Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai - Dai 4-wa: Matsuribayashi-hen

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Higurashi tells a main mystery that revolves around a series of murders, known as the "Curse of Oyashiro-sama" (the Deity of Hinamizawa - a small village where the game takes place).

The plot is mainly expository, with different perspectives and points of view. Telling more about the case and characters involved. After every day in novel, there are tips before the next one, something that happens until the Answers Arcs (chapters 5 - 8).

Matsuribayashi Arc is the final chapter of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai. Its story happens mainly in the day of Watanagashi, a festival to praise Oyashiro-sama and cleanse the village's ... sins. In this sense, it is a purification ritual in a day to celebrate the local Deity, but also to unite the villagers' spirit in one and protect themselves from the yearly Curse. In this chapter, Rika Furude and Miyo Takano finally have their clash, with various factions and parties involved, in order to prevent a major incident.

The final battle starts early in the morning - 4 a.m. - and finishes three yours before the Festival. The arc offers the background of both sides, the Mountain Dogs (Yama Inu) and the "Hinamizawa Alliance" in an intensity scale that was never shown before in the novel. The sudden turns in the whole information war, the shooting chaos before the dawn and the union of every party involved to break the Death Loop are the main points of this setting. Ryukishi's writing is sharp here, with a few over the top moments that couldn't be helped. Matsuribayashi-hen is not only the end of a Thousand year finding, but also the proof that miracles can happen if everybody involved reach their hands and trust one another. It is the definitive stage in the first novel of the When They Cry series, and a memorable farewell to the work's iconic cast.

Higurashi is a long journey. Sure, it is dragged through lots of moments and some of its answers might seem not fitting to the amount of initial expectations, but it's worthy in general. The cast is one of the best I've seen in visual novels, with both the good and bad guys motives being understandable. It is immersive and well crafted, with truly brilliant moments that shine like few did. A must read for the ones with a passion for mystery works and stories in countryside settings.