>>22501346
>trust everyone and don't lie to your friends
That interpretation isn't just wrong, it's bloody dangerous. Rena had to save her home-life by exposing Rina, Satoko had to overcome her trauma and get out of an abusive situation by confronting Teppei and Rika had to find her killer. Trust in Higurashi isn't a universal good, trust is meaningful because of the process by which characters arrive at it (through reciprocation, by taking a chance on each other successfully again and again), and the "moral" is just that there's no alternative to taking that leap, which is very different from trusting everyone by default. Also, Ryukishi very much endorses lying to your friends by omission.
Umi is more concerned with exploring various family pathologies, "sin" being passed down through the generations. While in Higu the kids were basically the embodiment of the future, Umi acknowledges that children are, in reality, very much tied to the culture into which they are born. It takes the more "grown up", melancholic position that in some situations tragedy is actually inevitable and explores how humans come to terms with loss. Ange loses her brother and her best friend, Battler loses Beatrice when she gives up on Battler remembering. But at the end of the day, Umi affirms the same "moral" as Higu: that, even granting all that heartbreak, love is still worth it.