Higurashi Gou - Anime Episode Discussion Thread (OG/Kai spoilers OK)

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Btw, I always enjoy watching his videos after each Gou episodes.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/GAsNr3M_4iA

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[Jan-Poo]

Well this wasn't a development that I predicted, I expected Satoko to be the crazy murderer, but instead we got Ooishi going postal.

I think there is a chance that Ooishi is the mastermind this time, that talk he gave to Kumagai was very suspicious and then he insisted to bring the social worker to Satoko himself, from that on we haven't actually seen what happened, so there is the possibility that Ooishi brought the social worker elsewhere (or maybe he even killed him) and then made some arrangement with Teppei, or maybe he killed Teppei and made some arrangement with Satoko.

At any rate Ooishi was sane the whole time so I don't really think the Hinamizawa syndrome is involved this time at all. We are probably led to believe that Ooishi became a victim of it, but suspiciously we haven't actually seen the scene, probably because it would have been obvious that Ooishi wasn't under the effect of the syndrome.

Ooishi is also in the position to have messed with the crime scenes in the previous episodes. For instance it would have been easy for him to procure a gun and place it next to Satoko and Mion in Watadamashi (since that definitely wasn't Mion's gun).

Ooishi, is also one who could be convincing enough to drive Takano away from the village if he managed to get Tokyo or an even more powerful organization on his side.

The question remains however about what reason could he possibly have to do all this, but then again we didn't have an inkling behind Takano's reasons either until Minagoroshi.


At any rate the next arc is called Nekodamashi, and it's breaking from the trend by having a first word before "damashi" that isn't the first word of any previous arc. Hopefully this means we are going to see something completely new.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Btw, is Gou gonna be split-cour or will it just keep going after this episode?

So, Nekodamashii will be a spin of Nekogoroshi???

[Tokkan]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Btw, is Gou gonna be split-cour or will it just keep going after this episode?

There will be a 1 week break between this episode and the next.

[BWTraveller]

I'd still like it if 34 was still the culprit. I think it'd be a pretty cool twist if she'd found a way to get back into the loops and retain her own memory. It was hard enough fighting an enemy she didn't know, but having Rika face off against an enemy who has all the same advantages and is refining her plans right alongside her would be pretty cool.

[The Creator]

Guys, it would be great if you could post spoilers withing the tags just in case someone acccidentally reads something.

Ep. 13

Spoiler:

What. The. Heck.
That was a very unexpected turn. As far as I remember this is the first time Oiishi seems to be under the HS influence.

I don't really think the let Teppei go, he just went nuts and Teppei just used that chance to escape.

Is that the first we see Satoko wearing that dress?

Btw

Spoiler:

In Minagoroshi, did Takano and Tomitake actually joined them in the fight against CWS?
That was also very weird

I wonder if the next episode is going to be something that looks like fanservice but has a gut punch at the end

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by The Creator

Guys, it would be great if you could post spoilers withing the tags just in case someone acccidentally reads something.

When the episode has been subbed, there's no need to use spoiler tags. By now, people should know when episodes get released, so they enter the thread at their own risk.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by The Creator

In Minagoroshi, did Takano and Tomitake actually joined them in the fight against CWS?
That was also very weird

I don't know about the VN, but I don't think they were part of the protest group in Kai.

[MeoTwister5]

I can't completely conclude that Ooishi is the killer for this arc, or even a mastermind for that matter, precisely because we are in the same situation again as the previous arcs. Specifically, every account of what happens after whatever Keiichi ends up doing and being put into a time skip situation is still a third hand account from one of the friends. Both previous arcs as well as this one is still him being told by a surviving friend of what happens in Hinamizawa, rather than Keiichi witnessing it directly.

Who's to say that the surviving friend's story might be a bit... embellished? Furthermore, it doesn't make sense for Ooshi to go apeshit and gun down a crowd if he was a mastermind, and assuming him going postal during the festival has some ounce of truth in it, I think we're at a point where we can't assume that everything being told to Keiichi is the complete truth. If he was being informed by someone like Kumagai or some person with little to know potential reason to be untruthful, perhaps, but all he has to go with is whatever his friend is telling him. Can we assume the apparent aftermath during the time skip is the complete truth, if at all?

Heck why would Satoko even BE back in the festival after witnessing Teppei and Keiichi bash each other's brains out? What was the reason she invited him to the house in the first place?

I'm at the point where I'm starting to suspect that the stories being told to Keiichi after his hospitalization aren't wholly true. Ooshi gunning down the crowd is far too convenient without an apparent reason or backstory. To be honest, nothing about what happens in Hinamizawa during Keiichi's hospitalization should probably be taken at face value.

[Jan-Poo]

Well yeah I guess it is possible that K1's friends are lying to him, but we don't know of any plausible reason they would do such a thing, I mean even they wouldn't go that far with a prank. So it's not really more likely than they are simply telling the truth, both options are equally unlikely.

Besides it is true that none of the other friends showed up, so something must have happened to them, and it is true that this is the only time Ooishi didn't show up and Kumagai refused to explain why, so something must have happened to Ooishi. Unless we start to speculate that the whole hospital scenes are just happening in K1's mind.

[BWTraveller]

I don't think it's that strange that Satoko would have gone to the festival after that. My guess would be she ran to find her friends and get their help, in which case she'd have probably gotten there around the time Ooishi did (since none of them had left to go back).

[Jaden]

The first branching point, from what I could tell, was how CWS decided to immediately visit in person. Normally they would make a call, then Keiichi and Rika take turns on the phone to convince Satoko. When she finally says "help", Teppei gets violent, and finally Ooishi orders police to raid the house and arrest him. They were already staking the house for Rina murder investigation. That can only be a random change on the CWS' part, and it's not unnatural for Ooishi to join them, since he always expected things to end with Teppei's arrest.

Up to that point, I don't think anything is strange, just a minor variation on Minagoroshi-hen. The show went out of its way to replay the entire arc. But because of that small change, we don't get to see Teppei's arrest, and Satoko's initial reactions. It leaves the possibility that nothing was ever as it seemed. And of course, the ending is just totally incomprehensible. It's pretty filthy how these tricks are being played...

[Klashikari]

One thing of note is that Rena never stated Ooishi fired at anyone, nor did she mention who killed Rika and everyone else. If anything, we don't know who actually died because of how Rena described the facts in an erratic fashion.
Therefore, it is very likely Rena lacked a lot of information and could have remembered it wrong due to the trauma. For instance, it is possible that Ooishi witnessed some major trouble (e.g. the Yamainu preparing some clean up job) and drew his gun which made the actual culprit retaliate immediately. If there are more people who got killed, Ooishi could be included in the list of the victims, which could explain Kumagai not explaining what happened back then.

Alternatively, if Ooishi really killed them, the only possible explanation is that he was injected by a HS stimulant and was let loose in the festival. The motive is not really clear, but considering Ooishi's tendencies to be quite obstinate regarding the curse investigation, he probably uncovered something about Tokyo's project and shit hit the fan.

[Liddo-kun]

episode 13:

surprised by the change. It's Teppei with the bat, got first blood on K1.. but K1 went apeshit and turn the tables on him. Some things just don't change. lol

the only thing I did not like is... Oishi going rambo was done off-screen.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

Besides it is true that none of the other friends showed up, so something must have happened to them, and it is true that this is the only time Ooishi didn't show up and Kumagai refused to explain why, so something must have happened to Ooishi. Unless we start to speculate that the whole hospital scenes are just happening in K1's mind.

A solution like that wouldn't surprise me at all, coming from Ryukishi07.

As for why Satoko returned:
Either to tell everyone else, or to get the slaughter starting.

I'd also like to point out that Satoko basically lead Keiichi into a trap. First of all, she didn't turn on a single light in the entire house when letting Keiichi in, making him walk in a dark corridor. And even if the hallways don't have lights in these kinds of houses, the foyer should.
The other thing about that is Satoko's expressions when letting him into the house and shortly before leaving the room.
So yeah, I think she knew.

E: Also I wouldn't call her reaction when she realized her uncle had hit Keiichi shocked.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Liddo-kun

the only thing I did not like is... Oishi going rambo was done off-screen.

Pretty much almost every interesting plot progression happened off-screen in this episode. Everything that is good is happened off-screen, almost like Rika's story .

[Liddo-kun]

even after 14 years.. Teppei has less hp than K1. Or maybe he is a masochist, because after the first hit by K1.. Teppei hold his face instead of trying to intercept the next whacks. Just kidding.

[Klashikari]

After checking more carefully what Rena said and JP reactions on twitter, I think it is safe to say Funimation subs inferred a bit too much here.

Rena originally said that in JP: 「あの夜...綿流しの後古手神社の境内で...大石さんが〇ってきて、拳銃を...」
There is a 〇 there because the sound she made was hard to catch. Some people naturally expected it to be a う for 撃って (shoot) but many (myself included) heard a い instead, which would be 言ってきて and 行ってきて which is respectively "come to say" and "Go (with the implication of coming back)".
It is important to note that the gun doesn't have any owner mention (although in this case, we can infer based on context it is Ooishi's) nor if it was actually used. Case in point, Rena witnessed Ooishi with a gun (or someone taking Ooishi's gun) then people died. No actual explanation who exactly (only Rika and friends?) and how. Additionally, the real kicker is that the JP line does not mention any crowd whatsoever. Only "After the Watanagashi Festival" and "Around the Furude Shrine". That's it. As such, there is no indication if other bystanders witnessed that scene and/or were also killed/injured.

[Marina2]

Ep.14

After a long time, we finally get something completely new.

First off.......I didn't expect they to show what happened in the last ep. Sorry for doubting your testimony, Reina. Ooishi really went L5 and kill everyone. However, what really happened with K1 and Teppei is still unclear but Satoko did return to the festival.

The most important information we got is there is a sword that can be used to kill a looper. Rika thought Hanyu want her to use it on herself. But for me, this is probably the confirmation that there is another looper like Rika in this game board.

Oh yeah, they just showed that Mion has the key to that room (??) they found Rika death in Watadamashi.

EDIT: in ep.7, the sword is also missing.

[Klashikari]

It all boils down to that assumption that fight between Keiichi and Teppei was fake all along as I expected.
Since Ooishi was completely uninjured, it is very likely Keiichi was instantly incapacitated and completely imagined his struggle against Teppei before losing consciousness. As such, Satoko witnessing their struggle probably never happened and she was still looking for her item (the bat?) while Keiichi was being beaten to death.

As such, it is very likely that Ooishi and Satoko didn't encounter each other at all. Ooishi waltzed outside with the bat while Satoko probably still looked for a while before going back to Keiichi. She most likely panicked and tried to check Keiichi's condition, but since he was gravely injured and in a coma, she might think he was dead.
Then while Ooishi was trashing around with Rika, Satoko went back to the festival in a haggard state and probably went against Ooishi once she realized what was going on with Mion, Shion and Rika's corpses, which would explain why Rena could include Satoko in the list of casualties.

Our assumption was that Rena implied Satoko was with them all along even though she was just there at the very last moment.
Still, it definitely confirms someone from Tokyo is trigger happy with the HS drugs and won't really beat around the bush unlike Takano.