The Great Hinamizawa Disaster

Synopsis[]

First Half[]

The conclusion to Yakusamashi-hen opens with a series of flashbacks to the previous episode, Rika sits on the window sill looking outside. Awake, Satoko looks up at her and says, "so it's true." In her Adult Voice, Rika tells her that she cannot do anything. The Stalking Man steps on the twig. Satoko continues remembering the man at the class window, then near a store, but she laments that no one will believe her. She asks "what should I do, Nii-Nii." She rises and sees Rika's bed is empty. She curls up scared and forces herself to close her eyes. Rika enters the room and stares at her for a moment, lowers her head, and she says in her Adult Voice that she is scared. Satoko opens her eyes and listens to Rika state, "Surely, it is unstoppable."

Recalling other times when she saw Rika cry, Satoko concludes that Rika has been frightened this entire time. She vows to save Rika. She then recalls learning of Irie's suicide at the Irie Clinic from Kumagai. After Satoko's tearful explanation of her appointment with Irie, the scene shifts to his murder at the hands of the Gray Uniformed Man next to a white van who cut a padlock.

The scene shift back during the night at Rika and Satoko's house. Satoko wakes up at midnight at a table and realizes that the police officer who was promised to stop by never came. Outside, a man triggers a noise maker connected to a tripwire. Satoko tries to wake Rika up, she opens her eyes, and Satoko tells her that there is a man.

Rika curiously slides open a door to a closet and jumps up on the shelf. She then pushes open a ceiling panel and orders Satoko to climb up through it quickly and hide. Satoko climbs up and looks back at Rika who instead of joining her jumps back down into their room. When she protests, Rika in her Adult Voice insists that she is "fine." Satoko continues to protest, but Rika, looking pained, tells Satoko that, "They're after me." She order Satoko to keep herself hidden no matter what happens.

Satoko insists that Rika join her. She hold out her hand, but Rika merely looks down. Returning to her Child Voice, she declares that she is "okay (大丈夫・ daijōbu)," and they will meet again soon. Four men in Gray Uniforms approach the house methodically. They storm the house, but Rika merely turns to look at them. Satoko can only listen inside the ceiling: "After her!" She makes the mistake of saying "Rika!" One of the men turns the closet, but his superior tells him to help secure Rika. Satoko can only cry and repeat Rika's name.

The four men run to the Furude Shrine with two of them are holding a body wrapped with sheets. They place it next to the saisen and approach it with knives.

Satoko eventually emerges from their house. Barefoot, she calls to and searches for Rika. There is the loud sound of crows. Satoko eventually makes her way to the shrine and discovers Rika's body, with her blood still flowing on the steps, being pecked at by crows. She screams. Her scream is heard by the four men who were about to enter their white van. They quickly run back. Satoko sees them running up the steps to the shrine and tries to flee. She runs frantically through the woods. One of the men tracks her with night-vision goggles. After a few trips and stumbles, she finds herself at the suspension bridge. She slowly makes her way across, but she sees the four men in close pursuit. She climbs underneath the bridge and tries to hide herself. As she shivers holding on to one of the cables, the man with the night-vision goggles scans the bridge but does not find her.

As they start to walk across, Satoko slips and just manages to grasp the lower portion of the bridge.

The men above hear the noise. As the horrified Satoko struggles to hold on, the men search with their knives drawn. Satoko slowly feels her grip slipping, but the men do leave. As she hangs, Satoko weakly calls out for someone to help her. As her fingers start to lose her grip, she ask "Why . . . Did this . . ." and falls into the river below. JSDF military trucks, barricaids, and soldiers block the entrance to Hinamizawa. A radio operator orders the complete blockage of all roads to Hinamizawa with special attention to prevent the passage of any media vehicles and that every ambulances needs to follow the orders from the JSDF.

Hurt, Satoko washes up on the bank of the river. She says "Rika" name when she comes to. With difficulty, she walks to the school to find it surrounded by military vehicles. All of the personel wear gas masks and protective clothing. She sees two leave a building with a wrapped body on a stretcher. At the classroom window, she sees a number of personel looking down. She staggers closer for a better view as sees a pile of bodies which includes Okamura and Tomita. In front of the pile lays Chie and Kaieda. One soldier examines a corpse while another takes notes. Satoko asks "Why?" Amongst the corpses are the village head Kimiyoshi and Oryō.

She scans over the pile of dead children until she finds Mion, Shion and Keiichi's corpses lying in front of the lockers. She falls to the ground shouting "No (いいえ・iie!)!" Three soldiers next to a truck with wrapped corpses inside hear her voice. Spotlights turns on on her, and one of the soldier shouts, "A survivor ! There's a survivor!" while another demands, "What (なに・Nani?)?" Numerous voices call to her and call for the "Relief Team" as she holds her head crying in shock.

Second Half[]

The higurashi cry outside a hospital. Inside, people watch the television that reports that at midnight toxic volcanic gas erupted to cause the deaths of potentially 2,000. For now the only confirmed survivor is Hōjō Satoko who was admitted to the district hospital. In the third consultation room, Ōishi argues with a doctor over why he cannot speak to her. The doctor replies that she seems to have suffered a serious emotional shock which has shut down her mind and left her temporarily unresponsive. Ōishi asks when she will become responsive. The doctor can only say that it depends on her own strength.

Satoko lays in her bed with an oxygen mask and her lifeless eyes open. Ōishi enters her room and closes the door behind him. He addresses her as "the only survivor of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster (雛見沢大災害・Hinamizawa Daisaigai)," and he admits that he has many questions for her. When she makes no response, he sighs, lowers his head, and says he will talk to her nonetheless.

From his bag, he produces a white cap with what appears to be a blood stain on it. He asks if she recognizes it, and he shows the inner band which has the name "Ryūgū" embroidered on it: "Indeed, it is the cap of your friend Ryūgū Rena-san. He tells her that the red stains are blood from the same group as Rena. "This is where it gets strange," he continues, the cap was found in the mountains some distance away from where the Great Hinamizawa Disaster started. A member of the JSDF found and gave it too him. Ōishi continues that he does not understand why the bloody cap of Rena was in place like that. He then mentions that her body has not been found. He pauses to see if she reacts which she does not. He continues that the Disaster happened late at night: "Why was she out in the mountains that late?" He tells Satoko that he thinks Rena's cap could be a message from her.

He confesses to her that he does not believe that the Disaster was due to volcanic gas. He rhetorically asks if Rena discovered the truth and tried to leave a message and escape. Satoko does not react. Ōishi continues to inform her that not only Rena, but about twenty other people are missing. The Disaster occurred at midnight and while most died in their beds, the bodies of these twenty people cannot be found. Rena hat was found in the mountains. Ōishi wonders what it all means. He laughs for a moment, then grabs Satoko's clothes and declares that, "This isn't a natural disaster!"

Ōishi Questions Satoko — **Not Shown:** bedside manner

He demands to know what happened, but Satoko does not respond. He finally sighs and lets go of her. He admits that, "That is what I wanted to say." He concludes that it seems impossible to speak to her.

A nurse enters to ask if anything is wrong. Ōishi laughs it off and then turns back to Satoko. He says he will return to discuss the murder of Rika. That statement causes Satoko's body to move. Ōishi announces this to the nurse; however, she dismisses it as a reflex. Disappointed, he still asks Satoko that if she remembers something to please tell him.

Carry On Nurse — **Also Not Shown:** bedside manner

He leaves thanking the nurse who then stares at Satoko. She stares at her for a moment. Walking outside the hospital, Ōishi laments that the series of mysterious deaths will remain a mystery forever. He looks back at the hospital, then continues walking away.

At the police station, Komiyama talks on the phone. Ōishi arrives and Komiyama asks where he was. Ōishi smiles and claims that it was a minor affair. Ōishi asks if anything new has happened. Komiyama answers no and adds that he cannot reach Kumagai. Komiyama rises and states he will check places that Kumagai may be. As Komiyama starts to leave, Ōishi stops him. He asks if Kumagai said anything before he disappeared. Komiyama responds that he did not. He walks a few more steps then remembers that Kumagai reported that he planned to go to the local police station over "something about Furude Rika." Ōishi stares with surprise at this revelation. He recalls in a flashback what he told Satoko about wanting to talk about her murder with her.

Ōishi suddenly realizes that Rika and Satoko lived together.

Ōishi States the Obvious — **Shown:** excellent police work.

Komiyama confirms this. Ōishi curses himself for not noticing this. He suggests to Komiyama that Satoko did not see the "Great Hinamizawa Disaster"; she saw Rika's murder. He runs down a corridor with Komiyama dutifully following.

Ōishi rushes back to the hospital. In the hospital a man lurks. In the car with the siren blaring, Komiyama asks why they do not continue the search for Kumagai. Ōishi declares that it can wait. In her room, Satoko suddenly opens her eyes. She gasps and remembers Ōishi talking to her about Rena's hat and his questions about what actually happened. She recalls running from the four Men in Grey Uniforms. She then imagines Rena also running in a forest. Rena is stopped and cornered by Men in Grey Uniforms. Two of them, who look like the ones who dissected Rika, produce the same knives. There is a scream, and Rena's hat falls into the river. Satoko lurches awake in her bed. She claims that she now understands (やっかた・yakkata). She understands Rena's message. She rings the bell for her nurse. The nurse, seeing the signal, clicks the button to silence it and walks away. Ōishi arrives and runs to her room just in time to find nurses rushing into it. He enters to see a doctor who rises and declares that she dies at 1:32 A.M. In response to Ōishi's protests, the doctor claims her condition "suddenly worsened," and he believes she died of "heart failure." Ōishi can only rage and fall to his knees pounding on the floor.

Teaser[]

Chibi Rika remarks that the accents of Hinamizawa are "quite strong."

Hanyū agrees and adds that since they do not interact with the outside much, they have some unusual sayings. To "Nippa~" is one example. Hanyū agrees that older people say they will just "Nippa~" something away. They introduce the next episodes as they suggest as they get older they will "Nippa~" away things.

Characters[]

In order of appearance

Hōjō Satoko
Furude Rika
Stalking Man (flashback)
Hōjō Satoshi (mentioned)
Kumagai Katsuya
Ōishi Kuraudo
Irie Kyōsuke (mentioned)
Four Unnamed Uniformed Men
JSDF Unnamed Operator
Various JSDF Soldiers
Children from the school (corpses)
Tomita Daiki (corpse)
Okamura Suguru (corpse)
Chie Rumiko (corpse)
Kaieda (corpse)
Kimiyoshi Kiichirō (corpse)
Sonozaki Oryō (corpse)
Sonozaki Mion (corpse)
Sonozaki Shion (corpse)
Maebara Keiichi (corpse)
People in a Hospital (unnamed)
A Newsreader (unnamed)
Ōishi Kuraudo
A Doctor (unnamed)
Ryūgū Rena (mentionned/flashback)
A Strange Nurse (unnamed)
Komiyama
Two Unnamed Nurses
A Strange Uniformed Man

Referbacks and Forwards[]

Satoko encounters Rika's body at a different time than in Apology of Tatarigoroshi-hen where she discovers her with Keiichi after learning of Irie's apparent suicide.
Satoko pushes Keiichi off the same bridge in Tatarigoroshi-hen. Unlike Satoko, Keiichi cannot hold on. Of course, Satoko did not have to contend with a Satoko jumping on the bridge! Both wonder the same thing: "How did this happen?"
Satoko's call for help is the same as her calls for her brother to help her.
What are all the students doing in school with their teacher and principle at midnight?