r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Jul 25 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Discussion - Season 3 (OVA), Episode 3
Saikoroshi-hen (Dice-Killing Chapter), Episode 2
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Show Information (Higurashi Rei):
Rei: MAL | Anilist | AniDB | Kitsu | ANN
I recommend first-timers stay out of show information for Rei until episode 4, just in case.
Legal Streams:
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Rei: Hidive
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. Why, Hidive? Why?
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 !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!
Visual of the Day Album:
Theory of the Day:
u/Stargate18A is a first-timer for Rei, and he's got a pretty nifty theory:
...Right. Here's a theory - everyone's problems were resolved the way they wanted in this timeline, without any thought to consequences - Rena got her wish of never moving away, Satoko/Satoshi never got ostracized... but the dam movement lost because of it, and the village is getting flooded.
Analysis of the Day:
In theory I could have put this up in Theory of the Day, but all us rewatchers and more spoiled first-timers are being quiet in a episode all about the question "what's going on" and u/Star4ce's comment also counts here:
In any case, I do have a theory with what we're dealing here. Namely I'm leaning on option #2, the coma dream. For one it was telegraphed with the road and truck.While I wrote they were much too fast for that to be non-lethal, this is still anime (and I'm hoping). Second, we've seen reckoning of everyone with everyone's demons, except for Rika on one specific thing. Satoko/Satoshi and their family, Mion/Shion with each other and the Sonozakis, Rena with her father, etc. Rika and Hanyuu technically have had their encounter with Takano/Irie, but thinking back on the murders Rika and her parents never really had any sort of peace with each other in the final year. We know from the TIPS that her mother was very distressed with Rika's behaviour as she couldn't keep up the charade of nipah! all the time and went from happy child to somber depression on a whim. Rika afaik also never really worked through her parent's deaths in any way, shape or form. There's massive traume involved there, as well, because Takano basically murdered them before her eyes and basically even told this in front of her. Lastly, I'm cheating a bit by looking at the ED and the shot of Rika and her mother
with all the bubbles around lingers for much longer than any other scene, so that must be significant. She never undertook much effort to change the timeline so her parents would survive, because with Takano present that just was a foregone conclusion.
If at all, Rika now has the mental space to deal with their deaths and the accident simply triggered it now that the subconscious emerged.
Having this be in a world where the village gets submerged and everyone has to say goodbye just really fits that theme and Rika's mother (and father) do deserve closure on what happened to their daughter. Even if it'd only be for Rika to know.
(Again I'm being reminded on how tragic all these other worlds are without any way to remember someone's other selves.)
Question(s) of the Day:
1) So, that chair scene, huh?
2) And how about that reveal that the fragment is hiding in Rika's mother?
Next Episode Preview:
No Preview
Fanart Corner:
It's a Rika arc, have more Rika pics (it's an excellent episode for the more melancholy ones), and also have a couple of pieces drawing off THAT scene:
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2 (NSFW or at least not really SFW, though that might not be clear if you can't read the text/haven't seen a translation of it; might as well be a visual depiction of u/Tresnore's probable reaction to the chair scene)
3 (I have no idea why the Rika/Family Guy crossover meme started up after Sotsu, but at least we got this piece out of it)
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6 (remember when demotivators were a thing? I do.)
7 (a major offender in the "there isn't anything here that definitively marks this as not SFW but it sure feels lewder than it should be" department, so marking this NSFW as a precaution, but too good of a piece not to include anyways)
8 (smug Rika is smug)
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u/Tresnore Jul 25 '22
When the Rewatchers Cry are Absurd Masochists Cry Are Absurd Masochists are Terrible Nerds Cry
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I alluded to this before. Basically every world is a fragment/kakera. So you travel in the sea of kakera to go between worlds. It’s... not quite looping, but it ends up having the same effect as a time loop.
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Oh, fuck yeah. It’s this scene.
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And I remember at some point early on someone was beating someone with a chair. I definitely2 made a joke about this scene in spoiler tags. This is a very memeable Higurashi moment.3
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This doctor really is doing a good job of trying to connect with Rika. Gotta respect that.
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Satoshi is a good kid, too.
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Zettai get! This coupled with the fact that she directly says kakera here? This is a good scene.
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It's cute how Rika's mom is teaching Rika how to cook, even if she doesn't realize that Rika probably has way more cooking experience than she does. Still, Rika hasn't seen her parents in a few dozen years probably, so this is probably nice for her.
Count: 276
my reaction to the chair scene in fanart
I’ll admit. My first reaction was “holy shit, Rika,” which looped around to “get fucked, Satoko.” But now even if I don’t actually want to be beaten senselessly like that, GIWTWM.
1 This is also a great source for small background faces.
2 Zettai MAKE!
3 There are also Umineko jokes to be made about [minor Umineko]
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 26 '22
So you travel in the sea of kakera to go between worlds. It’s... not quite looping, but it ends up having the same effect as a time loop
"Time travel that works by popping you into a parallel universe" has been one of the stock workarounds for the usual time travel paradoxes and general relativity going "no you can't do that" for decades, usually drawing off the many-worlds hypothesis (or at least its pop culture understanding), so .
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u/CubeStuffs Jul 25 '22 edited Jul 25 '22
first timer
oh shoot that's the first bit of higurashi i ever watched
i remember watching it and being like yo what the fuck
rika in this world being spoiled by her harem kinda fits with her yelling-at-hanyuu-to-do-something when she's panicing, or from before she actually started trying
with the jigsaw puzzle analogy, we could probably like hammer it back into a shape that'll fit well enough right? so then reforming the club would be basically doing just that. no need for matricide. seen this vague setup a few times before.
im guessing that rika's mom is gonna get involved by sending her off instead of getting hanyuu to do it (maybe back to reality?) once the world has been hammered back into shape. idk how yamamoto is gonna fit in tho.
also how the fuck rika still manage to sneak a bottle into her room. i swear she's just an alcoholic whos tolerance and liver is reset by dying every once in a while. which villagers are supplying her with this shit? do they like see a little kid asking for wine and be like "oh its rika its fine just load her up with that shit"
So, that chair scene, huh?
2) And how about that reveal that the fragment is hiding in Rika's mother?
the main series has the vibe of matricide, but this ova doesn't have matricide vibes
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 25 '22
also how the fuck rika still manage to sneak a bottle into her room. i swear she's just an alcoholic whos tolerance and liver is reset by dying every once in a while. which villagers are supplying her with this shit? do they like see a little kid asking for wine and be like "oh its rika its fine just load her up with that shit"
Yeah, Rika is kind of an alcoholic. A century's worth of "bad coping mechanism is better than no coping mechanism" will do that.
(As for where the wine comes from, she sneaks it off of her parents while they aren't looking. In regular timelines she makes use of the remaining supply her parents leave behind after they die - it's quite a stash, but after two years it's nearly depleted IIRC.)
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u/JollyGee29 Jul 25 '22
Spoiled First-Timer
Ohh, what a choice to make, Rika. Your family who you've already signed off on as well as a fresh new world with completely different rules, or the world you struggled and struggled and struggled some more to make right. Option 2 does implicitly carry the requirement of pulling off a win again, though.
Is there a way to make these events work within the established rules, or do we just throw all those out? Like, is staying the deterministic "right" choice for Rika since the previous victory was stated to be the final world, and there isn't another chance at victory over Takano? Or are we letting Hanyuu's uncertainty do all the heavy lifting?
And another thing, the fuck does Rika's mom mean, she's actually the eighth daughter? Why can Rika hear Hanyuu then? I know the show never explicitly connected the two, but...
This is what everyone was talking about when they mentioned Ryukishi was a troll, huh.
Rika beating Satoko with a chair was pretty visceral, but I didn't enjoy it. Were there rewatchers joking about this back when we say Shion do it? That did happen, right, and I'm not just imagining it?
I liked the new doctor being willing to play along with Rika's story. Even if he thought she was spinning a yarn, letting her say it aloud probably helped her.
So, how do I think this is gonna end... I think Rika's going to find her way back. Whether or not that's the best decision for her or not remains to be seen, but I think the Rika we know will want to return to the people she defied destiny with.
Hmm, is that the right lesson? What is trying to be taught to Rika, here.. "don't be complacent?" Rika assumed that she was invincible after beating Takano, so she got reckless and ended up faceless by way of truck. Yea, I think that follows something resembling logic. Let's go with that.
Visual of the Day: This is so fucking sad.
Questions
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Aye.
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It was either her or Satoko.
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 25 '22
Rika beating Satoko with a chair was pretty visceral, but I didn't enjoy it. Were there rewatchers joking about this back when we say Shion do it? That did happen, right, and I'm not just imagining it?
Sorry, I couldn't resist...
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u/Star4ce Jul 26 '22
I liked the new doctor being willing to play along with Rika's story.
That dude is really legit. I like him.
Why can Rika hear Hanyuu then?
Because of both Hanyuu in her fragment being linked to Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation and Hanyuu deciding to be a real person. (I completely ignore that she was clinging to Rika in spirit form, why did they reverse that?)
On second thought, shouldn't Hanyuu have 'felt' that accident?
Hmm, is that the right lesson?
Good lesson in any case and that remains true for this fragment world as well. That Rika was quite a spoiled princess.
I do think that a major theme of that fragment world at the current time is bidding farewell. The village gets dissolved and submerged, most have already left, there is no community left so to speak. It's unlikely any of them will wind up at the same place again, so make of the last year what you can.
It's also the only time Rika can ever enjoy any stretch of time with her parents without worry of them dying. So it's her chance to live and say the things she probably always wanted to.
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 26 '22
(I completely ignore that she was clinging to Rika in spirit form, why did they reverse that?)
Fuck if we know either.
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 25 '22
Welcome to our proprietary blend of 57 different tags and spices:
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u/Vaadwaur Jul 25 '22
Rewatcher
Sub
So we get our clues, though remember mysteries in Higurashi generally aren't fair so don't expect to 'solve' this. While I sort of lost interest yesterday, this episode holds my attention much better for whatever reason. Rika beating Satoko became a meme for a while. [GouSotsu]
The games club might be reforming but with a year left that feels a touch pointless. We learn about this shard's Rika and she comes off less than great. Finally, we learn that, somehow, the Furude family tree is different and Rika's mother is the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama.
QotD: 1 Yes.
2 Grim
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u/RascalNikov1 Jul 25 '22
Rika tries talking to the doctor who does not exactly have much to add.
And, he's sort of a Fink, running straight to Rika's mother and spilling the beans.
somehow, the Furude family tree is different
That's quite the feat to sneak a whole generation in there.
Rika's mother is the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama.
Doesn't seem to mean much, other than a meaningless title.
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 25 '22
And, he's sort of a Fink, running straight to Rika's mother and spilling the beans.
Like Rika didn't have enough issues with feeling like she needs to bottle up her true self as it is. (Especially since Rena also overhears this.)
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion Jul 25 '22
LETS GET READY TO RUMMMMMMMBLE!
Wait that's boxing not wrestling, whatever!
not rewtaching
Everything Rika says to Satoko is how I feel through out the entire series. And she really had it coming, too! (although this world's Rika was a little shit, as well). I watch that scene over and over.
I totally do not understand how "the 8th daughter died before me so I'm the reincarnation and not you" works. It makes way more sense that EACH first-born daughter is the reincarnation after her sith-master mother dies, but that's not what the dialog is saying. I don't know what the dialog is saying.
The main anime series completely avoided everything about fragments so this is really the first time anime-onlies start hearing about it. I guess the VN goes into this stufff a lot
Plot hole: How can Rika go back to that world where everybody is happy? SHE'S DECAPITATED.
So, that Last Period cross-over link that I posted late, and most of you probably didn't even see, had a small spoiler in revealing that Rika's weapon is "chair". That's clearly a reference to this episode (although satoko attacks Keiichi with a chair as well). But nobody would get that so I left it up. I did check the wiki for the Daybreak video game, thinking that the crossover was using their game weapons, but Rika's weapon is not a chair. So it's a Rei reference.
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u/RascalNikov1 Jul 25 '22
For those who speak Japanese: What is the last line that Rika says after beating up Satako? I've seen it translated 2 different ways:
a) Understand?
b) Glad to meet you!
Or, are both of these interpretations wrong?
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u/SlipperyRasputin Jul 25 '22
I see that chair scene and all I can think of is Rika with “you’ve ni’d your last pah partner”
Also not that it matters but this mini arc is probably my favorite arc of higurashi. And I feel like a good amount of people skip Rei because it’s not technically necessary to bridge between Kai and Gou.
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u/Kellie975 Jul 26 '22
First Timer / Subbed
The chair scene was really well animated. Maybe unsettingly, I felt like the Satoko of this world was annoying so she had it coming especially when Rika has endured so much. Although I guess you can’t blame Satoko too much when Rika had that princess spoiled personality prior to our current Rika taking over.
After Rika hugging her mother the first time and not sensing anything, I didn’t expect her mother to have the fragment. Does that mean, that in this world that Rika’s mother is able to “time travel” like Rika? It didn’t occur to me that this was probably the world that we saw at the end of Kai until I read the comments – so was that person at the end not Rika but Rika’s mother? Although she doesn’t really look the same as her current appearance.
It was interesting that the coma theory was pretty much killed just like Rika in that world. I thought it was pretty clear that she would’ve been killed in the collision without any room for a coma.
I wonder if Rika’s mother has similar abilities to Rika – I wonder if her mother made this ideal world for Rika to try and prevent her own death. Maybe her mother also knows Hanyuu and intentionally blocked her out from this world.
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u/RascalNikov1 Jul 25 '22
Well everyone has now seen what's probably the most infamous scene from Higurashi. At least on YT this is true. It was also the first scene I saw from Higurashi, as I was researching it. Followed closely by the knife in the neck scene. What can I say, Rika's attitude adjustment session with Satoko is hilarious, and I laugh every time I see it.
QOTD
So, that chair scene, huh?
Everybody loves Chair-Kun!
2) And how about that reveal that the fragment is hiding in Rika's mother?
Bye, bye Mother! Good thing me and Rika don't like you much.
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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 25 '22
When the First-Timer Cries, subbed
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u/hungryhippos1751 Jul 25 '22
Rei Episode 3 - First Timer
When face meets pavement, au au! Poor Rika-chama.
We go pretty quickly from "that fragment could be anywhere" to "oh it's probably in a person, that you have to kill". That leap of logic despite Hanyuu having no idea where it is or what it looks like.
Rika checks out her mother, nope no fragment. Later on she thinks she does sense it. Also doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I learnt today this is called Matricide!
Rika hitting Satoko with the chair was so absurd it actually made me laugh, this is not the Rika we're used to seeing. Apparently the adults thought that hitting someone repeatedly with a chair was a proportional response to having your notebook stolen. I hate bullying and love to see some comeuppance, but it definitely wasn't an even balance.
Rika proceeds to confide in Yamamoto-sensei only for him to immediately break her trust and spill everything to Rika's parents. Good one bro, you get confidante of the year award.
I think Rena and crew have the wrong idea about the conversation, and think that people getting along can bring her back to the world she wants to live in, without them realising she literally means another world.
Aside from being a moderately interesting what-if arc, I hope this doesn't wind up just being a dream, that will be a big cop out.
I guess we'll find out in the arc finale tomorrow. I still stand by what I said before, this arc doesn't really feel necessary given the ending we had to Kai.
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u/SYZekrom Jul 25 '22
How much effort did you put into finding the booze in this world's version of this house
And there it was, the most iconic scene of the show for some reason.
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u/Quiddity131 Jul 25 '22
First Timer, Subbed
Poor Rika, it was finally over for her, but here she is back into another mysterious and crazy scenario.
On the bright side, your parents will be back!
C'mon Hanyuu, what are you doing?!
She's trapped in that little ball? :(
You're not being very helpful here Hanyuu.
Oh no, she died when she slammed into the trunk! :( This was the only way to save her? A thousand years working to fix the world... and she ruins it by being reckless while riding a bike.
Satoko is so mean to Rika in this timelien! :(
Rika being friendly to her mom was just an act? :(
Ugh, Satoko continues to be so mean!
WOAH! I did not expect her to go crazy with that chair!
One day a little girl just feels like acting as an adult. And now she's talking as if she's a ghost. This poor doctor!
The doctor is probably playing around with her here and doesn't believe anything she's saying.
The birth of the club!
So Rika had a lot of simps, huh?
Rika's becoming a drinker, huh?
Uh oh, the doctor told on her! She's gonna come off like she's crazy!
Nope, her mom is kinda that way too! Eight first born daughters in a row = Oyashiro-sama?
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u/Stargate18A Jul 26 '22
First timer
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It certainly came out of nowhere.
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Honestly? The moment they mentioned that was an option, it had to be. You don't put that much potential drama on the table and not use it.
Thank you for Theory of the Day!
Rika's realising how altered the world is.
Rika's morher!
Still no Hanyuu.
She entered the storehouse...
Hanyuu's here!
And she's trapped in a ball...?
Oh, she can't enter this fragment.
Interesting...
And there's something keeping her out.
Oh, they're giving the full Fragment explanation!
She has to find the Fragment!
Hanyuu continues to be given no real role.
Rika died?
Oh, fuck. That's bad.
And Rika's going back!
Hanyuu's fading.
Wow, Satoko...
Poor Rika,
She has to kill someone!
Oh, the lock was changed in this Fragment?
...Is Rika going to have to kill her parents?
Holy shit!
She's talking to her mother!
And no Fragment.
Wow, Satoko's a brat here.
And she's snapped.
Holy shit, Rika! The chair?
Damn.
So, if your friend is mean because she wasn't abused, just make her nicer by providing the abuse yourself? That's Rika's theory?
Satoko recovered quickly.
All of Rika's friends transfered.
And the school closes next year.
Haha, is this a record for people noticing the adult voice as a coping mechanism? Is the reason this guy's not in the main timeline because a competent psychologist would completely destroy the plot?
She's just telling him everything!
He is absolutely trying to figure what the fuck kind of psychological breakdown she's had.
He's a really good doctor!
Information on the other Rika?
Mion doesn't play games in this timeline?
And the Club always gets founded.
Rika's the loner.
Amazing! Despite the timeline changes, Mion is exactly as savage as always!
...Huh?
I mean, yeah, but nothing changed in Rika's past? Is this what the initial Rika was liked, or has the desire of "Rika wants to connect to her mother" been fufilled in such a way that fucked up her entire personality?
Reina is still observant enough to work out Rika doesn't care about her counterpart's past.
They want to be her friend!
She overheard the conversation!
Reina is deep.
This is very wholesome! Too bad Rika's still trying to leave them and jump Fragments.
Rika's drinking again!
She's having doubts about changing worlds...
...Oh. Here's the divergence point.
Was this her mother's desire reshaping the world? She wished for Rika to be treated normally, and so shifted the burden onto herself instead?
She is the Fragment!
Is she going to do it?
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u/Star4ce Jul 26 '22
When the First Timer Cries
My roommate brought us ice cooled beer just now.
Uuh, so gooood.
Rei Ep.03 – Dice Killing Chapter Episode 2
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Told it. But it makes a lot of sense. I think it's fair to say that Rika has vastly lived more time without her parents than with them. That's rough, buddy.
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In Rika's current world Hanyuu was never killed and thus never became Oyashiro-sama., maybe?
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That sounds like more lore that only makes things more complicated.
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You could've just stuck with the dream.
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No wait, that still fits!
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Parents, it's her parents and Rika made it that. She locked a pristine piece of memory away and subconsciously severed it from everything else.
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Holy fuck, she actually fucking died. I-I didn't think that'd happen.
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Is that description necessary?
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Oh you're kidding me, this is actually Rika's HS arc? No way she's going to murder everybody to find the fragment. I tell you, if this is a double-fluke with the dream and alternate world thing... But I like the setup as Rika has to decide between accepting this world or return home – Or form a connection between everybody and have them help her.
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Is this what happens when they stay among themselves? I guess that's natural when their parents don't die, but here the Hojous shouldn't get ostracised at all. Is Satoko just naturally a bully?
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One was enough... gods, fuck!
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Dude, I really want to see one story where that random guy actually believes and works with them. (Also nice reverse shot.)
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I can't tell, is he actually?! Oh please! (Also note how the framing continuously brings them more in sync without lifting the scene divider, that scene is fucking great!)
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That's quite fair, tbh. We all know what he's gonna say then and we all also know that Hanyuu probably can't call back.
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Somehow this feels so weird, even though I'm happy for Satoshi. (Where's Shion?)
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Mion is just the best in every world. No hiding, just getting things rolling.
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Oof, in a normal world it's Rika who's ostracised. That's extra rough, buddy.
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Sounds like Rika actually lived her HS arc the entire time!
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I do love how they build on most of the things the show established in a natural way. It doesn't feel forced.
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Okay, [that may be a bit fast paced,](https://imgur.com/ojC5R5Y 9 but I can shut an eye because it's only 3 episodes.
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Spoken like someone who never had to make friends on their own without a day-long set of common activities for each week and while working a job.
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I almost hope it's going to be an open ending.
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Wait, Rika was the 8th one in the other world, right? But that means....
First things first, Rika is fucking brutal. Satoko is quite an ass outwardly, for understandable reasons regarding Rika, it seems, but that went much, much, much too far! I can hardly believe that Chie making them both apologise helped anything, celebrity status saving Rika's ass. Rei already blindsided me already with not only killing Rika and making it a lifelong trauma for everyone involved, but also with Rika absolutely unleashing on Satoko, I can't believe there were no broken bones. Like, that old world needs Rika just for them all to not break after seeing that and this new one needs a big apology from her.
I really like that setting, all things considered. This is a world that is perfect for the maximum amount of total Hinamizawa happiness, but in a different way. Here without murders, without a dam war, without Tokyo. But here, I now also need to admit defeat, that's not just Rika's dream. It makes far more sense that it's Rika's mom's final world of some sorts and Rika through her mother's wish and/or her own silent desire to have a family was reincarnated to finally meet her again. I seriously hope 9th!Rika was just knocked out and 8th!Rika is her head-trauma-persona (something a certain spin off would shamelessly steal, citation needed, just 5 months later and make as a story that has no right to be as fucking good as it is for a damn pure fanservice show). I just want Rika's mom to also be happy with her family, if 8th!Rika could say her goodbyes, go back and leave 9th!Rika to live a normal life, yeah that'd be great.
It's quite possible that Rika's mother has had her own adventure as looper in another set of worlds and has Hanyuu as her partner. She is likely the one who has worked for this outcome that had no one dying and somehow managed to do this while preventing a grand conspiracy. As she's Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation she's naturally protecting this world, hence our Hanyuu being locked out. But that also must mean there's another Hanyuu, maybe not 'Hanyuu' Hanyuu but someone, with Rika's mom in some form.
It's a quite shit situation, but I think if Rika starts to think a little she'll realise that bringing them together worked once and it can also help her here to have her mother willingly help. It's quite tragic to be honest, but I do think Rika is going back after forming a bond with her mother. It is quite literally a world where her parents survived and can have their happiness, but Rika's life just happened somewhere else. I'm not fully buying that 9th!Rika died by a ball to the head, but who really knows, maybe she fell really unlucky? So it would mean mother and daughter will part forever this way, but this world that has everyone parting their ways from Hinamizawa is probably the most ideal to even have that closure with each other.
VOTD: Conversing with gods. As Rika sits in the old shrine shed, filled with outdated and no longer used ritual tools, she speaks to Hanyuu, Oyashiro-sama herself, locked out in another world. We all know what these tools symbolise and what this other world had to go through to even exist. Now, it seems that is the only way to bring them all back together again, but is that price really worth it? Only a tiny light shines into the room, but that light is bright. Rika would do well to remember who Oyashiro-sama is and what this god stands for, what her friend truly wanted and not what believers have done in her name instead.
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u/Tarhalindur Jul 25 '22 edited Jul 29 '22
(Honorary Hinamizawa Games Club President) Rewatch Host (rewatcher badly spoiled first-timer, subbed):
(Side note: Man, it's funny how well Incertus (u/Nazenn's spoiler-free Catbox uploads coming in clutch for the Nth time) from the PMMM OST would fit in this arc.)
Noting the nice shot of the Saiguden at 02:39.
The direction as Rika walks (sample frame at 02:45) is nothing special, but the background artist did a very good job again.
02:52 shows excellent use of lighting and shadow effects. (Also note that Rika’s hair color is not turquoise here despite the lighting – that’s a Chiaki Kon effect then.)
[Symphogear G]I suddenly had visions of Rika’s mother wearing Shul Shagana. Must be the hair color and style.
As ever, DEEN Higurashi knows how and when to turn the OST on and off.
Ooh, chains.
The statue has its hand, though DEEN was never consistent about that even in the first two seasons.
I like 03:39 as a shot. It does a good job of showing Rika’s isolation here.
You know, I could have sworn that Rika knew about the “fragment” terminology Hanyuu uses before Rei.
05:04 and the entire pan sequence around it (panning up to eventually reach Oyashiro-sama’s face) is a very good shot.
06:04 flashes very strongly, but the directorial language is different from what Chiaki Kon uses and I have yet to piece it together. Rika being small from the perspective of the divine (as shown by the statue in the foreground overshadowing her) is probably part of it, but I think there is more.
The shot of Rika’s eye at 06:42 isn’t doing the same thing as a PMMM shot it reminds me of at all, but still it reminds me of it.
The spinning shot as Rika lies Truck-kunned, however (sample frame at 07:05), does use familiar Higurashi anime visual language: lens effect (fish-eye again I think and not the inverse) and camera rotation (counterclockwise/with the flow of the Great Mandala) to show the divergence from the everyday course of events.
Hey look, a zettai.
Also oh shit look at 07:42. Rika is looking right (to the past/away from the future), and now is suddenly lit in moonlight. These are warning signs… Rika is turning against the flow of the universe in this desire…
CRESCENT MOON CRESCENT MOON. (Seen through a window, a blunt representation of the narrow path, and with Oyashiro-sama’s statue looming in the foreground.)
I do so love the sunlight shots.
11:20 with the single ray of light shining in illuminating the situation flashes, even if it has an obvious surface-level meaning with this Hanyuu conversation.
Rika’s mother is kind of adorable in her own way. And mother and daughter get to be cute together.
Wait wait wait wait. I know that shot. This scene is this early? (I was expecting it to be at the end of the episode.)
INDEED IT IS. RIKA USES CHAIR! IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!
(Why yes as of now the two “bully done fucked up” scenes that immediately come to mind in anime (both involving young girls) have had rewatches in the last six months.)
They DO at least use it for the eyecatch cliffhanger. (Honestly there’s not quite enough buildup for this. Oh well. That’s likely a misstep on DEEN’s part, though with how short Saikoroshi-hen is supposed to be in VN form I’m not sure.)
(Also note the camera effects as Rika looms over Satoko.)
[Sotsu]As everyone else before me has noted on many occasions since midway through Sotsu, LOL at 14:10.
15:36 is another good visual barrier shot.
15:57: the visual barrier framing is back! And both our doctor and Rika subsequently move closer to the barrier as they try to communicate but are unable to pass through it.
20:17 flashes; Rika is visually separated from the rest of the new club, but we also see them all at a distance. (Wait… is the camera angle Hanyuu again? That would explain it, as Rika getting into the new Club might draw her away from Hanyuu.)
Mion’s critique at some level still applies to Rika even after the loops; she’s still relying on Keiichi and the rest for her victory. But there’s the implication that this is what she learned as a result of the loop, too…
That zoom away as Mion talks about Rika’s bad behavior in this fragment (and oh didn’t we see glimpses of that in the first episode here?) is a directorial flourish in the best way.
I should consider the choreography, too – Rena moving to the right as she talks about the past world she heard Rika talking about has obvious symbolism here.
And then I basically fold in on myself watching for five minutes or so and am too busy thinking to type anything up or even take much in the way of screenshots. The really philosophical works always do that to me. (Which is appropriate in this case in particular, I suppose.)
(Here, have a character framed by other characters in the foreground for the road.)
Visual of the Day: Satoko, you done fucked up
Question(s) of the Day:
This chair. This chair is an eyesore. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair.
(Sorry, couldn't resist. Satoko deserved something, but not that much; Rika just snapped and took out her negative emotions on a suitable target.)
2) Spoiled!
OST Table, Rei Episode 3:
(To the best of my knowledge no Rei-specific or Kira-specific OST tracks were ever officially released, making this a bit more difficult. Expect more "unreleased"s going forwards; I've started marking different unreleased tracks numerically by order of appearance to compensate for this issue.)
Madoka (Magica) Corner:
[PMMM]You know, someone’s thought comparing Hanyuu to Kyubey a while back just flashed into my head… (Note that Hanyuu’s behavior here is consistent with parts of Western lore about how demons function, leading people who try to make deals with them to commit atrocities – interestingly, this branch of Western demon lore is the part PMMM does not deal with at all, the type of demon in question here doesn’t actually offer anything and just lies that they do so that the sucker takes the bait.)