higurashi no naku koro ni 17 (meakashi 2)
Categories: anime, episodic review, higurashi
Tagged: higurashi
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Complaining way too much, maybe I overlooked something fatal for me.
Continuing from last time, Shion is bummed that Satoshi went emo crazy on her, and Mion tries to patch things up by having Satoshi call up Shion and apologize. I’m just bummed that between Shion and Mion there’s like only five outfits.
Satoshi calls Shion (thinking that she’s Mion) and apologizes that even though she’s a Sonozaki, she’s not the one who is “cornering him.” I’m sure Shion would love to “corner” him. Satoshi also reveals that he isn’t running away (the money saved is for something else) and has learned that lesson already… but no one forgives them still.
Between Shion’s “gomen nasai” orgy (I thought she would be spirited away like Rena), she promises Satoshi that she’ll take care of Satoko during Watanagashi because Satoshi has some “work” to take care of. Based on K1’s actions, we pretty much know that Satoshi is going to go medival on his aunt, but my question is “Why the aunt?” Why not not the uncle, who seemed to treat Satoko pretty bad?
On the night of Watanagashi, Satoshi finds some abandoned office furniture and leaves his bat there. Between office furniture scrapyard this episode and the junk pile for Rena’s arc, I get the feeling that Hinamiyazawa is more of a garbage dump than a photo tourist spot.
“Tanoshi sou da nee!” – Rena’s only line this episode. Reminds me of those Gundam Seed Destiny episodes where Cagali, Meyrin, and Luna combine for one line while Shinn babbles on forever. Not a good thing.
(I have no idea what’s going on here. Rena looks like she’s enjoying the afterglow from a kawaiigasm, and the animators seemed to have run out of blue ink for Rika’s hair.)
“Nii-pah!” Rika comforts Satoko that “All your pain will end tonight. It’s been decided.” Wait, does she mean that Satoshi will kill his aunt thus triggering K1 to kill her uncle and lead to the killing of everyone in the town by the release of natural toxic gas? That ends the pain? Or does it mean that Rika has stocked up enough ecstasy to fuel an all night fun session** between Rika, Satoko, Satoshi, Shion, Mion, and Rena? That’ll end some pain too.
** Karaoke, of course.
Meanwhile, Satoshi has lured his aunt out to the office furniture scrapyard. How white (or Japanese) trash do you have to be to forgo the biggest town festival of the year to go root for office furniture?
He swings…
… and it’s a home run!
I feel cheated. There’s a death but no emo facial contortion to go along with it. It’s like having ketchcup without mustard. It’ll be funny, though, if that turned out not to be Satoshi but K1 instead. I think that’ll actually make sense in the plot… K1 decides to save Satoko from both her aunt and uncle so he borrows Lt. Data’s time warp device. That’s why Satoshi dropped his bat earlier… he saw K1 already hanging out there with a crazed grin. That must be it.
Onibaba is fearsome. Or maybe she’s just constipated. I can’t tell. She’s informed that the aunt has died, and she’s not surprised. “Four out of four” she says like comparing at-bats to murders during Watanagashi. Oh wait, they are “at-bats!”
Ooishi arrives surprisingly fast and notices that the face has been busted in beyond recognition. I know it’s like 1981 Japan, but I’m sure fingerprinting technology was available back then. Maybe even dental record matching.
Shion, wearing the same clothes as two days ago, gets a call from Mion alerting her to the aunt’s death. Shion immediately wonders if Satoshi has an alibi… if it means that the two of them will go Bonnie and Clyde, I’m all for it. Puppy love can make people do weird things… including murder cover ups. Shion! I expected more from you.
Shion catches Satoshi admiring a doll who reveals to Shion that he has been saving his money to buy a pedobear for Satoko for her birthday but is worried that someone else would purchase it.
　　 ∩＿＿＿∩
　　 | ノ　　　　u ヽ
　　/　　â—　　　◠|
　 |　u　　( _â—_)　 ミ BEST PRESENT EVER
　彡､　　　|∪|　　､｀＼
/　＿＿　 ヽノ　/´>　 )
(＿＿＿）　　　/　(_ï¼
　|　　　　　　 /
　|　　ï¼ï¼¼ã€€ï¼¼
　|　/　　　 )　 )
　∪　　　 （　 ＼
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Shion tells Satoshi the joys of credit, and how to take rainchecks out on producets… rainchecks? Don’t they mean lay-a-way? Who does that anymore? It’s so 1980. Next thing you know, Satoshi and Shion will walk by an appliance store and The A-Team will be playing in a window. Actually, that’ll be awesome.
To thank Shion for her help, Satoshi finally realizes that “Hey, hawt semi-crazy girl may like me!” and promptly starts checking out her melonpan. First intelligent thing that I’ve seen all episode.
Who the hell compliments others by patting them on the head like a dog? And what are the odds that two males who did this in the same town ended up with the same cruel fate? It’s not the dam project that Oyashiro is upset about, it’s this head patting. Remember, K1 was fine until he patted Satoko.
(And what kind of girl takes this from him? You’re not a pet, Shion! Bite his hand off… I know… contradictory message…)
Ooishi shows up and cockblocks poor Shion. He wants to ask Satoshi a few questions. Probably beacuse, uh, he did something dumb like leave his bat with his name on it at the crime scene. Or he tossed it into the bog, when how’d K1 get it later on? Anyway, Shion tries her best to defend Satoshi.
Satoshi’s “I was doing great! Bought a doll for my sister and was going to invite Mion to a love hotel, but the cops are onto me and screwing everything up” face.
Shion quickly invents an alibi for Satoshi and tries her best to defend him. Shion, give up on this guy already… there’s plenty of loser males out there with little sister complexes for you to pick from. Actually, that’s an even better repair idea: trade Higurashi no Naku Koro ni‘s Shion for Da Capo‘s Aisha! How long do you think Aisha would last in Hinamiyazawa? How would Shion kill Nemu and claim Asakara? Oh, man, someone make this happen. I’m giddy just thinking about it.
Shion tells Ooishi that she’s really Shion and not Mion. Meanwhile, Satoshi is still in shock over the murder investigation and that’s Shion, not Mion, who has been flirting with him. The two get dragged down to the station.
Afterwards, Shion gets dragged to the Sonozaki compound by the family goons… minus the apron-wearing helper from the previous episode, Kasai, who probably is undergoing some torture for helping out Shion behind the family’s back.
(So basically, according to this arc, everything is caused by Shion skipping school. Damn. She should have enrolled at Gualderobe instead of Ouran.)
Mion takes Shion to the hidden Sonozaki compound, and I’m giddy with anticipation. Last time we were here, there was some good emo facial contortions.
(Mion’s yakuta outfit? Solid seven out of ten. Conveys power… craftiness… an aura of womanly elegance and beauty.)
Sense of dread and doom rising… sense of dread and doom rising… sense of dread and doom rising…
Shion’s “OH SHI-” face.
What does it say about this episode when Onibaba is pulling off the best emo facial contortion? Who’s scarier? Her or Inukami‘s?
Instead of apologizing (the smart move) she decides to toss a hissy fit at Onibaba as everyone– Mion, her parents, the goons– shake their heads in a, “Mai Otome 24 kinda of way.” Noooooooo! Don’t do it Shion! We need your melonpan for future episodes or else I’m gonna have to start blogging about this supposed “mystery”!
I must admit, Shion’s tantrum is quite impressive. Reminds me of myself when I found out that they cancelled The Critic.
Shion exclaims, “I LOVE HIM! I LOVE SATOSHI!”
I’m not sure if everyone is upset over how she’s been affiliating with the boy… or how she escape from her boarding school… or how she’s screwing up their Watanagashi killing spree. But by continuing to disrespect Onibaba, that’s probably worse than all three combined. Then Shion blames Mion for telling Onibaba that she loves Satoshi.
Mion’s one cool cucumber. I still think that it was Mion during Watanagashi.
Shion still goes on and on… and Onibaba interrupts her with a damning, “Do you even know what he did wrong?”
(Is it just me, or are Shion’s melonpan growing? Weren’t we able to see the gun before?)
Ah, Crazed Sonozaki… how I missed you!
Problem is that Shion has really made the situation worse. Mion explains that she can start making amends and show how Shion errored by displaing the “Distinction.”
Shion doesn’t want to (it’s probably some horrible torture), and Mion reassures her that Kaisa, the uncle who operates Angel Mort, and maybe even Satoshi would have bad fate fallen upon them if Shion does not agree to this. Kinda freaky scene especially with Mion standing in front of torture devices… fits the mood just right.
“Wait, sis! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m wrong! Please forgive me!”
(I like how they finally revved up the animation fluidness… but still too little, too late.)
Just shows that Mion is the alpha twin. Look at that dominance… oh my stars and garters.
This Distinction is to rip out one’s own fingernails. Aiyayi!
I’m getting the chills now. I’m excited. This kind of atmosphere is what Higurashi should have been like.
Mion calmly explains that fingernail ripping doesn’t attone for her or her comrade’s sins. Instead, it’s just to show that she understands what she did wrong. And she doesn’t have to rip one out. She needs to rip three out.
The anticipation…
… is…
… killing…
… me.
Fantastic sequence. Well executed. Shion just ripped out her fingernail, but she has two more to go and can’t do it. She completely breaks down and succombs to the pain.
But to continue or not… that’s not her choice anymore. Loved Mion’s gesture in this scene inviting the goons to…
… finish the job.
A few days afterwards, Shion is back in her apartment and told to stay the hell away from Satoshi.
Man, I’m still whincing from that scene myself. I’m thinking about Mion… and how cold and emotionless she was watching Shion going through that agony. Mion is fearsome.
I loved this scene where Shion explains that she needs to work to stay in Hinamiyazawa, except that she looks like a hooker with Dr. Irie trying to pick her up from his car. She tells him that she’s Shion… and completely drained of her will it seems like.
Shion notices that the stuffed bear is gone… and then Ooishi shows up and asks her, “How’s your injury?” If Ooishi is in kahoots with the Sonozakis and Oyashiro, it’ll explain a lot… he was using K1 as his plaything to get him in trouble in the earlier arcs, for one. Second, it’ll explain why he’s not dead yet. Why wouldn’t they target him? I would.
The episode concludes with Shion learning that someone other than Satoshi is being blamed for the aunt’s murder and that Satoshi has gone missing. She’s thinking, “What the hell is going on here?” and I’m thinking the same thing.
One thing that this Meakashi arc is showing me is how great of a match Shion would be for K1. They both imploded when it counted the most… when Shion was dragged in front of Onibaba, she probably could have saved everyone if she just apologized and forgot about some loser boy with a sister complex. Instead, even though she barely knows Satoshi, she defends him to the end, which only resulted in her losing three good fingernails as well as Satoshi most likely dead right now. I liked this episode… the atmosphere post-eyecatch was just fantastic and not something commonly found in anime. I’m still whincing.
30 Responses to “higurashi no naku koro ni 17 (meakashi 2)”
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the finger tearing scene in this episode is the only time i’ve been disturbed by higurashi
Hmm. I’m glad you l liked the episodes. Usually we are on the same lines when something irks us.
As usual, your jokes are hilarious. Keep it up! D: I mean… :D!
God, I hope Oishi or at least the “Oni-baba” dies freaking soon. Very soon. Just do it, Shion.
Time to learn Japanese
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/
Jason, you missed the best part of the torture sequence. You must had been covering your eyes right after Shion pulled out the first nail.
When she tried to pull out her second, the nail only came out partially. She had to pull it again.
Ouch, talk about inflicting wounds over wounds. That’s when she really lost it.
And that’s when I almost lost it too.
i noticed pedobear too o_0
i don’t even really know what pedobear is. 4chan’s mascot or something? that place and their jargon confuses me.
You all are sick deprived beings. Yes, the fingernail scene was the closest thing to the older Higurashi scenes – but I still wouldn’t call it good. I mean, nothing can beat the opening to the Watangashi arc with the Rika stabbing. And lets not forget the poison that makes you claw your own neck out. How about the original baseball batting scene? Dismantled body parts is alot better then some blood on a flashlight.
Honestly, I wasn’t impressed at all. But yeah, I also noticed you skipped the partial nail scene. Chances are that was Satoshi-kuns nail. Since she missed the first time he went bye-bye.
I do go for the brutal honesty in almost all situtations given, but Shion sure is dumb. I mean you’re in a torture room, with family heads who wanted you dead from birth, you lie if you want your ass saved. Not that it’s much of an ass to save. I think Navel needs to take this up; I mean KyotoAnimation certainly is the leader in production quality, but you have to admit Shuffle and Soul Link didn’t look too bad either.
In any event, seemed like another boring episode to me. Sure, maybe it’s less boring then the more recent ones, but still boring…
@wackedfoo
pedobear is one of 4chans mascots
he likes to rape little lolis
Here’s a good distinction between a good episode of Higurashi, and a bad one. If it’s a good one, there’s a character you can actually identify with, to some degree. Take K1 in the first arc, or Shion in this episode. Sure, they do stupid things, but it’s (almost) a realistic sort of stupid. They’re worried about being tortured or killed, getting panicky, etc. So you empathise with them when you see them eating pins and having fingernails ripped off.
Then we have K1 in, say, the third arc, and Shion earlier in this one. Both of them more or less go “Wow, I just found out about the home life of the Hojou kids!! I’m going to go totally psychopathic with murder/jealousy on my mind!” Not really the sort of reaction anyone watching the show is likely to have, and poof, you no longer empathize with them at all.
By the way, is it me, or does it seem like various silent members of the Sonozaki family wandered out of Excel Saga? Just give the dad a lightning bolt mustache, and have Menchi point a gatling gun at the old guy…
Long time since i whincing watching an anime, let’s hope it stays this good for the rest of the arcs.
I saw some fan art of k1 with a bat and rena with her blade on a roof in fighting game style. Ever since i thought how awesome it would be if one arc was just everyone openly killing everyone.
>>Trade Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’s Shion for Da Capo’s Aisha! How long do you think Aisha would last in Hinamiyazawa? How would Shion kill Nemu and claim Asakura? Oh, man, someone make this happen. I’m giddy just thinking about it.
You’re making me a very happy camper and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. That particular sister-con matchup is somewhat offensive to me somehow.
I also admit, the fingernail scene had me wincing in sympathy after the first nail. Most of the fun comes from trying to imagine what kind of searing agony you’d feel if you had one of your own fingernails ripped out. Just sit in your chair and try to imagine the pain…I guarantee wincing within 30 seconds.
Could the alibi thing in this chapter be the reason why everyone during the curse killing chapter acted like keiichi was at the watanagashi festival? To cover up for him?
I am certain it was Shion who was shaking the ladder like crazy in the 2nd arc.
As for the final scene… hmm… not to sure.
Wow Shion’s rack in the next episode preview is like HUGE!
Or my already bad eyesight got worse.
>Could the alibi thing in this chapter be the reason why everyone during the curse killing chapter acted like keiichi was at the watanagashi festival? To cover up for him?
Thats what I always assumed. Could be wrong, though.
The nail pulling scene was one of the scariest.. I was trying to lower down my speaker volume because I was afraid. Rofl.
>>>I know it’s like 1981 Japan, but I’m sure fingerprinting technology was available back then. Maybe even dental record matching.
If a person has no criminal record they won’t leave any fingerprints. Since the aunt’s face is completely smashed in, dental records would be useless since all of the teeth and jaw would have been disfigured/broken/fallen out. The next fastest way to identify a person would then be to check the ‘Missing Persons’ record and then find a relative who can identify the person through their clothing or any distinguishable body marks.
Great(?) to see some of the series’ premise original tension, chills, and creepiness returning to the show. May the killer lolis return in the next episode, yay~!
I once accidentally stabbed my left thumb with a pen a few months ago, nearly pulling my thumbnail out. I had to trim it to the root to prevent it from getting infected.
The skin of my thumb’s still sore. I still wince when I think back on it.
I don’t think I can watch that scene in this episode.
@SH
That’ll be the scenario in the final arc.
…I hope.
@Fat Cat Lim
You don’t need to have a criminal record to have your thumb prints on record.
Still, what’s odd is how fast Mister Delicious quickly narrowed his suspects down to Satoshi. Equally suspicious was Ooishi’s last scene with Shion, although it does explain his familiarity with the sisters’ identities back in the second arc. Makes you wonder if he really wasn’t privy to the town’s inner circle.
Hmm I love any entry that uses the term c*ckblocked, because you really can’t get away with using it too often.
Until I reached the fingernail ripping section, which brings back memories of my own fingernail being ripped out, and which completely turns me away from this episode.
*Shudders*
I know it’s a little late arc-wise, but thinking of Mion vs Shion can only end like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4dvsrNMMQ4
>>> You don’t need to have a criminal record to have your thumb prints on record.
True, but criminal records are often the first source for quick background cross-referencing. Not unless you’re willing to scour through thousands of birth certs and/or driving licenses.
I really does smart to have your nails pulled out. I haven’t lost a fingernail, but I have lost some toenails before. Honestly, if I had to do something like that, I would cop out and get some local anathetisia so at least I wouldn’t take 10 minutes to recover after one was pulled out. Honestly though, I would be really impressed if there was a device that could remove your fingernails cleanly from your finger like in this episode. Normally if you had a shattered nail and you WANTED to get it off, it’s not so easy to get it off in one go. If I had to pull out some fingernails, this device is the way to go. Just think about how you rather take your baby tooth out. A slow wrenching pain, or a quick one-time shock of pain.
Now that I think of it, Shion isn’t an old man like Mion is. Too much crying and not enough bullet biting.
http://derailedbydarry.com/ima...../17_25.jpg – there is only one comment to this screenshot: YOGA FLAME!
The fingernail ripping scene was good one, totally disgusting and totally cool. And Mion is face “that’s payback for having bigger melopan than mine” behavior was awesome. Now only we need more psycho Rena and everybody will be happy again.
>> http://derailedbydarry.com/ima...../17_25.jpg – there is only one comment to this screenshot: YOGA FLAME!
I never liked granny characters in any anime, especially since the annoying Shampoo’s granny in Ranma 1/2.
Onibaba makes me hate this kind of character even more.
The finger nail gouging was horrificly satisfying after the lapse of excitement in the series. Mion’s still a bitch, though.
>>”Why the aunt?â€
I though the aunt was the worse one. Usually aunts are scarier than uncles.
>>Hinamiyazawa is more of a garbage dump than a photo tourist spot.
Hush, don`t believe everything you see. They show only the dirty part of Hinamizawa, you don`t get to see more of its beauty.
>>Who the hell compliments others by patting them on the head like a ***?
I do. So I`m not alone eh? Glad.
>>pedobear is one of 4chans mascots he likes to rape little lolis
Is that why Oyashiro-sama`s mad at Satoshi?
So Oyashiro-sama is pedobear?! O_o
I’m not ENTIRELY sure Mion’s actions in the last scene were totally sincere, but more an act for the family. When Shion starts bugging out, Mion tries to reassure her and to tough it out. Also, they’re on fairly good terms years later as we know. I doubt she really meant how she acted in the beginning….unfortunately.
uhhh… why the bane does she not just take out her gun, shoot everyone, save who is in next room, and be done with it?! Wait ok, yeah – one is her twin, but that twin goes insain so… you know what nevermind. I’m confused.
Mion did what she had to do. With Onibaba and other members of the Sonozaki family there Mion didn’t have the option of giving Shion a simple talking to. She had to punish Shion in some way otherwise things could have ended a lot worse for Shion, Kasai, the uncle, and Satoshi.
Isnt Rika dead…