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Higurashi When They Cry.
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Overview

Kuraudo Ooishi (大石 蔵人 Ooishi Kuraudo) is a detective from the Okinomiya police department who is investigating Oyashiro-sama's Curse and aims to solve the deaths related to it before he retires.

Profile[]

Residents who have been in contact with Ooishi have disappeared due to Oyashiro-sama's curse, so he's known as "Oyashiro-sama's messenger" and is feared...

(Translated from the 07th Expansion website.)

A veteran detective who is trying to uncover the truth behind the serial cases of mysterious deaths that occur every year in Hinamizawa. He's working hard to try to solve this case before he retires, but there are a lot of villagers who resent the fact that he's investigating this case.

(From the Gou website.)

Appearance[]

Ooishi is a rotund middle-aged man with gray hair. He wears a black shirt with yellow pants, a red tie and red suspenders. He carries a jacket with him everywhere he goes but never seems to wear it.

Personality[]

Ooishi has pride and duty in his job as a police officer, wanting to do all he can to solve the curse of Oyashiro-sama before it's too late. His determination leads him to overstep his boundaries at times where he gets rough with people he interviews.

Ooishi has a habit of chuckling where he says "Nfufufu".

Background[]

Ooishi's father died in World War II during an air raid. After the war ended, the young Ooishi worked as a policeman and was responsible for arresting people trying to buy rice illegally. While chasing after a culprit one night, Ooishi was hit by another, older man that resembled Ooishi's father so much that he stopped running. Ooishi and the old man would then develop a close relationship, with Ooishi seeing him as a secondary father.[3] The old man eventually became the manager for the Hinamizawa Dam Project.

Ooishi was involved in rescuing the Minister of Construction's grandson in 1978 alongside Mamoru Akasaka, believing the Sonozaki family had a hand in it. In 1979, when the dam manager was killed and dismembered on the night of Watanagashi, Ooishi became determined to solve his murder and avenge his death, becoming known by the villagers as "Oyashiro-sama's messenger" due to him interviewing curse victims shortly before they died or disappeared. With Ooishi's mother growing old in 1983, Ooishi plans to retire and take care of her, but not before doing one last round of investigation.

Relationships[]

Overview[]

Keiichi Maebara[]

Keiichi and Ooishi become allies in many arcs, seemingly due to Keiichi being an outsider and therefore outside the loop of the mysterious incidents that occur in Hinamizawa annually.

Mion Sonozaki[]

Mion and Ooishi have an uneasy relationship due to Ooishi suspecting the Sonozakis of being behind every incident in the village. Mion and Ooishi will rarely cooperate when it benefits them, like in Tsumihoroboshi where they negotiate responsibility of finding Rena and resolve the "conspiracy" suggested by Takano's scrapbooks.

Akane Sonozaki[]

Although Akane and Ooishi rarely interact, Ooishi is not very fond of her due to longstanding hatred of the Sonozakis because of the dam war. In Matsuribayashi, they reconcile and start to play mahjong together.

Story[]

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Question Arcs[]

Onikakushi[]

Ooishi is first introduced. He interviews Keiichi regarding Tomitake's death, as they found his corpse on the side of the road with the names of Keiichi and his friends written on his shirt. Ooishi informs Keiichi of how Tomitake had apparently clawed his throat out and asks Keiichi to contact him if he learns any new info. Because of Keiichi's urban origins, Ooishi works closely with him in order to solve the mystery behind the curse. He later tells Keiichi of how Rena was previously institutionalized, how Satoko and Rika's family were all victims of Oyashiro-sama's curse, and the fact that all of the victims so far had some connection with his friends.

Keiichi confronts Mion about her family's involvement in the village. Mion is shocked by this, and while crying she curses Ooishi, saying that she showed him mercy this year because he was retiring, and that she should have killed him way back then.

During the chapter's climax, Ooishi suddenly gets a call from Keiichi, who ran to a phonebooth after being chased and is clawing his throat out while professing that Oyashiro-sama is real. Ooishi sends a police car to check up on him, and Keiichi is taken to the hospital where he later dies. Ooishi inspects his house to find the corpses of Rena and Mion. He also finds two notes written by Keiichi taped to the back of a clock, with signs that there was something else taped there. It is suspected that the two notes were originally one piece, but someone came in and ripped-off a section from the middle; Ooishi was later questioned, though he denied ever tampering with the note.

Watanagashi[]

While Keiichi and Mion are walking home from school, they bump into Ooishi, who introduces himself to Keiichi while making some casual conversation with Mion. However this time, it becomes much clearer that the two have a history, with Keiichi sensing that the two don't seem to like each other at all.

Ooishi has a similar role from the previous arc, calling Keiichi in order to trade information. In his last phone call to Keiichi, he reveals that Shion disappeared on the same day as the mayor. This leads Keiichi to figuring out the true culprit behind the recent disappearances.

The next day, Keiichi and Rena prepare to confront Mion for her crimes and run into Ooishi, who was waiting for Keiichi on his way to school. From this information Rena is able to discover Ooishi's true nature: He was planning on using Keiichi as an excuse to break into the Sonozaki main house, in the likely case that he went missing while under police supervision. Ooishi laughs, but he does not deny it. Both Rena and Keiichi see that Ooishi is willing to do anything to discover the truth that the Sonozaki Family is hiding, and leave the car insulting him. Ooishi says that they may not believe it, but he does not wish anything bad to happen to them if at all possible. Leaving them with these words, Rena and Keiichi go inside Mion's house.

During the epilogue, Ooishi visits Keiichi at the hospital, revealing that Mion was dead for over 24 hours when she stabbed Keiichi. Suspecting that Keiichi is hiding something, he interrogates him aggressively. Keiichi says he has no idea what he's talking about, and Ooishi leaves.

Tatarigoroshi[]

After seeing Satoko's state after being abused by her uncle. Keiichi is thinking about her while in front of the school gate. Ooishi soon arrives and asks to see Satoko. Keiichi somehow senses that Ooishi is bad news, and rudely asks him to leave. This angers Ooishi, causing him to press on Keiichi's shoulders until he's on his knees with pain. Irie interrupts Ooishi to help Keiichi, causing the detective to leave. Irie then reveals to Keiichi that Ooishi's been pestering Satoko for years, trying to get information out of her.

When Keiichi goes to check if Teppei's corpse is indeed where he buried it, Ooishi and several police officers suddenly appear. They coerce Keiichi to continue digging and soon finish the job for him, digging a big hole to find nothing. As Ooishi leaves, Keiichi curses him and wishes for him to die.

Later on, Keiichi takes Satoko to the Irie Clinic for treatment and overhears police officers saying that Ooishi and his assistant Kumagai have suddenly gone missing. Keiichi becomes convinced that he really did curse them to die.

Himatsubushi[]

In 1978, Mamoru Akasaka goes to Hinamizawa and cooperates with Ooishi to investigate the kidnapping of Toshiki Inugai, the Minister of Construction's grandson. Ooishi explains the Sonozakis' role amongst the Three Families and what the villagers are doing to sabotage the dam construction.

Ooishi and Akasaka have fun playing mahjong with friends, including the dam manager. The next day, Ooishi and Akasaka obtain Toshiki's wallet, which was turned over to the police department's lost and found. They determine it was found near Takatsudo, an abandoned area near Hinamizawa, and believe the kidnappers have taken him there. Ooishi and Akasaka gear up and successfully rescue the kid, though the kidnappers get away.

In 1985, Akasaka and Ooishi reunite and reminisce on the kidnapping incident. Ooishi explains how Rika was killed the day before the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, and Akasaka laments that he was told of her prophecy regarding the curse victims long ago but forgot about it. Ooishi and Akasaka decide to investigate what really happened during the Great Hinamizawa Disaster and publish their findings in a book titled "Higurashi - When They Cry".

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai[]

Meakashi[]

In 1982, Ooishi investigates the death of Tamae Houjou, the victim of the fourth year of Oyashiro-sama's curse. Irie claims he doesn't know who could have killed her, but Ooishi instinctively knows he's lying. Ooishi interviews Satoshi later that night for leads, but he doesn't know anything. Ooishi talks about how they tend to find things like the culprit's hair at crime scenes, which makes Satoshi nervous, and is excited to see what they find out.

Later, Ooishi runs into Satoshi and Shion on the street, unaware that Shion is disguised as Mion, and asks for Satoshi to come with him to the station to get his alibi for the festival. Shion believes that Satoshi killed his aunt and will confess to it if he gets taken by Ooishi, so she reveals that she is actually Mion's twin sister and was hanging out with Satoshi at a restaurant the entire time. Ooishi takes them both to the station and interrogates Satoshi himself, but learns nothing new.

Ooishi and Shion go to talk at a coffee shop where the detective asks for Satoshi's alibi for the previous day, as he's been missing since then. Ooishi believes that Satoshi did kill his aunt and left town with all his money, and that the Sonozakis didn't want Shion involved with a murder suspect. He thinks the Sonozakis forced Satoshi to leave town since they couldn't cover up the murder, but Shion refuses to believe that's true. Later, Ooishi tells Shion that someone confessed to Tamae's murder but he choked to death while in confinement. Ooishi believes this is just a ruse and asks to cooperate with Shion where she shares info on Satoshi's disappearance, but she refuses.

Ooishi does the same things he did in the Watanagashi arc. The credits show that as of 2004, he resides in Hokkaido.

Tsumihoroboshi[]

Ooishi investigates Tomitake's death on Watanagashi. The next day, Ooishi interviews Rena at school, as her name was written on Tomitake's shirt (as the result of a punishment game by the club). He also asks about Takano. Ooishi maintains regular contact with Rena and tells her about the 1979 kidnapping incident and the Sonozakis' supposed involvement.

Ooishi tells Rena that the Sonozaki Corps are on the move and that they're looking for her. Rena convinces him of a conspiracy led by the Three Families to spread a virus through the village, discovered by Takano and written in her scrapbooks. Ooishi promises to do what he can.

Ooishi tells Rena of Takano's autopsy report, saying that she was dead for 24 hours when she was found yet she was seen at the festival during that time. Rena believes a doppelganger replaced Takano then. When Ooishi hears that Kasai ordered the Sonozakis to find Rena, he sends police cars to watch over her house. In the meantime, Ooishi plans to raid Sonozaki facilities to crush the conspiracy.

Ooishi and some police officers meet Akane and other Sonozaki affiliates at a restaurant to clear up their misunderstandings. Akane presents other scrapbooks retrieved from Takano's home, revealing that they're just speculative fiction about Hinamizawa's past. Ooishi has trouble accepting he was made a fool of and leaves Kumagai to resolve the situation. The police agree to cancel their raids and obtain all of Takano's scrapbooks while the Sonozakis get responsibility for finding Rena.

Rena takes the school hostage, still wanting to uncover the conspiracy, and Ooishi and the police try to defuse the situation. Ooishi confirms that Keiichi is an unwilling accomplice while Rena still believes Ooishi is helping her stop the conspiracy. Keiichi is sent out with Rena's scrapbooks to give to the police, and Ooishi secretly gives him an earphone, a bug, and pepper spray.

Ooishi and the police discover that Rena's planning to blow up the school using gasoline. Ooishi becomes more desperate to resolve the situation, regretting that he fueled Rena's paranoia by telling her about Takano's autopsy, and Ootaka from prefectural headquarters appears and tries to take matters into his own hands. The police stall Ootaka while Keiichi manages to distract Rena and goes to disarm the egg timer on the school's roof. Ooishi sends the police to retrieve the hostages and get them to safety.

Years after the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, Akasaka and Ooishi reunite to investigate and publish their findings.

Minagoroshi[]

Ooishi meets the club at the toy store and shows them some mahjong tricks, getting on friendly terms with everyone. He brings along Akasaka, which makes Rika very happy.

When Satoko is taken back by Teppei, Rika calls Ooishi and asks for Akasaka's help, but the detective says he's on vacation with his wife. The club begins leading protests against the child consultation center to save Satoko, and Ooishi checks on their progress from time to time. After a few days, Ooishi informs Keiichi that he might want to ease up on the protests since the center acts like the yakuza at times, and if they listen to the club then other people will bring their cases to them. Ooishi says the center wants to ensure the protests are being done out of genuine concern for Satoko and not that they hate Teppei.

Keiichi manages to get the Three Families on his side and intensifies the protests. Ooishi informs him that they are now protesting without permission, and that the caretaker of the center building can dismiss clients disrupting service. As the crowd begins to disperse, some Sonozaki representatives show up and convince Ooishi that they have a legal right to protest here, and Ooishi lets them continue. Satoko ultimately calls for help from the center during their phone call, and the police arrest Teppei at home the second she says it. Ooishi had sent police there beforehand since Teppei was suspected of Rina's murder.

During the festival, Rika informs Ooishi that Tomitake and Takano may become the fifth year curse victims and says where Tomitake'a body will be found. Ooishi takes her words to heart and sends police to scout around the area. Later that night, Ooishi and Irie inspect Tomitake's corpse. The next day, Ooishi talks to Rika at school and explains what happened to Tomitake and Takano; they found Tomitake's body in the rice fields near Okinomiya, and Rika understands that the police car being where it was caused Tomitake's body to end up in a different spot than other worlds. Ooishi says that one of the cars they saw coming to Okinomiya that night was Takano's, and she was the only one in her car. Ooishi thinks Takano may be responsible for all this, mentioning a discrepancy in her autopsy regarding her time of death.

A few days later, Ooishi tells Rika that he still suspects Takano and is going to Gifu prefecture to get the complete result of her autopsy. Rika says she fears that someone is planning to kill her, and Ooishi sends some police officers to help her, not wanting to lose her cooperation. Ooishi calls Rika back later to confirm that Gifu made a mistake with Takano's autopsy, and they've placed a search warrant out for her.

Ooishi and Kumagai start driving to Rika's place from Gifu, and along the way they see some mysterious men doing electrical work at a telephone station (actually Mountain Dogs shutting off communications into Hinamizawa as part of Takano's plan). Ooishi talks to the group and doesn't buy that they're real electricians. He sends Kumagai to inform the police department but both of them are killed by snipers, their bodies and car disposed of.

Matsuribayashi[]

The Connecting Fragments section details Ooishi's investigation of the curse from 1979 to the present day, with his constant pestering of Satoko regarding the deaths of her parents.

Akasaka reunites with Ooishi in 1983 for an investigation he's conducting. Akasaka tells him of Rika's prophecy years ago, that she'll be killed in 1983, and Ooishi decides to cooperate with him. Ooishi and Akasaka meet Rika while she's with Tomitake and Irie, and they learn about Tokyo and Takano's involvement with the Mountain Dogs. Ooishi is asked to help stop Takano but he fears losing his job as a police officer and becoming unable to avenge his friend's murder. Hanyuu gives Ooishi time to make up his mind and will praise him no matter what he decision he makes. Ooishi confirms with Irie that the Sonozakis aren't behind the curse and feels relieved. Ooishi and other police later join in the club's plan to fake Rika's death, knowing his livelihood is at stake.

Ooishi buys some flowers to leave at the dam manager's grave and gives some parting words, only to see Akane and Shion doing the same thing. Ooishi learns that even Oryou makes ohagi every year for the manager, and he and Akane reminisce on the past and begin to be friends. Akane asks if he can provide another parking ticket that she ripped earlier, but he just tells her to go to the police station for a new one.

At the police station, Ooishi plants the false info that Rika's been dead for more than 48 hours when he hears Ootaka's showing up, thinking he's been bribed by the enemy. Ootaka asks to attend Rika's autopsy but Ooishi says he has no jurisdiction here and that they're doing their best. Ooishi refuses to let Ootaka pass, having the fate of 2000 villagers in his hands, and flips Ootaka to the ground when he tries to move past him. Ootaka tries again to get past him but Ooishi throws him some more times. Ootaka then claims he was sent by Representative Sonozaki to check Rika's corpse, however the man himself is right there in person with Akane. Akane and Rep. Sonozaki drag Ootaka away, as they have never once heard of him. The 48-hour operation is ultimately a success.

Ooishi and Akane start to play mahjnog together in the future, the detective having calmed down a lot.

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "作品紹介 — ひぐらしのなく頃に" on the Official 07th Expansion website https://07th-expansion.net/hig_gensaku
  3. Matsuribyashi Connecting Fragments: The old guy
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