A Psychoanalysis of Higurashi

If Higurashi were real, it would certainly generate interest in a great number of psychoanalysts and make Freud's curative diagnoses of patients a boring affair in comparison. And why not? Higurashi portrays the failing of the psychological person in so diverse a manner and in terms of intensity that it would be beyond the means of this post to cover its aspects comprehensively. Nevertheless i shall try.

In Jungian terms, all the characters suffer a failure of "individuation", the process of psychological maturity, which leds to regrettable circumstances. The collapse of the psyche and drive into derangement is accompanied by the breakdown of first the "superego" then the "ego". Lexically, the superego disintegrates first as the character is seized by paranoia and a nagging suspicion. Eventually, the case of schizophrenia becomes so bad that outward symptoms manifest on a more current basis; the character exhibits acts of aggression more frequently and the curbing influence of putting on a pretence is discarded eventually en route to full fledged violence. This is most exemplified in the case of the Shion arc, as her feelings of vengeance take on a character of its own, inducing her to afflict pain on all she incriminates and holds responsible for the death of her beloved Satoshi. In a most chilling end, she breaks down after her cold-blooded murder of Satoko, when she recalls Satoshi's last words to her: "Please take care of my little sister". Her self-righteous sense of justice which becomes increasingly warped and incomprehensible throws everyone around her into the pit of tragedy, which she falls into at the end. The same holds remarkably constant for her loli companions, all of whom, under extreme circumstances, manifest a disturbing side of humanity that shocks with its detached parades of sadism. A story in the mould of "Lord of the Flies", Higurashi uncovers the human potential for carnage that is so often suppressed under layers of conformity and deliberate reason which society sets up to protect against itself. Yet, as the 2nd season goes to show, there is always hope at the end, and once the in-fighting is directed against an external enemy, good gains ascendancy.

Higurashi no naku koro ni - An Analysis (Part 1) by: Loli Paizuri

Much of this animation is steeped in the concept of duality, somewhat like a dichotomy between light and dark, with the uneasy blurring of demarcation rearing several times throughout the series. A shocking anime in its own right, with no apparent precedent nor plausible successor in terms of brutality married with moeness, it is distinctive in that it contravenes mainstream anime’s unspoken laws by showing the mutilation and murder of girls by EACH OTHER. What is chilling about this is the cyclic nature of the series, which intersperses gore and grisly occurrences with typically innocent behaviors and mannerisms matched by no less kawaii characters to boot. The duality of human nature is skillfully played out through this scheme of playback and loop, which, like a magnifying glass, penetrates the externalities of everyday behavior in the first two episodes of each arc to highlight the deep insecurities and paranoia that are flashed out to viewers in gritty detail in the following episodes, before culminating in a “bad end” and moving back in time to explore the mental landscapes of other characters—in the first season.

The second season is inherently different due to its undertones of hope which serve as a contradistinction to the gloomy first installment, in a brilliant manner that again showcases the myriad levels of duality that permeate this work. Due to fatigue, I will probably stop at the (very) short thematic synopsis of duality- on the next post I will be providing a psychoanalysis of higurashi in general. Only, don’t expect too much from a 16 yr old student.