Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 6: Rules of the Labyrinth ]

And so begins the arc hailed as the greatest in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. It is also the arc where all questions are answered. That being said, we’re in for one hell of a ride.

Leon
Youko

So far, things are looking good. We finally get started with the first “true” answer arc of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. There were a few hints and some information already given in this episode that contributes towards figuring out some things as well and requires some thinking. Anyways, we get to meet Hanyuu. A cute little girl who works along side of Rika to continue restarting the world. She’s who we can call Oyashiro-sama. Or at least one part of it. I was happy to see that Keiichi was able to show Rika that fate can be defied if you try. Keiichi getting the game to change from cards to something else and giving the doll to Mion (or rather, Shion) instead of Rena were all because she spoke to Keiichi about knowing what was going to happen at the toy store. This gives Rika a bit of hope and revitalizes her determination to try and defy fate herself one more time. I wonder if she tried to interfere with fate like this before though….

About Hanyuu…she mentions that no one else besides Rika can see her. Does that mean she can be heard? Like back in Onikakushi-hen when Keiichi could hear footsteps behind him? It seems likely. Though, I wonder if that means she messes around with Rena as well? Or maybe it’s actually Rika? Well, those questions and more will be answered in this arc as well as things such as the true identity of the murderer (Rika’s murderer). I still think Takano has something to do with everything that goes on in each world.

Speaking of Takano, she was pretty hot in that nurse uniform.

This is a brilliant start to the most anticipated arc in all of Higurashi. Minagoroshi-hen starts out with what looks like the beginning of Rika’s “rebirth.” Interesting to know that it’s here we know of how Rika keeps her memories and then shifts to another Hinamizawa. I guess the deal with parallel worlds in the same universe is making sense. Another intriguing part is Hanyuu’s power to revert time back but it seems that each time they do they get less time to prevent Rika’s death.

I’m liking how this arc is a solution to almost everything. For now we’re getting a different look on Watanagashi-hen/Meakashi-hen. Keiichi is amazing here. Not only did he somehow regained memories back in an another arc, but he challenged fate’s schedule, thanks to Rika explaining it to him. I have to wonder with Rika. If Rika didn’t say anything to him, would Keiichi have still given the doll to “Mion”? Another thing: Keiichi’s attempt at stopping the game worked well so that means they already broke tradition, yes? Well that still didn’t help Keiichi from winning the doll. The part that’s bothering me about this is the possibility for fate to continue the way it is planned regardless of how it was originally intended to get there. The input and output are still the same no matter what’s in between. The question is what will happen now?