Overview

Sonozaki Mion is one of the main characters in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series, Sonozaki Shion's twin sister, and the heir of the Sonozaki house. Mion is the more well-known sister of the Sonozaki twins, as well as the more mature, stable, and tomboyish one. Her and her sister's age vary depending on the source from as low as 14[1] to as high as 17[2] years with 15 years at the end of Matsuribayashi-hen fitting the details of the story and subsequent manga.

Character Summary

Mion is the heir of the Sonozaki family and is the leader of the Hinamizawa School club. As the oldest in the class, she is the Class Representative. She is the granddaughter of Sonozaki Oryō, the current Sonozaki head. Because her mother, Sonozaki Akane, married a man from outside Hinamizawa against Oryō's wishes, Oryō passed her inheritance to Mion rather than Akane. Since the Sonozaki family is quite rich, Mion has a large allowance. The 50,000 yen announced as the winning prize at a game tournament is said to come from her own pocket. According to Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri, Mion is 17 with a birthday in early February. Mion is a tomboy, and since she is the oldest among the rest of the students, she refers to herself as "oji-san"--"old man"--throughout the games, manga, and anime. She also has a girly side. It is revealed and very often strongly hinted that she has a crush on Maebara Keiichi, which she expresses by picking on and teasing him at every possible occasion as well as confessing her feelings to her twin sister Sonozaki Shion.

Due to being the oldest child and thus the heir, Mion was branded with the oni (鬼, ogre or demon) tattoo on her back. Her name is also chosen so its part mi (魅, kind of forest demon or elf) refers to a demon.

Mion is actually the younger twin, and she was therefore born with the name Shion. Mion and Shion intentionally switched places when they were young because "Shion" (current Mion) felt it was unfair for only one of them to attend family meetings. They swapped the day the oni tattoo was to be applied, resulting in the younger sister, "Shion" (current Mion), becoming the next heir. No one but the twins themselves seemed to be aware of this. In the manga, when in danger, Shion asks Mion to allow her to be the "big sister." The switch is further developed in the manga in that Shion, rather than feeling cheated, expresses regret that Mion bears all of the responsibility she avoided.

Despite Mion's wild personality, she is noticeably the only main character who does not commit murder or becomes dangerously violent (possibly excluding Furude Rika). However, one of the TIPS reveals that she was once driven to kill as a result of jealousy over the attention Keiichi was getting from others, which she responded to by deciding to eliminate the "competition" and keep Keiichi for herself. If she needs to defend herself, Mion is also the only one who does not wield a weapon, though she is sometimes shown with a holstered air-soft gun. Her weapons are her body and strategical mind. She is trained in martial arts and is well-versed enough to even take down Okonogi in the manga. Although Mion is seen using a syringe once in Onikakushi-hen, it is later revealed in Tsumihoroboshi-hen to be a black marker, which Mion was going to use to draw on Keiichi's shirt. It is said that the marker appeared to be a syringe because of Keiichi's paranoia and resulting hallucinations.

Physical Appearance

Mion has long, pale green hair and teal eyes. Her bangs part in the middle and she ties her hair into a ponytail. She has a trim figure and a large bust. She has a demon tattoo which is never shown. The Sound Novels and opening to the First Season suggest a full back tattoo which could not be applied to a child in one day. In subsequent episodes where her back is partially exposed, the tattoo is not seen.

During her school days, Mion wears a white short-sleeved shirt with a green (anime) or red (games) tie and wears a yellow, unbuttoned vest. She also wears a long reddish-pink skirt, black socks, and brown shoes. During her free days, she wears a yellow shirt with a slight black turtle neck, a white sweatshirt tied around her waist, blue jeans and brown shoes. She also wears an airsoft gun in a holster on her shoulder, though it is never used in the anime.

In the anime's first episode, she wears different casual clothes: a white shirt with a dark-red collar, shorts, a green sweatshirt tied around her waist and a purple gun holster.

At the end of Taraimawashi-hen, 10 years after the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, Mion appears as a 27 years old adult. Her hair became significantly longer, constantly hiding her face. She's also described as unnaturally pale and "almost as white as her pajamas or the hospital's curtains". As a result of her severe mental trauma and amnesia, her eyes also became rather lifeless, constantly giving Mion an empty, blank stare. Due to 10 years of hospitalization and lack of exercise, her basic motor skills deteriorated to the point of being described as awkward, almost mechanic. Her speech also became slow, silent an unenergetic.

Bathing suit

In the first episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, Mion was wearing a Chinese-style red and yellow bathing suit. Oddly enough, the large trademark demon tattoo is missing from her exposed back. This is due to the fact that (according to the TIPS) Mion has waterproof skin makeup for such events.

Personality

Mion acts boyish, energetic, and confident, often teasing her friends. She is a very cheerful and sociable girl who enjoys games. As the leader of the after-school games club, she organizes various card or board games, which she has become extremely good at, partially through cheating. She is the club member that tends to win the most, but as Rena reveals to Keiichi, she was the biggest loser at the beginning of the club. Mion designs most of the "punishment games" that the loser must perform, but, again, in the beginning, she often had to do them herself. It is a tribute to her determination that she has advanced so far in skill.

Although Mion seems very self-confident and tomboyish, it is revealed that she is quite girly. This is an important point in Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen, where Keiichi decides to give a doll he won to Rena rather than Mion, thinking that she would not like girly things; in Meakashi-hen,, this event is shown to trigger the development of the Hinamizawa syndrome in Shion, leading to the deaths and murders of many people including Mion herself, at the hands of her own sister. However in Minagoroshi-hen, Keiichi is able to resolve this fate by giving the doll to Mion instead (of course Mion is a little hesitant to take it, as she says, "Wh-what?! I don't like that sort of thing! I'm sharp and spunky as you always say!" Keiichi, however, tells her that she's still a girl to him and she ends up revealing her girly side by saying, "Yes, I will treasure this doll," and looking lovingly at the doll.) Mion is seen to be somewhat shy around Keiichi in moments where her crush on him is obviously in plain sight, and because of her shyness, she is unable to open up to him. In Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira, she is shown to still have the doll, keeping Keiichi's promise on taking good care of it.

As the heir to the Sonozaki family estate, she must act very formal and responsible when dealing with family matters. As a result, Mion has another side of her personality that contrasts with her normal self. When she assumes this role, she becomes almost completely expressionless and very serious. She is seen to be very straightforward and always goes directly to the topic, avoiding any other conversation that might interrupt. A good example of this side of her is from Meakashi-hen, where she forces Shion to rip off three of her own fingernails as punishment, despite the fact that she cares deeply for Shion and later rips off three of her own as retribution.

Relationships

Sonozaki Shion

Shion is Mion's older twin sister. They do not argue about how their changing places changed the heir to the family, and they continue to switch places at meetings without the family members noticing. In all versions of the series, they are shown to be very close, despite not seeing each other often. In the Meakashi-hen arc, Mion was seen to be scared of Shion when she was locked up. However, this fear could have been because of what Shion was going to do to Keiichi, but mostly because of Shion's psychotic behavior. It is shown that despite their constant bickering in public, Mion opens up to Shion about many personal subjects and both are quite close to each other. In Tatarigoroshi-hen, Shion is implied to actually be a much more difficult opponent than Mion in their club games; when Rena asks Shion to join a club game, Shion replies, "Oh, I wouldn't want to ruin Mion's reputation as the club leader. Hey Mion, how about a sister showdown?", resulting in Mion blushing heavily and quickly escaping the conversation. Overall, besides Watanagashi and Meakashi-hen, the two sisters are seen to get along extremely well.

In Minagoroshi-hen and Matsuribayashi-hen, the two sisters are shown to get along immensely well, and have a strong sister bond, but are not above calling each other stupid in certain moments of tension, such as Mion shouting, "Stupid Shion!" and Shion replying, "Stupid Older Sister!" However, this could also just be for comic relief for the anime and manga. Shion is deeply aware of Mion's feeling towards Keiichi since as seen in previous arcs, Mion opens up to her on the topic. In Matsuribayshi-hen Shion whispers to Keiichi "Although the person I love is gone, Mion still has hers," implying that she wants her sister to be happy.

Maebara Keiichi

Keiichi and Mion's relationship is arguably the one most expanded on, but undefined throughout the series. Keiichi and Mion are hinted to develop feelings for each other, most notably in Meakashi-hen, where Mion confesses her love for Keiichi to Shion. Mion has also mentioned that Keiichi is a fun person. However, Mion herself has difficulty not only in gathering the courage to voice her feelings across to Keiichi but also in getting him to acknowledge her as a feminine girl. When Keiichi fails to give Mion a doll he won, saying she wouldn't like it anyway and gives it to Rena, Mion is later seen crying and being upset over this. This is all reversed in Minagoroshi-hen when Keiichi notices Mion's expression and gives her the doll instead. In the later arcs, Mion is still seen to own the doll. In Tsumihoroboshi-hen, when Keiichi hugs Mion as an apology for killing her and Rena in Onikakushi-hen (which she and Rena do not remember), she blushes and stammers profusely. It seems, then, that Mion does develop a crush on Keiichi.

Whether or not Keiichi has a crush on Mion, in turn, proves less certain. In the Sound Novels, in particular, Keiichi flirts with both Rena and Mion but does not pursue either further. His flirtation seem more like jokes to him rather than attempts to start a relationship with either. He seems at times oblivious to both of their feelings. Nevertheless, during Watanagashi-hen, when he is about to be tortured by Shion, whom he believes to be Mion, Keiichi declares that if it will soothe the demon inside of Mion she may go ahead. He only asks the demon that in return it spare both Mion and Shion.

Mion also shows a deep concern for Keiichi, such as in the Minagoroshi-hen arc where she breaks into tears after Keiichi has been fatally shot. She declares that she does not want to leave him to die nor does she want him to die. For his part, when Mion blames herself when her friends are in danger in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku-Outbreak, Keiichi comforts her saying she did her best and that she should not blame herself.

In Musubienishi-hen, a number of characters notice Mion's feelings for Keiichi. Takano states that they both make a perfect couple, Sonozaki Oryō says that he better prepare himself to get comfy with her as his grandmother, and Hōjō Teppei describes them as "making out." For his part, Keiichi jokes that he would not mind being Mion's boyfriend. Throughout this entire scene, Mion blushes and stammers then later hits Keiichi in embarrassment. When Keiichi asks why is she blushing and if she took it all seriously, she turns completely red and says to him to not say stupid things. At various times, she will instantly turn red when Keiichi gives her a kind look.

In the sound novel and manga adaptations of Watanagashi-hen, both Rena and Shion tell Keiichi that Mion is upset over the doll not being given to her. Toward the end of the arc, Keiichi wants to buy the doll and give it to Mion. He, later on, stands with the doll in his hands, saying to himself "If I ever see you (Mion) again… When I do… If I do… Then… this time… I will give the doll to you… So you'd better take it without making fun of me. I know you'll probably be all stubborn and say you don't want it. But in the end, you'll turn all bright red and take it from me," giving hints to why things turned out differently in Kai. In the Watanagashi-hen visual novel arc, where Keiichi gave the doll to Rena and made Mion upset, Keiichi buys the same doll a few days later to give to Mion as an apology. Still believing that Shion is Mion, he gives both the doll and a whole-hearted apology regarding his ignorance of her feelings to Shion a second before Mion appears from the toy store's counter. Mion witnessed what Keiichi had done, which explains her embarrassment and leaving the classroom every time Keiichi looks at her. Near the end of the arc, he buys the same doll a second time and tries again to give it to Mion who, unfortunately, is actually again Shion in disguise. This marks the third time he gave the same doll to the wrong person, without Mion ever knowing his true intentions.

In manga and anime versions of Matsuribayashi-hen, Shion whispers in Keiichi's ear that she has lost the one she loves but Mion still has hers, implying him. The manga artist plays with this in intentionally humorous "Cover Bonuses." In the first, when talking about her future, Mion muses that she--"ojisan"--wants to "be more feminine and get married." Keiichi interrupts that he cannot hear her muttering to which Mion reacts with comic embarrassed violence.

In another comic scene, Mion calls Shion stating she wants to deepen her relationship with Keiichi before she graduates, and an eager Shion encourages her to "go for it" and offers to give her tips. In the next panel, Mion arrives at school in a dress with huge bows in her hair which shocks everyone, including Hanyū, to which Mion tearfully responds to Shion in the next panel: "He's totally freaked out now! Stupid Shion!"

How deep of a "crush," then, either character has for the other remains debatable and uncertain. Mion does seem to have a crush on Keiichi, but how serious it remains unanswered. Shion compares it to her devotion to Satoshi, but we never actually see Mion express her interest to that depth. Rena seems to recognize it to some disappointment. However, with Keiichi, it remains less clear that he views Mion as any more than a close friend. The sound novels indicate he does have a burgeoning interest in girls, but it does not seem directed to one girl. As Shion teases him in Watanagashi-hen, she is the first girl whose arm he has ever held. In the end, Keiichi and Mion's relationship is left in progress. The Sound Novels, anime, and manga never depicts what happens in the future after Matsuribayashi-hen.

Ryūgū Rena

Mion and Rena are very good friends and have been since prior to the start of the series. Shion considers Rena to be Mion's rival when it comes to Keiichi's feelings, though they never fight about it. Mion and Rena share with each other almost as much as the twins, possibly partly because Shion is away from Mion so frequently.

Hōjō Satoko

Mion and Satoko are good friends throughout the series. Like Keiichi, Mion sometimes enjoys teasing Satoko, as seen in Onikakushi-hen when she asks the color-blind Satoko to distinguish broccoli from cauliflower. Still, despite her teasing Mion does care for Satoko. Their closeness is especially evident in Meakashi-hen, as Mion begs Shion to spare Satoko's life and offers to die in her place. She agrees to Shion's lucrative terms for saving Satoko (apologizing one thousand times), though she ultimately fails.

Furude Rika

Mion is close friends with Rika, having known her since she was a child. Rika deeply cares for Mion. Mion and Rika are both in line to be the heads of their households, though Rika inherited her position much sooner than Mion after her parents were killed. Rika also seems to be interested in Mion's breasts, as seen when she fondled them saying "I won't lose."

Trivia

•Only a very small number of subbers have noted the fact that Mion says "oji-san" very clearly in many lines where she refers to herself. Oji-san can mean either uncle or old man. MangaGamer's translation of the games includes this detail as "Uncle Mion".

•During the ending special of the 2nd episode of Kai, when Hanyū recites the "ABC's of Higurashi" and asks Rika to provide an input for the letter S, Rika replies, "Shii and Mii go 'Gugegegege'!" This guttural sound is heard during the Zombie Tag game when Shion and Mion were acting as bloodthirsty zombies, and also in the 5th episode of Rei when Mion receives a violent uppercut from a love-cursed Rena.

•Her and Shion's father is a yakuza boss. Befitting her role as a yakuza heiress, Mion's school uniform is of a style stereotypically associated with the "sukeban" delinquent subculture.

•She is 165 cm and weighs 52 kg.

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