English Dub Review: Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou “Cat-Deceiving Chapter, Part 2”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Rika continues the first of what she has decided will be her last five timelines to understand what went wrong and who put her back in the loop. Things seem to be going alright as the kids learn about a Mahjong move from Satako about subtly switching one’s hand of tiles with another row. Rika then gets a surprise visit from Akasaka, an ally of hers who she helped in saving his wife from a tragic death in some previous timelines. Even with Hanyuu gone, Akasaka’s arrival typically means that Rika will have a big advantage later on, raising her spirits that things may actually be looking u-

-wait no, nevermind, Akasaka is the one who goes crazy in this timeline, murdering Rika and then blowing up her house for good measure. Then in the next timeline, it’s Oryo Sonozaki, Mion’s mother, raving about how the Three Great Families are cursed. Then it’s Kimiyoshi, who does the same. And THEN it’s Keiichi, going through a murder spree at the local maid café. With only one timeline left before she gives up, it seems that Rika has been given every reason to lose all hope.

OUR TAKE

This episode is where I think Higurashi Gou’s worst traits are reaching the forefront, though this will look like a walk in the park come next episode. If I had to lay out the main appeal of the Higurashi franchise, it would be cute girls, mystery, and horror. Not necessarily GORE, but HORROR, and there IS a discernable difference. Having cute girls goes without saying (though I think what may have fit the bill as cute back in the mid-2000’s might not match up with what works now). But horror, as I understand it, is just anything that can make you scared or paranoid, which I can definitely say that Higurashi has managed with its recurring tactic of thinking one hears footsteps when there aren’t any. Which has actually been something that they haven’t really done a whole lot with in recent episodes. I understand that we’re well past the initial fog of whatever might be going on and understand bigger details about the story, but there then doesn’t seem to be as much of a reason to revisit those moments if that’s been lost. I know there’s a new mystery, but does it justify this much rehashing?

But now that we’re in some actual newer material, what do they give us? Well, I assume this is what some producers of this season may have thought what people came for: characters going on murderous, gory rampages, complete with close ups on decapitations and brains being bashed in by bats. Except that, even when some characters in the first two seasons got their most crazy, particularly Rena and Shion, it never got THIS over the top. Each of Shion’s kills were personal and intimate, whereas Rena took the whole school hostage once and the tension came from whether or not she WOULD cross the line. These scenarios where all these characters go off the deep end and murder indiscriminately are certainly shocking to see at first, but when you watch them over and over and over in a row, you both lose that tension and become numb to it. What the hell is there left to fear now if we’ve already seen the absolute worst case scenario four or five times now? What tension is left? But the worst is yet to come as we dig ourselves deeper into this pit, so stay tuned for that. Or don’t! Honestly, you should run now.