Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Watanagashi-hen [5-6]

Just a friendly warning, this is one of my “Past Series” blogs so in order to avoid confusion from this and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, please use the sidebar and select the proper choice under Past Series to avoid the confusion as well as get the other part of this arc if needed.

Episode 5 – Jealousy: This episode starts out with another murder, just like Onikakushi-hen started out with. This time, it involved Rika digging a knife into her own head while Mion just stood there and laughed at her, covered in blood.

After the Opening sequence, Keiichi, Rena and Mion meet up somewhere in Himizawa and Mion tells both of them that their club meeting is going to be occurring somewhere else that day. When they finally arrive at their destination, the rest of them discover that they are at the nearby games store for a special event. The prize is 50,000 yen and the winner can do what they want to the losers (I think that is correct). The game involves the host saying a certain phrase and the people have to choose the correct card for the phrase. Rena is the first to pick a card of a dog which she planned to take home.

After awhile, Mion tells Keiichi she is disappointed in him as he is not trying hard enough to win. So Keiichi decides to carry two of the boys and threaten them about their passions for Rika and Satoko and the give in to help him win. When the game is at a close and Mion and Keiichi are tied, before the last card is called, Mion leaves making Keiichi the winner. Of course, he didnt get the 50,000 yen and instead got a toy doll. Outside, he gives it to Rena while Mion seems a little bit disappointed in this but hides the fact. Keiichi claims he is hungry but no-one else wants to go to grab some food with home so he leaves by himself and heads to the local cafe.

Inside, he runs into Shion Sonozaki, who he believes is Mion and starts acting perverted to her as a joke before she exclaims that she is not Mion. Keiichi does not believe her however. Later on the next day, Keiichi is home alone when Shion comes to the door with a bento of food. He accepts this and thanks her. When he starts to eat it, he hesitates thinking it could be poisoned but in the end decided to eat it anyway, and he liked it.

The next day, Keiichi leaves a store when he trips over and knocks down several bikes. The owners arrive soon after and threaten Keiichi with the broken bikes however Shion steps in and they change target. There was no need for this however as most of the town gathered around them in a circle, and in fear, they fled. When they walk away, Keiichi tells Shion she can give up the whole “Being Shion” problem when Shion walks out of the store infront of them. Mion is very embarassed about that, and the next day, whenever Keiichi looked at her, she would flee to the bathroom. When Keiichi asks Rena, who went to check on her, what went wrong, she tells him to forget the incidents of the last few days. After some more jokes, the episode ends here.

What I want to see, is a creature covered in darkness

What I hope to hear, are confused footsteps

What I want to know, is your whereabouts

Episode 6 – Takano: This episode starts with everyone in the village working on the festival when Keiichi decides to take a break and runs into Shion. While initially confused, he tells her off for making a fool of him. He accepts the drink she gives her when there is a scream for nearby. Mion just caught sight of them two and comes walking over with two cups of tea. Mion is forced to drink them both and then yells at Shion until Tomitake takes their photographs and they talk about the festival.

While Mion does not wish to talk about it, everyone else stays back and mentions the Curse of Oyashiro and the murders that occurred each year since the dam construction. The very next day, the group do their usual games during the festival. During Rika’s performance, Shion calls Keiichi over and he follows her expecting a better viewing point to see Rika. She leads him to the storage shed of the shrine where Takano and Tomitake attempt to break into it. The four of them soon manage to break in and we hear a bit about the traumatic events of what happened during the festival when Himizawa was known as Onigafugi.

When Keiichi joins the group after the festival, he lies to them and tells him that he enjoyed Rika’s performance. The greater portion of this episode is dedicated to Ooishi and Mion in particular, interrogating Keiichi about what happened in the shrine. That evening, Keiichi gets a phone call from Shion who is now scared as Takano and Tomitake were found dead that evening and she believes that the both of them would be “Spirited Away by the demon” Keiichi gets angry at her and hangs up the phone. The dial tone marks the end of this episode.

Your heart is shaking

The shadow of darkness is bringing it closer

It is the fake me which is shivering

Review: It was my original intention to review the whole arc but I am half falling asleep here so my apologies. Both episodes were much more interesting than the previous two introduction episodes which was good. It is a good thing that they at least skip scenes that have occurred before. What else can I say, I will have to wait for the next two episodes to write a full review and I should have that up soon!

Related posts:

1. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen [1-2]
2. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – Onikakushi-hen [3-4]
3. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai – Episode 19
4. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai – Episode 7
5. Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai – Episode 20