Gray's Cozy Nook

(STEAM/MANGA)

I truly have a huge amount of respect for the author Ryukishi07, he has created multiple works that I can only describe as complete psychological horror masterpieces. His famed Higurashi series is still by far one of the most intriguing and diabolical mind-bending tales I’ve encountered. However, I believe I’ve finally met one arc in the series I purely did not care for.

Tatarigoshi-hen is the third arc in the Higurashi series that I’ve encountered, and this arc is the darkest one I’ve read thus far from the series. Dealing with themes of child abuse, PTSD, and what I can only call a demented view of heroics. So I HIGHLY ADVISE those who want to read this series, whether the manga or game, be aware of the content within.

However, I must state, that this series is known to walk on dark themes such as stated above, but I ultimately felt there was a lot of broken elements that were left to be desired in this arc. The characters seemed to be more irrational in this series, completely blowing up at every single issue that appeared to them, especially Rena. While I do believe Rena, and the other(s) personalities were becoming more warped as the story progresses, due to more underlying plot themes (can’t say much, because that would actually spoil the whole series).

The Tatarigoshi Arc was more displeasing as that the story seemed to drag rather than create the uncertainty and anxiety that it is known for in this arc. I felt a lot of the small segments of the characters having some normalcy actually dragged the entire arc itself. There was a lot of unnecessary dialogue and it felt as if there was no real importance to any new info being given.

It was… underwhelming and lacked the drive from the previous arcs, it felt more like a more irritating mash-up of plots, without an actual storyline to present. I could say this story needed a lot of editing, as there were plenty of scenes that were unneeded to continue towards the anti-climactic end. I’m profoundly disappointed by this arc of the series, but I haven’t given up on finishing it.

All in all, with all the haphazard aspects that got tossed in there, and the themes being lost, and the characters going above and beyond being written out of character. The story still classically comes together at the end of the game where I felt the classic psychological horror and fear this series is known for. I give Higurashi Tatarigoshi-Hen a decent 3.5 out of 5 stars, as the story did wrap up cleanly only at towards the end.

Hopefully, as I continue playing through the series, more questions will definitely be answered. Until next time, keep on gaming ya’ll!