This episode really did little to advance the storyline so I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed. I was hoping that more information would be revealed or some blood would be shed. However, I suppose that since the Watanagashi festival hasn’t even started that it’s only natural for there to still be a bit of some peace of quiet in Hinamizawa. Here’s to hoping that this pacing business is going to all work out at the end of the day when this arc concludes.
Looking at the plot, one has to wonder as to just what exactly is Satoko going to do about the fact that Rika’s going to die in a couple of days. Will Rika’s death be prevented? Will we find out who killed her this arc? I find that to be pretty unlikely since this is a completely original arc so I don’t think they’re going to pull anything that’s really out of the ordinary that’s going to steal the thunder from the last two arcs. One should also consider that the (seemingly) “happy ending” that was presented at the end of “罪滅し編” doesn’t really work out anymore. The viewers all know that there’s some kind of a time loop thing going so unless Keiichi and company figures out the cause, which they definitely won’t in this arc, presenting anything remotely “happy” isn’t really going to fool anyone.
But, when it comes down to it, as long as they keep things interesting for this arc, I don’t really have any qualms as to what exactly happens to the characters, be they dead or alive. And from the look of things, we’re probably not going to get a “useless” arc like “暇潰し編” or something like “祟殺し編”, which really made little sense and would’ve been a pretty crappy arc if not for the murdering scene. So anyway, as long as we steer clear of something around the lines of the two aforementioned karcs, I’m cool with whatever.
