Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, Episode 14 : Matsuribayashi-hen 1, Miyo

[Disclaimer]: This entry is SPOILER-FREE. 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) Also, please don’t forget this entry has its sole purpose to summary and show what is happening in the specific episode. So, read it at your own risk. Good reading!
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A new world awaits… This time, we know everything… or is that so?
It isn’t even remotely clear if the culprit’s objective is that “plain”, considering that we don’t know much of their backstory (especially without the TIPS huh…)
That’s why, this chapter begins “slowly” by unfolding some pasts, which can be the critical key moments which will explain completely the “why“, while “how“, “when“, “who“, “what” have been answered already.

The new and last chapter of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai finally begun !
祭囃し編 – Matsuribayashi-hen – Festival Accompanying Chapter: 三四 – Miyo

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai, Matsuribayashi-hen part1 : Miyo

The beginning of the new chapter doesn’t appear without a change!
The opening changed, removing the shot of the shrine after Rena’s erratic movement with a wrathful Hanyuu !
Next change is the presence of the moon, clearly revealing the cloaked silhouette as Takano. Finally, but not the least, they complete removed the part just after Rika’s wave, which was indeed targeted to Hanyuu… who has a phsyical form, and even wearing a school uniform, while carrying a bag !
Marvelous changes!

 

The episode starts with young Takano (who will be refered as Miyo) who is helping her grandfather in his research. He talks about parasites which can affect the front lobe of the human brain. It such, some parasitres can “control” their hosts, but their existences are denied. Miyo doesn’t understand why, and her grandfather explains such control would mean the parasites have an influence on the ideas of their hosts, therefore, this fact can question various massacres done as consequences of political or religious wars and such. In consequence, this subject was then taboo after the war. However, Doctor Takano believes these intercranial parasites do exist, and Miyo concludes he is working hard to prove this. However, He isn’t that optimist because researchers who are able to prove their own thesis during their lifetime are fairly few in number. Miyo is worried, but her grandfather tells her that if it is aknowledged, even if his body is withered, his existence will be reborn. His granddaughter is a bit puzzled and wonders if it isn’t like a god. Answering her naive analogy, Doctor Takano confirms this, which impresses her a lot.

In the orphanage, Miyo is with some other children, and they are trying to open a door with a key, but it doesn’t look good.
They suddenly hear a patrol arriving soon, and Miyo begins to panic. the screen then fades white.

Somewhere else, during bright day, a bus is erratic: it appears the driver has an heart attack and can’t drive correctly, soon an accident occurs.
There are lots of casualties, and we see Miyo, staying desperately next to her father, who is in a very bad shape. He is telling the truth to his daughter Miyoko (matching the TIPS): because of the war, he and her mother lost their family, and thus, if they happen to die, Miyoko will be alone. She can’t accept this at all.
He then tells her that since if he dies, she should ask help from Doctor Takano Hifumi, whose he believe he will take care of her. Miyoko is memorizing the name, and her father is coughing blood. The nurse and the doctor are quickly taking him elsewhere, while Miyoko is stunned, repeating “father” all the time

Miyoko is with a social counselor and asks who is Takano Hifumi. She answers he is her father’s teacher. He is quite puzzled and asks if she has not any other relative, but she shakes her head, negatively.
Thus, he is bringing her into a orphanage, where an attendant is outside, brightly accepting the newcomer
However, as soon as the car is far away, the man is reverting back his stern look. Miyoko is in a room with another orphan. while she is taking some lesson, they hear a girl begging a lot of times she is sorry, but a man is yelling at her and whipping her…

During lunch, a boy spilling without purpose his meal on the ground. Soon, a grim man arrives. The boy apologizes, and the man says he just have to keep eating. The boy answers okay, but the man quickly goes angry, grabs the boy and slams him down on the ground, ordering him to eat like this. this scene is terrorizing the rest of the orphans.

Miyoko and her 3 other friends are talking about they have enough and would like to flee. They heard there is another orphanage near of here, and the director is so kind that every kid consider her like a mother. Unfortunately they need a key, and the “leader”, Eriko, says she can get one, but not alone. It appears that another group was able to escape from their, and suffered only one casualty. The reason is simple: their number permits them to buy them some time, as they were spreading during their sortie.
They are a bit hesitant, because if they are caught, they will be surely killed. Ekiro agues if they want to stay here, but they really don’t want. Of course, she can’t guarantee the success of it, but it is better to try instead of rotting in such place. She asks Miyoko if she wants to, and the later really doesn’t want to stay so. In the end, she agrees with Eriko.

Back at the “present time”, Eriko was able to open the door. Unfortunately, the patrol spots them with his flashlight. He yells for the alert, and the kids are running like no tomorrow.
They go under some grid, and keep going, while the 2 pursuers are forced to use another path.
Then, the kids are spreading out.

Miyoko is running and the 2 pursuers are behind her, but she ends on a dead end. She desperately try to climb the cliff, but she then slides, and fall. The man catch her up, grabs her head and smashes her on the ground.

Miyoko tries to fight back, by biting his thumb to the point it bleeds. The man screams of pain and releases her. However, Miyoko is just able to catch her breath, and the man quickly gets angry, cursing her she dares bites his finger. As he is walking towards her, she screams completely in terror.

From here, I will refer “Takano Miyo” to “Takano” for her adult period.

Takano is with a middle aged man, receiving a case full of money. It appears this old man is one of her supporters and hopes she will use the money wisely, and will do her best efforts. The man talks about Takano-kun (hifumi). The man regrets he couldn’t use his power to help his late friend, and so what he is doing is atonement towards him. After that, he tells to Takano that whenever she has a problem, she can come and talk with him. Takano is very touched by this and thanks him.

Takano is in a meeting with several men, with a report about the research of Late Takano. They are quite impressed that such thesis wasn’t considered for decades. Since the top of the military didn’t mention it a lot, no one ever found about it, and so no investigation. One of the officiers comments that Takano looked like she was used by her grandfather to carry on his research. Takano is amused by this, and thinks this might be true. One of them reminds her that their primary objective is to develop countermeasures for the Syndrome, and not to work on a biological weapon. Takano is aware of this, but the council imposed other conditions. One of them is that the leadership is passed on someone exceptionally skilled in such field of the research. Takano is kinda outraged, but her sponsors assure her that they have authority on the selection of such person, so it won’t hinder her. Also, they add that her rank will be promoted to Major.

One of officiers up introduce Irie to Takano. He is a bit tense, but very enthusiastic to work on this project to find a cure for the Hinamizawa Syndrome. Both then shake their hands.

Tomitake and Okonogi are introduced to Takano as the persons who will be their safety guards. Tomitake then explains the role of the yamainu. Takano wonders if they will be somehow her bodyguards, and Okonogi assures her the yamainu will help her without fail, which pleases her a lot.

Miyoko is walking, completely beaten up, under the rain. She trips and fall from a cliff.

She is crying for her mother, and she begins to have flashback of her past with her parents.

Two men are still searching for the kids and they are spreading near of her. Miyoko panicks and forces herself to walks again, despite her injuries and pain.

She is taking a break, under a tree, breathing very hardly. She is treating God an idiot, as she is wondering what she has done to get so many miseries. If she received so much misfortune, she should receive equal happiness to balance things out…If God cannot do that, she doesn’t need this life anymore. She then asks God to kill her now, Tanashi Miyoko.

After the ending, we see takano waking up in panic, obviously troubled by a nightmare.
She is wondering if it was a dream, then a soldier tells her it is time.
She leaves the operation truck, and then sees the village from afar, saying soon, she will realize her grandfather wish. She then laughs crazily.

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Thoughts :

Matsuribayashi-hen started right like in the game: a glimpse of Takano’s past. I pretty much appreciated how they portrayed the “hell” she went through, without giving much of “excuse for her evil deeds”. Her predicament isn’t really that related with what she does in the “present”, but this past is required to explain how she ended with research and all.

The pace of this episode was very well done, and the “odd” time jump was a clever move to emphasis more on the “hellish orphanage life”, with the “accident” only as a quick explanations how she landed in such place. I’m just wondering why they didn’t show how Miyoko was able to flee from the “bitten thumb guy”, who was obviously very angry and ready to kill her.

Aside of the content, the quality is quite questionable… not that it is bad, but it is rather a wonder why they gave such quality (almost top nocht for the second season) while episode 13 quality was in jeopardy… The allocation of such treatment is beyond me, but oh well…

The mood with the sounds, BGM and seiyuu was really neat. The distress of the children was really tangible, and the sorrow moments were indeed a hit.

A very nice episode, which will be followed up with episode 15. Takano’s story is not finished with only episode 14.