Cicadas: Case of the Endless Dreamer
"Welcome back to Hinamazawa. This will be your last visit."—Fredrica Bernkastel
Cicadas: Case of the Endless Dreamer by The Azure Crow is a Deconstruction Fic of the visual novel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, taking its mind-screw aspects to ridiculous extremes.
In essence, the plot of the story is this: The Great Hinamizawa Disaster of July 1983 occurs, despite Rika's efforts to overcome Fate. The world itself deals with the repercussions, and moves on with their lives. However, some people aren't satisfied. They return to Hinamizawa, and are still brutally killed, leaving behind mystery after mystery. To complicate things further- a man is found in the town. A man that shouldn't even be alive. Exactly how are these two facts connected, and what new conspiracy plagues Hinamazawa?
The story, like its source material, is divided into Arcs. However, these arcs are further divided into three sections- the main story, the side stories, and the Bio Study Observations.
The Main Story is composed of the story of the people who lived on after the Hinamazawa Disaster of 1983, and are attempting to put the pieces of their lives back together, and discover the truth behind both the conspiracy of the past, and the one in thep present.
The Bio-Study Observations are the reports of the main doctor of the team dedicated to monitoring the man that somehow survived the Hinamizawa Disaster- a man known as "The Endless Dreamer". Through reading these entries, you learn more about the man they are dedicating their lives to- and how they lose their sanity in the process.
Finally, the side stories take place in 1983, describing various iterations of time-loops that end in the Great Hinamizawa Disaster occurring. Each is a fragment of the truth of what occurred that day, and one has to combine aspects from all the stories, in order to determine the events that led to the tragic end of Hinamazawa.
However, more importantly, if you dislike Unreliable Narration- WELCOME TO YOUR HELL.
This story is far from that simple. Absolutely none of the narration you're given is particularly trustworthy. This is exemplified in the side-stories, which are read to the audience by the Unreliable Narrator. While each story has a character that is the focus, the story itself is told from the Unreliable Narrator's perspective. Thus, instead of receiving the cohesive tale of what occurred in each of the fragments, you receive a version that is filled with red herrings and unnecessary information. The reader is the one who needs to use the truthful information in the fragment, combining it with the other ones from the arc, and figure out exactly what actually occurred.
The main stories are far more reliable, but one shouldn't take what is said as gospel. The characters may have something to hide, are deluded, or are simply being lied to.
The only information that one can trust completely are the Bio Study Observations, and even those become less and less useful as the situation in the lab degenerates.
What exactly happened that day in Hinamizawa? What is happening now? Who is the Endless Dreamer, and what is his significance?
Figure it out yourself. The fic is here (WARNING! MATURE CONTENT IS PRESENT THROUGHOUT!)
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Unreliable Narrator.
- Mind Screw: Essentially the entire story, however the side-stories in particular are meant to mess with your head and mislead.
- The Reveal: In the final side-story, the Unreliable Narrator explicitly declares themself to be Hanyuu.
- Unreliable Narrator: The narrator of every single side story
- The narrator of the main story of the first arc, Rai, also lies and distorts throughout, for his own purpose.
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