Talk:Reiko Mikami/@comment-50.0.12.143-20121222044826/@comment-70.186.210.171-20130623053009

The fact that Reiko is his aunt on his mother's side would mean that Reiko serves as a kind of connection between Kouichi and his deceased mother; Reiko was a part of her, and by knowing her, Kouichi feels like he knows a little part of his mother. By killing her, not only does he lose his aunt, but he loses his mother all over again. But that's just an interpretation.

Besides, if Ritsuko came back intstead of Reiko, then she would be just that; Ritsuko. There would be no point for Ritsuko to take on her dead sister's name and work her job. It wouldn't make any sense. And in the anime, it is mentioned on more than one occasion that the extra person that returns doesn't have any records, and they're not remembered as the deceased, but as one of the living. So if Ritsuko was the dead one rather than Reiko, we'd see more pictures of Reiko instead of Ritsuko.