It all comes crashing down
What They Say:
The curse of the Watanagashi festival is in full effect this year. Keiichi confides in Mion and learns about the secrets beneath the Sonozaki mansion. But it’s already too late – the Cotton Deceiving chapter spirals to a horrific conclusion.
The Review
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Remember last episode when Rika said it was all over? Yeah… she wasn’t kidding. Almost immediately after her foreboding conversation with Keiichi, Rika has gone missing. The students search around the school for her, which leads to the infamous ladder scene with Keiichi and Mion. As paranoia begins to spread, Oyashiro-sama’s curse has taken hold of everyone’s minds. Satoko puts heavy suspicions on Keiichi, Mion speculates that Rika is carrying out the curse, and Keiichi’s guilty conscious ways heavy after visiting the shrine storehouse. The search party comes up empty-handed and everyone returns home for the day. Mion calls Keiichi asking to talk at her place – there’s no beating around the bush here, it’s time for K1 to fess up.
After a long stroll through the vast Sonozaki property, the two arrive at the mansion. Keiichi confesses to visiting the storehouse on the night of Watanagashi, but it seems Mion and many others are already well-aware. Despite his apology, the villagers are stringent about their traditions and want to see Keiichi punished. But Mion claims to be on Keiichi’s side, which leads to her revealing the secrets hidden beneath the Sonozaki residence. Last episode, Takano explained the gruesome traditions of Onigafuchi (the previous name of Hinamizawa village) and the purpose of those torture tools locked within the storehouse. But even in modern times, the ancient laws of Onigafuchi live on. Mion and Keiichi walk through the underground prison to a well-secured room in the back. Mion locks Keiichi in the saferoom, vouching to protect Keiichi from his assailants. As long as there are people who still want to carry out Oyashiro’s will, Mion is determined to defend the one she loves. With all the bad twists and turns of this arc, the one saving grace for Keiichi was giving Mion that doll.
The mysterious construction workers have made their presence known throughout this chapter, and now they were gathered at the Sonozaki mansion. At this point it’s shoot first, ask questions later – Mion loads a pistol and heads back to the surface. Keiichi miraculously breaks out of his prison cell but knocks himself unconscious trying to bust out of the heavy saferoom door. When Keiichi regains consciousness, he’s in police custody, as Oishi and the police force are mobilized outside of the Sonozaki residence. Some time passes and Keiichi is discharged from the hospital. Oishi tracks him down and updates him on the bewitching event that went down at the Sonozaki estate.
The worst-case scenario has come to fruition. Rika’s body was found in a septic tank at school, and both Mion and Satoko were killed at the mansion. Not only that, but Shion, the mayor, and the Sonozaki head were also found dead at the bottom of a well on the Sonozaki property. The weight of the world comes crashing down on Keiichi as he’s left in the aftermath. Where did it all go wrong? Who was he supposed to trust? Was Mion trying to protect Keiichi or was there something else going on? Was it even Mion in the first place? The Cotton-Deceiving chapter ends in a despairing fashion – with more questions on the table than ever before.
In Summary:
Oh boy, that was a lot to take in. There wasn’t even enough time to discern the Shion/Mion mystery before things spiraled out of control. The timeline will once again reset with episode nine, the Curse-Deceiving chapter. Will our protagonists come any closer to learning the truth, or will the wicked cycle continue to repeat itself?
Grade: A
Streamed By: Funimation
