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Getting Started:Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Difference between revisions
Getting Started:Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (view source)
Revision as of 04:48, 16 September 2020
, 3 years ago→Understanding the story
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''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni'' is a story that follows a small group of friends, informally called [[the club]], as they experience the dark underbelly of their rural village, [[Hinamizawa]]. This story is divided into '''EIGHT ARCS''' which were released as part of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (sound novel)|Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' and {{kai}}. Seven of these eight arcs, {{onikakushi}}, {{watanagashi}}, {{tatarigoroshi}}, {{meakashi}}, {{tsumihoroboshi}}, {{minagoroshi}}, and {{matsuribayashi}}, cover roughly the same period of time in June 1983. '''AT THE END OF EACH STORY ARC, THE NARRATIVE RESTARTS TO THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.''' As such, any event that occurred in one arc is not guaranteed to happen in another. These are ''not'' different perspectives on the same story. Rather, they are all different "what if" outcomes to the same initial premise. {{#spoiler:This is tied together through [[Rika Furude]] and [[Hanyuu]], who possess a limited ability to time travel via the method of "fragment hopping". When Rika dies, Hanyuu is capable of transporting her to [[w:Many-worlds interpretation|another realm of existence]], called "fragments", as well as sending her back in time by several weeks so that Rika has an opportunity to prevent her own death. The single outlier arc, {{himatsubushi}}, takes place in 1978, five years prior to the events of any other arc. It is important to note that, while the events of the seven other arcs are variations of the same period of time, there are no potential variations to the story of ''Himatsubushi-hen''. This is because the "fragment hopping", as portrayed in the stories, does not begin until Rika first dies in June 1983, thus every event that occurred before June 1983 is a set part of history (at least as far as Rika and ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni'' are concerned).}}
A majority of the canon ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni'' experience exists solely in these eight arcs. There does exist a ninth arc, {{saikoroshi}}, which begins immediately after the ending of the eighth arc, {{matsuribayashi}}. Regardless of its potential canonicity, ''Saikoroshi-hen'' ends with its protagonist, Rika, in the world of ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' and no fragment-hopping takes place. There are two possibilities for how this occurs: {{#spoiler:Rika escapes from the world of ''Saikoroshi-hen'' and returns to the world of ''Matsuribayashi-hen'' or the entirety of ''Saikoroshi-hen'' was a dream that Rika experienced while in a coma.}} It is not made clear in the text or in any interviews which of these is accurate.
Something to keep in mind, especially if you've only read through the main arcs one time, is that '''the story actively lies to you'''. Re-reading early arcs such as {{onikakushi}} with the context of later arcs provides an entirely different understanding of the truth of what is happening. If you are, at any point, confused by the literal events being presented, keep the following factors in mind:{{#spoiler:
*Every single member of [[the club]] (except [[Rika Furude]]) is infected with [[Hinamizawa Syndrome]] and is prone to extreme paranoia. This results in unreliable narrators who will mistakenly present paranoid delusions to '''you, the reader''', as if they were facts.
**While Rika is incapable of being paranoid like the others, her nigh-immortality and mental stress drives her to do things that may be considered extreme in normal circumstances, especially if she feels that she has already failed her mission in a particular fragment and needs to move on to the next one.
*[[Shion Sonozaki]] and [[Mion Sonozaki]] ''can'' and ''will'' try and assume the other's identity if they feel the need to. Reasons for this can be relatively benign, such as romantic manipulation, or more serious, such as attempts to cover up the death or disappearance of one of the sisters. The story ''will not'' be explicit about when this happens.}}
== Bonus content ==
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