History VisualNovel / HigurashiWhenTheyCry

* AnAesop:
** The overall message from the main eight arcs is that [[MurderIsTheBestSolution Murder is NOT the best solution]] and it will just make things worse as we've seen in Tatarigoroshi-Hen and Tsumihoroboshi-Hen, and that there are other ways to help people without resorting to murder.
** A bunch, including: [[TrueCompanions Stick by your friends]] no matter what terrible things they do, and [[ScrewDestiny you can fight fate]] (but if you screw up [[ButterflyOfDoom even slightly]] everyone you care about will probably die a horrible death anyway).

* FantasticAesop: [[DefiedTrope Defied]] in the last chapter of the OVA-only Dice-killing chapter. When Rika is angsting because she [[spoiler:[[TheWrongRightThing chose what might be the worse world]], Rena tells her about how choosing the kind of world she lives on is something beyond her choice]] and then goes off to deliver a different, valid {{aesop}} about how the multiple tragedies they faced have [[CharacterDevelopment made]] them better people.

* InSpiteOfANail: At least [[spoiler:the first arc of]] Higurashi Gou appears to be using this trope. Rika goes out of her way to [[spoiler:talk Keiichi down from his paranoia]], leading to him letting Rena into the house when she knocks at his front door claiming to have brought dinner on request from his parents. [[spoiler:After a few minutes inside the house, Rena attacks Keiichi, leading to him still killing her in apparent self-defense]]. Later on, at the hospital, [[spoiler:Keiichi is still implied to have died by clawing his throat out]].

** The doll in the Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen arcs. [[spoiler:If Keiichi gives the doll to Mion instead of Rena, Shion won't go AxCrazy andgo in a murder spree. In Minagoroshi-hen, he makes the right choice.]]

* PressXToNotDie: The "Stolling Rika" mini-game.

* TwinSwitch: The twin sisters Mion and Shion frequently switch identities in the ''Watanagashi-hen'' and its answer arc ''Meakashi-hen''. First, Mion poses as Shion to make Keiichi acknowledge her femininity. Keiichi knows it's actually Mion, but he doesn't know Shion is a real person until he meets both at the same time. [[spoiler:After the festival, Shion is thought to go missing, but for the rest of the arc, she's disguised as Mion while killing a lot of people, including Mion.]] Then it's revealed [[spoiler:the twins switched places one time when they were children, but on that same day, the heir of the family was branded with an oni tattoo and none of the adults realized the switch. From that day, the younger twin became "Mion" and the older one "Shion" permanently.]]

* VocalEvolution: Compare the first episodes of the English dub to the latter.

* WhatTheHellHero: Most of the main cast for most of the series.

%%* AdultsAreUseless: Subverted as an {{Aesop}}.

%%** Onisarashi-hen.

%%* TheAnimeOfTheGame

* BrokenAesop: Sort of about the dam. If we unite and struggle, even a small village like ours can stop an unfair project from the state! [[spoiler:Except what stopped the dam project wasn't the villagers' struggle but the actions of Tokyo, who didn't want their military project to be jeopardized, and the murder of the dam construction manager by his own workers. The aesop applies better to Rika's struggle to break fate and to stop the Great Hinamizawa Disaster from happening, though.]]

* CatchPhrase: "''Hau hauu, [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe omochi kaeri]]!''", "''Nipah~~!''", "''Kana, kana?''". The last is lampshaded in the anime's ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' during the watergun fight, where her EvilLaugh is [[spoiler:''[=KAAAAAnakanakanakanakanakanakana!=]'']]

%%* ClingyJealousGirl: Shion.

%%** [[spoiler:Takano]] later falls into this.

* CopKiller: The Yamainu are given orders to make sure everything goes according to plan. If it means killing officers on sight, then they do it with no questions asked. In Yakusamashi-hen, a Yamainu agent assassinates Kumagai as a safety measure. He and Oishi get killed by a ColdSniper in Minagoroshi-hen once the latter gets too nosy in their business.

* KickTheDog: Just in case you had any doubts that Natsumi's grandmother had gone completely off the deep end when you see the paper charms in the front yard, once Natsumi goes into her house, she finds her grandmother ''drowning puppies'' in an effort to create a scapegoat onto which Oyashiro-sama's curse could be directed. Granted, this is right around the point where [[spoiler:Natsumi herself snaps]], so it may or may not be narrated accurately, but the omake at the end of the manga seems to suggest that it did indeed happen.

** Plus their voices and personalities don't seem to match.
** Averted in ''Gou'' where we see both of the parents' faces.

* ForWantOfANail:
** The doll in the Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen arcs. [[spoiler:It shows up again, but this time, the choice was the right one.]] In fact, this trope was the point of the parallel arc system used.
** Discussed in the omake for Onisarashi-hen. [=Ryuukishi07=] (represented by Akasaka) and the manga's editor (represented by Ooishi) discuss how Akira's behavior might have changed the outcome, suggesting that rather than ignore the charms Natsumi's grandmother put on the house, he might have joined in. It's played for dark laughs, but the manga artist (represented by a bear cicada) eventually points out that Natsumi's grandmother is still genuinely crazy and that even if [[spoiler:Natsumi doesn't go crazy]], something is still bound to happen eventually.
** The 2020 remake/reboot of the series flips the arcs on it's head by have the arcs play out differently due to a key decision Keiichi makes in each one.
*** Onidamashi-hen, the retelling of Onikakushi-hen see Keiichi not give into his paranoia and open the door for Rena. [[spoiler: Only for it to be revealed that Rena was undergoing Hinamizawa Syndrome afterall attempts to stab Keiichi to death, forcing him to kill her in self-defense.]]
*** Watadamashi-hen, the retelling of Watanagashi-hen, sees Keiichi not only give the doll to Mion but he maintains a more positive relationship with her, confiding in her that he did trespass in the shrine. [[spoiler: Mion turns into a ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend after she reveals to Keiichi that she believes the villagers are using the stories of the Hinamizawa Syndrome as a cover to kill.]]

* GenreShift: More like GenreRoulette! Between SliceOfLife Comedy, Drama, Horror, and Action-Adventure, to name a few. A good rule of thumb is to note what happen when a heavy object hits someone's head. If huge amounts of blood splash out of the head, it is horror. If the victim starts hilariously yelling, it is comedy. If it's bleeding a bit, and needs a bandage, it is drama, if he faints without bleeding, it is action-adventure.

* GetAholdOfYourselfMan:

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Played straight in Himatsubushi-hen. [[spoiler:Akasawa's wife dies, but the hospital saved her baby.]] Averted most of the time though.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: In Tatarigoroshi-hen, the club has a competition over who can make the best bento. Keiichi's is the most lacking and Mion ribs him over it but, in reality, it's leftovers from Satoko who cooked for him and Rika the night previously. Mion's jabs clearly hurt Satoko but she joins in, mocking the meal she cooked in a bit of self-depreciation. Tomita and Okamura judge the meal harshly as well, hoping to help Satoko beat him all the while unaware they're insulting her hard work.

* IronicEcho: In Onikakushi, an increasingly paranoid Keiichi snaps at Mion for keeping the annual "curse" secret, exclaiming that friends don't keep secrets from each other, so they're no longer friends. In Tsumihoroboshi, an increasingly paranoid Rena snaps at Keiichi for keeping his past crimes secret, exclaiming that friends don't keep secrets from each other, so they're no longer friends.
* ItMakesSenseInContext: Episode 1 of Rei
-->'''Rika''': We have to hurry up and pull down Keiichi's swim trunks!
** The anime had a habit of opening each new Arc with a random scene from later in the arc (or from a different one entirely). Such as the Cotton Drifting Arc, which starts with [[spoiler:Rika stabbing herself in the neck while Shion watches]]. Then the theme song plays, then they cut to the [[MoodWhiplash funny few minutes before the murders start]].

** And in the same intro, [[spoiler:Rika]] herself appears upside-down, with a closeup of her eyes opening.

* LoveHurts: In most arcs, yes it does. In ''Onikakushi'', [[spoiler:Keiichi mentally confesses his love to Rena… after bashing her and Mion to death while crying; Rena and Mion also had to witness the boy they loved suddenly turn paranoid and rejecting them.]] In ''Watanagashi'', [[spoiler:Keiichi not giving a doll to Mion and hurting her feelings leads her to confess to Shion and triggers the tragic events.]] In ''Meakashi'', [[spoiler:Shion's love for Satoshi and his disapearance lead her to go completely insane.]] In ''Tsumihoroboshi'', [[spoiler:Rena's father falls in love twice, and is betrayed twice—the first time by his wife, which nearly [[DrivenToSuicide drives Rena to suicide]]; the second time by a ManipulativeBitch that Rena ends up killing to protect him.]] In ''Matsuribayashi'', [[spoiler:Takano's very real feelings for Tomitake are partly responsible for her VillainousBreakdown. Although in that case, that may be what saves her actually.]]
* LoveTriangle: Keiichi and the ''twins''. Oh yes. [[spoiler:Subverted in most arcs, with Shion not having real interest in Keiichi, but rather trying either to hurt or encourage Mion to act on her feelings, depending on the timeline. However in some arcs she actually IS in love with Keiichi or at least attracted to him due to his similarities to Satoshi.]] In later arcs and ''Higurashi Daybreak'', Shion is replaced by Rena.
** The {{Love Triangle}} between Keiichi, Mion, and Rena is hinted as early as Watanagashi-hen in the "doll incident." Ironically, [[spoiler:it is Shion who goes crazy because of it even though it's Mion who is jealous.]]
** In the Meakashi-hen manga [[spoiler:it was revealed that Mion was also in love with Satoshi, just like Shion, though she certainly didn't make her feelings for him nearly as clear and didn't seem to feel as strongly in the first place. Of course, Mion's over him now, since she found Keiichi. Alternatively, she may have been lying in an attempt to save herself at that point.]]
** LoveDodecahedron: So if we sum it up - Mion and Rena both love Keiichi, which may or may not be requited depending on the arc; Shion strongly loved Satoshi [[spoiler:but also develops feelings for Keiichi in some arcs]], while Mion [[spoiler:also had feelings for Satoshi, though not as strong]]. There's also Satoko's implied crush on Keiichi in ''Tatarigoroshi''. Less seriously, Shion once says that if Mion had been a guy, she might have fallen for her. She says it jokingly… or not.
* {{Lyrical Dissonance}}:

* MeaningfulName: Probably accidental, but "Rena" could be short for the Spanish word "renacimiento", meaning "rebirth". [[spoiler:Rena's old name was actually "Reina", which is a Japanese name but is also Spanish for "queen"; she changed it to "Rena" to create a new identity for herself, effectively being "reborn". [=Ryukishi07=] is also a major fan of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', and both Rena's names are possible translations for the name of the game's female lead.]]
* MediaWatchdog: PEGI was obviously sleeping when it gave the French translation 7+ rating. [[spoiler:Explanation: They only rated the minigames. It even got an ISBN number, so apparently rest of it is treated as a book.]]
** ... my God, [[http://www.pegi.info/en/index/global_id/505/?searchString=le+sanglot+des+cigales&agecategories=&genre=&organisations=1855&platforms=&countries=&submit=Search it's true!]]

* {{Mukokuseki}}: God ''damn'' but nobody in Hinamizawa looks Japanese. Case in point, the Sonozaki twins' green hair? If mom is anything to go by that's ''genetic''. Ditto the Houjous, who seem to have naturally straw blond hair.
** And the Furude family. Father: black hair, Mother: dark bluish-purple hair, Rika: same as Mother, and [[spoiler:Ancient Relative (aka Hanyuu): light purple hair]]. Not to mention Rena (light auburn) and Rina (bubblegum pink).

* NakedFreakOut: In the [[BeachEpisode pool]] OVA, Keiichi has his "lucky" swim trunks [[SlipperySwimsuit ripped off of him]], but fails to to notice and ends up standing naked in front of Rena, Mion, Rika, and Satoko who all [[EatingTheEyeCandy blatantly stare]]. He only notices it when Rena starts fawning over his [[TeenyWeenie "Cute]] [[UnusualEuphemism Sea]] [[ICallHimMisterHappy Bear"]] which prompts the others to burst into giggles and for him to [[HandOrObjectUnderwear cover himself with his hands]] while letting out a SkywardScream.

* {{Never Mess With Granny}}: Oryou Sonozaki, or Oni-baba (devil granny) to Shion.

%%* NiceGuy: Keiichi, Rena, Mion, Hanyuu, and Satoshi.

* NintendoHard: The Rena Punch mini-game in the first sound novel, at least if you want to reach 100 in score; especially the "superhuman speed mode", which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* NoRomanticResolution: The story ends without [[spoiler:Keiichi's relationship with Rena or Mion having changed at all despite blatant hints for the former and outright confirmation for the latter.]]
** HookedUpAfterwards: WordOfGod states in an interview that it will eventually be [[spoiler:Keiichi and Mion]]. Miotsukushi-hen heavily implies this, [[spoiler:calling it "a sealed fate"]].

*** It's not so much a lie as it is a more… indirect influence. [[spoiler:If not for the doll, Mion wouldn't have poured her heart out to Shion, in turn restoking her repressed {{Yandere}} feelings for Satoshi, leading to the events of Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen.]] ForWantOfANail indeed.

* SuddenHumility: In ''Tatarigoroshi'', Keiichi starts to scream at Mion for not wanting to take Satoko in her huge house to protect her from her uncle. After he made Mion cry, Rena proceeds to scream at Keiichi, asking him why ''he'' doesn't take Satoko in his huge house. That makes him immediately realize how much he hurt Mion with his behaviour.

* {{Tareme Eyes}}: Takano.

* TortureCellar: The Saiguden

* UncannyVillage

* TheEndingChangesEverything: The final scene of the anime, which introduced a character who either had never been seen before in the show before or [[spoiler:was a grown-up, time-traveling Rika]] just to make sure your recently unscrewed mind gets [[MindScrew screwed all over again]]. It makes slightly more sense in the original sound novels.
** [[spoiler:She is actually Frederica Bernkastel. It's unknown whether Frederica and the Bernkastel from ''Umineko'' are the same person, and it's currently uncertain exactly what Frederica is, except that she is [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial "not Rika or Oyashiro-sama"]] and you should be ashamed for thinking so.]]

* WillNotBeAVictim: Rika, although not right away.

* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Shion]] in arcs where she snaps.

An anime adaptation by Creator/StudioDeen aired in 2006, with a continuation, entitled ''When They Cry: Kai'' (or ''When the Cicadas Cry: Solution''), airing in 2007 and covering the last two arcs. A sequel anime by Studio Passione titled ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou'' premiered in October 2020, and a second sequel, ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu'' premiered in July 2021; they partly serve as a thematic link between ''Higurashi'' and the second "When They Cry" series, ''[[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Umineko]]''.

A sequel manga, ''Higurashi: When they Cry Rei'' (shares name with a 2006 game and an OVA), was introduced shortly after the end of ''Gou/Sotsu''. Taking place in the Reiwa era some thirty years after the events of the original series, the story now focuses on the children of our protagonists as Keiichi's son Keitarou returns to Hinamizawa after five years.

!!Due to the nature of ''Higurashi Gou'' and ''Sotsu'', spoilers from previous ''Higurashi'' entries are unspoiled.

[[folder:Tropes in ''Gou'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ezgif_6_e42d0196296e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Welcome back to Hinamizawa.]]

* AbusiveParent: Satoko's uncle and aunt abused her and her brother Satoshi, hitting them and refusing to feed them. When her uncle Teppei returns to Hinamizawa, Satoko is forced to live with him again and he apparently has continued to abuse her, which leads to her friends starting a protest to get child services to emancipate her from Teppei. However, considering the revelation of [[spoiler:Satoko]] being the second looper, this throws the abuse into question.
* AdaptationalContextChange: In Episode 8, the ladder scene happens again, but instead in the middle of daylight in the schoolyard when Keiichi and [[TwinSwitch Mion(?)]] are looking for Rika when she goes missing after recess, with Keiichi on a ladder looking for something above the septic tank and Mion holding it from below. Instead of ranting about Satoko, Mion instead rants about realizing Rika is behind the annual murders and disappearances, and she goes back to normal when Chie finds them and tells them to go back to the classroom.
* AdaptationDeviation: The manga does a few things differently from the anime:
** [[spoiler: Near the end of Tataridamashi-hen when everyone goes to the Watanagishi festival, Satoko doesn't lure Keiichi to her house, and were there during Ooishi's rampage. Keiichi even gets into a one-on-one with Ooishi to try and save Rika, and almost wins until Ooishi knocks him out at the last second.]]
** [[spoiler: In Nekodamashi-hen, there were a few extra scenarios Rika had to endure, such as Keiichi's mother going L5, Rika getting tortured by Shion, and even Mion going insane.]]
*** [[spoiler: Also in the same arc, the timeline Akasaka gets expanded on more.]]
* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: Hanyuu's absence post-''Matsuribayashi-hen'' despite ending the original series as joining the humans to live among them with Rika and co. is only explained in the manga: she returned to her realm so that Rika could live a normal life.
* AesopAmnesia: In the original series, Satoko had to learn to be okay with asking for help from her friends and the authorities when she was in danger of Teppei. Here, rather TruthInTelevision given the different context, Satoko has difficulty asking Rika for help [[spoiler:in their schoolwork for St. Lucia's]].
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Episode 24 starts with Takano being cruelly told by the Banke that YouHaveFailedMe, has her work humiliated, will be remembered for nothing but being a silly conspiracy theorist that Tokyo wasted their time on, and is given no choice but to kill herself.]]
* AnimationBump: Rika's Watanagashi ritual dance as a Miko in episode 2 displays beautiful fluid animation by Passione.
* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:Or rather... Anyone Can Fall To [[HatePlague Hinamizawa Syndrome]], as the ending of ''Tataridamashi-hen'' and the first half of ''Nekodamashi-hen'' shows by having Ooishi, Akasaka, Akane, and Kimiyoshi succumb to the plague in their respective loops.]]
* ArcWelding: [[spoiler:At the end of Episode 20, a woman heavily resembling Featherine from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' appears, and in Episode 21, she indicates there's a connection between Satoko and Vier from ''VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry'' (and possibly Lambdadelta, also from ''Umineko''), tying in all three entries of the ''When They Cry'' series together.]]
* TheAtoner: In episode 23, Teppei [[spoiler: turns over a new leaf after having nightmares of his deaths in earlier fragments and actively tries to be an uncle to Satoko, and offers an apology to her. Of course Satoko rejects it since being nice for one day doesn't make up for years and years of abuse.]]
* AudienceSurrogate:
** Keiichi is the NaiveNewcomer to Hinamizawa and has to be let in on what's going on with his friends or how the village operates.
** Ultimately, Keiichi serves as the DecoyProtagonist and Rika is the ''real'' protagonist, just as in the original series. However, as ''Gou'' turns out to be a StealthSequel, this means Rika is an Audience Surrogate for viewers that have seen ''Higurashi'' before.
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:''Gou'' turns out to be one in the second episode, see NonIndicativeFirstEpisode below. The end of its first arc is yet another example. The ''Demon-Deceiving Arc'' looks like a rehash of ''Demon-Exposing Arc'' only thanks to Rika, Keiichi has overcome his paranoia of Rena and learns to trust her. Then it turns out ''Rena'' has already succumbed to ''her'' paranoia and sets out to kill Keiichi in a reversal of how the original story ended.]]
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:In Episode 17, Rika uses the trap giftbox from an earlier loop to see if Satoko remembers it and therefore is the other looper. Satoko recoils at the sight of it, and because Rika replaced the trap with an actual gift, Satoko can't claim she knew about the trap because of her trapmaster skills. It works.]]
* BleepDammit: When [[spoiler:Rena repeatedly stabs Keiichi]] in Episode 4, there's a censor blur covering it, although it's pretty obvious that the knife is stabbing him in the chest.
* BloodierAndGorier: This series manages to be even more graphic and gory by the series' standards. Episode 16 cements this where we get to see [[spoiler:Rika getting her intestines smashed and disemboweled.]]
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Downplayed. St. Lucia's Academy is a prestigious girls' academy for the upper-class and wealthy, and like many prestigious schools (especially in Japan), their curriculum is rigorous and they expect their students to keep pace for the school's image or to otherwise drop out and save everyone from some embarrassment (although you would already be seen as embarrassing for giving up/unstudious). It also has a bullying and ostracizing problem due to the occassional student who won't conform and/or study, like Shion, [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Ange]], and Satoko found out. If there's something from St. Lucia that plays this trope straight, however, is that [[spoiler:they stick misbehaving children in jail cells for days beneath the school, prisoner uniforms and all.]]
* BorrowedCatchphrase: In Episode 22, Satoko borrows one of Rena's most famous lines: '''''"YOU'RE LYING!"'''''
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Satoko and Rika's fallout in ''Satokowashi-hen''. Although [[spoiler:Satoko snapping and becoming murderous is certainly ''not'' how one should go about things]], Satoko struggles at St. Lucia because the curriculum is much harder than she's used to and is afraid to ask for help because she's already seen as an immature hick by her high-class peers. On the other hand, Rika has the right to move on with her life and it would be unfair for her to be stuck as someone's LivingEmotionalCrutch, [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse even if Satoko has abandonment issues]], and regardless of what their classmates would think, she offered to help Satoko without judgement. Satoko later points out harshly to Rika that some people are just better at things than others and that should be okay, and that she partially joined her because Rika wanted this to be their dream life together. Alas, the whole debacle could have been solved with much needed [[ThereAreNoTherapists therapy]] and [[PoorCommunicationKills communication]].
* BucketBoobyTrap: Satoko, in an effort to awaken the old Rika, stages a trap where bowls fell from the ceiling. Unfortunately, this results in one of the girls' foreheads bleeding, and Satoko [[spoiler:is placed in solitary confinement]] until she learned the error of her ways.
* CallBack:
** Satoshi secretly being tired of Satoko having to [[LivingEmotionalCrutch constantly rely on him]] before his disappearance becomes a huge problem in ''Gou'', as the events of the story kick off because [[spoiler:she relied too heavily on Rika as a LivingEmotionalCrutch.]]
* ChekhovsGun:
** The strange object in the statue in ''Watadamashi-hen'' and that fragment at the end of the opening sequence? [[spoiler:Hanyuu reveals in Episode 14 that it's a piece of Onigari-no-ryuuou, which she has now embedded with the power to end loops so that Rika can use it to either kill herself or the other looper.]]
*** Additionally, [[spoiler:Onigari-no-ryuuou previously appeared in a TIP in ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', explaining that it was used by Hanyuu's daughter Ouka to slay her, and in ''Kotohogushi-hen'' (exclusive to ''Kizuna''), which revealed that it became [[LivingWeapon inhabited]] by Hanyuu's mother Ryuun-Ohku and was specifically designed to slay demons.]]
** The trap box that Rika gives to Satoko as a "gift". [[spoiler:In Episode 17, Rika uses it in her BatmanGambit to see if Satoko is the looper. It works.]]
** In ''Nekodamashi-hen'', one of the Yamainu notices Satoshi has a teddy bear in his patient room and asks Irie about it, which Irie explains was supposed to be a gift for Satoko's birthday. [[spoiler:The arc ends with Satoko being exposed as a looper on her birthday because she recognized Rika's gift box as a trap... only for it to turn out to be a teddy bear.]]
** The bowl trap in the ceiling that Satoko sets up in Episode 20. [[spoiler:In the next episode, she also rigs a ceiling trap but with a ''chandelier'' to kill Rika and herself.]]
* ConnectedAllAlong: [[spoiler:Eua reveals that Satoko has "other names" -- Mitsuyo, [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Vier, and Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen LD3105]]. This also connects her to Takano and Lambdadelta by extension -- as ''Mitsuyo'' and ''Miyo'' Takano both share the GoroawaseNumber of [[ArcWords 34]] with Lambdadelta reading 34 when written in Greek numerals, Vier is the spitting image of Takano, LD being the initials of Lambdadelta likely being a play on 34, and Lambdadelta being heavily implied to have empowered Takano in the original ''Higurashi''; interestingly enough 3105 is GoroawaseNumber for ''Satoko''. Made further interesting considering the narrator in the spinal factory segment of ''Ciconia'' talks about her father, mother, big brother, and herself being "processed" in that order (as Satoko lost her father, mother, and Satoshi in that same order too) and tells Miyao to fight against this [[ArcWords "certainty"]]; at the end of Episode 22, Satoko vows that breaking Rika into submission will be "certain". This all comes to a head in the "Another End" novella, where Satoko's witch self is all but stated to become Lambdadelta after purging her humanity at the end of the series.]]
* CruelTwistEnding:
** In ''Gou's'' ''Onidamashi-hen'', Rika convinces Keiichi that he shouldn't have any reason to be untrusting of Rena. He takes her advice to heart and lets Rena into his house when she comes to see him later that night. [[spoiler:And then it turns out Rena really is trying to kill Keiichi, forcing him to beat her to death in self-defense.]]
** Happens again in [[spoiler:Episode 5 of ''Tataridamashi-hen''. After the gang finally rescued Satoko from her abusive uncle, they have a fun at the festival. Everything goes fine until Satoko takes Keiichi to her former house to give him something special, only to be greeted by Teppei, who proceeds to attack Keiichi with murderous intent. Keiichi then snaps, and bludgeon's him to death before immediately passing out. Then it gets [[FromBadToWorse worse]] when Rena visits him to reveal that everyone of his friends got killed at the festival that night. And by ''Ooishi''.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: In Episode 21, [[spoiler:Eua refers to Satoko as Mitsuyo, [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Vier, and Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen LD3105]].]]. What does ''that'' mean?
* DeadlyPrank: In Episode 20, [[spoiler:Satoko]] [[DropTheWashtub dropped some wash bins]] from the school chandelier almost on top of [[spoiler:Rika in a misguided attempt to make her remember how they had fun in Hinamizawa]]. However, one of [[spoiler:Rika]]'s new friends gets hit and injured instead, [[spoiler:and this gets Satoko put in solitary confinement]].
* DeathMontage: [[spoiler:Episode 15 has four consecutive scenes where Rika is killed.]]
* DecoyProtagonist: Like in its predecessor series, ''Gou'' starts out with [[NaiveNewcomer Kei]][[AudienceSurrogate ichi]] as the protagonist, only to then reveal halfway through that Rika is the ''real'' protagonist.
* DespairEventHorizon: In ''Nekodamashi-hen'', [[spoiler:Rika plans to use Onigari-no-ryuuou on herself to die permanently if she can't find the other looper and escape within the next five loops. She ''fails'', and the only reason why she doesn't off herself after the fifth loop is because of Satoko's brainwashing.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[spoiler:Satoko and Rika's fallout is reminiscent of a romantic couple's fallout, with the two of them moving away from their hometown because one of them got their dream job elsewhere, only for the other to struggle adjusting to their new home, eventually leading to a rift between them. Satoko going {{yandere}} can [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin obviously be seen]] as an ex-lover becoming violently possessive and/or vengeful after a breakup.]]
* DoubleMeaningTitle: ''Gou'' means "karma", referring to [[spoiler:Satoko viewing her actions as a way to punish Rika for her "sin" of wanting to move on from Hinamizawa]]. ''Sotsu'', short for ''sotsugyou'' (which is ''sotsu'' and ''gou'' together), means "graduation" and "moving on", of course referring to the protagonists progressing with their lives past their youth and education... and it also means "to die".
* DidntSeeThatComing: As Hanyuu explains to Rika, this is not the same Hinamizawa that she was in five years ago -- [[spoiler:there is another looper at play]] and things will be different from how Rika first encountered them.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title of the fifth arc, ''Satokowashi-hen''. It can be read as "village-destroying arc" or "Satoko-destroying arc".
* DisproportionateRetribution: While it was wrong for Rika to [[spoiler:emotionally neglect Satoko during her days at St. Lucia even though she promised to spend time with her, it certainly didn't justify Satoko committing murder and psychological torment onto her friend just so she could stay.]]
* DramaticIrony:
** Satoko believes that Rika was the anonymous student who told the faculty about her failed prank, when she actually didn't — it was another classmate who didn't like Satoko.
** Takano discovers a letter from her grandfather in his old papers telling her that [[spoiler:if carrying on his research interferes with her having a happy life, then [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he'll be okay if she gives up on continuing his work]]. He also muses that whatever happens, he'll leave her fate in God's hands. It's enough for her to give up on her plans and thus preventing the tragedies of the original series (at least, not by her hand this time), and she even states to Irie that she doesn't know why she decided to look back at her grandfather's papers now since she intended to do so only ''after'' completing her experiments...]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: A shadowed Satoshi can be seen beating one of the Watanagashi victims in a {{flashback}} picture when the curse is explained to Keiichi. This is before we officially see Satoshi in a {{flashback}} picture at the start of ''Tataridamashi-hen'' or learn in ''Gou'' about what happened to Satoshi and his aunt.
* EvilCounterpart: Not quite "evil", but Rika's new friends at St. Lucia consist of two brunettes and a green-haired girl, bringing to mind Keiichi, Rena, and Mion.
* EvolvingCredits:
** After [[spoiler:Eua]] is introduced at the end of Episode 20, the show's anime opening sequence reveals that the mysterious silhouette is [[spoiler:Eua]]. The [[spoiler:teddy bear]] at the beginning is also changed to [[spoiler:the trap box]].
** The credits switch from visuals of Rika falling and someone reaching out for her to [[spoiler:Satoko falling down and reaching out to her. The credits also make clear that the symbol at the end is actually the chandelier that kills them both in Satoko's second loop, as it is now bloodied.]]
* ExpendableAlternateUniverse: How [[spoiler:Satoko]] sees the "loops". She comments that given that she can just reset things to 1983 until she gets the perfect future she wants, anything that happens before that time "doesn't really happen" and, in essence, becomes just a bad dream. [[spoiler:As such, she has no compunctions against killing her friends or subjecting them to suffering and misery, because she knows she can bring them back and they won't remember any of it.]]
* FallingChandelierOfDoom: [[spoiler:In the second loop of ''Satokowashi-hen'', Satoko drops the chandelier at St. Lucia's hall on both Rika and herself to restart the loop so that she can prevent Rika from pursuing her dream next time.]]
* TheFellowshipHasEnded: Episode 18 has some inklings of this: in 1984, [[spoiler:Mion (and likely Shion as an extension) have graduated and are attending high school thus leading to Keiichi taking on the leader role]]. And, Rika herself [[spoiler:expresses a desire to attend St. Lucia Academy]] which means leaving Hinamizawa. With all of her friends seemingly parting ways, this could be the building blocks towards [[spoiler:Satoko]] becoming the second looper.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There are several subtle hints of [[spoiler: Satoko's]] true nature as the second looper:
** The opening theme, "I Believe What You Said," includes lyrics where it is apparent that it is being sung in [[spoiler: Satoko's]] perspective (I believe what you said\A place I long to return to). In addition, Rika and [[spoiler: Satoko]] are both looking away from each other with their backs turned furthering their [[spoiler: drifting apart]]. A teddy bear sits in the middle of them, a tool that later played a crucial role in exposing the identity of the looper.
** [[spoiler: Satoko]], upon winning the game in the first episode, gloats to Rika saying that victory was hers. While it at first applied to the game, it takes on a double meaning once it is revealed that [[spoiler: Satoko]] traveled to other fragments and influenced events there.
** While there was physical evidence of her abuse by her uncle, [[spoiler: Satoko]] noticeably has no apparent injuries when she is taking a shower. She also has her face obscured when she was calling Keiichi.
* FreezeFrameBonus: In ''Tataridamashi-hen'', when the protesters are given a meeting room at the child services buildilng to discuss Satoko's abuse, there's an empty chair beside Rika even though it's indicated in Episode 2 (and later Episode 14) that Hanyuu isn't with her anymore.
* FromBadToWorse: Like many other youth have to go through, Satoko struggles with [[GrowingUpSucks having to grow up]], [[TheFellowshipHasEnded her friends moving on while she remains stagnant]], and [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer being stuck in an unsupportive environment]]. In a better world, Satoko would have eventually overcome her issues by properly communicating them as well as seeking therapy, but unfortunately, [[spoiler:this makes her vulnerable to Eua's manipulations, leading to the return of tragedy.]]
* GetItOverWith: [[spoiler:In Episode 15, Rika goads Akane, Kimiyoshi, and Keiichi into killing her in their respective loops.]]
* GoldenEnding: Horribly subverted. In Episode 16, all seems well, with no one going crazy before Watanagashi, no snooping, and Teppei staying away, except that we know [[spoiler:Rika has been tortured into submission by Satoko]].
* GroundhogPeggySue: Rika is forced to be this again for reasons she doesn't know. It is later revealed that [[spoiler:Satoko became a looper because of Eua]].
* GrowingUpSucks: Satoko. As everyone grows up, [[TheFellowshipHasEnded her friends are going their separate ways]], and her best friend is moving onto another group of friends.
* HarmfulToMinors: In Episode 15, we see [[spoiler:Akasaka stabbing Rika in the neck while she's already bloody and lying on the ground, Akane decapitating people including Mion and Rika, and Keiichi batting Rena and Rika in the head, causing their eyes to pop out of their sockets.]]
* HappyEndingOverride: The original series ended on Rika finally escaping the GroundhogDayLoop by working together with her friends, only to promptly undone in ''Gou'', where [[spoiler:she somehow loops back to the same summer where the tragedies happened. And to add insult to injury, she managed to reach adolescence and escape Hinamizawa beforehand.]]
** [[spoiler: As it turns out, this was invoked by none other than Satoko herself, all so she can torture Rika into submission and remain in Hinamizawa.]]
* HatedHometown: Rika is frustrated that she has to return to Hinamizawa of June 1983, as she was trapped in that loop for a hundred years and thought she had finally escaped to live beyond it. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Satoko is angry that Rika wants to leave the village, and therefore, Satoko, behind, and even after learning about what Rika had gone through, Satoko has gone full crazy by then and vows to make Rika do it ''again'' to break her and thus keep her by her side.]]
* HowWeGotHere: The fifth arc, ''Satokowashi-hen'', shows what happened between the original series and the start of ''Gou''.
* IfICantHaveYou: [[spoiler:Episode 21 ends with Satoko going full {{yandere}} by luring Rika into a trap that kills the both of them in front of their classmates, including Rika's new friends.]]
* InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn: In Episode 2, Hanyuu tells Rika that her presence is fading and thus she can't help Rika this time. [[spoiler:In Episode 14, her presence finally fades away, though she gives Rika the ability to remember past loops again and a tool to break the loop via stabbing either herself or the other looper before disappearing forever. Rika reacts badly, as [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Hanyuu's company kept her from falling apart for all those years]].]]
* {{Irony}}: In ''Nekodamashi-hen'', [[spoiler:Rika vows to use Hanyuu's sword to kill herself permanently if she can't find and kill the other looper in the next five loops. [[YankTheDogsChain Cue Rika being killed in the next four loops without any progress...]] and on the fifth one, she's ''brainwashed'' as she dies, inadvertently forcing her to continue looping. Even more ironic considering Satoko tortured her to "punish" her for wanting to leave Hinamizawa, so whether she really knew about Rika looping or not, Satoko forcing Rika to continue ''and'' making her want to stay in the village was extra salt in the wound.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Rika's new friends call out Satoko on being a sorry excuse of a friend for making Rika worry about her getting into trouble, and when Rika is about to argue with Satoko, one of her friends tries to assure her that they can handle it for her.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia:
** After [[spoiler:killing Teppei and falling unconscious from his head wound at the end of ''Tataridamashi-hen'']], Keiichi can't remember when Katsuya visits him in the hospital to ask him what happened before he fainted.
** Rika gets her ability to remember past loops back in Episode 14 after talking with Hanyuu, so from now on, she'll be able to remember who kills her.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: In the first half of the show, Keiichi has flashbacks to things that happened in the original series' loops, and ''Gou'' also casually introduces Hanyuu in the second episode as well as Rika being more special than she appears. The second half also plainly brings up how Takano was the original BigBad and also "introduces" the Yamainu.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Multiple characters refer to freeing Satoko from Teppei in ''Tataridamashi-hen'' as reaching the "happy ending", referencing how doing this in ''Minagoroshi-hen'' was the final arc and led to the GoldenEnding. [[spoiler:Rena lamenting that their "happy ending" was taken away from them at the end of the arc references that getting to it in ''Gou'' will have to be done differently this time...]]
* LineOfSightName: In Episode 23, [[spoiler:the mysterious goddess l]] allows Satoko to give her a name. Satoko stutters while thinking out loud ("Um... eh... ooh... ah...") and she takes it as an answer, declaring she is now named "Eua".
* LovedByAll: Rika is instantly liked by the other students at St. Lucia for being beautiful and having a way with words. Meanwhile with Satoko...
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: ''Gou'' expands on the supernatural part of ''Higurashi'', exploring the influential nature of Oyashiro-sama. Mainly, this is about [[spoiler:Takano ceasing her plans on legitimizing Hinamizawa Syndrome. This only happens because, "for some reason", she suddenly decided to look back at her grandfather's research papers and discovers a letter from him telling her it's okay to give up on his work to pursue a happy life; this never happened before, as Takano vowed never to reopen his papers until completing the experiment. Rika notes that how strange it is for the "inhuman" determination she faced from Takano from all those loops to suddenly disappear, and Eua finds it quite amusing that Takano suddenly gave up.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** Satoko has this realization when the harmless prank she tried to pull off with the bowls ended up injuring one of the members of Rika's GirlPosse. However, she slides to hide away rather than confess to the incident.
** The groupies are implied to have this reaction as well due to them inadvertently setting Satoko on a path that ends with her [[spoiler: committing murder-suicide]].
* NonIndicativeFirstEpisode: [[spoiler:''Gou'' starts off as a retelling of the entire series, only for it to be revealed in the second episode that this is actually a ''sequel'' series and not a reboot.]]
* NotHisSled: ''Gou'''s Episode 4. We're heading halfway through ''Onikakushi-hen'', with Rika advising Keiichi to trust Rena against his paranoia, something that didn't happen before. Then comes Rena bringing dinner to Keiichi's house... [[spoiler:and Keiichi decides to trust her. And it turns out ''she's there to kill him.'']]
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler:A Hinamizawa Syndrome-infected Akane does this in one of the loops in Episode 15, killing her entire family including Mion.]]
* OnceMoreWithClarity: Episode 23 shows ''Tataridamashi-hen'' from Satoko's perspective, revealing that [[spoiler:through a miracle, Teppei had a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* OneCastMemberPerCover: The ''Gou'' manga's volumes have a different girl on each cover. Rena is on Volume 1, Mion on Volume 2, Satoko on Volume 3, and Rika on Volume 4. The ''Meguri'' manga, which contains the Answer Arcs, has pairs on the covers instead.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: ''Satokowashi-hen'' is basically the story showcasing how [[spoiler:Satoko goes off the deep-end from being a good-natured, if not a bit immature and mischieveous girl, to an AxCrazy [[{{yandere}} yandere]] who will even resort to murder to make Rika stay.]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler:In one of the loops in Episode 22, Satoko harshly tells Rika that her dream of them going to St. Lucia's was always about ''Rika'' going to St. Lucia and that Satoko doesn't want to be dragged along, and that people will be better or worse at some things more than others. And a moment afterwards, Satoko kills herself. This being a loop and Rika not getting her ability to remember loops until later, Rika doesn't remember this nor does she understand why this happened.]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning:
** Rika's eyes glow red while she watches Keiichi and Rena in TheStinger to Episode 1.
** At the end of Episode 7, Rika's eyes glow red again as [[spoiler:she tells Keiichi off for snooping around in the tool shed, as doing so has sealed their fates in this loop]].
** At the end of Episode 17, we get this from [[spoiler:'''Satoko''', who's revealed to have retained her memories of previous loops]].
* SignificantMonogram: In Episode 21, [[spoiler:Eua refers to Satoko as Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen [=LD3105=]. LD happens to be the initials for Lambdadelta, while 3105 is [[GoroawaseNumber Goroawase]] for Sa-To-Ko]].
* TheSlowPath: [[spoiler:In Satoko's first loop, she believes Rika will be closer to her this time but it only results in everything ending up the same as it did before, including Rika becoming closer to her new friends while Satoko struggles at St. Lucia's. Satoko then kills herself along with Rika to loop back, resulting in the events of ''Gou''.]]
* StealthSequel: ''Gou'' starts off as a retelling of the original ''Higurashi'' series/visual novel, only for the second episode to indicate that this is actually a ''continuation''. Becomes not-so-stealthy around halfway through the series, with [[spoiler:''Tataridamashi-hen'' switching into a rehash of the middle part of the original final arc, ''Minagoroshi-hen'', and ''Nekodamashi-hen'' being about Rika struggling with things that never happened in the original series]].
* TheStinger: After the credits of Episode 1, we see Rika with glowing red eyes watching Keiichi and Rena at the junkyard.
* SurprisinglyCreepyMoment: Like its predecessor.
** Episode 4: [[spoiler:Keiichi goes against his paranoia and lets Rena into his house so that she can prepare him a nice dinner, and while he's in the living room and she's in the kitchen, she unpacks various tools that she certainly doesn't look like she'll be using for their intended purpose.]]
** Episode 7: [[spoiler:Rika's personality turns dark and her eyes turn red after Keiichi tells her his "naughty cat" story, and she enigmatically tells him that he's gotten himself in a bad ending and to enjoy his time before his death before reverting back to her normal persona.]]
** Episode 15. [[spoiler:After Rika successfully convinces Akasaka to stay in Hinamizawa for a little longer to help her out, we then immediately cut to a bloody and cut up Rika lying down on the floor as a crazed Akasaka rants about the "parasites".]]
** Episode 16: [[spoiler:As we apparently cut to the next scene of Rika mentally conversing to herself about why she left the village, [[JumpScare we suddenly cut back]] to Satoko continuing to pull her guts out.]]
* ThatLiarLies:
** Rena does the ''"YOU'RE LYING!"'' scene again in ''Onidamashi-hen''.
** Throughout ''Satokowashi-hen'', Satoko thinks to herself about how Rika lied to her about wanting to be with her, eventually culminating in Satoko [[BorrowedCatchphrase screaming]] Rena's infamous line at Rika in Episode 22.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Given [[spoiler:Satoko's abandonment and attachment issues [[FreudianExcuse stem from]] her childhood traumas of losing her family, being abused, and being ostracized]], she should ideally seek out therapy. Unfortunately, St. Lucia seems to be isolated and discourages people from leaving, and the setting is rural 1980's Japan (infamously, Japan historically has a [[ValuesDissonance stigma against mental illness and addressing mental illness at all]]), making therapy a difficult option to pursue or even be thought of.
** Even without a therapist, a decent guidance counselor at either the school in Hinamizawa or St. Lucia probably could have kept the entire (or at least most of the) plot from happening by [[spoiler:helping Satoko find a way to maintain some sense of community or family without needing to stay at St. Lucia with Rika]].
* TitleThemeDrop: At the end of Episode 1, "When They Cry", the first opening song to the 2006 ''Higurashi'' anime, plays as the ending song.
* TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:In a surprising turn of events, Teppei manages to be this. After having recurring "nightmares" (which are most likely him remembering the alternate timelines where he died), he undergoes a HeelRealization, and decides to turn over a new leaf, and even goes out of his way to be kind to Satoko.]]
* TruthInTelevision: Satoko has difficulty adjusting to St. Lucia due to its more intense curriculum than in Hinamizawa as well as impersonal faculty, not getting along with her classmates, generally being surrounded by strangers, and a growing rift between her and her best friend can hit home for anyone who suffered from this when they moved to a new school or moved to college.
* TwinSwitch: Like in the original arc, Mion and Shion utilize this in ''Watadamashi-hen'', which makes it harder to tell who is who and who was where when the mystery arises.
* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:In Episode 16, Satoko views Rika as this, being ungrateful towards her friends, the people that have supported them, and the memories they've had in Hinamizawa by wanting to leave the village.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: St. Lucia's Academy has been said to be a BoardingSchoolOfHorrors by Shion (according to her in the previous series) and [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Ange]], but Rika thinks it's a great place. Of course, almost anywhere would be better than Hinamizawa for Rika, and Shion and Ange don't exactly have magnetic personalities like Rika.
* UpperClassTwit: Very downplayed. Satoko views the girls at St. Lucia as this, but they're obviously smart enough if they can attend a prestigious and rigorous academy, and they have a strong sense of loyalty and dedication with each other judging by how they stand up for Rika against Satoko.
* TheUpperCrass: The students at St. Lucia are mainly from the upper-class and live by a posh, mature, and studious lifestyle. Unsurprisingly, the unkempt and playful Satoko can't get along with them, while they get along swimmingly with the charismatic and ''[[Really700YearsOld very]]'' mature Rika.
* WhamEpisode:
** Episode 4. Keiichi takes Rika's advice to trust Rena and let her into his house in spite of [[ItsProbablyNothing his paranoia]]. [[spoiler:And then it turns out Rena ''really is trying to kill him''. The ending then reveals that after killing Rena in self-defense, Keiichi ''survived'' Rena's attack and that Rika and Satoko have also been mysteriously killed.]]
** Episode 8. [[spoiler:Keiichi survives after [[TwinSwitch Shion/Mion]] hides him in the Sonozaki basement, and Shion/Mion is dead after killing a mysterious group of people trying to go after Keiichi. Mysteriously, Satoko and Rika were also involved in the home invasion and died in the attack along with the twins and the Sonozaki family.]]
** Episode 10. [[spoiler:It seems to be a repeat of ''Tatarigoroshi-hen'', only for Shion showing up at school to switch it to ''Minagoroshi-hen''...]]
** Episode 13. [[spoiler:Satoko is rescued from Teppei! The future seems bright... and then Teppei returns home after apparently escaping police custody and makes an attempt on Keiichi's life, only to be killed in self-defense. Keiichi awakens weeks later, unable to remember anything, and he learns from Rena that ''Ooishi'' killed Rika and the twins at the festival.]]
** Episode 14. [[spoiler:We see the ending of ''Tataridamashi-hen'' from Rika's perspective and that Ooishi had fallen to Hinamizawa Syndrome. Hanyuu then tells Rika that [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn her presence is disappearing and that Rika will have to be alone from now on]], though gives her the loop-breaking sword that Takano discovered in ''Watadamashi-hen'' and that she must use it on a looper to break the cycle. Rika then decides that she'll use the sword on herself if she can't find the looper in the next five loops...]]
** Episode 15. [[spoiler:Rika successfully persuades Akasaka to stay in Hinamizawa... only to be killed by him when he succumbs to Hinamizawa Syndrome. She is then killed by Akane, Kimiyoshi, and Keiichi in the next three loops, and Rika is losing hope...]]
** Episode 16. [[spoiler:''Satoko knows about Rika looping'', and, upset with her for wanting to leave Hinamizawa, tortures her into submission. In the next loop, nothing goes wrong at the cost of Rika [[AndIMustScream blissfully trapped in the village seemingly forever]], until Takano meets with Rika after her dance at the festival, noting that she's been wanting to talk to her for a while...]]
** Episode 17. [[spoiler:Takano abandons her plans and the Yamainu are all pulled out of Hinamizawa, conveniently averting the Great Hinamizawa Disaster the entire series hinged on stopping. Irie also discovers that a container of H-173, a drug that can immediately induce L5 Hinamizawa Syndrome, has gone missing. To top it all off, not only is Satoko aware of Rika's looping, ''she is the second looper''.]]
** Episode 20. [[spoiler: With Satoko and Rika's relationship falling apart at the seams and the cheerful but bittersweet reunion of the club members, Satoko goes for a walk around Hinamizawa before heading into the storehouse. After touching the Oyashiro-sama statue, it breaks apart and a horn falls out. Touching the horn leads Satoko into the world of fragments...and greeting her isn't Hanyuu, but a woman resembling [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Featherine.]]]]
** Episode 23: [[spoiler:We learn that in ''Tataridamashi-hen'' that by a miracle, Teppei decided to make up for all the wrong he had done to people including Satoko. We also learn that Satoko killed her friends in the other loops because she thought they were out to get her, and that "miracles" are changes caused by "the cat"'s influence accumulated over loops.]]
** Episode 24: [[spoiler:Takano vaguely remembers that in another loop, she was humiliated and forced to commit suicide so that Tokyo could cover up the failure of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. This leads to Takano discovering a letter from her grandfather giving his approval for her to pursue a life outside of continuing his research, hence why she abandons the plan in ''Gou''. Satoko takes advantage of this by stealing a syringe of Hinamizawa Syndrome during one of her check-ups, and Eua confirms this is why various characters unexpectedly went Level 5 in earlier arcs.]]
* WhamLine: Episode 16: [[spoiler:After Satoko rants to her about why she was wrong to hate and leave the village, Rika mentally asks herself, [[{{Gaslighting}} "Why did I begin to hate Hinamizawa in the first place? [...] What was it I disliked about Hinamizawa?"]], when we already know that [[GroundhogDayLoop the]] [[TraumaCongaLine events]] of ''Higurashi'' are the answer, and as the converses with herself, she begins to think that the good times she had in the village should be more important than the pain she endured...]]
** Episode 21: [[spoiler: The first words out of Eua's mouth to Satoko are "Why the nonplussed expression, Vier?" This is a direct reference to the Takano-esque character from [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Ciconia]]. She also calls Satoko "Mitsuyo" and, bizarrely, "Anomalous Spinal Cord Speciment [=LD3105=]," LD more than likely standing for Lambdadelta.]]
** Episode 22: [[spoiler:Eua describing to Satoko that looping is like the [[TimeAbyss "monkey on a typewriter" theorem]], the same comparison Lambdadelta described Bernkastel trying to fix her logic error. This implies a connection between Satoko and Lambdadelta...]]
*** Furthermore, in the same episode, [[spoiler: Satoko's last line can be translated as "I will not lose to you, Rika... after all I've always loved you... I'll CERTAINLY not lose.", further tying a connection between Satoko and Lambdadelta, the Witch of Certainty.]]
* WhamShot:
** In ''Onidamashi-hen'' of ''Gou'', [[spoiler:if Rena gathering assorted items on the kitchen table such as a buzzsaw, rope, and handcuffs wasn't suspicious enough, then the shot of her clawing her neck in front of Keiichi confirms that she's really gone off the deep end.]]
** In the second part of ''Nekodamashi-hen'', Rika smiles after convincing Akasaka to stay in Hinamizawa a little longer, [[spoiler:then immediately cuts to a bloody and beaten Rika lying on the floor while a crazed Akasaka rants.]]
** Episode 16: [[spoiler:Satoko pulling down Rika's blankets to reveal ''she's cut her stomach open''.]]
** Episode 17: [[spoiler:Satoko being revealed as the second looper]].
** Episode 20: After deciding to take a stroll around Hinamizawa, Satoko [[spoiler:finds herself transported to Kakera]] where instead of Hanyuu greeting her, she is instead met by another goddess entirely posessing a familiar face. It was only seconds long at the end of the episode, but for any fans who have read both ''Higurashi'' and ''[[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Umineko]]'', Satoko's odd behaviour throughout ''Gou'' suddenly makes a lot more sense.
** Episode 21: [[spoiler:Eua pushes Satoko further in her descent into madness by making her into a looper, sending her back to June 1983, eventually culminating in Satoko rigging a trap that kills her and Rika in front of the whole school.]]
* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: In Episode 16, [[spoiler:as she brutally tortures Rika, a crazed Satoko tearfully rants about how Rika made her do this to her, as Rika's heart straying away from Hinamizawa has forced Satoko to become Oyashiro-sama's carrier in Rika's steed and thus it is her job to punish Rika for her sins. She then accuses Rika of truly being Oyashiro reborn and asks her why she would make her kill her and the club.]]
* {{Yandere}}: In Episode 16, [[spoiler:Satoko tortures Rika and claims that [[WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou it's her fault]] because she wanted to leave Hinamizawa, which would also mean leaving her friends and their memories behind as well as disrespecting Oyashiro-sama. However, as the scene continues, it would seem more than it's because [[PleaseDontLeaveMe Satoko doesn't want Rika to leave her.]]]]
-->''[[spoiler:"All I want is to live here in Hinamizawa with you, Rika. I don't need anything else."]]''
%%* YankTheDogsChain
* YouAreAlreadyDead: At the end of Episode 7, [[spoiler:Rika breaks character and bitterly taunts Keiichi about this when he reveals he snooped around in the tool shed, as she knows that this can only end badly. After telling him off, she tells him to go enjoy the little time he has left.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes in ''Sotsu'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bnmrhyzu4ytytmmqyos00odvmlwjhnjgtnzk3nty3othmm2flxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymti5mju1ntu0_v1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:If you can get Rika to stay in Hinamizawa, my friend, I promise I will make life happier for you in that world.]]
----
* AdaptationalJerkass: In ''Meguri'', Rika's new friends are more malicious, as opposed to the anime where they simply thought that Satoko was unsophisticated. Not only do they seem to give Satoko dirty looks, but they [[spoiler: try to sabotage her friendship with Rika, by making it look like Rika ditched Satoko instead of waiting for her by saying that she went home. What actually happened, is that Rika was trying to help her new friends find a book at the library, while coincidentally Satoko was in study hall.]]
* AloneWithThePsycho: In the first episode of ''Oniakashi-hen'', after Rika pulls her face-stamp prank on Satoko, Rena excuses herself to go to the nurse because she doesn't feel good, Satoko also then excuses herself to go wash her face, and Mion decides to call it a day for the club. This allows Satoko to inject Rena with H-173 while she's asleep and with no one else around.
* AnAesop: What works for you doesn't work for everyone. [[spoiler:Rika urged Satoko to keep up her studies in St. Lucia, even if she had to study late into the night, so that her grades would improve. What Rika doesn't realize is that Satoko had tried that, multiple times, and still struggled. St. Lucia's hardcore academic system simply isn't a good fit for Satoko, and Rika was unwittingly pushing her best friend into a harmful environment.]]
* AesopCollateralDamage: Played with in-universe. Satoko wants to [[ColdBloodedTorture "teach"]] Rika that she should stay in the village by murdering her otherwise innocent friends and allies.
* AscendedMeme: It became a joke in the fandom that [[spoiler:Satoko wanted revenge on Rika for the one loop where Rika bashed her head in with a chair from "Higurashi: Rei". Come Episode 14 and Rika pummels Satoko with the chair.]]
* BrokenAesop:
** The original story taught that miracles arise from a [[ThePowerOfFriendship group effort]] and don't simply fall into one's lap. [[spoiler:The "miracle" that helps Rika figure out that Satoko is the culprit has nothing to do with group effort (as the other club members are OutOfFocus in the main conflict) and barely even involves Rika's own efforts (as she had practically given up), instead simply resulting from Satoko's own carelessness giving herself away. Likewise, the "miracle" that allows Hanyuu to defeat Eua was the Onigari-no-Ryūō falling into her hand after Rika (who couldn't have known what situation Hanyuu was in) tossed it into the water.]]
** [[spoiler:Despite Keiichi ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' expressing extreme guilt and desire for atonement over his ''Onikakushi-hen'' murders, and Rika in ''Saikoroshi-hen'' realizing that looping had distorted her values on life, the show's ending and even WordOfGod seem to side with Eua that Satoko toying with lives in other worlds is ultimately insignificant.]]
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Downplayed. [[spoiler:At the end, Rika and Satoko have a heart-to-heart talk about why St. Lucia won't work out, followed by the club members telling them it's okay for friends to lose their intimacy but still be on good terms. This is likely what would've happened anyway if Satoko never decided to torment Rika (and it's also likely Rika would've been more forgiving towards Satoko since she would've then have never put her through the loops again; now, Rika and Satoko's friendship is forever scarred), though to her credit, Eua was an OutsideContextProblem and who knows what she would've done if Satoko tried to reject Eua's influence.]]
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: In ''Oniakashi-hen'', [[spoiler:Rena not only stabbed Rina to death with her giant cleaver, but also chopped her up with her blade and other hardware blades so she could stuff the dismembered parts of her body in a bag and toss it somewhere. She was also going to do this to ''Keiichi''.]]
* DenserAndWackier: In a non-comedic (or at least [[{{Narm}}unintentionally comedic]]) example of this, [[spoiler: the final showdown between Rika and Satoko in episode 14 was when the show turned from a relatively grounded horror mystery with supernatural elements, into a straight up DBZ-style action fantasy, with the both of them transforming into magical girls, flying through the air fighting each other.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: After learning of Keiichi and Rena's fate at the end of ''Oniakashi-hen'', Rika leaves class early out of despair and [[spoiler:kills herself at her home in order to leave for the next loop]].
* DeathOfPersonality: [[spoiler:In Episode 10, it is revealed Satoko split into two personalities. When her good side objects to killing Teppei and regrets all the horrors she's carried out, her bad side declares herself to be the real Satoko and kills her good side in that Kakera.]]
* DramaticIrony:
** The scene in ''Oniakashi-hen'' that does {{Gilligan Cut}}s between Rika [[spoiler:saying that everything will turn out well and wishing Keiichi the best]] and Keiichi and Rena [[spoiler:attacking each other]] inside Keiichi's house.
** In Episode 14, [[spoiler:when Satoko rants to Rika how badly she doesn't want to go back to St. Lucia's because "[[PoorCommunicationKills [she] hates studying]]", Rika interprets it as Satoko being lazy and making excuses; Rika vows to force Satoko to come back with her and that she'll make her study for entire nights, while we as the audience know Satoko did exactly that and still struggled.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: At the end of ''Oniakashi-hen'', [[spoiler:after learning what happened to Keiichi and Rena, Rika stabs herself to death in order to enter the next loop. Satoko comes across her body and kills herself with the same knife, as she also needs to die after Rika in order to continue following her through the loops.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Surprisingly enough, ''Sotsu'' ends this way. After besting Satoko, Rika refuses to kill her and they talk heart-to-heart about why St. Lucia didn't work. With some helpful talk from Keiichi, Rena, and Mion, the two also learn that some friendships drift apart and go their separate ways, though this doesn't mean their relationship is over. With Rika moving onto St. Lucia without Satoko, the duo accept that while their friendship has been forever tainted by the events of ''Gou'' and ''Sotsu'', though still care about each other and intend to keep in touch. Not only that, but Satoshi ''finally'' wakes up from his coma, and it turns out the final fragment that Satoko and Rika teleported to in their fight is still a perfect world, where Teppei miraculously changed his ways and Takano never carried out her evil plans. Meanwhile, these developments are allowed to happen because Hanyuu was finally able to defeat Eua, excising her from Kakera… [[AmbiguousSituation or at least we think so.]]]]
* ForWantOfANail: Had Satoko not gotten herself the syringe of H-173 in the previous loop and injected Rena with it, ''Oniakashi-hen'' might have turned out infinitely better for Rena. [[spoiler:She would have been lucid enough to accept Rina's apology and followed her advice to stop her father from visiting her club, stopping the domestic turmoil engulfing her home and even forging a bond with Rina in the process. Instead, we see Rena kill her perceived tormentor in a just as, if not more gnarly way than in ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen''.]]
* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler:Eua forces Hanyuu to watch Rika suffer multiple deaths, with her death by an L5-crazed Keiichi and her guts being harvested by Satoko being shown, much to Eua's enjoyment.]]
* {{Gaslighting}}:
** A tragically non-malicious example. Believing that ''Onikakushi-hen''[=/=]''Oniakashi-hen'' was just a repeat of the original ''Onikakushi-hen'', Rika tries to prevent the tragedy of it by nudging Keiichi into believing that he's just deluding Rena becoming violent and crazy so that he won't kill her (and Mion). As a result, Keiichi assumes ItsProbablyNothing, but as we learn in ''Oniakashi-hen'', his delusions were actually ''completely correct.''
** An intentional example comes from [[spoiler:Satoko, who performs the [[GuttedLikeAFish old-fashioned]] Watangashi ritual on Rika while insisting that all her suffering is Oyashiro-sama's punishment for ever wanting to leave Hinamizawa. Despite knowing that Oyashiro-sama better than anyone else, Rika takes this seriously and actually starts to believe she was wrong to ever feel trapped in the village.]]
* HeelFaceDoorSlam:
** Rina [[spoiler:contemplates calling things off with Rena's father, but she is then murdered for her efforts.]]
** In Episode 10 [[spoiler:Satoko realizes her quest to save her relationship with Rika has turned her into a monster and she doesn't want to do it anymore. Witch Satoko removes her from the equation. Maybe?]]
* ImproperlyParanoid: Rena turns against Keiichi because she thought he saw her with the weapons that [[spoiler:she used to kill Rina]] and believed he was going to turn her in to the police, thus destroying her family forever. Except he didn't see her weapons at all, and even after apologizing for being wary of her, she still attacks him regardless.
* {{Irony}}: After a crazy Ooishi kills Rika in Episode 11, Ooishi accuses Satoko of having manipulated everyone and that she is the true Oyashiro-sama.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** Satoko comes to the realization at the climax of Episode 10 that [[spoiler:her love for Rika has made her do monstrous things, and that she refuses to continue. Unfortunately, she has this realization during a confrontation with [[EnemyWithout the Witch version of herself]] and is killed for it]].
** Rika gets one of her own in Episode 15 [[spoiler:when she and Satoko, exhausted from their final fight, are finally forced to talk things out. What Rika had perceived as simple laziness on Satoko's part in St. Lucia had deeper roots: the reality is that Satoko simply ''cannot handle'' St. Lucia's strict curriculum, and Rika in her denial of this turned a blind eye to her struggles. Rika wanting to be with Satoko trapped her in a toxic environment that steadily caused her to snap; while it doesn't excuse Satoko's actions afterwards, Rika admits that her own behavior was the catalyst.]]
* MythologyGag: In ''Meguri'' after Rika [[spoiler:explains the looping to everyone to get their help]], sceptical Rena asks Keiichi if he'll believe anything Rika would say, for example [[spoiler:aliens coming to Hinamizawa to spread a parasytic virus]]. That's actually the plot of ''Hou''.
* OnceMoreWithClarity: As the Answer Arcs to ''Gou'''s Question Arcs, ''Sotsu'' retells ''Gou'' from the perspective of the other characters so that we can see what happened.
* StealthSequel: The ''Another'' light novel turns out to be this, as what appears to be a WhatIf showing Satoko and Rika spending their teenage years in St. Lucia turns out to be [[spoiler:a mere fragment that both of them have entered after the events of ''Sotsu''. Both of them seem to regularly jump through fragments to go through scenarios and satisfy each other's whims, and Rika mentions that they'll likely spend their teens in Hinamizawa on their next fragment.]]
* TitleDrop: In Episode 15, after Rika and Satoko exchange the current state of their relationship, they end it with ''mata nanika no naku koro ni aimashou'' — let’s meet again, when they cry. Which also doubles as a shoutout to Bernkastel and Lambdadelta.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 10 is a doozy. [[spoiler:It ends with Satoko about to kill her uncle, when she seemingly starts FightingFromTheInside and breaks reality. The viewer sees two versions of Satoko fighting over the gun in the void between worlds. Eua then reveals the truth, Satoko stopped being herself when she accepted the power to loop. The evil Satoko proudly proclaims herself [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry a witch]] and kills the good Satoko]].
* WhamLine: In Episode 8, as Eua watches Satoko's breakdown, Eua says that Satoko has become a [[spoiler:witch]], further connecting Satoko to [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Lambdadelta]].
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Tropes in ''Rei'']]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Unlike virtually every other couple teased in ''Higurashi'', Shion got her hapy ending with Satoshi, as he makes a small cameo in the manga completely cured of Hinamizawa Syndrome and in a peaceful marriage with her.
* GhostTown: After decades of Hinamizawa slowly dying and ''still'' not accepting many newcomers, the village was on its way out. Luckily the Kimiyoshi family started to run a campaign to get the town noticed again, and an entire community of people (500 of the members of Polaris) took residence in the town. ''Un''luckily, their practices, willingness to keep to themselves, and a horrific incident makes many Hinamizawa residents look at this commutiy with disdain.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Unfortunately, it looks like the original gang didn't fully learn from the mistakes of their parents:
** Keiichi ends up as a politician’s secretary, but like his own father isn't around often for Keitaro anymore. It's for this reason why he sends Keitaro to Hinamizawa after so long.
** Rena, like her mother, ended up a single mother after divorcing her husband.
** There are suggestions that Satoko also divorced before marrying her current husband, judging by implications that her daughter’s surname wasn’t originally Kimiyoshi.
* ProductionThrowback: Characters all across the ''WTC'' franchise make non-speaking cameos in this manga:
** Several ''Ciconia'' characters, such as Miyao, Jayden, and Momotake, are in the background of the summer festival the next gen kids attend.
* ShipSinking: A good chunk of ones from the original series were dashed with this sequel. None of the girls end up with Keiichi, and seemingly not with their various interests throughout the timelines either. Most got married to a throwaway character offscreen, Satoko married into the Kimiyoshi family, and Rika was the only character shown to have not coupled off.
* StartsWithASuicide: Rika cannot help the rest of the cast this time since she is bed ridden and recovering, so she gives her remaining time loops to Keitaro before the story properly starts. She completes this by hanging herself.
[[/folder]]

----

While these eight games make up the main series, several bonus chapters are available, including "Rei" (a fandisc collection of three sidestories that take place after the main plot) and a fourth, anime-only installment, "Kira" (a series of light hearted {{fanservice}} laden [=OVAs=] that are outside of continuity). There are also several short, manga-only arcs, usually placed before or after the main story and introducing new characters, while retaining the typical atmosphere of the series. These arcs were adapted with some new ones for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS under the title ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna'' (2008).

The sound novels also had an UpdatedRerelease for UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 named ''Matsuri'' (2007), with the original final arc (''Matsuribayashi-hen'') left out and replaced by an alternate ending (''Miotsukushi-hen''), as well as two additional arcs. The ports turn the games into bona-fide {{Visual Novel}}s with choices and routes rather than independent successive arcs like the original version. Later ports to other consoles added even more extra material.

* ArtEvolution: Between all three seasons of the anime. Also applies for the sound novels. It's justified in the remakes since it's a different art crew, but within the remakes the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 games different from the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS ones. In the manga, each arc is drawn by a different author, so the styles will vary noticeably.

* RefusalOfTheCall: In the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game, if you don't have Keiichi enter any other arcs through their triggers, you end up in Taraimawashi-hen, which basically flogs you for doing this. [[spoiler:And yes, you still die]].

* BleachedUnderpants InUniverse: Keiichi understands that his father is a landscape artist, but it's implied during a business party that at least some of his commercial success has come from {{Doujinshi}} products in which the subjects keep their socks on.

* ShoutOut: To Studio Deen's own ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' franchise in ''Rei'', where Rena fantasizes about herself and Miyo re-enacting the scene where Sachiko fixes Yumi's scarf.
** The sound novels have a few as well. During Onikakushi-hen, Keiichi gives a RousingSpeech with references to both ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato''.
** Either a translation error or a ShoutOut to translation error by Creator/MangaGamer: [[spoiler:[[Franchise/AceAttorney The miracle never happen.]]]]
** In the final episode of Rei, one of the mahjong books found in Rena's VW Van is about [[Manga/{{Akagi}} Washizu mahjong]]
** Ever wonder if Rika's VerbalTic, ''Nipah!'' has any meaning? Ever heard of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipah_virus#Nipah_virus Nipah Virus?]]
** Rena and [=Ryukishi07=]'s pen name is named after Lenna Tycoon from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and the Dragoon job.
** At the beginning of ''Gou'' episode 2, the scene of Rika meeting Hanyū while lying on the ground in the alternate plane is a major reference to ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' with the iconic scene when Shirou meets Saber after accidentally summoning her.
** When Keiichi and his friends are playing zombie tag, this conversation occurs.
-->"Everyone, listen! Rena's in big trouble! All of you, please look for Rena!"
-->"...It's a bigger problem than a jumbo jet crashing into your family's house?"
-->...Oh, yeah, it had turned into that, hadn't it. Mion whistled nonchalantly, trying to avoid the blame.
-->"Yeah! It's not even in the same league as jumbo jets! What fell on Rena's house...Was a space colony!!"
-->"A-A space colonyyyyy!?"
-->"Yeah, it's a really big disaster! Everything in a 100 kilometer radius was obliterated! But that's only the prelude to this tragic tale!! This is the beginning... the start of a war for independence by the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Propagandapality of Zeon]]!!"
** When Keiichi decks his dad for ogling at an underage waitress, his dad says "Not even my own father hit me", which is what Amuro Ray said to Bright Noa in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' after he hits him.
** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' is referenced here:
--> "PrincipaaaAaaAal!!! I challenge you...hurRrk!!!!!!"
--> I heard what sounded like a "zhazhing" three times. His 3-gauge super!?"
** One of Hinamizawa's bus stops is called "[[Creator/{{Disney Mouseland}} in Tokyo".
** In Watanagashi, Keiichi answers with ''Anime/CardCaptorSakura'' while playing Sympathy (when the correct answer is Sakura Mochi).
** In Chapter 2 Episode 3, during the curry cook-off, Keiichi and Rika play pretend with drawings. Rika states that Mr. Curry shoots missiles from his stomach, and Keiichi responds by blocking it with his his "Super-electromagnetic" ''(chou-denji)'' barrier. This is a reference to ''[[Anime/CombattlerV Choudenji Machine Combattler V]]'', where the titular robot yells "Chou-denji X" before performing a move.

** In Chapter 2 Episode 3, during the curry cook-off, Keiichi and Rika play pretend with drawings. Rika states that Mr. Curry shoots missiles from his stimach, and Keiichi responds by blocking it with his his "Super-electromagnetic" ''(chou-denji)'' barrier, as in ''[[Anime/CombattlerV Choudenji Machine Combattler V]]'', where the titular robot yells "Chou-denji X" before launching an attack.

* In Chapter 2 Episode 3, during the curry cook-off, Keiichi and Rika play pretend with drawings. Rika states that Mr. Curry shoots missiles from his stimach, and Keiichi responds by blocking it with his his "Super-electromagnetic" ''(chou-denji)'' barrier, as in ''[[Anime/CombattlerV Choudenji Machine Combattler V]]'', where the titular robot yells "Chou-denji X" before launching an attack.

* {{Bishonen}}:
** Satoshi and Keiichi. They are both tall, slender, have delicate features, and ''big'' eyes; as well as being quite handsome.
** Keiichi has pulled off the "BishieSparkle" trick a few times. Notably in the first PictureDrama which came out before the anime.

[[folder:Tropes A to D]]

* {{The Eighties}}: Specifically, mostly Shōwa 58, aka 1983, as well as the few years previous to some extent, though it's not especially apparent. Also, PresentDayPast is occasionally PlayedForLaughs (such as a reference to ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', which is anachronistic by over a decade and a half), and actual PresentDay is used on a couple of occasions.

* GoldenEnding: Horribly subverted. In Episode 16, all seems well, with no one going crazy before Watanagashi, no snooping, and Teppei staying away, except that we know [[spoiler:Rika has been tortured into [[StockholmSyndrome submission]] by Satoko]].

** Episode 16. [[spoiler:''Satoko knows about Rika looping'', and, upset with her for wanting to leave Hinamizawa, tortures her into StockholmSyndrome. In the next loop, nothing goes wrong at the cost of Rika [[AndIMustScream blissfully trapped in the village seemingly forever]], until Takano meets with Rika after her dance at the festival, noting that she's been wanting to talk to her for a while...]]

** Keiichi has pulled off the "BishieSparkle" trick a few times. Notably in the first Picture Drama which came out before the anime.

* DenserAndWackier: In a non-comedic (or at least an unintentional) example of this, [[spoiler: the final showdown between Rika and Satoko in episode 14 was when the show turned from a relatively grounded horror mystery with supernatural into straight up DBZ-style action fantasy.]]

* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: The child consultation centre has taken a "wait and see" attitude to any accounts of Teppei's abuse toward Satoko [[CryingWolf because she once falsely accused her stepfather.]] They start out fairly apathetic to the Club's appeals and even brush them off as overreacting, only caving in after Keiichi gradually rallies the village together past their irrational ostracization toward her. At the end of Minagoroshi, the author apologizes for making them look so unhelpful.

* ConnectedAllAlong: [[spoiler:Eua reveals that Satoko has "other names" -- Mitsuyo, [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Vier, and Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen LD3105]]. This also connects her to Takano and Lambdadelta by extension -- as ''Mitsuyo'' and ''Miyo'' Takano both share the GoroawaseNumber of [[ArcWords 34]] with Lambdadelta reading 34 when written in Greek numerals, Vier is the spitting image of Takano, LD being the initials of Lambdadelta likely being a play on 34, and Lambdadelta being heavily implied to have empowered Takano in the original ''Higurashi''; interestingly enough 3105 is GoroawaseNumber for ''Satoko''. Made further interesting considering the narrator in the spinal factory segment of ''Ciconia'' talks about her father, mother, big brother, and herself being "processed" in that order (as Satoko lost her father, mother, and Satoshi in that same order too) and tells Miyao to fight against this [[ArcWords "certainty"]]; at the end of Episode 22, Satoko vows that breaking Rika into submission will be "certain". This all comes to a head in the "Another End" novelal, where Satoko's witch self is all but stated to become Lambdadelta after purging her humanity at the end of the series.]]

* ArcWelding: [[spoiler:At the end of Episode 20, Featherine from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' appears, and in Episode 21, she indicates there's a connection between Satoko and Vier from ''VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry'' (and possibly Lambdadelta, also from ''Umineko''), tying in all three entries of the ''When They Cry'' series together.]]

* ConnectedAllAlong: [[spoiler:Featherine reveals that Satoko has "other names" -- Mitsuyo, [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Vier, and Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen LD3105]]. This also connects her to Takano and Lambdadelta by extension -- as ''Mitsuyo'' and ''Miyo'' Takano both share the GoroawaseNumber of [[ArcWords 34]] with Lambdadelta reading 34 when written in Greek numerals, Vier is the spitting image of Takano, LD being the initials of Lambdadelta likely being a play on 34, and Lambdadelta being heavily implied to have empowered Takano in the original ''Higurashi''; interestingly enough 3105 is GoroawaseNumber for ''Satoko''. Made further interesting considering the narrator in the spinal factory segment of ''Ciconia'' talks about her father, mother, big brother, and herself being "processed" in that order (as Satoko lost her father, mother, and Satoshi in that same order too) and tells Miyao to fight against this [[ArcWords "certainty"]]; at the end of Episode 22, Satoko vows that breaking Rika into submission will be "certain".]]
* ContinuityCameo: The opening has a brief cameo from [[spoiler:the Theatregoing Witch, [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Featherine Augustus Aurora]]; a sort of GreaterScopeVillain to the ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' series, as well as the architect of the game board that would become the many worlds of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. She finally makes her first proper appearance at the end of Episode 20.]]

* CrypticBackgroundReference: In Episode 21, [[spoiler:Featherine refers to Satoko as Mitsuyo, [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Vier, and Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen LD3105]].]]. What does ''that'' mean?

** After [[spoiler:Featherine]] is introduced at the end of Episode 20, the show's anime opening sequence reveals that the mysterious silhouette is [[spoiler:Featherine]]. The [[spoiler:teddy bear]] at the beginning is also changed to [[spoiler:the trap box]].

* FromBadToWorse: Like many other youth have to go through, Satoko struggles with [[GrowingUpSucks having to grow up]], [[TheFellowshipHasEnded her friends moving on while she remains stagnant]], and [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer being stuck in an unsupportive environment]]. In a better world, Satoko would have eventually overcome her issues by properly communicating them as well as seeking therapy, but unfortunately, [[spoiler:this makes her vulnerable to Featherine's manipulations, leading to the return of tragedy.]]

* GroundhogPeggySue: Rika is forced to be this again for reasons she doesn't know. It is later revealed that [[spoiler:Satoko became a looper because of Featherine]].

* LineOfSightName: In Episode 23, [[spoiler:"Featherine"]] allows Satoko to give her a name. Satoko stutters while thinking out loud ("Um... eh... ooh... ah...") and [[spoiler:Featherine]] takes it as an answer, declaring she is now named "Eua".

* SignificantMonogram: In Episode 21, [[spoiler:Featherine refers to Satoko as Anomalous Spinal Cord Specimen [=LD3105=]. LD happens to be the initials for Lambdadelta, while 3105 is [[GoroawaseNumber Goroawase]] for Sa-To-Ko]].

** Episode 20. [[spoiler: With Satoko and Rika's relationship falling apart at the seams and the cheerful but bittersweet reunion of the club members, Satoko goes for a walk around Hinamizawa before heading into the storehouse. After touching the Oyashiro-sama statue, it breaks apart and a horn falls out. Touching the horn leads Satoko into the world of fragments...and greeting her isn't Hanyuu, but [[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Featherine.]]]]

** Episode 21: [[spoiler: The first words out of Featherine's mouth to Satoko are "Why the nonplussed expression, Vier?" This is a direct reference to the Takano-esque character from [[VisualNovel/CiconiaWhenTheyCry Ciconia]]. She also calls Satoko "Mitsuyo" and, bizarrely, "Anomalous Spinal Cord Speciment [=LD3105=]," LD more than likely standing for Lambdadelta.]]
** Episode 22: [[spoiler:Featherine describing to Satoko that looping is like the [[TimeAbyss "monkey on a typewriter" theorem]], the same comparison Lambdadelta described Bernkastel trying to fix her logic error. This implies a connection between Satoko and Lambdadelta...]]

** Episode 20: After deciding to take a stroll around Hinamizawa, Satoko [[spoiler:finds herself transported to Kakera]] where instead of Hanyuu greeting her, she is instead met by none other than [[spoiler: Featherine Augustus Aurora, the Witch of Theatergoing]]. It was only seconds long at the end of the episode, but for any fans who have read both ''Higurashi'' and ''[[VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry Umineko]]'', Satoko's odd behaviour throughout ''Gou'' suddenly makes a lot more sense.
** Episode 21: [[spoiler:Featherine pushes Satoko further in her descent into madness by making her into a looper, sending her back to June 1983, eventually culminating in Satoko rigging a trap that kills her and Rika in front of the whole school.]]

* OffModel:
%%** The first season is ''infamous'' for this. It doesn't help that this came to a head during what ''should've'' been a [[spoiler:badass fight scene]] in the ''finale'' where most series are guaranteed an AnimationBump.
** In episode 17 Rika spends an entire scene with Shion's hair color.
** Season two and the [=OVAs=] fix all of the problems with gusto.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Shion]] killing [[spoiler:Oryou]] in the Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening chapter. Also any time anyone murders Teppei Houjou or Rina. However, these are always the starting point for [[spoiler:Keiichi, Rena, and Shion]] to go insane.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Averted hard, given MurderMakesYouCrazy below. Even if it's a case of KickTheSonOfABitch, the character's fear of having their crime exposed doesn't do wonders for their sanity later on. Minagoroshi in particular is an organised legal effort to stop Teppei from abusing Satoko despite recognizing that the problem could be solved much faster by just killing him off.

* SurpriseCreepy: The arcs are generally fun and games at the start before paranoia and murder set in.

* SurpriseCreepy: Like its predecessor.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: The ED "Why, or Why Not" features English lyrics that, while spoken with an accent, reproduce the structure of the language quite faithfully, save for a few spelling slip-ups.

* ContraltoOfDanger: In the anime adaptation, Rika's voice deepens drastically during scenes where she drops her cute facade, and lets her cynical persona from reliving a StableTimeLoop slip through. It's played for fear and mystery.