I was really excited going into Meakashi; I loved the way Shion interacted with a lot of the cast and I was excited to see a chapter about her. I wasn't sold at first - the first few parts are quite inconsistent in quality - but what comes after is a series of moments that just hit you like a truck. Probably the first Higurashi entry to go for downright devastation as opposed to horror - being the first of the 'answer arcs' it can't lean as heavily on the intrigue of the world as the 4 arcs before it - but it fits this mould very well while elucidating previous parts very effectively and leaving just enough breadcrumbs to pull me into the next part as all the parts prior have.