it's peam

After 6 months, I'm finally through with this series.

If you're here to see if it's worth starting this series, yes it is. In my opinion it peaks before the end but it's still satisfying through the end. Especially since the conclusion stays consistent with what happens in the previous chapters. Chapter one is free and it gives a very good idea of how most of the series will feel. Some bits are very cringe (in a bad way) in the first two chapters but it really diminishes after that.
Oh also definitely look up the mod with the voice acting.
It's not a masterpiece, but it's a lot of fun, especially if you have friends to talk through it with. I'd probably give the whole series 8.5 or 9/10.

If you're here because you're done reading and want to see other people's opinion, here's my ranking of the 8 chapters + some other bits worth talking about imo.

Chapter 3 is exhilarating. It gets started fast and doesn't stop going. The introduction is also a lot more wholesome than cringe compared to the previous chapters. So many great scenes and mysteries to theorise about.

Chapter 2 is slow to start but it introduces a new character very well and then steadily ramps up the tension until a confusing and mind-blowing ending.

Chapter 5 is almost on par with 2 and by far the best chapter of the 2nd half of the series considering this one still feels stressful and mysterious. The answers tie up this pair perfectly. You mostly knew where things were going except for a few twists but they were great twists. It also has some great teases for what's coming next with the injections and the truth about the Sonozaki at the very end.

Chapter 1 is a perfect introduction to the series. A simple one but very tense and it gets you started with a ton of questions immediately.

There is some criticism to be had about how Chapter 8 focuses a lot on new or side characters and how Shion just randomly stumbles into the chapter to get closure but finally getting the full background and answers on everything is still very satisfying and makes the worse parts of the last 2 chapters worth it. It doesn't reach the same high as the previous chapter but it's more consistently entertaining. Also thank god the traps finally were relevant to the story, i thought that would happen 5 chapters ago.

Chapter 7 had an amazing first third and good last third but the middle part dragged on so long. But at least it had plenty of great character moments in there and after all that, finally seeing Sakoto join the gang to the Wataganashi was wonderful. I'm also delighted to finally have a chapter from Rika's perspective but i have to say that her passivity was frustrating at times even if it's part of her character arc.

Chapter 6 is an important chapter but the actual story of it didn't captivate me as much as usual. Having an outside perspective on the "main" character is a lot less thrilling and the climax of the story dragged on for way too long which is a terrible thing to say about this series. At times, Keiichi really feels like a badass self-insert (they literally talk about him like a messiah in the next 2 chapters) and the ending of this chapter is the worst example yet. It truly was an "and everybody clapped" moment. The chapter has some great characters moments but ultimately, the most interesting parts to me were the setups for the next chapters. Altough, the best part of this chapter is the misunderstanding between the police and the Sonozaki, that was so goofy and i loved it.

Chapter 4 is not bad but a little boring. The backstory is nice and the premonitions are a great last question to close the first half of the series. I just wish they did a little more with it. If there was more to this chapter, it had the potential to end up somewhere between 4th and 6th place but it's such a one note chapter with maybe 3 memorable scenes at best. At least it made me want to learn Mahjong.

Bonus:
I'm separating this because i feel like the nature of the conspiracy isn't really linked to the quality of the last chapters since it was very obviously set from the start, (or at least mostly). First, I do have to say that the consistency of the story is very much appreciated. Now that everything is revealed, the setups don't feel cheap or nonsensical. There is some weird stuff explained away with "the character was going crazy and imagined things" but the actual events still very much happened.

However, the actual syndrome is.... a little weird. Like, it's not that far off from one of the crazy theories from chapter 6 but it's just (probably) not a mind-controlling parasite and the queen carrier is (most likely) bogus too but it's still a weird disease everyone in the village does have for some reason. It's a good device for the story, making it so any character could be sent into a paranoia by telling them the right lies but i feel like it would work better as an answer if there was a more specific way to infect someone or activate it than making them stressed. As it is, any Hinamizawa resident would go terminal if they worked at a fast food for too long.

And the mechanics of the injections are probably the least satisfying answer of all. It will calm your symptoms if you have it or immediately send you in terminal stage if you don't. And that's mentioned in such a offhanded way that I don't even remember when it was revealed, while that was one of the major mysteries set up since the very first chapter. Why not simply make it two different things? There is already a weapon formula that's used on Tomitake. The one single scene where the 2 in 1 nature mattered is for Rika's death in chapter 5 where she was trying to help Shion. If it wasn't for that weird double function, it could have been a great reveal that this scary thing was actually to help people all along, which it kinda is.. but it also does kill people.. so that wasn't such a wrong assumption i guess.

Anyway, good story, lots of fun, I'm gonna go sleep for 6 months before picking up Umineko.