Tut, tut… Episode 4 wasn’t the way things had to end. No, no, no, there were other ways things could have transpired during the first four episodes of Higurashi no Naku Koro no (the “Demoned Away” plot arc). Thus, our obliging producers provide us with the Watanagashi plot arc.

Once again, we find Keiichi (poor, poor Keiichi), a vigorous young man freshly-transferred to a remote mountain village with a mysterious past. The premise is basically identical to the “Demoned Away” plot arc, but with Keiichi’s role in the tragic events that unfold being modestly “tweaked.” This leads, in a variety of ways, to the details of the story changing significantly, with some major anchor points along the way being seemingly-inevitable.

Keiichi is still friends with a group of cute, perky, friendly, and creepy girls that all seem to be related to the past years’ murders in one way or another.

Keiichi is again confronted, interrogated, and helped by Detective Oishii. Oishii is rapidly creating a place in my heart as the “worst detective ever.” He just can’t get his act together, tipping his hand early, meeting with Keiichi at inappropriate times and places, and so forth. I guess the “loose lips sink ships” credo never made its way over to Japan. The war ended 50 years ago; we should let those guys in on the concept.

This time around we get a new character, Mion’s twin sister Shion. Shion plays an excellent foil to Mion. Shion is demure and girly, whereas Mion is a boisterous tomboy. Early in this version of the story, Keiichi’s dismissive opinion of Mion’s femininity comes to the forefront, and quickly becomes the locus around which the rest of the scenario forms itself.

As before, the local festival is held, and as before, the visiting photographer and his lady-friend are murdered. This time, Keiichi was with them during the evening, due to the intervention of Shion. Rather than focus on Keiichi’s dread that Rena and Mion are hiding something from him, this plot arc focuses on Keiichi dreading the secret he is keeping from them, especially from Mion.

Episodes five through seven lead towards the inevitable conclusion of this story arc quite skillfully. It was well-paced, used the twin sister gimmick effectively, and shed just the right amount of light on the situation to keep things interesting without spilling the beans. It falls apart a bit in episode eight, where there are about two too many plot twists for my liking. They probably could have snipped out the last eight minutes or so, and nobody would have suffered for it.

I look forward to seeing where they take it in the next arc!