So I went through the discussion topics of the earlier chapters to try to summarize all questions that either haven’t been answered by a theory from us or that haven’t gotten a satisfying answer from us. Now, I am aware that some of these questions probably can’t even be answered by us, but it’s still useful to have them all around in one place. Oh, and I’m going to borrow the color we used in certain other places on this forum to denote open questions.
What really is the meaning behind the opening poem in each chapter?
Who is the mastermind behind Oyashiro-sama’s curse and what is the motive for it?
What really are those sounds that shouldn’t exist (extra step behind Keiichi, that sound in the toolshed in Watanagashi, etc.)?
What is Tomitake’s true identity?
In Onikakushi, what caused Keiichi’s suicide?
Why did someone almost run over Keiichi in Onikakushi?
Why was part of Keiichi’s note destroyed, why was the syringe taken away?
If Keiichi is crazy at any parts of the story, at which parts is he crazy?
In Watanagashi, which scene is with Mion, which is with Shion?
At the end of Watanagashi, who stabbed Keiichi?
Why did Shion commit suicide?
In Watanagashi, why did Rika have a syringe on her?
There are several characters who we could assume to have Dissociative Identity Disorder. Who, if any of those, actually has that disorder?
Now that we know more, who are the cats and the dogs in Keiichi’s confession to Rika and her reassurance to him?
Why did Teppei not die?
Why did Irie die?
How was the Great Hinamizawa Disaster caused?
How did Keiichi survive the GHD?
So there you have it. Those are all the open questions I could come up with. I am also aware that some of those (actually most of those) were discussed earlier, and as a result there might not be much new stuff that one could bring to the table for those, I just chose to write all of them. If one of you has a new idea for one of those, or an idea in general, feel free to tackle one of those questions.
One thing I’d especially like us in the podcast to talk about, is the TIPs in each chapter. Now some of those essentially boil down to “This TIP gives us information X.”, but there are some that are more cryptic in nature, and thus talking about those might bring us to new revelations. So I’d like us to look through the TIPs again and figure out which of them are of that more cryptic nature. I’ll certainly do the same as part of my preparation.