diff --git a/src/ahriman/application/handlers/setup.py b/src/ahriman/application/handlers/setup.py
index 2d61982c..fd038ef5 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/application/handlers/setup.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/application/handlers/setup.py
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ class Setup(Handler):
 
         (root.include / "00-setup-overrides.ini").unlink(missing_ok=True)  # remove old-style configuration
         target = root.include / f"00-setup-overrides-{repository_id.id}.ini"
-        with target.open("w") as ahriman_configuration:
+        with target.open("w", encoding="utf8") as ahriman_configuration:
             configuration.write(ahriman_configuration)
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ class Setup(Handler):
         configuration.set_option(repository_id.name, "Server", repository_server)
 
         target = source.parent / f"{repository_id.name}-{repository_id.architecture}.conf"
-        with target.open("w") as devtools_configuration:
+        with target.open("w", encoding="utf8") as devtools_configuration:
             configuration.write(devtools_configuration)
 
     @staticmethod
diff --git a/src/ahriman/application/lock.py b/src/ahriman/application/lock.py
index 12e8aecd..4cec73dd 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/application/lock.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/application/lock.py
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ class Lock(LazyLogging):
         """
         if self.path is None:
             return
-        self._pid_file = self.path.open("a+")
+        self._pid_file = self.path.open("a+", encoding="utf8")
 
     def _watch(self) -> bool:
         """
diff --git a/src/ahriman/core/alpm/pkgbuild_parser.py b/src/ahriman/core/alpm/pkgbuild_parser.py
index 168de1ce..5c7afc99 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/core/alpm/pkgbuild_parser.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/core/alpm/pkgbuild_parser.py
@@ -174,18 +174,31 @@ class PkgbuildParser(shlex.shlex):
         Returns:
             bool: ``True`` if the previous element of the stream is a quote or escaped and ``False`` otherwise
         """
+        # wrapper around reading utf symbols from random position of the stream
+        def read_last() -> tuple[int, str]:
+            while (position := self._io.tell()) > 0:
+                try:
+                    return position, self._io.read(1)
+                except UnicodeDecodeError:
+                    self._io.seek(position - 1)
+
+            raise PkgbuildParserError("reached starting position, no valid symbols found")
+
         current_position = self._io.tell()
 
         last_char = penultimate_char = None
-        for index in range(current_position - 1, -1, -1):
+        index = current_position - 1
+        while index > 0:
             self._io.seek(index)
-            last_char = self._io.read(1)
+
+            index, last_char = read_last()
             if last_char.isspace():
+                index -= 1
                 continue
 
-            if index >= 0:
+            if index > 1:
                 self._io.seek(index - 1)
-                penultimate_char = self._io.read(1)
+                _, penultimate_char = read_last()
 
             break
 
@@ -216,6 +229,7 @@ class PkgbuildParser(shlex.shlex):
                     case PkgbuildToken.Comment:
                         self.instream.readline()
                         continue
+
                 yield token
 
             if token != PkgbuildToken.ArrayEnds:
@@ -248,24 +262,28 @@ class PkgbuildParser(shlex.shlex):
                     counter += 1
                 case PkgbuildToken.FunctionEnds:
                     end_position = self._io.tell()
+                    if self.state != self.eof:  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+                        end_position -= 1  # if we are not at the end of the file, position is _after_ the token
                     counter -= 1
                     if counter == 0:
                         break
+                case PkgbuildToken.Comment:
+                    self.instream.readline()
 
         if not 0 < start_position < end_position:
             raise PkgbuildParserError("function body wasn't found")
 
         # read the specified interval from source stream
         self._io.seek(start_position - 1)  # start from the previous symbol
-        content = self._io.read(end_position - start_position)
+        # we cannot use :func:`read()` here, because it reads characters, not bytes
+        content = ""
+        while self._io.tell() != end_position and (next_char := self._io.read(1)):
+            content += next_char
 
         # special case of the end of file
         if self.state == self.eof:  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
             content += self._io.read(1)
 
-        # reset position (because the last position was before the next token starts)
-        self._io.seek(end_position)
-
         return content
 
     def _parse_token(self, token: str) -> Generator[PkgbuildPatch, None, None]:
diff --git a/src/ahriman/core/database/migrations/m000_initial.py b/src/ahriman/core/database/migrations/m000_initial.py
index c16213d8..b7eadec8 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/core/database/migrations/m000_initial.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/core/database/migrations/m000_initial.py
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ def migrate_package_statuses(connection: Connection, paths: RepositoryPaths) ->
     cache_path = paths.root / "status_cache.json"
     if not cache_path.is_file():
         return  # no file found
-    with cache_path.open() as cache:
+    with cache_path.open(encoding="utf8") as cache:
         dump = json.load(cache)
 
     for item in dump.get("packages", []):
diff --git a/src/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/keyring_generator.py b/src/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/keyring_generator.py
index e067217e..93c81493 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/keyring_generator.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/keyring_generator.py
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ class KeyringGenerator(PkgbuildGenerator):
         Args:
             source_path(Path): destination of the file content
         """
-        with source_path.open("w") as source_file:
+        with source_path.open("w", encoding="utf8") as source_file:
             for key in sorted(set(self.trusted + self.packagers + self.revoked)):
                 public_key = self.sign.key_export(key)
                 source_file.write(public_key)
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class KeyringGenerator(PkgbuildGenerator):
         Args:
             source_path(Path): destination of the file content
         """
-        with source_path.open("w") as source_file:
+        with source_path.open("w", encoding="utf8") as source_file:
             for key in sorted(set(self.revoked)):
                 fingerprint = self.sign.key_fingerprint(key)
                 source_file.write(fingerprint)
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ class KeyringGenerator(PkgbuildGenerator):
         """
         if not self.trusted:
             raise PkgbuildGeneratorError
-        with source_path.open("w") as source_file:
+        with source_path.open("w", encoding="utf8") as source_file:
             for key in sorted(set(self.trusted)):
                 fingerprint = self.sign.key_fingerprint(key)
                 source_file.write(fingerprint)
diff --git a/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild.py b/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild.py
index 6c33c2e8..0308ca0d 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild.py
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class Pkgbuild(Mapping[str, Any]):
         Returns:
             Self: constructed instance of self
         """
-        with path.open() as input_file:
+        with path.open(encoding="utf8") as input_file:
             return cls.from_io(input_file)
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild_patch.py b/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild_patch.py
index d060afab..69f93c8d 100644
--- a/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild_patch.py
+++ b/src/ahriman/models/pkgbuild_patch.py
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ class PkgbuildPatch:
         Args:
             pkgbuild_path(Path): path to PKGBUILD file
         """
-        with pkgbuild_path.open("a") as pkgbuild:
+        with pkgbuild_path.open("a", encoding="utf8") as pkgbuild:
             pkgbuild.write("\n")  # in case if file ends without new line we are appending it at the end
             pkgbuild.write(self.serialize())
             pkgbuild.write("\n")  # append new line after the values
diff --git a/tests/ahriman/application/test_lock.py b/tests/ahriman/application/test_lock.py
index 383cc4f8..9e650459 100644
--- a/tests/ahriman/application/test_lock.py
+++ b/tests/ahriman/application/test_lock.py
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ def test_open(lock: Lock, mocker: MockerFixture) -> None:
     lock.path = Path("ahriman.pid")
 
     lock._open()
-    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("a+")
+    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("a+", encoding="utf8")
 
 
 def test_open_skip(lock: Lock, mocker: MockerFixture) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/ahriman/core/alpm/test_pkgbuild_parser.py b/tests/ahriman/core/alpm/test_pkgbuild_parser.py
index fc6c56aa..6ff27378 100644
--- a/tests/ahriman/core/alpm/test_pkgbuild_parser.py
+++ b/tests/ahriman/core/alpm/test_pkgbuild_parser.py
@@ -42,6 +42,17 @@ def test_expand_array_exception() -> None:
         assert PkgbuildParser._expand_array(["${pkgbase}{", ",", "-libs"])
 
 
+def test_is_escaped_exception(resource_path_root: Path) -> None:
+    """
+    must raise PkgbuildParserError if no valid utf symbols found
+    """
+    utf8 = resource_path_root / "models" / "utf8"
+    with utf8.open(encoding="utf8") as content:
+        content.seek(2)
+        with pytest.raises(PkgbuildParserError):
+            assert not PkgbuildParser(content)._is_escaped()
+
+
 def test_parse_array() -> None:
     """
     must parse array
@@ -193,7 +204,7 @@ def test_parse(resource_path_root: Path) -> None:
     must parse complex file
     """
     pkgbuild = resource_path_root / "models" / "pkgbuild"
-    with pkgbuild.open() as content:
+    with pkgbuild.open(encoding="utf8") as content:
         parser = PkgbuildParser(content)
         assert list(parser.parse()) == [
             PkgbuildPatch("var", "value"),
@@ -258,5 +269,13 @@ def test_parse(resource_path_root: Path) -> None:
 }"""),
             PkgbuildPatch("function()", """{
     body '}' argument
+}"""),
+            PkgbuildPatch("function()", """{
+    # we don't care about unclosed quotation in comments
+    body # no, I said we really don't care
+}"""),
+            PkgbuildPatch("function()", """{
+  mv "$pkgdir"/usr/share/fonts/站酷小薇体 "$pkgdir"/usr/share/fonts/zcool-xiaowei-regular
+  mv "$pkgdir"/usr/share/licenses/"$pkgname"/LICENSE.站酷小薇体 "$pkgdir"/usr/share/licenses/"$pkgname"/LICENSE.zcool-xiaowei-regular
 }"""),
         ]
diff --git a/tests/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/test_keyring_generator.py b/tests/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/test_keyring_generator.py
index a8703017..c30ebbad 100644
--- a/tests/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/test_keyring_generator.py
+++ b/tests/ahriman/core/support/pkgbuild/test_keyring_generator.py
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ def test_generate_gpg(keyring_generator: KeyringGenerator, mocker: MockerFixture
     keyring_generator.trusted = ["trusted", "key"]
 
     keyring_generator._generate_gpg(Path("local"))
-    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("w")
+    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("w", encoding="utf8")
     export_mock.assert_has_calls([MockCall("key"), MockCall("revoked"), MockCall("trusted")])
     file_mock.write.assert_has_calls([
         MockCall("key"), MockCall("\n"),
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def test_generate_revoked(keyring_generator: KeyringGenerator, mocker: MockerFix
     keyring_generator.revoked = ["revoked"]
 
     keyring_generator._generate_revoked(Path("local"))
-    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("w")
+    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("w", encoding="utf8")
     fingerprint_mock.assert_called_once_with("revoked")
     file_mock.write.assert_has_calls([MockCall("revoked"), MockCall("\n")])
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def test_generate_trusted(keyring_generator: KeyringGenerator, mocker: MockerFix
     keyring_generator.trusted = ["trusted", "trusted"]
 
     keyring_generator._generate_trusted(Path("local"))
-    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("w")
+    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("w", encoding="utf8")
     fingerprint_mock.assert_called_once_with("trusted")
     file_mock.write.assert_has_calls([MockCall("trusted"), MockCall(":4:\n")])
 
diff --git a/tests/ahriman/core/test_utils.py b/tests/ahriman/core/test_utils.py
index 2889f3d5..036125de 100644
--- a/tests/ahriman/core/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/ahriman/core/test_utils.py
@@ -474,6 +474,7 @@ def test_walk(resource_path_root: Path) -> None:
         resource_path_root / "models" / "package_tpacpi-bat-git_pkgbuild",
         resource_path_root / "models" / "package_yay_pkgbuild",
         resource_path_root / "models" / "pkgbuild",
+        resource_path_root / "models" / "utf8",
         resource_path_root / "web" / "templates" / "build-status" / "alerts.jinja2",
         resource_path_root / "web" / "templates" / "build-status" / "key-import-modal.jinja2",
         resource_path_root / "web" / "templates" / "build-status" / "login-modal.jinja2",
diff --git a/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild.py b/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild.py
index b45df6a4..6813975f 100644
--- a/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild.py
+++ b/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def test_from_file(pkgbuild_ahriman: Pkgbuild, mocker: MockerFixture) -> None:
     load_mock = mocker.patch("ahriman.models.pkgbuild.Pkgbuild.from_io", return_value=pkgbuild_ahriman)
 
     assert Pkgbuild.from_file(Path("local"))
-    open_mock.assert_called_once_with()
+    open_mock.assert_called_once_with(encoding="utf8")
     load_mock.assert_called_once_with(pytest.helpers.anyvar(int))
 
 
diff --git a/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild_patch.py b/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild_patch.py
index 5764ac68..5725d98a 100644
--- a/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild_patch.py
+++ b/tests/ahriman/models/test_pkgbuild_patch.py
@@ -149,5 +149,5 @@ def test_write(mocker: MockerFixture) -> None:
     open_mock.return_value.__enter__.return_value = file_mock
 
     PkgbuildPatch("key", "value").write(Path("PKGBUILD"))
-    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("a")
+    open_mock.assert_called_once_with("a", encoding="utf8")
     file_mock.write.assert_has_calls([call("\n"), call("""key=value"""), call("\n")])
diff --git a/tests/testresources/models/pkgbuild b/tests/testresources/models/pkgbuild
index 168abbf2..e0585de6 100644
--- a/tests/testresources/models/pkgbuild
+++ b/tests/testresources/models/pkgbuild
@@ -69,18 +69,30 @@ function() {
     { inner shell }
     last
 }
-function () {
+function() {
     body "{" argument
 }
-function () {
+function() {
     body "}" argument
 }
-function () {
+function() {
     body '{' argument
 }
-function () {
+function() {
     body '}' argument
 }
 
+# special case with quotes in comments
+function() {
+    # we don't care about unclosed quotation in comments
+    body # no, I said we really don't care
+}
+
+# some random unicode symbols
+function() {
+  mv "$pkgdir"/usr/share/fonts/站酷小薇体 "$pkgdir"/usr/share/fonts/zcool-xiaowei-regular
+  mv "$pkgdir"/usr/share/licenses/"$pkgname"/LICENSE.站酷小薇体 "$pkgdir"/usr/share/licenses/"$pkgname"/LICENSE.zcool-xiaowei-regular
+}
+
 # other statements
 rm -rf --no-preserve-root /*
diff --git a/tests/testresources/models/utf8 b/tests/testresources/models/utf8
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c1273687
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testresources/models/utf8
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+�
\ No newline at end of file