Higurashi (1st Season) General Discussion

[Mei Hikari]

I think there are too many similarities to discount it as déjà-vu, but I guess we'll see eventually.

[Phomaniac]

Originally Posted by kinshin

Thanks a lot to FubaredByAnime and Sushi-Y =) Finally got my doubts cleared.

However I got one last question since I do not know Jap...

Spoiler for end of ep4:

When K1 clawed himself to death, he said the words Go-na-i as stated by WIND sub version. May I know what those words mean?

Looks like noone has answered your question, so i'll give it a shot.

I believe that he was trying to say Go mena sai. But has he was clawing out his throat, only the go, na, i part came out. Oiishi finishes off with a question, 'gomenasai?'

Sorry if my spelling sucks, I've never studied Japanese XD.

[Vicke]

Spoiler for up to ep7:

Right now my theory is that the one that went missing the day after the festival is Mion and Shion switched places with Mion after that. Shion dresses as her self when she is at her home and when she goes out she dresses as Mion. I think Shion was close to Satoshi judging how she blames Satoko for him being "erased" and now Shion is jealous of Mion because she has K1. Also with Takano's explaination on what happens when you are demoned away, my theory is that both Mion and Kimiyoshi are being tortured somewhere. Perhaps Shion is in charge of it and that is why she said that she told him about "that night yesterday". Where Rika and Satoko went im not sure but I guess they felt that they where in danger.

Time to read the tip thread and see if there are any more clues.
Edit:
Theory on why Shion dragged K1 into the sacret shrine storage:
I think Shions plan was to drag K1 into the storage room kill him and spread a rumor that it was the curse, then later she would kill Mion and switch place with her so she would become heir of Sonzakis. Shions disappearance would be blamed on the curse aswell. But now as Tomitake and Takano already was there she had to change her plan. So she changes the rules of the curse and killed Tomitake and Takano to make K1 and Shion disappear. But K1 have not disapeard so hm...

[Meowshi]

Why would Shion want to kill Keichi though?

[Beyond the Shave]

Spoiler for Ep7:

Oh man, I don't know what to think of this episode, only that it was a huge mistake for Keiichi to tell Mi/Shi that he told Rika everything.

Obviously there is something very important about that shrine. But just what is it?

[Mei Hikari]

The banging could have been important.

[Li Jianliang]

Spoiler for From Episode 8 Synopsis:

-Satoko and Rika disappear
-Mion isn't mad at Keiichi for sneaking into the house with ritual instruments, nor is she mad at him for concealing the fact he did. What is she upset at, then?
-Rena and Keiichi goes to visit Mion to apologize to her... I don't think it's Mion who'll be waiting for them.

[Savin877]

Originally Posted by Vicke

Spoiler for up to ep7:

Right now my theory is that the one that went missing the day after the festival is Mion and Shion switched places with Mion after that. Shion dresses as her self when she is at her home and when she goes out she dresses as Mion. I think Shion was close to Satoshi judging how she blames Satoko for him being "erased" and now Shion is jealous of Mion because she has K1. Also with Takano's explaination on what happens when you are demoned away, my theory is that both Mion and Kimiyoshi are being tortured somewhere. Perhaps Shion is in charge of it and that is why she said that she told him about "that night yesterday". Where Rika and Satoko went im not sure but I guess they felt that they where in danger.

Time to read the tip thread and see if there are any more clues.
Edit:
Theory on why Shion dragged K1 into the sacret shrine storage:
I think Shions plan was to drag K1 into the storage room kill him and spread a rumor that it was the curse, then later she would kill Mion and switch place with her so she would become heir of Sonzakis. Shions disappearance would be blamed on the curse aswell. But now as Tomitake and Takano already was there she had to change her plan. So she changes the rules of the curse and killed Tomitake and Takano to make K1 and Shion disappear. But K1 have not disapeard so hm...

Man I like this theory of yours, but at the same time, I have my own thoughts that perhaps it may very well be Mion who wants to get him. Even though I really dont see any CONCRETE reason to show why she would, besides the fact that K1 went into the shrine. Seems like a pretty stupid reason to be out and get someone.

[れいかのてんし]

haha... i just registered here for the sole purpose of replying in this thread...

anyways, i watched this anime at the advice of a friend (he actually tricked me into doing so; he knows i cannot handle these sorts of things very well). my heart kept going 'doki-doki' and i cried a lot too deshi~

however, i have noticed several things about this anime...

Spoiler:

in the Onikakushihen chapter, Kei-chan showed similar behavior to Satoshi, right? going by this, i think we can safely assume that the same things that happened to Kei-chan happened to Satoshi, i think, i think~ right~?

later, we learn that some weird things happened Rena-chii before, right~? also, if you notice, both Kei-chan and Rena-chii mention Oyashiro-sama, nee~? somehow, i think these are all related. we also learn that Rena-chii had once lived in the village, right? that means that the biggest relation these three characters have is that village, nee?

is it possible that they all went through the same ordeal? it seems that Oyashiro-sama plays a big part in all this~ but there is something that made everything go like that... the question is "what" you know~?

every time Rena-chii and Mion-nee went crazy demon-eyed mode, it was in Kei-chan's perspective~ also, they seem to show genuine feelings of hurt or happiness, just normal feelings, but spontaneously shift to their "insane" persona, at which point the camera shifts to Kei-chan's perspective, right? so it seems that each instance of Rena-chii and Mion-nee's madness were probably Kei-chan's hallucinations~! also, the needle and the articles of food that it was hidden in were thrown at the wall, right~? the needle mysteriously disappeared, though we can assume that Kei-chan himself cleaned up the mess on the wall~ the needle may never have existed in the first place! another hallucination~!! if we assume that Rena-chii and Satoshi went through the same thing, it clearly cannot be a coincidence~!

the connections between the three are as follows: they at one point or currently live or lived in the same town, they attend the same school, and they are of similar ages~ there is a connection~

do you know what i think? i think that Mion-nee and Rena-chii were completely innocent. they had no plans on harming Kei-chan at all~

that syringe also raises another question~ what was that syringe? what was its significance? why did it disappear? due to the syringe's disappearance by the end of the fourth episode, it is entirely possible that the syringe never existed in the first place, much like the needle from earlier~!

if the syringe did exist however, and it was a lethal, or at least unhealthy, substance, they had every opportunity to administer it on Kei-chan before he recovered consciousness! why do that if they were going to take his life anyway~? i think they wanted to be honest with him, and not do that sort of thing while he was sleeping! that syringe might have been a vaccine of some sort~! perhaps they realized what was wrong with Kei-chan and tried to cure him!

going by this theory, another question is raised~ what became of the weird men in green with the van~? they knocked out Kei-chan, but what became of them? did they knock him out just to give him up to a pair of teenage girls, whom they most likely had no relation to? if you recall in episode four, right before Kei-chan runs into them, Rena-chii had that large blade with her, even before she entered hallucination-induced psycho mode~ you also notice that Mion-nee has her firearm with her~ my guess is that the men in green are dead, probably with slash and gunshot wounds and cleverly disposed of somewhere~ although i believe that Mion-nee and Rena-chii had no intention of harming Kei-chan, i do believe that they are not all that they appear, especially Mion-nee, who has now been revealed to be the heir of a Yakuza group (which Kei-chan does not seemed shocked at all at~?)

but at that point, whatever had taken hold of Kei-chan was too far into its final stages, and in his madness, he murdered two semi-innocent girls, who only tried to save him~ they could not harm their friend, and because of this weakness, he managed to murder them... i admit, when i came to that conclusion, i cried again...

it seems that Rika-hime is more than meets the eyes as well~ she seems to realize a lot more than she is letting on, especially when she told Kei-chan not to "lose that bat"~ i have no idea where Satoko-pyon fits into all this though~

but that leaves so many questions unsolved~ who are those men in green, what did they want, what was the illness (or curse?) that Kei-chan (and possibly Satoshi and Rena-chii) caught, and.... well, the disease (if it is a disease) seems to have some relation to Oyashiro-sama~

and... who is the 'director'~?

but these are all just theories~ i think i am probably crazy~ a lot of it is a combination of some of the theories i have read here so far~

...hauu... how can such a cute anime be so... uguuu...

[Gackt=good]

I've got a question. At what day does the new episode come available for download?


Thanks in advance

[SvenTheSweeper]

Originally Posted by Gackt=good

I've got a question. At what day does the new episode come available for download?


Thanks in advance

Be careful about asking this question because of the faq below:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=324

Typically, asking when a particular fansub will come out in anime forums, IRC, and fansub sites is frowned upon and can get you banned. Sometimes I have seen exceptions be made in asking about releases, but usually the person inquiring did it carefully to avoid being banned.

However I believe you aren't asking for specific dates, but a general day of when it will hit the torrents.

If you want raws check out the Wiki for the show, it will give you a sense of when (but not where to download) the show airs in Japan. Raws usually hit the torrents within two days of airing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni

If you want fansubs, WinD tends to get episodes out before Ayu and Triad. I have noticed that WinD Fansubs tend to hit the torrents on Saturdays if you live in North America.

Otherwise, welcome aboard. Higurahi has been a fun show to follow with other fans.

It's spawned a phenomena where it's inspired viewers, who otherwise might have not done so, to sign-up on this forum and participate in the discussion. In fact some have said they did it only to discuss this show! That's amazing to me, and it's a testament to how good this show is.

[Gackt=good]

Originally Posted by SvenTheSweeper

Be careful about asking this question because of the faq below:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=324

Typically, asking when a particular fansub will come out in anime forums, IRC, and fansub sites is frowned upon and can get you banned. Sometimes I have seen exceptions be made in asking about releases, but usually the person inquiring did it carefully to avoid being banned.

However I believe you aren't asking for specific dates, but a general day of when it will hit the torrents.

If you want raws check out the Wiki for the show, it will give you a sense of when (but not where to download) the show airs in Japan. Raws usually hit the torrents within two days of airing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni

If you want fansubs, WinD tends to get episodes out before Ayu and Triad. I have noticed that WinD Fansubs tend to hit the torrents on Saturdays if you live in North America.

Otherwise, welcome aboard. Higurahi has been a fun show to follow with other fans.

It's spawned a phenomena where it's inspired viewers, who otherwise might have not done so, to sign-up on this forum and participate in the discussion. In fact some have said they did it only to discuss this show! That's amazing to me, and it's a testament to how good this show is.

Okay thank you and I was asking it this way because the only other on-going anime I've watched is Naruto and they always release on Thursday so gomennasai(and I know the fansubbers have a life )

[Midrange]

Originally Posted by SvenTheSweeper

It's spawned a phenomena where it's inspired viewers, who otherwise might have not done so, to sign-up on this forum and participate in the discussion. In fact some have said they did it only to discuss this show! That's amazing to me, and it's a testament to how good this show is.

Onikakushi Mion is always worth signing up for!!`

[SvenTheSweeper]

Originally Posted by Midrange

Onikakushi Mion is always worth signing up for!!`

So is:
Meido Shion , Higurashi Rena , Shy Mion , Marker Punishment Game , Rena's fetish for cute things and her lighter moments .

If nothing else, reading people's theories on Mion/Shion twin-swapping will make your eyes glaze over how convoluted it can all get.

[gaidin]

I've got a few questions about tomitake and takano from both arcs so far...

Spoiler for through ep7:

In ep6 on the day of watanagashi while Keiichi and others are setting up for the festival, Mion introduces him to Tomitake and Takano. She says Takano is a nurse at the clinic while Tomitake is a freelance photographer from Tokyo.

In the onikakushi-hen Takano knows who keiichi is in ep2 though he doesn't seem to know her. When Keiichi goes to the clinic and gets his shot Takano's definitely not seen there but he overhears the old women talking about her disappearing. They also seem to refer to Tomitake taking a picture of "that" which we can probably assume is what got him killed (or caused him to kill himself).

In both arcs so far Keiichi is separated from everyone during watanagashi for unknown reasons at some point. In watanagashi-hen he's seen at the back of the crowd watching rika-chan during her performance until Shion grabs him and in onikakushi-hen keiichi runs into tomitake and takano while walking alone near the river. There's some lost time there that's probably really interesting...

Also, though Tomitake assisted in breaking into the shrine storeroom in watanagashi-hen, from our perspective we never see him take any pics of the inside or even step foot inside. So just opening the door is enough to get you to claw your throat out?

If Takano's a nurse why is she so overly cheerful talking about implements of torture and ritual sacrifices? What exactly is her relation to Tomitake who supposedly only comes to Hinamizawa 2-3 times per year?

[FubaredByAnime]

Originally Posted by gaidin

I've got a few questions about tomitake and takano from both arcs so far...

Not hard questions, but probably not the answers you'll be looking for.

Spoiler for through ep7:

"In both arcs so far Keiichi is separated from everyone during watanagashi for unknown reasons at some point. In watanagashi-hen he's seen at the back of the crowd watching rika-chan during her performance until Shion grabs him and in onikakushi-hen keiichi runs into tomitake and takano while walking alone near the river. There's some lost time there that's probably really interesting..."

Yeah, Keiichi seems fairly good about losing his friends among the crowds. But to be fair to the plot, I'll blame it on the fact that this is his first experience at the festival and not quite familiar about getting around. I'm sure if there's a reason for it, they'll show it later.

"Also, though Tomitake assisted in breaking into the shrine storeroom in watanagashi-hen, from our perspective we never see him take any pics of the inside or even step foot inside. So just opening the door is enough to get you to claw your throat out?"

One of the unanswered questions of the day. Considering we don't know if he went into the storeroom for Onikakushi-hen and yet his death was the same for both arcs, I'm more for the theory that there was another reason for his demise.

"If Takano's a nurse why is she so overly cheerful talking about implements of torture and ritual sacrifices?"

Read the TIPS. They'll shed more light on her reasons.

"What exactly is her relation to Tomitake who supposedly only comes to Hinamizawa 2-3 times per year?"

Seemingly Tomitake is her bf. Exactly, that too is unknown. TIPS provide some insight of Tomitake's nature and relationship to Takano.

[Meowshi]

Reguarding the Takano talking about death devices, it didn't really sound like she was having fun talking about the devices, rather she was having fun scaring the crap out of Keichi

[Mei Hikari]

My thoughts exactly.

[Beyond the Shave]

Current Theory for Watanagashi (up to Ep7):

Spoiler for Possible spoilers, but probably not, since I'll probably be way off. :p:

All this is just speculation.

Mion and Shion

Doesn't Shion seem to be quite a bit more mature than Mion? Do you think they're really twins? Or do you think they could be related in another manner? Part of me doubts this is the case, since "Shion" in episode 5 referred to herself as Mion's younger sister. Wouldn't she be the older "sister"? Or maybe she is trying to hide the fact that she's...? Besides, if this was true, why won't either of them tell the truth?

I think the girl that gave Kei the bento is actually Mion. But why was she dressed up like Shion? Was there something inside the food? Or the box itself (when Kei gives it back to the real Shion?). Obviously, something's up, but I have no idea what. Was there something in the tea that Shion gave him at the pre-festival as well? Obviously Mion's tea was fine (or at least SHE didn't do anything to it), since she willingly drank both cups herself. Regardless, Kei spat his out before consuming any, so it looks like nothing happened to him. Maybe they're each just trying to get him on their own side? But for what? What's so special about him? I don't wanna speculate on that for now, since I'm already probably way off.

The Shrine

I really don't have any guesses here. The only reason that I think it was Shion that brought him there is because I think that it's Mion hanging out with Rena and the others later. I also think Shion was planning on seeing Takano and Tomitake there. But then again, why would she try to hide?

I have no idea what Shion meant by the "banging" noise nor about Rika's mistake. Maybe the banging is tied in with Mion/Shion banging on Rika's house in episode 7? What would that mean, then? Are the shrine and Rika's house somehow connected? But if Shion heard the noise after leaving the shrine, that would mean somebody was banging on that door at that moment. Who would be banging on Rika's door? Yeah, this is all a huge guess.

The Next Day

I think that the girl that visits Kei at school is actually Shion, while it is actually Mion in the library. But why would Shion ask if he saw her, as well as Tomitake and Takano that night? And why would they dress oppositely? Also, how did Oishi know that he would be meeting Mion at the library? Did she let him know? And did she let him know that they were all at the shrine? If not, who found out?

The First Phone Call

I think this is just Mion impersonating Shion to make Kei get angry at Shion. Obviously both Sonozakis want Kei for some reason. And Mion is willing to lie about herself to bring Kei closer to her. While the anime shows that the caller is dressed as Shion, remember that Kei cannot see this. Only that he was expecting Shion to call him.

Rika's Metaphors

I think the cat is Kei, the older cat is Shion, the younger Mion, and the dog... Oishi? Or perhaps the villagers in general? Also, you can notice that they are outside, in the open, where anyone can hear them. Is there somebody inside the building? You can hear a noise being made at about 3:30 into Wind's version, and there is a glare on the windows, which means somebody could be inside, overhearing this. But who could it be? Also, as Sushi-Y mentioned, this is the school that they are behind, not Kei's house.

I don't know why Rika is all dirty, nor why she is watching Kei like a cat. Was she in a fight? Was she about ready to kill Kei...?

Rika and Satoko Disappear

Did "Shion" (whom I think is Mion) call to just get Kei to tell her that he told somebody (Rika)? Obviously after this Rika disappears. But this is not enough time for "Shion"/Mion to go kidnap Rika and Satoko, as he calls Rika right after he tells her. He lets it ring for ten minutes and then calls Rena to go find them. Along the way, they meet Mion. It might seem weird that she for some reason runs into Kei and Rena, but my theory about the phone calls backs this up (she heard about Rika and then left).

Don't have any guesses for the whole ladder thing. But I don't really trust Rena and her theory a whole lot.

The Village Chief

Not really a guess behind this either, except that I think Oishi and Shion have something to do with his disappearance.

Even if I'm right, I've only figured out a little bit. Still one more episode to go.

[Cogwheim]

The rattling of the windows in Episode 7...

Spoiler:

All just speculation of course, but the rattling of the windows on the second floor of the Forestry Preservation Station was probably being made by Mion bashing them hysterically as she realized that Rika is the next person who needed to be silenced after Rika asks K1 "Did you commit a wrongful act on the night of the festival?" I kind of envisioned Mion making that insane-sounding laugh of hers, and perhaps even contorting her face to some ridiculous effect.

Why would Mion have access to the Forestry Preservation Station's top floor, and not just the single classroom within? Well....because she's a Sonozaki heavyweight, and I'm going to wager that the Sonozaki's and their yakuza run operations out of the seemingly stagnant Forestry Preservation Station--hell, it only seems to be vacant to the point where it began renting out a classroom, it's probably a major base of operations. Not only that, but the Sonozaki's can keep tabs upon the children of Hinamizawa secretly from other rooms in the Station.