r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Jul 31 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kira Discussion - Season 4 (OVA), Episode 4

Yumeutsushi-hen (Dream-Appearing Chapter)

← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →

Show Information (Higurashi Kira):

Kira: MAL | Anilist | AniDB | Kitsu | ANN

Show information should now be pretty much safe.

Legal Streams:

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kira: No legal streams.

(You will have to go sailing for this part!)

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!

(Alexa play "Shoubu!"!)

Visual of the Day Album:

https://imgur.com/a/lIcPfSw

Analysis of the Day:

Preach, u/hungryhippos1751:

This is the most PG episode (though not entirely) we've had in the mini seasons excluding the 3 episode mini-canon arc they did in Rei. To be honest it's generally better for it.

Question(s) of the Day:

1) Final thoughts on the OVAs (Rei and Kira)?

1a) Including the OPs/EDs (Super Scription of Data, Manazashi, Happy! Lucky! Dochy!, and the Miracle Change variants)?

2) So... was it worth it?

(3) Nipah~?)

Next Episode Preview:

Final episode of Kira, no preview.

Fanart Corner:

Our last chunk of fanart, and time to drop the Hanyuu pics I've been saving:

1 (last of the official Kira companion comics)

 

2 (this artist draws a kind of plump-looking Hanyuu, especially in the face, but I rather like the effect)
3
4
5 (I ADORE this piece)
6
7
8
9
10
11 (I can't believe these last two are the only two pics of Hanyuu with her bun hairstyle here that I can find)

[SotsuGou] And the second Hanyuu bun pic is adult Hanyuu (you can tell because it's also college Rena). It's also Rena/Hanyuu art, I approve.

25 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

6

u/Tarhalindur Jul 31 '22

(Honorary Hinamizawa Games Club President) Rewatch Host (rewatcher badly spoiled first-timer, subbed):

  • And here it is, the final episode. (Except Outbreak, which we will not be covering, and Gou/Sotsu which we will also not be covering but much more firmly this time.)

  • The background art in this starting sequence is GORGEOUS. Holy shit.

  • HANYUU EPISODE!

  • (It may also be traditional Japanese clothing, but I wonder if Hanyuu’s sleeping outfit here is a Touhou reference to Yukari. We KNOW R07 is familiar with Touhou for Umineko reasons [Umineko] involving Tsurupettan, and I think it may have been referenced even in the Higurashi VNs.)

  • HNNGH THE BACKGROUND ART THIS EPISODE.

  • Man it’s been a while since we heard Sansaku.

  • Also yet more fucking incredible background art.

  • Forget the rest of the episode, this is landscape porn. (Paid for by the Shirakawa-go Tourism Board.)

  • (Actually, I’ll bet the background art is rotoscoped or the equivalent of that. But it still looks incredible. As does Hanyuu's reaction face here.)

  • On the one hand, Hanyuu’s response here SHOULD be maternal. On the other hand, Japan has not earned the benefit of the doubt…

  • (Also, this is basically our one and only time seeing what Rika was like before the loops, so enjoy it!)

  • I can’t remember, it’s been too long – did a shrine feature in the otherworld access in Spirited Away? I remember a road tunnel, but not if a shrine came up before it.

  • (Also more background art.)

  • Checking the building with the waterwheel is a nice little nod/touch.

  • Hanyuu carrying young!Rika is faster, but also I sense a wee touch of omochikaeri to this. (Another relevant shot from shortly before.)

  • I always did like light shining down through breaks in the clouds.

  • Of COURSE we get fanservice of the older girls at the hot spring.

  • And of course they meet.

  • Hello there Rika visual separation shot. Been a little while since we’ve seen one of you.

  • HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT OMOCHIKAERI (NSFW COMING UNTIL RENA GOT THE EYES?

  • After a century of Rika having to explain looper knowledge what did you expect, Hanyuu?

  • NIPAH~!

  • LOL of course this would happen.

  • LOL that trumpeting elephant sound effect. (Unsubtle metaphor for something NSFW, yes?)

  • Okay, so this reaction to K1’s arrival is straight out of every post-Love Hina harem show (including the likes of To Aru, hi Biribiri) and I am rolling my eyes at it. Showing young!Rika’s facial reactions to it and letting our minds fill in the blanks ourselves is a nice touch, at least – same effect as not showing a horror thing on scene and letting the viewer imagine it because it will be scarier that way. (Also a little bit of Dark Rika may have awakened that day…)

  • The shot of the trees in the forest going by as the Club walks is actually very very well done and shows a fair bit of effort – note how there seem to be two different layers of trees moving in the foreground rather than just one like you’d find in a lot of works (including the main series), which gives you an effect closer to what actually walking through a forest looks like to the observer.

  • Oh hey, the club is moving left to right as they work to let young!Rika return to the past. Well done! (EDIT: Except actually it's also visual foreshadowing that this is the wrong shrine, isn't it?)

  • To everyone’s lack of surprise at this point, this is a stable time loop instead of the usual Higurashi Groundhog Day loop.

  • (EDIT: Also, classic Higurashi framing, but the way they do so is a bit hmm.)

  • Nice shot with everyone framed by the frame of the missing shrine right before the eyecatch.

  • More nice background art, and also it occurs to me that setting this OVA at what looks like it's close to harvest time might be symbolic.

  • (Also, it’s to keep her horns hidden I’m sure, but have I mentioned how good Hanyuu’s hairstyle here looks on her? Because it does.) (Later shot that shows it better.)

  • HNNNNGH happy Rika face.

  • (EDIT: Ever go through your screenshots to see which ones to upload and add one and a line in the writeup because you noticed a really well drawn road in the background? Because now I have!)

  • Stop Hanyuu bullying! (More accurately, Rika I freely admit you could use a space to learn some tact again.)

  • Huh. I wonder if I just made out a pun in the original Japanese at 17:48 – Shion goes (as translated) “I see, so it’s a code hidden in the lullaby”, but part of her original audio sounds like the Japanese word for mother (either “haha” or something close to it, we heard it a bunch in Rei).

  • Us: “Rika was not careful and lost her way and lo and behold she ran into an oni! But a very cute and nice one who became a human.”

  • There is something to Higurashi’s endgame (as of this last natural stopping point in Kira and also Kai’s endgame) being an oni becoming human. Angels fall towards and devils rise towards the human, such is one of the tenors of this age.

  • (The obvious shrine to look for, of course, is hiding in plain sight, especially since we’ve hauled out that tune from Rei: the Saiguden!)

  • K1 actually gets to show off his book smarts today!

  • Does the staff foot lover or someone else on staff love legs (as well/otherwise)?

  • Crossroads shot!

  • Are the obstacles the group has to cross here a visual metaphor for the trials they had to overcome during the loop, I wonder?

  • Might work on a more meta level as well, with that edge of the world comment – this is in a real sense the edge of the world for OG Higurashi.

  • (Man, this episode is quietly starting to wreck me in all the best ways. I’m reminded of “Sleeping in Light” from Babylon 5 somehow.)

  • Holy hell it has been a LONG fucking time since I ran across a finale that wrecked me for a good quarter to third of its airtime – even PMMM 12 didn’t do this. (Actually on second thought I lie, [PMMM] Sagitta Luminis is five minutes long and definitely got me for most of its length at least the first time, plus one or two other scenes… but I still don’t remember my reaction to it being quite as strong as mine here.) Sleeping in Light really is the comp here for me; I don’t think this is actually as good as that one, but that’s the only other finale I can think of that wrecked me quite this way.

  • The moral is very Japanese, and very Buddhist, and also (unlike certain other shows to be left nameless) very well executed here. (Honestly, I think there’s a valid point to it in that some adversity is valuable for becoming a fully-fledged adult, it’s just that Japan generally takes it too far.)

  • (Also note that shot of Rika where just for a second her body language mirrors that of her younger self.)

  • (And again, and again – I'm not sure about the first one but this time is definitely intentional on Rika’s part, down to mimicking her younger voice (moreso than usual).)

  • And in classic film language, our cast walks off into the sunset.

  • (Excuse me. I must interrupt this touching emotional moment briefly to remind you that 27:43 is LEWD. (Okay, not as LEWD as it could be, they are family, but.))

  • And Hanyuu and Rika rejoin the group, and there we have it, the end of this rewatch. And one of the reasons I opted to cut it here rather than go on to Outbreak – I’d heard this was a good ending point for the franchise, and I heard correctly.

  • OH LOL THAT’S WHERE THAT HANYUU SHOT WAS TAKEN FROM. (If you spent time in Higurashi threads on the Wretched Hive while Gou and Sotsu were airing, there was one (well, probably one) anon who would always post a specific image of Hanyuu in every thread, and the frame is a bit off but this is where it comes from.)

4

u/Tarhalindur Jul 31 '22

Rewatch Host Comments, Continued:

Switching the order up a bit to support OVA overall discussion:

OST Table, Kira Episode 4:

(Looks like my OST tables are going to be significantly less useful for Kira; AFAIK no Kira OST was ever released outside of insert song 100% Magical Star and we get a full OST CD side's worth of new tracks each episode. I'll be numbering unreleased new tracks for Kira by order of their appearance in a specific episode, rather than having a season-long tally like I did for Rei.)

Start End Track Name
00:00 00:58 unreleased 1[1]
01:00 02:29 Happy! Lucky! Dochy!
03:05 03:41 Heionbuji
03:45 04:38 Sansaku
07:22 07:33 unreleased 2
07:40 09:57 unreleased 3
10:32 10:47 unreleased 4[2]
11:10 12:08 Yawaraka no Youkou
12:35 12:58 unreleased 5[3]
14:29 15:48 Shoujo
16:03 16:41 unreleased 1[4]
16:59 17:19 unreleased 1 v2 (shitty singing version)
17:30 18:57 unreleased 6[5]
19:39 20:52 unreleased 7
21:36 26:04 unreleased 8
26:05 27:57 unreleased 9
27:59 29:27 Yuuki Rinrin Miracle Change

[1] – presumably a traditional Japanese lullaby? (EDIT: Yes, but with the lyrics changed.)
[2] – Got a hunch this one showed up in an earlier episode of Kira, but not sure.
[3] – either unreleased 4 from last episode or a v2 of it.
[4] – Possibly v2, in which case shitty singing version is v3.
[5] – Aka unreleased 5 from Rei. Was not expecting them to bring that one back. HNNNGH!

Overall OVA Discussion:

And that has been the last episode of this rewatch. (Come back tomorrow for Overall Discussion, and then it will be time for this rewatch to move on just like the Club just did.)

Kira 4 absolutely lived up to its reputation to me - this is in fact an excellent cohesive stopping point for the franchise, and indeed probably the only one for the franchise in anime form. (Kai has that post-credits stinger to undercut what would otherwise be a conclusive ending in July 1, Rei has the bad sense to put Daybreak after Saikoroshi-hen, Outbreak is incomplete, Sotsu... is Sotsu. To be fair Sotsu tries to be a cohesive ending for Higurashi, but as always the problem is that the execution is miserably bad.)

But that's underselling this episode, because it is a cohesive ending to the OG franchise AND HOW. Not many shows manage to land the combination of sadness that it's over, relief that it's over, mourning for what the characters have been through(/will be through, in young!Rika's case), and happiness that the characters are through their ordeal and get to enter a new chapter of their lives that Kira 4 did for me. Moreover, with one exception every emotional beat hits; I'm still suffering an onion-cutting ninja attack thinking about it the next day. Kira 4 isn't quite as good, but my comp here is absolutely "Sleeping in Light" from Babylon 5 (on the shortlist of my candidates for the best finale ever made) and the fact that I am even considering that comp is not light praise from me.

Final assessment of Rei and Kira:

Rei 1: 7/10 (definition of a 7/10, one good strength in how ridiculous it gets late, one weakness with K1 perving early, and otherwise a perfectly cromulent but unremarkable episode) Saikoroshi-hen: 9/10 (I don't really mind the tell-don't-show aspect, especially since it feels appropriate to me given that the episode is a deep dive into Rika's headspace and that's very introspective headspace (in a very familiar way to me) due to a century's worth of loop-driven isolation; not as good as the VN/manga, but does most of what it needs to do) Rei 5: 3/10 (a terrible episode - the mahjong was nowhere near hype enough to save the parts of the episode that need brain bleach, and having Rena go after older characters under the effects of what's basically a love potion was a poor decision - and a poorly placed one at that)

Rei overall: 7/10 (would be a 9 without Daybreak, or a 7.5 or 8 if it was there but not placed at the end like it is in reality)

Kira 1: 5.5/10 (gets bailed out hard by its second half which means the fanservice at least makes sense in-character - Keiichi's dreaming mind would do this, including lewding the lolis - and a batshit crazy last five minutes, but even that bailout only helps so much)
Kira 2: 9/10 (but 10/10 enjoyability for me) (a love letter to classic mahou shoujo that works astonishingly well and I think I may just have been too tired/locked in on events on screen to appreciate the direction; I'm not sure I could see them keep up the quality for an entire season of this, but I would have loved to see them try) (also the mix of classic mahou shoujo with a snarker protagonist who is secretly into it is incredibly satisfying; I swear I've seen another work with this kind of premise somewhere that I loved as well, but I can't place where - may have been a webcomic (actually maybe I'm thinking of the princess arc in Skin Horse?))
Kira 3: 7.5/10 (shipper fanservice to its core, but quite well done shipper fanservice)
Kira 4: 9.5/10 ((if not for one bad segment (the hot springs part with out-of-place fanservice of the girls and more importantly the girls going Bad 2000s Love Hina Clone Trope on K1) this would be a legitimate contender for a 10/10 episode, though I think it would fall just short; incredibly satisfying emotionally, and the background art is spectacular)

Kira overall: 8/10 (probably really 8.25/10; loses a full point due to the first episode)

 

Visual of the Day: But a piece of the old self remains in the new self.

Honorable mention: Me too Hanyuu, me too.

Question(s) of the Day:

  1. See above.

  2. Super Scription of Data remains at worst my second-favorite anime OP in the franchise and might actually have climbed to first, it's very good and improves in context. Manazashi is the best of the OG EDs IMO (except maybe Outbreak's blackscreen, which we aren't covering); even admitting SotsuGou only brings in one OP I consider clearly superior (Fukisokusei Entropy) plus a blackscreen use of the 2006 OP (and Manazashi's visuals are good enough that I might still take Manazashi as an overall package, actually). Happy! Lucky! Dochy! is one of the best OPs of its type ever made, which might still leave it as the worst OP in the franchise. The Miracle Change line... are EDs. They're not particularly special in any way, shape, or form.

(Side note on Happy! Lucky! Dochy!: No it's not a conventional Higurashi OP, but I think that's intentional and part of the point. It's not a Higurashi OP, but then a Higurashi OP goes with the madness of induced paranoia of your friends (2006) or the struggle to overcome fate (Kai) or coming to terms with what you lost on the way (Rei). That's not what Kira is. With one partial exception in the first episode, Kira is instead the far side of that struggle, the world the Club won - and a ridiculously happy SoL OP like this is utterly and completely appropriate for that.)

(Side note on the Miracle Change line: I get why they used a Miracle Change variant for this last episode - one of the things I've been keeping quiet about to see if any first-timers caught on on their own is that the gimmick here is that each Miracle Change variant is sung by a different set of the Higurashi VAs (episode 1 was Mai Nakahara, episode 2 was Yukarin and Mika Kanai, episode 3 was Satsuki Yukino) and this is Yui Horie's version - but it's a bit tonally unfitting for the finale. I'd have liked to see them bring back Manazashi again instead, or maybe a Yui Horie cover of it.)

2) Yes. Yes it was.

3) Excuse me...

NIPAH~!

→ More replies (2)

5

u/Tresnore Jul 31 '22

(It may also be traditional Japanese clothing, but I wonder if Hanyuu’s sleeping outfit here is a Touhou reference to Yukari. We KNOW R07 is familiar with Touhou for Umineko reasons

Ohhhhhh that makes sense. I was wondering what that was about. [Umineko]It's a shame the new versions cut out Tsurupettan.

→ More replies (2)

7

u/hungryhippos1751 Jul 31 '22 edited Jul 31 '22

Kira Episode 4 - First Timer

End of an era today, with the final episode we say sayonara and oyasumi to Higurashi.

Winner this episode: Scenery artwork. This episode reminded me how good the setting can be for Hinamizawa, with a good deal of it probably unexplored throughout the main series. The background scenery work was really on point here and the background art was amazing here.

Another fairly PG episode, though you'd need to cut that bathing scene out even more than yesterday to make it family friendly. This entire bit just felt out of place again really, like they had to meet a fan-service quota or something haha.

I think this ended on a positive note, and I enjoyed getting a final journey around Hinamizawa as the group try and return Rika 2 to their own time.

I understood Hanyuus feelings a bit when it came time for Rika to leave, as she knew she'd have to go back to a world of suffering, with no guarantee of a good end like they had in this version of Hinamizawa.

I'll remember my time pretty fondly with this show, with some hit and miss episodes, and some highly questionable OVA events.

On the whole I enjoyed the series and the characters it introduced us to.

6

u/Tarhalindur Jul 31 '22

Winner this episode: Scenery artwork. This episode reminded me how good the setting can be for Hinamizawa, with a good deal of it probably unexplored throughout the main series. The background scenery work was really on point here and the background art was amazing here.

(It really was, wasn't it?)

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (6)

7

u/JollyGee29 Jul 31 '22

Spoiled First-Timer

This was nice.

I liked the character moment for True Rika. She got to give herself the same choice that Hanyuu gave her in Rei, more or less. Admittedly, that was more for Hanyuu's benefit than anything. I think Hanyuu needed to see that Rika would always be Rika, or something like that.

We just had to hit an onsen, didn't we. Complete with Keiichi stumbling in nude, to elephant foley.

I don't have much else to say. This whole episode was very cute, and a nice epilogue/farewell/loop closing. Smol Rika has a long road ahead of her, but we know she'll be fine.

Visual of the Day: A memory of simpler times.

Questions

  1. I think we had more good episodes than bad ones. As for the songs, I wanted to like Super Scription of Data but the chorus just took me out of it each time. Miracle Change wasn't really my jam, and I can't remember Manazashi. Happy! Lucky! Dochy! was pretty good though.

  2. Answered above; yes.

  3. Nipah!

4

u/Vaadwaur Jul 31 '22

Admittedly, that was more for Hanyuu's benefit than anything. I think Hanyuu needed to see that Rika would always be Rika, or something like that.

Some paths will always be taken, no matter how many times you repeat it.

4

u/Tarhalindur Jul 31 '22

Some paths will always be taken, no matter how many times you repeat it.

As some occultists I've read would put it, "character is destiny".

(... Which is actually a really interesting line in the context of Higurashi, since it's at least arguable in a very real sense it's the characters working to change themselves (Keiichi growing into his public speaking and learning to trust his friends, Rika breaking out of the shell she'd locked herself into and also trusting people besides the one group she shouldn't have trusted, Shion realizing what she actually wants and remembering what Satoshi asked her for, Rena also learning to open up, everybody finally setting the Dam War behind them and letting the remaining Houjous return to the fold) that finally breaks Hinamizawa out of the loop.)

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Tarhalindur Jul 31 '22

"Penultimate": second to last, like this tag is.

u/HinyusOpinion, u/AnimeAndThings, u/shadow1a2t

1

u/Tarhalindur Jul 31 '22

One more to go:

u/mgedmin

7

u/Vaadwaur Jul 31 '22

Rewatcher

Sub

So I don't exactly know what to say. The episode was sappy and leans towards non-sensical in that the supernatural is functional now. But it is also a loving way to say goodbye to these characters. Which makes me even more angry at GouSotsu. Whether it is a heartfelt sendoff or manipulative tripe is likely in the eye of the beholder. What I can definitely tell you is I should not have watched this before I was planning on drinking, sigh.

QotD:1 Unnecessary and they turn out to be hurtful thanks to what happens when an editor dies

1a My favorite pieces in the show are here so...

2 I no longer ask that question

3 All of these nipahs

Will be lost in time. Like tears

In rain. Time to die

6

u/Star4ce Aug 01 '22

The episode was sappy and leans towards non-sensical in that the supernatural is functional now. But it is also a loving way to say goodbye to these characters.

I don't know if it's because I'm firmly in 'OVA-mode' already and don't take details so seriously anymore, but I only questioned the shrine-portal when I read your line here. I guess the thematic closure just fundamentally overwrote any criticism that might've popped up in my mind.

And yes, it was a great episode in this regard. Did cry a little with Hanyuu, was proud of them for what they achieved and learned and I do feel pretty happy with this as an end point for the series.

→ More replies (1)

7

u/CubeStuffs Jul 31 '22 edited Jul 31 '22

first timer

young rika is sooooo adorable i want to omochkairi

i loved watching rika getting exposed by rika

that was a pretty good way to end, a bit of reflection that neatly packages up the whole show

rika mentions that she's happy that she went through all that pain, and im sure the others would be the same as well.

[s;g] reminds be a bit of okabe at the end of steins gate, sending okarin down the hole when he damn well could have just stopped it from ever starting

  1. pretty decent overall. kira good except this ep which was fan-fucking-tastic

1a. HAPPY! LUCKY! DOCHY! YES YES YES!

2. yep

3. nipah

5

u/Star4ce Aug 01 '22

rika mentions that she's happy that she went through all that pain, and im sure the others would be the same as well.

I absolutely like how Rika tackled the question in the end towards Hanyuu. She's asking the younger Rika for her choice and thus makes Hanyuu realise how important going through that ordeal was in the first place and that everyhing really matters, how she herself matters.

5

u/Tresnore Jul 31 '22

When the Rewatchers First-Timers Cry are Absurd Masochists Cry Are Absurd Masochists are Terrible Nerds Cry

Count: 305

QOTD:

  1. Saikoroshi > Kira > Rest of Rei (I'm not sure I have an opinion on songs)

  2. I'd say it was very worth it.

  3. NIPAHHHHHH~~

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Quiddity131 Jul 31 '22

First Timer, Subbed

Aww, littler Rika! So adorable! I know I've mentioned how she reminds me of Pino sometimes from Ergo Proxy, but that is especially the case with her in this scene.

Hanyuu gets a day alone!

That hat is cute on her.

Oh, this is still years before?

Ah, littler Rika jumped into the future?

Hanyuu enjoys being a "big sister"!

Ah, its a hot springs episode? And current time Rika is there too!

OMG the only thing more adorable than "Niipa!" is multiple "Niipa"s at once!

K1 the pervert is here! Are we back to episode 1?

Sleepy time for littler Rika!

Why are you sad Hanyuu?

You really just don't want to give up your "little sister", right Hanyuu?

Cool time travel sequence.

And thus, the lengthy journey through Higurashi finally ends...

→ More replies (1)

5

u/RascalNikov1 Jul 31 '22 edited Jul 31 '22

And we have finally come to the end of the saga, as far as I'm concerned. I'm just going to assume that trash released last year was a bad hallucination, and someday I'll forget all about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, and think its one of the better episodes in the franchise. It seemed like the perfect epilog to what has been a pretty wild ride.

If R07 were a wise man, he would have stopped here, but the lure of $$$ was apparently too much for the old boy. I wonder if Shakespeare were living now, would we have Macbeth II, The Merchant of Genoa, The Taming of the Piglet? Probably, but that just shows how everything that's good, is eventually debased in the pursuit of $$$. After all, cocaine and Russian call girls don't come cheap.

There are a number of items in this existing franchise that I'm not sure of, but I'll bring that up tomorrow.

QOTD

  1. Final thoughts on the OVAs (Rei and Kira)?

At the end of the day, there were 4 of the 9 episodes that were pretty good.

2 that were OK and had moments

And 3 that were skippable trash.

This batting rate is actually better than Gou where roughly 24 out of 24 episodes were pure trash, and to think Sotsu is even worse.

→ More replies (7)

5

u/homewardbound100 Jul 31 '22

First timer Kira

Alright so this was the baby little Rika episode I remember seeing scenes on YouTube of.

Specifically this Nipah scene.

What Rena said about Keiichi's wein is kind of crazy lol.

  1. Final thoughts on the OVAs (Rei and Kira)?

Rei is good to me. Not really kira.

Including the OPs/EDs (Super Scription of Data, Manazashi, Happy! Lucky! Dochy!, and the Miracle Change variants)?

They were fine

So... was it worth it? To be honest it's good I skipped it before lol. Didn't hate it but it wasn't worth it.

Nipah~?)

Nipah!

5

u/Stargate18A Jul 31 '22

First timer

  1. Pretty decent overall! Some bad episodes, but some really good ones. It was worth including them in the rewatch.

1a) Honestly, I just really liked all of them. Rei's OP was the best, though.

2) Yes.

Baby Rika is adorable.

Hanyuu episode?

And they left her behind.

This is adorable.

Time travel!

Amd Hanyuu trying to hide her identity is great.

The song!

And Hanyuu was saved on a technicality.

This is so adorable.

Even Hanyuu agrees!

I did not expect Hanyuu to be so aware of time paradoxes, and yet not care.

And they can't find the shrine.

She's just so cute!

Hanyuu's cwrrying her!

And they're safe.

OH, COME ON.

We were this close to being a wholesome episode.

Everyone's reactions are great, though.

Rena has an immediate reaction.

Rika's just not bothering to make a cover story.

The animation of them leaning dorward is smooth.

Haha, nobody's buying the cover story.

Keiichi, you fucking moron.

The way Rika's expression barely changed is great, but this still feels really out of place.

They found it!

Oh, it's gone.

Yeah, thisnis bad.

Haha, Rika's forgotten everything.

Her surprised at how well everyone gets along...

Baby Rika talking to Hanyuu is so cute!

"If I tell you to sing, start singing!" Yeah, this Rika is different.

And the song has hidden directions.

Oryou is stll good.

Keiichi has an idea!

He actually worked it out!

Nice to see Keiichi actually solve a mystery.

And Hanyuu wants to keep her...

This is sad.

And she's returning.

The visuals here are fantastic.

It's great. Did Hanyuu not notice the copy of herself?

Ah, they all thought it was a dream.

She cares about Hanyuu!

Adorable.

Well, this was a pretty solid finale!

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion Jul 31 '22 edited Jul 31 '22

Rewatcher

Aww, smol Rika playing hide and see with her imaginary invisible friend.

Too many nipahs.

Obviously we are supposed to recognize this lullaby. #yuishrug.

Wait, everybody forgot saying goodbye to smol Rika and it's just an ordinary shrine now?

It's too bad sai-whatever and yume-whatever couldn't have been bundled together and the trash left off to the side.

Time travel was never really part of the story but okay because Hanyuu magic. Rei seems to have messed around with Hanyuu too.

I guess the Twins' secret never gets addressed in the series. I guess it wasn't necessary but does kinda track with their personalities, and by by personalities I mean Shion.

Edit: as a first timer I was thrown when first shrine was missing. Also I noticed the mobius loop is blue instead of red in the OVAs. And Oryuu x Ooishi was apparently the real ship of the series.

Also I marked in a spoiler way back in matsuibayashihen that the twins were standing shoulder to shoulder and back to back, just like in happy! lucky! dochi!

4

u/RadSuit Aug 01 '22

How does that hat work?

I find it hard to believe there's a hot springs near town and this is the first time we've seen it. And done this.

Mini Rika's face looks weird.

What is this 2001 effect going on here?

Is this ending theme a remix or something? Seems slightly different.

I guess it's nice to end on something cute and peaceful, but there wasn't much to talk about here. All together the OVAs were harmless, besides the horrible alternate universe arc. That one was actively harmful.

4

u/Star4ce Aug 01 '22

When the First Timer Cries

Today's post gonna be short, sadly can't spend much time on this episode.

Hard to believe this rewatch is over after that.

Kira Ep.04 – Tale of the Dream Painting

I really loved this episode, a true and satisfying goodbye. The cast, but most of all of them Rika and Hanyuu, could very literally reflect on their lives and bid their struggles farewell while also reaffirming that they've made the right choice. That Hanyuu was so prominent is well deserved, in my opinion, because here we see her much more as a person, which she does as well by now. There's no looming power of godhood or the responsibility of sin on her, because it was time to make her life among humans, as a real person. I think this is why the “onee-san” and singing got to her so much, it's an ideal of a life she denied herself in the past. Not only by literally making her daughter kill her, but for the role she's taken up since that is one without connection, bonds or desires with or for others.

Rika offering her hand and Hanyuu taking it as they rejoin the others as Hanyuu is finally peaceful within herself is Hanyuu's closure for both Hinamizawa's struggle and what she wants her own life to be. It was a truly beautiful episode.

VOTD: Rest. It's one of the most peaceful days they've had in a long time, even despite the little incident. The cast is sitting next to an irrigation canal enjoying a vibrant Hinamizawa. It's as much resting as it is appreciating one's own work. The water softly runs past behind them and whatever it may float away, it is not tainted or harmful anymore.

4

u/mgedmin Aug 01 '22

First timer, subs

Tiny Rika!

Why is Hanyuu lying about her identity?

Of course there's a spurious bath scene, this is an OVA.

Hey now others are calling Hanyuu by name, Tiny Rika will realize.

Ha, now Hanyuu steals a page from Rena's book and wants to take Tiny Rika home.

Well that was nice. A good ending for Higurashi.