Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

[Frog]

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni - When the Cicadas Cry.
Please, I would like to know that I'm not the only one here following this show and genuinely creeped out by it. I'm easy to scare, and this show scares me. However, since the first 30seconds of episode 1, those unforgettable 30seconds, I haven't been able to put this show down. I must be some sort of sucker for pain. Please let me know I'm not alone.
If there are others also watching this I've decided to include my thoughts and theories up to episode 8. Maybe we can get a discussion going on? People can yell at me for being too suspiscious of both Rena and Oishi. IF you haven't watched this show and intend to please do not read any further as I spoil without compassion:
- In episode 5 the intro shock scene is Rika stabbing her own head and neck, then Mion (?) laughing like a psycho. This scene never showed up in the Watanagashi arc. Was this how Rika really died before being thrown in the well? Why would she stab herself in such a brutal manner, if this did happen? Was she possessed by the 'ogre'? Or was she merely attempting to avoid being tortured to death by Mion? Upon rewatching that scene you can notice the electric shocker on Mion's (?) hand. She was probably intending to knock out Rika, but Rika decided to kill herself instead.
- I did not understand what happened to Takano. If she was really dead before going into the storehouse with Shion (?) and Keiichi, does that mean that the ogre reanimated her corpse, only to burn it later? Why would Takano, if she was the ogre, bring Keiichi and Shion into the storehouse? My thought is that if this was really Mion's ogre then she was already envious of Keiichi and Shion and decided to set up an excuse for revenge on them. Kill Takano, posses her body, bring Shion and Keiichi inside, then execute Watanagashi on them?
- Is Mion really Mion or is it Shion? In episode 5 it is 'Shion' saves Keiichi from the thugs. However, in episode 8, it's 'Mion' who brings that scene back up. A scene she should not have known about. Are the twins switching their roles over and over again? Then who is who? I get a headache trying to figure it out.
- If we rule out the 'ogre' then it appears that Keiichi is mentally unstable, or that there is some unnatural fear that grips the people who are 'cursed'. During Onikakushi we got to see how Keiichi imagined somethings (the needle) because of his fear of Rena and Mion. Their demonic appearances were probably also tricks of his imagination. It wasn't as accented this time around but if we rule out the theory that there really is a demon running around then Keiichi would have stabbed himself towards the end of ep 8 (looking at the way that he's holding the knife). This encounter with Mion would've been only in his imagination since she was already dead since the day before. 'Shion' was probably also affected. She quite likely imagined Mion coming for her and jumped out the window, to her death. The last scene was also part of Keiichi's imagination? We don't know HOW he dies. This arc ends before we get a proper authopsy, unlike in Onikakushi. Did he show up with nails on his body or did he die from a heartattack or jump out the window?
- The last scene genuinely scared me. Did NOT see that coming. This whole episode, in general, scared me. I scare easy.
- Maybe it's only my imagination, but I'm under the impression that Rena set Keiichi up. She already knew that Mion was quite likely guilty for the murder of Rika and Satoko. She still took Keiichi to Mion and even gave them 30 minutes alone. Also, how did she find out about Keiichi going into the storehouse anyway? Who told her? Why no demonic Rena this time around? Because Keiichi didn't suspect her being involved? I can't recall what made him suspect her during Onikakushi, but whatever it was it was missing this time around. Maybe she didn't come across as threatening because Keiichi came clean with the truth with her since the beginning? She was always fixated with his lying during Onikakushi.
- Perhaps it's paranoia but I'm beginning to hate Oishi. He's up to something and it's not just 'uncovering the truth'.

[Fatuous One]

Oh, yes, I'm watching this, and I'm most definitely creeped out.
Oh, and uh, spoilers... and mostly speculation on my part.
The main shtick with Higurahi is that you can't completely be SURE if something is correct or not. While most of the events could be explained by the supernatural, it's much more interesting (to me) to assume that it's not and try to figure out how it comes together.
Regarding Rika, I'm not completely certain. It's possible either way, being Rika either a) killed herself to avoid being tortured, as Satoko may have already been a victim, or b) killed herself because of the 'demon', and also caused Mion to go psychotic (you'll note, Mion's 'laughter' seems to be a sort of trigger when switching between 'demon' Mion and normal Mion). There is going to be an 'answer' arc later, which should explain a lot of the loose ends on this one.
Thing with Takano is that you're not quite sure on her agenda; that body may have been some sort of decoy placed there by HER, it's not that hard to disguise a burned corpse. Also, doesn't Tomitake seem sort of... army-ish, in the way he operated, not to mention how he's dressed?
That's another thing, you can't QUITE be sure which is which. After all, Mion has shown that she can act like Shion very well (she completely fooled Keiichi in the first episode). But there are still quite a few hints, some not placed in the anime though. In the game, when Shion saw Mion from in the prison, she called her "Onee" before freaking out. Also, when walking toward the prison, aren’t Mion’s mannerisms EXACTLY like Shion's when they were taking a walk in the first episode? The Animesuki forum has some REALLY interesting theories on this part of the story (they also post TIPS from the game, which are basically minor or major details/clues. Useful).
It's interesting to observe Keiichi's personality this time around. He's pretty much the opposite of himself during Onikakushi. That is, he's trusting, brave and really stupid at times. While during Onikakushi he was paranoid, somewhat cowardly and tried to be smart. BTW, during the last scene, it doesn't show Keiichi being killed, which points out that he could have still been alive and still just hallucinating. Another thing is that in the game, Keiichi apparently even joked with Mion, telling her something along the things of her 'being the third corpse walking around'.
Actually, with Rena, it should be noted that her mannerisms aren't that different from Onikakushi. She certainly got angry with Oishi when he admitted that they were using Keiichi as bait. However, because of Keiichi's paranoia last time around, it amplified that effect, and made it seem more extreme. As for her knowing... well, practically EVERYONE seemed to know. Rika did as well, but then again, Rika also knew a lot more then she let on.