Just finished reading. What a ride! Meakashi has been my favorite arc for a long time and Shion my favorite character, but I have to admit, experiencing this in VN form was very different from experiencing it in anime or manga form. That’s probably because as a medium, the novel gave much more insight into Shion’s thoughts and feelings and I absolutely loved her gradual descent into madness. Sometimes it took her only one misinterpreted word or phrase to twist her reasoning into the worst possible scenario. Also, that last tip with Akane blew my mind. (And so did the mental image of Oryou on a motorcycle.)
I actually lost a lot of sympathy for Shion as a human and gained a lot of respect for her as a character (and consequently, for Ryu as a writer). I guess I never really understood before exactly how twisted she had become - it was the little things that kept piling up (always blaming Satoko, always insisting that Mion didn’t have to feel guilty towards her). Speaking of that, the way she described the environment of Hinamizawa and the curse system reminded me of Umineko, since it wasn’t one single event or one character that was at fault for the tragedy, but little day to day interactions that added up and formed a pile of sins. More than anything, I feel like Shion’s madness is the most rational so far, in that she becomes very thought and action prone, rather than emotions prone, when she is down.
Out of all the character-related things that were cut out of the anime, omitting the original switch between the twins is the one that pissed me off the most. I feel that this detail is part of the core of Shion’s existence. It explains why Mion always felt indebted to her and was willing to go to great lengths to ease Shion’s life; it explains why Shion felt powerless in saving Satoshi; it explains why to Shion, her descend into insanity felt like regaining her original identity; it explains Shion’s final dilemma down there in the torture chamber with Keiichi, when she realized nobody truly understood her. (It also explains what the ideal situation was like for Shmion in Saikoroshi.) In fact, I wonder what exactly tipped Ooishi into realizing the original switch had taken place - was it just the diary? Or was it his intuition?
Speaking of Ooishi, I am starting to like more and more the adults of Higurashi. I never really cared for Ooishi in the anime or manga, but the VN made him so flawed and human-like that he has become one of my favorite characters overall. Kasai also got quite the spotlight this episode and I feel like he was more of a parent towards Shion than her own dad was (who’s very rarely mentioned). Dr. Irie scared me in Meakashi tbh - the way he nonchalantly appeared in front of the toy store and pretended he knew nothing of Satoshi. I wonder if he would have told anything to Shion in his car, had she went with him and not with Ooishi at that time.
This chapter showed me again that Ryu is a master when it comes to writing relationships between characters. One that particularly amused me was Shion-Rena. Out of all the kids, Shion is the only one who truly senses Rena’s dangerous nature. Another was that between Satoko and Satoshi; I feel like Satoko’s torture was much more powerful as a written scene than a drawn one.
Speaking of Satoshi, his new character sprite looks incredibly cute. (Keiichi too looks very nice, but I wouldn’t call him cute.) I think Shion is a bit wrong when it comes to Satoshi’s lying ability. That scene right after the murder when Ooishi questions him shows a pretty calm Satoshi - much calmer than when Keiichi was questioned. But then again, Shion is wrong with many things when it comes to Satoshi - and at the same time, I could feel how genuine her longing for him was. (I wouldn’t call it love at this point because Satoshi himself is unaware of Shion - they only had one interaction where Satoshi knew of Shion’s identity.)
On another note… I feel that Ryu cheated a bit this arc. Shion is the only one who doesn’t claw her neck when infected with Hinamizawa syndrome. I can’t help but feel that this is purely for plot reasons (if Shion started itching, she would realize she had the same symptoms that she witnessed in Rika).