Need we warns ye that there be:

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Arg!

This first episode of the first season of the new series opens directly into the first scene without opening title or music. "Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni" sung by Eiko Shimamiya enters as the final scene concludes and plays during the credits. The incidental music consists of work from the previous series released in the original soundtrack. Unlike the first season of the original series, there is no poetic statement spoken by Furude Rika in her Adult Voice or scenes from the next episode. There is a final scene, and this episode has previews. Finally, there are no clear breaks for the commercials.

A bloody aluminum bats falls, spraying blood on a male student's white shirt hanging on a coat hanger as well as the ceiling. A silhouetted boy kneels as he beats the body of a girl in a room. A great deal of blood has sprayed from her body on the wall and window. In the foreground, there appears a body of another girl. The boy pauses to scratch at his neck sufficiently to draw blood. He then resumes his bludgeoning as the scene shows the outside of his house at night.

After a simple title, the scene opens with the same view of the house in daylight. Maebara Keiichi awakens in his room then makes his way to his window, which he opens to reveal a view of Hinamizawa.

In a kitchen, Ryūgū Rena sings to herself as she cooks breakfast.

In her room, Sonozaki Mion fixes her ponytail as she kneels in front of a mirror.

In another house, a calendar reveals the date to be Friday, June 10, 1983. Dressed in her school uniform, Furude Rika stares at the calendar with a sad expression. Hōjō Satoko enters the room behind her, notices her expression, and asks her what is wrong. Rika quickly turns and changes her expression to happiness as she denies that anything is wrong, concluding with a "Nipaa!"

Keiichi methodically consumes his breakfast. Off screen, his mother congratulates him for not skipping a breakfast since they moved to Hinamizawa. She then reminds him that it is about time for him to meet "Rena-chan." He looks at the clock, sees it change to 7:30 A.M., and quickly leaves while thanking his mother for breakfast.

Outside near a sign post directing toward Hinamizawa, Rena waits dutifully. She turns, blushing in excitement, to greet "Keiichi-kun." Acting cool, Keiichi walks past her asking why she always comes so early: "You can sleep in every now and then, you know." Rena sheepishly suggests that he would have to wait for her. Keiichi retorts that he would not wait for her; Rena whines that she always waits for him. Still playing cool, Keiichi claims that he would ditch her if she were late. Rena meekly asks why he is always so mean to her. Keiichi brightens and admits that he is just joking and would not abandon her. Blushing, Rena thanks him, and Keiichi continues that no matter how long it takes, he would wait for her. She repeats his vow and utters her first ''Haū~! ''

A seemingly irritated Mion waits at the water wheel. She brightens and calls out that the two took their time arriving. Keiichi happily retorts that she always takes her time. Mion mockingly greets "Kei-chan" after a long absence. He protests that he has only been gone for two days. Laughing it off, Mion asks him how his trip back to home was for him. He explains that he attended a funeral which made him busy the entire time. She presses close to him and asks if he had time to look for the Western game catalog. He reminds her he was busy, she mockingly expresses disappointment, and Rena giggles as the scene shifts to the Hinamizawa Branch School.

At the door to their classroom, Mion suddenly stops when she realizes that there are thumb tacks in the door handle. She laughs then dramatically offers Keiichi to enter first. He equally dramatically orders the confused Rena to stand back since "she" is at it again. When she starts to identify the person, Keiichi, dramatically, interrupts to point at a blackboard eraser wedged in the door so as to fall on the person opening it: "Could this be any more obvious, Hōjō Satoko?!" Keiichi quickly concludes that this is a set-up for a more elaborate trap as he notes that it is a simple eraser without any rocks in it. Mion genially asks if he means like the one that hit his head on his first day of school. When Rena asks why he does not just open the door and let the eraser harmlessly fall, Keiichi retorts that that is just what Satoko wants him to do. Searching the side of the door, he finds, and dramatically theatrically removes, a long strip of tape with thumb tacks adhered to it.

Triumphant, he safely opens the door, and the eraser harmlessly falls to the floor before he enters the room. Less triumphant, he trips over the rope to land face-first in an ink stone.

Younger students chatting and reading stop and look in his direction with the sound of his impact. As he lays on the floor grousing, two legs appear in front of him, and Satoko's voice rhetorically asks what they have here. She formally greets him, then asks if he is causing a disturbance so early. When he accuses her of setting traps, she protests that she has no idea what he is talking about. Next to her, Rika stands smiling. When he tries to stand he finds his knee hurts. Rika gently pats his head commanding his pain to go away. This sight sends Rena into Cute Mode.

Keiichi greets Rika as a good child, unlike other children. Satoko apes offended protest, but Keiichi grabs her by her kerchief and threatens her with a forehead flick. Satoko starts to cry over his threats of brutalizing her. This causes Keiichi to let her go. Rika pats her and tells her to bear up and promises that the next trap she lays for Keiichi will be even better. Seeing this causes Cute Mode Rena advance to Take Home Mode. Mion gently asks her not to.

The calendar shows Sunday, June 12, 1983.

Outside, Mion apologizes to Keiichi for bothering him on a Sunday. Keiichi declines it since Mion plans to take him on a tour of Hinamizawa. He then asks where Rena is, given she is never late. Mion suggests that since she said she is making lunch for him, she is probably giving it her all. She then slyly "hopes" that Rena does not go too far. The scene wipes to a formally wrapped box in the hands of Rena who apologizes for being late. Looking at the size of the box, Mion playfully demands that Keiichi "take responsibility" for it since it is his fault. Picking up on this, Keiichi solemly vows he will, seeing that he is a man. Somewhat clueless and embarrassed, Rena repeatedly asks for what he will take responsibility.

The scene shifts to the three walking down the main road of the village with Keiichi dutifully carrying the box and Rena's large bag. They eventually make their way to the very long and steep steps of the Furude Shrine. When they reach the grounds, Rena explains that it is the Furude Shrine, and Mion adds that in six days it will host a festival. Brushing away his sweat, Keiichi finds it strange to hold a festival at this time. Mion explains that the Watanagashi Festival celebrates the end of winter.

Rena spreads out a sumptuous and vast repast. Mion whispers to Keiich that he must make sure to eat it all lest he suffer the consequences for making Rena cry. "As a man," Keiichi vows to do his best but does admit that it is a lot of food. He is interrupted by the voice of Satoko asking what is happening. Keiichi slyly responds that they plan to eat Rena's picnic. After some banter, Keiichi invites Rika to sit next to him while trying to exclude the now upset Satoko. When Rena invites her to join, Keiichi declares they he will eat all of the food, which leads to Satoko to start crying to Rika. Rika happily hands her some chopsticks, which brightens Satoko. She plops herself down next to Keiichi, pushing him to the side with her posterior. She begins greedily eating, to which Keiichi protests. Mion sighs and notes that Keiichi is good at bringing people together. The rest begin to join in as Satoko and Keiichi fight over pieces of food.

After the picnic, Mion takes her leave of Keiichi and Rena at the water wheel. As the two walk together, Rena thanks him for spending the day with her. When she asks him if he enjoyed the day, he admits that he almost wishes that it wouldn't end. Rena takes the opportunity to ask if they can stop somewhere.

With the c ry of the higurashi and the sunset, the two reach a large dump. Excited, Rena wonders what she will find, then descends quickly to a vast pile. Keiichi muses about her wanting to go to a pile of trash, but Rena corrects him that to her it is a "pile of treasure." When he stumbles trying to follow her, Rena tells him to wait as she runs about looking for something cute. Keiichi lies back exhausted, looking up at the sky, when he is startled by footsteps belonging to a man dressed in semi-military attire taking his picture. The man identifies himself as Tomitake, a freelance photographer. He asks Keiichi if he is from Hinamizawa, since he only comes by the village periodically. The wary Keiichi scolds him for taking a person's picture without permission. Jirō assures him that he is mainly interested in birds, and he does not ask them for permission. He laughs at his own joke, but Keiichi does not respond. The awkwardness is broken by Rena calling to Keiichi to announce that she is done. When Jirō asks what she could be looking for, Keiichi tries to cooly joke that she may be looking for a dismembered corpse.

Jirō does not share the laugh, and Keiichi quickly explains that he was only joking. Jirō looks at him and remarks on what a grisly incident it was. He then adds that he heard that "one of his arms is still missing."

Keiichi is stunned, and the higurashi  c ry.

The scene shifts to a close up of Keiichi's sweating face. He slowly asks Jirō to repeat what he said. Before Jirō can respond, a happy Rena appears thanking him for waiting. She apologizes for making him wait, then sees Jirō and formally greets him with a "good evening." Jirō returns the greeting, then turns to Keiichi and states that he does not want to get in the way of the two. He turns as he apologizes to Keiichi for scaring him.

Keiichi watches him leave. Rena interrupts his thoughts by saying his name, and Keiichi quickly brightens and asks her if she found any buried treasure. She bubbles that she did: a "Kenta-kun" statue and quickly moves from Cute Mode to Take Home Mode. When Keiichi tells her it is fine for her to do so, she sadly observes that it is stuck and it is getting dark. Keiichi happily promises to help her later as repayment for the lunch she made. This sends Rena into another happy transition from Cute to Take Home Mode. However, Keiichi's mind is preoccupied with Jirō's allusions to the "grisly incident."

He asks Rena if something happened a while ago. Still in her Cute Mode, Rena chirps that a dam was planned to be constructed. Keiichi asks her if something happened at the construction site such as an accident or other sort of incident, but Rena severely responds that she does not know. This startles Keiichi, but Rena quickly returns to her Cute Mode and explains that she only moved to Hinamizawa a year ago. Though she happily explains that this is the reason that she does not know things, Keiichi remains a bit disturbed as the higurashi  c ry.

The calendar shows Monday, June 13, 1983. Kaieda rings the bell, and young students happily run from the classroom. In the classroom, Mion address the group of Satoko, Rika, Rena, and Keiichi. While the "applicant" came in last, she is happy to report that he showed incredible promise during his evaluation game. As president of The Club, she officially welcomes Keiichi. He solemnly accepts. Mion asks him if he is prepared to suffer the consequence. Keiichi protests that he was embarrassed playing the card game. Rena reminds him that since he lost, he must face the penalty.

Keiichi rages over the embarrassment he suffered, including Mion using a "torture device" on his face. Mion genially asks if by that he means the magic marker she holds. Keiichi continues his complaint that it has permanent ink. He laments that his mother caught him trying to remove it from his face, so she should have some sympathy. Satoko scolds him for being so dramatic. Rika walks up to him and pats him on the head as Rena transitions into Cute Mode. Keiich sighs and asks what game they will play. Mion suggests a scavenger hunt. Keiichi makes a determined grunt.

The scene shifts to Keiichi running through the school halls searching madly for the object Mion hid. A flashback reveals that Mion chose to hide the magic marker. Since she is not playing, Keiichi asks if there will be a penalty game. Mion offers that if he finds it first, he may draw on her face. Returning to current time, Keiich opens many cabinets and lockers. One contains a large box with a heart on it. Another contains baseball equipment. Frustrated, Keiichi tells himself to keep his cool. He rationalizes that Mion wants anyone but him to find it. He reasons, as he walks through a storage area, that she hid it someplace he does not know about yet. He discovers and surprises Rena. He remarks that he expects she will not let him win; Rena responds by stating the Second Rule of The Club.

As they stand regarding one another, Satoko and Rika rush by apologizing. They are running towards the marker. Rika nearly reaches it first, but Satoko pulls a rope that releases pans on Rika's head.

Satoko triumphantly grabs the marker and declares victory.

Back in the classroom, Satoko continues to gloat over the sheepish Rika. When Mion gently advises Satoko that she has gloated enough, Rika suddenly brightens, accepts her defeat, and declares that she is not mad at all.

She reaches into a locker, which Keiichi previously searched, to produce a box with a heart on it. She presents it to Satoko as a present for her victory. Satoko happily accepts it. Rika's "Nipaa" enchants her until Rika presses a button on the side of the box, it flips open, and a boxing glove with an "K" and "O" on it springs out to punch Satoko in the face and sent her flying backwards. As she lands, Rika lets out a satisfied "Mii."

Satoko rises from the floor asking what happened. Keiichi calmly suggests, "Satako. Face." She has a large "KO" on her face. She quickly rushes to a window and realizes what happened. Rika happily explains that she brought it in to fight back against her traps. Mion suggests that she is no match for Rika.

Rena, however, simply stares ahead. When Mion tries to get her attention, and Keiichi steps towards her concerned, she quickly apologizes and suggests that all of the fun wore her out. When Keiichi asks her if she is fine, she brightly replies that she will go to the nurse's office to rest then return home. She then looks sad and concerned as she wonders what will happen to "Kenta-kun." Keiichi tells her not to worry since he will help her once she feels better. Rena smiles and walks away. Rika, Satoko, and Mion watch her with concern. Satoko then happily announces that she will go wash her face since it will be embarrassing to be seen in public. After she leaves, Mion tells Keiichi that she guesses that is it for the day.

The scene shifts to outside. Mion asks, "Kenta-kun statue," as she walks with Keiichi. She muses that it is the sort of thing that would attract Rena. Keiichi interrupts her to ask about the dam construction site, specifically, if something happened a few years ago. Mion excitedly responds that it did: "A war, practically." She describes demands, protests, and sit-ins to halt the project. Keiichi agrees that a dam that would destroy the village would provoke a fight. Mion continues that when the government flunkies realized bribes would not work, they turned nasty. Keiichi admits that he is surprised the village won against the government. Mion explains that the mayor and other important people from the village signed petitions, then went to Tōkyō to strike a deal that halted the project. Mion laughs as she describes the "sweet victory" won by the village.

Keiichi remains concerned. He asks that there was not any violence, such as no one having been assaulted or murdered.

Mion stops and darkly responds with an emphatic, "it did not."

Her reaction startles him, but Mion quickly turns bright and bids him farewell until the next day at the water wheel. As she runs off, Keiichi stares at her.

The calendar reads, "Tuesday, June 14, 1983." Rain falls from the clouds on Hinamizawa. The calendar then reads "Wednesday, June 15, 1983."

Keiichi arrives at the dump at sunset to find Rena digging. He greets her, but she slowly rises, turns, then happily asks him why he is there. With dramatic flare, Keiichi salutes and states that he received word of an emergency and rushed to the scene. This confuses and concerns Rena, but Keiichi clarifies that it is was a report of a Kenta-kun statue buried deep. Blushing, but smiling, Rena claims that he scared her. Keiichi apologizes but reminds her of his promise to help her. This sends Rena into Cute Mode.

Keiichi works his way to Rena and asks her to show him where the statue is. He starts trying to remove objects and quickly works up a sweat. After some time, he states he wishes they had an axe. When Rena tells him it is fine, he insists that she wants it. However, he does lie on his back and insists on taking a break. Rena quickly states that she will rush home and bring back some barely tea.

Keiichi watches as the sunset sky turns dark. He finally gets up, looks around, and finds a stack of magazines. He recalls Jirō's comment, "one of his arms is still missing." He walks over to the magazine as "Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni" begins to play. He discovers one with a headline reporting that a dam worker was murdered and dismembered. As he proceeds to read the article, the higurashi  c ry; Rena stands some distance away looking at him as she holds an axe.

Her expression is one of sadness.

The scene pulls away from Rena to reveal Rika standing looking down at her with a shocked, frightened expression, and blazing eyes.

As a first episode of the new series, with its arc based on the arc of the first sound novel, there are numerous "referbacks" to that arc and others. There will also be "referforwards" to subsequent arcs as well as other arcs of this series, some of which are also based on previous arcs. Without spoiling the series – Arg! – a few, with an Official Sonozaki Mion Ohagi to those who understand the references:

Preview of Next Episode: