Dear god. Someone please tell Strawberry to bring a flashligh. Ugh. It’s extremely annoying to see that the creators gave the bounto all kinds of weaknesses, without them being used at all. Also, no matter how many times I look at the OP, its lyrics remain the most cheesy ones ever.

In any case, this is one of the episodes which can be summarized in one word, and one word only. I’ll gladly make use of this:

Boring

This episode continus where episode 14 left off, and makes it two times worse. The hate towards Shiurei continues to increase, and people are actually plotting to get rid of her. Still, the first signs of people appreciating her also start to show.

So, to recap, the bad things:
- Wa remains as horrible as ever.
- People actually start throwing dirt at them like little kids.
- Ro keeps burdening Shiurei and Eigetsu with the most horrible jobs. His treatment actually was the saddest to see.
- Remember the ring from the Sa-family which was stolen? It seems that some person is plotting to do something with a fake version of that ring. I have no idea what it is, I have no idea how it’ll happen, though Shiurei and Reishin will end up worse with this.
- Someone’s spreading rumours that Reishin cheated with the exam in order to let Shiurei in.
- Because of this, Reishin gets arrested.
- The guy from the Sa-family has hired Kochou in order to do something to Shiurei. We’ll have to wait till the next episode in order to find out what, but it’ll involve a bunch of big strong guys equipped with a bunch of big, sharp swords. Poor Shiurei. T_T

Still, if Shiurei doesn’t overcome these things on her own, she’ll never be able to rise. Go Shiurei!!

Anyway now the good things:
- Hakumei has taken pity in them. He uses the excuse of the two of them fainting being disadvantageous to him, but he doesn’t fool anyone when he says that he does it only for himself. He’s quite an ambitios fellow as well. He seems to see Kouyuu as his great example.
- Some mysterious person keeps sending Shiurei and Eigetsu tea and buns. I’ve got several persons in mind, Shouka, Ryuuki and Seiran all could’ve done it. For now, I’ll put Shouka in the seat of major suspect.
- At one department, people are starting to appreciate Shiurei. More of them will definitely follow!

Apart from that, another few interesting facts were revealed:
- Shouka has yet another younger brother: Kurou. Much isn’t revealed yet. He seems serious.
- Something seems to be going on at the Department of Protocol (the one in which idiot Wa works). Shiuei and Eigetsu decide to write their final assignment about this. Further details are yet to be revealed. That, or I just didn’t manage to pick them up.
- Kourin and Ensei are returning from the Sa-province. Kourin said that she wants to see Shiurei. When that happens, it’ll be pretty interesting. After all, Shiurei never managed to know it was Sa Taifu who attempted to kill her, and Kourin’s role in all this. The fact also remains that Kourin still loves Sa Taifu, even after his death, so I’m eager to see her reaction.
- Both Ryuuki as Seiran as Shouka are looking over Shiurei. And all of them are having huge troubles not to help her. Especially Ryuuki really has to convince himself not to go. ^^;
- Kouyuu and Ran seem to be bothered by a huge load of guys who offer their daughter for marriage. (Talk about shamelessness. It’s a good thing they declined every single one of them).

Some other very amusing things happened:
- Ran really had problems trying to restrain Ryuuki from helping Shiurei.
- The mud-throwers accidentally hitting Kouyuu.
- Shiurei noticing Ryuuki who kept spying on her.
- Shiurei’s methods of dealing with Wa’s treatments. (Go Shiurei! ^^)
- The flashback in which Kouyuu accidentally burned a random person’s toupet.

Overall, I just couldn’t help but feel pity with Shiurei. She has to put up with so much. Still, when she gets acknowledged, she really can show everyone what she’s worth. ^_^

This episode was focused on Kouyuu. It becomes clear why he was taken in by Reishin, and he feels rather unappreciated by him. Shouka is, again, the person to show him the light.

Reishin has been treating Kouyuu very indifferently lately. He’s been very cold towards Kouyuu, and this begins to gnaw on the latter. Kouyuu begins to feel underappreciated. The very reason he entered the National Exams was because of Reishin. The fact also remains that Reishin gave Kouyuu the name Li Kouyuu when he took him in. Not Kou Kouyuu. When someone speculates that this means that Reishin’s planning to let go of him some day. This gets even more to him.

Not to mention that Kouyuu’s already feeling gloomy when he watches Shiurei and Eigetsu work all day. The fact that he notices that Reishin only seems to be out to please Shouka only worsens this, up to the point at which he thinks that Reishin became Shiurei’s sponsor only to please Shouka. Eventually, he goes to drink sake, along with Shiuei, Ryuuki and Seiran, and then he blurts out Reishin’s reason for adopting him. Kouyuu was just a normal street kid back then. He made a lottery by himself, with as consolation prize plum blossoms. Reishin then decided to take him in, like it was nothing. This all happened thirteen years ago, right after Shouka took in Seiran. In Kouyuu’s eyes, Reishin only took him in in order to please Shouka.

Shouka then tells Kouyuu a few things, which make him think differently about Reishin. As Shouka refused to be the head of the Kou family, Reishin was forced to pick up this task, and get involved with some pretty dark stuff. he wanted to protect Kouyuu in this by not giving him the name Kou, but Li. The “Kouyuu”-part all have something special, which shows his love for Kouyuu. Reishin also seems to be very introvert. He doesn’t really show his true feeling often. It’s indeed right. In front of Kijin, he acts a bit business-like. He tries to impress Shiurei, though he’s too scared. He tries to please Shouka and he acts cold towards Kouyuu. Though his real self remains cropped up inside. Another interesting detail is that Reishin seemed to love plum blossoms, which seems to be the reason why he took in Kouyuu, of all persons.

Whether Reishin still loves Kouyuu as a son remains a mystery, though one thing is clear. He did love him when he took him in and raised him.

Ryuuki and Seiran, meanwhile, have their own problems, as they begin to feel a bit useless towards Shiurei. Both are only able to watch her. At the end of the episode, they decide to solve this by helping the ones near Shiurei. Ryuuki goes to Eigetsu and gives him the Imperial Stamp. It seems to be significant. Don’t ask me why. Seiran goes to Kouyuu, and brings him to Shouka. This way, they’re both helping a bit.

Official Ro makes an interesting observation, by the way. Shiurei is extremely lucky. Even though she did a lot on her own accord, she was helped. She only took the aptitude test and the final Kaishi test, while normally, you’d be spending a whole year passing exams before you can get in. This indeed shows that there still isn’t any equal treatment for men and women. lets hope it’ll change to the better side.

Overall, I like Kouyuu’s case. It’s interesting to see a different side of his.

Memorable Moment: Ryuuki, thinking that Seiran was alone while actually, Shiuei and Kouyuu were near him. I wonder what would’ve happened if they didn’t. ^^;

Okay, screw the flaws of Good Witch of the West. The only one worth mentioning is the strange sound Firiel’s footsteps make in the middle of the desert. It’s just like she was in a ballroom. ^^

Well now, the plot during this episode was excellent once more, and it set a very nice base for the last two episodes. I’m very glad that Firiel and Roux coming together didn’t wait for the final episode, which means that right now, the last two episodes can focus on the really important things:

First of all, the attack of Brigeonte on Torubato was all fake. Torubato plans to attack Gulair head on. This indeed can work, now that Gulair has all of its forces aimed at the south, thanks to a certain potential heir of the throne. Second of all, Duke Riez is up to something. He’s been inviting all sorts of people in his castle, including one of the dukes who went along with Eusis on his little dragon hunt. Third of all, the Mahiru Star seems upset for some strange reason, it comes closer and suddenly changes color from blue to red. It also reveals to posess suction powers. Eusis, meanwhile, continues to hunt the four remaining dragons. I guess he’ll be quite busy the next couple of episodes.

Rouxbow actually was quite funny while he was away from Firiel. The Bard, who actually got a proper introduction during this episode is quite an interesting character. My only complaint about him is that he showed himself a bit too late. He really brings a bright spark into the story. He seems to be some sort of wizard, working for the queen.

It seems that both Adale and Firiel will play as hero. Adale will probably be solving the diplomatic issues and become queen, while Firiel solves the thing which goes on behind the scenes, with Duke Riez, the Mahiru Star and the Ehpimeris.

Overall, the episode was quite enjoyable indeed. I’m looking forward to a very entertaining finale.

Memorable Moment: Firiel in the pub.

Aaack! Only now, when the new arc begins, I realize just how incredibly awesome the fourth arc was! Not because of the tension, but its content. And especially its main characters. Now that the anime’s taking a whole different focus, I suddenly realize something.

I miss Rika as a main character! I miss Akasaka, I miss Oishi. The three of them formed a perfect combination of main characters. Only now I realize this. When the anime takes a focus on some of the lesser parts of ths story.

During this arc, the main character gets to be Shion. Her supporting character will be Mion and the victim will probably be Satoshi. The arc focuses on the fourth Watanagashi-murder: Satoshi killing his aunt and running away. It explains why Shion reacted the way she did in the third arc and it indeed shows that Mion and Shion like to change roles, and that they’re actually quite friendly towards each other. I guess the disease put an end to this in the second arc.

The fact remains that I dislike it when Shion, Satoshi and Mion are put in the places of main characters. The previous arcs showed this. They work perfectly as side-characters, though right now, they’re just boring. I also didn’t really like it when this arc has already been listed for four entire episode. I so hope that they can at least do something to surprise me. They made a good start, near the end of the episode, though it’s full of flaws. Everything just was way too rushed. Shion’s outburst came from nowhere. At least the creators managed to build up quite well with Keiichi. It also seems that the emotional face distortions are back. They weren’t as bad as in the previous episodes, but they never were at the first episodes of the arcs.

Still, Pani Poni Dash managed to confirm something with its Mushishi-parody. The production of an anime still goes on after the first episode aired. After all, Mushishi aired a season later than Pani Poni Dash, and the creators still managed to include a parody in the last episode. This gives us clues that the seventh arc of the game might very well also be displayed. I’m so hoping that the eighth arc will make it as well. After all, it exists for a reason, and something tells me that Rika’s playing a big role in that one. I wouldn’t want to miss that one.

Still, we have to do with Shion, Mion and Satoshi right now. This episode didn’t teach us any new things. It just confirmed a few. For example, Shion indeed loved Satoshi. Satoshi indeed looks an incredible lot like Keiichi, except for his hair color, which confirms why Shion clinged to Keiichi in the fifth episode. Satoshi used to pat everyone on the head, which explains why Satoko freaked out in the tenth episode.

Overall, this arc could have been enjoyable if it aired before the fourth arc did. All it did now was make me feel nostalgic towards it. I’m a bit too demotivated for a summary, forgive me. The beginning of the episode also showed that Shion is up to something. But did that happen in the past or will it happen in the future?

Memorable Moment: The language of the three punks.

This was an awesome episode! I really love this arc, mostly because of the fact that the entire arc has no fake emotional face distortions. Don’t get me wrong, these can be great at times (Simoun, for example, makes great use of them), but the low budget of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni just makes them incredibly fake.

Anyway, before the arc started, I was fearing that this arc would be the same as the third arc. After all, Satoko and Rika are just perfect to be such victims, versus the antagonistic portrays of Rena and Mion in the first two arcs. I was very pleasantly surprised when I found out that Rika would be portrayed as a prophet. The effect this had really was awesome, and Akasaka proves to be a worthwhile main character.

We start with the kidnapping of the son of the minister being solved. The son is getting very sick because of some reason. It’s got something to do with a scar the guy has which he got in a car accident. Therefore, the kidnappers ask for Irie to drop by. He then notices something very strange, though we never know exactly what.

Oishi and Akasaka meanwhile are exploring the same area, as the boy’s wallet was found. Still, the wallet was found very conveniently. Everyone who goes through the district by car. The villager who found the wallet just happened to be sick, and he just happened to relieve himself right next to the wallet. This certainly means that one of the villagers wanted the grandson to be found.

Akasaka also manages to see a glimpse of Rika before they head in the district. What was she doing there? Then they drive into Irie, who just came back from the kidnappers. He tells them about the hide-out, which would mean that he doesn’t have anything to do with the kidnapping. This is strange, as four years later, he was leading the same people into Keiichi’s house in an attempt to cure him. This suggests that he became involved with Hinamizawa somewhere in these four years.

When the kidnappers notice Oishi and Akasaka, they attempt to flee, though in the end, they fail. Still, the kidnappers did show a good fight against the two of them. They had a very precise aim with their guns. This suggests that Keiichi’s vision of the guard trying to overrun him was indeed just imaginary. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have missed with the car.

The two kidnappers manage to flee in the end and the grandson gets saved. Still, Hinamizawa wins in the end, when the dam construction is cancelled. I think that the kidnappers have done more things like this, which made the kidnapping the final straw. I think there’s a good chance that the Sonozaki-family pulled some dirty tricks. It’s almost like they wanted the grandson to be found. After all, the head of the Sonozaki-family was pretty serious when she found out about Akasaka. I don’t think that she could not foresee the fact that he and Oishi were able to find the kidnappers.

Afterwards, the story turns towards Rika, and this is where the real awesomeness begins. Akasaka tries to call his wife, but every phone he runs into has its wires cut off. Then he runs into Rika and he suspects her of being the one who cut the phone wires. Rika neither confirms nor denies. Though she does mention the fact that only sadness awaits him if he calls.

Akasaka then takes Rika to her home (after all, it’s evening). Rika then reveals that this is the evening of the Watanagashi. The festival is a lot different than on the previous arcs, as we just see a bunch of guys drinking, laughing and screaming. Rika then takes him to her favourite spot again, and she reveals quite some interesting things.

She actually predicts each of the Watanagashi-murders. She also reveals that she’ll be killed in a couple of years, as it’s already been decided. She reveals more, though we have to wait till later in the episode for that. We then return about five or six years later. Oishi managed to survive the volcanic gas and he has retired. He now lives in Sapporo. Akasaka decided to meet him, in order to confirm a couple of things.

Akasaka also has understood Rika’s words. During the night of the Watanagashi, she tripped off some stairs in the hospital and died. Remember what Rika said in the previous episode? She said that he’d better return immediately to Tokyo. If he did that, his wife would be saved, as she’d be doing something else than walk off some stairs. And even if she did trip, Akasaka would be there to save her. That’s also the reason why Rika cut the telephone wires. She knew that Akasaka’s wife died, so she didn’t want him to feel sad. But why? Why did she warn him?

Oishi then tells Akasaka about how Rika was killed in the way we saw it in the previous episode, and about the volcanic gas. Keiichi is nowhere mentioned. Akasaka then reveals Rika’s predictions about the Watanagashi-murders. The next Watanagashi would mean the death of one of the dam opposers. I guess I was wrong in assuming that this arc dealt with that murder, as it actually happened one year after. The next Watanagashi, Satoko’s parents would be pushed off a cliff. The next Watanagashi, Rika’s parents are to die (interesting note: Rika doesn’t say how). The next Watanagshi Satoko’s aunt will have her head bashed in and be killed. The next Watanagashi, or a few days after, Rika will die.

Rika, however, didn’t know who was behind it. Everything is part of a plan, though she doesn’t know whose plan it is. Rika only wants to live happily, along with her friends. I guess that that means why she was so protective of Keiichi in the second arc.

Rika’s prophecy actually reveals quite some interesting things we didn’t know yet. The first victim appears to be the dam construction manager (I could’ve sworn I heard this before, but whatever). His body will be dismembered and one of the murderers will still roam free. After the previous episode, I thought that this would be Rika, but her role will be an entirely different one. Out of all the other possible culprit, Mion seems most obvious, as Oishi revealed that she got into a fight with him during the third episode and she is, along with Keiichi, the only one of the Higurashi-cast who has murdered. Still, the body was dismembered, cut into six pieces. Mion’s style is performing the Watanagashi on them. And after all, just because she got into a fight with him, that doesn’t mean that she’ll automatically kill him. Though for now, I’ll believe her to be the murderer, due to lack of other suspects.

The second murder: Satoko’s parents. They were indeed murdered, by being pushed off a cliff. It was no accident at all. The body of her mother must’ve drifted into some unknown place, or the murderer had plans with that, and removed it. Still, the reasons for the murder remain unclear.

The third murder still remains shrouded in mystery. Rika’s parents will be killed. Her father will die because of a mysterious illness and her mother will commit suicide. Why, how, which and what still remain unknown.

The fourth murder will indeed involve Satoko’s aunt being bashed into the head. It indeed suggests that Satoshi had a little fun. Still, Rika does not mention Satoshi at all. Could it be because he never died, or because he didn’t die at a Watanagashi. I’d go for the latter, as the previous arc showed his dead body, Watanagashi-ed.

The fifth murder, and the most interesting one, will be Rika’s own. It seems that during the first arc, she also was killed in this way. In the second arc, Mion disrupted this prophecy by murdering Rika herself, and dumping her into the well, along with the others. For some reason, Mion didn’t want to wait for Rika to get killed near the shrine, and she wanted to kill her personally. After all, Satoko wasn’t supposed to come after her, as revealed in the eighth episode. I don’t believe that Mion was the one who killed Rika in the other arcs. Perhaps Shion has something to do with it?

The interesting thing remains that Rika only mentions the murders in which Keiichi was not involved. The fact that Rena, Mion and Keiichi die in the first arc never gets mentioned. The fact that Satoko, Mion and Shion die in the second arc never gets mentioned. Satoko’s uncle in the third arc never gets mentioned. Perhaps Keiichi’s role in this is even bigger than we originally thought.

During the second arc, Rika also willingly goes to Mion in order to be killed. Another theory would be that she wanted to disrupt the plan of the bad guy by getting herself killed in another way, as she saw it as a good chance. She failed to do this in the other arcs. (Wild theory: what if Rika’s death is directly related to the volcanic gas? What if Rika needs to die before the gas can be released? After all, the press could be hiding something).

Also, I’m very surprised that Oishi managed to survive the volcanic gas. The fact that he ran off in the third arc could suggest that he found out about it, and attempted to flee before it erupted. Ever since, he’s kept quiet about it, and so, he even doesn’t tell it to Akasaka.

Still, Hinamizawa has lots of secrets. Why did Rika know about the murders? She could’ve heard them from the Sonozaki family. The Sonozaki family could be hte culprit, though Rika told Akasaka that she didn’t know who was behind it. This would suggest that the Sonozaki family wasn’t behind it. Still, how did Rika know about Akasaka’s wife? Okay, she could’ve phoned the hospital she was staying in. But first, how the heck did she know the phone number. And second, how did she manage to predict an accident? I am so trying to believe that we’re dealing with something not supernatural here, though Rika’s case is totally leaving me in the dark right now.

Overall, I really liked this arc. It was really refreshing to see no Keiichi, Rena, Mion, Shion or Satoko appear, and make the arc just focus on one of my favourite characters: Rika. Oishi also improved a lot. I actually liked him and Akasaka was a very good protagonist. Especially because he wasn’t a pubescent male, or something like that.

The new ED seriously rocks. It’s still on my mind. Anyway, the episode was great once more. The previous one introduced the problem, while this one solved it. And it was indeed more than just telling the older twin to “always look on the bright side of life”. The younger twin proved to be much more of a problem. She not only had more confidence and was more cheerful, she also kept believing that her older sister indeed was worthless. Even worse: she kept reminding the older sister of it. Believe me, it isn’t good if you keep getting told that you’re not good at anything.

Words are a bit theme during this episode. It doesn’t focus at something supernatural, just something mental. Overall, it was great. The interesting thing is that Watanuki has the same problem as the older sister, though a bit less extreme. When he’s in front of Himawari, he too gets too scared to say anything. It seems that he still doesn’t have this courage, after Yuuko gets evil at the end of the episode. Things are going better, though.

First of all, this episode comes with a new ED, and it totally ROCKS. Seeing Maru and Moro on the air guitar like that, and Mokona on air drums, without overdoing it is so incredibly awesome. The song really fits the dark moods of the show as well. Two thumbs up for the creators.

About the episode: it shows that we can have two-episode arcs as well. I think xxxHolic will now be turning into that direction. The first two-arc story, in any case, is great. We have these twins, and they’re the total opposite of each other. One is cheerful and laid-back, while the other is gloomy. The cheerful one always takes the initiative, and the gloomy one kindof tags along. The gloomy sister feels that she’s being held back by her twin. And this starts to get to her. In the end, she ends up with a bloody forehead inside a cinema. This one really is getting exciting. Especially as I can relate to the gloomy sister a bit. Not because of twins, but because of other things.

The fact that this episode reminded me of Jigoku Shoujo 16 also made this one better. Watanuki, Himawari and Domeki’s antics were great to see once more. Yuuko, meanwhile discovered that she has a hidden talent for juggling while Maru and Moro ran arond with a couple of rugs. And call me crazy, but I begin to like the tall character design even more.

This episode turns more serious, as the antagonist reveals herself. It indeed turns out to be Hansel’s brother, Gretl (how else :P). Her character design is pretty interesting. Still, most of the minor trump cards seem to be played now. What will Hansel be trying next time?

We start with where we left off in the previous episode. Baru is sensing someone, not a Nightmarian at the school. Something stronger, so he and Shirayukihime decide to head for the school. Hansel meanwhile has a little talk with his sister. Meanwhile, Baru and Shirayukihime infiltrate the school, in which Akazukin’s still going “undercover”.

Shirayukihime found a more effective way: pretend to be teacher. She’s fairly good in it, though Akazukin wonders what she’s doing there. And makes a fool out of herself. ^^ Later, she meets up with Baru, and the two start to search for the source of the huge strength. They eventually manage to find a couple of lunch boxes. (^^;)

Gretl, meanwhile, tries to carry out her plans. She pretends to be sick, and Souta and Ringo go along with her. Gretl seems to look at a watch, suggesting that she’s waiting for something. In the corridor, when things were supposed to go off, nothing happens. It seems it had something to do with a couple of mirrors, which were deactivated by Shirayukihime. Gretl doesn’t really get happy with this when she finds out.

Gretl reveals her true form. Souta, however, still trusts her because of the things she said earlier. Whether this is a smart move, or utter foolishness remains a mystery. Gretl meanwhile places a barrier, hence why she was checking out everything in the previous episode. Something in the barrier turns everyone unconscious. Souta and Ringo only escape this fact because of a protection spell Shirayukihime put on them. Afterwards, Shirayukihime ends up outside of the barrier, while the former two end up inside of it.

Even Akazukin and Baru are under Gretl’s spell. When Gretl’s about to attack Souta, she appears, for some reason. That reason gets explained, though I have no idea what it is. Akazukin then decides to lure Gretl outside, as she has no room at all to fight inside a small corridor. Eventually, it seems that the weak point in Gretl’s barrier was the top of it. Akazukin breaks it, in order to let Shirayukihime in again.

Hansel, in the end, manages to prevent Shirayukihime and Akazukin from destroying Gretl by saving her. It seems his plans have failed again.

Another awesome episode. It wasn’t as fun as the previous one, though it still had plenty of entertaining moments. We learn a bit more about Shirayukihime and the fact that she’s always able to win debates in the magic-country. Until Ringo trumps her. ^^

It’s also nice to see that the creators have spent time in developing the world an the magic system for Otogi Juushi Akazukin, as Shirayukihime gives us a demonstration of how to set up a barrier. I also just loved the dream that Shota was having at the beginning of the episode. Finally we see some dreams which don’t have to be so grim or serious, but are just plain wacky, like normal dreams are.

This episode, Hansel sends a spy towards Souta, in the form of a transfer student. He distracts everyone by making a nightmarian appear. Still, it does show that Souta is incredibly naive, as he doesn’t question the fact that she knows about the fairy tale, or that she knows that Akazukin is a musketeer.

There’s one thing I’m wondering about, though that can also be a mistake by the fansubbers. The fact is that the musketeers got their name from their muskets. These are like, 18th century types of guns. I’m wondering what the literal meaning of Juushi means, as I’d like to know the explanation behind the fact why they’re called musketeers.

I’m also wondering about the direction in which this anime is going. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. The fact remains that it has 39 episodes to fill. If it became clear that the Nightmarians don’t work against Akazukin in the second episode, what will the creators have in mind for the later episodes? I hope that this means what I think it means. =)

Overall, another great episode. Some of the antics of the characters really were adorable.

Memorable Moment: Baru, finding out he has to stay at home.