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ひぐらしのなく頃に 巡 #2
ひぐらしのなく頃に 巡 2
「郷壊し編」完結。そして竜宮レナの絶望と頑張りの物語が幕を開ける――。
再び、昭和58年の夏が繰り返されることとなった――。決定づけられた惨劇は、演出された凶刃は、“この”ようにして作られた。漫画家・赤瀬とまとが再構築し、完全新規の最終編へと続く別解、第2巻。
再び、昭和58年の夏が繰り返されることとなった――。決定づけられた惨劇は、演出された凶刃は、“この”ようにして作られた。漫画家・赤瀬とまとが再構築し、完全新規の最終編へと続く別解、第2巻。
196 pages, Comic
First published October 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 14, 2024
Before we get too far with this review, I've rated this volume on the lowish end because of its base story, not because of Akase's interpretation of it. I think they've done a great job with what I can't help but think is rather sub-par material.
For example, I love the way that Akase uses the characters holding hands as a way to signify the deep bonds between them, which can happen even after one has chopped another up. Heh heh. They frequently mention changes and additions to the anime story, which enhance its originality, its characters, and its feeling of tragedy.
It's all down to Ryukishi07's storytelling, which I had issues with way back in the last couple of arcs of the original story. This time, on top of the rather silly idea that some malevolent extradimensional force could cause human tragedies (and in the end, can be beaten if you just work together in the most straightforward shonen-manga sense possible), this vision of Satoko just does not work for me. I liked the idea of collective trauma that suffuses this arc and GOU's. But making one of its sufferers into a power-mad player of games who is going through arc after arc manipulating her friends, and trapping her best friend in cycle after cycle of trauma and then murdering her, runs counter to the heart of the series for me, for some reason. :D Satoko sets the rules of the game; she chose her own eternal happiness over the well-being of everyone else.
Maybe Satoko realizing this and making things right again will be the point. We'll see, I suppose. Don't have to like it, and how it shows the author's hand so plainly.
I very much enjoyed Rena's arc in this volume, which did something similar to Satoko's a volume or two ago in merging two of the original stories and presenting them in digest form. They give those arcs a stronger sense of continuity, rather than being two different loops that, aside from their focal character, had little to do with each other. It was fun to see "Demon Abduction Arc" from Rena's point of view rather than Keiichi's.
Aside from that, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but my outlook as of this volume is drifting closer and closer to skepticism. I do appreciate Ryukishi07 not just rewriting his original story with a few years' storytelling under the belt, and taking things in a whole new direction while sticking to themes that made those stories 20 years ago so powerful, for so many people. There's always the risk that changes this severe won't sit right with the audience whose nostalgic heartstrings it's trying to pull.
Either way, this isn't for Higurashi newbies. Anybody who might be interested in this horror/psychological horror/time-loop story would do far better for themselves starting with the very first story, "Demon Abducting Arc," and seeing how well they do with it. It's certainly not for everybody--many bounce off the character designs before getting anywhere with it, and understandably so.
For example, I love the way that Akase uses the characters holding hands as a way to signify the deep bonds between them, which can happen even after one has chopped another up. Heh heh. They frequently mention changes and additions to the anime story, which enhance its originality, its characters, and its feeling of tragedy.
It's all down to Ryukishi07's storytelling, which I had issues with way back in the last couple of arcs of the original story. This time, on top of the rather silly idea that some malevolent extradimensional force could cause human tragedies (and in the end, can be beaten if you just work together in the most straightforward shonen-manga sense possible), this vision of Satoko just does not work for me. I liked the idea of collective trauma that suffuses this arc and GOU's. But making one of its sufferers into a power-mad player of games who is going through arc after arc manipulating her friends, and trapping her best friend in cycle after cycle of trauma and then murdering her, runs counter to the heart of the series for me, for some reason. :D Satoko sets the rules of the game; she chose her own eternal happiness over the well-being of everyone else.
Maybe Satoko realizing this and making things right again will be the point. We'll see, I suppose. Don't have to like it, and how it shows the author's hand so plainly.
I very much enjoyed Rena's arc in this volume, which did something similar to Satoko's a volume or two ago in merging two of the original stories and presenting them in digest form. They give those arcs a stronger sense of continuity, rather than being two different loops that, aside from their focal character, had little to do with each other. It was fun to see "Demon Abduction Arc" from Rena's point of view rather than Keiichi's.
Aside from that, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but my outlook as of this volume is drifting closer and closer to skepticism. I do appreciate Ryukishi07 not just rewriting his original story with a few years' storytelling under the belt, and taking things in a whole new direction while sticking to themes that made those stories 20 years ago so powerful, for so many people. There's always the risk that changes this severe won't sit right with the audience whose nostalgic heartstrings it's trying to pull.
Either way, this isn't for Higurashi newbies. Anybody who might be interested in this horror/psychological horror/time-loop story would do far better for themselves starting with the very first story, "Demon Abducting Arc," and seeing how well they do with it. It's certainly not for everybody--many bounce off the character designs before getting anywhere with it, and understandably so.
May 22, 2024
The first time I read this was in Japanese, but for Higurashi I make sure to read the English volumes the day they come out too.
This volume has Satoko hit rock bottom. Well, maybe she already did, in the last volume, but we get to see the full extent of what she’s become here. She gives up on her future, and decides to spend eternity in the past. She makes a deal with Eua, and begins an endless game of cat and mouse with Rika- The two of them will experience the month of June 1983 forever, as long as they’ll both die in a horrible tragedy. The game comes to an end if Satoko ever dies before Rika. Satoko’s end goal is to see Rika discover this rule, and kill her. It’s bleak stuff, and while Satoko spends most of this volume smiling and laughing, it’s completely hollow and tragic. She’s become some frightening, empty shell.
Satoko’s first play in this endless game is to sabotage Rena’s home life. She found out about Rena’s dislike for her father’s girlfriend, Rina, and exploits it for tragedy. It’s really sad, actually. You learn a lot about Rina this volume and start to understand her as a more complicated character than she seemed to be in the original story. You really hope she might get better, and it even seems like she genuinely wants to bond with Rena.
Unfortunately, Satoko’s figured out how to forcibly induce Hinamizawa Syndrome. The scene where she drugs Rena is actually one of the most disturbing in the entire series, unexpectedly. She trips and ambushes Rena while she’s walking home from the Watanagashi Festival. Rena’s smiling and hugging the teddy bear Keiichi won for her one moment, and the next she’s flat on her face with her arms tied around her back and a bag over her head. It’s really upsetting stuff, and I’ll admit there were several parts this volume where I was tearing up.
It’s interesting because this is the Rena-focused volume, and it’s Rena who murders Rina and tries to commit a murder-suicide with Keiichi, but all of this is offscreen and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I guess they probably assume you already know the story, there’s no need to repeat this stuff. In the anime version, Rina’s death is one of my most tragic and horrible moments in the story, but it’s sort of tiptoed around here.
Instead, Satoko is the scariest character in this volume. She’s responsible for all of the violence, and the scenes where she kills Rika and then commits suicide are deeply jarring and upsetting. Especially the first time, when Satoko gives up on her future and decides to return to her childhood. It’s really terrible, because she returns to her own time for just a brief moment. She’s living her dream, with all of her friends together, and you wish she would tell them how lonely and isolated and hopeless she’s been feeling. But instead, she lures Rika away, confides in her, kills her and then herself. It’s also extremely horrible.
I’ll say that, as much as I’ve enjoyed this volume, it’s certainly light on the cute stuff and heavy on the horror and tragedy. It’s an overwhelming one, but the highlights to me were how sympathetic Rina wound up being and also how frightening Satoko was.
This volume has Satoko hit rock bottom. Well, maybe she already did, in the last volume, but we get to see the full extent of what she’s become here. She gives up on her future, and decides to spend eternity in the past. She makes a deal with Eua, and begins an endless game of cat and mouse with Rika- The two of them will experience the month of June 1983 forever, as long as they’ll both die in a horrible tragedy. The game comes to an end if Satoko ever dies before Rika. Satoko’s end goal is to see Rika discover this rule, and kill her. It’s bleak stuff, and while Satoko spends most of this volume smiling and laughing, it’s completely hollow and tragic. She’s become some frightening, empty shell.
Satoko’s first play in this endless game is to sabotage Rena’s home life. She found out about Rena’s dislike for her father’s girlfriend, Rina, and exploits it for tragedy. It’s really sad, actually. You learn a lot about Rina this volume and start to understand her as a more complicated character than she seemed to be in the original story. You really hope she might get better, and it even seems like she genuinely wants to bond with Rena.
Unfortunately, Satoko’s figured out how to forcibly induce Hinamizawa Syndrome. The scene where she drugs Rena is actually one of the most disturbing in the entire series, unexpectedly. She trips and ambushes Rena while she’s walking home from the Watanagashi Festival. Rena’s smiling and hugging the teddy bear Keiichi won for her one moment, and the next she’s flat on her face with her arms tied around her back and a bag over her head. It’s really upsetting stuff, and I’ll admit there were several parts this volume where I was tearing up.
It’s interesting because this is the Rena-focused volume, and it’s Rena who murders Rina and tries to commit a murder-suicide with Keiichi, but all of this is offscreen and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I guess they probably assume you already know the story, there’s no need to repeat this stuff. In the anime version, Rina’s death is one of my most tragic and horrible moments in the story, but it’s sort of tiptoed around here.
Instead, Satoko is the scariest character in this volume. She’s responsible for all of the violence, and the scenes where she kills Rika and then commits suicide are deeply jarring and upsetting. Especially the first time, when Satoko gives up on her future and decides to return to her childhood. It’s really terrible, because she returns to her own time for just a brief moment. She’s living her dream, with all of her friends together, and you wish she would tell them how lonely and isolated and hopeless she’s been feeling. But instead, she lures Rika away, confides in her, kills her and then herself. It’s also extremely horrible.
I’ll say that, as much as I’ve enjoyed this volume, it’s certainly light on the cute stuff and heavy on the horror and tragedy. It’s an overwhelming one, but the highlights to me were how sympathetic Rina wound up being and also how frightening Satoko was.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews