[Sushi-Y]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Question, kj.

First, why does the Na signify as a whole in the game? I know it's part of the title, but there has to be some symbolic meaning....

(I assume you mean "what", not "why")
Actually, I used to wonder about that too, and now that I'm pretty much caught up with the game (finishing up Tsumihoroboshi)... I still don't know.

Maybe I'm just slow. (Like how when Shion was mentally ridiculing Keiichi and Rena near the end of Meakashi for not being able to see through her deception, I felt like she was ridiculing me as well)

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Second, how long are these novels compared to 1 scenario of F/SN and W-Wish? If this novel is too long, I rather not ask my cousin in Japan to send them to me as I don't plan to translate while reading for 80 hours. My Jap is bad, so meh.

Hmm... I can't really be certain (maybe kj can gauge this better than me), but I think one "chapter" of Higurashi is about the equivalent of one scenario for F/sn, perhaps a little shorter. Maybe because Higurashi is a very straightforward novel (no selections, no branching story paths), it feels like you can read through it faster compared to ones like Fate. But at the very least, you'll probably spend somewhere close to 10 hours to read through each chapter (depending on your Japanese level, it might take longer). There are no visual goodies in Higurashi, so you'd really need a good level of knowledge in Japanese in order to really enjoy it.

But Fate only had 3 scenarios, Higurashi so far has 6 chapters (Onikakushi, Watanagashi, Tatarigoroshi, Himatsubushi, Meakashi, Tsumihoroboshi), with 2 more to come (the next (7th) one, Minagoroshi, will be out in a couple of weeks at the Winter Comike), so if you're only starting now, it'll be a while before you can get caught up (unless you have some insane ability to read without having to rest).

Edit:
(Just for fun) I'm curious, kj-san, what are your personal character rankings? And how have they changed with each new chapter? For example, here's my ranking:

Spoiler for rank chart:

Onikakushi:
Rena:
====|4
Mion:
==|2
Satoko:
==|2
Rika:
===|3
↓
Watanagashi:
Rena:
====|4
Mion:
====|4
Satoko:
==|2
Rika:
====|4
Shion:
==|2
Keiichi:
===|3
↓
Tatarigoroshi:
Rena:
====|4
Mion:
====|4
Satoko:
=======|7
Rika:
====|4
Shion:
==|2
Keiichi:
=====|5
↓
Himatsubushi:
Rena:
====|4
Mion:
====|4
Satoko:
=======|7
Rika:
=====|5
Shion:
==|2
Keiichi:
=====|5
↓
Meakashi:
Rena:
====|4
Mion:
=======|7
Satoko:
=========\\=|A very high number
Rika:
======|6
Shion:
====|4
Keiichi:
======|6
↓
Tsumihoroboshi:
Rena:
========|8
Mion:
=======|7
Satoko:
=========\\=|A very high number
Rika:
========|8
Shion:
====|4
Keiichi:
=======|7

Notice how the numbers don't drop.
Noticable mention is probably that "very high number" thing for Satoko in Meakashi. I don't care what anyone else says, Satoko's final moments in Meakashi drove a nail into my heart and my "Satoko stock" through the roof.