greengrungeemo: “We can start our life over as many times as we want!! We might make a lot of
greengrungeemo: “We can start our life over as many times as we want!! We might make a lot of mistakes and hurt ourselves, but that lets us become the people we want to be…! You fall once or twice in your life, but that’s life.” - Keiichi Maebara.I… admittedly completed this chapter sometime last month, but I needed a lot of time to process it. This will be a quick analysis on Higurashi When They Cry - Chapter 6. As strange as it is to say, this one may be my favorite one yet. I feel as though there was an incredible level of revelation in this. This analysis will contain spoilers!!—That being said, I strongly feel that Rena Ryuugu and Keiichi Maebara are heroes. Some may find that ridiculous, why would you? Some may feel there’s nothing special in them, or that they’re simply hormonal students. However, despite the overdramatized level of fiction in this chapter’s story, there is an underlying and intensely “real” element. Such as, losing yourself, losing your mental acuity, becoming delusional or losing touch with reality, to sin, to doubt, to lose trust in others who love you… to forgive. It’s a powerful message.We build connections expecting a level of perfection in others. I.E: To be my friend, you must meet my expectations, if you do A, B, or C, I will leave and find someone else. Fact of the matter is, we all sin and hurt ourselves and others, so why is there such standardized cruelty? When should we forgive, and when should we leave? When should we put ourselves in other people’s shoes, and when should we look after ourselves first and foremost?Even Rika Furude who is discovered to be almost divine in some way, a time keeper of sorts, a traveler of cosmos… she gave up on this world’s Rena. She notices Keiichi remembering his past life though, which is a huge development! (Side note: Rika is a proven badass as seen in that first screenshot!) Keiichi was also the one who boasted the true realization. The kind that forms goodness in oneself and others. He never gave up on the one that he loved. Let’s look at the facts, Rena, in her delusional state, traumatized Keiichi. She harshly brought up his past, and threatened to tell the rest of their friends of what he did. This was something Keiichi wanted to break free from, and it was a past he already deeply regretted. That trauma even gaslit him to feel as though he *needs* to confess and tell all of his friends. So he did. Mion, Satoko, and Rika all reacted accordingly. In short, “you can tell us whatever you need to, and we’ll listen - but you don’t need to reveal everything bad about you.” It’s true. If you’ve already grown from your past, you don’t need to bring it up with every new person you meet as a way to be transparent with your friendship. I’ve done precisely as Keiichi did, and my current friends all reacted the same way. They already see the grown version of me, so knowing about a past version of myself and all of the sins that I’ve done at that time - is unnecessary to know. I’m still glad I told them since it’s a way for me to continue building myself and to show them that I’m not infallible.That’s what this chapter had shown. Someone like Rena Ryuugu isn’t infallible either, she hid a lot of her inner struggles. She began experiencing delusions, and that is a VERY scary thing. You’re not mentally aligned with reality, and you lose a sense of self. Have you noticed that Rena’s inner dialogue begins pink in color, but changes its tone to a darker and darker red/orange? That represents her mental descendance. She chose to encounter this alone, since she didn’t think that she could rely on her friends. Thankfully, Keiichi helped her realize that he was her best friend on the planet, and her equal through and through. To do this for someone who’s losing themselves mentally, this means the world.The best scene is one I call, the battle of passion. A deadly battle to the death, a blunt weapon versus a bladed one. Two best friends, one focused and determined to rescue the other, and the other fully lost to the perils of their own mind and lack of sanity. Who wins?In it, they are fully focused on the battle at hand, and eventually, they become focused on each other. Rena realizes how much fun she’s having with Keiichi at that moment in time, and that realization helps her break free from her delusions. Why worry about what my mind is telling me, or what my obsessions/compulsions are pushing on me, when I can focus on the present moment with the one I love? That’s the mental seed that began to sprout anew for Rena, with Keiichi’s careful reinforcement as evidenced by their dialogue, “You know, I don’t think I even care about aliens or parasites anymore. If the world is going to perish, go ahead and perish. Who cares about the conspiracy of the Three Families, anyway?” Rena says. Keiichi reinforces with, “Hey, that’s the scenario you came up with, don’t forget. Come on, scratch your throat once in a while, at least!! Hey, I know, it doesn’t itch anymore, does it? It definitely doesn’t!!” This may seem like a form of manipulation at a glance, but in truth, it’s a helpful way of assisting someone out of their delusion. Keiichi knows this, and it works.Rena realizes that if she succeeds this battle to the death, it’s not fun if she wins. They even made winning conditions. If Keiichi wins, his perverted fantasy of having a Rena servant for the rest of his days comes true. If Rena wins, she kills Keiichi. She admits this to him. He’s a brilliant friend with how he talks her down next, she says, “…..Boo, boo. It’s not fun if I win.” He replies, “Then what do you want to change it? What do you want?”That’s all you need when you’re mentally lost. If the outcome is becoming something you don’t end up wanting, then what do you want in order to change it in a positive light? How will you change it? What steps do you need to take to do so?Rena brilliantly admits her wish, and it made me cry my eyes out. “You don’t have to be my maid. But the rest is the same. I want you to say ‘good morning’ to me every morning and ‘good night’ every night. I want you to treat me well and let me play around all the time.” It doesn’t take rocket science to ascertain what she means, as it appears to be an admission of her true love to him. It’s clear she romanticizes frequently, and I wholeheartedly believe Rena deserves a true love. She isn’t asking for much, either. To be treated well, and to feel loved.She finally overcomes her delusion and breaks free from it. She relinquishes her weapon and admits to Keiichi in the pale moonlight that she was wrong. As Keiichi mentioned himself, this takes an enormous amount of strength to do. It’s difficult to admit you were wrong, especially when the sin committed is one to feel especially ashamed of.Despite her massive sins, Keiichi saw the gleaming inner beauty that Rena Ryuugu possesses. Beyond her mental destruction, there’s so much beautiful characteristics that outshine all of that bad stuff. He realizes how valuable and special she is, so it would be stupid to not forgive and leave her behind. He put himself in her shoes, he forgave her, and he helped her realize that she’s beyond her delusions, kept her grounded, and got her back on her feet. That’s the ultimate friend. We all need a Keiichi in our lives, just like how we need a Rena in our lives. She’s perceptive, and knows what you’re thinking and feeling before you even admit it to her. He’s understanding and instantly empathizes with those he loves and springs into action to help.They both won. They are good people, and they are beyond their sins.Just like you reading this. You are beyond any mistake you’ve made, and if you regret it and reacted accordingly to it - built yourself up and grew from it. Learned from it and apologized genuinely for it… then there’s nothing to worry about. It took me over a year to realize everything in my life. What I had, what I’ve lost, what I’ve done wrong, who I hurt, how much I love them, and how I grew to prevent anything like that from happening again. I soared from my sins, and I pray and very much hope you do or have done as well. I broke free from my delusions as Rena had, and I strive to be someone as supportive as Keiichi was for her in that moment.Please forgive yourself. Please forgive others. Be sincerely gentle and caring, and that’s all there is to it. -- source link