Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, Episode 5 : Yakusamashi-hen 4, Hinamizawa Daisaigai

[Disclaimer]: Again, NO foretelling spoiler is present. Therefore, please follow the same guideline, and understand that any spoiler can just ruin this critical part of the story for any reader. (NO spoiler will be tolerated. Any borderline hint either. Don’t even try to test me, instant edit/delete might fall without your permission. you have been WARNED) Although this entry is SPOILER-FREE, DO NOT read this summary until you DO WANT to be spoiled. This is the end of Yakusamashi-hen, and it is extremely HEAVY. The impact of this episode will be horribly lessened if you proceed ! If you still dare to do so, Good reading!
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So… Fate was already sealed, according Rika. However, how will things end? Another Tatarigoroshi/Himatsubushi/Tsumihoroboshi-hen? No… things are much worse than one might believe.
Should I remind you that chapter is called “Disaster Awakening Chapter”? Well, you will understand this, soon enough.
Again, i must warn you: DO NOT read the rest until you are really impatient, it is really something you should enjoy by yourself.

Well then… Let’s see how is Satoko will struggle… and how this “perfect” scenario ends…
Here is Yakisamashi-hen 4, the end : 雛見沢大災害 – Hinamizawa Daisaigai – Great Hinamizawa Disaster

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai, Yakusamashi-hen part4, End of Chapter: Hinamizawa Daisaigai

The episode summaries first the past events:

1. “Black Rika” laments
2. Her discussion with Tomitake
3. The stalker
4. Irie’s suicide and Kumatani’s death

Back in the present, everything starts when Satoko hears her “alarm”, she tries to wake Rika up. Satoko hurries, but Rika just wakes up slowly and stays really calm, which surprise Satoko. Rika opens a trapdoor in the ceiling, and asks satoko to quickly get in the cavity.

Satoko goes in, but Rika then goes back on the ground, saying she is okay. Satoko doesn’t understand what she is doing. Rika says these guys are after her, asks her to stay hidden, making no move, whatever happens. Satoko doesn’t approve this and asks her once again, extending her arm. Rika then reverts back into her “nipa” mode, and says everything is alright, and they will meet again soon. Despite what she claims, Rika is almost crying. She then closes the trapdoor.

Several “janitor” henchmen are outside, and they are assaulting the house. They quickly barge in, and rush at the first floor, spotting Rika.

They quickly restrain her, and wrap her into something like a mat. Satoko knows it and is almost crying out loud, which almost makes her noticed by a henchman. But they quickly withdraw with their target.

The henchmen put Rika, who is still restrained in the mat sheet, on the front of the shrine, and they draw out their knives towards her…

Satoko leaves the house and calls out rika. She slowly makes her way to the shrine.

She hears a weird noise, and as going upstairs, she sees blood…then she sees Rika’s corpse and then… simply the yell of the most cruel thing which could happen to her.

The henchmen were going to get back in their Van, but they heard satoko’s cry!

They quickly make their way back to the shrine. Satoko hears their footsteps and tries to make her escape. Once upstairs, the henchmen split, and two of them are going to the left, where Satoko fled to.

Satoko runs in the woords, then one of the Henchmen wears a pair of Nightvision Goggles. He spots Satoko and three of them are chasing her.

Satoko falls, and slides some distance below.

She sees the bridge, but she can’t get up because of a deep wound on her left leg. She suddenly hears the henchmen, and sees them afar. She tries to withstand the pain, and slowly makes her way to the bridge

The henchmen arrive around the bridge, but they can’t see anyone. They are walking on it, but Satoko is under the bridge, gripping on some cable, struggling a lot.

As they walk just above her, the Goggle guy doesn’t see her, so they keep going. This relieves Satoko, but she made a mistake with this! Her loss of viligance makes her trip, and she could barely hold a bar with her hands. this alert the henchmen who heard the noise.

They walk back where Satoko is, and one draws out his knife. However, they still don’t see anything, so they keep going.

Satoko cannot hold anymore, she has lots of pain and begs anyone to help her. She then releases her grip, and she falls in the river…

The scene switch back to several army trucks and soldiers, their order is to block off all roads to Hinamizawa, and the ambulances are under orders of the SDF.

Meanwhile, Satoko has been washed to the shore. She manages to be conscious, but she is bleeding on her head…
she walks back to hinamizawa, where there is a lot of activities…

There are many soldiers with full isolation suit and Gas Mask. Satoko is completely speechless. She sees some soldiers leaving the school and carrying “something” along with them to the truck. She makes slowly her way to the school then…

She sees the classroom by the window… several persons on the grounds, one of them is Chie-sensei… Satoko doesn’t understand what’s happening, then she looks at the right and…

This is the worst and most cruel scene she will witness…
.
.
.

First a “pile” of her classmates, and…
.
.
.

…and also… Mion, Shion and Keiichi, eyes wide opened, bearing a painful expression, mouth open, they are dead. Satoko is crushed, and can’t withstand the shock, she yells…

The soldiers hear her, and are surprised to see a survivor. They quickly rush at her, giving her a heavy assistance.

Some people in a hospital are watching the TV. The current reportage is about Great Hinamizawa Disaster as you might expect. The presentator also makes mention that Houjou Satoko is the sole survivor and is currently treated in the hospital.
Ooishi is discussing with a doctor, and asks why he can’t talk with Satoko. Of course, the Doctor explains that Satoko received an horrible emotional shock, which makes temporarly her shut her mind and feelings. Therefore, she won’t react to anything, so answering questions is beyond what she can do. Ooish asks when she will recover, since it isn’t permanent. The doctor can’t do anything and everything depend on Satoko. Ooishi cannot do anything, except being satisfied with his explanations.

Satoko is in her room, laying on her bed, with various breathing devices, but her gaze is simply dead. Ooishi then enters, paying her a visit. He was planning to ask her a lot of things, since she is the sole survivor, but he knows she won’t answer.
He can’t help it, and asks satoko to just listen to him.

Ooishi then shows her Rena’s hat, which is stained with blood.
Ooishi talks about the odd part: the Hat was found around the montain, a bit far away from the disaster. A SDF investigation found it and send the hat to the police. Ooishi however doesn’t have any clue and wonders why her hat was in such place, with blood on it. Unfortunately, Rena is still missing, but he wonders also why Rena could be around there in the first place. (far from the village, and late at night) Ooishi believes Rena let her hat as a message. He believes the Disaster wasn’t a gas disaster and it might be another accident, r even an incident. It is then possible to think that Rena might have witnessed it and fled the village to let someone know about it.
Ooishi continues with that, and reports around twenty other persons are still missing as well. Since the disaster occured around midnight, it is clearly past bedtime, so most people would be sleeping; but there are still no body for them.

Ooishi loses his temper, and yells: he knows it isn’t a natural disaster, and then he grabs satoko, asking to her what she saw there. but he quickly gave up, most likely that all of this is useless for the moment. A nurse arrives, and ask if there is a problem, Ooishi assures there isn’t.

Ooishi then says he will be back, and will interrogate her about the murder of Rika. Suddenly Satoko reacted to this. Ooishi is caught off guard, and ask to the nurse if she saw it. But the nurse says it is only a bodily reaction, and it doesn’t mean she regained consciousness.

Ooishi is disappointed and makes his leave. As he is parting, the nurse stares weirdly at satoko.

Back in the Okinomiya police office, a policeman is alone, working. Ooishi arrives, and his colleague was wondering where he was. (he was probably overwhelmed by the night duty, being alone doesn’t help). He then says Kumatani is still missing, the chief is worried so the policeman was going to look for him. Ooishi asks if Kuma let a message or something before he disappeared, but the colleague says no. Suddenly he remember there was something about… Furude Rika before they parted. Then Ooishi remembers about satoko’s reaction when he mentionned her brutal murder.
Ooishi is stressed and asks if Rika and Satoko were indeed living together in the same house. his colleague confirms this

Ooishi understands that something is wrong, and realizes that he should have noticed this before : Satoko didn’t witness something about the Disaster, but something related to Rika’s murder! He quickly goes with his new partner back in the hospital.

At the hospital, a weird man is lurking in…
Meanwhile, Ooishi and the other cop are rushing by car to the hospital

Satoko suddenly wakes up and remembers what Ooishi said about the hat. She remembers herself running in the woods, and then she is able to imagine what happened to Rena! We see Rena doing the same pattern. But she got outwit by the henchmen and some of them ambush her in the front of her, drawing out their knives…

We then see her hat, falling in the river… coiled by Rena’s cry…

Satoko suddenly snaps out, saying she understood Rena’s message. Satoko pushes the nurse button, but the earlier weird nuse goes to the room board, and push the button, ceasing the alert.

Ooishi finally arrives in the hospital. While running, he sees some commotion in front of Satoko’s Room…

Ooishi arrived too late, Satoko died, and the Doctor says Satoko’s state worsened suddenly, and she was the victim of an acute heart failure. Ooishi is completely caught off guard and asks why could she have a herat failure, but the doctor can’t answer without an inspection, but the symptoms lead towards that conclusion. Ooishi collapses, in angst…

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Thoughts :

Holy…Simply put: the best Episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai… I believe the emotionnal and stressful situations just obliterate any scene we could witness before. I truely believes Tatarigoroshi-hen and some others from Tsumihoroboshi aren’t as powerful as this episode.
Suffice to say, this episode merits a flawless 10. without any doubt, everything was there :

1. An impressive pace, despite the weird summary at the start
2. MONSTER execution (the school scene is just… it still chills me out…)
3. Timing… either the music or transition between scenes are groundbreaking (again, school scene…)

The second part was innoncently looking like a “boring Tatarigoroshi-hen copy”, but the plot twists just kick in, and it is simply dreadful how everything makes sense, and reveal various hints, without being blatant.

I can’t see anything to complain about. Even the summary at the start wasn’t that annoying, and the transition with the present was marvelous (timing with “Main Theme” of the First OST of Season 1 was… again perfect)

The tragedy is really overwhelming, and i must say, i fully agree with Flareknight on AS. the quote:
“Those guys are really pushing it and I want a nuclear warhead to blast them into oblivion with. “

Frankly, despite the fact that Satoko is my least favourite character among the 6 of the gang, her trial and hell were so heart wrenching that it was really hard to not feel any empathy. (again, the godly “school scene”…). I’m definitely excited for the rest of the season2. Considering Yakusamashi-hen, Minagoroshi-hen will be beyond a rollercoaster: a Jumbo Bulldozer…!

*phew* fanboyism is finally depleted…

You can count on me that the Analysis of this episode will be extremely tasty… i will do my best for this !
Well then, thanks again for reading (i hope you don’t regret it too much if you read it wihtout watching the episode… DO IT DAMNIT !), and see you soon for another “Klash’s Overload Babbling of Higurashi” !