Miyo Takano

Takano Miyo, born Tanashi Miyoko, is the main villainess/antagonist in the original Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. She has long, blonde hair which she has had since a child. As an adult, her brown eyes are more "droopy" or closed than those of other characters. She is also quite buxom, which serves as occasional comic relief in the manga and the anime OVA arcs. In the clinic she usually wears a traditional nurse's uniform with hat. Outside she dresses casually with dark-green slacks with a light-green sweater over a light pink blouse. Over her left breast she wears her signature yellow cross on a gold-green ribbon. She will occasionally wear a dark suit when visiting her superiors. Her other signature outfit is the black uniform she wears when she takes charge and acts as her rank of major. While it varies with updates to the sprites, it consistently consists of a black beret, a black cape over a military uniform or black suit, and a black skirt. In the original sprite as well as in the anime, she retains the gold cross over the gold-green ribbon. While very popular at the Irie Clinic where she works, her real personality is eventually revealed to be quite twisted. She enjoys frightening people with tales of Hinamizawa's past. She views people such as the inhabitants of Hinamizawa as guinea pigs for her research, and only truly cares for the memory of her grandfather. She is infamous for her fascination of the history and mythology of Hinamizawa, though Sonozaki Mion explains to Keiichi that Takano presents a different interpretation of Hinamizawa's mythology to every person. She once tells Hōjō Satoko that Oyashiro-sama originated from sea creatures, while in another story arc she gives Rena her research which contains the theory about parasites controlling people's minds, she also fuels Shion's distrust for her family in Meakashi-hen. She tends to speak in a very condescending and patronizing fashion which makes various characters dislike her at times, like Keiichi, Shion and Rika, even before her true nature is revealed. In the visual novels, she has a distinct laugh, which the MangaGamer version translates as "Hee hee hee." She also has a cute, childlike side to her personality, as revealed in Minagoroshi-hen and hilariously depicted in the anime adaptation. When Furude Rika offers to open the Saiguden for her, Takano jumps for joy and spins round and round with glee. Rika muses that "Miyo's image stock just crashed all over the world." Takano even offers to wear cat ears, a collar, and tail, and beg for milk if Rika will let her pass through the second door to the inside of the Saiguden. Hours after the trip at the conclusion of a budget meeting, Irie Kyōsuke and Tomitake Jirō witness her meowing and lightly hopping around the table as she holds the camera she used to take pictures of the Saiguden's torture tools. Takano also has an obsession with attaining the level of a goddess. She first adopted the notion of becoming a goddess as a child when Takano Hifumi tells her that it was not Jesus' physical body that was resurrected, but the belief in his teachings. Hifumi believed that one becomes a god when one makes a great achievement that puts ones name in history. He expresses his desire to become a god by making a name for himself in the scientific community in proving the existence of Hinamizawa syndrome. After he dies, Miyo takes it upon herself to carry on his research and have it recognized by the world. Her ultimate goal is to become a goddess along with him. In Kai, she even tells Hanyū that she will drag her down from her “godly throne”. Her quest proves insincere. When she loses, she is ordered to end her life and take the blame for the various killings and conspiracies. The manga expands the scene in that Hanyū visits her to offer her the status of a goddess if she simply ends her life. However, Takano cannot do this. The new anime-only arcs of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gō introduce some changes. In the repeating time-lines which compare to the original ones, she does not appear to die on the night of the Watanagashi. Instead, she and Jirō disappear. It is eventually revealed that the two steal a van from the festival. In the conclusion to Nekodamashi-hen, Rika sees Jirō leaving the festival after its end. She pursues him to talk to him only to find he is meeting Takano. To Rika's surprise, Takano apologizes profusely for what she planned to do. She confessed it to engineer its prevention. She plans to escape with Jirō for her safety as a witness in the subsequent investigation. When Rika notes that the Takano she knew would never act in that way, Takano replies that if she explained her reasons, Rika probably would not understand.