But above all, the characters. I think only Elfen Lied can even hope to come close to even rivalling Higurashi's amazing characters and their development.
Two words - watch Monster. Serioulsy, I like the Higurashi characters and their development but they have gaps in motivation because the anime is so rushed compared to the game. For instance K1 getting almost out of the blue so connected to Satoko that he decided to kill her unkle. Or Shion's attack on Satoko in the school seemed to come almost from nowhere while apparently there was a lot more to that in the game.
Quote:
Since all three skeletons were in the well for over 10 years this pretty much confirms that the Sonozaki were not involved in any of the killings in the past 5 years.
I also think they were not involved (mostly because Shion thought they were and she was wrong about so many things) but you know, they are not obliged to put all the bodies in that well after all.
Quote:
And last.., as it turns out.. Shion's image of Satoshi-kun while facing the well on the last episode was just her wanting to belive she found him because after all Satoshi is NOT in the well.
What kind of proof is that? After all, who is to say that ghosts can't travel far from the place where the dead body is? But let's not get into the occult, I firmly believe in a natural explanation of the mystery.
__________________
'The world we live in is always in darkness.'
'Yes, and that is why we seek light.'
What kind of proof is that? After all, who is to say that ghosts can't travel far from the place where the dead body is? But let's not get into the occult, I firmly believe in a natural explanation of the mystery.
Currently the specific words where not given to us.., however like I said in the first place.., the last scenes between Mion and Shion came to show us that the Sonozaki realy didn't have any involment to do with Satoshi's dissapearence.
Quote:
It revealed to us that Onibaba realy did pardon Shion.., and realy had no involment with Satoshi's dissapearence, as witness by Mion...; and judging by she acted.. I do belive that was the truth.
Which even makes Shion's story the more tragic..
I say this because.. well much like in my quote.., I belive Mion was telling the truth when she now spoke with Shion.., her words and atitudes where what convinced at first.., however we are also given a image as a flashback of Mion facing Onibaba on the matter, and Onibaba smilling as she had acepted Shion's love for Satoshi.
And in fact.., Mion herself said that Onibaba looked into the matter to see if anyone who was part of the "curse ring" had anything to do with it..
Unfortunatly nor Onibaba, nor anyone found out anything..
What if in fact the reason why Onibaba-sama herself gotten her nails pulled once as kejime too was due to that she also loved someone whom she was not suposed too.
Which would explain why she and Akane became very close (as mencioned on that post) despite the disinheritance; and why she now also acepted Shion's love with Satoshi.
However this last part is just purely my speculation
But still, for a more solid information, I belive LostBlue covered that
Quote:
Originally Posted by LostBlue
I've posted this in a few places but this is what exactly was found in the well.
The bodies of Sonozaki Oryou, Kimiyoshi Kiichirou, Furude Rika (there was a broken syringe in her pocket), Hojou Satoko and 3 partial skeletons that have been in the well for at least 10 years. The police believe if they dig deeper they may find more bodies. (Source Watanagashi Hen epilouge)
Hence.., if Satoshi had been thrown into the well 1 year ago.., the police would have still been able to identify him, or partialy anyway..
Aside from Shion's recent victims.., no other bodies except partial skeletons that had been there for over 10 years where found.
Which.., is like I again previously said.., is what leads me now to go back to my first speculation that Satoshi might in fact be..
Spoiler:
In the Hinamizawa Marsh.., and possibily.. Rena is the cause why he ended up there
- hopefully Tsumiboroshi-hen will then prove this right or rong.
Shion's vision of Satoshi ended up beeing nothing more then in her own mind.., with her desire to belive she had found him..
Allas.. she could not find any other explination to what had happened to him.., thus beliving this possibility so blindly until the end..
Which to even Mion's last words served of nothing..
oh my days >.<
one of the most gory ep so far? poor poor satoko but she did have a lot of guts right to the bitter end...shion has really lost it...
the ending explained everything...
so in the end all was shion's doing...and everyone dies...hmm so mion was innocent all along O.o
satoshi was forgiven but still disappeared...could it be rika's doing cause i really dnt think that mion would be lying at thats state and this makes shion's revernge come crashing down on her head...
even tho shion was completely nuts her love for satoshi was really touching...right until she died -.-
but the funny is that k1 died from a heart attack...hes been driven nuts too...and i wouldnt blame him
Watching episode 21 really does put a lot of pieces together, but still - it makes you the whole Satoshi situation just grow larger & larger. If we don't find out anything about him.. then it looks like i'll be playing the game for more then just wanting to hear the music reason.
Spoiler for For Mion's "gomena sai" (that's how you spell it right?):
I was actually waiting for Shion to go "Mion, if you pull 1,000 face-putty faces, i'll let keiichi go." Man, that would have made this series, i swear.
Not really important, but one thing that did disappoint me is Mion stop apologizing in the anime. In the game, she continued until Shion walked up to her and said "You could stop. You have no more reason to apologize now."
"WAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
If I remember right, this is also the pt where Shion takes back her name as Mion.
Pure speculation on my part, but besides "Mion" being the superior one, it's "Shion" who forgot Satoshi's wish, so if she was "Mion," she was right with her actions. That wasn't said in the game (and again this is my speculation), but it's one of the things that struck me to why she desperately wanted to all the sudden be "Mion" at the end.
The rika assesination was really shocking to me, even more knowing that Mion was there looking everything and saying gomen nasai. Poor Satoko, she really endured until the end.
But still, what happened to K1 in the hospital? Damn my head is going to blow.
The rika assesination was really shocking to me, even more knowing that Mion was there looking everything and saying gomen nasai. Poor Satoko, she really endured until the end.
But still, what happened to K1 in the hospital? Damn my head is going to blow.
Why did the have to show scary "Mion" back from epi 7 I think it was....I totally forgot she went all nuts with the ladder. Scared me again this time too! I think Shion scares in the most now, in the beginning after the first arc is was Rena with her creepy "gomen nasi" chanting, but now Shion offically gives me nightmares XD
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Manju's Stuff
"I will always remember
when the Doctor was me."
- 11th Doctor.
The mistery might not be solved to me, but I believe the "Gomen nasai"s are somewhat important, aren't they?
In Onikakushi, they gave a goodd emphasys on Rena's.
Now in Meakashi, Mion apologized too.
And in Tatarigoroshi, it was Satoko's time.
And in all those chapters, Keiichi/Shion [both who the apologies where directed] died only after those events.
So I never played the games, but now I really want to. This arc ending left a terrible taste in my mouth. It feels like the story is being half told, and from what I've read of posts from the game players, that seems to be the case.
It really pisses me off because I had high hopes for the anime in the beginning. But no I feel like it's just getting a half-assed treatment and giving the story no justice. I dunno if I'm gonna like how they end this final arc.
Shion was actually born as Mion, and Mion was born as Shion.
Since "Mion" (that is, the Shion that we know) is the rightful heir to the Sonozaki family, she was favored over "Shion" (the Mion that we know) ever since they were little.
"Mion" and "Shion" disliked the different treatments they got: they're the same person, so why should one be treated different from the other?
That's why they began swapping identities so they could both enjoy the privileges that "Mion" has. Sometimes Mion would become Shion, and Shion would become Mion. In a way, both of them are Mion, and both of them are Shion.
However, one day, while "Shion" was pretending to be Mion, she was taken away and was given the demon tattoo which marked her as the next head of the Sonozaki family.
... Starting from that day, "Shion" lost her identity as Shion, and became Mion. "Mion" lost her identity as Mion, and became Shion.
That's why Mion has always felt bad towards Shion for stealing her identity, because it was Shion (the original Mion) who should've been chosen as the next head of the Sonozaki family, not her.
When Shion locked Mion up inside the underground jail cell, they finally reverted back to their original identities, hence the "onee" from Mion.
You can also see Shion referring to Mion as "Shion" in the final TIPs as well.
Now you know the true meanings behind Mion and Shion's coversation inside the library!
ROFL..... I thought as much. At least it's now explained!
One example why the manga is a much better portrayal of the original game than the anime:
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Watanagashi-hen Vol. 2 pp. 240-241
Copyright: Square Enix, Ryukishi07, Houjou Yutori
1. Dramatic scene (in this case, the doll) [check]
2. No weird kao-gei [check]
3. More emphasis on Kei-chan's inner monologues [check]
Someone posted that back in the ep. 8 discussion thread. I really wished they'd left that doll scene. It's so sad, and it would've made so much more sense on why the doll affected Shion so much.
Rena became my number one most suspicious character........ Rena was probably the one that killed satoshi..... And the other thing is where's the doctor, and two guys in the minivan and what happened to the detective( the one that met rika)?
The plot already hint that Rena, Keiichi, Sion and Satoshi have one thing in common. They all exeperinced hallucination, and they sense they are being followed. It doesn't seem the anime will answer it.
I'm glad the PS2 has new ending. If the anime is going to end, I hope the storyline is not going to be like another Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure.
Tomitake Jirou - Status : Dead.
Possible suicide / injected with an unknown drug that cause him to carve his fingers into his throat.
Takano Miyo - Status : Missing.
Houjo Satoko - Status : Unknown.
Furude Rika - Status : Unknown.
Sonozaki Mion - Status : Dead.
Murdered by Keiichi.
Ryuguu Rena - Status : Dead.
Murdered by Keiichi.
Maebara Keiichi - Status : Dead.
Possible suicide, death caused to loss of blood / resembles the same death sympthoms as Tomitake Jirou.
Sonozaki Shion - Status : Unknown.
*Gas Disaster : Unknown*
On Watanagashi-hen :
Spoiler:
Tomitake Jirou - Status : Dead.
Possible suicide / injected with an unknown drug that cause him to carve his fingers into his throat.
Takano Miyo - Status : Dead.
Strangled to death in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture. Corpse was later burned.
Houjo Satoko - Status : Dead.
Murdered by Sonozaki Shion.
Cause of death: hemorrhagic shock from multiple pierce wounds over the entire body.
Furude Rika - Status : Dead.
Suicide.
Cause of death: hemorrhagic shock from a pierce wound in the throat area, death very similar to that of Tomitake Jirou's.
Sonozaki Mion - Status : Dead.
Murdered by Sonozaki Shion.
Cause of death: fell from the vertical escape tunnel.
Ryuguu Rena - Status : Alive
Maebara Keiichi - Status : Dead.
Passed away at the hospital. Cause of death: chronic and acute heart failure.
Sonozaki Shion - Status : Dead.
Suicide.
Died by falling off the veranda from her hideout.
*Gas Disaster : did NOT happen*
On Tatarigoroshi-hen :
Spoiler:
Tomitake Jirou - Status : Dead
Possible suicide / injected with an unknown drug that cause him to carve his fingers into his throat.
Takano Miyo - Status : Dead.
Strangled to death in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture. Corpse was later burned.
Houjo Satoko - Status : Missing.
Furude Rika - Status : Dead.
Murdered on the shrine compounds?
Sonozaki Mion - Status : Dead.
Great Hinamizawa Disaster.
Ryuguu Rena - Status : Dead.
Great Hinamizawa Disaster.
Maebara Keiichi - Status : Dead.
Attempted suicide at local hospital on 1983.08.29
Fell under a severe fever and passed away two days later on November 30, 1983.
Sonozaki Shion - Status : Dead.
Committed suicide at local hospital.
*Gas Disaster : Happens*
On Himatsubushi-hen :
Spoiler:
No specific details on how any of the events on 1983 toke place where given to us.
None except one.
Furude Rika - "this day, on June 1983.. or perhaps a few days after... I will be killed."
Hence we conclude.. Status : Dead.
Possibly murdered.
All the previous events from 1979 to 1982 followed the same path through all the arcs.
*Gas Disaster : Happens*
On Meakashi-hen :
Spoiler:
Tomitake Jirou - Status : Dead.
Possible suicide / injected with an unknown drug that cause him to carve his fingers into his throat.
Takano Miyo - Status : Dead.
Strangled to death in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture. Corpse was later burned.
Houjo Satoko - Status : Dead.
Murdered by Sonozaki Shion.
Cause of death: hemorrhagic shock from multiple pierce wounds over the entire body.
Furude Rika - Status : Dead.
Suicide.
Cause of death: hemorrhagic shock from a pierce wound in the throat area, death very similar to that of Tomitake Jirou's.
Sonozaki Mion - Status : Dead.
Murdered by Sonozaki Shion.
Cause of death: fell from the vertical escape tunnel.
Ryuguu Rena - Status : Alive
Maebara Keiichi - Status : Dead.
Passed away at the hospital. Cause of death: chronic and acute heart failure.
Sonozaki Shion - Status : Dead.
Suicide.
Died by falling off the veranda from her hideout.
*Gas Disaster : did NOT happen*
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that in one of the arcs the found out that the body they thought was Takano had to actually be someone else, since it was killed *before* the festival. I think, since there was a burned corpse found in every scenario, that it was equally not her in every scenario and that she doesn't actually die in any of them. All of which makes me really, really suspicious of her even forgetting about when she picked up Keichi in Tatarigorashi.
What about the swamp gas? Thats a hard one. The "Rika's disembowlment angers Oyashiro-sama" theory does have a certain appeal, but I've decided I'm going to go for rational explanations until I'm absolutly forced to fall back on the supernatural.
One theory is that in any scenario where they did up a mysterious pipe in the middle of the woods it will emit a could of toxic gas and kill everyone, but I don't see any reason to believe that's what happened in Himatsubushi.
So what I'm left with is that either someone was killed in Tatarigorashi but not in Watanagashi - like the doctor - who was doing something to prevent the disaster or someone was killed in Watanagashi but not in Tatarigorashi - like Onibaba - who somehow caused the disaster. Hmmm...
It occurs to me it might have something to do with the weather too. I seem to recall from Tatarigoroshi and one of the Himatsubushi TIPS that there had been a long spell of dryness followed by sudden rain before the poison gas.
Serioulsy, I like the Higurashi characters and their development but they have gaps in motivation because the anime is so rushed compared to the game. For instance K1 getting almost out of the blue so connected to Satoko that he decided to kill her unkle. Or Shion's attack on Satoko in the school seemed to come almost from nowhere while apparently there was a lot more to that in the game.
Graphic Designer
but she did have a lot of guts right to the bitter end...shion has really lost it...
