ひぐらしのなく頃に解 Ep. 08
With this episode’s events, it seems that they’re going to tie in “祟殺し編” with this arc. I never really liked “祟殺し編” because of its idiotic ending and we had a glimpse of that idiocy here both as some brief flashback scenes and in the way how Rika just kind of went back and forth between whether she cared about anything or not. I just found it ludicrous in how she tried to act all tough throughout the episode but then just started crying at the end of it all. Admittedly, we also got a bit of that from Chie sensei when she decided to go talk to Satoko’s uncle although her failed attempt was actually funny to me whereas Rika’s change of heart seemed really out of place.
In terms of the overall development of the arc as a whole, I’m really liking it. The pacing for this episode was fine and we are also presented with some new information. It’s interesting (and also rather odd) how Takano is actually on Rika’s side but has been killed every loop. You’d think that she’d try to convince Takano and Tomitake to not do things that might get them killed…but no, just no.
It’ll be interesting to see what Keiichi’s got brewing for the next episode. If it’s anything like what happened in the third episode, we’re going to be in for some good laughs. Depending on how quickly this event gets resolved, I’m curious as to whether these events actually transpired in the visual novel or not. When you consider how many episodes it took for each arc in the first season, you have to wonder whether they’re adding original material into the anime series or whether the last two chapters really are long enough to span so many episodes. Though, as aforementioned, I’ve been totally fine with the developments and pacing of this arc so far, so even if this “section” isn’t actually in the visual novel, I’m totally cool with it.
