Originally posted by ScorpionWasp:

Now, if the intent of this sequence was to reveal that the most ♥♥♥♥♥♥-up person in all of Hinamizawa... is Keiichi Maebara, then I'd say it was a brilliant twist, but the way the sequence is presented and framed, I don't really think that's the intent.

Well, it certainly shows that Keiichi is an idiot. And it's not the first time, either. Much earlier on, he had a choice to give a doll to the one person in the club who didn't get one, who also happened to be his best friend, or to give it to someone who already had one. He chose poorly, and that choice had a huge impact on the course of events.

Now, here he is, faced with someone who, not only does he know to be a serial murderer, but who also fully admits to being one. Sure, he sees her as his best friend, and it's understandable that he wants to be loyal to her. But come on, why would he let his guard down so completely? He's damn lucky Rena wasn't so dumb and convinced the police to move in.

But then later on, he wastes that luck by going outside, again with his guard completely down, and doesn't even do anything to protect himself when she pretty clearly shows signs of mental instability. So yeah, he is too dumb to live.

Not once do Keiichi or Rena display anything but the utmost reverence to Mion, who herself keeps this insufferable, self-important, prideful pose.

For Keiichi's part, it's clear that he cares so much about his friend that he wants to hear an explanation before anything else. But he lets it blind him to the danger. Not sure about Rena; she might just be pretending to be respectful. I dunno. It's also worth noting that Mion is someone they have respected tremendously as a friend, and it may be difficult to accept a betrayal like this.

Speaking of Mion, what did you think of her in this arc? There are some weird things going on, don't you think?

If you don't understand, that's okay. Do your best. Eventually, you will be made to understand what's going on. Though Ryukishi07 doesn't tell all; there are some things he wants you to think about yourself in the end. Or ask the fans.

Now, this is just a layman going on utterly circumstantial evidence, but I'm left with the impression that there are... very troubling aspects to Japanese Culture. It's almost like they believe politicians are living deities beyond good and evil, and that people are their property, to sacrifice or use as they see fit.

I'm no expert, but from what I understand, Japanese culture tends to hold a lot of respect for authority. But I know they don't respect it to the extent you say. People will often criticize politicians if you ask them, and some will even protest when they feel it's really warranted. And for what it's worth, Higurashi itself does talk about a couple of Japanese atrocities, as in some really horrible things, which may or may not be known by most Japanese people because the school system is known to cover up such things when talking about history; look forward to that.

As far as the police in this story go, it's important to realize that the Sonozaki family has tremendous political power, which you'll see more of later on in the series. So I imagine they have to be very careful about moving on the future leader of that family until they're quite certain they can sustain any criminal charges. (Side note: in the real world, the Japanese police actually are extremely careful about what cases they bring in general, which is a part of, though most likely not the only reason, why the conviction rate in criminal cases is in excess of 99%.)

Finally, this is most likely not the last time you will see some values that, at least to us Westerners, are difficult to swallow. I don't remember there being a lot of it, but there's at least one big example later on.