Pure awesomeness. I really have to say, that this OVA couldn’t have been done better. These past three episodes were right up there with the most memorable moments from the Higurashi series. I’d definitely rank this among the best OVAs I have ever seen, along with Rurouni Kenshin Tsuioku-hen and Hunter X Hunter’s OVA. All of them were just incredible: intelligent, inspired and focused.

Most of this episode was just lots of dialogue, but that’s exactly what I liked about it. Rika, who was tortured with the choice whether or not to kill her mother, and abandon the world in which nobody was plagued by sin. This exactly showed the irony of good endings: sure, you may have everything happening perfectly; you may have nobody suffering from the past, and deeply haunted by some of the wrong decisions they made, and that were made for them. But does that make them better persons?

It may all have just been a dream by Hanyuu, but who cares? Thinking back it made sense: how else would Hanyuu have known about the fate of everyone who wasn’t there? The way Rika let herself go and get caught up in the accident really showed her how she has unconsciously taken her own death and rebirth for granted, and how she began to forget how important her mother was.

If I had to mention a down-side, then it was the continuity error of Keiichi’s sin. In the original series, Keiichi’s sin was left out, and I had to read about it in the Higurashi TIPS, about how he ran around with the plastic gun. Those who haven’t read the TIPS will probably feel left out a bit, because that event was crucial to why this episode was so incredibly powerful. It’s still a shame that we never got to see that scene animated, by the way. It would have been damn intense.

In any case, Umineko no Naku Koro ni is about to begin now, and even though I’ve heard that it’s going to be completely different from Higurashi, I’m really looking forward to it, because 07th Expansion has shown himself to be an incredible writer. My only concern is going to be Chiaki Kon; I’m not sure whether she is the right person for this series. Especially considering how she’s also currently working on Hanasakeru Seishounen, and considering the mess that that turned into. On the other hand, Toshifumi Kawase is returning for the series composition. I absolutely love what this guy has been doing for the past few years (he was the one who directed the Higurashi Rei OVA), so perhaps he was the biggest reason why Higurashi was the only thing that didn’t disappoint out of Chiaki Kon’s work.

Rating: *** (Awesome)
Amazing conclusion to an already amazing OVA.

Apologies for the lateness, but I’ve been quite buy for the past week.

Still… wow. Just wow. I don’t think that I’ve ever watched an OVA that contributed as much to its original series as Higurashi Rei (the only one that comes close is the Rurouni Kenshin OVA). This is really why I like Studio Deen so much: at first sight they seem like your average overly cute production company, but SO many of their stories are just SO DEEP and meaningful. Now that the director has become the director of Shion no Ou, this series can really show its true potential now.

What a bunch of awesomeness this episode was. Rika once again demonstrates that she is a truly unique character and really, the way the events unfold in this episode is just amazing, even though this really was a very quiet episode. Again the themes of friendship are explored: it turns out that Rika was very much acting like a princess before she ended up in this world, and this caused the mysterious distance between her and her other classmates: she used to have so many friends, and when they disappeared she always felt alone.

And it makes SO MUCH damned sense. The original Rika was cursed from the point where her mother died, and there was no way that she would have grown up to be a normal girl if she knew about her identity, not to mention that Oyashiro-Rika would never start acting like a stuck up princess, but now that she had nothing to fear, nor wasn’t involved with the whole Oyashiro-sama, she’d indeed grow up to be a very normal girl, and since she was a member of one of the three great families, she probably was quite spoiled as well.

There are two episodes left, and in these two episodes Rika is going to have to kill her mother. When the episode started, she very nonchalantly said that she’d have to kill her own mother if she had to (and I really could see her commit a murder easily, considering all of the things she has been through, which is just shown by the downright brutal way she attacked Satoko), but later this episode, she finally after centuries learns of the feeling of having a caring mother. I believe that in the earlier arcs when Rika’s mother was still alive, she was too busy with the dam and started losing interest (judging by the way how Rika says that her mother never believed her stories).

I’m really not sure what happened to Toshifumi Kawase. He directed some really crappy series in the past, like Beyblade, Dragon Drive and Tenjou Tenge… but then at one point he suddently became incredibly good, churning out Shion no Ou, writing the series composition for Higurashi, the Law of Ueki, and now successfully directs this Higurashi Rei OVA. I don’t know what made him see the light, but I really hope that he can keep this up for the future. At the same time, I’m getting more and more worried about Chiaki Kon. When Higurashi aired, I used to think that he was a great director, but his following series have gotten progressively worse: Junjo Romantica went nowhere in the end, Nodame Cantabile Paris, while good, raped the original series, and Hanasakeru was a complete and utter cheese and emo-fest. Is he really going to be the right guy to direct Umineko no Naku Koro ni?

Rating: *** (Awesome)
A quiet episode, but the sheer depth of it still amazes me.

Short Synopsis: Rika dies again…
Episode Rating: 8,5/10 (Awesome)
Now THIS is more like it! This episode forms such an incredible contrast to that very silly first episode. This was exactly that paranoid atmosphere that that first series was so incredibly good at. Ah, the idea has so much potential, I’m really glad that it got the chance to be animated into an OVA.

So, what basically happens: Rika gets into an accident, and dies, reincarnating herself again into a different dimension. This dimension lacks Irie, Takano and Keiichi, leaving her as just about the only main actor left. There is no Oyashiro-Sama, no string of deaths or the plan to kill Rina, no Hanyuu, even. Instead, many characters once dead are now alive, Satoko hates Rika now because the two of them grew up much less together and the construction of the dam hasn’t been stopped. Oh, the potential!

I absolutely loved this episode, especially considering how that pool episode pretty much made me lose my faith in this OVA. Still, in the end it proved to be just another light-hearted intro before the real meat of the story begins. I really liked how we, along with Rika, were basically thrown into the complete dark of what was going on. I’m especially looking forward to Rika, meeting her mother again. I’m not sure whether she actually realized that her parents are still alive (she probably had enough on her mind to care about the parents she hardly even knew). Suddenly, I’m a whole lot more positive to seeing Shion no Ou’s director taking charge of this. :)

Short Synopsis: Keiichi and the others go to the pool
Episode Rating: 7,5/10 (There are going to be five episodes of this!?)
Uh… yeah. Here I was expecting Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei to deliver some more background information about the series, flesh some more characters out and all… yeah.

In the end, this turns out to be more Arusu The Adventure: random stories involving the lead characters. This one had everyone and his dog chase after Keiichi’s swimming trunks because it was supposedly cursed. In the end, the only clue that we have that it was indeed cursed was the word of the one who sold it to him.

In any case, the episode was as hilarious as it was disturbing (try to imagine Tomitake and Oshii in the pool….), and the thing turned into a huge self-parody. Interestingly, the original director didn’t return to the director seat, but instead the one who did the series composition created this… thing. And to think that there are four more episodes left!

On a completely different note, though: that OP rocked. It doesn’t quite beat the original OP of the first season, but I’m glad to see that it’s still experimenting with different exotic instruments and sounds. It works really well in this case.

Some reviews are easier to write than others. With Higurashi, it’s going to be difficult, though, simply because of the huge contrast between the first and the second season. The fact also remains that this is one of these series that’s better than the sum of its parts. First, let me say that if you were interested in the concept of Higurashi, just to see “killer lolis” and cute girls, killing each other, then you will be disappointed. Sure, this is a disturbing series, but Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is so much more than a bunch of random massacres.

The first season is basically one incredibly well-developed mystery-series with lots and I mean lots of horror. Throughout six arcs, you see the different characters, as they discover more and more of the complex, multi-layered plot that forms the foundation of this series, while countless false tracks and red herrings are put on the screen, in order to confuse the viewer. You’ll never know who to trust at this point, and the same goes for the characters. There may be a few annoying moments here and there, including some pacing-issues, but overall it’s an intense and diverse thriller that keeps you hungry for more amidst the brutality.

And then the second season comes, and it’s completely different. The first season went so fast that it often didn’t leave any time for quiet moments and character-development; it sometimes went too fast that it nearly tripped, and then the second season comes and fixes this. The pacing continues at a very slow pace, but because of this, there is enough time to flesh out the different characters, to explain everything that need to be said about the story, and to build up for an incredibly solid finale. The characters actually start to realize that their bloodstained hands were a huge mistake, and they try to escape the horror. There’s also an incredibly huge emphasis on friendship and trust.

Obviously, the second season is less exciting to watch, but instead, the first season is less heart-warming. The second season is quite slow, while the first season thunders through its storyline to get it finished in time. Obviously, when you look at the individual elements, things feel strange, and for most people, it’s going to be hard to get used to the completely new road that the second season went into.

But boy, if you start looking at it from a distance, the entire package becomes so much better. In terms of storytelling, the story is closed off perfectly, even though there still is a third season on the way. It knows exactly how to build up well, and the storytelling for especially the second season has been flawless.

All in all, Higurashi is inconsistent, but it’s one heck of a special series. The cast of characters and the setting is definitely memorable, and there are more than enough different moments that make you care about them. Just one piece of advice: when watching episode 17, try not to eat or drink anything. You’ll understand when you watch it.

Ah, and so it has ended. Like expected, this ending is much better than the ending of the first season. It did everything that was needed to close off the story well, with no signs of rushing. While the first season would have tried to add an extra twist, everything went just as expected, but I still ended up really liking it. Especially Takano has improved a lot, and finally she too has become an engaging character, and I loved her scenes with Okonogi, to see her being betrayed by everyone she took for granted.

The obvious question now remains: what the heck is going to happen in the third season? I mean, there are three arcs left, and from all we know, the story and everything around it has been resolved. The final moments of the episode showed how a grown-up Rika went to visit the young Takano. How did she end up there? I can also imagine that there still needs to be found a cure for the Hinamizawa-syndrome. After all, Rika still can’t leave the village without everyone going berserk within 48 hours. It would also be interesting if Nomura made a larger appearance, though on the other hand, I’d love to see more development on Keiichi, Mion and Rena.

Has the new airdate of the third season already been confirmed? My money is on that it’ll arrive somewhere in the Summer 2008-Season. In any case, it’s something to look forward to.

Haha! I loved this episode. It was fun, sad, exciting and inspirational. I now understand a bit why the Yamainu didn’t use their guns in the previous episode. They may not look like it, but they’re scared as well. I can imagine how up till now, they’ve never had to deal with the unexpected. That’s why they became careless and forget to properly prepare. And that’s why they were easily pwned by Keiichi and the others in the wood. I loved how Okonogi actually admitted his defeat, and is now thinking of the survival of the Yamainu, instead of following Takano’s orders. The next episode should promise to be an awesome one: Takano’s screwed, but yet she’s going to do something that delivers the twist for the introduction of the third season.

Ah, and the things that happened in the clinic were excellent as well. Satoshi really seems to have been sick, ever since he was taken in, and I think it’s thanks to Irie that the guy survived. Tomitake is now free as well, and all that’s left now is to reach the next city. One thing I do hope for the third season is to provide more development for Keiichi, Mion and Rena. It really feels like the three of them have been incredibly ignored in the past season, while Rika, Satoko and the others did get their moments.

It’s awesome to see that Higurashi is getting a third season. Because of this, the building-up by this season can really be used well. In case you haven’t found out yet: there are three arcs of Higurashi that were released on the PS2, with one of them containing the “real ending” of the series. When I first learned that the second season would only contain the Minagoroshi-hen and the Matsuribayashi-hen, I was a bit disappointed, but now it seems that the creators had a third season for this in mind. This really has a lot of possibilities.

One thing I didn’t like about this episode was how Akasaka saved the day. I mean, anyone else who stood in the way of the Yamainu before got mercilessly killed. Why didn’t these guys use any guns against Tomitake, and just thought to resolve the conflict with their guns? Ah well, it’s good to see that Tomitake has been working out. While a few years ago, he could just barely beat three Yamainu, along with Oishi, but it seems that this inspired him to work more on his combat-skills.

And really, I absolutely love how this series managed to save a few surprises. Satoshi is alive! I really assumed that the guy died, as soon as he was exposed to Takano, but yet again I forgot the #1 rule of anime: someone only dies when you see the dead body. I love the bit of development for Shion in the end, and how she told Keiichi about Mion’s crush on him. ^^;

Whoa, things went much, much faster than I expected. And really, the building-up is really paying off now, as this was an excellent episode. With three more episodes left, there are many twists up ahead, as 60 minutes is enough time to throw in some excellent climaxes. It’s hard to imagine that finally, after nearly fifty episodes, Higurashi is nearly getting finished.

This really was an episode for the adults of the story. The children only appear in one scene, but apart from that, it was all about Irie, Tomitake, Oishi and of course Takano. Especially the latter finally crawled out of her shell, and showed us something entirely different from her usual character. I do admit that I’ve often complained at her annoying character, but it was so worth it to see her in despair after finding out that people were once again going against her.

Meanwhile, Tomitake is on the run for Takano and the Yamainu, as it’s obvious that he’s the most likely traitor. Irie tries to remain on Takano’s side, though the latter manages to realize that Irie is against her too, so she puts the guy under surveillance. I hope that Irie does realize that he’s obviously going to be tracked.

There were a few vague parts in this episode, mostly at the police-side. I’m not exactly sure where Ootaka came from, and his “connection” with the Sonozakis. Still, it was good to see this guy getting pwned by Oishi, who refused to let anyone to the autopsy-department of the police office.

Aaaand the building-up continues yet again. My patience is getting tested quite a bit for this series, and it really looks like the final arc of this series will be around nine episodes of building up, with the climax taking up only two of them. I’m still not sure whether this was a right decision to make. I mean, the climax has to be really good in order to make up for the episodes that it kept us hungry for any actual development. Can the creators really pull it off, without going through the obvious routes in which Takano dies and the others live happily ever after?

In this episode, Rika teams up with both the major children and adult-characters, and they come up with the plan to fake Rika’s death to cause confusion to Takano. Tomitake goes into hiding, and meanwhile investigates on Takano, discovering what we knew already, Akasaka remains in Rika’s house to make people believe that the house is still being inhabited by people, while Rika, Satoko and Hanyuu hide, Irie continues to keep an eye out, and basically forms Akasaka’s link to the outside world, since his phone will probably be tapped and Oishi is going to be the one to spread Rika’s faked death.

Meanwhile, the woman we saw with Takano turns out to be someone who’d like to see Takano’s antagonists fall too, which explains the support she gives to her. The next episode will probably consist out of everyone getting ready for the major plan. Episode 48 will then probably deal with the start of the plan, while the real climax will take place in episodes 49 and 50. Let’s hope the creators know what they’re doing.