Kurogane's Anime Blog » Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Mahou Shoujo Rika Magica

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:33:49 +0000

やっぱ….ロリがいいな…..

2009 in Review, Part 1

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:00:39 +0000

First part of my 2009 in Review article. Only shows I’ve completed watching are in this list, divided in to four tiers of descending “accumulative entertainment value”.

GOD Tier

Bakemonogatari

Senjougahara-fascination in full swing.

Toradora

Poor Ami~n :(

Maria+Holic

“o..o..o..o..onii-sama no. IJIMEKKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ristorante Paradiso

Almost made me gay for megane-jiisan’s

Eden of the East

Mass Naked NEET Event.

Seitokai no Ichizon

I’m still rooting for Key-kun’s Harem End.

Awesome Tier

Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo

Epic space colony battles. Badass Asimo deserved more screentime.

Saki

Rin Shan Kai Hou is rather cheating.

Kanamemo

Lolicon Hocchan and musical episode made my Season.

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class

Most educational anime I’ve watched this year.

Sora no Otoshimono

Flying panties are awesome.

Kuchuu Buranko

Second most educational anime I’ve watched this year.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei

Resolves a lot of questions for the series + lots of focus on Rika.

Okay Tier

CLANNAD After Story: KEY should stop using those deus ex machina devices so much.
Zoku Natsume Yuujin-chou: Needs more youkai.
Denpateki na Kanojo: The fastest way to happiness is to look awak from reality.
Asu no Yoichi: Better than I thought.
Hayate no Gotoku 2nd Season: J.C. Staff redeemed themselves.
Fight! Ippatsu Juuden-chan: Would’ve been Awesome tier if they didn’t overuse the urination trope.
Taisho Yakyuu Musume: Would’ve been Awesome tier if they won the last match.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: Did KEY had a hand in writing the last few episodes for this?
Ontama: Short and (bitter)sweet.
Darker than Black Ryuusei no Gemini: Didn’t learn from its predecessor.
Aoi Bungaku: Batshit insane Nana Mizuki was the highlight.
Kanokon OVA: Rather iyashii-kei, surprisingly.
Nyan Koi!: Just barely in here.
Suzumiya Haruhi II: Not counting Endless Eight that is!

Shit Tier

Kurogane no Linebarrels: Only watched it for the name similarity.
Asura Cryin’: Causality loops are mindfucking.
CANAAN: SUGOI SUGOI SUGOI SUGOI
Chrome-Shelled Regios: Felli was in the wrong show.
Tales of the Abyss: Even gg didn’t finish subbing this shit.
To Aru Majutsu no Index: Adaptation Decay.
Gundam 00 2nd Season: The Innovator’s names.
WHITE ALBUM: Give me back my boyfriend.
Tower of Druaga The Sword of Uruk: Needed more Ropers.
Munto TV: Pretentious as fuck.
K-ON!: A music anime with sucky music.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni: DEEN Adaptation.
Princess Lover!: Took itself as a joke.
Kampfer: Ode to Joy.
The Sacred Blacksmith: Cecily is annoying.
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza: WHITE ALBUM wannabe.
11eyes: The sex in the penultimate episode was just a vision? GODDAMNIT.

In total, 43 shows completed this year. I’m surprised at how much I managed to watch despite thinking about how slow this year was. Then again, I never did keep track of the number of shows I watched for the last few years…..

Part 2, which consists of other miscanellous accolades, should be up tomorrow!

Higukai Ends

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 04:00:47 +0000

Happy ending all round, yay for Rika and gang for managing to alter fate.

Still, Higukai manages to end with a bang, with that short sequence of an adult resembling Rika appearing before a young Takano and possibly altering her fate as well. Coupled with the announcement of a 3rd season for Higurashi… looks like the mysteries of Hinamizawa will continue.

Frederica or Furude Rika?

Matsuribayashi-hen: Bouryaku

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:47:41 +0000

Still on the past events arc, which is proving to be quite an insightful look at the origins of Takano, the disease and the reasons leading towards the tragic future that has been repeated countless times. Takano Miyo is proving to be the most intriguing character ever, as even though she has some cruel and extreme thoughts, but I simply cannot hate her fully for all her actions. Well, her life is just a big series of plus and minuses.

Most importantly, who is this mystery woman that appeared at the end of this episode? Argh, they called Rie Tanaka to voice her and, damn, I kept thinking “Suigintou” all the while she was offering her proposition to Takano. Rie Tanaka has one awesome evil voice.

Oooh, evil!

P.S. Gotta love the HiguKai previews. “Disembowelment lover Furude Rika” XD.

Rena DVD Omake

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:19:03 +0000

A short clip from the first HiguKai DVD APPEND Disc. Basically, it depicts and hints of adult Rena being an insurance agent, and trying to sell it to Oiishi-san.

God, that was so LOL.

Matsuribayashi-hen: Ugomeki

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:38:46 +0000

Oh wow, Hanyuu looks menacing and GAR during that faceoff with Miyo at the end.

So, Miyo’s past is revealed and we finally know from where her strong will came from. I can’t deny I pity with her past, especially when she was thrown in to that hellhole of an orphanage…. god, how can this places even exist? I really felt terrible for all those poor kids thrown there.

But still, it does not justify Miyo from taking such drastic actions just to prove the existence and her research about the Hinamizawa Syndrome. While I cannot deny her determination, but I guess her absolute determination has finally led her down a twisted path.

HiguKai cancelled?

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:42:42 +0000

Uh, apparently due to the recent murder cases, HiguKai has been banned from TV.

Did I mention this is just not my day?

Minagoroshi-hen: Shuumatsu

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:36:02 +0000

T_T BAD END.

Oh well, they’re restarting the game with Hanyuu and Rika’s hax anyways. But I must say, Rena is pretty damn awesome. She managed to laugh in at Takano, while she was being pointed at with a gun. Respect points +10.

Ahh~ can’t wait for Matsuribayashi-hen. Hauauauauauauauau~~~

Minagoroshi-hen: Higurashi Shoukougun

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:12:55 +0000

Yes! Despite some of the other stations cancelling the show, apparently Sun TV aired it, albeit with one minor edit to the OP sequence, which was the removal of a shot of Rena’s blood-stained cleaver. Not that noticeable anyways, unless you did a side by side comparison. No screencaps due to the fact I watched it on a less clearer source. Anyways, tons of spoilers in this episode.

From the last episode, it’s already revealed that the real perpertrator is none other than Takano Miyo, who is the leader of the Yamainu group. The episode starts with Oiishi-san talking to Rika about the discovery of Takano’s body, but the time of death does not match the time of her disappearance. Thus, Oiishi-san starts to throw suspicion the possibility that Takano is still alive.

Rika approaches Irie and a representative of the Yamainu with the news. The Yamainu tells them that the deaths will be investigated and Rika’s protection will be strengthened. Rika returns home worried, and the next day, decides to fake a fever to stay at home instead of school, where she receives a phone call from the Yamainu leader that Dr. Irie is the one that killed Tomitake and Takano. This arouses the suspicion of Rika, and she decides to call Oiishi-san that she’s receiving death threats and he offers her police protection.

A surprise comes in the form of the gang, visiting Rika. They overhear Rika’s conversation with Oiishi and demand to know what is happening. Rika decides to tell them, for the first time, about the Hinamizawa Syndrome, which affects all the residents in the area and triggered when the villagers leave the village or are put under tremendous emotional stress. Discovered during WWII, where soldiers from the village would go insane slowly after leaving the town and finally die from clawing out their own throat. The insanity is also divided in to multiple levels, where the patient’s level indicates the amount of psychosis suffered. She reveals that the Irie Clinic is a biochemical weapons research facility under a secret organization in Tokyo , specializing in the research of the Hinamizawa Syndrome as a potential bioweapon due to the fact that there is no known cure for it discovered, only treatments to suppress the syndrome up to Level 5 (Satoko’s level currently). Rika explains the Syndrome has been known since the old days, and the invention of the Oyashiro-sama Curse and the story of the Onigafuchi March was actually to explain the Syndrome.

But the group doesn’t understand why Rika is being targeted and Rika further explains that she, herself, acts as a neutralizer for the Syndrome. Apparently, the Furude family inherits a gene through their female offspring, that allows the production of a pheromone that suppresses the Syndrome in the people around them, which is why Rika is subconsciously revered by the villagers. So, when the pheromone source is cut off… the Syndrome will rear its ugly head and every villager carrying the Syndrome will go in to a psychotic rage. Therefore, the real trigger for the disease is to leave Rika’s side… or the death of Rika herself, as she is the last remaining person in the village with the pheromone.

In the Irie Clinic, Dr. Irie realizes that the research center will be closed and he hopes to research the cure before it is closed. But a surprising news comes with orders from the supposedly dead Takano…

At Rika house, Rika is surprised to see that everyone believes in her and they now know that Takano is the main antagonist behind the curtains. Happy with their trust and their willingness to be with her, she makes tea and tells them that she’s relieved to see them be with her. Meanwhile, Oiishi-san decides to head over to Rika’s house, but on the way, he notices a suspicious person opening the lock to the telephone exchange. He goes down to investigate with Kuma-san, but both of them are killed by headshots from a sniper…

Wow… a really good episode. Thank god for the other television stations who decided against canceling the airing this week. HiguKai remains one of the best shows of this summer and I love how nicely it is being treated compared to what the first season was. This episode finally answers a lot of questions, mostly regarding the true nature of the Oyashiro-sama’s “curse” and the real reason why Rika is constantly killed in all her loops. Comes as a real shocker, really, as the virus angle was explored in the last Answer arc of the first season, but yet, the Syndrome is still shrouded in much mystery.

Well, let’s hope for more answers the next episode.

HiguKai 12 replaced with nice food!!

Kurogane Shiroikaze — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:56:25 +0000

More bad news comes in the form of this week’s HiguKai episode getting cancelled as well and replaced with… of all things, a cooking show.

/me cups face and cries

Axe girl is soooo going to be remembered.