Random Nonsense #23

     I think Tokyo Ghoul is starting to become one of those mainstream anime that newcomers to the Anime universe tend to invoke as their rite of passage. That and Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan, as most Westerners call it). It's as if the phrase "I've watched Tokyo Ghoul/SnK" proves that you are an ardent fan of Anime. Well, it's a bloody insult to someone like me, who has been watching Anime ever since the start of Primary School and been through so many genres that sometimes I can't keep track of what I've finished.

      I've read psychological horror, like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When the Cicadas Cry) and Uzumaki (Spiral), that made me sleep with the lights on for 2 whole months. I've read light-hearted and ridiculous childish shows, like Yumeiro Patissiere and all three seasons of Shugo Chara, that made me embarrassed for even being slightly entertained...and having a crush on the Tsundere boy character (INTJs again, I'm sorry). And then there's the Romances, comedic like Ouran High School Host Club (OHSHC), My Little Monster and Kaichou wa Maid-sama, then very touching ones like Angel Beats and Anohana. Of course, what I've watched from the start until now, the long-lasting series like Naruto and Bleach, the former of which I grew up with.

The Psychological Horror Genre (skip this if you have a weak heart)
     I prefer these in manga form, since the colour and bad art can take away from the atmosphere. These pictures still scare the shit out of me, especially since my kind of good memory makes me remember exactly what the scenes are.
a) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When Cicadas Cry)

b) Uzumaki (Spiral)

Light-Hearted Childish Anime
     I don't even know why I am entertained by these kinds of Anime. Well, they are perfect for watching after reading a horror manga because all you want to do at that point is to curl up in bed with all the lights on and watch cute stuff. I don't know what it is about Japanese horror. I have become immune to jump scares in that I recover in less than 5 seconds, but the subtle horror of the Japanese variant haunts me for months. Also, I like Tsukiyomi Ikuto from Shugo Chara, though even as a kid I thought it was very freaky how he was way too skinny. Seems like I had an appreciation for muscles even as a kid...how shallow of me.
a) Yumeiro Patissiere

b) Shugo Chara

Comedic Romances
     Like the above, I watch these when I just need something to feel a shallow kind of happiness. I think this is the option I go with when I don't want to feel sheepishly guilty about watching a show way below my age group. Also, it's romance and I'm a girl. As much as I don't behave like one most of the times and have more shared interests with guys than with girls, one shared interest I don't have is that...well...I am undoubtedly straight and I like romance, at times. Also, these kind of gentlemenly guys who are cheeky and kind...and secretly very physically attractive (the unrealistic abs and such), are very unrealistic for me so...it's a kind of fantasy maybe?
a) Ouran High School Host Club

      It's a hard choice for me to pick between Kyouya Ootori and Hikaru Hitachiin. Usually people can't choose between the Hitachiin twins, but for me, I like the older Hikaru more. If you think the two of them are too similar, then you haven't watched the show to its completion. They have quite the contrasting personality. As for Kyouya and Hikaru, it's not that I prefer one over the other. I think I like Kyouya more as an Anime character, that kind of cool and aloof guy who is rather nerdy and smartassed. But if I have to picture them in reality, then I think I prefer Hikaru...he's quite an ENTP.

b) My Little Monster

     I think I've voiced my opinion on Yoshida Haru vs Yoshida Yuuzan before. Usually I like the younger brothers of brother pairs in Anime, but I guess Yuuzan is an exception. I mean take a look at Ao no Exorcist, I like Yukio more than Rin. Look at Naruto, I like Sasuke more than Itachi (here comes the flood of hate). Twins are an exception, as in the previous anime. But I like Yuuzan more...because he is scarily, and suspiciously, optimistic about everything. He also seems to be twisted in his own way and has hidden motives. Makes for a more interesting character, don't you think?

c) Kaichou wa Maid-sama

     Everyone loves Takumi Usui, yes, yes. But have you ever thought about it...how much Igarashi Tora reminds you of Draco flipping Malfoy? Arrogant, check. Rich, check. Prestigious family, check. Blonde, almost platinum-blonde, check. Aristocratic, yet infuriatingly haughty handsome, check. Yeah, Igarashi Tora is Draco Malfoy. And you know what. Draco Malfoy is probably the only fictional character who is:
1. My most hated character personality-wise, but because he is so damn attractive, my shallow side actually wins over and I totally still have my crush intact from like...the first movie, when he was a kid and I was a kid.
2. I actually ship enthusiastically (Draco x Hermione, Dramione for short) with another character, but still won't lay my flipping hands off. Like I ship Cherik, and I like Charles, but I'll abandon him for the ship. I won't do that for Draco Malfoy.
     So I'll come down as the most shallow girls in the history of shallow because we Harry Potter fans all know what a cowardly piece of shit Draco Malfoy is and how over the clouds his arrogance is. But I can't help feeling sympathy for his situation and wanting to believe that he can be a better person. That or he is absolutely charming and looks like a bloody prince. Platinum blonde hair and silver-gray eyes? How the hell do you even get that among these...mudbloods? I cant say that, by the way, I'm like 45% Slytherin...55% Ravenclaw.

Touching Romances
     It's like I love torturing myself. I cry very easily when I am able to feel what the characters feel. But make no mistake, I don't actually approve of certain things and feel disgusted by the way some guys in the anime treat girls like they are fragile...I'll show you fragile when I snap your leg in half. I can just feel the emotion of the character...through the screen.
a) Angel Beats

     Some people would think I like Hideki Hinata from the number of times I cried at the scene where he confessed to Yui. Actually, I cry every single time. It's like age doesn't harden me up or something. But no, I don't like him, at all. Just because he becomes a meaningful character once throughout the show doesn't clear up his name as the main comedic character. Yeah, screw comedic characters, unless they've got a really deep side like the Hitachiin twins. I like Yurippe. Many reasons for that, but yes, a female character. Woohoo.

b) Ano Hana

     These two...Tsuruko and Yukiatsu...they come as a pair. I like them as a pair. I don't care what anyone says. If they disprove of this pairing, or ship Yukiatsu with Menma, I will fight the shit out of that person. I will flay their remains over the world and tear them into pieces. If these two aren't a pair after the amount of shit Tsuruko has to put up with, then I don't know...Tsuruko must be a bloody idiot. Usually, in animes, if a character sticks with another character for that long because she has romantic feelings for him, they will bloody end up together. Look at Naruto and Hinata. She stuck with him for like...I don't know...and they worked out. I would call these two bloody idiots, because no one in reality would even do that unless they have no life and no aspirations, but its an anime.

My Nostalgic Feels - Popular Shounen Anime
     Ah yes, these anime that I grew up with. I grew up with the Harry Potter characters and at the same time, the Naruto characters. The same love I have for Harry Potter, knowing all the names of the spells, even the different subjects taken at Hogwarts, having my own house (it used to be Slytherin, now I'm in Ravenclaw) and my own wand. That kind of love is also the love I have for the Naruto series and what it has taught me. Naruto and Sasuke in particular. Well...Bleach is nostalgic too, but you don't actually grow up with the characters.
a) Naruto

     Yes, I am a scum. I like Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and now I like the biggest scum in Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke. I've explained why even after the kind of turn his personality took, I still persist in liking him. It's not that his personality changed, per se, he is still the cold Tsundere INTJ Sasuke, it's just the "deepening of an existing problem", which seems to be something I apply to INTJs a lot. Anyway, Sasuke...what can I say? I tried to climb a bloody tree like him, by concentrating chakra on the bottom of my feet. But just like how I'm actually a filthy mudblood, I also have no ninja skills. I fell on my bloody back. I tried to do the Goukakyou no Jutsu, aka Great Fireball Jutsu, and Chidori, but I also failed. Sigh, I wanted to learn Sasuke's jutsus man!

b) Bleach

     Do you not see the pattern here? Draco Malfoy. Igarashi Tora. Uchiha Sasuke. Kuchiki Byakuya. Prestigious family, rich, arrogant, regarded within their shows as good-looking. Yeah, I'm shallow as hell...or I just tend to like INTJs in shows. Anyway, Kuchiki Byakuya, the frigging guy who makes pink look like that manliest colour just by the "I can't find a fuck to give" face he has while using his bankai. And he cuts people into a little pieces as they explode in blood with those pink petals. Yup, very lethal and manly. Also, Byakuya as a kid is bloody adorable. What's with these snobby, arrogant fucks who look like the cutest things when they were kids? Tell me you didn't have a bloody crush on the little arrogant git that was Draco Malfoy back when you were like 7 or 8. I dare you. You had a crush on the little blonde, admit it. On second thought, don't. I go all Yandere when fangirling.

     It's a bloody insult, is what it is, when people watch just one anime and then declare themselves an Anime fan. Also, it doesn't help that half the people who watch Tokyo Ghoul have only watched the Anime, when the Manga is much longer and complicated. The Anime was good, but it lacked a lot of the things the Manga had and...I don't know why they ended it the way they did. I guess I shouldn't be complaining. I was defending the Harry Potter movies and LOTR movies despite having read the books. They weren't exactly loyal to the books...might I remind everyone how they totally condensed a whole chapter of Snape's memories into 30 seconds? And yes, I read almost all the Harry Potter books before the movies came out. I don't even understand why my parents excuse my sister for not being able to read them as a 9-year old when I read them as a 7-year old having come from China.

     Anyway, that's not the point. I'm just rather annoyed, I suppose, that the deeper meaning of certain shows is lost on some people. Tokyo Ghoul is very thought-provoking and does it not make you wonder - what would you have done in Kaneki's situation? Would you have continued to remain "kind", yet naively hurting everyone? Or would you have chosen to harden up and learn to be selfish, with the knowledge that to preserve some, you had to give up others?

     The opening of Tokyo Ghoul, Unravel, is a beautiful song that reflects Kaneki's own doubts. The fact that within the song, he keeps repeating lines that distinctly contradict - "I'm breakable, unbreakable", etc - shows that sort of uncertainty and the entire moral subjectivity of his actions. But I think the lines that appeal to me and I am able to relate to the most is "I've completely changed; I can't change back" followed by a few lines later "Think back on who I was" and "So please just remember me." You know that Kaneki doesn't like what he has to become, in order to protect what is precious to him, and the maturity of it all - that he has decided to pull through and change himself - makes him a rather likeable character.

     Anyway, here is the entire kanji lyrics and translated lyrics, accompanied by the fight between Kaneki and Jason, aka the one who tortured him to the point of change.

Kanji Lyrics:
教えて　教えてよ　その仕組みを
僕の中に誰がいるの？
壊れた　壊れたよこの世界で
君が笑う何も見えずに

壊れた僕なんてさ　息を止めて
解けないもう　解けないよ　真実さえ freeze
壊せる　壊せない　狂える　 狂えない
あなたを見つけて

揺れた　歪んだ世界にだんだん僕は　透き通って見えなくなって
見つけないで僕のことを　見つめないで
誰かが描いた世界の中で　あなたを傷つけたくはないよ
覚えていて僕のことを　鮮やかなまま

無限に広がる孤独がくるまる
無邪気に笑った記憶が刺さって
動けない　解けない
動けない　解けない
動けない　動けないよ
Unravelling the world

変わってしまった　変えられなかった
二つがくるまる　二人が滅びる
壊せる　壊せない　狂える　狂えない
あなたを汚せないよ

揺れた　歪んだ世界にだんだん僕は　透き通って見えなくなって
見つけないで僕のことを　見つめないで
誰かが仕組んだ孤独な罠に　未来が解けてしまう前に
覚え出して僕のことを　鮮やかなまま

忘れないで　忘れないで
忘れないで　忘れないで

変わってしまった　ことに paralyse
変えられない　ことだらけの paradise
覚えていて僕のことを

教えて　教えて　僕の中に誰がいるの？

Translated Lyrics:
Tell me, tell me, how it works
Just who lies within me?
I'm broken, broken in the midst of this world
But you're smiling, blind to it all

I'm broken anyway, so I halt my breath
Not even the truth can unravel, no not even the truth. Even reality freezes.
I'm breakable, unbreakable; going insane, unable to lose my mind
I've found you

I'm standing here in a twisted, shaking world. I'm empty and cannot be seen.
Please don't find me...don't look at me.
In this world that someone else imagined, I just don't want to hurt you.
So please remember me - my full, vivid self.

Entangled in the loneliness that fans out endlessly
Strung by the memory of smiling so innocently
I can't move, I can't unravel
I can't move, I can't unravel
I can't move, I can't move
Unravelling the world

I've completely changed; I can't change back
The two entwine; the couple disintegrates
I'm breakable, unbreakable; going insane, unable to lose my mind
I won't defile you

I'm standing here in a twisted, shaking world. I'm empty and cannot be seen.
Please don't find me...don't look at me
Before the future comes completely undone, caught in a pit of solitude set for me
Think back on who I was - my full, vivid self

Don't forget me. Don't forget me.
Don't forget me. Don't forget me.

The change has made me paralysed
In an immutable object paradise
So please just remember me

Tell me, tell me, is there someone inside of me?

     I know this is the worst segue ever, but now for some MBTI...as I scroll through Tumblr...on my phone.

5 Stages of INFJ Stress Levels
Level 1: Ruffled
    I lose my train of though. My words come out huffy and bumbled. I get a little hot and mad that I'm sounding semi-incoherent. My face may flush.

Level 2: Frazzled
     My desk is messy. Or maybe it's my car. Or, my closet. Some place in my bedroom. My bed is unmade. I have this nagging feeling that something is undone or unchecked. I'm slightly less patient than normal and slightly sharper with my words. My hair is somewhat out of place. I'm hurrying a little bit more than usual.

Level 3: Stressed
     I'm behind on my chores. Behind on my paperwork. Behind on everything. I've got headaches, or back pain. My stress is internalised and it's manifesting physically. I'm tired. There's no hiding my shortness of temper now. I'm cross and it shows.

Level 4: Really Stressed
     I'm exhausted. I'm in bed. I'm overtly and overly sensitive. I'm either not talking to you, crying and immobile or I'm tearing you to shreds with my unguarded, obviously angry words. I'm putting off everything I need to do, in denial of the impending due date. In exchange, I'm neat-freak-cleaning at 2am, organising shoes and doing all the little things I've been putting off for months. I'm in super "DON'T TOUCH THAT" mode. Don't touch that. Don't touch me. Don't look at me. Don't breathe too loudly. Why are you breathing the same air as I am? GO. A.WAY.

Level 5: My Whole World is Ending
     Total internal/external destruction. My guard is down. My hair is down. My altruistic nature has calloused and my heart is seared. My intensity has become my propensity and my once empathetic spirit has ceased to exist. At this point, I honestly couldn't care less. I'm indulging in every immoral pleasure that this world has to offer, consequences be damned and it makes me sick to my stomach. This INFJ will combust in 5...4...3...2...And the world is worse off for it.

MBTI Conversation Starter Pack
ISFJ: "How was your day?"
*Frowns* *Irritated glare* "Okay, I guess. And I suppose I should ask "How's yours?""*Rolls eyes*

ISTP: "Sup. Good."
*Smirks* "Good. Sup." I like this person. Cool, laid-back, not pretentiously polite.

INFJ: "How are you?" *stares into your soul as they already know the answer*
Yeah, I suppose I rarely ask such questions while expecting an answer. I do so for a reaction, or to keep to social norms.

ENFJ: "I saw you earlier but i was on my way to the Women's Advocate lunch. Omigosh there was this person...People say they're feminist but then they do X, it's so disgustingly hypocritical! ...How have you been!"
*Weird stare* Did I ask this bloody bloke to narrate his day to me? Do I look like I care? ...Hypocritical...everyone is hypocritical e.g. you saying that someone else is hypocritical. *Forced smile* "I'm great."

ESFJ: *To an introvert* "Come on! You have to talk to me! How's school going?!"
"Tch...can you not be so loud and excited? It's okay." *Sideways stare as I walk away*

ESFP: "Hi! *starts singing badly and loudly to Taylor Swift* *runs into a wall for comedic effect*
*Pretends that I didn't notice ESFP's presence and walks away as fast as possible*

ISTJ: *to ESFP* "What are you doing?"
"Good question. I have no idea." *Nods and walks away*

ENFP: "Hey! *executes secret handshake with completely stranger*"
*Resists the urge to smirk in amusement* Loud, but rather adorable in that weird way...rather like an overly excited dog.

INTJ: *Is getting odd looks from doing ENFP's handshake so well* "What...?"
"Nobody expects us to be friends with an ENFP is "what", except I think mine is more believable." *Shrugs* "See you around, bro."

ISFP: *Is oblivious to the awkwardness* "Hey, we should have a secret handshake! Ready?"
*Hisses* "Hey, drop it. Don't patronise INTJ anymore. He's already being judged!"

ESTJ: "Hi! Did you get that job you applied for?"
"Yes. Obviously."

ENTJ: "Yes, but I turned it down because I got an interview for presidency."
*Snorts* "Show off." *Secretly very impressed*

INTP: "Lol. There was this Obama thing on the internet..."
*Stops in interest* ....... "Oh, you mean ___. I saw that already." *Loses interest and leaves*

INFP: "Would you like to hear this poem about ___?"
"......Hello to you too. Sure, if you want to." Just because I don't want to deal with your depressed expression if I don't.

ENTP: "No, but..." *Going into another heated argument* *ISFJ leaves, crying*
Sighhh... "Dude, did you have to? By the way, if we follow the thinking that ____, you are actually wrong." *Glares* "Hmph, admit it, I win."

ESTP: *turns to ENTP* *Everyone else leaves, crying*
*Stares in amusement* The brainless jock vs the cheeky ass who won't stop arguing? Hmmmm~

MBTI and Knowledge for It's Own Sake
ESTP: Does it relate to what I'm currently doing? Is it about people or events?
Power is knowledge, my friend. It may not be related now, but it could be important in the future.

ESTJ: I know many extremely practical things.
Oh, would you like me to hire you then? *Smirks* Practical knowledge is better used for application.

ESFP: I like (or am bored) that *you* know these things.
And I suppose that's because you are dumb as hell and have never thought about it? Yeah, though so.

ESFJ: Can I use it?
Again...why does practicality matter so much to Sensing types? I know it is what defines them, but see the link between theory and practice, for goodness sake!

ENTP: I am a sponge and I think deeply about everything I soak up.
And that is incredibly attractive in a person, I must admit. Someone who is able to converse with wit and intelligence about everything, with his own opinion. Again, I don't want to be given a link to a document...I know Google too, thanks.

ENTJ: I have to learn everything for my plan.
Then I'll learn everything to ruin it...if I don't already know.

ENFP: Learning, yay!
*Raises an eyebrow* Hmmm...you are interested? So, did you know that penicillin is made from fungi and that you can treat fungal infections with fungi antibiotics? And did you know about the Marshmallow Test? *Continues to no end*

ENFJ: Mad respect.
*Huffs* Of course.

ISTP: Educating yourself is good self-improvement.
I agree, but you don't seem to like some of my more theoretical knowledge though.

ISTJ: More things I know, more there is to know.
That's what's beautiful about knowledge. You continue growing infinitely.

ISFP: Knowledge and theory translated into artistic expression.
That's impressive. I respect people who can focus knowledge into one area of passion and develop a niche. I just tend to know a whole bunch of random stuff.

ISFJ: I value smarts in people, but I'd rather be practical.
But have you thought about how ___, maybe it's because ___ but that I read that ___ *Completely aware that the ISFJ is lost/does not care, but continues anyway*

INTP: The world fills me with wonder.
Me too, INTP, me too.

INTJ: I have a theory and an experiment to prove it.
Oh? Please tell. I would like to refine it by argument before you test it out.

INFP: Cool! i like absorbing new information, but I'm not devoted to uncovering it myself.
Really? Are you not curious about why ___ is ___? I read __, __ and __ about it, but I think it's more a combination of all that and it's really ___ but I can't exactly prove it.

INFJ: I have to learn a lot to back up the intuitive leaps I make.
And that is why I love my type. Intuitive with no logical backup pushes my curiosity to search for rationality.

NFs/NTs in the MBTI Community
ENFJ: On a therapeutic mission, answers EVERYTHING patiently.
You know what's wrong with even the most typical of ENFJs? They are too BORING. Patient? I love pushing people's limits and teasing them. These people will take my verbal beating, take it to heart and then not even give me a funny reaction. Fucking annoying.

INFJ: Cutest klutz with the weirdest posts. Learns code.
I do know HTML coding, from doing blogging. Also, define "weird". "weird" is something you don't understand, and thus it is knowledge. Bitch, I win.

ENFP: Ne-ing all over the place, multi-fandom expert
My go-to blogs for finding fan pictures then. Love you guys.

INFP: Klutzier than the INFJs, but in pastel colours, also: best replies
Klutzier than INFJs? That's like walking-into-walls-every-second kind of klutzy!

ENTJ: Types everything and everyone, has a clean template
*Raises hand guiltily* I tend to type people too, easier to get a vague understanding first.

INTJ: Trying to figure out the cognitive functions (surprise!)
*Fist bump* We should be best friends then! Did I mention I really do like the company of INTJs, the stereotypical ones?

ENTP: Random conversations with fellow ENTPs and ENFPs.
Awww...these people won't talk to us, sigh. I guess they rather instigate an argument in real life then. It's better since I'll get to see the look of defeat when I inevitably win.

INTP: Has no particular objective, but casually gathers tons of useless meme knowledge.
Memes are cool!

MBTI and Language
Prefers to know a lot of languages in a medium level: ESFJ, ENTP, ESFP, ISFP
That's really cool! I'm impressed by people who know a lot of languages, but it's not very practical to know a lot at a medium level, is it?

Prefers to know a few languages in a high level: ISFJ, INFP, ESTJ, INFJ, ENTJ
Yup! I would like to pick up German or something after As. Would really be cool, useful and fascinating to learn.

Prefers body language: ENFP, ESTP, ENFJ
....Back to the stone-age you go then...*sneers* ...uneducated cavemen.

Prefers communicating in binary system: INTP, ISTP, ISTJ, INTJ
That's pretty cool! I don't know anything about binary...maybe I should try a little.

Horror Anime/Manga #1: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

     This is probably the Top 3 of horror mangas and while the anime counterpart cannot match up at all, even that is pretty scary. The anime is less thorough than the manga and because of the not-so-good art and bright colours, it significantly reduces the effect of the general atmosphere. Higurashi is a typical Japanese psychological horror and a lot of the fear you feel comes from the atmosphere and how screwed up everything seems. The colours ruin the atmosphere while the bad art takes away attention from what's happening.

     For the sake of this post, I will be talking about the manga instead of the anime. I haven't gotten past episode 3 of the anime because, after reading through the manga, the anime feels like a complete joke. The manga managed to make me cry while reading it, because it is that scary but I want to know what's going on. I was just bored during the anime because I knew what was coming and, like I said, it's no where as scary.

The Manga in General

     It is impossible for me to talk about this manga without any spoilers, so if you are interested in watching the anime or reading the manga, DO NOT read beyond this point. However, if you have already read it and don't understand it, or you don't plan to read it and you just want to know about the storyline, then please continue.

     The entire manga revolves around a few elements:

1. Unknown Mental Illness:

     The manga makes use of a fictional mental illness that is actually an exaggeration of an actual disease. The village of Hinamizawa is plagued by an illness known as the Hinamizawa syndrome, which develops only in people who descended from inhabitants of the village. The illness results in paranoia and anxiety, which can force the person to commit strange and violent acts, including suicide. The symptoms of this disease are an amalgamation of real symptoms of real-life disease, including clawing one's throat due to the sensation of insects crawling under their skin. Such a sensation is a real symptom called formication.

     One of the main issues of this disease is that it is an unknown disease, discovered by a single scientist, whose death resulted in her adopted daughter pursuing further research undercover. As a result, no one in the village knows about the disease but this woman. In fact, the people in the village believe that the disease is a curse of a demon named Oyashiro-sama, who is also the deity of the village.

     Such beliefs and the paranoia they create lead to the worsening of the disease, which progresses in stages. There are altogether 5 stages in the disease:

Level One and Two: Weakest levels; almost all villagers and residents of Hinamizawa are infected, although they are at the lower stages of either L1 or L2. The syndrome does not cause apparent changes until its later stages. This indicates that the entire village is highly unstable and will easily grow hostile from any stress or anxiety, such as the dam project. Some more than others, like Keiichi, are susceptible to simple paranoia and stress, which has been shown to activate the syndrome.

Level Three: Beginning at L3, the mental condition of the patient will start to deteriorate and they become mentally and emotionally unstable.

Level Four: Paranoia and hallucinations start to appear surrounding the onset of L4. 

Level Five: Strongest level; this is when people began to hear "Oyashiro-sama's footsteps" and patients are known to start clawing at their own flesh. In some cases, there is a previous psychological motive that serves as a catalyst for the scratching. For example, Ryuuga Rena hallucinated that her wrist and neck were infested by maggots because of a previous belief that her blood from her mother consisted of maggots. This is an example of extreme formication. Formication is when a person suffers from the sensation that insects are crawling under their skin and scratches intensively either remove the imaginary parasite or simply end the pain. It is a real symptom to certain sexually-transmitted diseases. Formication occurs in real life due to excessive use of amphetamines, suggesting the police station's wondering of whether Keiichi used narcotics as a provocative of his suicide in the first arc. There are several mistakes on the characters' views on the formication properties of the syndrome. 

2. Question and Answer Arcs

     The manga is structured in a question-answer arc format. The entire manga consists of many different arcs, each with about 10 chapters. For a first-time reader, the order may be confusing, but basically, you start with the first question arc, followed by its corresponding answer arc. Each pair of arcs end with multiple deaths and one main murderer.

     In the question arc, things are often very confusing. It is mostly written from the murderer's point-of-view and how he/she sees the world as he/she succumbs to the disease that is unknowingly worsening inside them. Extremely paranoia coupled with hallucinations lead the character to commit several killings, in the perception that they are delivering justice or preserving their own lives against a threat. None of the question arcs end pleasantly, as for example, in the first arc, Keiichi, the main male protagonist, hallucinates being followed by Oyashiro-sama and ends up clawing out his own throat.

     The answer arc aims to shed light to the horrific experiences in the question arc. They are either written from a third person's point-of-view, or a clearer indication of the disease worsening. Of course, until the last few arcs, you, the reader, isn't even aware of the disease. In fact, I was persuaded that there was actually an Oyashiro-sama.

3. Confusing Order that Slowly Makes Sense

     In the end, you are given insight to a certain character's inner thoughts...the most secretive and suspicious character of the series. She isn't suspicious in the sense of hostility, but it's just weird. Each pair of arcs start from the same moment, each following a different murderer as he/she goes mad. However, this particular character has moments where she reveals to the reader that she is aware of the happenings of the previous arc. It creates a feeling like these arcs are related and are not just random.

     The final chapter reveals that this girl, the shrine maiden to the shrine to Oyashiro-sama, in fact has "Oyashiro-sama" inside her conscience. The Oyashiro-sama is actually a girl, named Hanyuu, who repeatedly reverts time to the same point over and over, hoping to get the village past a certain date. And that date becomes obvious as you read on, because all the inhabitants of the village seem to eventually reach death by a certain day.

     Through the different characters, you see that while time is reversed every time, they somehow retain part of their memories of their previous life. It is an unconscious thing, but the most traumatic part of their own madness is remembered. For example, Shion, who is the most notable character due to her annihilation of the entire village, doesn't remember exactly what happened in the timeline when she was the murderer. However, the younger sister of her crush, Satoko, who she murdered in spite in the previous timeline, becomes the object of her protectiveness in following arcs. She does not remember what she did to the girl, but she feels like it is important to protect her. Why? Because the moment she killed the girl was when her madness fell into the deepest stages. All the characters do the same, especially Keiichi, who has flashbacks to previous arcs.

      Each time, the characters do something different, seemingly becoming able to proceed beyond that certain date. However, something goes wrong and everyone dies once more. That "something" that went wrong is corrected in the next pair of arcs until the final arc - "Matsuribayashi-hen" - which finally has a resolution where everyone proceeds beyond the date, along with "Oyashiro-sama", affectionately now known as Hanyuu. This arc was particularly scary because as Hanyuu takes a human form, she loses the ability to revert time and this arc is the final chance to get things right.

4. Answers Come at the End

     In the final answer arc, the first few chapters reveals the true antagonist of the plot. What I love about this manga is that, it makes you sympathise with the antagonist. What she ended up doing was horrible, but you can see why she became who she is. The antagonist is Takano Miyo, who plays a supporting role in most arcs. 

     It is revealed that as a child, her name was Tanashi Miyoko, a girl from a humble family with loving parents. One day, as her parents took the train to work, a horrible incident happened and while her mother died, her father was hospitalised. When she visited her father, it is shown how the entire hospital was filled with blood and dying people. As she laid her eyes on her father, she realised how his arm was gone from the accident, the arm that he used to pat her head lovingly with. In front of her eyes, she watched as her father died from blood loss as the doctors were too busy to attend to him. Before she died, her father gave her a number of her father's old professor, because with his death, she had no other relatives or caretaker.

     Due to her age, the police sent her to an orphanage. When she arrived, everyone was under the impression that it was a beautiful and nice orphanage but the moment the police left, she was slapped across the cheek by the caretaker. Looking into the windows behind her, she saw the hollow eyes of the other children. It turns out that the orphanage was something worse than even a concentration camp. The smallest mistakes, like not writing down a line of notes, earned the children punishments so horrible, it's probably part of Chinese torture methods. Even then, Miyoko found hope in one of her dorm mates, whose bravery and intelligence led to her formation of a plan to escape the orphanage.

     However, the plan failed and all the children were captured. The leader of the plan, the one Miyoko admired with her life, was thrown into a chicken coop, pinned to the ground with food sprinkled on top of her. Miyoko was made to watch as the chicken pecked her to death, showing a gruesome scene where one of the chickens pecked out her eyeballs while she was still alive. The light of hope gone, Miyoko was brought to do her own punishment - cleaning the filthy bathroom toilet with her tongue. The caretaker forced her face into the toilet and made her lick up the filth, an image and experience burned permanently into her mind.

     Thankfully while making her escape with the other children, Miyoko had came across a phonebooth and called the number her father had given her. She was thrown into the sewers after her punishment, left to rot, but the professor, Takano Hifumi, arrived just in time with the police to save her and take her under her care. By then, Miyoko was so broken that she thought everything in the world wanted to hurt her and could not eat without throwing up in memory of her punishment. However, under Hifumi's care, she finally regained purpose and a light in her life.

     Her pain does not end there. Renamed Takano Miyo and taken in as Hifumi's grand-daughter, she was witness to his slow decline. Hifumi was a researcher, passionate on solving the Hinamizawa Syndrome and wanting to offer a cure for the disease. However, his research was not acknowledged, due to the lack of evidence and his stress slowly pushed him to death. Alone once more, her mind twisted beyond recognition from the suffering in her life, Takano Miyo travels to Hinamizawa, determined to continue her saviour's research.

     It is her manipulation in Hinamizawa that exacerbated the growth of the disease. By planting seeds of paranoia and doubt within the minds of the villagers, she hoped to gain more dead bodies to cut up so that she may research the disease. Her desperation and twisted mind together drove her to commit even more atrocities when she realised that dead samples of the disease was useless to her. Instead, she kidnapped villagers and forced her surgeon to cut up their brains as they were still alive to obtain a fresh sample. She manipulated the entire village, including Keiichi and his crew, and was the ultimate cause of death in all the different arcs.

     In one the last arcs, Keiichi and his gang come close to unravelling the truth, but was cut short when Takano Miyo orders soldiers to emit poisonous gas throughout the whole village, killing them. However, in the final arc and final scene, she is taken to justice and the series comes to an end.

     The storyline of Higurashi is extremely complex and every detail is written superbly. The name of the manga translates to "When the Cicadas Cry" because the village is known for its cicadas during the summer. It is also the season when the date of death comes and each death accompanied with the cries of the cicada. The entire atmosphere of the manga, along with the psychological horror and unique plot makes the manga difficult to put down. Not to mention that I'm the type of person who refuses to let things go until I get my answer. I cried many times out of fear and had an entire month of curling up into a ball and sleeping with the lights, but it was worth it, I suppose. Even at the end of the manga, there is a sense of uneasiness, because I can truly feel pity for Miyo and what she has been through. 

     Also, the series has amazing music that sheds light very well on what the series is about. You may notice the lack of pictures in this post...it's because the first few images brought back such unpleasant memories that I couldn't stand looking at the pictures anymore. I'm a coward, okay?

1. Higurashi Opening 1

     From the very first line, "Behind where I looked back (who's in the front?)", the song reveals the kind of paranoia that comes with the manga. It's not "who's in the back", but "who's in the front". It's a subtle difference, but the weirdness of the direction and the picture of someone looking back while fearing something in front creates 1. the idea of a demonic spirit - appearing suddenly in front of someone 2. disorientation and confusion 3. extreme paranoia. 

     The second line, "I raised my claws at the darkness (and ripped the night apart)" reveals the point-of-view of each murderer. "Darkness" because they themselves are very confused and the hallucinations have "blinded" them. They raise their claws at the darkness in self-defense, and ripped something harmless, like the night, apart. This is how the murderers felt. They were trying to defend themselves but as they came back to consciousness, they realise in horror that they have killed innocents.

      Not trying to do a line-by-line analysis, so I'll just mention one last one. "The voice that was coming from the animal trail where the cicadas cry is no more." This one has many references. One, the animal trail refers to the location where the main character, Keiichi, commits one of the weirdest moments. He kills someone, hides the body, but returns to see that it's not there anymore. The voice can also refer to the murderer's voice, a reference to how Keiichi claws out his throat and loses his voice and life. Yet another one could be the voice of "Oyashiro-sama" and the notion that the voice disappeared could be the relief in the murderer's heart when death meets them and the voices they hear finally disappear.

2. Higurashi Opening 2

      In the anime, the second opening is used for the revelation arcs and it's very appropriate. I'm not going to do another lyric analysis. Still, I must mention that I love the chorus, which shows very appropriate the desperation with which the characters and Hanyuu (Oyashiro-sama) want to get past that one date. Again and again the characters relive the same timeline, only to die each time. And finally, they unravel the plot and earn the ability to continue living.

3. Dear You Original Version

      Almost all the characters have their own versions of Dear You, but I like the original the most. This is written from the perspective of Shion, the character who went mad and murdered everyone else. Her motivation was the lost of her crush, who had returned her feelings, but left the village and never returned. The truth was that he had succumbed to the illness, but no one in the village was aware. The lies piled upon lies built her paranoia, even subverting the promise she made to him - to protect his younger sister while he was gone. Instead, in that arc, Shion killed his sister and regretted it immensely, only to return in future arcs to become very protective of her. Truly cute couple, really.