Higurashi Onisarashi-hen Discussion

07th Discussion
#1

Feel free to discuss the Higurashi manga arc, Onisarashi-hen, aka Demon Exposing Arc, here! You can also discuss the Alchemist takes on this arc here, but we will primarily discuss the original manga here. As a big fan of the arc, I want those who haven’t managed to read it or know the twist to it (because there’s always a twist in a Ryukishi story) to enjoy it, so please use spoilers for the major points! Also, please don’t read it if you haven’t finished the main four Question Arcs of Higurashi. References to the answer arcs and other additional arcs must be tagged with [spoiler], providing adequate context in parenthesis.

Summary: This is a story about Natsumi Kimiyoshi, who is connected to one of the Three Families of Hinamizawa. Her family has moved to a big city, and Natsumi’s happy new life seems to fall apart with the news of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. Can she continue living a normal life?

What would you rate this arc?

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Higurashi When They Cry General Discussion
#2

Interesting, so this is set after Tatarigoroshi maybe? And a new character from the Kimiyoshi family? Can’t wait to get to this!

#3

I find it fascinating that they adapted this arc into the Alchemist games- the twist in this particular arc was something I really thought could only be done in manga. But I guess they somehow managed to do it, then? How did they do the whole thing with the visuals not matching up with the dialogue? The clues in this one were all very reliant on the flow of the manga panels- like the scene where the knife ends up pointed squarely at her mother, despite Natsumi claiming it was self defense.

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#4

Yes, I would say it’s best enjoyed after Tatarigoroshi, but definitely better enjoyed after Himatsubushi, because Akasaka and Ooishi appear in it (and their reasons for it are explained in Himatsubushi)! But it’s a unique perspective into the third Great Family we don’t have a personal connection with in-game. And there’s an epilogue for the game floating around that was weirdly published long after the English collection of the arc was published.

@MrDent: I full-heartedly agree with you in that I feel that Onisarashi told a tale that could only be achieved in a manga format (especially with those really dull expressions for the Alchemist sprites where Natsumi has only a total of four emotions max, when she clearly experiences more than that here). The twists do rely heavily on visuals that the VN versions lack, and from what I’ve seen of the Alchemist adaptations, they really dial it up on the tragedy and straight up murder both Akira and Natsumi in some of the ends for their adaptations, which really undermines what the story was trying to achieve. How would Natsumi be able to try to recover from this if Akira and she are both dead by her own hand? And I feel that the addition of that extra investigator was too extraneous, Akasaka and Ooishi were just fine because it’s about Natsumi.

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#5

Hm… I did not know this existed! Is this best read after Himatsubushi or reading the whole VN (8 core arcs, I mean)?

#6

You can jump into it after reading Himatsubushi! You would just need to know the fate of Hinamizawa as shown in Tatarigoroshi, but to also know about Akasaka and his whole reason for being there, which is in Himatsubushi. When Yoigoshi and Onisarashi were released in English, they were released immediately after Himatsubushi but before Meakashi, and they’re considered Question Arcs. So if you were to get an official copy of Onisarashi in English off amazon if they still have them, it’d have the colors of the Question arcs (black and red) while also being a sort of omnibus, as it includes the full volumes of it. But an epilogue for Onisarashi was released after it was translated officially, so the epilogue is only available online.

#7

Question, do you think we should merge this with a Someutsushi topic, or keep them separate?

#8

Separate. They feature the same cast and setting, but most Higurashi arcs do. They’re different enough that I consider them different arcs.