Normally when covering Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Kai, AKA When They Cry: Kai, I talk about an entire arc in one post. Well, Mass Slaughter is eight episodes long, so welcome to part two! Let's start with a brief recap of what happened in the first four episodes: Rika is aware she's stuck in a neverending time loop of the same days over and over until her eventual murder. After around a hundred years of this, morale is in the dumps. Doesn't help that her invisible friend, the horned Hanyu, is a pretty big fatalist as well. Moping about the inescapable nature of fate to Keiichi, Rika is surprised when the boy stands up and forcibly changes how things are supposed to happen. Bolstered by new hope, she rallies her friends to save Satoko, her best friend who is trapped with an abusive uncle. And that's basically where we start this second half of episodes.
reincarnation
When They Cry: Kai – Season 2, Episodes 6-9
So far with When They Cry, an anime about kids trapped in a never-ending loop of death, the longest story arc has been Eye Opening with 6 episodes. I managed to cram all my thoughts into one big-ass post, but there was a real concern at the time about the overall length. Well, now we're in the second season, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Kai, AKA When They Cry: Kai, where the arcs' lengths varies all over the place. Reunion was just a single episode, while the arc I'm starting today--Mass Slaughter--is eight. That's absolutely too long for one post, so welcome to part 1! Expect the next several posts for the show to be broken up in similar ways for shorter reads and less stress on my end.
When They Cry: Kai – Season 2, Episodes 2-5
It's time once again to talk about Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Kai, AKA When They Cry: Kai, the second season/series. We've learned a bit about the time loops the main characters seem to be stuck in, but so many questions still remain. We know that one girl in the friend group--Rika Furude--is keenly aware she's trapped in these loops, remembering each and every one. What does it all mean? Why is the village of Hinamizawa trapped in this unending loop of misery and death? This arc, Disaster Awakening, does not answer those questions at all, but it does provide us some new answers! And also more questions. So many more questions...
When They Cry: Kai – Season 2, Episode 1
Welcome back to the ongoing recaps of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, AKA When They Cry! I had a slight hiccup in the schedule, but I've got the series all sorted out now up to season 3 thanks to a blu-ray collection! Just never ask me how much money I've sunk into this blog or I will cry. Anyway, after the Cat Killing Chapter special episode we are now officially in the second season, When They Cry: Kai, with "Kai" translating to something like "Solution." This series/season has a new opening in addition to a new name, and hopefully some new answers to all the questions I have after the first series/season. What kind of questions? What a great segue into a recap!
Lost Lake (2003)
I will admit that I have trouble deciding what to review here. I want to find the right balance between the extremes of "no one has ever seen this movie" and "everyone has seen this movie." I don't always do that well, as is the case with today's film, Lost Lake, which has only one watch on Letterboxed: my own (this is also the case for A Windigo Tale, a story of the trauma residential schools do, which is... sadly always relevant). No one has heard of this movie! Why should I take the time to talk about it? Well, how else are people going to learn about the sheer madness that is the alternate--and true--ending of this film?
When They Cry, Season 1 – Episodes 14-15
When we last left Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, AKA When They Cry, it was one of the more depressing things I've ever seen. Well, at least in anime form (but to be fair I haven't seen Grave of the Fireflies). Satoko's personal life is just a never-ending parade of misery, which makes her so far not dying at the end of these arcs (unless everyone in the town dies) sort of a mixed blessing. But the pattern of the show means this arc is about Rika, the other young girl who doesn't deserve this shit. What kind of story can be wrapped up in two episodes? Why, it's time for a flashback!
The Mummy Returns (2001)
I recently talked about the supposed trilogy pattern of "first is fine, second is superb, third is terrible," so it's interesting to watch a trilogy that breaks that pattern. 1999's The Mummy is a great movie that people love, while The Mummy Returns... exists.
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1972)
And we've come to the end of an era: the last Mummy film from Hammer Horror. On one hand it's been nice to watch these older films and see filmmaking techniques and decisions from years ago, but on the other hand Mummy Mondays are posts with the least amount of clicks. Like, out of EVERYTHING else. No judgment being passed, I can absolutely see why! But it will be nice next week when I start reviewing Mummy movies people have actually heard of.
The Gorgon (1964)
According to WordPress internal tracking, this is my 100th post! Huzzah! Sure, a number of those are “basic information” posts, but still! I’ve been at this for almost half a year now, so I think we can say this has been a successful experiment. And with that, we’re done! Thanks for coming, see you on my next flight of fancy!
The Mummy (1959)
The Universal Classic Monsters chapter of Mummy Mondays is over… Now it is time for Hammer Horror! This is the first The Mummy movie in color, and is the second of four movies titled The Mummy that I’ll be talking about (that’s actually why I included the year of release in the titles which I started this blog).
Chwineka Watches 