Higurashi: When They Cry - Gou

Episode 13... the immortal Keiichi strikes again!
Man, why was fatman so evil this arc? Was he in bed with Uncle Hojo with some crime stuff, which would make sense how he actually wasn't arrested. But even if that were true, why come back and murder everyone? And why leave Reina alive? Because she wasn't part of the 3 ruling families? If it's about the families, then why kill Keiichi? And what was Satoko going to give him? The only thing I could think of, ironically, was his baseball bat.

This arc went 5 episodes and just caused more questions.
It's funny that during the gun game, only Shion had her gun sideways.... cause she's a cold ass gangsta!
 
Episode 13:
As soon as Keiichi went into Satoko's house, I was waiting for the bat upside the head, and I was not disappointed. And rather, pleasantly surprised that it was Teppei, because I thought they were setting up for Satoko to lose her shit on him and it was gonna be another absurd psycho-fest like episode 4. That's actually almost poetic considering the original Tatarigoroshi. So overall, I think they actually put a decent enough cap on this arc, and somehow they managed to make my least favorite part of the original into my favorite so far of this one.

That said, it did feel a little weird just how calm and upbeat Satoko was just after all of this shit. It felt really off, which is why I was expecting her to be the one with the bat. And that last bit with Rena got... kinda cringey in its execution...

It also raises some notable questions that are hopefully intentional: Why would Ooishi kill them? Was this the first time we've been shown (sort of) that he was the infected one? Is he the reason Teppei was able to be there for the ambush? Did a certain shady group we haven't seen do jack thusfar in the new series have a hand? Why was Rena spared? And if Satoko was one of the victims, then what's the timeline here? How did she get away from Teppei, and did this all happen just as she was trying to tell everyone what happened? Or is there something deeper and more sinister to the timeline?

Hmmm, so next is Nekodamashi... which I guess would mean they're doing something based on this one episode special? I should re-watch it before next week, I don't actually remember what happened...
 
Tataridamashi represents everything wrong with this new series but more drawn out. I wouldn't mind having all this recycled content, if the "twists" at the end were at all satisfying to watch. At the end of 5 episodes of Tatarigoroshi/Minagoroshi, all we got was some non-sequitur nonsense that mostly happens offscreen. The older story arcs also relied heavily on the answer arcs to put everything into context, but better arcs like Watanaganashi or Onikakushi at the very least made you think, you understood to some extent what was going on and that the build up mattered despite being kept at an arms length from the truth. When shit got crazy, you might not really understand why the characters are doing what they're doing but it doesn't feel as out of left field as finding out everyone died offscreen with Oiishi going full ACAB after Keiichi waking up in the hospital (this happened three times in a row ffs).
I find myself getting rather bored. Hopefully Nekodamashi will be a well needed pace breaker.
 
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Alright, so I re-watched Nekogoroshi-hen, and... other than the weird uncomfortable fanservice bit, there's a lot of potential here to do something really interesting. Whether this version can pull it off or not remains to be seen. But there's potential. I'd consider also refreshing or perhaps viewing this special for the first time to see what I mean, if you have the chance.
 
MistLiigh said:
Episode 13:
Hmmm, so next is Nekodamashi... which I guess would mean they're doing something based on this one episode special? I should re-watch it before next week, I don't actually remember what happened...
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The special was an interesting enough side story, but once you finish Kai the ending becomes “why is that guy just randomly standing in a ditch?” Should be interesting if they revisit that story though.
 
Chaos624 said:
The special was an interesting enough side story, but once you finish Kai the ending becomes “why is that guy just randomly standing in a ditch?” Should be interesting if they revisit that story though.
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That's where the poison gas was being stored. It's worth noting the special is considered part of the question arcs, albeit it's a small one as it gets answered in Festival-Accompanying in a blink-and-miss-it moment.

The spoiler above is why I'm a bit leery about "Nekodamashi-hen" potentially being a "retelling" of that special. What exactly are they going to do differently with it? From "Cat-Killing" to "Deceived by Cats", unless it's going to be a follow up of the cat analogy in the second arc (which Rika ended up dismissing in Gou), I don't see what much difference could be done about the story of the haunted quarry.

Gou has just been such a boring suspenseless disappointment that I'm convinced Ryukishi consistently revisiting Higurashi has just made the lore more convoluted, and the director has no idea what he's doing as Higurashi is not like the other visual novels he has directed in the past. Passione also animates no differently from DEEN, so it's like what was even the point in a studio hop? Suddenly I'm unsure of an Umineko remake anymore.
 
Episode 14... hey now, real change for once.
A slight change to the narrative by getting the other side of what happened with the end of the last arc. He had the bat, that means he must have been either with Uncle Hojo when the house beatings took place or swung by afterwards. In other case, he then beat the nurse & the photographer to death with it, because its unlikely to still be dripping blood.
I'm surprised we haven't gotten more from Takano & Tomitake yet. If we're only getting 1 season of this, shouldn't we have gotten more of that plot by now? I don't think there's even been an interior shot of the medical clinic yet.

Didn't Oishi question Keiichi in the hospital on one of other endings? He couldn't have killed the girls because he would he succumbed to the disease. So who's killing Rika & Sotoko those times?
Better plot going forward... it should be new and interesting going forward!
 
Episode 14:
So, first off... thusfar hasn't done anything related to Nekogoroshi-hen (though this arc continues next week, so it may yet). Rather, within the context of this episode the title seemed to be more relevant to the "bad little kitties" story from Watanagashi/Watadamashi.

But more importantly since fucking when has Rika losing memories ever been a mechanic in this shit? I'm 99% positive that has never been mentioned a single fucking time before now, at the very least not in the anime. Is this some VN thing that the anime never bothered to mention before now and we're just getting the shit end of that decision now finally? Idk though, because the entire series falls apart if she loses her memories after a loop. Just losing who kills her is less problematic to the story, except for the transition from Minnagoroshi to Matsuribayashi, where that's kind of completely essential to the latter's whole deal. Even if there's an explanation somewhere, in this episode, it just seems to come out of the writer's ass, and smells about how you'd imagine.

Adding a loop limit is useful I guess, and I guess the sword (or shard I guess) that can end her eternity is interesting in concept, but... ugh, I'm still in the "this adaptation was a mistake" box, and it's gonna have to seriously fucking blow my whole goddamned mind to bring me out at this point. Needless to say, I have no faith it's going to...

I mean, I guess it's still less of a disappointment than Hell Girl season 4...
 
MistLiigh said:
Episode 14:
But more importantly since fucking when has Rika losing memories ever been a mechanic in this shit? I'm 99% positive that has never been mentioned a single fucking time before now, at the very least not in the anime. Is this some VN thing that the anime never bothered to mention before now and we're just getting the shit end of that decision now finally? Idk though, because the entire series falls apart if she loses her memories after a loop.
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This isn't as much of a big deal as you think it is. I think it's pretty safe to assume that Hanyuu at least told her that it was the Yamainu who was responsible for many of her deaths in the past, which is why she was aware of her likely demise in previous arcs.
 
Episode 15... Oyashiro Curse speed run.
That I did not see coming!
I thought we were gonna drag the 5 more times through these last 10 episodes and get some cool more rapid arcs.... but four in an episode?! DAMN! That was tight! Second half is more than making up for the slowness & repetition of the first half.
The sudden jump cut to Rika's amazement at who killed her this time was a superb editing choice. Shion & Mion's mom was a wonderful addition. The mayor was great because of Rika's completely done with it all nature throughout. Was this the first time this series that Keiichi was the killer? I feel like they kept subverting that from the previously told plots.
1 jump left, 9 episodes to go? I'm down for what comes next!
I'm imagining how fun the voice acting studio must be for this series. Every actor gets to stretch their dramatic and/or comedic chops.... then you get a turn as a freaking maniacal psychopath!
 
15:

This anime can eat my ass. I don't think I can really bring myself to defend it past this point. 15 episodes in and asides from recycled content, it has nothing going for it besides doing everything it can to validate the surface level opinions of people who saw season 1 a decade and only think the series was all about unimportant moeshit and random gore.

It feels like nothing anyone said or did in the original series mattered, Trusting each other alongside miracles and overturning fate all feel deflated. Even things you thought mattered like memories from past shards appearing don't actually have any meaning, this all feels kind of spiteful to the original series. Rika being able to remember who killed her in previous arc's (which wasn't even a problem we were aware needed solving) doesn't matter because someone else will randomly go one a bloodthirsty rampage. There was also more reasons behind the violence in the previous seasons, but now all we see is random characters getting an itchy neck and bloodshot eyes. There's no build up, no sympathy, just non-sequitur violence.

No matter how it ends Gou took 13 episodes to go out of it's way to show none of the right choices actually mattered in the original arcs and the gang never actually had any conrol over anything despite them acting like they were snatching some one in a million victory. Now we for the first time just get a souless montage of the characters dying shard after shard like meat puppets completely dehumanizing the core cast showing you just how little any of them or their deaths mean in rapid succession, alongside Rika flat out saying that being born in Hinamizawa itself was a mistake disregarding her dream for the past 100 years to just to live there peacefully with her friends. It feels like Gou is tossing the original series and any heart or message it held aside into the trash.
 
Episode 15:

Yeah, what @g3data said...

Tbh though, I've been hating this new series for so long that I've kinda slipped far enough into apathy that I could sort of enjoy the rapid-fire murder-spree in the moment just because it was at least doing something new. I don't actually like what it's doing ultimately, because yeah it kinda does just shit on the original series... but at least it picked a direction finally...
 
For Higurashi Ni to be ranked in the 600s of best anime on AnimePlanet and Higurashi Kai to be ranked in the 200s of best anime on AnimePlanet, it should be a crime that Higurashi Gou is ranked in the 2,000s (as of this post of course)
This newest episode just solidified it for me. Gou is a 5/5 just like Ni and Kai. I was skeptical with the new animation and new studio at first, but Higurashi as a story speaks for itself. I haven’t had my jaw dropped like that since I watched the original Higurashis years ago. Plz AnimePlanet members, do the right thing, rank this series high like it rightfully should be.
 
That's how it is though, nostalgia has always been a huge thing for anime fans. Some people just can't watch the new Higurashi without comparing it to the old one. The past few episodes have definitely had a few moments.
Where Rika was actually contemplating suicide after that one timeline ended badly. And then there is the timeline where Rika is actually murdered by Satoko, complete with the intestines being ripped out. That definitely made me think of that scene with the injured man in the Shigurui anime. But yeah, huge feels when Satoko says she'll always be Rika's friend in the new timeline.
What I care about though is how this season of Higurashi will end, cause endings are important in how you reflect on a series. Studio Passione, please tell me you have an ending in mind.:sweat:
 
16:

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I for one have never been a huge proponent for blotting out the screen with darkness for censorship, but damn, I don't think I would have particularly minded in this instance.

I have a hard time believing that the fragment we saw in the first half of the episode happened. Pulling off a blanket to reveal that your entire abdominal cavity has been torn open without any blood seems more like something that would happen in a nightmare. That said, this whole century+ experience has been one long nightmare so I don't think it really matters, especially since it seems Rika is prepared to give up on that ultimatum of hers.

How very nice of them to finally recall the existence of Miyo after all this time.
 
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Episode 16... "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" - The Animals, 1965
I mean who would blame her for wanting to escape a place with so many hundreds of deaths experienced in her life/existence? So because she wanted to see the world, she gets punished by a cruel & jealous god. It's shit like this why I hate religions.

But yeah, this world was over before she woke up; that's not even fair... I wouldn't even have counted that one. That death scene was really drawn out. It was fascinating Satoko still mostly had her facilities, like that wasn't really in the full on throws of the virus. It might be just writing convenience; it might actually be a clue.

Glad we're finally gonna deal with the photographer & the nurse... that part of the story has been neglected for too long.
Yuyunarutoballz said:
For Higurashi Ni to be ranked in the 600s of best anime on AnimePlanet and Higurashi Kai to be ranked in the 200s of best anime on AnimePlanet, it should be a crime that Higurashi Gou is ranked in the 2,000s (as of this post of course)
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You also have to consider that are 40,000+& 25,000+ watched for Ni & Kai, respectively, and only 2,000+ are currently watching Gou. Weight of numbers is a factor; even while stuff like that volleyball show and the naked giant show all have less than 10,000 watched/watching and are in the top 10, Higurashi will never have that level of popular appeal.
I thought the OP song was finally growing on me, but it's just the schrill string section I love... the rest of the song still feels like a let down. I wonder if you could mix the new strings into the old song?
 
Episode 16:
Alright, so we got half an episode of torture/gore porn, and it was all so a petty asshole god could torment Rika into Stockholm Syndrome... Well, once again, it's doing something in a direction, so at least it's better than all the aimless floundering we got for so long... And hey, looks like we're finally going to maybe address the elephant in the room...

Obviously given the episode count, this peace can't last, not yet...
 
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