Higurashi When They Cry Hou – Ch.4 Himatsubushi

6 minutes of reading / By /

Himatsubushi is an interesting addition to the Higurashi franchise. Unlike all the prior entries, this picks off several years after the ending of the last game and has us take on the role of a new character. He is a recently hired federal investigator called Mamoru Akasaka. We find ourselves starting off at an airport waiting for Ooishi, a very well-known character by this point, who is deep into an investigation of the rural town of Hinamizawa. Why are we meeting him several years after the events of the other titles? That will not be answered anytime soon as most of this story takes place in a flashback set a year before any of the mysterious circumstances started in the main titles.

It is quite an elaborate tangle web of events now, which they seem to just keep building upon without answering much of anything. Chapter 4 is no different. With this new perspective of a rational outsider and taking place before any of that curse business, it more so delves into what exactly happened before the cancellation of the dam project. Much like anything else having to do with Hinamizawa, this is a subject with much more to it than what is shown at surface value. It is incredibly interesting despite us knowing about the essential points if we’ve been paying attention. Still, as stated in the outro scenario of this Chapter, it is more of a side story than a main addition to the plot. It is also the shortest entry by far, clocking in at about seven and a half hours. If you’ve looked at the pricing of all the games in this series and are wondering why this chapter costs significantly less, that’s why.

That reduction of playtime is not entirely a bad thing. It’s safe to say that most people reading this have some knowledge of the previous titles and know they have incredibly lengthy slice of life intros. Those uneventful sections last around ten hours before they begin to move the plot along. Himatsubushi forgoes all that entirely and gets into the main story right out the gate. It focuses on a high-profile kidnapping that sets the metropolitan police into a frenzy as they race against the time. Our rookie investigator Akasaka is sent to examine the Hinamizawa group protesting against the dam project, as they are low in their suspicion list. Unbeknownst to them and immediately apparent to everyone that has been reading these chapters, he will soon find himself well over his head.

It takes a decidedly different tone than other entries. Appropriate to our character, this feels more like a detective mystery as we scrounge around shady places to gather clues and team up with the older wise-cracking gentleman Ooishi. Most of the main characters of prior games don’t even make an appearance here. It is considerably more adult in nature, focusing on themes such as the nervousness of becoming a new father and having an incredibly time-consuming job. This new take, as well as seeing Hinamizawa before things really kick up a notch, is a refreshing change. My main criticism is with our character Akasaka. His thought process is far too much like our old protagonist Keiichi. It makes sense that a child would blurt out the things in his head that he really shouldn’t, but now it just makes us wonder how in the world this guy got this job in the first place.

With most of this series’s prominent characters having no appearance, much of the focus will go to only two of them. The first of those, as previously stated, is the police officer Ooishi. Then we have Rika Fuurude, that at this point in time, still has her parents. She is a mysterious one that even we as readers still don’t have much of a grasp on. We see a new side of her here that rarely breaks through her otherwise calm appearance. Her character sprite still looks the same even if she should be much younger here. That is a little immersion breaking, though nothing we won’t quickly get used to. Of more interest here are the new facial expressions shown by her for the first time. Once again, our interactions with people in this town will lead us to wonder whether they are friend or foe.

This side story was interesting, no doubt, but lacked any of the emotional highs of the latter entries. It was fascinating as someone invested in this franchise, yet just never reaches the same mind-bending heights throughout. Himatsubushi is the weakest chapter so far. That being said, it is still made by the same people and thus is masterfully written. It will pull you in and won’t let you go until reaching its conclusion. With its short length of around seven hours, I’d say it wouldn’t be unusual to gladly no-life it and be able to finish it within a single day. At least I hope so; given the little sleep I got to continue reading just “a bit more.” That is the quality of the weakest entry into this series.

I did notice a sharp decline in the English translation, sadly. There are a ton more grammatical errors. It is nothing that will make it difficult to understand. What is found here are minor things like missing words or typing the same word twice. Our brain can usually skip over a few missing words without skipping a beat, yet in the other case, it is more difficult to ignore. Seeing sentences containing errors such as “the the” or “like like” won’t be too unusual. This script really could have done with one more look-over to clean it up to a higher degree. Previous titles had mistakes, too, though I’ve noticed they have been getting more common as the series progresses. Whether this was due to tight deadlines from when they were initially released or what have you, it is a bit concerning for future entries even if Chapter 4 still remains more than acceptable.

Note the extra ‘like’

According to the outro of Himatsubushi, this is the final title where we are left in the dark without answers. Future entries will now focus on unveiling just what exactly is going on. This exciting and well-needed shake-up to the franchise has me excited about what they’ll come up with next. With this, the puzzle pieces we need are all on display, allowing us to possibly solve the mystery from our current information. Whether or not our theories hold any weight will make the next chapter quite significant. Himatsubushi is the crossroads in where this series switches gears and our sendoff to being allowed to come up with all manners of theories. If you’ve been invested in the plot enough to be reading this review, there is no stopping now. We both know that both you and I will also be purchasing chapter 5.

Rating:
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