This review contains spoilers
This chapter is so goated. The only complaint I have about it is that it slows down a lot in the middle, right after the Watanagashi festival. Aside from that there's so many fantastic elements in Tsumihoroboshi.
Ch 6 has, imo, some of the all time best Higurashi scenes up to this point in the story. Both of the scenes at the dump with Keiichi and Rena were amazing. Keiichi remembering what he did in Chapter 1 is probably my favorite Higurashi scene now, and made me feel genuinely emotional with how well it's written and the new revelations that are revealed to the reader in it. The rooftop fight is also the perfect finale, although it may be considered a little lengthy for some (but I personally found it very fitting, and I love the parallel to their club games).
Ch.6 additionally has some of the best character interactions and relations as well. I love how the entire cast supports each other, and it makes Rena's downfall in the latter half of the chapter all the more tragic. My one complaint is that Satoko is mostly left out of it, but that's a common trend with the entire series unfortunately. The support triangle between Keiichi->Rena->Mion that is demonstrated throughout the entire series is just really touching, and it's at its peak in this chapter. I really can't properly put into words how much I loved everything about the character writing here.
Rena is such an interesting character too. All the previous chapters establish her as being exceptionally sharp, so you already know going in that she’ll be one of the most entertaining characters to read through. It’s sad to see the state she fell to prior to the story even happening, and the revelation that she nearly died from the disease before even moving to Hinamizawa makes everything she does even more impressive. She’s also the only character to have killed prior to even really falling victim to the virus (though granted, Rina was in self defense). It’s sad to see her need to reach that point, but it’s simultaneously made more interesting compared to the previous protagonist Shion. Compared to Shion’s arrogance, Rena is a lot more genuinely competent and brutally efficient with how she takes care of both the murders and the bodies. It’s cool as somewhat of a continuation of their rivalry from the previous chapter.
Rena’s great intuition makes it even more tragic to watch her spiral downwards after the Watanagashi festival. The community usually likes to poke fun at all the alien stuff that she ends up becoming obsessed with in this chapter. While it is funny, it's honestly tragic to read through in the narrative itself. It all just highlights how far she has to fall to get to that point, especially when compared to the previous victims of Keiichi and Shion. The parallels that are made between Rena and Keiichi all throughout the chapter are also just fantastic, culminating in the scene where Keiichi realizes that she is doing exactly what he did in the first Chapter. It’s all just so terrifically done.
Aside from that, this chapter does a lot of cool technical things as well. I wasn't sold on the dual Keiichi-Rena perspective at first, but it ends up being extremely well utilized, especially towards the end of the chapter. Rena's text becoming increasingly more red throughout it is silly but super cool. Additionally, in regards to the 07th mod, this chapter is probably the first time that the CGs are all pretty good, and the voice acting is probably at its peak (Rena’s VA is incredible). I’m a fan of how many red herrings were utilized in this chapter as well. The narrative gets extremely close to revealing the truth, but mixes in so much of Rena’s own delusions that it can easily lead the reader to writing off the actual solution. It also makes Rena an even more reputable character, as she gets extremely close to solving everything prior to becoming exceedingly more deluded (although granted, it was with a lot of help from Takano and she never pinpoints the correct culprit). It’s once again fun to compare her to Shion from the previous chapter, who gets similarly close to the solution in some aspects but never gets nearly as close as Rena. BTW this chapter has the 2nd Hanyuu mention in the series and it’s also the first time she has a voiced line. Kino.
My greatest regret is that my writing skills are too incompetent to properly do this chapter justice. It’s genuinely one of my favorite pieces of media that I’ve ever experienced.
Ch 6 has, imo, some of the all time best Higurashi scenes up to this point in the story. Both of the scenes at the dump with Keiichi and Rena were amazing. Keiichi remembering what he did in Chapter 1 is probably my favorite Higurashi scene now, and made me feel genuinely emotional with how well it's written and the new revelations that are revealed to the reader in it. The rooftop fight is also the perfect finale, although it may be considered a little lengthy for some (but I personally found it very fitting, and I love the parallel to their club games).
Ch.6 additionally has some of the best character interactions and relations as well. I love how the entire cast supports each other, and it makes Rena's downfall in the latter half of the chapter all the more tragic. My one complaint is that Satoko is mostly left out of it, but that's a common trend with the entire series unfortunately. The support triangle between Keiichi->Rena->Mion that is demonstrated throughout the entire series is just really touching, and it's at its peak in this chapter. I really can't properly put into words how much I loved everything about the character writing here.
Rena is such an interesting character too. All the previous chapters establish her as being exceptionally sharp, so you already know going in that she’ll be one of the most entertaining characters to read through. It’s sad to see the state she fell to prior to the story even happening, and the revelation that she nearly died from the disease before even moving to Hinamizawa makes everything she does even more impressive. She’s also the only character to have killed prior to even really falling victim to the virus (though granted, Rina was in self defense). It’s sad to see her need to reach that point, but it’s simultaneously made more interesting compared to the previous protagonist Shion. Compared to Shion’s arrogance, Rena is a lot more genuinely competent and brutally efficient with how she takes care of both the murders and the bodies. It’s cool as somewhat of a continuation of their rivalry from the previous chapter.
Rena’s great intuition makes it even more tragic to watch her spiral downwards after the Watanagashi festival. The community usually likes to poke fun at all the alien stuff that she ends up becoming obsessed with in this chapter. While it is funny, it's honestly tragic to read through in the narrative itself. It all just highlights how far she has to fall to get to that point, especially when compared to the previous victims of Keiichi and Shion. The parallels that are made between Rena and Keiichi all throughout the chapter are also just fantastic, culminating in the scene where Keiichi realizes that she is doing exactly what he did in the first Chapter. It’s all just so terrifically done.
Aside from that, this chapter does a lot of cool technical things as well. I wasn't sold on the dual Keiichi-Rena perspective at first, but it ends up being extremely well utilized, especially towards the end of the chapter. Rena's text becoming increasingly more red throughout it is silly but super cool. Additionally, in regards to the 07th mod, this chapter is probably the first time that the CGs are all pretty good, and the voice acting is probably at its peak (Rena’s VA is incredible). I’m a fan of how many red herrings were utilized in this chapter as well. The narrative gets extremely close to revealing the truth, but mixes in so much of Rena’s own delusions that it can easily lead the reader to writing off the actual solution. It also makes Rena an even more reputable character, as she gets extremely close to solving everything prior to becoming exceedingly more deluded (although granted, it was with a lot of help from Takano and she never pinpoints the correct culprit). It’s once again fun to compare her to Shion from the previous chapter, who gets similarly close to the solution in some aspects but never gets nearly as close as Rena. BTW this chapter has the 2nd Hanyuu mention in the series and it’s also the first time she has a voiced line. Kino.
My greatest regret is that my writing skills are too incompetent to properly do this chapter justice. It’s genuinely one of my favorite pieces of media that I’ve ever experienced.