Furude Rika (古手 梨花) is ultimately the true main protagonist of the Higurashi no Na ku Koro ni series. She is the daughter of the late shinto priest of Hinamizawa. She is the current miko/kannushi, or shrine maiden/priestess, of the Furude Shrine, appearing in miko garb for her part of the Watanagashi Festival. She appears as the protagonist of Minagoroshi-hen.
Rika seems like little more than a secondary character for much of the first half of Higurashi. As the story progresses, however, viewers learn that she is actually at the heart of most of the strange events, as her death is the trigger for the Great Hinamizawa Disaster (excluding Wata naga shi-hen and Meakashi-hen) and following incidents. Despite only being killed five times on-screen, dialogue eventually confirms that she has been killed once for every arc (until Matsuribayashi-hen and Miotsukushi-hen) and all other unseen worlds.
The villagers of Hinamizawa hold Rika in high esteem, as not only is she the only daughter of the Furude clan, one of the three great houses of Hinamizawa, she is also believed to be the reincarnation of the local deity Oyashiro-sama. Although Rika is entitled to attend and have a voice in village meetings due to her family status, she is not required to attend because of her young age. She lives with her classmate and best friend, Hōjō Satoko, in a small house by the Furude Shrine.
In the third season of the anime, an adolescent Rika wears a school uniform shirt with the same crest Shion wears in Curse Deceiving Chapter Part Three of the same season's Tataridamashi-hen, which suggests that Rika eventually attends St. Lucia Academy. They will ultimately be confirmed. The first episode of that season's Nekodamashi-hen reveals that five years have passed since the events of Matsuri baya shi-hen in 1983.
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As a daughter of the Furude clan, Rika is thought to be a "Queen Carrier." Early theories on the Hinamizawa Syndrome hold that the Queen Carrier is a necessary part of the village's survival and without her, the villagers would go mad in 48 hours. This theory is disproved in Wata naga shi-hen, when Sonozaki Shion kills Rika, and in Me aka shi-hen, in which Rika commits suicide. In both instances, the villagers do not react and life for them goes on normally, even into the Heisei Era and past the year 2000, as shown by Me aka shi-hen' ' s endgame TIPS. The theory does seem to contain a grain of truth, though, because Ryūgū Rena went partially insane when she was under the stress of her parents' divorce while living in Ibaraki. However, when she returned to Hinamizawa, she went back to normal in every world shown in the series other than the Ayakashisenshi-hen, in which there are no clear backgrounds for any of the characters due to the wild difference between this world and every other world, such as Keiichi and Satoshi being together and Hanyū being a fairy of some sort, and Saikoroshi-hen, where the world was sinless, and Rena, who calls herself Reina, her given name, had never moved to Ibaraki and never suffered from Hinamizawa Syndrome.
However, some of the deference shown to Rika by the villagers may be an unconscious acknowledgement of her role as Queen Carrier. How exactly the status of Queen Carrier is handed down is unclear, though it appears that it is passed down through the females of the Furude clan. It is because of this inheritance that Takano Miyo pursues her as a research subject. Her parents refuse to allow Rika to be used in this manner, and in order to get her way, Takano is more than willing to get rid of them.
Rika's father dies after being drugged by the Yamainu, and Rika's mother was vivisected for being the Queen Carrier before Rika. Eventually, Takano decides that, after years of observing, she needs to kill the Queen Carrier as well. Rika's death is the pivot point for each of the scenarios of Higurashi; with her death, Takano can wipe out the entire village using the forces at her disposal, in order to "prevent" the "doomsday scenario" her grandfather predicted for the village, while at the same time achieving "god" status for her and her grandfather.
This is a current manga series which consists of two arcs being released simultaneously which both take place 35 years after the original story. In both, adult Rika is introduced recovering in the local hospital after a fall. The first, Oniokoshi-hen, indicates that she did not settle in Hinamizawa and has traveled widely. In her absence, volunteers perform her role in Watanagashi, and Satoko's daughter Sakiko attempts the dance without miko robes. Unlike the rest of the Gang who have individually married and have had children, Rika appears both single and without children. This being Higurashi, she is naturally found graphically murdered in her hospital bed. Stay tuned!
Rika has long, light indigo hair in a Hime cut, fitting her image as a Miko. Her eyes are slightly droopy with amethyst purple irises. She is petite, being slightly shorter than Satoko. On school days, Rika wears a white, short sleeved shirt with a pink bow, a dark gray skirt, suspenders, white, knee-high socks with frills at the top and blood colored Mary Jane shoes. On free days, she wears a green sundress, with a light green bow in the front and white sandals. During the Watanagashi Festival, she wears a traditional Miko uniform, complete with an ornate hoe topped with tassels.
Rika’s hair color is light indigo, but with a purplish tint that makes it look a solid purple. In the third season of the anime, Rika's irises assume a bright blazing-red tone when she assumes her adult persona at significant points. At the time of writing, she matriculates into St. Lucia Academy in 1988. She has grown taller and retains her Hime hairstyle. As for her vow regarding how she will develop, so to write, as described below, When They C ry Wiki will merely note that Hanyū-chan was correct.
In the first episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, Rika wears a pink triangle bikini with a tied up bow on the front between these two triangles, and the bottom of the bikini shows a kiddish shaped tied up with two bows in each hip. She has a warm yellow tube with coral pink polka dots for a texture.
Rika often seems wise and polite beyond her years. As a very young child during Himatsubushi-hen (which is set in June 1978), she predicted her own death in June 1983 to the visiting Akasaka Mamoru. Childish Rika has a tendency to speak using "cute" phrases; including sound effects and nonsense words such as "nipaa,"mii," cat sounds and saying "pachi pachi" (clap clap) while clapping her hands, all of which drives the cute loving Ryūgū Rena wild. To add to her cute and feminine manner, Rika seems to use her cute appearance to win some club games and she refers to herself with the pronoun "boku," which, although generally used by boys, is considered extremely cute when used by young Japanese girls. She does not address anyone with honorifics. In Japanese culture, this would be considered incredibly rude and even sometimes degrading, but being the Furude miko, no one seems to mind much. In the English translation of the manga, she addresses everyone, regardless of age or gender, as "sir," often ending her sentences with it. She enjoys drinking wine and eating spicy foods, to Hanyū's displeasure.
When revealing her True Personality, Rika's cuteness disappears, and she turns cynical, apathetic and more mature. She switches pronouns from "boku" to "watashi" and her voice drops to a grown woman's. This is clear in the anime where the same voice actress switches from a child to an adult's voice. In the Sound Novel and manga, she uses more mature language which other characters occasionally notice. Since this is the persona and voice Rika uses when thinking to herself, narrating events, and when speaking to Hanyū, it can be assumed it is her real personality, which she keeps under wraps to avoid scaring her friends. For example, in Matsuri baya shi-hen when she discusses with Hanyū her decision to take an active part in the world, Rika suggests that perhaps she is seeing Hanyū's true form. She has this conversation in her adult voice. Rika's second character song, S.A.G.A. ~Rinne no Hate ni~, is sung almost entirely with her True Personality. This personality is also blunt and occasionally rude to people including adults.
The first time her True Personality is shown is in Hima tsubu shi-hen when she warns Akasaka to go back to his wife and save her from dying. It appears that over the hundreds of worlds she has been through, Rika's True Personality has become understandably somewhat distorted and sly, as she seems to derive some pleasure out of insulting people, such as Akasaka, with the knowledge that she should not have and also Rena in Tsumihoroboshi-hen and Shion in Me aka shi-hen. It is also possible she has become jaded with the futility of her situation. It does seem clear that if she feels she is in a world that can only end in tragedy, she gives up trying to help characters and influence events. Thus in Minagoroshi-hen, she expresses extreme boredom and frustration participating in a game tournament she has played out innumerable times until Keiichi does something to change it. Frustrated with her failure to change the ultimate fate of the world in Watadamadamashi-hen, she castigates Keiichi in her Adult Voice. Similarly, in Saikoroshi-hen, she confesses to herself that she had alienated herself from her parents because she long ago gave up trying to save them. Rika used to resist her fate with much greater enthusiasm, but over time, she became mentally worn down and eventually resigned to her fate. As a result, she seems to have almost no interest in anything, as she has been through everything many times already, save for Mion's whimsical club activities, which seem to be one of her few pleasures in life, and she welcomes any kind of change, good or bad.
With the new third season, Rika appears to speak to Hanyū in a slightly older "Adolescent Voice" in keeping with her slightly older age. She uses this again when addressing her friends in Curse Deceiving Chapter Part Three. In that episode, she also uses her Adult Voice. As noted, she previously used her Adult Voice to castigate Keiichi over his failure to save their world. The significance of the different voices remains speculative.
In Saikoroshi-hen, Rika’s favorite drink is “Bernkasteler Lay” or “Bernkasteler Badstube,” the wine made in Germany from the Bernkasteler Vineyards, which is her father’s favorite brand of wine. She first used the wine glass and poured the wine in the glass, and also mixed with orange juice, and then she officially starts drinking the wine. As when Hanyū was there, Rika holds the wine with her favorite glass that shows flowers, and she talks about her tragic fate with Hanyū. Then Hanyū agreed with her, and after that, Rika holds her favorite food and shows it to Hanyū, which is super spicy ramen. Then she starts eating the ramen, Hanyū was going to be hot if Rika ate it all, so Rika wants to let Hanyū to shut her whiny mouth. And then Rika starts drinking the wine, but if Hanyū thinks that Rika drinks it too much, then Hanyū will definitely get sick, and then Rika says that the senses are linked.
The TIPS reveal that when her parents were still alive, she showed almost no emotion save only reacting to something unexpected. Her mother could not understand Rika, and the two develop a difficult relationship. In the manga version of Sai koro shi-hen, Rika recalls how her mother tried to teach her how to use knives in cooking and, having years' experience in previous lives, she decided to show off her skill which embarrasses and confuses her mother. Anecdotes from Rika's mother in Hima tsubu shi-hen describe a younger Rika as being very distant and bored during recess and school.
Rika similarly reveals her frustration with her situation. In one scene in Minagoroshi-hen Mina goro shi-hen, Rika gives vent to her frustration by listing what will happen and who will die. In both the manga and anime, she expresses her determination to mature beyond her "child's body" when she nearly falls trying to descend a ladder which includes her vow that her breasts will become bigger.
The manga uses this as comic relief in end pages where in one series she vows to the male characters who flock to Takano Miyo's ample assets that they will regret when she grows bigger than Takano's. Hanyū laughs and remarks that it does not work that way. In another set an adult Rika, in an obvious homage to the character who appears to the child Miyo in the conclusion to Matsuri baya shi-hen, laments her development.
However, despite her cold and callous personality, she still cares for her friends and most importantly Hanyū. She also cares for her mother, as shown in the conclusion of Sai koro shi-hen where she cries thinking she must have killed her mother to leave the parallel world.
Satoko is Rika's closest friend, and they have been living together since the death of Satoko's aunt. Satoko is usually the only one who can tell when Rika is upset, as well as the only one who is not fooled by her cute phrases that she uses to hide her true feelings. Like all of her friends, Rika tries to protect Satoko because she knows how much pain she has been through, especially since many villagers still shun Satoko for her parent's support of the dam project while at the same time they praise Rika at every opportunity. Rika was the only one besides Irie Kyōsuke and Takano that knows Satoko needs regular shots so she will not succumb to the Hinamizawa Syndrome; everyone else, including Satoko, believed that she was taking experimental medicine, until she reveals the truth to them in ''Minagoroshi-hen. ''
In the sinless world of Sai koro shi-hen, where none of the main tragedies of the series occur, Satoko bullies Rika, since the Rika in that world was infamously known in the school as the girl who used her cute mannerisms to exploit the boys who had a crush on her, most notably Tomita and Okamura, to get what she wanted. Because Satoko's and Rika's parents never died and Hōjō Satoshi did not disappear, she never got close to Rika like she does in every other timeline. It appears clear that Satoko bullies Rika frequently without the others intervening. When Rika finally snaps and starts beating Satoko with a chair, in her Adult Voice she informs Satoko that she held off reacting since she resembles a friend, she had but will now hurt her if she ever comes close to her again. This initiates an intervention where Satoshi and Mion make clear to Rika how her past behavior like a "princess" irritated other. Satoshi reveals that for her part, Satoko is stubborn but does want to become friends with Rika. Rena, who overheard one of Rika's discussions with Yamamoto, picks up on the suggestion of creating a game-playing club to bring them all together. Towards the end of the manga depiction, Satoko still stands apart from the group with a sour look towards Rika; however, the implication is left that she will start to join in.
In Outbreak, when the village is burning, Satoko finds Rika and tells her to escape with them as it is dangerous to stay in the village more long, however Rika refuses to leave as she has to observe if they can trust new people. As Satoko is carried away by Keichii, she tearfully tells her to come back one day. Due to this, Rika sheds a tear but encourages the club members to fight on.
Their relationship changes completely in the new third and fourth seasons of the anime. Ye readers be reminded that spoilers there be.
Arg.
The third season, Gō, occurs chronologically after the conclusion of the original second season and its concluding adaptation of Matsuribayashi-hen. However, Rika appears to find herself in an Onikakushi-hen-type time fragment. Gō eventually reveals that Rika decided to apply to St. Lucia Academy. With some argument, she convinces Satoko to join her in her dream. Satoko hates studying but works hard to succeed with Rika. However, once in the Academy, Satoko struggles and fails to keep up with the academic rigor, finds the formality stifling, and Rika abandons her in favor of new friends who share her rather snobbish sensibilities. For her part, Rika finds Satoko uncouth and unwilling to change to fit in with the Academy. Mion, now a college student with Keiichi and Rena, invites the two to return to Hinamizawa to reform their Club for one day for fun. While Satoko enjoys herself, she finds the changes in all of them and in Hinamizawa depressing. She is snatched away by a trap laid by Eua at the Shrine, and she gains the ability to loop like Rika but remember the circumstances of her death. Repeating of the "good end" of Matsuribayashi-hen results in Rika abandoning her at the Academy. Now knowing Rika's secret, Satoko chooses to experience all of the fragments that Rika lived through, and she determines to convince Rika to stay with her in Hinamizawa. Thus, Rika's new tragic arcs result from the efforts of Satoko.
In the fourth season, Sotsu, Rika remains devoted to Satoko in the time fragments that occur in June 1983. Satoko has grown obsessed with "winning" what she sees as a game to break Rika of her desire to leave Hinamizawa. In the last fragment, Rika discovers an inconsistency in Satoko's behavior, the test of which reveals that she is also a "looper." Satoko reveals her own Adult Voice then quickly kills her and then herself in front of the terrorized group. What follows is continuous sequence of the two fighting fatally across time fragments which even include events in St. Lucia's. In the process, both give vent to their frustrations with the other: Rika insists that Satoko can join her dream then blames her for failing to keep up her grades and fit in all the while insisting that she would help her; Satoko reminds her that she always was honest about her academic abilities and hatred of study while castigating Rika for breaking her promise to her and ultimately abandoning her. Nevertheless, between blows and recriminations, each insists to the other that she values her as a friend and wants to be friends. Eventually, Rika cuts Satoko's neck with her fragment, which then initiates a truly epic and rather colorful continuation of the two battling across fragments, with recriminations, with Satoko armed with the sword and Rika with the fragment. Nevertheless, neither appears willing to effectively end the existence of the other. By the end of that episode, the sword is mended, but the two struggles across time trying to gain control over it. Finally, Rika gains the upper hand on the suspension bridge, and Satoko invites her to kill her, adding that she is sure Rika will have friends she will value more. Rika hesitates, but ultimately opts not to permanently end Satoko, and to punch her repeatedly instead. They then resume their battle for quite a while.
While for much of the story arcs, their relationship appears somewhat vague, it becomes critical in the end. Rika not just respect him but likes Keiichi so much and the two become very close friends over the course of the story arcs. Rika comes to recognize him to be a critical part of her hope to escape her fate. Even in the early arcs which in retrospect Rika understands to be doomed worlds, she seems to care for Keiichi and often tries to protect him. In the later arcs, his actions that break patterns genuinely surprise her as it becomes clear that he seems to be the first individual that Rika has witnessed being able to remember events that took place in the other worlds. Keiichi, in return, also cares deeply for Rika, in particular her safety. In Higurashi no Na ku Koro ni Kira, Rika seems to have given him a nickname of her own calling him “KeiKei,” but at times when she is disappointed in him, as in Wata dama shi-hen when he did not see her dance and went with Shion to saiguden, she castigates him in her Adult Voice
In Outbreak, when the club members are about to leave, Keiichi makes Rika promise to stay alive till they return, to which Rika replies she will.
In Mio tsuku shi-hen, their relationship is further deepened. Rika is surprised by Keiichi's resolution to solve her friends' problems, and she is even more surprised as he is able to access the memories of various worlds to prevent tragedies. Rika learns about Keiichi's past and realizes that, unlike in other worlds, this Keiichi decided to solve his problems after Rika forgave his sins in Tsumi horobo shi-hen.
Rena and Rika are close friends since the start of the series. Rena often finds Rika cute and tries to "take her home." Rika likes Rena's friendly and innocent personality but is also aware of her serious demeanor having be a true believe in Oyashiro-sama 's curse, and her outrages from her past due to her parent's divorce. If need be, Rika would also try to protect her from relapsing into symptoms of the Hinamizawa Syndrome. As an example, in Tsumi horobo shi-hen around the time Rena was growing suspicious of supposed supernatural beings and unexplained followers following her every move, Rika came to her and offered her a solution. She tried to convince Rena to be injected with a supposed cure intended to make her feel better, but due to Rena's poisoned mind of mad suspicion, she refused and instead of further trying to convince her, Rika simply states that she had no more interest in the world because of her, and that she would hope things work better in the next world.
Although Rika has been known to act cold and rude towards her in arcs such as Tsumihoroboshi-hen, it is implied that she still deeply cares for her when saying such things and dislikes having the need to say them, mainly due to the fact that she's aware of the tragic events to come which will once again likely result in both their deaths. In Mina goro shi-hen, Rika was surprised to see Rena capable of seeing Hanyu even when she and their friends had all just died. She led Rika to realize that the reason they couldn't defeat fate within that world was because Hanyu wasn't believing, and if she'd have joined them instead of watching from the side, they might have stood a chance. Later in Matsuri baya shi-hen, Rika is confident in Rena's serious demeanor judging from the other worlds she's witnessed and knows for certain she would make a great ally in defeating Takano and the Yamainu army.
Rika is the only person able to see Hanyū for most of the series, as Hanyū does not appear to the viewer until Mina goro shi-hen and does not exist in the physical world until Matsuri baya shi-hen. Hanyū is something of Rika's "guardian angel" who has been with Rika since she was born. Since Rika is the eighth generation of first-born daughters and thus the true reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama, she is the only one who can normally see Hanyū in her goddess form. Even though she finds Hanyū annoying sometimes and punish her with wine and spicy food because the senses of the two are linked besides this Rika cares deeply about her. Rika is a constant reminder of Hanyū's own daughter, Furude Ōka, as mentioned in Kai, since both are very similar in appearance. As a result, Hanyū's motherly instinct often kicks in whenever Rika seeks help. In the resolution of the manga version of Matsuri baya shi-hen, Rika affectionately calls Hanyū "mother."
Akasaka is another person for whom Rika has the utmost respect since he is one of the few people to whom she has expressed her true self as well as has an emotional connection. She tries to warn him of his wife's and their unborn daughter's demise with futile results save for one occasion in Matsuri baya shi-hen where he greets her as his wife's savior. She in turn tearfully rushes up to hug Akasaka, genuinely happy to see him again. Akasaka in return, risks life and limb to protect Rika from Takano and the Yamainu Squad when they are out to kill her and her friends. The manga version of Matsuri baya shi-hen expands their relationship. Rika is able to visit Akasaka in a time fragment where he has lost his wife and child and knows he failed to save Rika. He has buried himself in his work and in practicing karate. Rika is able to contact this Akasaka and by an unexplained mechanism this becomes a "dream" for the Akasaka at the time of Matsuri baya shi-hen. Much later during the festival, she calls him "dad" in front of his wife and child – his wife somewhat playfully strangles him with her own ponytail asking if Rika is Akasaka's "love child" as the embarrassed Akasaka stammers explanations.
When in her cutesy persona at the meeting of the main families of Hinamizawa, she spends the time drawing a picture of her and Akasaka holding hands.
Rika Furude pt-br:Furude Rika