Hah, same problem with the characters. The ones I'm a bit less attached to (Irie, Tomitake and Hanyuu) are mostly that way because they got less character development than the rest. (Hanyuu in particular got a harsh deal; I was hoping for some proper, in-depth backstory on the new character from the Kai opening, but instead they just sort of...left her hanging for the majority of the episodes. I guess it fits her reclusive habits, but even so I was expecting a bit more. xP) If I had to pick one single favorite, though, it would probably be Miyo; I've always had a weakness for the scheming types. Plus, she was gosh darn adorable as a kid. xD
As for the arcs...ahh, that's a tough one. Minagoroshi-hen is definitely a strong contender here, as it not only brought a lot of character development to my favorite villain, but also had what was arguably the most dramatic and suspensful ending. (After Minagoroshi-hen, the real ending arc was rather anti-climatic, to be honest. :\) But beside that, the Meakashi answer arc probably comes as a second, for being the creepiest one. Geez, it's pretty hard to pick favorites, huh? I loved 'em all. xD *Shot*
As for the rumored third season...I recall hearing something about that too, actually. As I recall, there was a new Higurashi game that was released after the show finished, so rumor has it that content from that game would be made into a new season. But then, I also recall hearing that that newest one was accused of containing material that would count as hentai, so yeah...don't know what became of that. That being said, I wouldn't mind a new season, though, perhaps one finally drawing the 'who killed Satoko's parents' thing to a close and giving some depth to Hanyuu, Tomitake, and Irie? One can always hope. =O
As for the arcs...ahh, that's a tough one. Minagoroshi-hen is definitely a strong contender here, as it not only brought a lot of character development to my favorite villain, but also had what was arguably the most dramatic and suspensful ending. (After Minagoroshi-hen, the real ending arc was rather anti-climatic, to be honest. :\) But beside that, the Meakashi answer arc probably comes as a second, for being the creepiest one. Geez, it's pretty hard to pick favorites, huh? I loved 'em all. xD *Shot*
As for the rumored third season...I recall hearing something about that too, actually. As I recall, there was a new Higurashi game that was released after the show finished, so rumor has it that content from that game would be made into a new season. But then, I also recall hearing that that newest one was accused of containing material that would count as hentai, so yeah...don't know what became of that. That being said, I wouldn't mind a new season, though, perhaps one finally drawing the 'who killed Satoko's parents' thing to a close and giving some depth to Hanyuu, Tomitake, and Irie? One can always hope. =O