Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Tatarigoroshi-hen 4-5

July 3, 2006 | 26 Comments

While the first 2 episodes of this arc has been rather slow, I think the last 3 episodes have been rather good. The over the top elements of the series such as the girls' facial expression have been toned down and the series now focuses more on the mystery that surrounds the character and the village of Hinamizawa. I can't help but thinking a lot about some of the mysteries presented in these episodes. It's actually nice to be able to do this

Episode 12: Tatarigoroshi 4

Continuing from previous episode, Takano tells Keiichi that if one does not dig deep enough when burying a corpse, a dog will be able to smell its presence and dig it up. After a few seconds, however, Takano tells Keiichi that the whole thing was just a joke. Keiichi seems to be relieved about this and changes the topic to the bike on Takano's car. He believes that the bike belongs to Tomitake but Takano denies this and claims that the bike is hers. It only looks similar to Tomitake's because he was the one who chose it for her. Once the car arrives at Keiichi's place, however, Takano coldly tells him that they never meet tonight and repeats the word 3 times. Keiichi tells Takano that if that's what she wants, he's fine with it. Takano, however, thinks that it'll be better for Keiichi this way. Keiichi is annoyed to hear this and asks her why she thinks that way but Takano coldly replies that he should think about it himself before leaving Keiichi alone.

After Takano left, Keiichi wonders if he should have killed Takano, especially if it turns out that she saw him. In his anger, he wishes that Takano will die from Oyashiro-sama's curse. The next day, Keiichi wakes up and realises that he's late to go to school. Upon arriving at the place, he pretends to be happy and is greeted by his friends who wonder if he is still in the festival mood. Keiichi is weirded out by this because he didn't come to the festival and yet everyone in the class seem to think that he did. They mention various things that Keiichi supposedly did in the festival such as flirting with Shion, getting stuffed bear for Rena, etc. Later on, Keiichi asks Rena where he met up with everyone else. Because of this Rena told Keiichi that he was seen talking to Rika on the festival ground. Keiichi finds out from Rika that she first saw him after she got out of the assembly hall with the village chief and everyone else.

Keiichi is even more disturbed when he finds out from Satoko that her uncle is still alive and actually abused her yesterday. Since Keiichi has been saying weird things the whole day, Rena and Mion become suspicious of him and ask him what he was going to say about Satoko's uncle. Keiichi, however, pretends that nothing is wrong and agrees to go with Rena when she asks him to accompany her on a treasure hunt. Before they leave, however, Keiichi changes his mind and tells Rena that he'd like to go to the clinic because he feels sick. Rena doesn't mind this but tells Keiichi that she will look at the receipt tomorrow. Keiichi decides to go back to the school to see if the bat he used to kill Satoko's uncle is still in the locker. However, the bat is no longer there. In his confusion, Keiichi ends up going to the hospital to see Irie and asks the doctor if he also saw Keiichi at the festival. Unfortunately, Irie was talking to someone else and didn't notice Keiichi.

Keiichi asks Irie if it's possible that there is someone else who looks like him. Irie thinks it's impossible although he does mention a famous creature from German fairytale known as Doppleganger. In the end, Keiichi decides to tell Irie that for some reason everyone believes that he came to the festival even though he didn't. Irie thinks that maybe Keiichi forgot about it but Keiichi tells him that's not what he meant. Keiichi then blurts out that he killed Satoko's uncle and therefore he could not possibly been at the festival yesterday. Upon hearing this Irie asks him why Keiichi did it and Keiichi tells him that he thought it's the easiest way of saving Satoko. Irie tells him that while he does not condone a murder, he nevertheless thanks Keiichi for saving Satoko. Keiichi cries to hear this, prompting Irie to tell the boy that they'll talk about it after he tells his staff to go home.

When Keiichi wonders out of the room, however, he overhears Irie asking one of his staff to mix Isomytal and Brovarin (both are sedatives) into Keiichi's tea. The staff, however, warns him that sudden drowsiness can cause an outburst of mistrust and derangement. Irie thinks that when that happens, they'll have no choice but to subdue Keiichi since Irie thinks that Keiichi has a mental disorder. Keiichi is upset to hear this and cursed the guy. He, however, is surprised when he overhears that Takano has been found dead and his corpse is burnt. Because of this, Keiichi decides to go back to the scene of the crime to dig up the body. Unfortunately he can't seem to find it and instead got busted by Oishi who forced him to continue digging. Keiichi is then abused by Oishi and Oishi's henchman takes over the digging job. Eventually, the henchman hit a drainage pipe, suggesting that there's nothing buried in it even though they've dug deeper into the hole.

Episode 13: Tatarigoroshi 5

Keiichi wakes up in the morning wondering if he didn't kill Satoko's uncle after all. However, if that is true, it means the other guy is still alive. Because of this Keiichi decides to finish the job once and for all and proceeds to grab an axe from the warehouse. When he gets out of the house, however, he overhears a footstep but can't seem to see anyone around him. The incident makes him think that maybe it's Satoshi who's been following him. Once Keiichi arrives at Satoko's house, he notices that the bike has disappeared just like the baseball bat. Keiichi then enters the house uninvited and notices a take away salad for two people. He immediately assumes that Satoko's uncle is probably still alive. Keiichi then realises that there is a sound coming from the bathroom and wonders why anyone will take one at such early morning. Keiichi finds Satoko almost passed out in the bathroom counting up to 5040. She reveals that it's her uncle who ordered her to do this.

Keiichi becomes angry upon hearing this and starts to tear down room after room using his axe, trying to find Satoko's uncle. When he can't find the guy around, however, he decides to take Satoko to the hospital and end up seeing a bunch of policemen gathering in front of the place. Upon getting closer to the place, Keiichi overhears one of the doctors telling the police that in his professional opinion, what happened was a case of sleeping pill poisoning. The strange thing about the case was that there's no suicide note even though the situation looks like a suicide. The doctor also says that Doctor Irie is not the kind of person who would commit suicide. He then overhears the police being ordered to go back investigating Ooishi's whereabouts since apparently the policeman has disappeared. Keiichi is shocked and feels guilty upon finding out about this because he was the one who cursed Irie the day before.

Because Satoko insists on putting on some clothes over herself before doing anything else, Keiichi ends up taking her to Rika's house since Satoko supposedly have some clothes at her friend's house. On their way to Rika's house, however, Keiichi thinks that it's weird everyone such as Takano, Ooishi, and Irie died after he wished for their death. Keiichi finds it even weirder that Satoko's uncle is still alive even though he actually killed the guy the night before. Satoko is obviously freaked out of Keiichi after hearing this. She thinks the death is purely coincidental to Keiichi's wish but she believes Keiichi is better off going home now. After Satoko goes to Rika's house to change her clothes, however, Keiichi overhears crow noise near the temple. He decides to take a look at it and in the process finds Rika's dead body. Keiichi freaks out upon seeing the body and starts swinging his axe to get rid of the crows from Rika's dead body.

In the process, however, he loses his grip on the axe and ends up sending it down into the pool of blood. Keiichi stupidly picks it up and begins swinging it around like a nutcase again. By the time the crows leave Rika's body, however, Satoko has returned to the area and is horrified upon seeing the bloody axe and Rika's dead body. She immediately thinks that Keiichi is Rika's killer and starts to run for her life. Keiichi decides to chase after Satoko to prove his innocent but this simply scares the little girl even more. Satoko is sad about this because he considers Keiichi like her brother and believes that things got better after he transferred into the town. Unfortunately, things take turn for the worse now. Satoko eventually makes her way into a suspended bridge but Keiichi also manages to catch up. Keiichi asks Satoko to believe him and decides to throw his axe down into the river to convince her. Satoko, however, thinks Keiichi can still kill her with his bare hands.

In order to gain Satoko's trust, Keiichi agrees to put his hands over his head. Satoko then tells Keiichi that she thinks Keiichi is not bad but simply being possessed by an evil force. Satoko understands this because she experienced it herself once. She then tells a story where she once entered the forbidden Shrine and ended up breaking the hand of Oyashiro-sama's statue. Since Satoko hid herself, Rika ended up being the one who received punishment from her father. Satoko thinks that ever since then her world becomes strange. She believes she has been cursed by Oyashiro-sama for breaking his statue and abandoning an important friend. Satoko that her parents being dead, her brother disappeared, Keiichi being posessed and Rika ended up dead is the retribution she received from the curse. Keiichi tries to calm Satoko down by telling her that no one cursed her but Satoko ends up pushing Keiichi off the bridge.

Keiichi, however, manages to grab into one of the ledges and asks Satoko to believe him. Unfortunately Satoko has gone over the edge and thinks that Keiichi is possessed by something. She asks the guy to give back her brother and Keiichi. Keiichi eventually loses his grip and falls into the river below. He wonders where have the happy days he spent in Hinamizawa has gone and where things have gone wrong. The only thing that Keiichi wish as he falls down is for this upside-down Hinamizawa to disappear and die. A few days later, a group of people inside an eatery found out that a large scale volcanic gas leak has killed all residents of Hinamizawa. However, the news reporter received an information that one single survivor emerged from the freak accident and he is none other than Keiichi. The episode then ends with the people inside the eatery being freaked out when all of a sudden the television that they're watching got switched off on its own.

Summary of important points

1. Takano told Keiichi that unless he digs deep enough, dogs will be able to uncover a corpse that one buries.
2. Takano claimed that the bike inside the car belongs to her
3. Takano wanted to pretend as if she never met Keiichi that night.
4. Keiichi wished that Takano will be cursed by Oyashiro-sama.
5. The girls revealed that they saw Keiichi at the festival.
6. Satoko claimed that her uncle abused her the night before, suggesting that he's still alive.
7. The baseball bat Keiichi used to kill Satoko's uncle is still missing.
8. Irie looked as if he trust Keiichi's words but later on told his staff to put sedatives into Keiichi's tea.
9. The staff warned Irie that drowsiness may cause mistrust and suspicion.
10. Keiichi wished that Irie will die.
11. Keiichi overheard the news that Takano was found burned to death.
12. Keiichi got busted by Ooishi who seems to suspect him.
13. There is no body buried inside the hole.
14. Someone has been following Keiichi. Keiichi thinks this could be Satoshi.
15. Keiichi found Satoko almost unconscious in the bathroom. She claims that this is punishment from his uncle.
16. Keiichi found out that Irie died due to sleeping pill poisoning while Ooishi has gone missing.
17. Keiichi found Rika's dead body near the temple.
18. Satoko thinks that Keiichi has been possessed by something.
19. Satoko once destroyed Oyashiro-sama's statue and therefore she thinks she's been cursed by it.
20. Keiichi wished the entire village is dead as he fell into the river.
21. There was a volcanic gas leak in Hinamizawa, the leak ended up killing everyone except Keiichi.

Questions:

1. Why Takano told Keiichi that she want them to pretend as if they never met?
2. Did Keiichi killed Satoko's uncle or was he actually at the festival? Or does Keiichi has evil twin?
3. Who hid the body? Was there ever one to begin with?
4. If Satoko's uncle is dead, who punished Satoko?
5. Did Irie died due to substance abuse or was someone else involved?
6. What happened to Ooishi?
7. Who killed Rika?
8. Why did Keiichi saw memory of his other life?
9. Was the gas leak that killed everyone a simple accident or committed by someone else.

Impression

These two episodes are quite confusing because they condensed so many mysteries and informations into the space of less than 1 hour. It's interesting to see Mion claiming that she saw Keiichi in the festival even though Keiichi told her a few days ago that he's not coming to the festival. In general, these episodes suggest that either: Keiichi has a doppleganger, or he suffers from psychotic breakdown, or someone else caused all of these to happen around Keiichi.

The missing body

There are two possible explanation for this one is that Keiichi never killed Satoko's uncle and the second one was that he did killed the guy but someone covered it up for him. This one really gave me a headache because one explanation itself could have several permutations. For example, maybe Keiichi really does suffer from mental disorder and believes that he killed Satoko's uncle. This could explain why Satoko claims that her uncle has been punishing her again. Another possibility is that maybe Keiichi and everyone in Hinamizawa are dead and what has transpired thus far simply happened in his mind similar to a film called Jacob's Ladder. However, it's important to remember that Keiichi did meet Takano after killing Satoko's uncle and Takano looked as if she knew what he did in the forest. In addition to this, how does one explain the disappearance of Satoshi's bat and the motorbike that Satoko's uncle owns? Both of which were thrown into the lake.

There's also a possibility that Takano was the one who hid the body but as far as I can think of, she does not get any benefit from doing this so I don't think it's her. I think the more likely explanation is that the villagers decided to cover up the existence of the murder from the police. The villagers have always work as close-knit community and it won't surprise me if they try to protect a murderer because said murderer did the murder in the interest of one of their own denizens. It's a twisted form of loyalty. Or maybe they did it because they don't want Keiichi's action to reflect badly on the village. It's also likely that Satoko probably was trying to protect Keiichi as well but in the process, her guilt makes her think that her uncle still exists. she then ended up punishing herself in the bathroom and believed that her uncle forced her to do it. Unfortunately, Keiichi ended up being freaked out about the entire thing and this is why Irie decided to sedate him.

The killing of the villagers

The first suspect is Keiichi or rather his own wishful thinking since everyone ended up dead because he wished for it. However, this would imply that Keiichi either has the power to do it or that Oyashiro-sama granted his wish. I feel that this is too far fetch even for this show since so far there is no indication of Keiichi being an important figure in the village. In addition to this, it's strange that a protector of Hinamizawa will kill off the entire population of the village. Another possibility is that Satoshi was the one who did it. Keiichi did have a suspicion that he's being followed but I think that's someone else. In the end, I think the most likely suspect will have to be Takano. I think she was the one who: killed Tomitake, killed 'herself' by burning a body in order to divert suspicion away from her, killed Irie by poisoning him with sleeping pill, killed Furude Rika for reason that is yet to be revealed, and finally decimated the entire village using the gas leak.

What happens to Hinamizawa?

This episode seems to suggest that all of the insane scenarios that have happened in the past few episodes are connected. As Keiichi plunged into the river, he saw flashback to previous events in other arcs. The first possible explanation for this is that all of the events played out in Keiichi's mind as his life is on the line. Maybe Hinamizawa got into an accident involving the volcanic gas and as Keiichi struggles to stay alive, his mind plays out these horror scenarios just like in a film called Jacob's Ladder. The more out of the world possibility is that the arcs that we've seen so far are actually parallel worlds that are actually connected to one another due to a particular event. What if Keiichi actually did kill Satoko's uncle but due to a dimensional shift, it seems as if the murder never happened since in another dimension, Keiichi never murdered Satoko's uncle. As a result, while Keiichi remains the same, the circumstances that surround him are different.

© memento 2003