I’m beginning to love the concept of the show more and more. If only because the fact that the murderous Rena now acts as a side-character, and suddenly acts totally friendly with Keiichi again. This arc has yet to bring the craziness of the first arc, though. Especially this episode was more explaining than frightening. Still, it had some very good parts in it.

We start with the afternoon before the Watanagashi, with Keiichi helping to build it up. Shion brings him a cup of tea, after which Mion discovers them. Apparently, she also wanted to bring Keiichi some tea. Then it really becomes clear that Shion manages to keep control of her twin sister, and not vice-versa.

Then Tomitake and Takano run into the group, and then we get a quick explanation in one minute about the Watanagashi and Oyashiro’s curse, as wel as an introduction of Oishi-san. An interesting new fact that we get to know: Takano works at a hospital. This time, Shion’s, Takano and Tomitake fill Keiichi in about the murders. Shion apparently wants Keiichi to know for some reason, so that’s why this explanation comes sooner than in the previous arc.

Another interesting fact is that because Oishi isn’t the one who explains the link between each murder and disappearance, we get another perspective on that issue as well. In the previous episode, the perspective was “one person gets killed and one person goes missing”, though this episode featured the perspective of “one person gets killed, so one person gets missing”.

Anyway, that evening, Rika performs. Shion, however, takes Keiichi to a sacred temple in the woods. Only certain families can enter, and there they see Takano and Tomitake trying to open its doors. The two groups discover each other, and Takano, Shion and Keiichi enter the temple while Tomitake stands guard. Then we get to know a few more interesting fact. The residents of the village are half-demons. This would explain their behavior from the last arc. There’s also a large number of body-dissecting material present inside the temple, and the plough that Rika uses in her ritual, is meant to cut open stomachs.

The two parties say goodbye, Takano and Tomitake go to the rivershore, Shion leaves as well, and after a couple of seconds, the others manage to find him. Keiichi lied about what he was doing before, and he immediately gets cornered by Mion again (and a bit by Rika). How the heck to they always know what happened? Anyway, she doesn’t go as far as Rena went in the previous arc, though she does remind him again, and gives some very obvious hints that she knows he’s lying.

That evening, Shion invites Keiichi, though she uses it as an excuse for him to meet Oishi. She leaves once the two see each other. Oishi questions him again about the night before, but he doesn’t give any answers, like he did in the previous arc. He does reveal, though, that Mion and Shion’s family is sortof like the mafia. Mion’s supposed to inherit the entire family.

That night, Shion calls Keiichi, and she gets to be the one who informs him about the deaths of akano and Tomitake. Though something’s different: this time, two persons got killed. That must mean that two persons will go missing. Guess who that’ll be? Keiichi finally gets paranoid, and begins to yell to Shion, putting all the blame on her. She hangs up.

Shion is definately planning something, though what? And why did she go along to the temple while she knew what was coming? The same goes for Takano and Tomitake: why did they enter the temple in the first place? And the person who disappears? Shouldn’t this person be disappearing at the same night as the murder takes place? Why is it delayed this time? And why does entering the temple mean being killed?

Anyway, while the previous arc focused on Keiichi vs Rena with a bit of Mion, this arc focuses on Keiichi vs Shion with a bit of Mion. It’s a pity that Shion’s the only member of the cast I dislike. She just seems so boring, in contrast with the incredible Mion. She’s way too calm for this show, even when she’s serious. Actually, we still have yet to see any paranoid face, other than Keiichi’s, and last arc also had a surprise-element at this time of the episode (my favourite still remains Rena entering Keiichi’s house). This time, this wasn’t as evident.

Well now, let’s try to name as much changes with the previous arc as possible. It might help for future references:
- Keiichi didn’t help in the first arc.
- Shion was entirely oblivious in the first arc. People say that she might’ve been Shion in disguise, but the fact remains that their seijuu are different. If I recall correctly, Mion had the same voice all over the first arc.
- Mion didn’t show any signs that she fancied Keiichi in the first arc.
- Tomitake was introduced earlier in the first arc. This also means that the murder-story was only introduced in the second episode of the second arc, while the first arc already had the first episode talking about it.
- Keiichi meets Takano at the day before the festival in the second arc, while he only met her the evening of the festival in the first arc. She also speaks for a longer while, goes into more detail and both Mion and Shion are also there when he meets them. In the first arc, he met them on his own.
- Rika made a mistake in the second arc.
- Keiichi went to the storehouse/temple in the second arc, while he just watched Rika in the first arc. There’s been put a lot more emphasis on the night of Watanagashi in the second arc if you compare it to the first arc. In there, it was just a minor event, though this time, it seems central.
- Tomitake is never seen without Takano.
- Tomitake and Takano are last seen at the riverbank in the first arc. They’re last seen while going to the riverbank at the second arc.
- Rena never gets paranoid, or any reason to be suspicious in the second arc. I know I’ve said this lots of times before, but damn, it keeps bugging me.
- Actually, almost each of the characters has a small change in personality: Mion’s got more introvert and shy, Rika’s gotten a bit more friendly towards Keiichi, the yellow-haired girl calmed down a bit, Tomitake’s gotten less outspoken and Oishi’s gotten less serious.
- Tomitake, Shion and Takano fill Keiichi in about the past events concerning Oyashiro-sama in the second arc, while Tomitake, Takano and Oishi did this in the first arc.
- Mion started to get suspicious in the third episode of the first arc, while she started getting suspicios in the second episode of the second arc. She also gets to be the one to corner Keiichi for the first time in the second arc, while Rena did this in the first arc.
- Oishi first saw Keiichi a couple of days after the Watanagashi, during class in the first arc. He saw him right the day after the Watanagashi in the second arc. Oishi also didn’t see Keiichi as the critical link in the murder in the second arc, so he was fine with being interrupted by another police-officer.
- Takano got killed as well, instead of just missing.
- There is no word about one of the killers of the first murder still running free.

Some of the similarities were:
- Rena’s enthusiasm at the beginning of the Watanagashi.
- The scenes at which our group has fun during the festival, although played at a greater speed. (this has a nice effect, by the way).
- Rika cutting her plough in the Futon.
- Takano’s personality. It’s exactly the same as last time, even though she gets more airtime.
- The ease of Keiichi to get freaked out and yelling people he suspects.
- Tomitake cuts his throat with his nails. Seems to be a pretty popular way of suicide.

Okay, no in-depth for this entry, as I have to leave in a minute (mothers day, and all). For the first time, we see a case in which Yuuko is the one in the spotlights, and Watanuki acts as a viewer. There’s no Domeki or Himawari in this episode, thought the case makes totally up for this. We have a case that might appeal to a LOT of different people: a woman, who’s addicted to the internet wants to quit. It was really scary seeing her struggle with herself, Yuuko also helped in this.

I also love the open ending in this episode, not to mention the red baseball-bat which got turned into a sword by Yuuko. It was basically a pretty predictable episode, but the little details totally managed to save it. The warp-tunnel was great again, just as Yuuko’s ethical monologue.