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Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

So here starts, as some people would say, the real Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. I do also believe the last episode was rather pointless. Anyway, this second episode begins the anime-original Yakusamashi-hen (Disaster Awakening Chapter). According to Wikipedia, this will contain events from the first series (no, this is not just a way to save money, as you will find out if you understand how the world of Higurashi works), as well as extra information not included in the first season. The latter point, apparently, was personally requested by Ryukishi07, from the creators of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (the game).

I really enjoyed watching this episode due to the reappearances of some great characters. I love Rena’s ‘omochikaeri~’ and ‘hau~’, as well as Rika’s ‘~nanodesu’, ‘mii~’ and ‘nipa~’. Ok I understand that liking these is pretty immature of me, but I also enjoy watching the happiness exhibited between the ‘gang’, especially since something bad is bound to happen. In fact, this is what makes Higurashi great. You get to enjoy the comic relief sections that seem like any normal school-life/comedy anime, but then such cheerfulness soon sinks into angst and mistrust as the show turns into an awesome mystery/thriller. I wonder how long this arc will last, and when the fun starts…

Ok anyway, enough about all that random crap I’ve been blabbing on about. This episode, called ‘Onigokko’ (which means tag), is…about playing tag! Wow, what a discovery! This episode, like the other arc beginnings, is important to display the friendship and trust between Keiichi and the girls. In the previous arcs, something bad happens whenever one of the members of this friendship group begins to mistrust the others. This initial display of closeness will emphasise the tragedy of whatever is to come, and hopefully what does come will be as interesting as the ones in the game.

At the beginning of this episode, we get to hear Rika talking in her mature voice again. For those of you who don’t know the truth about her, you get a significant hint at the end of the first season, where Rika says something about participating in the game of an endless June. It is confirmed in this episode that the world is actually repeating itself, cycling through June or before for an indefinite amount of time. And Rika is the one who knows about this. This is probably why she can act so mature at times, since she’s been ‘aware’ for quite a long time. It’s pretty significant how Keiichi and Rena were able to recall things from different arcs, as Rika contemplates in this episode.

In the conclusion of the episode, Satoko says the same thing that Keiichi says to Rena (I think this was in Tsumihoroboshi-hen) about not bottling stuff inside and telling stuff to friends. Once again, this emphasises the whole friendship thing and how important it is. In fact, the whole series is really about trusting in your friends, and presents the consequences of failing to do so as a very serious, and often gory ordeal. Another note to take is that the possibilities of the characters recalling events from previous arcs/worlds mean that whoever is behind this repeating world phenomenon is probably getting weaker…fufufu.

I also have to mention another thing that’s not at all relative to what I’ve been saying earlier…Rena’s mastering of the ‘anti-pubescent male hardening magic’ is just gold! That’s easily the best line in the episode, and reinforces my mindset on the Keiichi pairing matter. Rena x Keiichi is just too cute, and they both undergo similar situations in the Onikakushi-hen and Tsumiboroshi-hen (since Tsumiboroshi-hen is the answer arc to Onikakushi-hen, the question arc). I would love to see more relational development between the two, even though the chances of any serious development happening is highly unlikely.

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