Higurashi (1st Season) General Discussion

[kj1980]

Originally Posted by SvenTheSweeper

Spoiler:

One time, I analyzed Keiichi’s Ep.4 bat scene for clues, and a thought occurred to me, “It’s like Tina Foster is being killed by Kaoru with a bat (In some weird parallel universe).”

The thought of juxtaposing a homicidal Kaoru killing Tina Foster, given AYO’s sweet sentimental tone, struck me as amusing.

"Yes Aoi-chan, Kaoru-sama has been a baaadd boy-> No more free-loading Tina Foster."

I know, weird thoughts, but I can’t help being a seiyuu fan.

To me, when I first listened to the dramaCD, it sounded like Kira Yamato (GundamSEED) getting freaked out by a psychotic Miyafuji Miina (Onegai Twins) and Chidori Kaname (Full Metal Panic!).

[Chibi_Faerie]

I've been haunting these boards as a guest since the series started, I planned to join in sooner but my account went kerpoof and I was too lazy to re-register. But I swear this series just keeps sucking me in further and further and further... It's so amazing, I'm seriously jealous of you people who played the game too. If I were smart enough to learn Japanese I would soooo play. I wish I could >.< It's just awesome! Yet it freaks me out, I'm surprised I'm still watching and eagerly awaiting the 5th episode to be subbed. The first time I watched the first two episodes, just before bed around Midnight... I was like... Yeah... This is awesome... I'm so not going to sleep... And ya know what? I didn't o.O, I finally came down with the flu that was going around, and lucky me ran fever and got delusional, needless to say the anime came to haunt me that night and a few more night... Thank God my Mom was too far in dream land to wake up lol. Getting a sore throat after hearing about the photographer guy after the festival lol... Sooo freaks you out... But that goes to show how much this show sucks you in maybe, they are doing such a superb job!! And so are all the other members of the board here that are trying to solve it!! I can't wait to come up with something to add, but so far I agree with a lot of the speculations there have been so far. I love murder mysteries, or regular mysteries, any mysteries! I grew up on them, some Sherlock Holmes, Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, etc etc. Seeing animes like this just make me go SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE~!!! I love the characters, the art design, the mystery, the suspense, the on the edge of your seatness at parts. The 'What the...' moments... I have those moments watching this, it's just what I love to see in anime. I'm more eager to see this than I am to see Detective Academy Q or more Spiral manga scanlations. I was ecstatic to see this anime get it's own forum, and seeing all the work put into it with the Tips and the poems is just awesome. All of you that have worked on it are awesome, as are you people with the awesome detective work so far. I hope to contribute some stuff in the future, but for now I'm following advice I read earlier and not judging anything by the first chapter, eagerly awaiting the second to see if any of my suspicions will be validated... Probably not as I am really not too bright >.<... I so wish there were a translated version of the game some where!! One can dream, maybe someday... But still enjoying this, I love it!! *Been awhile since an anime sucked her in and excited her this much.*

[Azn_GooWakJai]

Originally Posted by kj1980

By the way, just for interest:

http://park17.wakwak.com/~mahosaro/higurashi_seiti.html
http://nisyasan.hp.infoseek.co.jp/he...hinamizawa.htm
http://www.follower.ws/member/ID/2005-6b.htm#0611
http://www.geocities.jp/niyu1046/hina03-01.html
http://www.geocities.jp/niyu1046/hina02-01.html
http://www.geocities.jp/niyu1046/hina02-02.html

The model for Hinamizawa is actually a rural village in Gifu Prefecture, Shirakawa-mura. Many of the rural scenes can be visited by going here.

Woh woh woh wait a min, I know im a newbie that started watchin this anime, but from ur links, is this anime based on a true story or sumthin? Or did the author actually piked a place like this that can carry out his story? Knowing the fact that this place exist in such rual area.......im gettin goosebumps.. =S

[Max Demian]

Spoiler:

After reading through the TIP section I've noticed several interesting " clues " I wanted to bring up. I don't know if they mean anything but they seem rather suspicous.

First is the article about how after the six dam workers killed the man the leader proposed to chop up his body. The article mentioned how this created a bond between the killers. However the first thought I got was it sounded like some sort of grotesque game of hide and seek with body parts, drawing parallels to the games the club plays. Also I thought how the girls could somehow be related to this group ( by family, could thier parents been involved with the defense league?)

Second about the reason given for the supporting couple's death. It said the fence they were on broke from negligence. This leads me to think that the whole " Park Reservation " is just a lie by the town, perhaps hiding the illegal dumpings that have been discussed?

Third is about Tommy's death and how it would four people to take him down. Could the girl's be those four people? Rika and Satoko maybe not, but Mion has guns and Rena is nasty with a cleaver.

That's all I've got for now. Feel free to correct me if any of it is wrong. I won't make any predictions yet, as the lack of information from the anime doesn't justify any. Will just have to wait and see.

[Sushi-Y]

Originally Posted by Azn_GooWakJai

Woh woh woh wait a min, I know im a newbie that started watchin this anime, but from ur links, is this anime based on a true story or sumthin? Or did the author actually piked a place like this that can carry out his story? Knowing the fact that this place exist in such rual area.......im gettin goosebumps.. =S

Like kj said, Shirakawa was used as a model for the village of Hinamizawa, so the locations are 100% real. The story and characters, on the other hand, are 100% fiction.

[kj1980]

Originally Posted by Azn_GooWakJai

Woh woh woh wait a min, I know im a newbie that started watchin this anime, but from ur links, is this anime based on a true story or sumthin? Or did the author actually piked a place like this that can carry out his story? Knowing the fact that this place exist in such rual area.......im gettin goosebumps.. =S

Much like the model town for Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twins was Lake Kizakiko in Nagano Prefecture, that doesn't necessarily mean a hot babe voiced like oneechan crash lands her UFO in that region.

Ryukishi07 may have gotten the ground laying idea for the story, as this area was a subject for protest back in the mid to late 1950s for a dam construction project. Unlike Hinamizawa however, a dam was indeed built, but not on a scale of submerging the entire village or surrounding areas. The dam that you see in the pictures is exactly that.

[SvenTheSweeper]

TIPS
I read over the TIPS and have decided to share which ones stand out to me, and offer some thoughts on them.

The TIPS post cover everything from the beginning one called-
“Why does our school have mixed grade levels?” to the one entitled “Does Shion really exist?”

Spoiler:

A-The prime suspect of the 1979 lynching murder and dismemberment has not been found.

B-Mion’s uncles are local business owners. She seems to do odd-jobs for them on a regular basis. Her relatives own many stores around the Kakomiya area.

According to the conversation below Mion’s family is also involve in shady and criminal activity.

Begin-
Kei: "...Wow. Mion's family must have an excellent merchant blood in them or something! To have and own so many types of stores is quite amazing!"

Rika: "There's also the loan shark, the jiageya (a type of yakuza that forces people off their property for cheap price in order to sell the property more expensively), the image club, soaplands. They've stretched their hands into a lot of business."

Uh, I think I heard something that I shouldn't have, but anyway...! I understand that her family owns a bunch of businesses in the area.

Kei: "So that's the reason why when I borrow money from her, she's quite erratic in getting it back. It's because she has the blood of loan sharks in her too! Now I get it!"
End-

It seems that the Sonozakis exert a broad influence over the region.


C-The Hinamizawa Dam Construction Project is placed on hiatus and has not been officially canceled.

It is my thinking that the dam would be a threat to the Sonozaki family’s business. The family would probably be heavily involved in stopping its construction.

D-The police refuse to give any detail of the Dam Construction lynching murder to the press.

E-When priest of Furrude Shrine’s died, his death was left to a doctor’s discretion. The police did not take any pictures.

F-Tomitake was fit and athletic man. When he was killed they found bruises on him, and chemical analysis showed he was in an extreme state of excitement. The coroner believes he was assaulted by at least 4 men.

G-Tomitake was likely not a wealthy man. He did not have a car or a license. He travels to Hinamizawa for the Watnagashi festival every season for the last six years. He is not registered in the district of the large cities under to name of Tomitake Jirou.

This suggest that he lived elsewhere, and probably traveled a lot

H-Due trouble caused by the incidents in Hinamizawa, the police has implemented the following policy to protect local residents. 1) Designated investigations are to be kept secret. 2) Information not to be disclosed. 3) Request for non-disclosure from all involved organization.

This is probably why Oishi’s approach to questioning Keiichi, did not involve other people. He had to keep it away form others. That is probably why he pretended to phone Keiichi from a bookstore, in order to disguise himself.

In reading the TIPS I am satisfied that Oishi is not a fake policeman.

I-In the conversation between Kuma and Oishi we learn that Mion’s belongs to a politically powerful family at the city and prefecture level.

The Sonozaki Prefectural and City assemblyman are raucous and intimidating yakuza-like people. They have power and influence in government. The Sonozaki politicos protested Oishi’s investigation methods in the Hinamizawa incidents.

It makes me wonder if the Sonozaki influence has corrupted the police department, or if they have an insider informant?


J-Oishi’s section manger asks him if he is re-investigating the Hinamizawa incidents. Later he tells Oishi to refrain form re-investigating the cases because they are closed. The SM subtly pressures Oishi to stay out of the cases by invoking the possibility of having his retirement pay be increased if he plays by the book. Oishi’s retirement pay is important to him; he has loan debts to pay off and plans to move to Hokkaido to live with his mother.

I can see why Oishi would want the keep a low profile when he is re-investigating the Hinamizawa incidents, through Keiichi. He has retirement and debts he wants to not jeopardize. It would explain why he called Keiichi from a Mahjong Parlor under an a false pretense of being a bookstore owner, why he did not go to Keiichi’s parent or teachers for further investigation, and why he interrogated Keiichi’s in the car and at the restaurant rather his home or school.


K-Keiichi feels like was being stalked at the Sevens Mart, a discount liquor and grocery wholesales store located inside the city. He suspect Rena is the culprit. This would explain how Rena knew that Keiichi was eating Tonkotsu Ginger flavored Ramen in Ep.4. It would also explain why he is easily freaked out Rena when she came to his house.

L-Mion lives with her grandmother, rather than her parents. Keiichi notes this being strange. Rika says it’s a large family with complicated circumstances.
-Mino has twin sister Shion, whose relationship with her family is more mysterious than Mion’s.

M-Mion seems to dislike Shion due her adverse reaction in talking about her. This evidenced by the conversation below.

Begin-
Satoko: "Oh~! I did not know that~! I wonder what kind of person she is. I would definitely like to see her one of these days~!!"

Mion: "No don't! Ugh, I don't think you would want to! Uh...she isn't cute or anything and...she's also selfish and...! Ah...I only talk to her once in a while on the phone and yeah, I haven't seen her lately either...!"

...hey hey, Mion's panicking a bit. That's clearly spilling the beans that 'Shion' that I saw yesterday was a fake... But it's kinda funny to see Mion in such a state so I'll just let it be.
End-

[Paranoia833]

Originally Posted by SvenTheSweeper

*snip*

Hmm.

Spoiler for episode 5 and TIPS:

I wonder, I'm prone to baseless conspiricy theories so I could quite well be wrong but I've just had a thought... from the TIP Keiichi seemed to think he'd confirmed 'shion' in the resturant was Mion, yet from episode 5 we know for a fact that Shion exists. Combined with the odd last line from the "Shion" tip...

I'm thinking Shion and Mion get on just fine, and that the reason Mion doesn't want her friends asking about Shion is that they change places from time to time. Why they would change places I don't know, (maybe family related reasons) but if that were the case, it would make sense that Mi and Shi wouldn't want the rest of the club to know both of them, as it would greatly increase the chances of giving the game away.

If my hunch is correct then I get the feeling it's going to become very important to establish when '-on' is Mion and when she's actually Shion. For instance, I'd like to posit that in episode 4 the -on that went on about "sparing that old man" wasn't the same -on that got killed. (which was Mi and which was Shi I don't know).

It actually makes a kind of sense to me, as right after episode 4 finished it bothered me why someone with Mion's apparent common sense would be so f***ing stupid as to try and inject/penalty-game someone who she clearly knew was dangerously paranoid (even if the injection really was malevolent as I thought at the time but am now doubting, it's kind of stupid when the only thing stopping him from turning on you is Rena pinning him, and Rena doesn't seem all that physically strong).

No idea if I'm barking up the wrong tree or not, but it's definately something to think about.

[Thewanderer]

I was thinking about that syringe/marker pic(with the other weapons) in the other thread, and...

Spoiler:

...is it possible that the syringe scene was actually real, but they wasn't trying to inject bad things in him... but good things? If so, he'd have to have some sort of virus or condition that they know about, perhaps that they themselves are infected with as well(considering that their insane modes aren't K1's hallucinations), and they were trying to inject an antidote in him? Though it can't be a drug of course...

I'm not sure what it has to do with the marker in the pic, but I have another, possibly unrelated theory about the marker penalty game in ep1... Mion practically ordered K1 to walk home with that on... what if it had a chemical in it that was protecting him from something?

Can anyone connect my theories to anything else?

[Jellyfish Marine]

Originally Posted by SvenTheSweeper

Spoiler:

No, it's not like that.
Someone has clearly explained that with examples, it's in this thread, I believe.

Ps. Kj-san, thanks for correcting my mistake about Takano ^^

[DingoEnderZOE2]

Okay about the Sevens Mart tip in the TIPS section:

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Sushi-Y

Sevens Mart is a discount liquor and grocery wholesales store located inside the city.

Keiichi's mom: "What's this, Keiichi? There's so much! You can't just get all the different flavors, you know?!"
I dumped cup noodles of various different colors all into the shopping cart.

Keiichi: "The cup noodles recently are all so fancy, and there are a lot of different types too. I want to try each one out at least once."
I know that this was half a selfish request, but I thought I'd make a challenge just for the heck of it.
Keiichi's dad: "Keiichi. Get the ones they sell in whole boxes, they're cheaper."
The old man's grumbling.

Well, I figured it'd end up like this.
If the old man comes into the play, then it can't be helped.

Keiichi: "But then there's only one flavor! I'll get tired of it!"
I'm resisting only in form.

Inside my mind, I have already given up and is lost over which box of ramen I should buy.

Keiichi's mom: "If you can't decide then Okaasan is going to pick for you."
Even if you rush me, it doesn't help...!
I quickly departed to search for the box of ramen that I want.

Keiichi's mom: "Tonkotsu Ginger flavor, giant cup? Hey Keiichi, can't you get something more normal?"
If I let the old hag pick, there's a good chance it'll be a steady choice like soy sauce or salt flavored.

Keiichi: "Tonkotsu tastes great! I know it's a big serving, but that doesn't mean it's tasteless...!!"
In this reminiscence, I was justifying my choice for the box of ramen that I had picked.

*screen freezes*
There's no way that I could turn around in this world, whose time has already ended, and has been laminated and packaged....

That's why.... the only thing that I can do is to make the eyesight, hearing, and feeling of the me in this time even more sensitive.

No matter where I searched inside my vision...... I can't find Rena.
Let's go back in time and look.

But of course, she's not found anywhere.

*screen blacks out*
Then... was she observing me from a blindspot outside of my vision...?

I go back on my hearing and feelings, and search again.

The presences of other customers.
All of them are mixed up... moving around randomly on their own.

None of them are observing me steadily, nor is there any presence of anyone following behind me.

None. Should be none. Probably none.

No matter how much my guard was down at the time... I would've definitely noticed if someone was following right behind me.
I'm laughing bitterly here for using an ambiguous expression like "probably", and yet using a contradicting adjective like "definitely"....

At that time, the replay of time stopped with a shiver.

.........There was a shadow presence behind me.

It was... a fear that can't be described.
If it was a presence that appeared behind the real me right now, then it's possible for me to turn around and make sure.

However, for the me inside a world whose time has already ended, it's impossible to turn around.

While carrying such a horrifying shadow behind me... I ran around the store happily looking for boxes of cup ramens...?

While making rude remarks about the old hag, I ran around the instant noodle aisle....
But.... behind me, that presence always stuck right onto me. It dangled right after me like a shadow.

Without...... a way to make sure of something, and not realizing it until just now...... is actually such a horrifying and repulsive thing......

I happily ran across...... the world whose time has already ended.

I held onto the cardboard box.
Patapata. (footsteps)

......But, if I listen to those footsteps carefully again...... there was a 'petapeta', something other than my own footsteps was definitely included in there as well.

Patapatapata. Petapetapeta.
Patapata. Petapeta.
Patapatapata. Petapetapeta.

Exactly the same as my running, the 'petapeta' sound of footsteps that sounded like they were made by bare feet followed behind me.

I happily ran across...... the world whose time has already ended.
But that was only because...... I couldn't hear it.

No, it is because I heard it that I'm able to recall it like this.

... I heard it, but I didn't mind it.
That's why I didn't turn around.
That's why, I couldn't turn around...!!!

In the world whose time has already ended, I'm always being chased by a 'petapeta' sound of footsteps.
I can't run any faster and escape either.
For the me whose time has already ended, I can only run at the predetermined speed.
Nor can I turn around.

Since the me whose time has already ended never turned around once.
And then, I arrive back at the sides of my parents, and begin a conversation. While carrying the shadowy presence with me.

Since I'm not moving, the shadow doesn't move either. Therefore there's no sound. That's all.
At the time, I was supposedly conversing with my parents without moving a single step.

I remained standing perfectly still. No doubt about it.
And yet, ......a 'peta' ... sound was made.

That can't be possible.
If I run 3 steps, you follow 3 steps. That was the rule, wasn't it...?

There are no more sounds after that.
At that instant, the entire world had a power outage.... It was a sudden total darkness.

This reminiscence trip is over now.
I want to sleep for today now.
I want to end this.
Somebody turn on the lights.

But my body won't move.
...As if it was sewed onto... this world whose time has already ended.

Peta.

The hairs on my entire body stand up.

No way...?!
You've been breaking the rules since earlier!!
I'm not walking!
So you can't walk either!!

I'm not moving! So you don't move either!! Follow the rules!!!

Peta.
And yet, once more, that sound echoed across the darkness.

The hairs on the back of my head stirs up.
To a distance behind me close enough that I can't tell whether it's touching my hairs or not....... it has come.

Why can't I move like how the presence behind me is moving?!?!

... I soon realized it.
I can move.
...... I just can't turn around because I'm afraid.

Now's the only time I can turn around.
The action was not allowed in the world whose time has already ended.... But...... I have to turn around now......!!

All the cells within my body, as if trying to stop me from doing this forbidden action, begin to claim of pains like needles pricking away at every single pore on my skin....

I'll turn around!
I'll turn around!
It ain't scary at all!!
I'll turn around!
I'll turn around!
It ain't scary at all!!!!

It was a scream without sounds within my chest.
oOoOoOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!

I turned around.

......And there, .......... I didn't get the meaning of it at first.

Keiichi: ".........Eh, ....................Eh?"
This is..................... Eh?

With the situation placed in front of me, it's like someone who has to take a bite out of an apple and drink it's juice before realizing that it's an apple......... my brain begins to eat the apple.

Munch, munch, it begins to chew on it....
Drinking the juice......... It realized that it's an apple.

In other words......... what's in front of me is,


GYAAAAAaAAaAAaAAaAAAaAAAaAaaA........

Originally Posted by Sushi-Y

Okay I'm well aware that this TIP is being presented from Keichi's POV after his death as he tries to figure out where Rena was during his trip at the Sevens mart. But what I'm confused about is what happened near the end of this tip, like what was going on after the "Somebody turn on the lights" remark? And lastly what was in front of Keichi that made him scream??

[Chibi_Faerie]

My own little speculations after rewatching everything last night (Yes I broke me rule of not watching this at night ever again.) Mostly guess work and just random commenting on things so far, probably nothing.

Spoiler for Episodes 1-3 and slightly 4ish I guess...:

The marker, I think because of the cutesyness of the club games really caused us to ignore this little thing. But I got thinking, especially after I saw the picture of the needle and the marker in the image thread. I have a few ideas about it. Say that there really is a toxin or poison, or what ever you want to call it at play here. And the ink of the marker was laced with it. Stuff is absorbed through the skin correct? Our pores are known for taking things in, oils, dirt, such stuff. They really laid it on him thick too. I mean he looked like a panda bear. Uber cute, but that was a lot of marker on that guys face. And Mion told him specifically to not wash it off till he got home. Sure it could be part of the punishment, but it could also give things time be taken in through the skin. Even if it wasn't laced with something, did they have Non-toxic markers back then o.o? He could have even got some in his mouth if he struggled enough and Mion's marker went off course though there isn't any sign of that on his face lol. (The flower at the end of that scene seemed out of place to me but I could be wrong, the sound effect fit but the flower...) I mean he did get pretty freaked out when Rena appeared with the knife machete ax thing... Yeah I know after reading the article and the situation itself could creep people out... I think it definitely added to his paranoia. But he had told her that they would need something like that to get Kenta-kun out of the rubbish pile.

Then afterward things went down hill really, from meeting Oishi (Dude bugs me!), his expressions, purposely telling Keichi all these things. I mean if he had never known anything and gone on as things were before all this, he might never have gotten quite so paranoid and snapped in episode four. He wouldn't have gotten so suspicious and the talks with psycho Rena and Mion would never have happened. Maybe even "USODA!!!" might not have happened... And if "USODA!!!" hadn't happened (as a lot of people agree or disagree) things might not have gone even further, as others have suggested. Not hearing things from Oishi about the photographer and such, he might not have been so concerned when he heard Mion and Rena talking... And had he not gone to lunch after the shot at the doctors (blarg, the doctor looked like guy in episode four that pulled up in the white van, but I could be over imagining things myself.) he wouldn't have learned more, and wouldn't have been so on edge when Mion and Rena stopped by, not to mention they wouldn't have gone freaky perhaps about lunch (Weather that was hallucination or not I dunno and not judging yet) and brought him the food with the hidden needle. (If the needle was there... And if it was, I'm betting that it's long gone. So many missing parts. I would like to have known Keichii's parents reaction to his outburst and the throwing of food. And what his mother or father did with the needle afterwards (Assuming it was real, I wouldn't put it past someone to do so. We used to have to check and cut up our candy apples at Halloween because people used to prank them or put yes needles in them that could have not only been dangerous, but dipped in or coated with something dangerous.)

And the final injection, was it another dose of what ever Keichi was getting, or was it an antidote. Was it even real? Are Mion and Rena bad, good, possessed by a supernatural being, under an influence, all of the above or a mix of the above...? there are so many perspectives and suspitions you could take with this first chapter, that it's no wonder we have been advised not to judge things by the first chapter... I know I'm eagerly awaiting to find out more and figure out whats going on...

[SvenTheSweeper]

Originally Posted by Jellyfish Marine

No, it's not like that.
Someone has clearly explained that with examples, it's in this thread, I believe.

Yeah, I know that already. I've been reading the Higurahshi posts by the forum members who have been writing the TIPS. I meant it as joke poking fun at the dumb plot devices.

[Thewanderer]

Originally Posted by Chibi_Faerie

My own little speculations after rewatching everything last night (Yes I broke me rule of not watching this at night ever again.) Mostly guess work and just random commenting on things so far, probably nothing.

Spoiler for Episodes 1-3 and slightly 4ish I guess...:

The marker, I think because of the cutesyness of the club games really caused us to ignore this little thing. But I got thinking, especially after I saw the picture of the needle and the marker in the image thread. I have a few ideas about it. Say that there really is a toxin or poison, or what ever you want to call it at play here. And the ink of the marker was laced with it. Stuff is absorbed through the skin correct? Our pores are known for taking things in, oils, dirt, such stuff. They really laid it on him thick too. I mean he looked like a panda bear. Uber cute, but that was a lot of marker on that guys face. And Mion told him specifically to not wash it off till he got home. Sure it could be part of the punishment, but it could also give things time be taken in through the skin. Even if it wasn't laced with something, did they have Non-toxic markers back then o.o? He could have even got some in his mouth if he struggled enough and Mion's marker went off course though there isn't any sign of that on his face lol. (The flower at the end of that scene seemed out of place to me but I could be wrong, the sound effect fit but the flower...) I mean he did get pretty freaked out when Rena appeared with the knife machete ax thing... Yeah I know after reading the article and the situation itself could creep people out... I think it definitely added to his paranoia. But he had told her that they would need something like that to get Kenta-kun out of the rubbish pile.

Then afterward things went down hill really, from meeting Oishi (Dude bugs me!), his expressions, purposely telling Keichi all these things. I mean if he had never known anything and gone on as things were before all this, he might never have gotten quite so paranoid and snapped in episode four. He wouldn't have gotten so suspicious and the talks with psycho Rena and Mion would never have happened. Maybe even "USODA!!!" might not have happened... And if "USODA!!!" hadn't happened (as a lot of people agree or disagree) things might not have gone even further, as others have suggested. Not hearing things from Oishi about the photographer and such, he might not have been so concerned when he heard Mion and Rena talking... And had he not gone to lunch after the shot at the doctors (blarg, the doctor looked like guy in episode four that pulled up in the white van, but I could be over imagining things myself.) he wouldn't have learned more, and wouldn't have been so on edge when Mion and Rena stopped by, not to mention they wouldn't have gone freaky perhaps about lunch (Weather that was hallucination or not I dunno and not judging yet) and brought him the food with the hidden needle. (If the needle was there... And if it was, I'm betting that it's long gone. So many missing parts. I would like to have known Keichii's parents reaction to his outburst and the throwing of food. And what his mother or father did with the needle afterwards (Assuming it was real, I wouldn't put it past someone to do so. We used to have to check and cut up our candy apples at Halloween because people used to prank them or put yes needles in them that could have not only been dangerous, but dipped in or coated with something dangerous.)

And the final injection, was it another dose of what ever Keichi was getting, or was it an antidote. Was it even real? Are Mion and Rena bad, good, possessed by a supernatural being, under an influence, all of the above or a mix of the above...? there are so many perspectives and suspitions you could take with this first chapter, that it's no wonder we have been advised not to judge things by the first chapter... I know I'm eagerly awaiting to find out more and figure out whats going on...

That was exactly my point! Though you shouldn't look at it one way... this anime incourages you to think outside the box. There's a chance that...

Spoiler:

...the marker could've been used for something other than applying a poison or toxin. There's no doubt in my mind that it was altered, but the intentions of the girls is still questionable.

Okay, I know that the marker was pictured with the other "weapons" of the series, but there's a chance that it could be an antidote/cure for something, even if the injection wasn't.

Still my theory tho

[Jellyfish Marine]

Originally Posted by SvenTheSweeper

Yeah, I know that already. I've been reading the Higurahshi posts by the forum members who have been writing the TIPS. I meant it as joke poking fun at the dumb plot devices.

I'm terribly sorry about it then TT-TT Since my english is not good, I often interprete things wrongly. I'm very sorry =w=

It seems like everyone has started talking about the marker and the syringe. Maybe those who has no clue what those are about should check out the gallery thread. It's a good piece of hint, I think.

[Paranoia833]

I don't know... I saw the gallery picture ages ago and I think people are reading too much into it.

Spoiler for speculation on the syringe:

I think people are jumping to the most conspiricy theory-ish explanations and ignoring the blindingly obvious one.

Remember that Keiichi was more than a little delusional at the time of the final injection, and that if Mion and Rena had wanted to inject him with some drug or toxin why wouldn't they do it when he was asleep? And why let him keep the baseball bat?

I think all the hints dropped by the game players so far point to Keiichi as having misinterpreted that whole scene.

[Thewanderer]

Originally Posted by Paranoia833

I don't know... I saw the gallery picture ages ago and I think people are reading too much into it.

Spoiler for speculation on the syringe:

I think people are jumping to the most conspiricy theory-ish explanations and ignoring the blindingly obvious one.

Remember that Keiichi was more than a little delusional at the time of the final injection, and that if Mion and Rena had wanted to inject him with some drug or toxin why wouldn't they do it when he was asleep? And why let him keep the baseball bat?

I think all the hints dropped by the game players so far point to Keiichi as having misinterpreted that whole scene.

What're you saying? That it's not real? It wouldn't be among those pictures if it wasn't, IMO.

[kj1980]

HUGE Hint:

Spoiler:

In the picture with the syringe and the marker, it reads in Japanese: "please don't mistake one for the other."

Though that doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be a real syringe coming out in later chapters... Like I said, the syringe is a huge piece of the puzzle in either case.

And I reiterate once again: trigger point. That's the key.

[Chibi_Faerie]

Ok then, now knowing the huge hint...

Spoiler for title:

It leads to perhaps that Keiichi was so incredibly paranoid, out of it and hallucinating at this point that perhaps the punishment game was the marker again, and not a needle. He mistook one for the other, a marker mistaken for a needle... But he was so paranoid that he saw the marker as a needle and totally snapped...? Gosh I need to learn to read Japanese!!

[Freakman]

It's a shame that the scene at the end of the festival with Tomitake and the club wasn't depicted in the anime + Mion line before the Keiichi batsugemu scene in ep 4.
It deprives anime viewers from a possible clue.