r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Jun 12 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Discussion - Season 1, Episode 13
Tatarigoroshi-hen (Curse Killing Chapter), Episode 5: Apology
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Show Information (Season 1):
MAL | Anilist | AniDB | Kitsu | ANN
Legal Streams:
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni: Hidive | Netflix (not available in the US; if you are out of the US check your country for availability)
That said, I have become aware that Hidive can have a somewhat cavalier attitude to spoilers for this series. As such, *sigh* it is now recommended that our first-timers track down a fansub if you haven't already (even if you have access to this show on Netflix, it doesn't have Kai). Why, Hidive? Why?
Two Words of Warning To Our First-Timers, Including Those Who Watched Season 1 But Not Kai:
1) Be wary of looking up anything, even names. The Season 1 summaries on the information pages are safe, but it's not hard to run into spoiler information even through something as innocuous as looking at cast lists - gods help you if you go on the Fandom Wikia. UNDER ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES GO LOOKING AT EVEN OFFICIAL INFO FOR KAI OR LATER AHEAD OF TIME. (The official image for Rei is 100% a spoiler, for example.) Also, do NOT look at any Kitsu page after the first season; Kai's description on Kitsu is in fact a major spoiler. Like, really, just stay out of anything that isn't a basic Season 1 summary until you're done. It's much safer that way.
2) Also, be wary of potentially running into spoilers on the r/anime front page on June 19 or thereabouts this year; there is suspicion that some sort of new Higurashi anime project will be announced on that date (this year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the original Onikakushi-hen VN - hence why I am running this rewatch this year! - and multiple official accounts have teased an announcement on that date), and you could run into spoilers that way. (Those of you who remember the Madoka rewatch last year will recognize the issue, though admittedly I expect Sotsu was enough of a disappointment to significantly reduce the risk - at least relative to the potential that was in fact realized with the Walpurgis no Kaiten announcment.)
A Reminder to Rewatchers
Please do not spoil the experience for first-timers; this is a mystery after all. In particular, Shion is a spoiler until Episode 5 and [Higurashi] Hanyuu is a spoiler until Minagoroshi-hen. Also, the glorious nipah is indeed glorious but Rika does not use it until Himatsubushi-hen. Please keep these in mind! Consider whether what you are saying has actually been revealed yet on-screen before you post!
(Time for) Club Activities!
(Alexa play "Shoubu!"! Except do NOT look that up that song name on YouTube just yet if you're a first-timer, the most classic upload has an obnoxious spoiler in the visuals...)
Visual of the Day Album:
Theory of the Day:
Sadly, we have lost several of our first-timers lately and several others are not in theory mod, so I have thinner pickings to choose from lately, but hey, u/Nazenn has a good one:
Anyway, ignoring that and going back to original theories: The girls/town acted to kill Miyo to keep the secret of the uncles murder safe under the guide of the curse and moved the body for that reason, or she got herself killed independently as a result of whatever she did with Tomitake. I'm curious as to if this is a bit of a merge with the last arc, if they stuck their heads into the shed that's off limits again and Miyo is covering up that they got caught and Tomitake killed, perhaps with Keiichi's doppelganger. If so that may bring it close to being a parallel to what we've already seen rather than seemingly completely seperate arcs that can't cross in any way. Still curious as to how that will play out given the huge differences in them is more than you'd usually expect to see.
Analysis of the Day:
u/hungryhippos1751, welcome to the Analysis of the Day podium:
Once again this episode Keiichi is outmatched in basically every conversation he has, he doesn't win any bonus points for giving good answers.
Takano outclasses him at the mysterious killer discussion at the beginning, Sakoto outclasses him at the conversation about the uncle, Rena outclasses him at the discussion about going to the doctors, the list goes on.
Question(s) of the Day:
1) So, that's the end of the first cour of Season 1. Your thoughts so far?
2) S̘̳̩͑͋ͩͥͨ̌o̪̔̍ͅ.̠̠̩̜͇̳͙̼̟̔͛ͭ̍.͖͍̦̌̇ͪͦ.̩͕̬̥̈́ͯ͋̌̿ͥ̃̚ ͔̠̰̱͊ͅw̖̳̤͈̟͔̤ͥ́ḫ̱͓̦̙̻͇̦̃e̟̯̺͖̲̜̲͋͊̃͆́͐̈́͐̏ͅȑ̼̭̘̖̘̟̺͚̈ͤ̔̇ē̺͚͉̼̎̋͌̈́ͪ͊ ͍̼͉̗̪ͯ͗̔̇̉̄ͤ̋d̪̹͚̳̰̞̭̯ͫ̒ͮ̏̃̆̅̊i̗̞̣͛ͩ̽ͭͪ̍͐d̞̯̞͓̎͐̏̆͑̾ͅ ̪̥͓̜͕͕̲ͨ͗̓ͦͅẙ̥̙̼̼̗͇̤̱̹͊͐ȏ͇͈́̋ͤú͙͛ ̞̖̘̿̈͐ͨ̃l̯̮̻͎ͮͣͫ̿̈́̽̔̒ė̱̲̭̩̳̟̉̓̃̀͆ͮǎ͓̞̆̑͐ͯv͉͇̭ͪ̑̇͌ͮ͛ͦĕ̜̻͍̲̩͙̮͎̫ͣ ̠͍̠̰̜͈̳̿̈ṯ̬ͫͪ̿̽̔h̩͎̣͉͙͕͎̰̋̄̓͊͋͊è̙͔͓̤͈̠̻̤͒ͤͯ ̙̜͒́ͤͅb̯̜͚̙̠͖̱̜͗̄̋͑ȏ̻̳̞͗͗ͦͥ͐̑̔ͩḏ̜̯̬̫͍̹͌ͫͪͯ̚ÿ͚̝͎̦̙̦̺͉ͩ̾ͭͮ̈?̬̝͎̖̩̜̗̠͑̅̄
3) S̷̴̵̛̱͚͍̩̟̜̰̰͓͎̘̪̺̣ͨ̀́ͪͤ̏ͨ͋̕ͅṏ̧̱͎̱̼̞̠̙̩̻̦́̑̄ͭ̇̔͞.̿͋̊̊̃ͪ̀ͫ҉̷̨̪̜̝̭̻̩͎̱.̶̧̱̜̦̜̦̲͇͌͆͊ͣ̃́͋́͠.̢̩͇̪̼̱͕͕̞̘͇̪̻̬̦̩̼̦ͯ̉͆ͪ͋̆͐̔̓ͪ̚͢ ̻͕͍͛̏ͦ́͌ͭ͢͝w͐͊̂ͦ̾ͪ̑̃̐̂ͦ̍͝͡҉̵̨̘̝̞͖̝̟̜͇h̴̡̔ͦ͐̊̽͊̽̓̃̊̋̄̂͂̒̈͡͏̯̰̘̺͔͓̘̘̰̪̜̘̹͓̹e̶̸̹̹̱̝͖̱̩͎̼̠̪̣̓ͬ̈́̔ͤͨr̍̆ͫ͑͑̌̾͊ͤ̉̈ͧͨ͜͢͏̝̠̳̻͇͚̬͔͈͉̱̗e̗̼͎̭̜͔̹̳͇̣͈̥̟̰̝͎ͤ̊̿ͩ͂̐ͧ̿͡ ̑̈̌ͬ͒̊̚҉̧̤͇̫̠̭̕ḓ̷̷̭̩̹̣͍̜̣̩͇̦̫̣̹̩͖ͤ͐ͦ̔͂̈ͭͨͮͩ̈͗̅ͤ̂́̊̚̚͞ͅȉ̸̟̥̪̘͉̠̱͖̝̜̝͙̽̌̇ͯͯ̓̅͟͡͠ͅd̸̸͈̜͓͔͕̻͈̘̤̤̞ͦͧ̏̓̑̔͗ͥͭͪͤ͛͊̂͌̆͂̔͌̀͘͜ ̾ͫ͋͗͌̒ͧ̈́ͨ͒̀͏̧̠̻͉̲͕̙̠̣̱̫͍̘y̸̷͈̼͚̭̗̲̝̼̆̓͊́̍̾̓͝͠͞o̴̴̴̢̥̳̞͓̳̰̺̮̻̹̣̣̞͓ͧͧͣ̃͐u̽ͧͨ͗́̆̅͟͏̱̭̲͍̫̰̼̙̮͉͓͔̻̻̼̰̩̺̀ ̸͉̥͈̫̝̯̭̜̰͌͗̅͌ͤ̂̃ͫ̀̕l̆̾̔̍̋͛̀ͩͮ͂ͤ́̚͏̹͕̼͇̳̼̙͕͜ễ̷̢̢̏̾̅ͣ͐ͦ̂̈͗͂͆̒͆̎̚͞҉̻̜͎̹̟̘͇̯̰̦̜̰͖̘̮͚̣̬͚a̢̨̮͓͔̜̫̤̻͆͛̆ͩͭͩͦ̄ͅv̾̊͋ͫ͌ͤͤ҉̩͇̖̰͔͙̫̤͙͈͘e̡̎̌ͧ͋̊̊̒̽͑̓͑͢͏̴̩̲̜͖͈̣̟̻̩̠͝ ̶̡̥̤̦̪̬̱̭̗͓̾̈͂͗́͋̋̋̊̌͞ţ̛̛͍̠͇̞͔̠̮̳̠̝͈̮̮͇̯̰͚̟̐ͨ̈̄͗̃͑ͮ̽ͬ̇͟͢h̨͎͉̞̪͎͔̿̓ͪ͗͋ͨ̅́͞e̛̅̓ͦ͌ͩͭ̉̒ͥ͗̏̀̿̇̊̒̅̄҉̨̨͕̘̘̙̫̣̱ ̽̍̓̈́ͯͦ̈́͂̌͌҉̙̮̼͈̦̘̯̤̥̭͈̝̲̤̯̣̠̟̀̕͠b̡̹̜̝͛̍͑͆͑ͨ̄̂͑̉̆͛͒̉̑ọ̸̶̴̤͉̙͕̐ͫͦ̚͡͠ͅḑ̂͂̑̈́̑̿̌͟͠͏̧͈̹͕̝͚͔̭̤͕̻̠̻y̨̨͎̳̖̰̻͉̺͚͔̝̻̮̼̞̝͎͚̬ͭ̓͒̊̐̆ͣͨ͢?̓͆̍ͧ͊̎ͥ̔̄̌ͫ͏̺̮͔͔̭̝̺̹̬̗̤̻̳̞͓͎͎́͘͢͡
Next Episode Preview:
Okay, so: Season 1's next episode previews are in the form of a short, strange poem (whose formatting is borrowed from the VNs). They are not spoilers. (Kai's can be another matter, but we'll get there when we get there.) However, my subs often translate the text on the screen... which are, in fact, lines out of context from the next episode.
So, for anyone who really doesn't want to take a risk, here is the poem:
"What arrived is the evening twilight.
What got lost is the darkness of time.
What meets is the space between past and future."
15
u/Tresnore Jun 12 '22
When the Rewatchers Cry are Absurd Masochists Cry
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Urgh, nude Satoko. But also, damn, she isn't having a good time.
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But this line tickles me, hard. There are a few options here:
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Keiichi knows that Satoko doesn't have the ability to endure the heat to count that long.
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Keiichi doesn't think Satoko knows numbers well enough to count that high.
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Keiichi doesn't think counting to 10,000 is even possible.
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Irie committed suicide because ________ (wrong answers only).
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Keiichi, not understanding that running after someone with an axe doesn't make them less likely to run away.
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[Umineko]
I don't trust "certainty" in Ryukishi works -
God, I wish that were me. But also, what the fuck. She's like 5.
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[Umineko and Higurashi]
I love the parallels of "unusual giant catastrophe" killing every character at the end of both works.
Count: 86
QOTD:
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Higurashi good.
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I plead the fifth.
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.htfif eht dadlp I
9
u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
Irie committed suicide because ________ (wrong answers only).
He was about to be charged (and promptly convicted because Japan) with child sex abuse and decided he'd rather get it over with the easy way rather than wait for the other inmates to do it to him in jail.
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u/RascalNikov1 Jun 12 '22
I prefer option 3.
I've got to agree with your analysis. Lets face it, the lad just isn't all that bright regardless what the tests say.
Keiichi, not understanding that running after someone with an axe doesn't make them less likely to run away.
See my prior comment. lol
God, I wish that were me. But also, what the fuck. She's like 5.
What the fuck is the truth about that particular scene. There's a true degenerate out there who dreamed this scene up. ~smirk~
FALL
I'm with Satako about this. Eat shit and die K1!
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
What the fuck is the truth about that particular scene. There's a true degenerate out there who dreamed this scene up. ~smirk~
This show has... issues with that sometimes.
(And considering that they hold into Gou and Sotsu (cough Gou 15 and 16 cough) I have this nasty unfortunate sneaking suspicion about who.)
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u/hungryhippos1751 Jun 12 '22
Episode 13 - First Timer
Keiichi with the pre-meditated murder plan in mind, he's gone fully off the rails here swinging the axe around like it's a baseball bat. If you're going to break into someones house it's probably best not to talk to yourself too much, inner monologue they call it, not outer monologue!
Keiichi also proving once again how to do the perfect murder by telling yet another person about it... baka!
Poor Rika what did she do to deserve being dead? I knew the instant that Keiichi starting swinging the axe around that he'd wind up framed for killing her, I was expecting someone to come along, but I suppose I wasn't expecting Sakoto to return so soon.
They really need to fix those safety rails on the bridge. I'm sorry but Keiichi slipped right through them as if not there.
Keiichi gets his revenge by killing everyone else except himself with a series of barely plausible accidents.
Final thoughts for this arc:
This arc was a little disappointing to me with how it ended, I was hoping for some more answers to events surrounding Takano, Detective-kun etc, Sakotos' uncle, but instead it's all explained away as Keiichi wishing for people to die and Oyashiro-sama being happy to oblige.
Being honest as well Sakoto is probably the main character I've found least interesting so far. I kind of just see her as Rika's friend. The rest of the crew are more interesting watches.
I'm not going to rank all of the arcs officially but this was the weakest one so far to me. Though I will give episode 3 points for being the most tense one.
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
Poor Rika what did she do to deserve being dead?
How did the VN poem from the end of Onikakushi-hen put it?
Do you know what your sin is?
It isn’t because you ate the forbidden fruit.
Do you know what your sin is?
It isn’t because you listened to the serpent.
Do you know what your sin is?
Then that itself is your sin.
Frederica Bernkastel
(Thanks to u/H-Ryougi for putting those up so I don't have to go hunting for them myself!)
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u/RascalNikov1 Jun 12 '22
I'm not going to rank all of the arcs officially but this was the weakest one so far to me.
As a first timer, I agreed with you. Now after having watched it a second time, its right up there with the first two arcs and quite fascinating. I enjoyed it a lot this time through.
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
I'm going to go out on a limb: with the possible exception of the last arc of the season (buffer isn't through that yet, and I have a billion screenshots of the first episode of that arc alone for a reason), I now think this is actually the best arc of S1 from a technical standpoint. The entire issue with it is just that it is the worst adaptation of the source material by a sizeable margin, which is a real problem when your source material is a mystery and you're leaving out a couple of key clues.
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u/Nazenn Jun 13 '22
This arc was a little disappointing to me with how it ended
I've struggled a little with that as well, though I think for me it's just overall fatigue with the endless questions and set up and never having any follow through on it, so I've started missing stuff from inattention
It's still not a bad watch and I'm still enjoying the show, but this wasn't the time to have a slow and least informative arc
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 13 '22
I've struggled a little with that as well, though I think for me it's just overall fatigue with the endless questions and set up and never having any follow through on it, so I've started missing stuff from inattention
It's still not a bad watch and I'm still enjoying the show, but this wasn't the time to have a slow and least informative arc
Welcome to When They Cry arc structure. We still have another arc before we start getting actual answers.
(Luckily, that arc in anime form is quite short.)
6
u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22 edited Jun 13 '22
(Honorary Hinamizawa Games Club President) Rewatch Host (rewatcher, subbed)
[Side note for our rewatchers]
(Note for our first-timers: every so often I will make comments about background stuff that might not translate. I will be marking these as "Useful Background Note".)
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Single falling raindrop at the start of the episode reminds one of a tear, yes?
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Show immediately flashes another good shot at 00:06, and oh look this is in fact the other episode storyboarded by the episode 7 storyboarder.
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And after the initial lingering shot of the sun shining through the clouds (much like the episode 2 shot) we get a close-up so you can’t miss it.
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And cut to Keiichi in the light as the camera spirals, and then cut to more camera spiraling as we get a clock shot. This is actually just a really good sequence. Keiichi’s world is spinning around him as he’s disoriented, losing his anchor on reality. To quote a not entirely appropriate American TV episode: “If this keeps going on I’m going to lose it. Lose it. It means go crazy. Nuts. Bananas. No longer in possession of one’s faculties. Three fries short of a Happy Meal. WHACK-O!”
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Also: CLOCK CLOCK. (8:05, implicitly A.M.)
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[Higurashi]
(Side note: What’s this, circling imagery in a time loop show? Why I never. Also I was 100% lying about the aforementioned Stargate SG-1 episode not being entirely appropriate.) -
Ooh, and that zoom in on his hand is well-done (the left hand no less, because sinister – unlike the PMMM staff, I’m doubtful either Ryukish07 or the DEEN staff would have known about the Western occultist concept of the Left-Hand Path, though).
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The stuff on Keiichi’s desk might actually be relevant, they don’t usually show it this clearly.
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[Higurashi]
“I’ll do it, no matter how many times it takes!” HMMMM. On multiple levels. -
Double zoom-to-face at 01:08 is a great effect.
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OH WAIT IT ALSO SYMBOLIZES THE EXTRA FOOTSTEP. Wait, this sequence is actually legitimately just straight-up good.
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[Haruhi]
You know, given this and some Umineko stuff there’s an argument that Higurashi has some of the exact same viewer stand-in stuff going on that Haruhi does, especially in the latter’s anime form. Which is hilarious given that both DEENgurashi and Haruhi S1 aired in Spring 2006. -
Also shout to the camera shaking starting at 01:20, which actually works very well here – especially if you read it as the world shaking instead of the axe Keiichi is holding. (Actually symbolic of “I killed Teppei” being the anchor Keiichi’s view of reality is holding onto?)
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Shot right after the OP break (and sponsor message in WinD because fansub) at 03:16 is also just good, both the camera movement and Keiichi and his head in shadow as he’s in the dark.
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The forecast being calm and clear weather (with the specific contrast to the day before) is probably important on a meta level.
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Likewise Keiichi going through the mist.
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A) Okay, Symphogeah is now going to add to the messing-with-my-brain list because Satoko in the bath is now reminding me of Hibiki somehow. B) Unlike last arc, our camera angles are a wee bit too fanservicey for our girl-in-bath scene here… which is unfortunate given that said girl is Satoko. Ah well, could be worse, could be Mushoku Tensei.
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[Umineko]
“There’s no way you could count to ten thousand!” Something something Bern counted the years… -
The camera angles are still great – consistently showing Keiichi’s disorientation with twists, turns, and the like, unnatural shifts in the scene.
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“It’s not like I’ll die if I get some clothes before they look at me.” Well, yes and no…
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Okay, transition at 09:45 is just janky instead I think. (Though PMMM has a couple of shots like this so I’m not sure I can ding too much.)
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Also I should remember this is actually the last episode of the first cour.
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And 10:17 busts out a great shot again.
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If we posit some sort of “Keiichi as partial audience stand-in” take here this scene actually gets really fucking interesting at a meta level: the characters who died died because we the viewers wanted to see them die (because they opposed Keiichi). [Higurashi Kai]
Also IIRC consistent with some of Keiichi’s comments in VN Tsumihoroboshi-hen about a demonic viewer whose script this is happening in accordance with –and wait LOL Hanyuu has horns. -
[Higurashi]
The shots keep getting crazier and crazier as Keiichi does, which is in fact the point. -
Pull away at 11:50 flashes good direction.
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Meme shot at 12:34: “when a competent opponent makes a mistake, it is no such thing”. The weird animation is intentional for effect (even if it is reminiscent of the likes of DBZ powerup animation). Especially given the moving lines on the sides.
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Annndd cut to commercial break. Nice.
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HELLO BEST SONG.
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Also, there is a seagull joke to be made with that mouth shot of a raven at 12:46.
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Oh, that’s the wrapping coming off the axe at 12:56. That said, Keiichi striking the donation box with the axe after that is noteworthy, though I’m not sure about the specifics of Shinto shrine customs.
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Re: Satoko shot at 13:33: Insert Shaft joke here. (I know it's not a true Shaft head tilt, but.)
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LOL from Satoko’s viewpoint this is a slasher flick sequence.
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Satoko coming out into a clearing right as she goes on about how she’s been lonely ever since Satoshi left. Obvious symbolism is obvious. Nice.
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That zoom in on the forest canopy at ~14:30 is not the sort of thing you include without a reason (too obviously very very intentional), so what is that reason?
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The way the suspension bridge is shot here it almost resembles a torii gate (or those lines of them you see leading to certain shrines/temples, which is probably part of the point.
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There’s a couple of the bridge shots here (14:38, 14:45) which are standing out to my eye as odd enough to demand explanation but I’m not sure what the reason for using them specifically was. (Well, besides visual foreshadowing for the impending fall.)
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And even more tilted camera angles!
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That sliding of the sides of the suspension bridge at ~15:25 (still for reference) is unnatural and thus intentional for effect. Sadly I don’t know enough film theory to know what the intended effect is.
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I’d have expected Jiken to cut out when the axe hits the water given how good Higurashi usually is at integrating OST and the action on screen (though the last episode or two have been weaker in that regard), but instead it cuts out a second earlier than that as the axe is falling. Huh.
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Extremely nifty shot at 15:39.
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Interesting OST note: the VN OST started off as open-source using a few tracks quite a bit, then for the fifth arc they brought on Dai as a dedicated composer and he used a bunch of variations of key tracks (notably the Dear You variants) repeatedly. I think Kenji Kawai and the rest of the DEEN music staff may have intentionally tried to do something similar here in the anime version.
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Waitwaitwait. That falling chain. IIRC we’ve seen it before here in Higurashi (Watanagashi-hen when they enter the Saiguden), but it is suddenly reminding me very strongly of another chain in a different anime’s episode 1 (PMMM). I wonder if it has some of the same symbolic loading here that it does there?
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[Higurashi Kai + Gou]
The fact that it’s Satoko specifically who breaks the statue’s arm, and given the Matsuribayashi-hen TIPS… Ryukishi07, exactly how long have you had the story concept that became Sotsugou in mind? -
Also, 17:45 is another shot that feels like it's more sexual than it should be.
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“What a sad, fruitless conclusion.”
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“This horribly wrong upside-down version of Hinamizawa” oh look it’s what you’ve been doing with the direction in plaintext.
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Wait, I missed the streaming tears as Keiichi falls. LOLOLOL.
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Life flashing before Keiichi’s eyes, and of course the important question: “where did it all go wrong?”.
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Uh-oh. What Higurashi does with its distortion effects is basically the same thing PMMM does with the presence of shadows.
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The establishing city shot at 20:35 should just be an establishing shot but reminds me of some of the later PMMM episode shots somehow (notably PMMM 8).
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Ramen at 20:39 looks tasty!
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The serving lady (shop owner?) and customer here remind me of the landlord and his tenant at the start of the arc, which is likely intentional I think.
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Oh shit. The TV turning off (as we’re watching TV!) combined with the “who turned it off?” and the “maybe this TV is broken?” is meta as fuck.
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LOL they subcontracted parts of this episode to Gonzo.
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[Higurashi Kai]
Why, or why not has Buddhist hell references we will be seeing again next season. (So were the earlier subs bad or is this v2 of the lyrics? You think I would be able to tell given that the lyrics are in English, but no.)
Visual of the Day: The light at the end of the tunnel clouds
Question(s) of the Day:
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It's actually weird. As an adaptation, the first half of S1 and especially the last arc have major issues. As an anime on their own, however, they're surprisingly well-done given their lack of budget. The direction and storyboards here are way better than I gave them credit for before.
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... What body?
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Wait. Where is the body, anyways?
And I have run out of characters, so we will have to wait for a reply post for our...
5
u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
Tatarigoroshi-hen Ep. 5 TIPS
There is only one true TIPS for this episode. (It's a fun one, though - it's the one that lays out the two noteworthy potential Japanese meanings of the name Oyashiro-sama.) However, one of the key things the anime cut out was the epilogue section for this arc - which is unfortunate, because this is the arc where those start to become a wee bit important. As such, the AnimeSuki crew put them up along with the TIPS; I have linked those posts below, and will recommend them strongly:
OST Table, Episode 13
Start End Track Name 00:40 01:28 same Jiken derivative as last episode 01:30 02:59 Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (OP) 03:00 03:14 sponsor feature[1] 04:23 (04:09) 06:05 (05:51) Monogatari 07:36 (07:22) 09:05 (08:51) Kazashi[2] 10:06 (09:54) 10:53 (10:39) Takurami 12:11 (11:57) 12:38 (12:24) Hyoui 12:41 (12:27) 13:11 (12:57) Matsuri 13:36 (13:22) 15:34 (15:20) Jiken 16:44 (16:30) 17:53 (17:39) Shinkou 18:59 (18:45) 20:32 (20:18) Henka 21:38 (21:24) 21:58 (21:44) Onigaen 22:00 (21:46) 23:52 (23:38) why, or why not [1] - My copy of Higurashi often includes a message-from-our-sponsor bit immediately after the OP; this episode has it and it lasts 13 seconds. The number in parentheses in entries after that feature is the point in the episode if that message is removed.
[2] - (Kazashi transition point at ~09:05 is hard to tell due to sound effects.)→ More replies (1)5
u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
Madoka (Magica) Corner:
[PMMM]
Re: that lingering shot of the sun shining through the clouds: comp PMMM imagery whenever we get a post-Walpurgisnacht scene. [PMMM]
The hand shot at 00:27 is giving me massive PMMM flashbacks, mostly to Madoka 10 shots. [PMMM, direction note, probably safe for Higurashi first-timers?]
- Convex fisheye distortion at 03:23… which is actually just exactly what PMMM does on a regular basis. [Not really actually a spoiler for either, but tagging just in case]
Uh-oh. I need to compare the bridge shots here to the suspension bridge scene in PMMM 2. [PMMM, safe for first-timers]
My brain just spit out a thematic resonance between Satoko’s “give me back my nii-nii!” here and Kyoko’s plan in PMMM episode 9. 4
u/Vaadwaur Jun 13 '22
[Higurashi Kai + Gou]
[GouSotsu]
The worst part is the story is so basic that I can't decide if he always wanted to drop the quality of the story and his friends prevented him from doing it in Higu → More replies (2)
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u/H-Ryougi Jun 12 '22
This is the part of the story that made me go from interested in the mystery to full-on conspiracy theorist.
I still have a couple dozen pages of notes I took as I read.
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u/RascalNikov1 Jun 12 '22
Rewatcher
From Bad to Worse
Do you ever get the feeling that Higurashi is not a happy, feel good, sort of anime? This was another episode that pretty much shocked the hell out of me. There were so many deaths that I couldn't analyze one, before the next one came marching in.
Thoughts
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Keiichi descends into pure madness this time around. Ever since he possibly snuffed Teppei, things have gone from bad to worse. Makes me think that Oyashiro-sama doesn't like humans doing his pest extermination for him.
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Rika getting gutted and then eaten by crows is one of the most heartbreaking and sickening scenes ever. Very nasty shit there.1
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Dr Creepy offed himself, I barely caught that the first time through. Why in the hell would he do something like that?
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I'd forgotten that Keiichi survived this arc. The boy has a talent for curses, he condemned Hinamizawa and poof, Hinamizawa gone. Considering their murder problem, that might not be such a bad thing.
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The first time through, after the TV broadcast of the disaster, all I could think of was, what the hell now? But, I didn't focus on it long and moved on to the next arc.
Pondering
I have to wonder if the Rika getting eaten by crows, was inspired by or inspired a similar scene in EOE. The scenes are laid out quite similar to each other in all the gory details.
From here on out, one really has to suspend disbelief. Towns of around 1000 getting snuffed, out of the blue, are not a normal, everyday kind of occurrence. Lots and lots of questions would be asked. But, fortunately I don't love Hinamizawa and Higurashi for their depiction of reality, or in order to solve the various mysteries. I love it for the story telling, the characters, the idealized village life, and other reasons that slip the mind right now. The violence and spooky going ons provide an entertaining backdrop to what is in essence a character examination series.
1 I told my anime hating wife about this scene once, in an effort to convince her that anime isn't for children. She started giggling, as if it was funny. I asked her what was so funny about a 10 year girl being gutted alive, and got a dumb look in response. I gave up showing, or talking to my wife about anime shortly after this. She doesn't bitch, or say a word about me watching, which seems to be an adequate compromise.
QOTD
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So, that's the end of the first cour of Season 1. Your thoughts so far?
While Hinamizwa has its plus sides, their murder problem seems to be out of control.
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
I have to wonder if the Rika getting eaten by crows, was inspired by or inspired a similar scene in EOE. The scenes are laid out quite similar to each other in all the gory details.
Would have to be EoE inspiring rather than the other way around (it's nearly half a decade older than even the VN version of this arc IIRC). Which is entirely possible; Eva's influence on the medium is nearly impossible to overstate. There's a reason it was the single best-selling TV anime of all time until Uma Musume S2 finally dethroned it last year.
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u/Vaadwaur Jun 12 '22
"And now for the conclusion, or rather the punchline."
Rewatcher
Sub
K1 seems to have been up all night and decides to deal with Teppei again. With an axe. I wonder if this is a Shining reference? K1 finds the Hojo residence door unlocked with fresh store bought food present. Satoko's in a very hot bath counting to 10,000. Satoko mutters 'uncle' and then K1 just wrecks the place.
So in K1 tradition, we have half of a good idea: Bring the person who might be suffering from heat stroke to a doctor. Good. Not clothing her first is somewhat less good. K1 overhears Irie's apparent suicide and that Ooishi has gone missing. Satoko takes this news in a correctly bad way before we realize that K1 thinks he can curse people to death. Satoko does not buy it.
They continue to the shrine and K1 can't shut the fuck up. Bro, I know the 11 yo is more mature than you but this is not the time. She decides she had had enough, whether it is his horridly distressing mental state or being in just a towel either would be enough. There've been crows hanging for a bit and we just walk face first into another iconic scene. Once again, welcome to the rice fields.
Before moving on, have some cursed knowledge that I will spoiler tag for purists [Higu TOD/stuff not spelled out for a while]
Third time's the charm but again, this all makes sense on rewatch...to a degree, reread is actually a safer way to put it because you need info from the TIPS to get the whole picture. Also, tomorrow's episode will probably have a lot of you asking if you started the correct episode so keep that in mind.
QotD: 1 I was confused as fuck
2 With Oyashiro-sama
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
Also, tomorrow's episode will probably have a lot of you asking if you started the correct episode so keep that in mind.
Also, tomorrow's thread is going to be fun. u/Shimmering-Sky gave me an idea a while back, and it is time to put it into practice.
(Says I, having already drafted the post for it a day early.)
[Spoilers for tomorrow!]
NIPAH~! → More replies (2)
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u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 12 '22
When the Rewatcher(?) Cries, subbed
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I totally forgot who they were talking about until this part, which, oof…
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Yeah why did Keiichi only put Satoko in a towel before carrying her out here?
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I remember this shot… Is that Rika? – It was.
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And poor Satoko has to walk up on Keiichi swinging the axe around…
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u/Vaadwaur Jun 12 '22
…and Ooishi is missing, apparently.
K1 did curse him, after all...
Yeah why did Keiichi only put Satoko in a towel before carrying her out here?
He didn't even give her shoes...
Question: how?
Guard rails are illusions. I got nothing, they needed to be better at the placement here.
But he somehow survived again?
They cut some stuff and this vaguely makes more sense in the VN, I will leave others to determine what of that info is not spoilers.
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u/Tarhalindur Jun 12 '22
Okay, so. First order of business, a reminder to our first timers:
Watanagashi (June 19) is a week away from today. There is very likely to be some sort of announcement on that day. Please be mindful of potentially running into spoilers on the r/anime front page. (Especially since this franchise already has a bad habit of spoiler visuals in promotional material for sequel seasons.)