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The Beginning (ハジマリ Hajimari) is the first episode of the Higurashi When They Cry anime adaptation and the beginning of Onikakushi.

Synopsis[]


"At the time, the cries of the higurashi were unbelievably loud,
 And now that I think about it,
 They may have been trying to tell me
 Of everything that was about to begin...
 Of everything that would happen..."

...The year of Shouwa 58, early in the summer.

Amidst the isolated village known as Hinamizawa, Keiichi Maebara spends his days uneventfully.
Having just transferred in from a metropolis, he becomes a part of a tight-knit group of friends—comprising of Rena, who accompanies him to school every morning, and Mion, Satoko, and Rika, who paint the town red with a determined approach towards games, and starts to build a happy life for himself.

On one such day, after a coincidental encounter with a cameraman, he becomes privy to a mysterious death which took place at that very village...


『あの時うるさい程に鳴いていたひぐらしは、
 今にして思えば、
 これから始まる全ての事を
 教えようとしていたのかもしれない…
 これからおこる全ての事を…』


…昭和58年初夏。

山奥の寒村・雛見沢村にて、前原圭一はごくありふれた毎日を過ごしていた。
都会から引っ越してきたばかりの圭一だったが、毎朝一緒に登校してくれるレナや、ゲームに真剣に興じる魅音・沙都子・梨花ら仲良しグループのおかげで、楽しい日常を築き始めていた。

そんなある日、圭一は偶然会ったカメラマンの男性から、村にまつわる怪死事件の存在を知る…

Plot Summary[]

First Half[]

Higu06 ep1 intro

June 1983. A boy beats a girl to death with a baseball bat, spraying blood all over the room. Another girl is shown dead on the ground.

Keiichi Maebara wakes up and eats breakfast. As he prepares to leave, his mom asks him to thank Rena for the pickles. Keiichi heads out and narrates that it's been one month since he moved to Hinamizawa. He meets Rena Ryuugu at their usual meetup spot and walks with her to school. As they make small talk, Keiichi thanks her for the pickles. They soon meet another girl Mion Sonozaki ahead. Mion jokes that it's been a long time since she last saw Keiichi, and he says he was only gone two days for a funeral.

At school, Keiichi narrates that their school is small, and has mixed ages and grades, about fifteen students total. There's only one teacher. Keiichi sometimes teaches Rena and Mion in her place.

The principal rings the bell for break to begin. Rena and Mion praise Keiichi for his teaching, much to his tiredness. Rena asks if he has plans tomorrow, and Mion mentions Keiichi still doesn't know his way around the village. Rena says they'll show him around Hinamizawa on a walk. Keiichi is excited to go out with Rena alone tomorrow, much to Mion's chagrin.

Higu06 ep1 furude shrine

Rena and Mion show Keiichi the Furude Shrine and explain there will be a festival held there during the next break. Rena puts out a picnic blanket and spreads out her bentos. Two girls then appear, who Keiichi recognizes as Satoko Houjou and Rika Furude; two of his other classmates and underclassmen. Satoko asks why they're spreading out a picnic blanket on someone's front yard, and Keiichi angrily states the shrine is public. Rika voices agreement, and she and Satoko join the picnic.

Later that day, Mion heads home and separates from Rena and Keiichi. Keiichi says he had a lot of fun and doesn't feel like going home yet, so Rena asks him to come with her somewhere close by. They head to a garbage dump, which Keiichi is confused by. Rena happily says this place is actually a treasure hunting spot and goes down to inspect a new mountain. Keiichi tries to follow and trips, and Rena tells him to stay there while she explores.

Higu06 ep1 keiichi and tomitake

As Keiichi relaxes, he sees a cameraman suddenly appear and gets up. The man apologizes for scaring him and introduces himself as Tomitake, a freelance photographer who sometimes comes to Hinamizawa. Rena calls out to Keiichi and says she's almost finished. Tomitake asks what she's doing, and Keiichi jokes that she's checking out a corpse she chopped up. Tomitake's expression turns grim as he ominously mentions it was a horrible crime, and they still haven't found one of the arms. Keiichi becomes shocked when he hears this.

Rena climbs back up the mountain, and Tomitake bids farewell. Keiichi is still shocked by Tomitake's message, and Rena snaps him out of it. Rena says she found a Kenta-kun doll in the garbage and wants to take it home. Keiichi says she can take it home just fine, but Rena says it's trapped under a pile of junk. Keiichi promises to help her dig it out as thanks for the lunch.

As Rena gushes over the thought of taking Kenta-kun home, Keiichi asks if any incidents happened there in the past. Rena says she heard they were building a dam but doesn't know much else. Keiichi then asks if something happened during construction, like an accident, and Rena suddenly says she doesn't know; she was living somewhere else until last year. A shadow falls on Rena's face as she says she doesn't know much about what happened before then.

Second Half[]

The next day, school ends. Mion announces that they'll be inviting Keiichi into their club. Rena, Satoko, and Rika agree to bring him in. Keiichi asks what the club is anyway, and Rika simply explains they play games. The club explain what all of the club rules are, and Mion decides they'll play Old Maid as the induction game. As a punishment game, first place can give last place orders.

Keiichi notices how worn out the cards are and wonders if the other members have memorized what each card is using them, and is shocked to see the answer on everyone's faces. Keiichi rises to the challenge anyway.

Higu06 ep1 marker

Keiichi loses several rounds. Rena says they should do an easier game, but Mion is sure he can take it. Mion pulls a card from Keiichi's hand confident of what it is, but is shocked when it's different. She realizes that Keiichi made new marks on the cards to trick her, and Keiichi laughs at his success. However, Keiichi is still in last place, and the club members hold him in place as Mion procures a marker and draws on his face.

Keiichi and Mion walk home and talk about Rena finding the Kenta-kun doll. Keiichi asks about the dam site and if anything happened there in the past, and Mion explains the government tried to evict Hinamizawa and build a dam. The villagers fought back and saved their home, with the village leader and several powerful people negotiating with the government and getting the plans withdrawn. Keiichi asks if there were any violent crimes like assault or murder because of it, and Mion suddenly stops walking and says there weren't any. Keiichi is surprised, and Mion becomes cheery again as she bids farewell and reminds him not to wash the marker off his face until he gets home.

At the garbage dump, Rena is working hard to dig out Kenta-kun but is getting nowhere. Keiichi shows up to offer his help. He sees where he;s buried and says they might need an axe to get him out, and Rena gets an idea and leaves. Keiichi searches around the dump and finds a stack of magazines, with Tomitake's words echoing in his mind. He finds an article talking about the murder of a Hinamizawa dam worker and how several people chopped his body into pieces, with one of the perpetrators missing. Keiichi thinks about what Rena and Mion said earlier and is shocked to learn an incident really did happen.

Keiichi narrates that the higurashi were probably a warning of the events to come. Rena walks along carrying an axe and with a smile on her face.

Next Episode Preview[]

English Japanese[1]
Can you believe in things you can see?

Can you believe in living?

Can you believe in me?


Higurashi When They Cry

Onikakushi-hen Part 2, "The Secret"


Can you believe it?

信じられるの?目に見えること。
信じられるの?息衝くこと。
信じられるの?私のこと

ひぐらしのなく頃に
鬼隠し編 其の弐
『隠しごと』

あなたは、信じられますか?

Comparisons to Source Material[]

This episode adapts Days 1 to 3 of the visual novel.

  • The anime omits Keiichi riding back to Hinamizawa by train after the funeral and hearing someone apologizing.
  • The anime omits Keiichi disarming a trap set by Satoko at school. Satoko and Rika's introductions are moved to during the picnic.
  • The anime omits much of Keiichi's tour of Hinamizawa and him meeting other villagers.
  • In the visual novel, Mion tells Keiichi about the dam project's cancellation at school. In the anime, this happens after Keiichi's punishment game, as he and Mion are walking home.
  • The anime omits Keiichi heading home after the punishment game and him wondering about meeting Tomitake again at the dump.
  • In the visual novel, when Rena leaves after Keiichi sees how buried Kenta-kun is, she says she's bringing him tea. In the anime, she doesn't say anything.

Voice Cast[]

Character Actor
Keiichi Maebara Soichiro Hoshi
Rena Ryuugu Mai Nakahara
Mion Sonozaki Satsuki Yukino
Satoko Houjou Mika Kanai
Rika Furude Yukari Tamura
Jirou Tomitake Toru Okawa
Aiko Maebara Naoko Matsui

References[]

External Links[]

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