And now, my review of the third Higurashi arc. Please note that this is the last arc I have read; I currently know nothing about Higurashi beyond this point.

Story:

It's summer of 1983 . . . and this is also starting just like the other arcs, almost as if they were all separate canons almost . . . well, Keiichi and his family move in, he gets along with some girls, they have wacky hijinx, but then he learns about Oyashiro-sama's Curse. Not only that, he learns that Satoko, one of his friends, lives under the thumb of an abusive uncle, and yet, she doesn't do anything to better her situation.

At first, the story is rather slow. Fortunately, the attempts at humor are better than in the first arc, (you'll laugh during the baseball game) but things don't start getting interesting until Keiichi becomes obsessed with helping Satoko. It does raise some interesting issues; at what point does helping out someone go from simple compassion to violent crusade? Not only that, the ending is a shocking ending. Again, many mysteries abound, but the story still intrigues me. 8/10.

Art:

Oh man. Why do they have different artists for these? This particular artist in unworthy. The characters, especially in the first half, are lacking in detail, the backgrounds look rushed, and, well, I would expect more from a professional publication. I've seen Touhou doujins that look better than this. By the second half, the art does improve, especially during the more shocking scenes, but it's too little, too late, and it never compares to the first two arcs art-wise. 5/10.

Characterization:

In spite of the unanswered questions, the characters are still quite the cast. Keiichi is even more paranoid here; you could even argue that he becomes a villain, and I wouldn't dispute it. Satoko appears to be a helpless little girl, but there is information that contradicts that, too. That would be the best word to describe these characters, contradictory. Another example, Ooishi appeared to be trustworthy in the first two arcs, but here, Keiichi doesn't trust him, and with good reason. We also learn more about Satoko's older brother, Satoshi, who was mentioned in the previous arcs. More and more about the characters is revealed. 9/10.

Enjoyment:

When this arc started, the mediocre art turned me off somewhat. I only slogged through that because I knew that it would eventually turn into a gripping horror tale. Luckily, my prediction came true. This arc was more straightforward than the second one, and I just can't get the ending out of my head. However, it only starts getting really good once Keiichi decides to do something about Satoko's situation; once you get there, you won't be able to stop. Disturbing thoughts and imagery are plentiful throughout the second half, yet somehow, instead of turning me away, I welcome it. Like I said before, if you don't mind seeing a horror story done right, well, you can't go wrong with Higurashi. 8/10.