Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Tatarigoroshi-hen 1

June 11, 2006 | 25 Comments

Poor Keiichi. In almost every arc, there's always a reason as to why he gets killed. I hope I'm wrong about this but Keiichi being dead in an arc is what Yuuko from xxxHOLiC usually refers to as "Hitsuzen". It's inevitable that he'll get killed in every arc. He's like Kenny from South Park only more tragic. And judging from the way this episode unfolds, I suspect that this time around he's going to get killed for trying to protect someone. As unfortunate as that might be, I'm glad to see this arc because it marks the return of Psychotic Rena to the series. As far as horror factor goes, I think her facial contortion beats Shion. It helps that Nakahara Mai's voice also sounds terrifying when she is in her "Oyashiro-sama" mode. Unfortunately, the rest of the episode is kind of boring this time around so I hope the pace will pick up a little bit on the next episode.

The episode begins with a man trying to clean up the rubbish in a river. In the middle of doing so, however, a woman asks him about the thing that floats not far from him. Upon inspecting the item that the woman referred to, he screams in terror because he finds a body which has been cut up to pieces and have nails all over its hand. After the credit, Keiichi's mother is seen telling her son that his father's teacher collapsed during an exhibition. Because of this, Keiichi's mother (and most likely his father) will go to Tokyo to help out for a few days. Instead of complaining about being neglected, however, Keiichi instead tells his mother that he'll manage somehow. When he gets to school, however, he realises that with his parents gone, no one will be home to cook him some food. Upon finding out about this the girls tell Keiichi that he should just cook for himself. Because of this, Keiichi begins his attempt as Iron Chef that afternoon.

Unfortunately, Keiichi has the subtlety of a butcher when it comes to cooking. So he quickly manages to burn the ceiling of his house just by pouring oil into the frying pan and setting fire on it. Satoko and Rika who visit Keiichi are shocked to see this and immediately orders the older boy to quickly turn off the gas. Keiichi is relieved but is also annoyed to see the girls inside the house so he accused them of tresspassing. In retaliation Satoko accuses Keiichi of being an arsonist while Rika reminds him that his house would have burnt down if they didn't come in time. Keiichi eventually apologises to the girls and thanks them for saving his life. Later on, Satoko decides to cook Keiichi some food so Keiichi makes a sarcastic comment that he never expect Satoko to cook for him. Satoko orders him to prepare the table if he's not doing anything. While preparing the plates, Keiichi tells Rika that unlike Satoko, Rika seems to be very happy today.

Rika, however, tells Keiichi that Satoko is actually happy today and that she hasn't looked this happy for a long time. She also adds that the situation now reminds her of when Satoko was still with her "Nii Nii" (Onii-chan/brother). Keiichi is surprised to know that Satoko has an older brother called Satoshi and even more so when he finds out that they are no longer together. Rika tells Keiichi that the two siblings used to be very close and it was actually Satoko that suggested to Rika that they come to Keiichi's place today. Once all of the foods are ready, Keiichi praises Satoko's ability to cook, much to the girl's delight. Rika then makes a point how having dinner together like this reminds her of the time when Satoshi is still around. Satoko wonders where Satoshi could be right now and claims that she's surprised someone who can't take care for themselves actually ran away from home. She, however, is sure that sooner or later he'll return.

Upon hearing this, Keiichi praises Satoko and tells her that he's underestimated her and that he never knew that she's such a strong person. Satoko immediately becomes embarassed and tells Keiichi that she's always been strong. Later on that night, Keiichi wonders if both girls will be okay going back to their home on their own. The girls, however, assure him that they know their way around and that they have nothing to fear since they are together. Before she left, however, Rika tells Keiichi that he gets a full score today. She believes that the whole thing was fun and Satoko felt like her brother had come back. Rika tells Keiichi that she'd like it if Keiichi scolds Satoko from time to time. The next day, Keiichi's parent return home from their Tokyo visit. Later on, Keiichi receives phone call from Satoko that there is a club meeting and that it's an emergency. Keiichi thinks that they are having fight and therefore decides to bring golf stick with him.

Imagine his embarassment as well as the girls' when he realises that the whole thing is just a baseball game and not a brawl. Because of this, Satoko approaches him and asks Keiichi why he has a golf club with him. The baseball game is a competition between Hinamizawa fighter and their long time enemy, the Okinomiya team. The club members joined in as backup members for Hinamizawa team but Keiichi is really bad at playing that he ends up not giving much help. Later on during BBQ lunch time, Keiichi is being approached by a guy who introduced himself as Irie, the head doctor at the medical clinic. He's also the 'Manager' (Kantoku) of the boys baseball team. He tells Keiichi that everyone tends to just call him 'Kantoku' so he wants Keiichi to address him with that nickname as well. Irie then talks about how everytime he sees Satoko smiling, it feels as if it can cleanse one's heart. Upon hearing this Keiichi makes a comment that Irie seems to like Satoko.

Irie confirms this and even goes further by saying that he loves her and thinking of proposing to her when she's older (!). Keiichi is, of course, shocked upon hearing this but Irie thinks that Keiichi is shocked because he also likes Satoko. Irie thinks that this is a problem because he's been after her for many years. Keiichi asks Irie that surely he's joking about it. Instead of answering the question, however, that lolicon Irie decides to change the subject and tells Keiichi that Satoko's brother, Satoshi, used to play for Hinamizawa Fighters as well. Irie wants Satoshi to play more but unfortunately Satoshi 'transferred'. He claims that many unpleasant things happened 3 years ago around this time. First, Satoko's parents got into an accident while sightseeing. Apparently they fall from the viewing platform that they were on while on vacation. Because of this Satoko have been living with Rika now because neither of them no longer have parents.

Irie then tells Keiichi that sometimes he seriously think about adopting Satoko as a daughter. But since he's not married and has no experience in raising children, it remains a dream. Irie simply wants Satoko to always smile. After a reflection, Keiichi tells Irie that he'd like to see that as well so he asks Irie what he'd do once he adopts Satoko. All of a sudden, however, someone covers Irie mouth and said outloud that he'd first make Satoko call him "Master" and then he'd retrain her as a serving maid. Keiichi immediately recognises the person as Shion, Mion's twin sister. She claims that she's the manager of the Hinamizawa Fighters. Later on, Shion and Keiichi end up talking about Satoko and how she's a good athlete in comparison to her brother, Satoshi. Keiichi is surprised to find out that Shion is also aware about Satoshi. He admits that he never met the guy but he's heard Satoshi transferred after his parents passed away.

All of a sudden, however, Shion looks angry and asks Keiichi who told him that Satoshi transferred. When Keiichi tells him that she's acting strange, however, Shion reverts to her normal self. Having said that, she asks Keiichi not to say that Satoshi has transferred when he has no idea about what happened. Because Keiichi is weirded out about this, he decides to ask about Satoshi to Rena and Mion on his way home. Rena wonders if they never mentioned it to Keiichi and just like Irie, tells Keiichi that Satoshi has 'transferred'. Keiichi, however, thinks that the truth is Satoshi ran away from home and disappeared. Keiichi tells them that he's not accusing them or anything like that but he wants to know about it. Mion assures him that they're not trying to hide him from Keiichi but Rena's voice suddenly changes and tells Keiichi that Satoshi never came home one day. Mion explains to Keiichi that everyone looked for Satoshi but they couldn't find him.

The police investigation revealed that Satoshi had a part-time job and has been saving money but on the day he disappeared, the money has been withdrawn from his bank account. Because of this, people believed that Satoshi has run away from home. Mion also tells Keiichi that someone who looks like Satoshi was spotted at the Nagoya station. All of a sudden, however, Rena interrupts Mion and coldly says that she thinks the whole thing is a lie. Rena believes that Satoshi didn't run away. Mion tries to stop Rena but the other girl continues and tells Keiichi that this is the work of Oyashiro-sama's curse. Apparently before Satoshi disappeared, he managed to tell Rena that he felt being watched and shadowed by someone. This person even followed him into his house. Satoshi even claimed that the person stands at his bedside and looked down on him while he was trying to sleep. Rena believes that what the harbinger of the Oyashiro-sama's curse.

Rena believes that deep in his heart Satoshi felt like throwing away Hinamizawa and running away. And because of this Oyashiro-sama did not forgive him. Upon hearing this, Mion becomes angry and orders Rena to stop. Rena's insanity, however, continues and her pupils starts to dillate as she tells Keiichi that Oyashiro-sama is the guardian of Hinamizawa and he will never forgive those who try to throw away Hinamizawa and run away. Rena then claims that she apologised for it but Satoshi didn't apologise. This is why he fell into Oyashiro-sama's curse. Rena then starts to look like a psycho saying that the police tried to tell her that Satoshi had run away but she didn't believe it. She thinks that's just what the people who don't want to believe in the curse. Mion, who can no longer hear Rena's rants, decide to slap her friend on the face. Mion then tells Keiichi that she promised to lend Keiichi some manga so she wonders if Keiichi wants to come over.

Keiichi seems to realise that Mion wants to talk to him about this privately so he agrees to her request. Upon hearing this, Rena tells Keiichi that in that case, she'll go home now. Rena suddenly turns normal again and bids goodbye to Shion and Keiichi. After Rena disappears, Mion asks Keiichi not to worry about what happened earlier. She explains that they're not trying to hide Satoshi's story from him but it's a subject that is best not being bring up. Mion then explains that Satoshi parents were one of the few who agreed to the dam project and fell to their death on Oyashiro-sama festival. That's when the rumour about Oyashiro-sama curse began. Because they think the topic is sensitive to Satoko, everyone lies when someone asks them about Satoshi and tells the person that Satoshi simply 'transferred'. Mion then tells Keiichi not to bring up the topic in front of Rena as well because Rena was once strucked by Oyashiro-sama's curse or at least that's what Rena believes. Mion thinks Rena can be scary when she's angry.

Summary of important points

1. Keiichi's parents are away. Again.
2. Keiichi received information about Satoshi from Rika instead of finding it out himself.
3. Satoko and Rika seems to like Keiichi a lot.
4. Satoko believed that her brother simply ran away from home.
5. Keiichi has golf club instead of a baseball bat. Either way, he still wants to bash someone.
6. Irie referred to himself as 「監督」(Kantoku) which translates as supervisor/manager/director.
7. In other words, Irie was the 'Kantoku' that Rena and Mion referred to back in Onikakushi-hen.
8. Irie informed Keiichi that Satoko's parents died after plunging to their death.
9. Keiichi already know Shion in this arc and Shion is the manager of the Hinamizawa Fighters.
10. Shion became angry when Keiichi tells her that he's heard Satoshi has 'transferred away'.
11. Mion explained to Keiichi that Satoshi has been saving and when he disappeared, his bank account is empty.
12. Rena, on the other hand, believes that Satoshi has fallen under Oyashiro-sama's curse for tring to abandon his hometown.
13. Mion claimed that they've been saying that Satoshi 'transferred' in order to protect Satoko's well-being.
14. Rena was once strucked by Oyashiro-sama's curse or at least this is what Rena believed.
15. Mion told Keiichi that Rena becomes angry when someone doesn't take her seriously about the curse.

Questions

1. Whose body was found chopped up to pieces in the river?
2. Does Mion and Shion get along with each other in this arc?
3. Did Satoshi run away from home or got cursed by Oyashiro-sama?

Impression

Unfortunately this episode didn't give that much of a clue and simply serves as a character building episode for Satoko. Having said that, there are some interesting tidbits of information that helps explain some of the questions from the previous arc. To begin with, we finally find out the identity of the person who Rena and Mion referred to as "Kantoku" (supervisor/manager/director) back in Onikakushi-hen. He is actually Irie, the local doctor who gave the flu injection to Keiichi back in the 3rd episode. If you remember, he also appeared towards the end of episode 4 after Keiichi bashed Rena and Mion to death. I think this explains how someone like Rena and Mion managed to get their hands on the syringe. The question is, what did they try to inject to Keiichi and why? I have a conjecture about it but I decided to place it in the appropriate area because it's likely to confuse others. Suffice to say, at least now we know who is the "Kantoku" and how the kids got their hands on the syringe.

The other interesting thing about this episode is Shion and Rena's behaviour when Keiichi said someone told him that Satoshi 'transferred away'. It seems unlike Mion and Irie, these two are not happy with having to say that Satoshi has 'transferred away'. I wonder if this is because they used to like the guy and therefore have a more personal relationship with him. Either way, Rena seems to believe that Satoshi was actually cursed by Oyashiro-sama for wanting to abandon the hometown. If one thinks about it, this kind of provide an explanation as to why Rena returned to Hinamizawa after spending her time in another city. Maybe back then she really did receive a curse but once she returned to the village and apologised to the God, she was forgiven. Of course, this is only true assuming that there is such thing as a curse in the series. This episode also shows that Mion is more than willing to share information with Keiichi had he asks her nicely like in this arc.

In fact, she looked like she wanted to share the info with him back in Onikakushi-hen but Keiichi was too hostile to listen to anything that Mion may have to say to him. I also think that Keiichi's obvious concern for Satoko is the reason why the girls and the villagers tend to trust him more in this version. Back in Onikakushi-hen, he was simply an outsider who thinks that everyone is out to get him. In this one, however, Keiichi is more like an insider who's not given enough information. However, this simply underlines the pack mentality of the Hinamizawa residence once more. It appears that they are united against their enemy and dislike those who try to leave them or go against the majority of the opinion. Judging from the name, I suspect the reminder of this arc will attempt to reveal more about Oyashiro-sama's curse. It's also nice to see Rena showing her insanity once more here. I wonder if she and Mion will end up fighting each other with Keiichi trapped in the middle.

Conjectures

I'm starting to think that there really is some kind of a disease in Hinamizawa. What if this disease causes some kind of psychotic outbreak in its victim? I think it's possible that back in Onikakushi-hen, Rena and Mion simply tried to inject the antidote into Keiichi's body. I think Irie suspected that Keiichi started to get the symptom when he came to the hospital but he underestimated the extent in which Keiichi was infected by it. By the time Keiichi jammed Rena's hand into the doors, everyone was aware of this and therefore tried to capture him, in the hope of injecting him with the antidote. Keiichi, however, believed that the girls were trying to kill him and ended up bashing them before they ever get the chance to inject him with the antidote. I think something similar happened to Mion/Shion in Watanagashi-hen and Rika was the one who tried to give the injection. Unfortunately, she either got infected with the disease or been injected with something else by Mion/Shion.

© memento 2003