Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai [TV]

The story picks up after what happened in season one. Things that are left unexplained in the first season get explained in the new season in three separate arcs. Rika Furude lives in the small village of Hinamizawa with her friends. But behind this peace is a darkness that is well understood by Rika. She has been a witness to several unspeakable horrors.

Rika must find that perpetrator behind the deaths that have happened. Unfortunately, trying to solve a mystery while knowing only half the clues proves to be hard and each time she thinks she is changing things, she fails. As the annual festival approaches, she begins to lose hope.

About the Show

The second season of When They Cry began in 2007; still written by Ryukishi07. It was produced by the Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon. It contains 24 episodes which aired from July 6, 2007, until December 17, 2007.

Season Summary

Episode 1: “Reunion”
Mamoru, with his assistant, visits the abandoned village and meets up with Oishi. They then wonder about the Great Hinamizawa Disaster and the connection to Miyo Takano’s file. Because she was detained in the police station, the adult Rena survived the incident. She shares her knowledge about Rika’s strange behavior. Mamoru then recalls his meeting with the Rika.

Episode 2: “Disaster Awakening Chapter One – Playing Tag”
Back in June, the club participates in a “zombie tag” game. They run into Irie and the others on their way home. They proceed to tell Keiichi about the yearly murders. Rika gets weary and depressed because of the story. Adding to her worry, Satoko utters a phrase once spoken by Keiichi.

Episode 3: “Disaster Awakening Chapter Two – Powerless”
Satoko, worried about Rika’s depression, tries to help her but gets denied by Rika. Later that night, Satoko gets woken up due to Rika arguing with someone regarding her approaching death and that she cannot do anything about it.

Episode 4: “Disaster Awakening Chapter Three – Pre-established Harmony”
Rika fails to mention to Tomitake about his imminent death. Satoko gets convinced that someone is following them and worried for Rika, she sets traps around the house. Her fears are confirmed when one gets triggered.

Episode 5: “Disaster Awakening Chapter Four – The Great Hinamizawa Disaster”
To Satoko’s surprise, Rika hides her and then gets taken away and killed. After witnessing this, Satoko flees and falls off a bridge. She stumbles into Hinamizawa just after the Great Disaster. The trauma of witnessing so much death sends her into a mental shock. After waking up, Oishi who proceeds to interrogate her. He gives a mysterious message from Rena which gives hints about Rika’s death. Satoko realizes the meaning of the message.

Episode 6: “Massacre Chapter One – Rules of the Labyrinth”
Rika, with Hanyu, begins a new world. She is starting to get tired of seeing her friends commit the same acts. Keiichi tells her that people can change their fate; he then requested to play a different game in the game tournament. He gives the doll he won to Mion instead of Rena to avoid hurting the former’s feelings. Rika then vows to fight one more time.

Episode 7: “Massacre Chapter Two – How to Change Destiny”
Rika decides to find a way to prevent her horrible fate. She notices new changes like how Rena confided in Mion about her familial struggles, on how Oishi started to get along with the others.

Episode 8: “Massacre Chapter Three – Fluctuation”
Rika’s plans get obstructed when Teppei continues to abuse Satoko. The gang then decide to get help from the government to free Satoko from Teppei.

Episode 9: “Massacre Chapter Four – Negotiation”
Soon after, other townspeople join their protest to the government regarding Satoko’s case. However, because she feels responsible for Satoshi, Satoko is reluctant to leave Teppei. She returns to school and shows more evidence of abuse. Rika realizes that she must be the one to take action during the meeting held for Satoko’s case.

Episode 10: “Massacre Chapter Five – Showdown”
Keiichi manages to gain the approval of one of the village elders in their appeal to help Satoko. A lot of people then proceed to protest in front of the Counseling Center, forcing the government to provide help.

Episode 11: “Massacre Chapter Six – Strong Will”
Satoko gets convinced to reveal her abuse over the phone and before Teppei got the chance to inflict more damage, the police arrive and arrests him. Rika then requests the help of her friends to protect Takano and Tomitake, who was supposed to die. It is revealed that Takano is the culprit behind Tomitake’s death and wants to reignite the Oyashiro’s curse.

Episode 12: “Massacre Chapter Seven – Hinamizawa Syndrome”
Rika tells her friends on how the Hinamizawa Syndrome is a disease whose symptoms show up when a person tries to leave their village. She then proceeds to tell them about the true purpose of the Irie Clinic and the Yamainu security forces. They believed her without hesitation and police gets stationed around the Furude residence. Oishi and his assistant get murdered by the Yamainu security forces.

Episode 13: “Massacre Chapter Eight – Finale”
Keiichi and the others leave the house. The Yamainu infiltrates the house after disabling the guards, but Rika and Satoko manage to escape. After getting rescued by the others, they try to make their escape but Keiichi gets shot by Takano. One by one, their friends are shot dead by Takano and his group, leaving Rika. Rika is killed and gutted. Takano proclaims her ascension to godhood as she gassed to death the villagers at the school.

Episode 14: “Festival Music Chapter One – Miyo”
Takano’s past is revealed and everything that happened to her from her childhood is shown. After the flashback ended, Takano looks over the village and proclaims that everything she has done will be a continuation of her grandfather’s works.

Episode 15: “Festival Music Chapter Two – Wriggling”
Takano’s story is continued, from escaping the orphanage where she was staying until graduating with high honors. She later joined an intellectual society to have the funds for her research. After a few years, she visits the shrine and confronts Hanyu.

Episode 16: “Festival Music Chapter Three – The Beginning of the End”
The events of the dam incident are shown. It is revealed that the dam construction manager was murdered by his own workers. During this, Takano and Dr. Irie utilized one of the construction workers to use as a live specimen for their research on the Himanizawa Syndrome. Another flashback shows Satoshi speaking with Dr. Irie on how he wants to let Satoko stay at the clinic. During all of these, Hanyu feels helpless and apologetic.

Episode 17: “Festival Music Chapter Four – Strategy”
Rika offers herself as a test subject to save Satoko who is infected by the syndrome. Meanwhile, Oishi investigates Satoko’s parents’ deaths and theorizes that Satoko herself might be the one responsible for those deaths. Eventually, the Irie Institution closes down since treatments had been developed to combat the syndrome, despite Takano’s wishes to continue their research. She is then met by a woman who claims that she can help.

Episode 18: “Festival Music Chapter Five – The Final Piece”
Ichiro is seen looking at an open plot of land in the village where he will be moving with his family, then meeting Rika and Hanyu on the way. Rena’s family is also shown to be moving back to the village, but her mother leaves them. Satoshi succumbs to the syndrome as he experiences mental trauma due to his aunt’s death. He is then taken for experimentation. Rika and Hanyu look on as all the pieces start to come together.

Episode 19: “Festival Music Chapter Six – Opening”
Hanyu is introduced as a transfer student to the school. She then started to recall what happened in the previous world and proceeds to tell this to Rika, who appears to have no recollection of these events. Hanyu then discloses about to Rika her backstory. A series of events happen and Rika and her friends plan on what to do to prevent another disaster from happening.

Episode 20: “Festival Music Chapter Seven – Trap”
Rika, with Oishi and Akasaka, presents Takano to Dr. Irie as the culprit and they enlist Tomitake’s help to gather evidence to support their claim. Rika then reveals to her friends about her intended murder and they boost each other’s morale to have a confrontation against Takano. They planned to fake Rika’s death. They then attempt to get Oishi to make an announcement regarding Rika’s death. He then enlists the help of his friends to fake Rika’s death.

Episode 21: “Festival Music Chapter Eight – 48 Hours”
Takano, unaware of Dr. Irie and Tomitake’s betrayal, continues her plan. Oishi then confirms that the announcement of Rika’s death is already scheduled. Early the next morning, Takano and the Yamainu scrambles for validity regarding the truth of Rika’s death. The Yamainu realizes that it is all a well-organized plan and sets out to find Tomitake. He is traced due to his calls with the Investigation Bureau. Takano tries to make sense of Rika’s death and starts to get suspicious of Dr. Irie.

Episode 22: “Festival Music Chapter Nine – Offense and Defense”
Tomitake gets captured and brought back to the clinic. Irie rushes to escape after seeing this and informing Akasaka of the events. He manages to get help from Shion and Kasai as he gets tracked by the Yamainu. Rika’s hideout gets known by the Yamainu due to the transmitter they planted on Dr. Irie’s coat. They arrive at the hideout and a series of events swiftly happens. Akasaka manages to save Rika and somehow forced the Yamainu to retreat.

Episode 23: “Festival Music Chapter Ten – Bloody Battle”
Meanwhile, Takano interrogates Tomitake but gets interrupted once news about Rika reaches her. They proceed to go to the Sonozaki estate to capture Keiichi and the others but traps set around the mountain manage to slow them down. Shion and the others proceed to infiltrate the underground clinic to rescue Tomitake and Satoshi. Back on the mountainside, the Yamainu are set into disarray as they hear a voice over the radio. Okonogi is informed that the clinic was infiltrated and Akasaka is shown driving a van towards the city.

Episode 24: “Festival Music Chapter Eleven – End”
Akasaka, with Tomitake, breaks through the blockade and arrive at the city, where they call for the Benken combat unit to arrest Takano and the remaining Yamainu forces. Takano is unwilling to surrender but the rest of the Yamainu accepts defeat. She manages to escape into the mountains and has a final confrontation with Rika and the gang. She gets arrested once again and, seeing as she is affected by the syndrome, Tomitake takes her into the clinic to cure her. Rika and her friends attend the festival.