Takano Miyo (鷹野三四) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
very_bad_end) wrote2008-03-19 08:02 pm
very_bad_end) wrote2008-03-19 08:02 pm
Higurashi: FAQ Part 4.
Due to spoilers this should never be read by anyone anywhere.
Chapter IV: Himatsubushi [Wasting Time]
Q: So, the entire story is a preface for the revelation of the Yamainu and that they, not the Sonozakis, are the real 'dark hand' behind Hinamizawa, right?
A: More or less. Also to introduce Akasaka Mamoru so he can show up as a character later.
Q: Why does Rika try to sound 'evil' when she gives her 'prediction' when she and Akasaka are alone?
A: Probably to try to scare him off. Keeping in mind that Rika is very young at this stage, she had still probably managed to put together that Akasaka's wife would die for some reason before Akasaka left Hinamizawa. And since the police themselves conclude "Things would've ended up the way they did whether we did anything or not," she tries to get him to go home to save his wife's life.
Q: So that's why Rika cut the phone lines in the hospital?
A: Yep. She knew from previous worlds he would get bad news.
Q: It seems that Akasaka is lucky to be alive at the end of this chapter.
A: The chapter of Himatsubushi is the canon, more or less, in most of the other worlds when it comes to the issue of Akasaka and the time he spent with Rika. However, there are some variations:
1. Akasaka is killed, presumably by the Yamainu, in the hospital. (Keeping in mind the Yamainu's track record for making troublesome survivors die of 'acute heart failure' and it makes a lot of sense.)
2. As in Himatsubushi-hen, Akasaka is lured away from the hospital by Rika and escapes Hinamizawa, after her final premonition predicting the Watanagashi festival murders.
3. Akasaka listens to Rika right away and returns to Tokyo in time to save his wife's life.
Q: So, Himatsubushi is a chapter that shows what happens in the other arcs in the past?
A: Yes, but the events of Himatsubushi are also considered their own chapter. One which we only know what happens at the beginning with Akasaka's involvement in the abduction of the government officer's child, and after the sterilization of Hinamizawa when Oishi and Akasaka meet in Hokkaido.
Q: Is there anything which happens in the games which didn't make it over to the anime?
A: Yes. Oishi and the other police invite Akasaka to play a game of Mah-Jong. They expect to have some fun teasing him, but instead it's revealed that Akasaka plays mah-jong at the professional level. He makes a comeback win and after that everyone respects him.
Besides this, the reunion of Oishi and Akasaka is much more emotional. Akasaka starts confessing Rika trusted him with some premonition of a big secret, begging him for help, and he just turned away. Oishi tells him (paraphrasing from memory): "Yes, that's true. Looking back, there are countless things I could have done differently. If only I had talked to Furude Rika perhaps I could've helped her. Perhaps I would know at least what happened to my partner Kumagai-san who went missing! But it's too late. All we can do is what we can now."
After this, Oishi and Akasaka write a book about everything they know about the period leading up to the 'Great Gas Disaster' of Hinamizawa, including a preface where they write: "To the person who may be reading this, please discover the truth behind this incident. That is our only wish."
Q: Hey, if Akasaka left right away to return to Tokyo, then that would mean he wouldn't hear the later predictions Rika makes and wouldn't return to save her during the last Watanagashi festival.
A: ...Yeah, this doesn't seem to match up logically, does it? We know that in Minagoroshi-hen and Matsuribayashi-hen (quite possibly ONLY those two worlds) that Akasaka listens to Rika's warning and returns to Tokyo in time to rescue his wife. What it doesn't say is if he did that, how Rika later confided in him about the whole curse thing. It's possible there's some simple explanation, like she wrote him a letter or something.
Q: Akasaka doesn't seem as physically powerful here as he does in Matsuribayashi-hen. How did he go from barely being able to wrestle with one agent to fighting off a squad of them?
A: It's revealed in TIPS and side stories that didn't make it into the anime that after the Hinamizawa event, Akasaka pushes himself through some really tough physical training, even in the worlds he doesn't return to Hinamizawa. This includes martial arts, specifically karate. It's not too much of a stretch to have him reach that level after the five-six years time difference between Himatsubushi and the regular chapters.
Q: Why are they in Hokkaido anyway? Does that always happen?
A: It's mentioned (I think once in the anime) that when Oishi got his retirement pension, he planned to move with his mother to Hokkaido and spend the rest of his life in hot springs. We can assume that as long as Oishi survives the chapter that Hokkaido is his ultimate fate. (Though a variation of Oishi losing his pension might be possible.)
Q: What's up with the people at the meeting saying 'the agent's a rookie' and Rika asking if he's 'fluffy and soft'?
A: The japanese word for 'rookie' or 'green' is 'shinmai', which literally means freshly made rice. So she heard "shinmai" and thought "Did someone cook rice? :D" (There's your japanese pun lesson for the day.)
Chapter IV: Himatsubushi [Wasting Time]
Q: So, the entire story is a preface for the revelation of the Yamainu and that they, not the Sonozakis, are the real 'dark hand' behind Hinamizawa, right?
A: More or less. Also to introduce Akasaka Mamoru so he can show up as a character later.
Q: Why does Rika try to sound 'evil' when she gives her 'prediction' when she and Akasaka are alone?
A: Probably to try to scare him off. Keeping in mind that Rika is very young at this stage, she had still probably managed to put together that Akasaka's wife would die for some reason before Akasaka left Hinamizawa. And since the police themselves conclude "Things would've ended up the way they did whether we did anything or not," she tries to get him to go home to save his wife's life.
Q: So that's why Rika cut the phone lines in the hospital?
A: Yep. She knew from previous worlds he would get bad news.
Q: It seems that Akasaka is lucky to be alive at the end of this chapter.
A: The chapter of Himatsubushi is the canon, more or less, in most of the other worlds when it comes to the issue of Akasaka and the time he spent with Rika. However, there are some variations:
1. Akasaka is killed, presumably by the Yamainu, in the hospital. (Keeping in mind the Yamainu's track record for making troublesome survivors die of 'acute heart failure' and it makes a lot of sense.)
2. As in Himatsubushi-hen, Akasaka is lured away from the hospital by Rika and escapes Hinamizawa, after her final premonition predicting the Watanagashi festival murders.
3. Akasaka listens to Rika right away and returns to Tokyo in time to save his wife's life.
Q: So, Himatsubushi is a chapter that shows what happens in the other arcs in the past?
A: Yes, but the events of Himatsubushi are also considered their own chapter. One which we only know what happens at the beginning with Akasaka's involvement in the abduction of the government officer's child, and after the sterilization of Hinamizawa when Oishi and Akasaka meet in Hokkaido.
Q: Is there anything which happens in the games which didn't make it over to the anime?
A: Yes. Oishi and the other police invite Akasaka to play a game of Mah-Jong. They expect to have some fun teasing him, but instead it's revealed that Akasaka plays mah-jong at the professional level. He makes a comeback win and after that everyone respects him.
Besides this, the reunion of Oishi and Akasaka is much more emotional. Akasaka starts confessing Rika trusted him with some premonition of a big secret, begging him for help, and he just turned away. Oishi tells him (paraphrasing from memory): "Yes, that's true. Looking back, there are countless things I could have done differently. If only I had talked to Furude Rika perhaps I could've helped her. Perhaps I would know at least what happened to my partner Kumagai-san who went missing! But it's too late. All we can do is what we can now."
After this, Oishi and Akasaka write a book about everything they know about the period leading up to the 'Great Gas Disaster' of Hinamizawa, including a preface where they write: "To the person who may be reading this, please discover the truth behind this incident. That is our only wish."
Q: Hey, if Akasaka left right away to return to Tokyo, then that would mean he wouldn't hear the later predictions Rika makes and wouldn't return to save her during the last Watanagashi festival.
A: ...Yeah, this doesn't seem to match up logically, does it? We know that in Minagoroshi-hen and Matsuribayashi-hen (quite possibly ONLY those two worlds) that Akasaka listens to Rika's warning and returns to Tokyo in time to rescue his wife. What it doesn't say is if he did that, how Rika later confided in him about the whole curse thing. It's possible there's some simple explanation, like she wrote him a letter or something.
Q: Akasaka doesn't seem as physically powerful here as he does in Matsuribayashi-hen. How did he go from barely being able to wrestle with one agent to fighting off a squad of them?
A: It's revealed in TIPS and side stories that didn't make it into the anime that after the Hinamizawa event, Akasaka pushes himself through some really tough physical training, even in the worlds he doesn't return to Hinamizawa. This includes martial arts, specifically karate. It's not too much of a stretch to have him reach that level after the five-six years time difference between Himatsubushi and the regular chapters.
Q: Why are they in Hokkaido anyway? Does that always happen?
A: It's mentioned (I think once in the anime) that when Oishi got his retirement pension, he planned to move with his mother to Hokkaido and spend the rest of his life in hot springs. We can assume that as long as Oishi survives the chapter that Hokkaido is his ultimate fate. (Though a variation of Oishi losing his pension might be possible.)
Q: What's up with the people at the meeting saying 'the agent's a rookie' and Rika asking if he's 'fluffy and soft'?
A: The japanese word for 'rookie' or 'green' is 'shinmai', which literally means freshly made rice. So she heard "shinmai" and thought "Did someone cook rice? :D" (There's your japanese pun lesson for the day.)