#see also rika and hanyuu from higurashi!!

[maripr]

It's incredibly hard to read Yu-Gi-Oh when I have to stop at every page bc Yugi and Yami Yugi's bromance makes me so goddamn emo.

However you wanna interpret their relationship, you can't tell me they're not literal soulmates.

Yami used to bet on his life a lot in the early manga because he thought he was Yugi. Another part of Yugi. Since meeting with him eyes to eyes and learning he has been betting on YUGI'S life all the while he's been incredibly ashamed of it and won't forgive anyone who threatens his aibou.

MEANWHILE Yugi has learned that the current villain has a grudge against Yami and wants to kill him which would also mean killing Yugi and Yugi ONLY CARES THAT YAMI IS IN DANGER. I can't. I just can't.

SO EMO over literal soulmates that learn more about themselves while knowing each other and then you have the audacity to ask me why I'm so obsessed with Ozpin and Oscar's bond???

[chuunijianghuyuri]

One of the wonderful things about When They Cry is not only how Ryukishi07 noticably improves as an author and builds upon his themes and ideas from his previous works, but also how each successive work gets more blatantly queer than the last.

Higurashi has quite a bit of plausable deniability on whether its characters are lgbtq. The most obvious ones are Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko for each other, but this can plausibly be denied by someone who doesn't see it without too much of a strech in the original eight episodes. Personally I'd argue that literally the entire main cast of girls are lgbtq of some kind except maybe Hanyuu, but each of those arguments do require interpretation. This is Higurashi from 2002.

Umineko gets more blatant with explicitly queer characters, more often on the magic side but there are some on the human side as well. It's a coinflip on whether Zepar or Furfur is trans (though some clowns will use real life voice actors to try to give a definitive answer). Bernkastel and Lambdadelta are notorious toxic witch lesbians. Furudo Erika and Dlanor are in a less explicit relationship that's a bit dicey at times and coming after Furudo Erika's unpleasant breakup with her boyfriend. Williard seems to be in a relationship with Ushiromiya Lion by the end even as Ushiromiya Lion explicitly states they're unsure of their gender and or don't want to say on the matter and Williard accepts that without hesitation and explicitly states that the audience should too. Ushiromiya Ange has a relationship with Mammon that can be interpreted as romantic as well, and with the open ended ending of her future, one can imagine Ushiromiya Ange as all sorts of sexuality and potentially still in that relationship with Mammon if not closer. And then of course there's Yasuda Sayo or as I'd like to call the queerest and most gender and sexuality character of all time. If I tried to count their potential queer identities, I'd probably miss at least one or two, but they ain't straight and they ain't cis even if their individual personalities might be. There's even more that you could say about the themes of Umineko overall that also tend to involve Yasuda Sayo to some extent, but I'll leave it there. By the latter half of Umineko or the answer arcs, some people reading at the time were wondering basically "Where'd all this gay shit come from?" among other things. Some people couldn't handle it at the time and many still can't, and some are somehow still in denial of Umineko's queerness to this day more than likely. This is Umineko from 2007.

Ciconia even with only one episode out and presumably an eighth of the way done by traditional When They Cry standards manages to be EVEN MORE explicitly queer within said one episode. This time, with no interpretation or any serious level of reading and understanding the text and characters needed, the main protagonists Mitake Miyao and Mitake Meow who share a body are either transgender one way or the other with Mitake Miyao being a boy and Mitake Meow being a girl. To this they're like Yasuda Sayo except they definitely know their sex, and like Ushiromiya Lion they'd rather not say at least yet. Mitake Meow's boyfriend Jayden respects this and that his girlfriend might be trans and that she can tell him and they can work whatever out when she's comfortable about it. There's a whole ass scene or so about this and is impossible to deny. Ciconia also mentions explicitly there being surgery to acquire a penis in the futuristic setting as well, and possibly even artificial wombs if I'm not mistaken too, things that are at the moment still medical hopes and dreams for so many trans people. There's also discussions about the struggles of lgbtq people as well as gay moments mostly among girls but even with a guy as well (not listing them partially because my memory of some of their names is fuzzy, lol). There's a pro yuri nun idol squad even who states that love has no bounds and yuri is the best thing ever essentially, you literally can't get more explicit and in the text than this unless your measure of gayness deems sex to be the epitemy and ideal of gayness at all times. I'm not even sure how you could be a queerphobic When They Cry fan without blatantly ignoring at least one work or malding about it constantly. This is Ciconia from 2019.

This post doesn't say much about Higurashi GouSotsu from 2020 because I haven't watched it myself, but that's pretty explicitly gay too and much more explicit than the original and makes the queer content in the original as well more blunt and obvious. Not necessarily recontexualization so much as a potential fragment that builds upon what was already previously alluded to for nearly two decades by that point.

To people who genuinely think any When They Cry work is definitively and undeniably straight...I really don't know what to tell you lol. Like there's room for intepretation for quite a bit of this including towards a cis or heterosexual explanation at times, but at some point you're just not reading the text very well to think that it's all just cis and straight and that the gays are just delusional somehow, lol.

[coolstuffiseverywhere]

I have a kinda batshit insane theory that might make sense?

So, I like Tohya and Ikuko’s existence, but Ikuko always felt off to me. We don’t have enough to really grab onto to start building much of a character from her writing unlike Tohya, despite her writing more of it. I know Sayo=Ikuko is a common theory, and I think it works by the logic I’m about to suggest. This is another alternative that I find interesting though.

Ikuko is Rika. Hear me out. Tohya isn’t Battler, in other words, he isn’t the detective. The closest we have to a detective of the future is Ange, who can still see magic. Meaning we don’t actually get an objective viewpoint of the future ever.

This works based more off Featherine, but let me explain how it works in reality: Sometime after breaking the loops, Hanyuu leaves, etc(ignore Gou I’ll get to that) she decides to leave Hinamizawa, setting up a remote place to live with some servants. As heir to the furude family, she has the funds. This doesn’t actually have to be 1986, as finding Tohya and bringing him back immediately aren’t necessarily true and are also a little lucky. My guess would be she finds Tohya while on the way to look for an estate, brings him to the hospital, and they later live together. Together, they lie about her age upon finding him, as she often uses makeup to appear older(and by the time Ange or anyone meets them she’s old enough for it to not matter), to feel more her age after the loops.

Now, my actual reasoning: Featherine on the meta level always seemed weirdly divorced from Hanyuu. I can see some connections of course, it’s all the parts of Hanyuu that got buried in Matsuribayashi. But I never really could get what all their lines about master/servant meant, considering some lines Lambda said and some implications that don’t seem true in Higurashi. Thus, I suggest: Featherine is a mix of their author persona and a witch for Rika to deal with Hanyuu leaving despite being there for her entire life.

This explains Featherine being more of a recorder(although you could also read this as Ikuko’s influence, recording both Ange’s thoughts and Tohya’s story) and watcher then a writer despite also writing. It explains what Bernkastel means by “you taught me”, as she’d be quite literally talking to a manifestation of Hanyuu and Rika, the second of which presumably making Bernkastel as a way to deal with the looping and her trauma, as well as to personify her depression. Hanyuu ofc did teach actual Rika, but Featherine was always not actually Hanyuu, and a lot of the commentary was always more about Featherine anyway. The broken horn thing may make more sense as well: it’s a combination or the Hanyuu inspiration and talking about Rika’s loops.

It also explains the higurashi as a book references: they probably did also write those, Sayo might of read them!

In this scenario, Lambda would be written to be her way of dealing with Takano and her not really getting consequences, as well as her separated friendship with Satoko. Which, on that note:

Gou! I think this would be Ikuko and Satoko, but mostly Satoko, writing it! For the same reasons as the show. And I think it works better as an actual book. She’s trying to use loop’s mechanics more to understand Rika’s experience better, and also they’re both trying to process their friendship ending. I think in this scenario either Rika left before they started high school, or they just went through all of Saint Lucia’s without a loop. Regardless, I think Satoko tried to go to Rika’s school, which was likely fancier. This was just their way of trying to see how that’d actually go for them, and better process that their past relationship was unhealthy.

I think she may of also helped write some of the Lamba parts of Umineko, but that’s mostly conjecture.

This was a bit of a mess, and I’m sure more contradictions and evidence is around, but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else suggest that some of the last book’s non-Ange future scenes are fantasy scenes. So I hope that at least helps.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. Final

“Read the entire series over again.” I wonder how many people actually did that between chapters as they were coming out?

So, since there was that one spoiler I saw from the manga version of events, and this is otherworldly voice is in fact Frederica Bernkastel I guess that does a serious number on the theory that Rika and Bernkastel are the same character. Or so it would seem to me, there’s still all of Matsuribayashi to go through to confirm or kill that particular theory. I admit that I may be operating from a faulty premise. After all, the manga came out how long after the visual novels?

This is kind of an unrelated thought, but I don’t know if I ever shared aloud the way I thought you were meant to read Umineko. Before I started that series I had the thought in my head that you were meant to read the first chapter, then jump to the first chapter of the Answer Arcs. And then proceed that way through the rest of the series, 2 then 6, and so on. Now I know this is a very silly way to think the series was meant to be done, and I admit that this particular line of reasoning didn’t live past its formation for very long. But at the time I thought that’s how it was meant to be read. I am curious though to wonder how long he had originally wanted the mystery to hang until this one came out. Ha, could you imagine if he did that? Release the first game in a series and then not release the second part for four years, despite it apparently being done a while ago?

Where's literally any information on Silent Hill F Konami?

It’s the journey not the destination. He said sarcastically. Also this reminds me of something I had read somewhere along the way that Ryukishi07 was saddened by the less than positive reception that Tsumihoroboshi received. I kind of wonder how different angry Japanese gamers are in comparison to American ones, same shit, different language?

Yeah, you didn’t exactly paint them in the most flattering light there Ryukishi. I don’t know where I read it, but I do recall reading somewhere along the line that at one point he had considered releasing this as just one singular story. Which makes me wonder what that would’ve been like. Would people have been willing to sit through the entire hundred plus hour long storyline for the entire length of it? Or was splitting it up the smarter option? For whatever my opinion’s worth on the matter of this visual novel series that was written twenty years ago, I think splitting it up was the better option. Although a part of me does wonder what the story would’ve been like as one continuous narrative. Just going from one chapter to the next, how would that have played out?

I’ve mentioned it elsewhere but there was an entirely new Higurashi storyline released about four months after Matsuribayashi. Higurashi Hou Rei. I’m given to understand that one’s not exactly the best around. Then again from what little I’ve heard, apparently chapter eight didn’t exactly delight the fan base either.

Just for funsies, around the time I was writing this part I looked at some of the later events of Minagoroshi in the manga version.

I didn’t read the whole thing, but here are some pages of Hanyuu that I thought were interesting. Primarily because I thought it was a nice change of pace seeing her with facial expressions that aren’t just sad creature.

I thought it was interesting how the manga just spells it out plainly that Ooishi had found out that Takano was alive. Whereas the visual novel kept Rika in the dark about what Ooishi had found out in Gifu. It hinted at her fate, but it never just said point blank “yeah she’s alive” like it does here in the manga.

I don’t wish to drag this out for much longer (I have over fifty screencaps from the manga saved in a folder on my desktop), but there are a couple of ones I think are worth sharing.

Kumagai still gets taken out by the Mountain Dogs sniper, but I thought this was an interesting variation, however slight, of Ooishi’s death scene.

I didn’t know this little mini-comic existed, but I’m delighted it does.

It’s canon.

Also canon.

I hope I don’t seem too hyperbolic in my praise of Minagoroshi. But this is genuinely the best written, and so far the absolute best chapter of this entire series so far. Even though I mentioned that I found the section regarding Satoko’s life with her uncle to be an absolute slog to go through. With a mention that the segments regarding this pretty firmly slammed on the brakes grinding the story to a halt I’m willing to tolerate that because the sheer strength of writing for the rest of the chapter more than makes up for it. Much as I disliked that entire section I don’t know what I would cut from it to make it a more palatable read, because despite my complaining it is rather vital to the overall narrative.

I enjoyed this chapter a lot more than I did any of the others because this chapter more than the rest started giving me what I want from the narrative. It started explaining some of the more mystical elements of the overarching plot. Much as it started doubling down on the parasites explanation it started doing so in a way that is better than just a handwave of “alien magic.” The explanation of Oyashiro, Rika in the timeloop (even though I have the theory it’s actually Hanyuu in the timeloop, and Rika’s just an unfortunate passenger to this fate), the very existence of Hanyuu herself. It handles it all extremely better than it did during the entirety of Tsumihoroboshi.

This chapter was a much-needed shot in the arm to improve the trajectory of the entire series. It’s all too easy to imagine a hypothetical scenario where it just continued its downward spiral, and just kept being worse than Tsumihoroboshi. But despite the odds it completely averted that, and came out much stronger for it. You could probably argue that my high opinion of the chapter is only because I went into it with such low expectations. I don’t think that’s the case however. I grant you that I didn’t go in to Minagoroshi with high hopes, but I don’t think I went in expecting it to be an actively miserable time.

In terms of it as a mystery I don’t know if it’s an exceptionally good one. Despite my enjoyment of mystery novels, games, and so on, I don’t feel that I have a good handle on what makes one good or not. Maybe it would’ve been a better mystery if it didn’t immediately cut to Takano injecting Tomitake with H173 and setting up all the stuff for Operation Doomsday. If we just stuck with Rika up until the reveal about Ooishi’s investigation in Gifu, or hell even later with Keiichi’s death.

As it is, however I think that Minagoroshi is far and away the absolute strongest of all of the chapters so far in the Answer Arcs. Possibly even the series as a whole. There was such a wide variety of interesting things happening that except for the plotline about Satoko it kept the story moving at a very brisk pace. I’m very excited to see if the final chapter* Matsuribayashi can keep the streak going.

I love these silly comics.

[batbeato]

What is the relationship between witches and their human selves in Umineko? Thinking about that today. (Also has Higurashi spoilers.)

The first thing to look at should be the simplest: Bernkastel. Bernkastel is only associated with one human self, Furude Rika. In Higurashi, Rika is shown to sometimes act as her "witch self": this is her "self" which holds the trauma and knowledge of all of her loops. In Saikoroshi, Rika feels entirely divorced from the human Rika she was meant to be, 'the Rika of this fragment', and feels like she is no longer Rika, but the witch, Bernkastel. Contrast this with the end of Matsuribayashi, where Bernkastel seems like an entirely separate entity to Rika, speaking as though Rika is someone else and going on in the world of Fragments.

We know that Rika is on the "gameboard" in Hinamizawa celebrating her victory with her friends, but the witch-Rika, Bernkastel, is still trapped in the loops/scenario, toying with possibilities - the traumatized part of Rika that was left behind.

Rika embodied and was Bernkastel, and Bernkastel originally was Rika, but ultimately, Rika and Bernkastel have become separate existences. We can see callbacks to Rika in Umineko, like when Bernkastel names her piece "Furudo Erika" (a riff on Furude Rika), and we can see that Bernkastel is still affected by what happened to her as Rika from her response to Erika mentioning it in EP6.

Since I've brought up Bernkastel, I should also discuss Lambdadelta. Thanks to SotsuGou, people primarily associate her with Satoko nowadays, but she actually bears resemblance to two Higurashi characters: Takano and Satoko. For example, her eyes were originally yellow, and she also has a side story showing her interactions with a child who wanted to become a god - Takano. It's also mentioned that she lost a game against Bernkastel in the past (which Takano did, though as of SotsuGou, Satoko has as well). She lays a trap for Bernkastel in another side story, which links her to Satoko, and she has red eyes in other versions of her sprite, which link her again to Satoko.

However, Lambdadelta is never confirmed to have been born from Satoko or Takano, despite her connections to them. I can't really speak further on her relationship with them as human-to-witch-self without assuming one or the other or both.

Then there's Featherine, who seems to be a mixture of Hachijo Tohya and Ikuko. She has Ikuko's appearance, but also uses Tohya's name. As the witch-author of the story, she likely comes from both of them. Her primarily being based off of Ikuko in terms of appearance and personality may arise from Ikuko doing most of the writing, or from something in their relationship (interpersonal or as writers).

However, she often seems to show feelings that may come from Tohya, such as her kindness towards Ange in EP8. And yet, this contrasts her cruelty at the end of EP6/in EP7. This likely comes from her existence being based off of two different people: she is the witch born from the author 'Hachijo Tohya', who is in truth both Tohya and Ikuko. She is a single entity disguising two people.

Featherine's given backstory is that she sleeps for long periods of time, only to be revived by a new story. She is Bernkastel's master who taught her how to "eat meat" (likely, to cannibalize stories for entertainment, rather than being part of a story), and Bernkastel also revived Featherine at one point. Featherine is also connected to Hanyuu by Eua in SotsuGou, who appears to be similar to her. However, there is no known connection between the humans here, only the witches.

This can have various reasons:

The simplest is that Higurashi and Umineko have the same actors in different roles. In Higurashi, Bernkastel may have been born from Rika, but in Umineko, Bernkastel is born from Ikuko's cat, Bern. The links between the two Bernkastels are fun easter eggs without much consequence, and the same goes for any other cross-VN relations or connections. This is also the most boring answer, in my opinion.

Another is that, even if Higurashi and Umineko have both taken place in the same universe, that does not mean that the Hinamizawa and Rokkenjima gameboards exist in the same universe. Higurashi in the world of Umineko might be a story that Ikuko wrote. It is possible that Hanyuu was a character she projected a lot onto, as a woman who was rejected by her community, killed by her husband, and now clinging to the companionship of her descendant, Rika. Ikuko herself was exiled from her family, removed from the outside world, and was very lonely. The story was abandoned, but somehow Bern, her cat, gave her inspiration to finish it: thus Bernkastel the witch, a mixture of her cat and her character, Rika, was born and had saved Featherine. Some other explanation of events may also serve to connect the characters together.

Overall, however, regardless of reasoning, Featherine seems very disconnected from Ikuko and Tohya. Part of this may be due to the additional layer that Featherine is in the story, while Ikuko and Tohya are alive, human writers that exist outside of it.

This is very different to the close, interwoven relationship that Eva and Evatrice have. Evatrice is separate from Eva, but in the sense that Evatrice is Eva's childhood trauma and discarded dreams personified as a witch. They share a body on the gameboard, and are only fully separate in EP8. For them, there is no full separation or denouncing of them as Eva: they are both Eva, just with a focus on different parts of their lives.

I also want to mention Ange: her final transformation into the "witch of the future" at the end of the story coincides with the 'death' of Ange, and her rebirth into Yukari. Ange was a witch, but in order to live on, she is reborn into Yukari who is a 'white witch' and an author that brings happiness to children. She leaves behind her old identity while still carrying the memories of that time (as evidenced by her emotional reunion with Tohya). However, up until this point, Ange as a witch had no separation from Ange as a human. Maria and Battler are similar: they become their witch-selves, with no separate human self remaining (except, in Battler's case as a higher-level witch, for his gameboard/piece self).

...Technically Virgilia is a witch, but she is one made by a fantasy conception of her, rather than Kumasawa's own decision to become a witch. There isn't much of a relationship to be had.

I saved Beatrice for last for a reason.

Some people consider Sayo to have become Beatrice, given the events of the Confession chapters of the manga. However, there is also room to interpret them as similar to Bernkastel and Rika's relationship, where the witch and human were once one, but have since separated.

For example, Beatrice's red truth that the sin Battler committed wasn't against her, as well as her discussion with her piece-self (Sayo) in EP4, promising her that she will take care of everything, may indicate that Beatrice does not feel that she is 1:1 with Yasuda Sayo.

Another thing to consider is Sayo's conception of herself: she speaks of the world as though she is like a director or god, distinct from it. "I'm modifying the world so that Beato is me." "I'm done acting the part of the servant." Sayo herself doesn't appear on the stage: only Beatrice does. Her personas (Beatrice, Kanon, Shannon) are the only versions of herself allowed to appear. She also narrates separately from the trio in EP7 - "Then, Beatrice. From now on, you will carry the bud of love. In other words, the role of being infatuated with Battler and waiting for his return will go to you."

Much like Rika, Sayo embodied Beatrice, considering her to be a secret "witch-self" separate from her "daily-self". However, Sayo did not even consider her "witch-self" to be herself completely, instead speaking of Beatrice in the third person. In that case, where is Sayo, if she is not Beatrice (and certainly not Shannon or Kanon, who are also explicitly created by her)? She refers to "us" (all three personas and herself), indicating that her "true self" is none of the three, but separate.

In that case, with Sayo holding themself to be separate from Beatrice, Shannon, and Kanon, can Beatrice really be said to be Sayo, and Sayo to be Beatrice, rather than the relationship of "Beatrice was once Sayo" that Bernkastel seems to hold with Rika? Is it more of the enmeshed relationship that Eva has with Evatrice? Or is it the disconnected relationship that Featherine, as the author-avatar, has with Ikuko and Tohya?

If we go by Confession's depiction, Sayo's truest self is Beatrice, as she becomes her within the catbox and acts out the role of Beatrice. But if we go by EP7, Sayo doesn't seem to align with any of her personas as a truest self, even Beatrice. All three of them are acknowledged as separate from Sayo, which fits with all three of them existing separately within the catbox. Sayo did not directly or fully "become" any of the three, so all three hold equal status as 'furniture' that need a soul to become real and to be loved (see: the EP6 love duel).

Since the two depictions appear to conflict, I would say that both of them (and all others on this spectrum) should be permitted in the catbox.

Witches seem to have varying relationships with their human forms. Are they cocoons they were nurtured in and they left, or are their human selves still an important of them, witch and human interlinked? Or do they distinguish themselves so much from their human forms that the connection is difficult to see? However, their human selves always shape their past and who they are now. There is no fully severing the connection between reality and fantasy.

[pinkie-satan]

about Kataribanashi-hen manga (I finally? read it)

I've never read Kataribanashi-hen before, since those stories were not written by Ryukishi and I thought they might not be really good (how mistaken I was!), but I have a paper to write so naturally I'm doing litterally anything else, sooo I started reading it and while there are those stupid fanservice type of stories there are some cute ones too and some that are silly in an enjoyable way, if you haven't read it and don't plan to, here are some things I found stupid/weird/cute/sad

Punishment Games are a Silver Bullet: I liked this one, as a punishment Keichi has to go on a "date" with every girl from the club, he sits with Rika and holds her hand while she's resting, he goes to Satoko's old house with her to clean it for Satoshi's return, he finds some marbles with Rena in the garbage dump and at the end he spends time with Mion showing her that it's okay to be girly sometimes even if some may say it doesn't match her boy-like personality

Minaitoshi-hen: this one had some sad moments. it's basically a world in which Keichi is not in Hinamizawa and girlies team up to fight Takano and there's this badass Rena panel

but then they are all killed and Keichi get's the syndrome while in Tokio

Little Demon: what the fuck was that even...

The Melancholy of Stir-Fried Vegetables: girls going crazy for Keichi, not for me but we have a yassified Rena that looks like she's 30 and a cute satorika page

Nienagashi: Keichi has his own Beatrice arc?

Hinageshi-hen: THIS ONE IS SO GOOD AND SO SAD GO READ IT YALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm not gonna spoil it for you, just know it's crying for Mion chapter)

Satokoishi-hen: oh so Teppei's redemption arc wasn't a new thing and it wasn't even Ryukishi's idea...

The Butterfly's Dream -Endless Nightmare: all of Rika's nightmares come to life (also Hanyuu is umineko-style witchfied), the chapter ends with Zhuangzi's butterfly quote

Usomabushi-hen: Satoshi wakes up and he doesn't remember Shion yet she's willing to protect him at all costs (I CRIED GUYS, you know how I adore satoshion)

Rika-Sato Wars: aka satorika marriage crisis, I think that someone posted panels from that chapter here lately (witch of illusions was that you bestie?) and I wanted to read it since

The Cuckoo Clock and Dreams of a Loving Home: Takano (not)girlbossing chapter

Omorashi de Naku Koro ni: while this chapter starts as a stupid haha story it takes unexpected turn and it's actually good??

Limit: a different take on Meakashi, I liked this one, it's sad, it's scary, just how Higurashi should be

Welcome Home, Goodbye: Satoshi comes back (again!) and Rika is jelous...

it is really I'll make Rika stay in Hinamizawa forever but it's Rika keeping Satoko in her home now

Fans (even back then!) really saw how codepended the girls were and how hard saying farewell would be for Rika espiecially. I loved seeing her trying to stop Satoko (though she's spilling water to acomplish that, not blood hahah) and how devastated she feels to be left behind (ohh the pararels to gousotsumeguri!)

and after Rika got jealous of Satoshi, Hanyuu got jealous of Satoko and maaaan the girlies were FIGHTING

that's gotta be one of my favourite chapters (along with Hinageshi and Usomabushi)

Thank you: Hanyuu disappearing chapter (I cried again)

Yukiwatashi-hen: it's winter, Rika has problems but they have nice winter outfits tehee (and it's also a satorika chapter!)

girl yes

this post is getting too long so I think I'm gonna try to at least start my assignment, till something cries again, guys!

[neon-z]

Curse of 1983

Once again I started thinking about how Rika has been handled by Ryukishi07 in recent Higurashi, and it reminds me of how much I dislike it. My previous rant about Sotsu touched on the issue, but looking back, it goes beyond Sotsu.

Rika's entire character now exists in function of her suffering in 1983. She succeeded and managed to move away from that, but emotionally that just isn't the case. Abandoning everything said in the original story about her just wanting to live in peace alongside the people she loves, now she also wants to move away from them into an unknown world. A large part of her character basically becomes a reaction to the loops. She suffered there, so now she searches for the opposite of that. And that is framed even by Hanyuu (who the narrative pushes as the morally correct answer) as her reaching for her "freedom", with Hanyuu treating with despair a future where she fails to move away from Hinamizawa, like it were a rejection of her growth. But is this really growth?

Rika leaving Hinamizawa, especially to St.Lucia, is framed specifically as a rejection to the loops both in the narrative and even R07's interviews, where he frames it in very superficial ways, like describing Rika's desire for a "western atmosphere" (which feels like a very superficial reason to upend her entire life for something that would only last a couple of years). She ends up feeling like an empty person, whose entire dream is entirely reactive, without anything within it. I've had some people tell me this view is purely negative and I'm disregarding the heart of the story, but like I said, R07's interviews (with the architecture highlight) just seemed to push me more in the direction that this is all empty. While Satoko's loops have no weight on her final chararacter, who is pushed to mature in a "natural" way, Rika is still all about her loops with nothing framed out of that. This is extremely frustrating especially because the narrative tries to frame the conclusion as a happy ending, rather than acknowledging the hopeless state Rika is left in at the end, as someone driven entirely by an empty goal that only exists as a reaction to suffering.

But Sotsu isn't R07's most recent Higurashi work. Right around the time Sotsu was ending, R07 had revealed a series called Higurashi Rei (from Reiwa era) taking place more than 35 years after the original Higurashi. Now, Reiwa is a separate continuity that branches off from Matsuribayashi, but this is still a work with involvement from R07 that he conceptualized right after he was done with Gou and Sotsu. The way he views characters and concepts can be glimpsed and connected through this. So, we see a 48 years old Rika, and what kind of person is she? How did her growth turn out?

She doesn't like staying anywhere for long, and is always traveling around the world. Years can pass without her returning to Hinamizawa. We first see her in the story while she's in the hospital after falling from stairs. The story quickly frames her greatest happiness as meeting the very same group of friends from 1983, to "go back to those times". And, as it turns out, that's everything there is to her life. Her friends dying, even though she hadn't seen them in years, and was mostly unaware of the problems going through Hinamizawa in the last two years, immediately cause her to kill herself and loop again, even though here she only has 3 chances due to magical jewels given by Hanyuu years ago, rejecting a world without some of them.

In spite of being a traveler who has gone through the entire world, her life is still defined by 1983. Unlike the other club members that formed their own families (including Satoko who in this world got over her own relationship traumas off-screen and got hitched to a man, becoming a "lady" of the Kimiyoshi family), Rika is alone and seemingly had formed no strong bonds beyond the club, to the point the death of her friends immediately makes her jump back to looping out of her own will. So, from one side you have her with "freedom", "moving away" from Hinamizawa, in another she's still stuck in the past more than anyone else. Which goes back to what I mentioned before, Rika's freedom ends up framed as just a reaction to the loops, with her entire character existing in service of that. She didn't really grow because her "dream" is all an empty reaction, not something with actual meaning. The narrative takes pot shots at that too, with her being bothered by the children calling her "aunt", or her asking Irie for Satoko photos, poking fun at how she's pretty stuck in the past unlike the others. And yet this same narrative refuses to take any of that seriously. It's all somehow framed as a "happy ending", rather than something seen under critical eyes in spite of the scenario itself that has been written.

This issue of a forced "happy ending" becomes even more obvious when you look at her relationships beyond the club. Rika abandoned Hinamizawa and the Furude tradition, so now they bring outside priests to handle the religious ceremonies and the Watanagashi performance can actually be done by anyone. At the same time though, Rika is still respected in the village and loved by the "elders", which is a status quo that makes no sense at all once you start thinking about it. To start with, the elders that pampered Rika when she was young should be dead by now, these elders in love with her now would actually need to be the young adults from her time. The young adults from the time she left the village and led to various religious reforms. And in spite of all that she's somehow still seen with a positive view, which is weird. Even going beyond the identity of these elders, if they care about the religion and Rika's position within it, it's odd they were fine with her leaving and the Furude being replaced by outside priests. On the other hand, if they don't care about the traditions... why do they care about Rika someone who left the village and did little for them through the years? There's no reason at all. If they didn't care for the traditions, they'd just see Rika as this girl who left them years ago and would have no attachment to her. The whole situation only exists in order to frame Rika's current status quo as a happy ending, so she gets to leave the village, while still benefiting from all the love she had before.

Sotsu tries to draw a parallel between Rika and Satoko, putting them on the same level as Satoko also becomes a looper, but I feel like it falls apart in the conclusion. Satoko's conclusion is moving away from her loops, acting like they basically never happened. Her final development is meant to be basically putting it all aside and focusing on a healthy human life unrelated to all that time she spent there. On the other hand, Rika's entire character in his modern works is based on her own loops and the burden she carries from them - even abandoning Saikoroshi's conclusion where she talked like she'd put all that past behind and live like this world was her only one. Running away from Hinamizawa or searching for new experiences by traveling around the world are all reactions that exist due to her time in the loops, nothing to do with her human life, and yet her character has become defined by that. That's how Ryukishi07 could go from writing Gou/Sotsu to Reiwa - going back to a non-looper Satoko after all the focus she had just gotten doesn't contradict her character thematically, even if you'd think it'd be a huge step back after the development she just got. Meanwhile, Rika is still a looper, and once again alone - just like when she's leaving Hinamizawa at the end of Sotsu leaving everyone behind, while the other main club members are all together. Thematically, Satoko was always meant to "move away" from her loops, but Rika is eternally chained to her loops in 1983, something Ryukishi07 attempts to frame as a "happy ending", even though it obviously isn't one.

[peccatula]

the fact i'm reading higurashi 2 decades after its initial release means i have been spoiled to high hell and yet i still am so so compelled to continue reading, autism rambling under the cut lol

there are still things i don't know, i wanna know who hanyuu is, is she oyashiro-sama? is she the one who keiichi kept hallucinating? what is hinamizawa syndrome? how much of this is supernatural, and how much of it is via the work of humans?

i wanna know why and how rika is looping time, i wanna know the ins-and-outs of that, i want to know shion's relationship with satoshi, i want to know why shion was spared from being killed as a baby, i want to know more about the sonozaki family and how mion will inherit it, i want to know more about MION!!!!

i want to see them all live and succeed and be happy even though i know the chances are slim, god its such a cwonderfully written mystery and psychological horror. there's some really trashy aspects, as you can expect from an early 2000s era visual novel, but if you can get past it its Such a compelling series so far. im 2 chapters into meakashi and im so hyped to finally have a perspective other than keiichi's (or akasaka). very excited (and nervous based on what ive heard) to get to tsumihoroboshi and experience it from rena's perspective

also transmasc mion sonozaki is real and you cannot convince me otherwise when there is canon material where shion says mion's on the fence abt being a boy or girl ANd i think i saw official art once where he straight up said "im not a girl". he/she bigender bisexual icon i think

[longroadstonowhere]

i'm doing my best to write this paper, but also i'm distracting myself periodically so that i don't get too bogged down in unuseful details, so i'm gonna ramble a bit about higurashi and umineko stuff below the cut (full spoilers for both things, feel free to be very confused if you don't know both stories, ahahha)

so in one of my discords, i got into a chat with someone who hates viewing higurashi and umineko as being similar types of worlds, which fascinates me because that's certainly the interpretation i came to after reading through umineko, given featherine and bernkastel and lambdadelta

so like, the way i see things is that featherine and lambdadelta were meant to play a game together, and they set up the board with takano as lambda's player piece and hanyuu as featherine's player piece (definitely didn't forget hanyuu's name and figure it out by googling 'higurashi auau')

(obviously the funniest part is that that worked)

but, featherine gets stuck, gets bored, gets whatever, and walks away, leaving the game in the hands of rika, a game piece with no concept of the witch level of gameplay - lambda recognizes that this sucks, but, well, she's not going to stop playing just because her opponent has no idea what's going on

so rika gains the absolute barest minimum understanding of the meta level, the sea of fragments, and like not even a good understanding of the sea, just the realization that she sees events play out over and over and over again and they're slightly different sometimes, but they can be grouped into certain types of stories, certain focuses that happen each time, and after millions of iterations she's stored enough remembrances that physically she's almost forced onto the witch level

so bernkastel the furniture is born, to hold the meta concepts forced into rika's mind by unending repetitions, but she still doesn't actually understand what the game is, until she finally uncovers takano's actions and realizes she has an opponent

from there, it's a matter of trying every scenario she can find until finally, finally, she finds one where everything can be nudged into place just so, with the tiniest pieces of information fed into some of her other pieces, and hanyuu forced to step forward (as she might have done all along had featherine not abandoned the game), until she finally defeats lambdadelta

by defeating a witch, and fully comprehending the game she was born into, bernkastel is offered the chance to become a witch, which of course she takes because her first experience was one of the most hellish games imaginable, she'd rather inflict that upon others than get stuck in anything like that again, and so she and lambda bounce off into the universe

this does make me wonder, who sponsored bern for her witch ceremony? if it was lambda that's extraordinarily funny, considering she sponsored evatrice and beatrice as well, like she's fully willing to just sponsor anybody, just go ahead and be a witch if you feel like it (for reals though bern's power over miracles and lambda's power over certainties definitely feel like the same power, just explained from different directions, which is interesting)

[kagaminelen]

like why tf is hanyuu so serious. she has been a goofball the entire time she's been onscreen, even moreso in rei and kira??? why is she so grim now???

aside from saikoroshi-hen, rei and kira are so OUT OF PLACE????

aside from the fact that I never know what timeline it is (I'm just assuming outbreak is after the ending of kai by default, rei states this plainly, and kira is completely non-canon)

like, I can barely accept kira as just pure fanservice because if flanderizes ALL of the characters (save for satoko and rena) so badly I was concerned that it was the new normal for these characters. Like Rika has always been a little mean to Hanyuu, but in kira she is outright evil towards her. Keiichi is....ruined and so is Takano. The only thing I liked about either is that Satoshi was there, I like him a lot, it's just a shame he's kinda a character of the past and can't be apart of the main cast

in any case, outbreak was rather weak for me, but it had the feel of the original anime and I'll take it.

also: I thought "Dear You" was School Days, not Higurashi lol, I'm pleasantly surprised by the orchestral arrangement as the credits

okay no onto go and sotsu! I am concerned about how it looks a lot like Kira in terms of art style and how that'll work for the darker parts of the series, but we'll see

I'm normally against the tonal whiplash that I feel occurs whenever a show with a serious topic employs comedic relief. I understand (in theory) that you need something to break up the deep stuff, I guess? But like, why don't I just take a break from whatever it is? The things that use this the most are things like books or shows, not things that are meant to be consumed in one siting, anyway.

But watching something interesting and serious, and then having random bits of unfunny in the middle is just not it for me. Maybe it's the fact that I find it unfunny. If I found it funny, maybe I wouldn't hate it so much.

I find this to be the worst when it comes to anime, when the comedic relief is normally just ecchi shit or something. I don't find it funny, and it feels like a waste of time for me.

For example, I love black butler, it's awesome cool etc. etc. BUT I hate the comedic relief. Not necessarily the comedy itself, but when the show goes out of its way to make a "funny moment" and most of the time I just don't find it funny. I know I'm alone in this because when I went to watch Book of Atlantic in theatres, there were plenty of people laughing at the parts that were supposed to be funny.

The only thing I've watched that works for me is Higurashi. It almost depends on the breaks of normalcy between the gore and horror. Like yes, it has stupid anime shit like crossdressing or people being perverts or whatever, but for the most part it cosplays as a normal slice of life 50% and a mystery/thriller/slasher the other 50% the dichotomy is very much on purpose and really does serve the purpose of normal people doing depraved things because of too many flaps of a butterfly's wings. It's a good thing my tolerance for anime bullshit it decently high, or else I think I wouldn't watch it. It's genuinely interesting and the mystery bits and darker elements of the show have me hooked

[thewhitefluffyhat]

What is a witch?

In Higurashi Sotsu Episode 8, Eua defines a witch as the above. This both is and isn't the same definition as we've seen in When They Cry before!

Indeed, the reason why it's so hard for Umineko fans to give a straight answer to "what is a witch?" is because the definition often changes depending on who is saying the word. But while the exact uses vary, they're often circling around a collection of related concepts.

So let's take a look at some other examples in the series of what it means to be a witch!

Rika’s Definition of a Witch

In When They Cry, the first use of the term "witch"  comes from the original Higurashi. Rika uses the word early in Minagoroshi to describe herself as a being who has experienced multiple worlds, and therefore can predict events before they happen.

Note that Rika here isn't describing a specific kind of magic being that exists, with established rules and specific powers and whatnot. She's using the term as a label she made up (or possibly heard from Hanyuu) to try to make sense of her own experiences.

Throughout Minagoroshi, Rika continues thinking about herself in these terms - herself as a tired, cynical witch who has lived for a hundred years, versus the emotions and hope she hasn’t completely left behind.

Eventually, Rika comes to the conclusion pictured above. That thinking like a witch - that seeing herself as separate from the events around her - has made her forget her own agency in those events.

Saikoroshi takes Rika's thoughts from Minagoroshi and Matsuribayashi and expands on them. This is the first arc to explore the idea of Rika's "Frederica Bernkastel" witch side as a separate being from "Furude Rika," the human who lives in a Fragment.

It's... kind of heartbreaking, actually. Rika eventually comes to believe she (the witch Rika) has replaced the Rika that was supposed to be in the Saikoroshi world, and she starts to want to erase her own personality in order to give the body "back."

But would such a thing even be possible? If so, did the witch Rika possess Saikoroshi Rika and make her kill her mother? And at the end, did Rika actually separate her witch side into a being that exists on a higher plane? Who knows! Turns out the scenario was just a dream Hanyuu made Rika have to teach her a lesson.

.

Still, within just these Higurashi scenes, we have all the seeds of what witches are in Umineko. We have the idea that witches are something no longer human, and specifically inhuman because of their perception of multiple worlds. We have the idea of a witch as a spectator distantly observing events, rather than a human participating in them. We have the idea of the witch as a shattering of one’s psyche, and of internal conflict brewing between the “witch” and the “human” sides of one’s personality.

And we have the idea that being a witch is fundamentally not a good or happy thing. It is power and psychological distance at the cost of one's emotions, agency, and humanity.

But so far, we only have one "witch." What happens when there are multiple witches?

Lambdadelta’s Definition of a Witch

The short story “Memoirs of the Lambdadelta” is looking more and more retconned with each episode of Sotsu, but even so, I think it’s still valuable in this context.  While Rika defined witches as passive spectators, the following excerpt has Lambda define them as beings that exist in between two extremes.

(Also note the intriguing flip in perspective - in Higurashi, Rika attributed agency to the humans, while gods like Hanyuu were incredibly passive. But Lambda - and arguably Umineko as a whole - see it in opposite terms.)

The ones tossed about by fate are the humans. Fools, helpless, can’t create anything.

…...However, they have a ground to firmly step under their feet. And that ground will never betray them, thus, they can live their whole existence without the fear of the terror of falling to hell.

The ones who create fate are the gods. And the Creator.

......However, the fact that they create everything and are freed from all restrictions means they don't even have a restriction such as the ground under their feet.

Beings that have completely lost all constraints... In exchange for gaining everything, they have lost even the limitation of their own 'meaning'.

...When even the notion of life and death and the meaning of existence has been lost... they reach the level of zero. Or rather, they fall down to it. Crash down. Crumble. Vanish like mist.

I think the ones placed in the middle are us, the witches. We create fate and play with it. We move around in that interstice. However, we accept certain restrictions and limitations, leaving ourselves some footing so that we won't tumble down.

To the witches who are not afraid of it, the ones who are far, far ahead of me... these restrictions don't exist.

So the emphasis is a little bit different, but we’re still circling the idea of a witch as a being caught between planes, a being that has ties to the physical world but isn’t quite as bound by its rules.

Now, that’s all well and good, but it’s not very close to Eua’s description, is it? After all, Satoko has been dipping in and out of the Sea of Fragments and playing with fate ever since Satokowashi.

Indeed, there isn’t anything in Umineko that perfectly matches Eua’s definition. But there is, however, this exchange with Lambda from Umineko Episode 6:

Beatrice: "Th, there's no need to say 'so long'...! We'll... we'll think of a trick right away, and the game will resume! We won't take up your time...! So stay here a little longer...! Please...!!" Lambda: "...We've heard those same words from many witches in the past. And I've heard of hardly any who've actually managed to resume their games. As far as I know, the only two are me... and Bern." Beatrice: "Why... why would a person who knows about that hell [the logic error] throw another person into it?! Just because you're bored? Is that all?!" Lambda: "...Yeah, that's all. It's to escape from boredom. Because when we get bored, we remember. We remember that hell. And, you know, by throwing someone else down into that hell, we realize that, oh, we're the ones on the throwing side, and that means we aren't in that hell ourselves. If we don't keep doing that, then the fear of that hell will overwhelm us..."

Here, we finally have the idea of a witch as a creature wallowing in self-pity, and hurting others to do it.  And it’s interesting, isn’t it?  That Lambda, of all characters, is the one who ultimately sees witches the most similarly to Eua…

(Also this has nothing to do with anything, but while rewatching the scene to get the screenshot, I just noticed that what’s translated as “so long” here is... “gokigenyou.” That sure hits different now!)

Witches As Internal Conflict

[Warning! This section contains major Umineko spoilers!]

So much for Lambda. What about the other witches in Umineko?

I have a feeling that in the coming weeks, we’re going to be seeing a lot of arguments that Satoko is being possessed by her witch self and that the real Satoko is innocent. And I really don’t like that interpretation.

Because while Higurashi briefly flirts with that idea in Saikoroshi, Umineko comes down very hard on the side that witches are not an excuse, but a metaphor for internal conflict.

There are a few minor witches in Umineko that take the idea from Saikoroshi of the “witch” as a separate being and go even further. Eva, for example, personifies the ambition and determination of her younger self as a witch. That younger self even has her own sprite and dialogue arguing with the adult Eva. Maria, meanwhile, conceptualizes the abuse she experiences as a “Black Witch” that possesses her mother.  

But the thing both these witches have in common is that they’re metaphors and externalizations. Maria’s big epiphany at the end of Episode 2 is her coming to understand and accept that both the good and bad sides of her mother are one person. And as far as I know, there is not a valid solution to Episode 3 where Eva isn’t a killer - which means Eva’s arguments with her younger self are representations of her inner struggle and guilt over the murders she commits.

...Of course, Eva and Maria pale in comparison to the queen of this example, Beatrice. One of the most brilliant aspects of Umineko is the way that in hindsight (or on re-read) all of the conversations and magical battles between Shannon, Kanon, and Beatrice can be read as externalizations of Sayo’s arguments with themselves. Sayo’s different personas don’t just have separate sprites, they even fight and kill each other in spectacular fashion!

But as much as Sayo tries to cordon off parts of their personality into separate characters, they’re all still fundamentally Sayo. And the struggle of being forced to choose one, and only one, “self” to live as while discarding the rest - that’s part of what makes them self-destruct so badly.

Perhaps we may eventually see Rika and Satoko split off the witch side of their personalities into fully separate consciousnesses. But if so, I suspect it’s going to take some serious, non-metaphorical magic to make it happen.

(...And it would explain why Lambda and Bern are such a mess, if they’re half a person set adrift...)

(Also yes, I am aware of the CPP characters in Ciconia. They are not the same thing as witches. Though your guess is as good as mine at what’s going on with that alternate Miyao…)

[end major spoilers]

Erika’s Definition of a Witch

Now, while many witches in Umineko are metaphors for internal conflict, not all of them are. In particular, Erika and Ange come at the idea of a witch from a slightly different angle than the characters discussed above.

This is an exchange between those characters in Episode 8, so obviously some minor spoilers, though nothing about Beatrice or the main mystery.

(Ange’s narration) From the theatergoer's perspective, our individual lives are hardly worth anything at all. If they're writing down an entire world in a single volume, then my life probably isn't even worth a single line.

Ange: "But we're the main characters. I am, and so are you."

Erika: "That's right. Even if the tale of the gods doesn't mention us, the main character in the story we write for ourselves is always us. Becoming aware of that fact is the first thing that separates witches from humans."

Yeah, remember how I said that different characters have different definitions?

As it turns out, Erika’s definition of a witch is almost exactly the opposite of Rika/Bern’s. While Rika considered the witch to be the side of her that retreated from her own story, Erika sees becoming a witch as confirming her importance to her story.

For what it’s worth, other characters in Episode 8 note how rare it is for Bern to actually participate in events herself rather than remaining as a spectator. So yes, Umineko’s Bernkastel is still implied to have the same mindset as Rika did in Higurashi.

The point is, witches as a concept are very much tied to a character’s perception of their agency within their life. But how they see that relationship can vary!

Ange’s Definition of a Witch

One last excerpt, and perhaps the most telling one of all. 

This is a continuation of the scene in the previous section, so the same spoilers apply.

Ange: "...What?" Erika: "So, you really did make a deal, to throw away your life to learn the truth." Ange: "...I had nothing to gain from life. It was easy for me to trade away the time I had left." Erika: "My master really does take to idle whims. To think she would make a contract for the meaningless life of a powerless girl." Ange: "...Heh."

Ange chuckled, not bothering to argue. That was exactly right. How incredible that Bernkastel would lend her power to a worthless life that was trying to throw itself away.

Erika: "Well, my master is the witch who controls miracles. ......So, it makes sense that she'd appear even for a worthless girl like you." Ange: "Good point. Even if Bernkastel hadn't appeared, I would've still taken that step off the edge that day." Erika: "...You really are a cheap woman, aren't you?" Ange: "Well then, just how much are you worth?" Erika: "Me?! Hahaha, ahahahahahahahahahaha..."

The way Erika cackled was disturbing. Still, Ange realized that this was her way of answering the question. People don't become witches of their own choosing. If they're capable of living, all people want to live their lives as humans.

...When something comes along to trip up that life, that's when the road to living as a witch opens. Even Furudo Erika, who calls herself the Witch of Truth, must be like this. The two Witches of Truth, sitting here drinking tea without even looking at each other, are exactly the same.

And there we go. This, as far as I know, is the most straightforward definition of a witch in the series. And it exactly describes what happened to Satoko.

Once again, a witch is not a happy existence. Much like in Madoka Magica, a witch is the end point of (often suicidal) despair.

Indeed, I’d argue that the term "witch" almost implies too much freedom, in a sense. With Voyager Witches especially, they're more like timeline-juiced ghosts, endlessly repeating and re-inflicting their traumas on themselves and those around them.

(The Sea of Fragments is beautiful, but oh so very haunted.)

In Conclusion

"What is going on with Satoko's breakdown in Tataridamashi" is something I've been worried about how the anime would handle ever since the reveal that Satoko was the culprit. I never in my wildest theories suspected it would be used to finally drop the W-word!

But honestly, I think I do like the scene. As ambiguous as it is.

Because the contrast between Eua's cruel laughter, compared with Satoko's sobbing for someone to save her and for it to stop...

The contrast within Satoko herself, the tormentor and the tormented...

That juxtaposition, more than anything else, is what it means to be a witch.  

[curryswirl]

higurashi headcanons.

notes under the cut

Satoko is a trans girl. While I think she could be bi, i think she has a particular struggle with her attraction to women once she reaches high school and accepting it is a huge part of her early adulthood. I also love looking at Satoko’s exaggerated “proper lady” bit as a way for her to connect with and have fun with her gender euphoria. See Satoshi’s notes for more details about Satoko’s transition.

Rika is a lesbian, (barely a headcanon) and though I didn’t write it down, I think she considers herself agender, but femme aligned for sure. shrug. I think Rika, being so disconnected from Hinamizawa’s cultural rules, would be ultra supportive of anyone in her life who was a budding queer. She has a large hand in helping Satoko discover this. I think that Hanyuu’s alien origin also opens her mind to the fluidity of gender extremely early in her life.

Mion is a trans girl, and bi. I think that Mion’s deep insecurity about being percieved as a “girl” even though she has “boyish” (ie rowdy) traits has always felt very Gender to me. I think Mion might have began transitioning pretty soon before the story, definetly some time late 1982. I think that additionally, Mion’s crisis wrt Keiichi giving the doll to Rena could hit Shion harder if she was reminded of the general transphobia of the village, seeing as I headcanon Satoshi as an nb trans man as well. More on that in his section.

Shion, being Mion’s identical twin, is also a trans girl. Being exiled and feeling alone for her whole life probably has given her a lot of time to self reflect and I think that Shion began her transition much before Mion. The Sonozaki’s largely ignored this/chose not to acknowledge it/let it fuel their distaste for Shion for sure, but she found acceptance after Mion began her own transition, as Mion is the golden child and her conviction toward her identity impressed Oryou, who essentially dictates everyone’s opinion on the matter anyway.

Hanyuu is a gender fluid person who uses she/he/it. Originally being an incorporeal space creature, I don’t think that Hanyuu’s race had much of a perception of gender, but Hanyuu found euphoria in womanhood and manhood while adapting to human life. Also she’s huge. Which means Eua is even huger.

Keiichi is a he/him lesbian!! I’m not sure why but I’ve been so drawn to this HC lately. Maybe because it makes most of the love interests in lesbian ones if so :P Anyways, Keiichi grew up in the city where I think he was more able to find queer education despite being lonesome and it being the 80′s, especially if he had any awareness of American politics at the time. I think he may be the type to use he/him confidently with friends but have a hard time getting his parents to remember his pronouns because he’s not a trans man.

Satoshi is a trans man, though!! My idea for Satoko and Satoshi is that when their parents died and their Uncle and Aunt took them in, they managed to switch names and go stealth since their Aunt and Uncle probably didn’t give enough of a shit about them to know who was the older one prior to being saddled with them. I imagine they were very ostracized anyway, and Chie is definetly supportive of trans identities, so the transition went well for them both. Rika assuredly help pay for both of their wardrobes with her inheritance, and Chie helped change their legal documents (illegally I think because of laws in Japan but it’s a tiny town, so it wasn’t too hard hehe.)

And finally Rena, who is nonbinary!! I think Rena has a very unique idea about what is “cute” and coupled with their parents being fashion designers i think they would experiment ALOT with their presentation, and eventually land off of the binary spectrum. I like the idea of them gravitating toward their Dad because of his support for them in this regard. Rena definetly reads a lot of queer literature and history!!

[minty-muse]

top 5 wtc characters?

Thank you for the ask Gamo! Love seeing you in the notifs. I’m gonna include a couple umi characters in here because all my faves are from higurashi and that wouldn’t be fair. And I haven’t read Ciconia yet.

1. Hanyuu. Hanyuu is baby. I loved the purple demon child from the first auau. I do realize that she has way less development than every other main character in the series but I don’t care because she is an adorable little cinnamon roll who must be protected. Also she is shy and scared and can’t join the group until she’s invited in and that is hecking relatable.

2. Rika. Rika is the peak of complex character writing and I love her for it. She started out as one of the less interesting characters for me due to us knowing so little about her. But then Minagoroshi comes in and shoves everything you thought you knew about her under the rug and it is absolutely brilliant. Rika’s struggle is so real and if you aren’t rooting for her you are wrong.

3. Rena. I just love Rena. I’ve always loved Rena. Even when it wasn’t confirmed whether or not she could be trusted I still loved Rena. She’s the best. I love how multifaceted she is. I love how she’s feminine but also allowed to be a badass. I love how unconventionally weird she is and how the rest of the group just accepts it. I love how she’s the cute funny silly girl but she’s also actually really smart and just also happens to enjoy having fun. And I absolutely love all the emotional turmoil she goes through and how things aren’t actually all sunshine and rainbows and she has to learn how to cope and essentially love herself. I love how when she becomes the murderer it isn’t justified but you can still fully understand why she feels that this is the only option. And you’re like “oh no Rena don’t do this you’re a good girl” but also cheering her on because her victims are garbage. And I just love her arcs so much. The tragedy of Onikakushi and Tsumihoroboshi set side by side is just so painful in the most satisfying way possible. “Believe me/Believe in me/Trust me” is and always will be a fave of mine. Especially the manga scene. It’s so good. It’s so sad. It’s so sweet and desperate and kind. And absolutely heartrending. Also the rooftop scene is amazing and I wish it was animated in hd. And the fact she’s able to come back. And she regrets it all. And she wants to do better but she doesn’t even know who she is anymore and keiichi is like “it’s okay. There’s still time to start over.” And mmm. Good shit. But then the arc doesn’t get a happy ending after all and it’s sad. But it’s still one of the best arcs because Rena’s character is just so so rich. I love her so much.

4. Maria. Oh my god Maria. Somebody please save this poor sweet baby child. I always loved Maria without having a real reason but after seeing how awful her mom treats her and what her home and school life are like it really puts into perspective why she acts so unhinged at the family conference oh boy. I love Maria. She’s just a sweet sad autistic little girl without a positive parental figure in her life and no friends and everyone around her just sort of infantilizes her because of her disability and that is absolutely not helping her mental health. I can understand why people would get turned off by her doing the creepy laugh stuff and insisting that the murders were done by the witch. But the reasoning behind why she acts this way is definitely deeply rooted in the fact that she feels like she has no control over her life and using her special interest ( the occult ) to show off her knowledge is basically just her trying to assert control in the only way she knows how. And it could also double as her trying to cope with the fact that everyone around her is dying and being powerless to stop the situation. “Everything’s fine lmao. The witch did it. We’re all going to the golden land after this anyway. Why the long face?” <——Maria’s mind actually breaking and becoming progressively unhinged as all of the only people who actually cared about her get killed off one by one. And maybe she’s even looking forward to dying so that she can escape her horrible life and join her real mother ( Beatrice ) in the golden land. At least that’s how I like to interpret it. She deserved so much better.

5. Ange. Someone give this poor girl a hug. All she wants to is to know wtf happened to her family. But Bernkastel said “lmao get rekt.” And so she does. Physically, mentally, spiritually, you name it. And her only solace is her imaginary best friend/cousin/big sister. I love Ange because she is a sad angsty girl and sad angsty girls are great. Also she deserves all the happiness in the world even if it takes a shit ton of effort to get there. And I am sad that she meets her not brother once and then they’re just like “yeah let’s not meet ever again :).” You went through all that pain and effort for this. Come on guys. You don’t have to hang out 24/7 but idk you could like become pen pals who write each other once in a while to have a little chat, get to know each other, give each other cool book recommendations or something. Unless the vn ends differently but I’ve still only finished the manga cause I’m a slowpoke.

[coolstuffiseverywhere]

My unhinged Higurashi theory is that Hinamizawa Syndrome doesn’t exist, Irei and Takano are just desperate to find anything, and ended up making a psychotic drug. Rika’s brain is different from Hanyuu & the loops and Satoko’s brain is different because of abuse+trauma.

All the effects of Hinamizawa Syndrome are from stress+existing issues/conditions+Hanyuu being around those who are being affected. I think you could even argue she is actively revealing herself, either to comfort someone or make them go crazy so Rika gets less progress in the loops and has more obstacles. See: Beginning of Onikakushi

After all, Hanyuu was actively trying to get Rika to just give up hope but also keep looping.

Hanyuu is arguably the logic error of Higurashi itself. How could Rika win if a god doesn’t want her to.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. 2

Guess that answers the question I had a long time ago about whether or not Rika knew what happened to the other characters after her death. I wonder if the other outer-dimensional entities are aware of the rest of the goings-on with Hinamizawa. Does Hanyuu for instance know about the Great Hinamizawa Disaster that happens? Or is she also just tied to what Rika knows? I do wonder who the character their talking to is, I know that it's really easy to just write it off as they're talking to you the reader/player. But I wonder if it's actually someone else, some as yet unnamed character.

So I guess the implication here is that regardless of what happens the Great Hinamizawa Disaster always happens shortly after Rika's death?

So definitely the "you" being talked to here is indeed some as yet unnamed unvoiced character and not you the reader/player. Why else would it be talking about how you would also be left in the darkness when/if Rika undergoes complete ego death? Unless it's a metaphor for being left hanging with all the various questions left unanswered. Which is probably the case if the you in question is actually you.

We have only just been introduced to Hanyuu (technically) and she's already dying? That's some crap, every other character at least got to be part of the plot before they started dying. Also I know that it's probably just because she was wounded/dying but why when the game mentioned Hanyuu back in Meakashi did they spell it with three Us?

Also I wonder if she was trying to get Hanyuu to just rewind to before the assassination attempt.

Sometimes the voice acting gets a bit odd so it sounds like Hanyuu is saying auf auf. See and this is something I was curious about but they answered pretty quickly, how/when does the timeline reset. For Rika it clearly resets around the times of her deaths, but for the Hinamizawa time loop does it just continue on forever? Is there just a theoretical universal starting point that starts with Rika's deaths that just stretch out until time eventually ends? Because of Tatarigoroshi, Himatsubushi, and Tsumihoroboshi we know for a certainty that the timeline for Hinamizawa does go on for at least twenty years after the volcanic gas incident, just with most of the cast dead or moved away from Hinamizawa.

To get back on point somewhat, do you think it's lucky or unlucky that Rika doesn't remember her deaths? It's probably better for her mental health that she doesn't remember the details of her gory demise, but I imagine that since she's trying her damnedest to solve the time loop for herself that it's massively inconvenient that she doesn't remember who kills her at least.

She just looks like such a sad pathetic creature in the original art. Like an eternal bullying victim, a real sad sack. Like if this were an anime series she would just be the butt of so many pranks and jokes, you know? She doesn't exude confidence or anything like that in the console and remake art, they look like sad sacks as well, it's just the original art has that special little something that makes her look especially beaten down.

Anyway, Rika apparently fell off a cliff. Probably not an especially tall cliff, but nevertheless she took a tumble. I wonder if it's like that every time she comes back from the dead? She just suddenly becomes aware of her existence in a body that's in the middle of doing something. How many embarrassing situations do you think she woke up in the middle of?

There are certain sentences and phrasings throughout the opening three hours or so of this chapter that give off very strong vibes of "this is the final chapter." Which is kind of funny to me since there's at least one more chapter after this.

Also something I find funny, that no one else will care about is I've read nearly four hours of this chapter so far. But my computer blue-screened twice so according to GOG my playtime is about forty minutes or so. But if you look at the screenshots folder I have for the game I have two separate blocks of two hours worth of screenshots taken.

[thought-bubble-doodly-doo]

Does anyone else think Gou/Sotsu make OG Higurashi worse...?

Look, I'm not saying it didn't have good points to it.  Hanyuu pulling that miracle out of her ass at the very end was pretty cool.  Not well build up to, but cool to see nonetheless.  The Teppei redemption arc was something I didn't need or want, but it is fun to see a horrible perform genuinely become better.  That was nice.  Satoshi gets to be alive!!!  And........

Uhhhhhh, the animation was good?  When you know, they gave us some new animation instead of showing us the same scenes for half the season.

I don't know.  OG Higurashi was about a lot of things, but the central theme I, personally, took away from it was the Power of Friendship.  Cringe. I know.  That was the big appeal of the series to me.  A horrific supernatural psychological multidimensional murder mystery solved by the power of friendship.  Where else was I EVER gonna come across something like that?  It was a hodgepodge, but I loved it.  

It was only through EVERYONE'S belief and work that they finally broke through their Fates.  It was shown time and time again, that EVERYONE's combined power was what created their happy ending.  And I guess what I hate most about Gou/Sotsu is that... it kinda shits all over that message, right?  Like I'm not the only one seeing this, right???

By narrowing down the core cast from 5 to 2, and basically making it so Rika and Satoko's friendship is the only one that matters anymore, it's kinda saying that Shion, Keiichi, and Rena don't matter to either of them...  Shion is Satoko's older sister.  Keiichi is Satoko's older brother.  Rena is Satoko's friend.  Do none of them matter?  Making them kill each other all for the sake of Rika staying by her side over and over and over again just makes Satoko's other friendships seem meaningless in hindsight.  

I didn't like this show the moment I saw the episode where Mion went away to college and stopped contacting her old club mates.  And when Keiichi started changing the rules of the club, even though he's like SUPER AWARE of the gamestyle that Rika and Satoko both loved.  Changing things to be more "fair" at the expense of his friends he nearly got killed over trying to protect from the Mountain Dogs.  It hurts double, because canonically the club was created FOR SATOKO as something for her and Satoshi to do instead of going home to their abusive Aunt and Uncle.  

Also we all know that is Shion, QUEEN, would never have allowed Satoko and Rika to enter the environment that damaged her so badly at St. Lucia's.  Because you know, she cares about the both of them???

And the final message of "Sometimes Friends Grow Apart, even Twins Grow Apart" just really, really hurt coming from a series where friendship was supposed to be the solution...  Like I get it, "Sometimes Friends Grow Apart" is a good message to have, because it does happen!!  But in a show like Higurashi it just seems misplaced.

Rika won her happy end after a 100 year loop of torture and death, because of the connection she shared with her friends.  They taught her how to fight Fate and hope and create Miracles.  And now, she's just a Looper.  She'll continue looping through realities forever I guess?

Like I know this whole series is just bullshit Umineko Bait, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE the first five chapters of Umineko.  But I liked how it was much more ambiguous how Bernkastel emerged from Rika.  Forever we assumed she was a culmination of all the bad ends Rika faced, a separate entity that broke apart from the Rika we loved and saw fighting and who won her happy ending...  But now they're basically the same again.  At least I think.  Don't come at me.  When They Cry can be hard to decipher at times.

Gou/Sotsu just destroys the happy ending they won together, because it invalidates the relationships we saw create that ending and tacks on more strife and conflict from a story we thought had resolved.  

Gou/Sotsu takes away the happy ending from my (formerly) favorite series of all time, and I guess that just really bums me out.