Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

So that I won't clutter the Umineko thread, voila!

With Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Rei episode 5 having already aired, it's pretty much the end of our beloved series. So, while the attention shifts to Umineko, let's discuss what we thought about this very awesome series from 07th Expansion.

To start, I made the Fanfic Recommendations page earlier. Link here.

Under the assumption that people who have yet to watch Higurashi may wander in here, please mark all spoilers.

edited 22nd Aug '09 7:47:51 AM by Mapi-chan

Manga Gamer is going to release the V Ns on October on their website for download. They are going to release the Question Arcs first and then the answer arcs. I'll download the crap out of them if only to see what did the adaptation missed, which is reportedly a lot. And since I already love what I got, more of the same is going to be even better, right?

Manga Gamer releases are pretty expensive, and the translations aren't always completely accurate. They took a few liberties with Da Capo, for example. I mean, it's not a huge problem, but Ithought I'd bring that up anyway.

You can go back to talking about Higurashi now; sorry about the temporary derail.

edited 22nd Aug '09 9:56:06 AM by zeroplusalpha

Oh, I'm sure many people who will play the novels won't have to worry about the price, if you know what I mean.

Oh I know exactly what you mean. Guess how I knew about the Da Capo translation?.

I think I'll have to say it: TORRENTS for the lulz. :D

And since I already love what I got, more of the same is going to be even better, right?

Ontopic, the anime totally missed out on a lot, AFAIK. Stuff like Frederica's poems, the TIPS, hell, it's only implied that Mion and Shion permanently switched at birth; the "Shion" we know was born as Mion and should have been the next Sonozaki matriarch.

Honestly, if it weren't for This Wiki, I never would have guessed.

edited 22nd Aug '09 7:58:27 PM by Mapi-chan

@Mapi: I think I would have. Why else would Shion have the demon? Also note that I'm only a little into Kai, so disregard if something happens later in the series to completely blow my reasoning out of the water.

@Mapi: I think I would have. Why else would Shion have the demon? Also note that I'm only a little into Kai, so disregard if something happens later in the series to completely blow my reasoning out of the water.

If you're talking about what Shion said in Meakashi-hen about there being a demon inside of her, then this is what I think: Stuff like Hinamizawa Syndrome gives Shion the Freudian Excuse and liberty to say that she had a demon within her. None of them had demons in them, per se, but Hinamizawa Syndrome caused Shion to think she did, the same way that Keiichi thought that Mion and Rena wanted to kill him in Onikakushi-hen and Rena thought that there was an alien invasion in Tsumihoroboshi-hen.

At least, that's how I understood it.

BUT, if you're talking about the oni tattoo on Mion's back, then I misunderstood your statement, not realizing that when you meant Shion, you meant the "Mion" we all know.

edited 22nd Aug '09 8:15:54 PM by Mapi-chan

Yeah, your explanation makes sense. I definitely need to finish Kai, so I have more of an idea as to what's going on though... Hinamizawa Syndrome?

Don't explain it, please.

I won't. Let Minagoroshi-hen do that for you.

Okay.

On an off note, I think Rena herself would want to take home your avatar. It's adorable.

On an off note, I think Rena herself would want to take home your avatar. It's adorable.

Why thank you. In fact, I have other such cute avatars, moreso because they're animated. I have one of Rika chomping on kimchi (from Yakusamashi-hen) and one of Rena spinning Rika around like a helicopter Rikacopter (also from Yakusamashi-hen)

Wait a sec, Rena would then take herself home if she did that.

edited 22nd Aug '09 8:45:11 PM by Mapi-chan

She probably would.

Yeah, I started watching Kai before the original series. It's amazing how much chemistry there appears to be between Keiichi and Rena if you see Kai first...

A friend also suggested that I watch Kai first before the first season. I said that I'd rather stumble through the killing first and attempt to figure out what was going on.

I already knew about Takano being the Big Bad and of the "Groundhog Day" Loop, but Hanyuu really took me by surprise.

And yes, they have amazing chemistry. AFAIK, it's best exemplified in Hirukowashi-hen in Rei, as they took Rena's Daybreak scenario.

I saw Hanyuu in the opening of Kai, so I was looking for her throughout the Original. It kinda threw me off.

Also, for spoiler's sake, I'm at about episode 7 in Kai. It's the episode right after Hanyuu makes her appearance, in case you don't remember.

Ah yes, but that technically isn't her first appearance. She's appeared in Kai as early as episode 3. I believe I filed it under Early-Bird Cameo on the Higurashi page; technically, it's still an appearance.

Screencap here◊.

Wow. How did you manage to catch that? It's pretty hard to see, even when it's outlined! But her name wasn't revealed until Episode 6, so that's what I consider her appearance. Like I said, I've known about her existence as a character since the first episode of Kai.

Wow. How did you manage to catch that? It's pretty hard to see, even when it's outlined! But her name wasn't revealed until Episode 6, so that's what I consider her appearance. Like I said, I've known about her existence as a character since the first episode of Kai.

Now, based on that, I noticed the weird outline, but didn't give it a second thought. Until I arrived at Matsuribayashi-hen, where Hanyuu manifests herself physically in Hinamizawa. Rena then states that "it's like Hanyuu was around us all along."

That's pretty clever. On your part, and on the part of the producers.

I love this series even more now.

That's pretty clever. On your part, and on the part of the producers. I love this series even more now.

The TIPS, and Bernkastel's poems were absent too, but the previews of season one are supposed to be a homage to said poems.

Lastly, the animation could have been way, WAY better. Deen was just far too inconsistent with the animation, and when the Art Shift occurred in Rei, some people liked the better quality, but the eye shapes were different from Kai and the first season.

Imagine if Kyo Ani made a remake of Higurashi... Awesomeness to be beheld!

edited 22nd Aug '09 9:39:05 PM by Mapi-chan

-*rushes off to finish Kai and Rei*

Some of this I have no knowledge about....

Better animation would be nice. Though, being used to the really old stuff, I'm not complaining.

Go watch season one before Rei first, as Saikoroshi-hen is some kind of epilogue to Matsuribayashi-hen.

Recently, I've downloaded the Higurashi desktop pets, and it fully supports my theory that the most perverted person in Hinamizawa is, not Keiichi, or even Irie, but Rika.

Among the four currently released desktop pets (Rika, Rena, Satoko, Shmion), the only one who doesn't turn all embarrassed when you click their chest is Rika, who only says "Nipaa~". Rena, Mion, Satoko and Shion all blush and say that they're embarrassed or something (Hell, if you grope Shion KASAI appears occasionally).

edited 22nd Aug '09 10:32:06 PM by Mapi-chan

Ah, When Cicadas cry.

I finished off the second season, and, while ultimately satisfied, I was somewhat disappointed. The series worked for me during the first season, what with all the suspenseful murder-mystery stuff going on and where the kicker was that no one had any idea who or what was causing the murders. The first arc scared the shit out of me - I couldn't sleep well after watching episode 3, and I'm the sort of guy who takes a shower after watching Psycho just so he can say that he took a shower after watching Psycho.

Then, the idiot ball started being handed around as the season closed. Sure, we got some great hints about what could have been causing the murders: so it's a local sickness and NOT a demon curse? But with this came some stupid characterization which struck me as hopelessly naive: once the gang discovers that Rena has killed someone in self defense and has then been gruesomely cutting up the bodies to dispose of them, everyone is immediately fine with this and gladly helps to hide the remains. Seriously, WTF? I can appreciate the Power of Friendship thing, but Lain preserve me, that's bullshitty. At least someone ought to have had some doubts unless the Syndrome makes everyone give into groupthink like total idiots.

Once the second season rolled around and we got to learn about the time loops and the chessmaster and all that cool stuff I found the momentum was lost, the suspense dried up ( there's no more demonic gods playing games with fate, it's just a hallucination brought on by a plague, whoop-de-doo!) and I was left watching Our Heroes fail as they are cut down by the Big Bad's forces, only too follow said Big Bad's origin stories for to damn long. Once Hanyuu manifested, I was interested again (how does the magic around her work, I wonder?) but the series then wrapped itself up as a tautly paced but not exceptional series of adventures.

Overall, I liked it, but I can't say I'm particularly fired up for Rei, given that the series is already over and I can't figure out what else they can do with this setting. Perhaps I'll try the games when they become available in English, but hey, I'm not pressing my luck.

edited 23rd Aug '09 7:38:06 AM by Sneeb

Rei is pretty much an epilogue to Matsuribayashi-hen. Let's just say that Rika has to undergo a Moral Dilemma, not to mention that the line separating Rika Furude from Frederica Bernkastel got all muddied up even more. It makes not only Higurashi even more confusing but Umineko as well.

Off-topic, Sneeb, but I can't help but recognize your avatar from somewhere. Is it a Magic The Gathering creature card which has "Redcap" in its name? I can't quite remember.

edited 23rd Aug '09 7:44:09 AM by Mapi-chan

Wait who the heck is Frederica Bernkastel?

edited 23rd Aug '09 7:45:27 AM by Wicked223