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Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Although I know of most of Higurashi’s secrets, I can’t say I know what’s going to happen specifically in this arc. But with its name being Minagoroshi-hen (massacre arc), and with the Takano’s ‘Yama Inu’ on the prowl, I have high beliefs that everyone is going to die a pretty bloody death this time round. I think it’s clear that Takano is the mastermind behind as this, with the Yama Inu being under her control, and also being the ones who have killed Rika repeatedly over the years. A key aspect of saving everyone in the next arc might be Rika remembering how she dies, though personally I place my faith in Rika’s friends and not her alone.

It seems everyone is remembering quite a bit from previous arcs (and wow, what a coincidence, they’re all arcs we’ve actually seen before! xD), though unfortunately, these memories are not in synch with each other. Together, their memories make up a whole, but obviously no one is telling enough. Shion is able to predict that going to see the child services will result in nothing good, while Keiichi can remember killing Houjou to be a wrong direction as well. The problem is, this doesn’t come together to help Satoko at all. If everyone can place their recollections together, and strongly believe they can change fate, maybe a miracle will happen after all…

I really like the way the mood suddenly changes from hope to sudden despair. It shows that no matter what happens, anything can go wrong (which is just like reality), and overall increases the entertainment factor of the show. Rika’s sudden change in mindset is understandable as well. Unfortunately for everyone, a world where Houjou returns is one of the worst, being a key contributor to those governed by rule X. Rule X basically dictates that the world will go haywire due to someone going crazy, and right now a lot people have been on the verge of doing so. It would be ironic and sad indeed if Rika ended up going crazy herself and causing her own demise.

I wonder what Rina has anything to do with all this. She appears early in the show, though she’s really a branch of Rika’s life. In a world where Satoko becomes the key plot-mover, her appearance is rather strange. Of course, it could just be another thing that goes wrong in order to mess everything up (her apparent death causes Houjou to be placed under watched), similar to Akasaka’s trip to an onsen. It would be pretty disappointing if Rina’s appearance really is so insignificant, so I like to think that she actually represents several worlds merging together, in a way pertaining to the upcoming grand finale. And as K1’s dad says, everything is determined by the beginning.

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