This arc is long. Obscenely long. Out of everything Ryukishi has ever written it is by far the longest, with only Umineko ch 4 and Ciconia phase 1 even coming close (both of those are still ~30k words shorter). Because of its length, it's difficult to properly discuss chapter 8 without falling into many of the same trappings that the chapter itself falls into. I think the best way to discuss this chapter is likely just going piece by piece, chronologically.

The first chunk of Matsuribayashi can largely be boiled down to Takano's backstory. I think it is incredibly well written and executed, and does an amazing job at making Takano endearing and sympathetic even after all she has done. My only complaint about this section is that it jumps back and forth between her childhood and adulthood with the adulthood sections being somewhat poorly paced and mired in a similar governmental slog that Minagoroshi had. I personally find the political aspects of Takano's backstory interesting, but it definitely drags down the pacing in an already incredibly long story. The backstory itself is beautiful though, and I love both the scene of her defying God as well as her entire time with Hifumi.

After Takano's backstory, the reader is dumped into the connecting fragments section, containing the only "gameplay" in Higurashi - having the player choose the proper order to view around 50 separate segments of backstory. I honestly love this section, but it undeniably crushes the pace of the arc by forcing the reader to jump around across 3-4 different mini story lines. However, one of the most interesting aspects of Matsuribayashi is how the main cast mostly takes a backseat, with their development having been completed in ch 7. This section really utilizes that to its fullest, and the development it gives to Takano, Oishi, Irie, Tomitake, and Satoshi all does an incredible job to make these characters significantly more endearing and sympathetic. Irie in particular had an amazing and complex backstory that massively improved his value as a character in my eyes. Even Tomitake, a character mostly unnotable and unimpressive in the prior arcs, becomes significantly more likeable and integral to the story.

The final segment of Matsuribayashi is structurally more in line with the prior arcs of Higurashi, and definitely has the most flaws. Although I love Hanyuu joining the club, it leads to a number of issues within the story. It's a little strange how easily she is just integrated into the club after only being "introduced" to them for about a week. I love it from the idea of her having always been there and watching, but so many times it just reminds me of "bro thinks he's on the team" or whatever. Shion doesn't even know her name later in the arc. I think this aspect is mostly excusable, but the sole worst decision in this arc was having Rika just completely forget Minagoroshi and everything she learned from it. It's completely needless and just snatches away Rika's character development in order to have Hanyuu help her to believe. Although I think it is interesting conceptually, being an inversion of their dynamic from the prior arc, the execution of this idea was just an utter flop for me. Every other character acts the same way they did in ch 7, so Rika is the only one who lost development. If Hanyuu had to go around and reinvigorate everyone's belief then maybe it could've been more interesting, but the final iteration ended up just hurting Rika as a character for no reason. It also makes Minagoroshi feel even more pointless and worthless, something that arc already struggled with due to its doomed ending. I'm glad that the anime version most skimmed over and ignored this plot point.

The leadup to Watanagashi itself is well done though, and the recruitment of Irie, Tomitake, and Oishi were all really cool. I like how Akasaka's involvement and belief in Rika after his ch 4 experiences are the main reason that they ended up believing in her. Oishi is amazing in this section, and I love both his reactions to the Sonozaki's not being the culprits, as well as his internal struggle between doing what's right vs securing his future. Hanyuu's involvement in forgiving Oishi is also a much better use of her as a character rather than the Rika retcon stuff.

The combat segment is definitely the most widely criticized aspect of this arc, and rightfully so. At many points it does feel comically fanservicey, since at the end of the day its a bunch of kids beating a paramilitary using the power of friendship. I think Ryukishi actually ends up doing some of the best he could to reduce the unbelievability though, which is often overlooked:
- the Yamainu have to act with restraint due to the operation happening on festival day in broad daylight, reducing how much they could really utilize their weapons
- the Yamainu themselves are reiterated to mostly be an information unit rather than a combat one, with Okonogi complaining that most can't even do 100 push-ups. It helps explain why they get toasted so easily in their singular actual combat experience
- Much of the actual physical combat is handled by Akasaka and Kasai, both of whom are way more experienced than the average Yamainu
- In the final section on the mountain, the Yamainu actually don't have a significant numerical advantage, don't properly know the area, and are disallowed from retreating to grab weapons by Takano and Okonogi. The stun guns they did have were mostly ineffective in the open area.
Obviously there is still dumb and unbelievable shit like Akasaka literally being Goku, or Mion outright beating grown adult Okonogi in hand to hand combat. I think its mostly fun though, and actually feels pretty well paced despite this section taking 7 hours. The anime actually removes some of the more egregiously unrealistic stuff, but does a poorer job of explaining the incompetence of the Yamainu.

Takano's final defeat is an amazing scene, and easily one of my favorites in the series. Okonogi telling her to commit suicide, the parallels with her childhood, and Hanyuu being willing to forgive her sins are all fantastic. The final scene with her aiming the gun at the club members and Hanyuu being willing to sacrifice herself for their happiness is the perfect capstone to her character, falling into her same fate as 1000 years prior. Although I do think the scene with the bullet being stopped and redirected by Rika is a little silly, I love it thematically as being a true miracle for the finale of the story (though I think the anime actually does this scene better, with the bullet outright missing at point blank being a true, undeniable miracle). The twist of Takano having contracted HS is also just perfect, and I love how Tomitake is utilized for this whole final chapter. I love the small epilogue as well, and the secret ending where Takano's fate is altered (and Bern basically becomes a what-if youtuber) is awesome.

As an aside, the music used for this arc is beautiful as the finale to the series. The voice acting from the console versions/07 mod is stunning as well, Takano's VA is just so perfect all the way through.

Overall, the sheer length of this arc is its main downside, with many sections (particularly the ones involving the government and Tokyo's politicking) feeling incredibly sluggish to go through. There's also a number of questionable narrative choices, with the most egregious definitely being Minagoroshi's near retcon by having Rika just forget it. However, the sheer wealth of amazing character moments from those that previously didn't have much time to shine really makes this arc feel special. I do think the main cast somewhat falters compared to ch 6 or even 7, but I still feel satisfied by this chapter and its conclusion. It's not perfect, but I found ch 8 to be a thoroughly heartfelt conclusion to the series that Ryukishi had spent 4.5 years on at that point.