Higurashi Episode 9 Discussion / Poll

[kj1980]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Higurashi no Naku Koroni, Episode 9.

Thread Guidelines
No telling or asking for RAWs.
Try to keep spoilers from the Game or Manga out of the anime thread. If you need to in reply to someone with a reference to the Game / Manga, either PM them or use Spoiler tags (see example below).
Discuss your expectations of the episode if not aired.
Be polite to your fellow forum members.
Try to keep the discussion on topic and future episode spoilers out of the thread whenever possible.


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ADDITIONAL RULES FOR Higurashi no Naku Koroni
Make sure you read the English wikipedia article for Higurashi no Naku Koroni (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni) before you ask questions!!!

Feel free to share your theories and speculations. In fact, I encourage you to do so as this is what makes this series interesting.

I am designating Sushi-Y and Freakman to lead the discussion in the correct path without spoilers as they have played the game in advance. I put confidence in them that they will recognize a member has spilled the beans too far if any other members has begun to play the game.

SPOILERS FAR ADVANCED THAN THE CURRENT AIRED ANIME EPISODE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. THIS INCLUDES THOSE IN SPOILER TAGS!!!. People tend to peek at spoiler tags; especially when they do not know such tag is meant for the episode, only to find it spilling the beans too far advanced in the game storyline.

[kj1980]

Looking at the caps from 2chan, it seems the Kameda-kun scene with Kei was taken out. I agree with the anime staff's decision to shorten that section as it was rather insignificant. Also, it seems that Hoshi-san had caught a cold so Kei's voice sounded a bit nasal in this episode. Hm, I have to hear this for myself tomorrow.

And as I said previously, this episode brings the whole "director/manager" debacle into the spotlight - people will finally understand why I preferred to use the term "manager" instead of "director" for translating the Japanese word "kantoku" in Ep. 4.

[Freakman]

Indeed, they took out that baseball Keiichi scene, which although funny, wasn't exactly necessary. Too bad they didn't insist a bit more on Irie's fetish though ^.^
Otherwise, quite a lot of information about Satoko and Satoshi as expected.
As you said, Keiichi's voice sounded a bit strange at times.
And just like the ladder scene, Rena's voice didn't exactly match her face in the Oyashiro-sama scene : the voice is too soft and the face too deformed. Somewhat of a shame.

By the way, I forgot to mention : there was an overload of "Miii"'s from Rika this episode :D

[Sushi-Y]

Unlike Onikakushi and Watanagashi-hen, Tatarigoroshi-hen's focus isn't on the Watanagashi festival, that's why this chapter might appear to be proceeding more "slowly" to some people.

The episode itself was nice, although it felt like they were pushing the "fast-forward" button on the sound novel and only focused on 4 important scenes: Keiichi's cooking incident, the baseball competition (more significantly, the talk between Keiichi and Irie), Shion's anger, and the talk between Keiichi, Rena, and Mion about Satoshi.

The important clues from this episode are much more subtle, so it'll take more effort to notice them. But do pay attention to our main characters, and you should find yourself learning a little bit more about them in this episode.

Now then, some highlights:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/212/124501249112513124021236812425.th.jpg (http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=124501249112513124021236812425.jpg)ht tp://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9120/123003107127578123753223220854.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=123003107127578123753223220854.jpg)ht tp://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9120/123003107127578123753223220854.th.jpg (http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=123003107127578123753223220854.jpg)
I want to make one thing clear first: unlike the "shocking death preview scenes" shown at the beginning of the other two chapters, this scene happened in real time. That is, this scene (where two residents discovered a dead body inside a garbage bag) actually did occur at the beginning of Tatarigoroshi-hen.

But if you ask me, I think they should've left this scene out altogether. In Minagoroshi-hen (7th chapter), we learn that this death is the TRIGGER to something. But if the anime's not going to do Minagoroshi-hen, then this scene is all but pointless.

http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/9120/123003107127578123753223220854.th.jpg (http://img313.imageshack.us/my.php?image=123003107127578123753223220854.jpg)ht tp://img333.imageshack.us/img333/9120/123003107127578123753223220854.th.jpg (http://img333.imageshack.us/my.php?image=123003107127578123753223220854.jpg)ht tp://img322.imageshack.us/img322/2075/0002202619ny.th.jpg (http://img322.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002202619ny.jpg)http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/9340/0002216380bm.th.jpg (http://img333.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002216380bm.jpg)
Important: Keiichi can't cook!

... No, I'm just kidding, there's nothing important about that, other than the fact he's a moron for almost burning down the house.

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9494/0002285610di.th.jpg (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002285610di.jpg)http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8559/0002621780sa.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002621780sa.jpg)http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6706/0002706872qp.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002706872qp.jpg)
"If Satoko and I haven't showed up, the fire truck would've been going bo- bo- and u- u- by now."
One of the most memorable lines for me. :heh: I'm glad they kept it.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8712/0002721888kn.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002721888kn.jpg)http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6838/0002723555qw.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002723555qw.jpg)http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/7813/0002729398kb.th.jpg (http://img346.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0002729398kb.jpg)
(>ヮ<)

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6773/0003424256au.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0003424256au.jpg)http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8105/0003548964qo.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0003548964qo.jpg)
Who wouldn't want a little sister like Satoko? :love:

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9144/0004569983af.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0004569983af.jpg)http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6812/0004645898jc.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0004645898jc.jpg)
The important thing here, I guess, is to note that Satoko is really far more mature than she appears to be. According to Satoko, Satoshi ran away one day and never came back.

Like Satoko said, Satoshi was also someone who couldn't take care of himself. Since Keiichi is the same, Satoko must've saw her ni-ni- in Keiichi too.

http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/294/0005176830kt.th.jpg (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0005176830kt.jpg)http://img271.imageshack.us/img271/9536/0005241486ep.th.jpg (http://img271.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0005241486ep.jpg)
Rika relying on Keiichi to play the ni-ni- role was quite a big thing too. I don't think they included the line where Rika relied on Keiichi "since I can't become ni-ni- for Satoko".

Then again, did they skip the scene where Keiichi helped Satoko with grocery shopping too? That scene really gave off a feel that Keiichi really wants to become Satoko's ni-ni- though.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/10/0005892131ja.th.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0005892131ja.jpg)http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3464/0005927173jk.th.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0005927173jk.jpg)
Keiichi's misunderstanding power at full-blast. :heh: It takes a man like Keiichi to misunderstand a competition as a fight. :heh: The golf club thing was famous.
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6570/0005989730qa.th.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0005989730qa.jpg)
In the original game, Keiichi's group was supposed to be losing the game, with Mion already wounded when Keiichi arrived. But since the Keiichi x Kameda thing is gone, there's no need for that anymore. Aww(?)
http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/7140/0006304630iv.th.jpg (http://img272.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006304630iv.jpg)http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/1641/0006341756uu.th.jpg (http://img272.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006341756uu.jpg)http://img322.imageshack.us/img322/7241/0006344253vc.th.jpg (http://img322.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006344253vc.jpg)http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/3336/0006368029qk.th.jpg (http://img272.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006368029qk.jpg)
It also takes a man like Keiichi to swing the bat 2 seconds after the ball has already been caught by the catcher. :heh:
http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/4608/0006311300be.th.jpg (http://img272.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006311300be.jpg)
(Sorry Kameda-kun, it looks like your dessert fetish will just have to stay within the game) :heh:
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4475/0006506083az.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006506083az.jpg)http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8501/0006522342zl.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006522342zl.jpg)
(but as a result, it made Satoko look like she really IS good at sports, so I guess it's all good) :heh:

http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/5834/0006923160rf.th.jpg (http://img320.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0006923160rf.jpg)http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/812/0007036619rf.th.jpg (http://img320.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0007036619rf.jpg)http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2316/0007059555uq.th.jpg (http://img243.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0007059555uq.jpg)
Iri's appearance. Irie's the doctor at the local clinic (you might remember him from Onikakushi-hen, he was the one who gave Keiichi the shot), and also the kantoku (manager/supervisor) for the Hinamizawa baseball team. That's why all the kids call him "Kantoku".
kj1980 thinks kantoku should be translated as "manager", and that's fine (although Shion is already the manager though ^^; ). But "supervisor" works too, I think.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9808/0007184673qb.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0007184673qb.jpg)
"Kantoku, you sound like you're really into Satoko"
"Yes~ I am. I love her. I'm thinking of proposing to her when she becomes older."

Not off to a very good start, Iri. You already look like a pedophile to the anime-watchers. :heh: (well, more like maidophile :heh: )

On top of that, he wants to adopt Satoko? :heh:
Seriously though, we can tell from this scene that Iri really cares about Satoko.
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1480/0008113933ux.th.jpg (http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008113933ux.jpg)http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8213/0008154812ej.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008154812ej.jpg)
"I wish for that child to be always living with laughter"
"...I'm thinking the same as well"

The anime missed one important promise Keiichi made with Irie at this point, and that is to "never make Satoko cry".

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6289/0008236976qy.th.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008236976qy.jpg)
"I'm just speaking hypothetically, but what will you do if you were able to adopt Satoko?"
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7249/0008280776hw.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008280776hw.jpg)
"Hmm, well... "First of all, I'll make her call me Goshujinsama, and re-educate her into my servant maid!""
Now, even though Shion said it for Iri, make no mistake, Iri is a maid freak. :heh: We're talking about a man who wants to create his own Maid Kingdom (http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/6126/untitled203le.jpg), after all.

(The above are all comedy talk within the story, don't take them seriously ^^; )
http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/9426/0008345835uo.th.jpg (http://img284.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008345835uo.jpg)
Iri, you're not denying it. :heh:

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6108/0008508083tm.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008508083tm.jpg)http://img311.imageshack.us/img311/5310/0008586496qo.th.jpg (http://img311.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008586496qo.jpg)
More about Shion and her position as the team manager will be explained in the TIPs section, I think.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/6605/0008759160rj.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0008759160rj.jpg)http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9642/0009075737mj.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0009075737mj.jpg)http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7892/0009189181gy.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0009189181gy.jpg)http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4987/0009380208na.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0009380208na.jpg)
Shion getting mad when Keiichi said Satoshi "transferred" out.

Actually, this is quite an important scene. Although it's probably a little hard to put the pieces together right now.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1527/0009582901kg.th.jpg (http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0009582901kg.jpg)http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9012/0009667158rt.th.jpg (http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0009667158rt.jpg)
Keiichi confronting Rena and Mion about Satoshi.

Since the number of screenshots in this post is getting a little ridiculous, I'll pass on the screenshots for this scene. But the most imporatant thing to note about this scene is:
1) Satoshi, who has been saving up money for something, suddenly disappeared one day. On the same day, his bank account was also emptied out. Later, there was a report of someone looking like Satoshi spotted at the Nagoya train station. That's why many people say that Satoshi probably ran away from home.
2) Rena knows something about Oyashirosama's tatari (curse) and Satoshi's experience before he disappeared. Also, whenever the topic of Satoshi or Oyashirosama is mentioned, Rena becomes... overly serious and emotional.
4) Satoshi's (and Satoko's) parents were dam supporters, that's why people say they were punished by Oyashirosama when they died from the falling accident on the day of Watanagashi.
3) Rena believes herself to be an "experienced person" when it comes to Oyashisama's tatari (she has experienced it herself), and she becomes very angry when anyone trys to make fun of her about that. "Rena is normally quite playful, but she gets really scary when she's angry."
5) Mion remained very calm and understanding throughout this whole scene.

====================
Next episode, it looks like it run up to the point where Keiichi "makes the decision".

It's about to get (つД`)

[USCPharmacist]

fugly art so I gave it an 8 this time, but the story was interesting.

It seems that the Obsidian lor-- I meant the director/manager shows up. I wonder if he carries that "crazy" needle around him ehhehe.

Also, Shion...ahhh how I missed her...don't turn psycho and survive this time will you? Although I have a feeling that a lot of people are gonna die this time around, and the fact she became angry when K1 mention Satoshi did not bode well for her...

And of course, batman Rena is gone and my favorite Pyscho Rena is back. Go Billhook girl, show the infidels what real pain is like.

Finally, I am surprise that Mion slapped Rena, and Rena did not look too happy about that....I wonder if they will treat us a scene from the "Daybreak" Demo.....lol

[Keitarou]

They shortened every single one of the events drastically and left out quite some stuff (again), where's my curry addicted Ciel-senpai~ :(

Besides I'm somewhat annoyed with the animation hick-ups, like previously mentioned, the Rena scene was somewhat awful to watch due to that. :(

Anyway, still worth an 8 for everything else.

[Shinova]

Looks like Mion might be the sane, reliable one like Rena was last arc, but that remains to be seen obviously.

I concur. The art does seem to have suffered. I hope it's only a temporary thing.

[Rasuberi]

沙都子お持ち帰り～

I enjoyed this episode... although the animation lacked a little in places, I feel like the animators have done a pretty good job with not letting quality drop too low. Either way, for me Higurashi isn't so much about the animation anyways! It's all about the story and mystery~

Seeing Shion get angry makes me even more impatient for Meakashi-hen. :(

[MarmoO]

I think it is safe to assume now that twin we have seen during ladder scene in 7th episode was indeed Shion. Scene with Rena was almost as grotesque as Mion in ladder scene, I hope they will change it in dvd release. And what I'm now most curious about is if demon/mental ilness/virus/whatever what is in deal here may also change it's victim's memory.

[kj1980]

Either that, or I'm beginning to sense that the production staff intentionally does those scenes to provide clues of when a person is in oyashiro-mode.

[Cyz]

that murder scene is really really disturbing.

[蜩の泣]

rena's tone in oyashiro-mode was just wired(way 2 normal lol).same thing happened in episode 7 when Mion turning mad. i dunno if staff did these on purpose or something ,but for me it's like some kind of quality drop

[LordAshram]

I'm beginning to think the animation is too extreme for the voices in said two scenes, because Keiichi is overexaggerating/taking things the wrong way/hallucinating with their actions but not their voice.... Meaning maybe Rena and Mion were actually psychotic in the first arc.

[Circular Logic]

Either that, or I'm beginning to sense that the production staff intentionally does those scenes to provide clues of when a person is in oyashiro-mode.
If they are, they do it very inconsistently.

Angry Shion still doesn't reduce the :love: factor...

And psychotic Rena is always a good thing :D Pity I don't have enough Japanese to understand the details of their conversations...I just get what they're talking about :(

[Sir Alex]

*reads deleted post note*
If you want to know when an episode will be subbed and released - presumably by Wind, since the other groups working on the show are several episodes behind as of yet - come to #windfs on irc.rizon.net (ninja edit - .net not .com. Or does .com work? I don't know.) and ask there. We don't object as long as you're polite. This forum isn't really the place for it, though.

As for this episode - well, I'm glad that Shion is back as a full fledged character; I was somewhat worried that she'd go back into the shadows after Watanagashi-hen finished. I'm still not really getting the Satoko love, though. Sure, she had more lines in one minute of this episode than she did in all of Watanagashi-hen, but she's only graduated from "annoying brat" to "annoying brat with predictable soft spot" - still rather stereotypical IMO. Pretty much everyone else stayed the same. Rena remains the best character of the cast by far.
That doctor, though... I'm SURE he couldn't have said what I think he said about Satoko. There are no H-scenes in Higurashi, right? RIGHT? Right.

[I<3killerloli's]

^ I don't understand your link, it leads me to either an error page or a weird nonrelated page.

[SpaceDrake]

Er, what's not to understand about the link? It's an IRC server, not a normal webpage server. Do you understand how to use IRC?

[I<3killerloli's]

I'll be honest, no. I'm not very computer literate. What does IRC mean?

[SpaceDrake]

Internet Relay Chat. A very low-bandwidth, real-time chat type that can support hundreds of people in a single room.

A good IRC client to start with is mIRC. (http://www.mirc.com) Rizon should already be in the drag-down server menu, so just get on that and type /join #windfs once you're connected.

[Manatsu]

I can't help but think that the girls are seeing a strong Satoshi resemblance in Keiichi. Satoshi probably enjoyed hanging around with the girls in club activities as the only boy, like Keiichi is doing now. We also have Keiichi being looked upon as a ni-ni replacement for Satoko in Tatarigoroshi and Keiichi acting similar to Satoshi in Onikakushi. I think all this references could be a hint that Keiichi has a personality close to Satoshi's. Although I don't doubt that village people are generally more friendly and Keiichi is a nice sociable boy, maybe it's this sense of familiarity in him which allows him to be accepted so quickly by the group?

Anyway, my point is... this really feels like a lead to why onee in ep 8 said that everything started because Keiichi did not give the doll to Mion. As I think onee is Shion, why would Shion want to kill Keiichi for a seemingly trival thing like this which involved Mion and not her? So Shion had a close relationship with Satoshi, was there an identical scarring incident between the two? The thing that Satoshi was working part-time and saving up for... a doll maybe (think missing doll scene in ep 8)? Don't forget that Shion probably killed Satoshi too. That scene in ep 9, perhaps we can also take it one way to say that she was pissed because everyone prefer to say Satoshi got transferred. It's like a mockery of her "justice" and a denial of her will to execute a love one in the name of her twisted "justice". And recalling the fact that Mion likes Keiichi and Shion at least have some feelings for him, how much of it was due to the Satoshi resemblances? Was there some sort of a love triangle between Satoshi and the twins back then? Ah I'm reminded of the OP sequence once again.

[Shiroth]

Episode 09 was everything i hoped it would be - and the fact that each character had a say in on the story was really something.

[Matrim]

New story arc starts and my brain is again struggling to process all the new information.
I am now starting to suspect the manager, simply because he is voiced by Seki Toshihiko (yes, I know, he does not always voice the villain :)). But can a person with a maid fetish be the real culprit? ;)

I think it is safe to assume now that twin we have seen during ladder scene in 7th episode was indeed Shion.

Yes, I agree, I may have to abandon my view that it was actually Mion in the ladder scene. She certainly doesn't seem like one who would blame Satoko for everything. And Shion snapped when K1 mentions that Satoshi had transferred.
Good to have Psycho Rena back. She seems to be entirely convinced that the curse is real - what was the point of investigating Rika's disappearance in Watanagashi-hen then? Trying to catch Oyashiro-sama red-handed?
If Satoshi's bank account was emptied when he disappeared that must mean only one thing - Oyashiro-sama is not only a murderous god but also a thief.:heh:

[SpaceDrake]

Well, Alex & crew finally managed to get episode 9 out the door, woot. This might need some new temporary glue for a few days as a lot of us can FINALLY discuss this episode intelligently.

Concerning Rena's "freakout" scene: the only place where I thought Rena's vocal tone didn't really match her facial expression was the part where they zoomed up close on her face and "scrolled" down to her mouth. For the rest of the scene, her voice crescendoed into mania quite nicely along with her face, and the MionSlap to bring her around was quite well-timed.

Mion, yeah, this is DEFINITELY not the same Sonozaki who got pissed during the ladder scene. That was definitely "Shion". And Satoshi was "touched by the curse", apparently... I have my ideas about what that means, and why he ran away, but I'll keep this post short and say that "transferred away" may not actually be totally inaccurate.

Though I do wonder why Rena gets annoyed about "transfer" here but was so cavalier about it in Onikakushi-hen.

And finally.

While the victim at the start of this episode has blond hair, if I recall from the tips correctly this is supposed to be Teppai's wife, right? Not Satoshi? Hell, who'd find the time to give Satoshi the Oyashiro Special? It's like a full gallery of everything "Mion" wanted to do to Kei at the end of Watanagashi. And why the star near the navel??? That's never come up before!

On the whole, very good episode, and a side of Sakoto we've not seen before, even in the anime left a few details out (even without knowing any TIPS, though, it was still hugely informative). Hopefully Alex & crew can get Ep.10 out ASAP so we can get fairly caught up in discussion again.

[gaidin]

So the promise that the anime apparently glossed over in this episode was Keiichi promising Irie (see pg1 spoiler from Sushi-Y). Back in Onikakushi-hen when Keiichi first gets ready to "practice" with Satoshi's bat he runs into Rika and Satoko after washing his face. Satoko runs off real quick right after he picks up the bat, probably to go cry away from the others.

Keiichi almost definitely made her cry at that point. If Irie is obsessed/loves/protective of Satoko he may have wanted to enact some weird revenge thing. It's just a thought but nothing's too small to be critical in this story. :)

[SpaceDrake]

Stuff

Mmm, that sort of falls apart because he goes to see Irie in Ep.3 before the bat scene. It doesn't totally rule out this theory but Irie had no reason to be mad at Keiichi when they meet briefly in Onikakushi.

[Shirobane]

Either that, or I'm beginning to sense that the production staff intentionally does those scenes to provide clues of when a person is in oyashiro-mode.
Oddly enough, I think the series would benefit more if they didn't give hints to when characters enter oyashiro-mode; it keeps more of the mystery aspect prevalent rather than half-heartedly playing on the horror side of it all. Then again I know nothing of the story and am simply hanging on for the ride.

And what a ride it's been so far. The story is great the animation on the other hand...
Well I guess it's not terrible, but the show does suffer from some weird synching problems. I'm hoping that the quality returns to the level of Onikakushi-hen.

All in all, ep09 was great. A lot of info was revealed and the return of slightly unstable Rena :D.

Hoping to contribute to the discussion later as it's prett late over here.

[Varion]

I am now starting to suspect the manager, simply because he is voiced by Seki Toshihiko (yes, I know, he does not always voice the villain :)).

Lies! If his character lasts until the end of the episode you can safely assume he's evil :heh: Poor Seki, he's so typecast.

After this episode Satoko and Rika have both soared in my estimations. It'll be nice to see calm, reliable Mion after she was psycho in the last arc too, Rena already seems to suit both roles. I can't imagine Rika or Satoko going oyashiro now, I don't want them to :(

Was Tatarigoroshi much longer in the game, or did more happen? Seen as the wiki says this is going to be five episodes and it's apparently *still* skipping loads of stuff.

[rogueblade]

Well that was certainly an interesting episode, and a bloody good one may i add.
what i want to know is Rena's and Shion's link to Satoshi - both seem pretty keen on him...maybe he was a ladies man...
Also, a few things to note from the episode -
- Satoshi seemed to be suffering from the same "hallucinations" or feeligns that something was watching him, that Keiichi was at the end of onakakushi - hen.
- "Mion" didn't go apeshit insane along with Rena - why is she the constrained one this chapter?
-The curse that Rena experianced couldn't have happened to her in watangashi hen - she wasn't as on guard as she is in this chapter - maybe the curse happened to Rika instead? Except she didn't survive it.
- on that note - how did Rena survive it? Why did she get a second chance?

can't wait for the episode 10 sub!

[kj1980]

This might need some new temporary glue for a few days as a lot of us can FINALLY discuss this episode intelligently.

Done. Sticky for Ep 9 & 10 remains until Ep. 11 airs in Kansai on Tuesday.

[iamandragon]

Just watched the subs from fan****.tv--just a question: How come Satoko has such great strength to swing a baseball bat, and hit the ball so clean and well? Is that something to do with the plot.

The scene where K1 came flying in his bike with a golf stick is so cool/funny...

[Alorin]

I must say, it's really interesting to see Rena's reaction to the mention of Satoshi , and his "transferring away."
Rena mentions that Satoshi felt exactly the same way that Keiichi did in Onikakaushi--an ominous feeling he was being watched and that his life may be in danger. That even as Satoshi slept, something was standing over his bedside looking down upon him.

This, Rena says is the foreshadowing/omen of Oyashiro-sama's curse.

From Oishii's little chat with Keiichi about Rena's conversations with her psychologist in Onikakushi, it would seem as if Rena has also been affected by the curse.

Rena also mentions that Satoshi, somewhere in his heart, felt like running away from Hinamizawa to escape the curse. She also claims to have been guilty of this as well, hence Rena and her family moving from Hinamizawa, I would suppose, but now, back in Hinamizawa, says that she "apologized" for this.

So, assuming that Oyashiro-sama's curse is the real deal and that Rena escaped it, how exactly does one "apologize" for even thinking about running away from Hinamizawa, for running away from Oyashiro-sama and his curse?

[Beyond the Shave]

I came up with a couple of random theories this episode... I sort of like them both.

I think Rena, Mion and Rika all had a part in his death...

1) His nose was cut off. Rena's machete?
2) Nails in the hands. Mion's hammer?
3) Stomach ripped open and intestines torn. Rika's Watanagashi tool?

EDIT: Well at first I assumed it was Satoshi, but upon looking at the tips it seems that a mutilated corpse along the river was found, and it belonged to some hooker. The pimp's name was Houjou Teppei? Was there some relation to Satoko/Satoshi? How could it be their father, if he fell off the balcony and died? An uncle, maybe?

And this is unrelated (it just popped in my head), but isn't Keiichi's dad into maids, too? Does the Houjou family have some sort of connection with the Maebara family? Keiichi definitely has similarities to what we know about Satoshi. The doctor (who "loves" Satoko) and Keiichi's dad are both messed up. I am still completely lost on what's going on, though, so I can't piece it all together yet.

I think Satoko shouldn't be ruled out as a suspect in their death. Only for the reason that she is so good at setting traps. Maybe the railing was rigged to fall?

That makes me wonder... Would the other girls have killed their parents, as well? Just for supporting the dam? Why? Did an outside force persuade them to?

Still three episodes in this arc, but hopefully I'll figure something out.

[kj1980]

I think Rena, Mion and Rika all had a part in his death...

1) His nose was cut off. Rena's machete?
2) Nails in the hands. Mion's hammer?
3) Stomach ripped open and intestines torn. Rika's Watanagashi tool?

EDIT: Well at first I assumed it was Satoshi, but upon looking at the tips it seems that a mutilated corpse along the river was found, and it belonged to some hooker. The pimp's name was Houjou Teppei? Was there some relation to Satoko/Satoshi? How could it be their father, if he fell off the balcony and died? An uncle, maybe?

And this is unrelated (it just popped in my head), but isn't Keiichi's dad into maids, too? Does the Houjou family have some sort of connection with the Maebara family? Keiichi definitely has similarities to what we know about Satoshi. The doctor (who "loves" Satoko) and Keiichi's dad are both messed up. I am still completely lost on what's going on, though, so I can't piece it all together yet.

Feel free to utilize the TIPS section of this sub-forum for Ep. 9

[Blue_Mercy]

I was actually really disappointed with this episode's animation. The eyes(Shion and Rena) mostly was what let me down. What happened to the evil eyes of Episode 2-4? Also except for the nails in the hands part they scanned over the beginning death part so fast to where I had to go back and pause it to see if it was a boy or girl that was dead. Rika and Satoko earned it an 8 though.

[steelbound]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to bring this up or if it's been done elsewhere but one of the things that has bothered me since Shion was introduced is why is she living in Okinomiya?

Also in this episode we hear that Satoshi was killed because of a desire to leave Hinamizawa but when was the last time Shion lived in Hinamizawa?

[kj1980]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to bring this up or if it's been done elsewhere but one of the things that has bothered me since Shion was introduced is why is she living in Okinomiya?

Also in this episode we hear that Satoshi was killed because of a desire to leave Hinamizawa but when was the last time Shion lived in Hinamizawa?

Read the TIPS #44 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=563606&postcount=44). It will give you insight on why the twins live separately.

[Circular Logic]

1. Who are those people in the white van?
2. What's the significance of the syringe?
3. What's the significance of whatever was in the storehouse, if any?
4. Why are the dead walking?
5. What are Ooishi's intentions?
6. Why do the girls turn psychotic?
7. Why do Mion's eyes change?
8. What happened to Rika & Satoko?
9. Was Mion REALLY the one responsible for all the Hinamizawa murders?
10. Who are Tomitake & Takano, and what was their purpose?
11. Why was Rena not killed in Watanagshi-hen?
12. Is the kantoku really connected as suggested in Onikakushi-hen? Or is he lying in tip #49?
13. If Satoshi WAS killed/disappeared, who was the other one, as with the rest of the Oyashiro-related murders? Or is this an exception?

Revised questions for #9. I'll update for 10 :)

[Arimfe]

uugh Mion went a little too far this time! Slapping Rena like that is...unforgiveable:eyespin::eyespin::eyespin:
*me boils over*:frustrated:
I was actually really disappointed with this episode's animation. The eyes(Shion and Rena) mostly was what let me down. What happened to the evil eyes of Episode 2-4?
Those eyes are reserved for when Rena is in her higurashi killer mode:p


Though this episode was full of Satoko and Rika cuteness, there was one particular shot I really really reeally liked
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/1777/renamoee3du.th.jpg (http://img161.imageshack.us/my.php?image=renamoee3du.jpg)
Rena MOEEEEEE:love: :love: :love: :love: :love:
OMG Rena's sitting height is the same as satoko's, I never noticed that untill now... >_< kyaaaa *wants to kidnap Rena same way Rena kidnapped Rika*:eyespin::love:
after seeing watanagashi then this, I feel like they turned the sugoi-moe-protective-onee-chan-like-reliable-person-Rena into moe-moe-loli-little-Rena, and I can't help falling for her like this too:love:Rena:heart:

[Sinestra]

another new arc to the story i say again i never thought a series would make me think as much as Higurashi has done but damn does my head hurt
As for the episode.

this episode left me with more questions then were answered but the diffrence in stories over what happen to Satoshi is what i focused on. Some say he transfered yet others say he ran away. The cover story about him having a job and saving money is too good to be true Also the fact that some fit his descritption at the train station is too good to be true. Anyone of these stories could easily be fabricated. My theory he was killed but not everyone beleived he should have been killed which caused a split.

I still the police officer is hiding a lot of things he knows too much and always shows up at the right time. It was nice to see Mion acting somewhat normal even when Rena was going psycho obviously they have diffrent views about Satoshi.

When Keiichi said that he would not bring up Satoshi again was funny because in the earlier ep he was acting just like Satoshi and Sotoko saw him swinging the bat which makes look towards the manager but i dont have theory about him as of yet

[steelbound]

Read the TIPS #44 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=563606&postcount=44). It will give you insight on why the twins live separately.

Thanks. If the curse targeted Rena because she moved away and had to move back to not get killed from it and Satoshi was killed by the curse because of a desire to leave why hasn't Shion been targeted since she lives in Okinomiya and not Hinamizawa? or am i missing something?

[aliensporebomb]

Great episode as usual. I was hoping for a reappearance of "shy Mion" but
instead we've got one acting almost like an adult.

More in my comments on Ep 10.

[Pellissier]

Finally the start of the (at least by me) most awaited of the question chapters, Tatarigoroshi.

Out of the three first parts for each chapter we've seen so far (episodes 1-5-9), this is the one I've rated the highest.
Basically because it's the one giving out more substance. While it keeps its appearance of calm and peaceful rural environment at the very beginning, that's just more that we get later.
And that's when Shion gives that hint of semi-madness, though it's just for a couple of seconds, but especially in Rena's deep shocking mode near the end. Those insane eyes we've seen a lot in Onikakushi, but that I personally didn't expect to meet in chapter 1 of Tatarigoroshi. Also because it was quite a long scene, with some important subjects mentioned.

Maybe it's because at this point we are, all in all, more acknowledged about the whole show, that Rena's outburst made some sense.
But at the end of the episode I felt like having clues on my mind already about this chapter, which didn't happen on ep 1 and 5. Basically the comedy took about just a little more than one half of the episode, while the purpose of the remaining was informative.

Plus for having sweet Satoko on the spotlights. I agree, who wouldn't want a little sister like her? ^^

Oyashiro-sama's curse is mentioned more than once, and I tend to associate it with the "supernatural", which is the path I'd be more oriented as for now, though I admit the rational explanation path is more or less equally worthy.

9/10 to the episode, by the way.

[OkamiNoKaze]

Wow, a great start to a great new arc, good to see some focus on Satoko now, Wow, this story went from 0 to psychotic again really quick, with the scene with Shion,