November 12, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 18

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Most of the events in this episode occurred shortly before and after Satoshi killed his aunt and "disappeared". This has certainly cleared a portion in the overall "Satoshi mystery". There are, however, remaining unresolved bits, and I don't think they will be answered in the next episode because according to the preview, Keiichi finally arrives at Hinamizawa, and that's about one year (??) after this incident.

Ack, I can't wait for them to wrap everything up. This is taking too long.

Episode Rating:

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November 7, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 17

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In this episode, Rika offers her blood to save Satoko from being possessed by the Hinamizawa syndrome. Meanwhile, Takano is finally one step closer to her life-long objective, only to be dragged down by Koizumi's death. When she thought she had lost everything, Takano sees a new hope.

Well, this is a very enjoyable episode (even though the animation was bad). Some old mysteries are resolved (this is a solution arc after all); but a lot of questions are still left unanswered, and judging from the development in the story, we are bound to see more.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 17: Medicine is something born from one's heart. -- Rika.

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October 29, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 16

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Finally we're done with Miyoko. We're back to Hinamizawa.

This episode was set on the time when the dam construction project was still at large, causing distress among the people. Keiichi has yet to appear and Satoshi is still with Satoko. Here we see everything on Hanyuu's perspective.

Back in the first season, Shion hallucinated that Satoshi was already dead and his body was dumped to a hole together with the other tortured corpses of the Sonozaki. Her twin sister, Mion, told her otherwise: that nobody in the village was responsible for his disappearance or death. Perhaps in this season Satoshi's mystery will finally be revealed. Is he alive? Is he dead? Another piece to complete the puzzle. I'm looking forward to this.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 16: Everything twists into a crooked state of affairs, and many people are dragged into it. I can only watch from a side. I'm sorry -- Hanyuu.

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October 28, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 15

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The first part of the episode was pure violence, the second part sort-of dragged the whole "Getting to know Takano Miyoko" arc. It's not like we don't want to know about her, it's just that the animators could have squeezed everything in one episode.

Basically, ep 15 explained what made Takano unleash the rage virus of Hinamizawa. Her reasons are acceptable (proving the existence of the parasites), though her drastic actions such as slaughtering all the residents of the village still make me believe that she's a hundred percent mad woman (instead of a brilliant scientist). I also don't understand why Tokyo (the company) had resorted to terminating everyone from Hinamizawa. Is it to prevent the sickness from spreading or to clean up all the evidence from their biological weapon research?

PS: Get sick of Miyoko's face! >:)

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 15: Do you know... what happens to kids who fail to escape? They are penalized. The penalty of the duck unable to drink. The penalty of the squashed caterpillar... The penalty of the dismembered pig.

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October 12, 2007: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -KAI- ep 14

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And so the last and final chapter of Higurashi is here. This episode revealed a lot about Takano's past including the events that took place prior her assignment to Hinamizawa. Every villain has a right to explain himself after all.

According to Wikipedia, the last arc, Matsuribayashi-hen, is a "Good End" in which no major deaths occur. I wonder if the anime adaptation will stick to this. Well, I'm satisfied with the way things are going. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together.

Episode Rating:

Memorable Quote from Episode 14: End my mystery that way. Bring me as much happiness as I have had misery -- Miyoko.

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