[ home, rena, keiichi, rika, hanyu, shion & mion, satoko ]
Sonozaki Mion (園崎 魅音) 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 are implied to be 14 in most media (or around 17 in the live-action adaptations) as of June 1983, since she is in her final year at the Hinamizawa school but has not yet had her birthday that year. The new anime-only arc Satokowashi-hen, which takes place in June of 1984, confirms that she has entered her first year of high school which makes her 15 in 1984.
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. She is a tomboy, and since she is the oldest among the rest of the students, she refers to herself as "oji-san (叔父さん)" – "old man (literally "uncle" but used generically)" – throughout the games, manga, and anime, though she also has a girly side. It is very often strongly hinted and ultimately revealed 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.
Due to being the oldest child and thus the heir, Mion was branded with the oni (鬼) – "ogre" or "demon" – tattoo presumably on her back. Her name also contains mi (魅), a kind of forest demon or elf.
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," the current Mion, felt it was unfair for only one of them to attend family meetings while the other had fun. They switched places the day the oni tattoo was to be applied, resulting in the younger sister, "Shion," the 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.
Sonozaki Shion (園崎 詩音) is one of the main characters in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series, Sonozaki Mion's twin sister, and the antagonist of the question arc Watanagashi-hen and the protagonist of its answer arc Meakashi-hen. She is well known for her spectacular mental breakdown and the ensuing bloodbath in those arcs, her mischievous nature when it comes to teasing the other club members, as well as for her relationship with Hōjō Satoshi, which has been the subject of at least four different songs. She and her sister are implied to be 14 in most media (or around 17 in the live-action adaptations) as of June 1983. The new anime-only arc Satokowashi-hen confirms that in June, 1984, Mion has entered high school which puts the twins at 15 in 1984.
Shion is the actual older twin sister of the Sonozaki twins. She was sent to St. Lucia's Boarding School, but escaped in 1982 with the help of Kasai Tatsuyoshi, a man who acts as a bodyguard to the Sonozaki family.
Shion is the main protagonist in Meakashi-hen, which appears to be Watanagashi-hen from her perspective, though different events mean the two are actually separate arcs. While in Meakashi-hen she blames Hōjō Satoko for Satoshi's suffering, in the subsequent arcs the two develop a sister-like bond and Shion even risks her life to save her to keep her promise to Satoshi to look after Satoko. In Matsuribayashi-hen, Rika explains that Shion's early dislike for Satoko in the years before 1983 and her learning how to control her inner demon afterwards are both momentous events for Shion to avoid being a victim of the Hinamizawa Syndrome.
While she acts as the younger twin to Sonozaki Mion, in truth, she was born as the elder sister with the name "Mion." Due to the sisters swapping places at a young age, Mion, named "Shion," received the oni tattoo which marks the presumptive heir to the Sonozaki family. Since that event, the sisters have maintained that role replacement: she became the younger "Shion" while her younger sister became "Mion." They still switch roles or impersonate the other which leads to some of the mystery of the earlier arcs.
Shion works as a waitress at the Angel Mort (エンジェルモート・anjeru mōto) restaurant and is also the manager's assistant for the Hinamizawa Fighters little league team.