a classic one in the anime after her GodhoodSeeker speech, yet it's somehow less disturbing than most of the protagonists' laughs. |
| 170 | * NotQuiteTheRightThing: 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. |
| 171 | * NumericalThemeNaming: The kanji for her name uses the kanji for three (三) and four (四). Just like how her adoptive grandfather's name is written as one (一), two (二), three (三). |
| 172 | * OfficialCouple: She's dating Tomitake. |
| 173 | * OrphansOrdeal: She was sent to an OrphanageOfFear after her parents died, witnessing and suffering lots of horrors there. She got so throughly broken that she went ''insane'' and became the BigBad with time. |
| 174 | * PluckyGirl: Enough will to alter fate itself. |
| 175 | * ProperlyParanoid: Midway through Matsuribayashi, she admits to Tomitake that the Yamainu are only as loyal as she pays them, and Nomura just took advantage of her while she was vulnerable while seemingly not even giving her real name, so Tomitake is probably the closest thing to an ally that she actually has. Sure enough, the Yamainu were actually bought out long ago by Nomura, who never truly cared about the validity of her research and just wants her dead as a scapegoat when the operation to kill Rika fails. It's Tomitake who steps in at the end to save her and offer another chance at life. |
| 176 | * PsychopathicWomanchild: Despite many characters describing her as a mature adult woman working as a nurse for the Irie clinic, her personality is actually frighteningly childish when she mutters a lot of dark and scary subjects about Hinamizawa to everyone that most of them never asks for. Her traumatic childhood shown in ''Matsuribayashi'' chapter was the factor in this but it turns out her hedonistic taste for dark subjects is actually a facade to cover up her own vulnerabilities and is willing to find someone like Tomitake to reach out to her. |
| 177 | * SmiteMeOhMightySmiter: She challenges God to give her a better life or kill her. A subsequent lightning bolt narrowly misses her. |
| 178 | * SoftspokenSadist: She enjoys making people uncomfortable in casual conversation, typically with her lurid fascination with the curse. Soon after introducing herself to Keiichi, she advises him to come to her clinic so she can give him [[AfraidOfNeedles big shot]] foreshadowing her PlayingWithSyringes and other overt sadism. |
| 179 | * StepfordSmiler: Unstable type. She isn't as sane and friendly as her affable smiles would make others think. |
| 180 | * TraumaButton: After watching Hifumi's research getting mocked and desecrated, she'll essentially revert to a crying child whenever she relives the experience. |
| 181 | * {{Troll}}: She manipulates several characters into going paranoid and berserk out of sheer amusement. |
| 182 | * TsurimeEyes: Her narrowed eyes are one of the indicators that she's not the innocent victim she appears to be. |
| 183 | * TheUnfettered: She is capable of doing pretty much anything, no matter how heinous, in order to prove her grandfather's thesis and "become a god". |
| 184 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Whether it's intentional or not, she's partially responsible for causing Rena and Shion to go off the deep end by giving her the scrapbook. |
| 185 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: The sweet girl who collected flags and loved to go out with Dad and Mom? Yeah, she grew into a horrible bitch after she was tortured in the orphanage. Although she still was a sweet child when with Dr. Takano, and it's only after his death ''and'' his research is mocked that she goes off the deep end. |
| 186 | * VillainProtagonist: The ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' manga is ostensibly a prequel that follows her closely, chronicling how she became obsessed with the research on the Hinamizawa Syndrome, as well as how she was involved in every event leading up to the current arc resolution. |
| 187 | * VillainousBreakdown: Started in Matsuribayashi-hen when Rika was falsely reported as dead for 48 hours and it just got worse after she was beaten. |
| 188 | * VillainWithGoodPublicity: To most of Hinamizawa, she's a kindhearted nurse with a weird hobby. She’s actually the direct leader of the MilkmanConspiracy controlling the town. |
| 189 | * WalkingSpoiler: Her past and the fact that she is the BigBad make it difficult to talk about her in detail without spoilering the two final arcs. |
| 190 | * TheWomanBehindTheMan: She's behind the Sonozaki family, the Yamainu, and the false image of [[DiscOneFinalBoss Oyashiro-sama]] she created. |
| 191 | * WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Her childhood at the orphanage was a living hell. The man who saved her was her kind adoptive grandfather. That's why she's going to prove his thesis about the Hinamizawa Syndrome and shut up the people who mocked her grandfather, being willing to have the entire Hinamizawa village massacred to achieve it. |
| 192 | * WouldHurtAChild: She ''disembowels'' a little girl after executing her friends in front of her. |
| 193 | [[/folder]] |
| 194 | |
| 195 | [[folder:Kyousuke Irie]] |
| 196 | !!Kyousuke Irie |
| 197 | !!!Voiced by: Creator/ToshihikoSeki (JP), Dave Mallow (EN, Bang Zoom), Cody Savoie (EN, Funimation) |
| 198 | !!!Portrayed by: Koutaro Tanaka (film), Tomohiro Kaku (drama series) |
| 199 | [[quoteright:175:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/higu_irie_4543.png]] |
| 200 | |
| 201 | The head doctor of the village clinic. Initially interested 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. |
| 202 | \ |
| 203 | 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. |
| 204 | ---- |
| 205 | * BystanderSyndrome: Enforced with regards to Satoko's abuse. Child Services have proven to be ineffective and Irie, like many other residents in Hinamizawa, can't do much to help with her situation. When helping bring home groceries with Keiichi, Keiichi observes how Irie pretends to not notice anything wrong and even stops Keiichi from raising any complaints. It frustrates Keiichi but he understands that it's all to stop Satoko's uncle from coming down even harder on her. |
| 206 | * CharacterExaggeration: Him being a ComedicLolicon is more pronounced in the anime adaptation. In the VN and manga he has an attraction to younger women and a {{Meido}} fetish, but he doesn't actively perv on the girls quite as much as in the anime. |
| 207 | * ComedicLolicon: He tends to express an attraction towards Satoko (and sometimes Rika), and it's always PlayedForLaughs. |
| 208 | * CreepyPhysical: To quote Irie, "It's good to be a doctor... because I get to touch the skin of young people many times, and I can turn them into my slaves with a little injection." Off-putting sense of humor for a doctor. |
| 209 | * CurtainsMatchTheWindow: He has brown hair and brown eyes. |
| 210 | * DeadlyDoctor: [[spoiler:He performed psychosurgery on unwilling patients in the past, although he had good intentions. Patient consent wasn't required at the time.]] |
| 211 | * 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]]. |
| 212 | * DrivenToSuicide: |
| 213 | ** [[spoiler:In Outbreak, he hopelessly realizes that the parasite spread too fast and is infected himself so he AteHisGun right in-front of Rika Furude.]] |
| 214 | ** He's also claimed to have committed suicide near the end of [[spoiler:Tatarigoroshi-hen]], and by extension any arc in which [[spoiler:the Great Hinamizawa Gas Disaster]] occurs. Given the circumstances explained in some of the later arcs, however, [[spoiler:these are at least as likely to be cases of NeverSuicide]]. |
| 215 | * HospitalHottie: For a doctor, he's quite young and handsome. |
| 216 | * 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.]]'']] |
| 217 | * {{Meido}}: His fetish. '''''MAID IN HEAVEN!''''' |
| 218 | * NiceGuy: Perverted tendencies asides, Irie is a compassionate doctor who cares about everyone's wellbeing and other than willing to find the cure for the Hinamizawa Syndrome, he's willing to defend Satoko from her abusive uncle as seen in the Minagoroshi chapter. He also seemed to be the only adult figure in the village who ever attempted to give Satoshi some peace of mind. |
| 219 | * OpaqueLenses: His sprite occasionally takes on this appearance when he wants his expression to be less readable such as when he's trying to be intimidating. |
| 220 | * PrettyBoy: He's noted to be quite good looking. |
| 221 | * 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... |
| 222 | * StrongerThanTheyLook: While Keiichi's not heavy, Irie's easily able to drag him by the collar with "strength [Keiichi] couldn't have imagined him having." |
| 223 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:He's one of the few people who knows about the HatePlague, and he's the actual reason Satoshi went missing. Keeping these secret ends up propagating fear of the annual "curse", and Meakashi in particular could have easily been avoided if he'd just been upfront with Shion.]] |
| 224 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:In his past anyway. May have had good intentions but his medical practices were ruthless. See DeadlyDoctor above.]] |
| 225 | [[/folder]] |
| 226 | |
| 227 | [[folder:Mamoru Akasaka]] |
| 228 | !!Mamoru Akasaka |
| 229 | !!!Voiced by: Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (JP - drama CD), Creator/DaisukeOno (JP - anime), Creator/PatrickSeitz (EN, Bang Zoom), Creator/AleksLe (EN, Funimation) |
| 230 | [[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/higu_akasaka_3967.png]] |
| 231 | |
| 232 | 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. |
| 233 | \ |
| 234 | The fourth arc, ''Himatsubushi-hen'' (Time-wasting), is dedicated to him. |
| 235 | ---- |
| 236 | * EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:In ''Matsuribayashi-hen''.]] |
| 237 | * BigDamnHeroes: Hoo boy. When he finally reappears, he proves instrumental in taking down the BigBad. |
| 238 | * ChekhovsGunman: Appears as the mostly hapless protagonist of "Himatsubushi-hen", seemingly only to show off what happened during the Dam Conflict, [[spoiler:as well as Rika's mysterious ability to predict the future tragedies. He finally comes back at the end as a badass to help save everyone.]] |
| 239 | * FairCop: He's a morally correct and friendly police investigator. |
| 240 | * FireForgedFriends: With Ooishi after the events of ''Himatsubushi-hen.'' Risking their lives together to rescue the Minister's kidnapped grandson makes them quite good friends. |
| 241 | * {{Foil}}: Young, straightlaced, and straightforward to Ooishi's older, perverted, and more wily persona. |
| 242 | * FutureBadass: [[spoiler:In the worlds where his wife dies.]] |
| 243 | * GoodIsNotSoft: Akasaka's an all-around NiceGuy but as shown in ''Matsuribayashi''-hen; [[spoiler: He manages to kick Okonogi's ass with his unnaturally overpowered karate skills to rescue Rika as they were about to sedate her with chloroform and be 'sacrificed' by Takano. To top this off in the VN, he actually punches the van after beating Okonogi, shattering all of the windows in the process.]] |
| 244 | * {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtyE3kUIeLY And a pretty cool one.]] |
| 245 | * HiddenBadass: Though he'd [[RetiredBadass hung up his coat in university]], Akasaka uses his ([[AlwaysSomeoneBetter nearly]]) unparalleled mahjong skills to [[GrewASpine assert himself]] during Ooishi and his friends' attempt to {{hustle|r}} the rookie out of money. |
| 246 | * IronicName: ''Mamoru'' means "to protect" in Japanese. [[spoiler:He fails to protect both his wife and the entire town of Hinamizawa. However, it's subverted in "Matsuribayashi-hen" when he finally manages to do it; or at least, in the latter case, he plays a critical role in the effort.]] |
| 247 | * LikeADaughterToMe: He views Rika as the living portrayal of his ideal daughter. |
| 248 | * MyGreatestFailure: His inability to solve the Hinamizawa murders [[spoiler:and the eventual disaster that almost inevitably befalls the village]] and consequently his failure to prevent [[spoiler:Rika's]] death serves as this for Akasaka in most of the endings. |
| 249 | * RedemptionQuest: Himatsubushi-hen ends with Akasaka swearing to search for the truth behind the mysteries of Hinamizawa, [[spoiler:mainly Rika's murder,]] to atone for [[spoiler:not listening to Rika's warnings which resulted in both his wife's and Rika's deaths]]. |
| 250 | * TookALevelInBadass: |
| 251 | ** In ''Himatsubushi'', he's just a greenhorn. In ''Matsuribayashi'', he is referred to multiple times as a monster. |
| 252 | ** And learned the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Falcon Punch]] during the Level Grinding. [[spoiler:He punches a bulletproof windshield, causing it to shatter.]] |
| 253 | ** In the VN, [[spoiler:he doesn't only shatter the windshield, he ''destroys the entire van'' with his punch!]] |
| 254 | [[/folder]] |
| 255 | |
| 256 | [[folder:Oryou Sonozaki]] |
| 257 | !!Oryou Sonozaki |
| 258 | !!!Voiced by: Shizuka Okohira (JP), Creator/BarbaraGoodson (EN, Bang Zoom), Pam Dougherty (EN, Funimation) |
| 259 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonozaki_oryo.png]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | 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"). |
| 262 | \ |
| 263 | Shion suspects that she was the mastermind in Satoshi's disappearance. |
| 264 | ---- |
| 265 | * CovertPervert: According to the preview for Kai episode 18, she's an active dominatrix. |
| 266 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Motive for the "distinguishment" scene. |
| 267 | * EvilMatriarch: Shion and Akane call her ''Onibaba (demon granny)'', what more do you need to know? Hey! She even has the voice of [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Rita Repulza]] so why not? [[spoiler:In reality, she's not actually evil, just a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.]] |
| 268 | * GruesomeGrandparent: She treats her granddaughter Shion like garbage because the Sonozakis ostracize younger twins. [[spoiler:The worst thing she did to her was forcing her to rip off her own fingernails.]] |
| 269 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: Oryou may have come off as an unforgivable cruel lady in the early arcs but she's not without kindness when she helps Keiichi and the others [[spoiler:rescue Satoko from her abusive uncle.]] in 'Minagoroshi'. [[spoiler:She stubbornly turned down the Club's appeal to end her ostracization on Satoko, but Rena notes afterward that she never actually seemed mad at Keiichi's hostility. Shortly afterward, Akane gives them Oryou's approval, explaining that her position made her feel like she couldn't just relent without a third party like Keiichi putting pressure on her.]] It's also implied that she really loves Shion despite her harshness on her as it's required for her to put on a tough facade as the head of the Sonozaki family. Matsuribayashi reveals that [[spoiler:she makes ohagi for the dam director's grave every year despite him being public enemy #1 during the dam conflict.]] |
| 270 | * IWasQuiteALooker: If you saw a picture of her when she was younger, you'd be able to tell immediately where the Sonozaki family got their looks from. As a youth she looks like the splitting image of Mion/Shion albeit more serious and distant. |
| 271 | * InformedKindness: She acts as a [[GrumpyOldMan Grumpy Old Woman]] whenever she appears and her mistreatment of Shion and the Houjou children make her look cruel. According to Mion and Akane, Oryou just pretends to be a worse person than she really is to keep up appearances as the leader of the Sonozaki. Akane actually tells Shion that Oryou is quite nice to her in private even though Oryou disowned her for marrying a man she did not approve of. Of course, since the audience doesn't get to see that and only has Mion's and Akane's word about Oryou's softer side, Shion's view of her as a heartless "oni old hag" is the main image one gets of her. |
| 272 | * TheManBehindTheMan: When discussing the politics of the village in "Himatsubushi-hen," Ooishi believes her to be the true power behind the Onigafuchi Defense Alliance and the central authority in the area. Mayor Kimiyoshi is the outward face of power while "Empress Sonozaki" controls things behind the scenes. |
| 273 | * 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. |
| 274 | %%* NeverMessWithGranny |
| 275 | * ParentalMarriageVeto: She and her daughter got into a SwordFight when Akane decided to marry an outsider of the village. Because of this, Oryou disowned Akane and forced her to change the spelling of her given name to remove the "oni" kanji. |
| 276 | * 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 in and clear up the village resentment against the Hojou family.]] |
| 277 | * PlausibleDeniability: She's carefully indirect with her phrasing at formal family and village meetings, and alert family members carry out her "wishes". Unless she personally gets her hands on something, she knows nothing of the details of operation. She teaches Mion to function this way as head of the family. |
| 278 | * RedHerring: [[spoiler:Her position as the family head of a yakuza family and her hatred towards outsiders and the Houjou family makes her a prime suspect for the murders and disappearances during the Wataganashi festivals. She in fact actively encourages this for the sake of holding the scary reputation of the Sonozaki family. The truth of the case of that the Sonozakis are innocent and the real culprit is Takano.]] |
| 279 | * ShipperOnDeck: In Kira episode 3, she warns Keiichi [[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer not to make Mion cry]], and later encourages Mion to take the initiative with Keiichi while assuring her that she's plenty feminine despite her TomboyAngst. |
| 280 | * SlaveToPR: [[spoiler:She actually does love her daughter and Shion, plus she forgave the Houjou family long ago, but she has to keep up appearances.]] |
| 281 | * SureLetsGoWithThat: [[spoiler:A policy she has in place. If anything mysterious happens and it's credited to the Sonozakis, she acts like she is responsible without confirming it. Nastily deconstructed as [[RedHerring this causes]] many [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom problems]]]]. |
| 282 | * {{Tsundere}}: In public, she's always harsh, but in private she cares a lot about her daughter and granddaughters. |
| 283 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: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. Oryou'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.]] |
| 284 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: Higurashi Oni shows that as a young girl, she was just as sweet and EndearinglyDorky as Mion. |
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