Despite the fact the first 10 sub-chapters or so are basically going back and forth with Child Services I felt like the pacing on this was pretty good? The events themselves are repetitive, but not the characters' reactions or the drama it creates, and it added a lot to the suspense wondering 'how the hell does this end in a massacre?'

...With that said, I don't think it quite lives up to this suspense. Every Higurashi chapter so far imo has fallen prey to a trap of 'interesting and engrossing plot that builds up to a climax midway and then the tension completely dies' (except for Onikakushi and Watanagashi, which I'd say more straightforwardly continually ratchet up the tension). But it feels especially unsatisfying here because saving Satoko takes up a huge chunk of the chapter.

The actual scene where the main cast get killed is super chilling, but to immediately follow it up with them all reuniting as ghosts is a bit saccharine I feel? Tsumihoroboshi also had a bit of mood whiplash with Rena and Keiichi's fight that I didn't entirely vibe with, but I think it's fair to say it at least means something after all the heaviness of the previous arcs + Rena trying to blow up the school. But I don't know... this felt like it diminished it a little. I guess because also this arc isn't especially heavy on the oppressive horror atmosphere that pervades a lot of the others, so it feels like when we finally get a taste of that it immediately gets undercut.

Also I think the absolute worst thing for Higurashi's pacing is characters' internal monologues. People malign the Onikakushi slice of life stuff a lot (and rightfully), but Rika is just constantly going on about fighting destiny and believing in a miracle and whatnot and it's just... I get the point, but it could have been dialled back.

And on that note, this chapter pushes 'if everyone believes they can make a miracle happen' so hard it was genuinely starting to sound less like typical anime power of friendship and more like that culty pseudoscience self-help nonsense that teach bad things happening to you is because you didn't do enough positive thinking. I understand this isn't the intention here, and 'keep on believing and fighting' is a valuable message in the context of the story, and I'm not trying to be cynical here - it's just it gets hammered home so. Damn. Much.

This review sounds pretty critical, but I generally enjoyed this chapter (and Higurashi so far) a lot - I'm just more interested in trying to dissect what didn't work for me than what did. But all in all it's a nice chapter with lots of good character moments and answers to mysteries, and I am eager to get into the finale (though perhaps not right away).

Currently I'd rank the arcs at: Meakashi > Tatarigoroshi > Watanagashi > Tsumihoroboshi > Minagoroshi > Himatsubushi > Onikakushi

This might be the least subtle thing I've ever read and that's okay.
The theme of "talk to your friends instead of self isolating when you have problems" is constantly present and is super well represented. There are very few stories where I think a political activism arc is a sensible plot point, but it fits in perfectly here thanks to the buildup from previous episodes and, again, the central theme.
The trapped in a time loop bit was also very well done. Despite the circumstances it was extremely easy to relate to Rika's situation and to draw parallels with depression, and the talking to and working alongside friends to beat "fate" was incredibly good.
Hinamizawa Syndrome, while a bit out of nowhere, is also a very direct anti-isolation metaphor.
The only reason I don't have this at a perfect score is because I think the plot twist at the end was kinda bad. For a story set in a small town, having the true culprit's main weapon be a private army of goons with no personality coming all the way from Tokyo feels anticlimactic. A complete tonal shift that wasn't foreshadowed particularly well and feels completely removed from everything else in the novel about small town life and interpersonal interactions.

7/10

so, the penultimate chapter. theres a lot to get into here. firstly, I WAS FUCKING RIGHT!!! I CALLED THAT BOTH THE FURUDES AND TAKANO HAD SOMETHING TO HIDE! I KNEW TAKANO WAS TELLING THE TRUTH IN TSUMIHOROBOSHI! Now, im still curious how rika got those syringes in a few chapters, but damn the consistency of foreshadowing all the way back in onikakushi with the mountain dogs rivals trail's consistency. great fucking writing. and everything just seems to fall into place with all the reveals. but. i have not mentioned the "main" scenario of this arc, ive only mentioned my reactions to the "epilogue/prologue"(to episode 8), and with good reason. i mean... it was more interesting than the water gun fight or other sol segments that bloat higurashi, but overall it was extremely dragged out(i just kinda skimmed the night before watanagashi scene, looking up every now and then, and 45 minutes coulda been summed up in 5.), and teppei was more comically evil than in any other higu episode. at least in tsumihoro, he had like a whole badger game thing going on, but here it's just super "im evil hahahahaahaahaahaah" kinda deal. which sure, in tatari, he was kinda like that but it was fresh, and we got the murder plot to make up for it. here it just recycles and adds nothing new to it. and, ill say that the """"""funny"""""""""" """""""gags"""""" with satoko are extremely uncomfortable and not funny in the slightest, their just creepy and weird. that 15 minute scene in angel mort was just gross to sit through, and i ended up skipping it.(like most of the sol segments, get trolled) but bottom line, i enjoyed the start, and the end to this arc. so, 2/3rds. ill say that the saving satoko part was the most interesting not necessary addition yet, but it was still pretty boring. since im taking that into account, i think im gonna have to give it a 7/10. it wasnt as consistent as tsumihoroboshi or meakashi, but the setup to the final episode was pretty fucking great, if a bit dragged out after the credits sequence. but if ep.8 entirely focuses on this part of the story, i can see it knocking meakashi off the throne of favorite arc. with all that taken into account, along with the unnecessary gross stuff about satoko, thats why im giving it a 7/10.

to the final episode, after which i will finally be free from 07th expansion prison, at least until i start umineko(oh no!).
1-meakashi
2-tsumihoroboshi
3-tatarigoroshi
4-onikakush
5-minagoroshi
6-watanagashi
7-himatsubushi

As expected of the master Ryukishi, Chapter 7 is as amazing as the rest. Rika's perspective is very interesting and while Hanyuu does tick me off, I acknowledge that she has an important role in the story. The intense emotional payoffs are rampant in this chapter with Satoko finally standing up to Teppei and the spiraling disaster at the end. Chapter 7 manages to tell a story that's both extremely hopeful and heavy at the same time and it felt good to ride the emotional rollercoaster. I am a bit sad that the mystery is all but gone now but the story continues to be enthralling nonetheless.