Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 24: End ]

Leon
Youko

Wow. That was one finale. Personally, I felt really bad for Miyo. It goes without saying that she is my favorite character throughout the first and second seasons so I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her regardless of anything that she’s done. Nothing else really mattered to me for most of the final episodes than Miyo’s safety. It seems like she was saved due to having caught the initial stages of the H-Syndrome but I’m sure she’s cured in the end. It was said that in that world there were no losers so I’m assuming that Miyo received a happy ending as well and didn’t have to receive the blame of everything that happened.

The end with [adult] Rika and [child] Miyo was pretty intriguing. I was at a loss to what it meant for a few minutes but then figured that it suggested that Rika somehow went back in time to ensure that Miyo didn’t have to live that life of hell she would have gone through had her parents died in that bus accident. That made me all sorts of happy because all I wanted from this finale was for Miyo to survive and have a happy ending.

And that’s all she wrote. I personally thought the finale was brilliantly done and covered the tracks almost excellently. Looks like the club already won the fight and the battle from the start. Okonogi realized that but Miyo still wouldn’t take defeat for an answer, though I’m plenty sure she had that feeling locked inside her but doesn’t want to admit it. Ironically, the thing that probably saved her was getting Hinamizawa Syndrome. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her knowing that no one else gave a crap about her grandfather’s documents. The sudden pouring rain was a nice touch, a reminder of the pain she went through when she was a child.

I must say, I really loved it when Hanyuu showed up and said she would forgive her. Miyo’s last move was one shot, and she pathetically missed. Or did Hanyuu do that? Well, anyways, it seems she’ll be okay for now. Which means this whole mess is now over and done with. Congrats, Rika + gang, you’ve finally won! Yahoo watashi wa katte ze! *fanfare* And finally, the endless days of June disappear. The bit at the end gives off another new question to me. I honestly didn’t understand this scene at all. At least, the part where a supposed adult Rika appears before a young Miyo. I wouldn’t think too much on it. I’m guessing this will be explained later in the upcoming season (hell yeah).

[ Final Thoughts ]

It’s both a breath of fresh air and saddening to see that Higurashi is finally over. There is a third season coming but I doubt that it’ll be continuing this story since everything is pretty much said and done. Everyone gets to have their happy ending in varying degrees. Miyo, my favorite character, in my eyes was never a bad or an evil person. Though I know some people would rather crucify her without looking at the facts first. From the life that she led in her youth it is understandable why she turned out to be the way that she was as an adult. Having lost so much and being treated so badly could take a huge mental toll on a person. Thankfully, in the final world, she managed to receive forgiveness and live without the burden of having to fulfill her grandfather’s hypothesis or take the blame for all that occurred. If you ask me, Miyo is the true star of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. It goes without saying that I recommend this show to any and every one as long as they’ve watched the first season prior to it. It has a great story and a great cast of characters hook your attention from start to finish each episode. I look forward to the third season even if it ends up being a series of side-stories or something totally new.

[Overall series review (individual): 90/100]

Gotta hand it to Studio DEEN. I think they knew what they were doing this time from start to finish. Beginning with answers that were left in the first season and then an original arc to answer more unsolved questions. Finally, the rest of the beloved Answer arcs from Kai. I think somewhere in the middle of Minagoroshi-hen, it felt a little bit too stretched out with saving Satoko and all. It almost felt like it was totally unrelated to the last part of the arc.

Despite that, I commend DEEN once more for delivering thrilling episodes each week and not stopping regardless of a stupid girl axing her father. It didn’t have as much horror as the first season, but that was never really the point of the series in the first place. It’s a shame some people actually do see it that way. Sure, we all love it when we believed Rena and Mion were psychotic, but that seemed a little bit unnatural. Knowing the truth of what really happened is, what I say, the best part of Higurashi. As Rika is my favorite character, I obviously enjoyed a great deal of Kai. I had no problems with more insight on her character. Plus, the addition of Hanyuu was also great and we all know it. Auauau~. Well then, I’m looking forward to watching more Higurashi. Perhaps they’ll animate the arcs from the PS2 game or manga, or hell Saikoroshi-hen. I definitely want to see that.

[Overall series review (individual): B+, 89/100]

[Overall series review (average): 90/100]