Art by 塩素 on Pixiv
I was already intrigued by Ryukishi07’s new manga series, but now I’m approaching a critical mass of hype. Turns out it will be explicitly connected to the When They Cry series, through the antics of our favorite fragment-hopping voyager witches. Check this translation of background text on the book’s product page, kindly emailed to me by Isae (who has an excellent Higurashi blog and tumblr, check them out!):
“The way to play with this Fragment is very easy. And the conditions for winning are also very simple. If you can escape alive, you win. See? Even for you, this should be easy to play, right?”
“Ah this is nostalgic. The stage of this is the Japanese countryside. Reminds me of Hinamizawa.”
“In that case, I’ll go with this piece. Let’s go, my other self.”
Also, a Japanese fan who’s read the prologue tweeted that the story is a challenge between Bernkastel and Lambdadelta. Takano Miyo is the main character. Higanbana and Rose Guns Days might have had expy characters, but nothing on this level of explicit connection.
It might not be a sprawling epic like the VNs, but I’m glad to see that the When They Cry story isn’t over yet! The meta-fiction setting it’s established has so much untapped potential. I can’t wait to see what new characters get caught up in their immortal struggle against eternal boredom. My question now: can we only expect short VNs and manga in the immediate future, or is this just an interlude before WTC5?
Sea of Fragments 
I’m super excited too! Takano Miyo, huh? I wonder if any other Higurashi characters will make an appearance.
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But the Japanese fan actually said Takano Miyoko. So which is it? Takano Miyo or Tanashi Miyoko?
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Oh boy. Things are about to get complicated.
My baseless speculation is that if she’s called that in the game, it’s to emphasize she’s from a totally different continuity/fragment even if she’s the same piece played by the same player. Kind of like Furude Rika/Furudo Erika. If it was Takano Miyo in the events ever Matsuribayashi-hen, their repercussions on her character would overpower any other narrative. And technically we’ve already seen what’s supposed to be Tanashi Miyoko’s story (if her parents didn’t die) in the manga Kaidan to Odorou.
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Ah, there’s a new excerpt on the official site of Last and First Gift. This might be what that Japanese fan read. It doesn’t give a name for Lambda’s piece, but it sounds more like Takano than Miyoko. Of course, you could be right about it being a different character with a similar name.
Oh, and you’ll be pleased to hear that it sounds like there’s still going to be a WTC5 at some point. (Bern ends her letter with ‘See you again, when the somethings cry.’)
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Oh, I’m so excited! No segway needed to get into this one if it does follow familiar characters. This may not necessarily be the next WTC, but nonetheless, I already like where it’s going, with myself being a tragedy fiend. My only hope is that if it has to do with Takano, that the game doesn’t alter the world and story of Hinamizawa (rei’s “perfect world” arc made me depressed after going down the brutal path to success for such a bitterly happy world.) this is still great news to me. I wonder if everyone else is as excited. I’m not a big fan of manga, but this is still great. Who knows, if it’s successful enough, it might get an adaptation.
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My guess is that it’ll take place in a totally different world from Higurashi, just with some of the same characters used as pieces in the witch’s game. But we shall see…
Luckily, I’m a huge fan of manga : ) I have hundreds of volumes weighing down my shelves, even the Higurashi and Umineko manga printed in English so far. They’re no replacements for the VNs, but they’re good quick reads whenever I want to relive the stories.
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No VN? ’tis a deal-breaker.
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Eh, I’m fine with it. Higanbana was greatly improved in it’s adaptation to VN, but some of the manga original arcs of Higurashi were worthwhile (like Demon Exposing).
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Gggggeeeeeeeetttttt
Fffffuuuuckkkiiiinnnnnggggg
HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Erika when? Its only a matter of time before she appears in some form.
Oh god I’m so hype, I can barely contain myself
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I was thinking the same thing. Erika coming back was the best part of EP8, by far. Though TBH, if Bernkastel has a “piece” in this story, it’ll probably be a different one with a different personality. Plus, I wonder about how the game’s win condition isn’t solving a mystery, but “escaping alive”…maybe it’ll be more horror than a detective story?
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