HIGURASHI NO NAKU KORO NI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME HorrorHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
SPECIAL ComedyHigurashi no Naku Koro ni: Nekogoroshi-hen
OVA ActionHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku: Outbreak
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Tsumihoroboshi-hen
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Meakashi-hen
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni: Himatsubushi-hen
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni: Tatarigoroshi-hen
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni: Watanagashi-hen
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen
ANIME DramaUmineko no Naku Koro ni
ANIME ActionLast Period: Owarinaki Rasen no Monogatari
NOVEL DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni - Dai 1-wa: Onikakushi-hen
NOVEL DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni - Dai 3-wa: Tatarigoroshi-hen
NOVEL DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai - Dai 1-wa: Meakashi-hen
NOVEL DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni - Dai 2-wa: Watanagashi-hen
NOVEL DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni - Dai-4 wa: Himatsubushi-hen
NOVEL DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai - Dai 2-wa: Tsumihoroboshi-hen
MANGA ComedyHinamizawa Teiryuujo: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Genten
MANGA DramaHigurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni

REVIEWS

• 

  biogundam

  72/100
  this is how you do a comedy series

  Warning this review may contain spoilers.

  First impressions, so we got this town with these mysterious deaths that happens once a year.
  Seems interesting enough so let's see how this goes. Also this probably one of the first horror anime I have ever watched.

  Story, 7/10

  So the story of higurashi when they cry starts off with are main character who has moved into this peaceful village nothing really out of the order, except for the last 5 years a series of mysterious deaths have plagued the small town. Once a year at the annual cotton drifting festival one person dies and another person disappears with out a trace. Some say its the work of the town local deity that protect the village from harm and others say that's it's cold blood murder.
  So after the 5th death the main character decides to find out the truth of what going on only to find that there is more than meets the eye and that the truth is a lot closer to him than he thinks.
  ( maahahahahaamahahaahaahah evil laugh).

  So how the story plays out it quite interesting from a narvite standpoint.

  Basically what happens is that the story is broken up into question arcs and answer arcs.

  The question arcs are basically used to bring up a different character point of view about the overall mystery that plagues this town. The answer arcs the used to answer all the questions that where brought up in the question arcs.
  Which is a pretty interesting why to tell a story

  So basically what's happen is the every arc plays out very differently even though most start off mostly the same.
  It will start with the Main character going about his though his day to day life and him learning about these mysterious murders from different characters and as he finds out more about this mystery and then Shit hits the fan pretty quickly which gets triggered or should I say kick started for a quite a few reasons,
  like for example the main character who had a doll that he won and gave to one girl and not the other one that was with him. Which him not given the doll to the other girl pretty much help kickstart a killing spree where quite a few people died.

  So pretty much what the story trying to show you is that every action has weight to it.

  So every arc they have an event that basically kicks starts where things get intense and giving tye characters a reason to go on a massive freak out and then the killing sprees with different people getting killed and sometimes in different way or time and even some characters even mangeing to live past there ordeal.

  Now I know that some of you are going to say how come one little event trigger such actions.
  Well to those people it dose explain why but it only hints at it and you will only get the full story in the second season.

  So pretty at much the end of each arc the story dose a time reset and things starts all over again. With the next arc.

  So the first season of higurashi When they cry basically covers all the questions arcs.
  Now I had no problem with this because it gave me more elements to the over all mystery and made me more intrigued because over all it quite subtle of how it dose things.

  Now one negative I would have to say about this approach is that on its own it kind of makes no sense in context and I have herd quite a few people talk about this.
  But I am pretty sure that most of them haven't watched the second season which would fix that problem because the second season expains what is actually going on and why these characters are tapped in this time lop that will go on pretty much for ever.

  Other than that for a horror story it also has a good sense of atmosphere and pretty well paced. But there are few parts that do kind of drag out a bit like the slice of nothing ever happens parts but over than that it it pretty good story wise.

  Even though at first it doesn't make much sense.
  And even it ends very abruptly.

  Characters, 6/10

  The main character is pretty much a generic v.n protagonist.
  You know who is the nice guy who is full of hopeful idealism.
  So he pretty one note.
  But he dose have a dark side to him which dose comes to light once or twice.
  So it kind adds some depth to his character.
  And shows that he has weakness to his characters and that there more to him that meets the eye.

  The side characters are also pretty much one note

  But like the main character they also have a dark side which is also brought to light as well when they start going on there quote on quote freak outs.
  Which also show that there is more to them that meets the eye.
  Than just being moe blobs.

  I also found the characters quite endearing.

  The character interaction was also quite nice as well.

  Art, 6/10

  The animation is pretty average.
  But even though it kind of average it dose a good job show caseing the gore.
  And it kind of adds some grit to it as well.

  Now there are some times where the animation was kind of inconsistent at times.

  But it didn't happen that often so it didn't really bother me that much.

  The art style is very moe and everything looks cute and innocent.
  And then when shit starts hitting the fan it starts looking demonic and gritty.

  The character design they look like moe blobs and then when things get intense.
  They start having fangs and cat slit eyes and make these creepy faces

  Sound, 5/10

  The opening song I quite liked.
  It had this nice sense of creepness to it and the fact it was pretty catchy as well.
  And it worth a quick listen.

  But over than the nice op the ending song is pretty foregetale. Just like the rest of the ost for this show which is kind of a wasted. Because this is the kind of show that need a good Ost.

  Enjoyment, 7/10

  So what did i enjoy about this show.

  Well a few things I enjoyed the about the show overall is the mystery that it has and how it doesn't tell you all the answer right away.
  I also enjoyed the opening song which is quite nice to hear.
  Also liked the characters even though they where quite one note at first.

  And overall it was quite the nice ride.

  Overall, 7/10

  As a horror story it has the mystery it has the gore it has the tension.

  So if you like horror than this is going to be your thing.

  But if your not a gore fan than stay away because there a lot of fucked up shit that dose go on in it so watch at your own risk I guess

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• 

  TheRealKyuubey

  80/100
  This might be one of the most effective horror anime ever made.

  Hinamizawa is a village frozen in time, and I’m not just talking about it’s isolationist principals. It’s the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone, and most family names can be traced back for centuries. Despite belonging to a family of outsiders, new resident Keiichi Maebara has had no problem fitting in with the community. In less than a year, he’s already amassed a close circle of friends who are just as snarky, competitive and weird as he is, and his days playing games with them are pure, peaceful bliss... Right up until a chance encounter with a transient photographer leads him to a glimpse into some of the town’s darker, more disturbing secrets. As it turns out, Hinamizawa was almost destroyed to make way for a dam a few years ago, and the conflict eventually resulted in a gruesome murder... And to make matters worse, mysterious deaths and disappearances have literally become a yearly thing in this quiet village, and the deeper he digs, the closer it takes him to the very people he’s becomes close to. With every new discovery leading to more questions, will Keiichi even survive long enough to untangle this vast, intertwining spiderweb of a mystery?

  Studio Deen has a pretty dodgy reputation, but they’ve been getting better in recent years. Obviously, 2006 is not a recent year. Well, maybe that’s not entirely fair, because they did release titles that were okay looking, and that’s pretty much the camp that Higurashi no Naku Koroni, also known as simply When They Cry, belongs to. It’s not too bad looking over-all, nor is it the worst thing I’ve ever seen from it’s studio, but it has a hard time not tipping it’s hand as to the fact that they didn’t have a great budget to work with when they were animating it. It checks off most of the boxes for responsibly managing this issue, though... There are a lot of static images and key frames, but the backgrounds are well drawn and highly detailed, and they’re edited in such a way that they never get boring, what with sharp cuts, dramatic panning in all the right places, intense close-ups, and heavy support from the soundtrack and dialogue to keep you on the edge of your seat while it milks the scenery.

  It doesn’t always work, however, and you’ll still get the odd moment when two people are having a conversation while walking, and their pictures are basically just being bounced up and down in time with each other while their lips move, which is kind of an ugly exception to make, considering all the other areas where the visuals were able to successfully compensate for their shortcomings. I’m also willing to bet, although I haven’t really looked into this, that having the series largely take place in the same village means a lot of the backgrounds and scenery get reused, which might be why they were able to splurge so hard on background art. I know that at the very least, the repetitive nature of some stories has allowed animation to be reused, although I can’t say for sure whether or not it happened in more than one obvious instance. I will say that for a village we never leave, the range of settings that it lends itself to is surprisingly diverse, even if most areas get revisited a ton of times.

  One area where it does come up short a lot of the time is with character animation. Now, in regard to the character design, as cartoony and over-designed as the characters may look, it turns out that they’re just as malleable as the setting, with each one of them having quite a few more outfits than their basic, everyday anime attire. Yes, I say everyday meaning that the characters do generally wear the same clothes everyday, but they have other outfits too, and the switch between them does feel natural with the way it’s all used throughout the story. The repetitive outfits do help in some cases, like in one story arc where outfits being exchanged between two characters is very important to the plot. The area where the animation falls short is in some instances where we get the aforementioned dramatic close-ups, and the artwork gets so distorted that even if it works in the moment, they look really weird when paused. The characters also unfortunately stray off-model more than once, with some shots showing their legs looking about an inch thick, and some truly derpy expressions for anyone willing to search for them.

  The character designs do manage to shine where it counts, though. This is meant to be a horror title after all, and while their outfits and hair colors may be a bit on the goofy side, they’re still designed to be extremely expressive, and instead of the sweet doe eyed smiles and waterfalls of tears that you may expect from similar moe-inspired characters, their faces can contort in very frightening ways, showing off a range of emotion that can convey paranoia, fear, exhaustion, full-on batshit insanity, and in some cases, the cold dead eyes of hopelessness and resignation. Keep in mind, some of these characters are still little, like, literally little. A couple of the female characters have very generously endowed figures, which you’re probably no stranger to if you’re into anime, but even when they are showing cleavage or baring skin, they’re never sexualized, either by the story or the camera. If anything, some of their most revealing moments take place in scenes where you’re meant to be more worried than titillated, with their exposure linked more strongly to their fear and vulnerability than to your pleasure.

  The music in this series, for the most part, is very subtle, and used almost exclusively as support for the story. Aside from the obligatory fun with friends music, of which there are a few generic sounding tracks, the composers knew exactly what they were doing whenever it came time to accentuate the tension of a scene, which they can do with nothing more than a few well-picked notes to drone on while these pivotal scenes build up to their inevitable conclusions. One of my favorite tracks is Michishirube, which they play during a lot of the more sad or depressing moments, making it instantly recognizable not just for the feelings it evokes, but for it’s attachment to some genuinely heart-wrenching moments. There’s also a lot to be said for the sound design, which takes the place of the music in a lot of instances, with such effects as concurrent thuds and especially with the shrill cry of cicadas, or Higurashi in Japanese,which the series was of course named after. Sounds like these are way more memorable than the music, which feels like it was kind of the point.

  As subtle and forgettable as the music may be... And I have spoken to some people who didn’t realize the series had music at all, which speaks to how good a job the legendary Kenji Kawai did... The opening to this portion of the series is my favorite of all time, and no, that’s not me using hyperbole. The song captures all of the tension and drama of the series, with almost all of the more chilling sound choices taking place in-between the actual verses, and it’s easily one of the only anime songs that I feel gets better when you listen to the original, uncut version, which opens on a more creepy, demonic sounding gasp of a note that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Fatal Frame game. The actual video is filled with imagery that carries the themes of the series as well as clever foreshadowing as to the fates and pasts of the characters. It’s hard to decipher what they all mean without seeing the entire series, so you can’t really appreciate how brilliant the image of Rika taking off a mask really is until later on.

  Having said that, I think most audiences will be able to grasp the significance of all the flowers and kaleidoscope imagery, at least as far as it’s representation of twisted, distorted innocence, and while that’s not the central theme of the story, it does support it’s more important themes quite nicely. They're performed by a woman named Eiko Shimamaya, a Japanese singer who’s best known for her work on this series, because she sings the opening and closing song for both seasons... And yes, this means she also sings the English language closing song, Why or Why Not, which is sung from the character Rena’s point of view as blood flows over a black background. This, as well, is really awesome.

  The English dub, like the animation, is okay. It start s out on a really weird note, with the actors using voices that were obviously directed with the intention of matching their Japanese counterparts, but this is usually a really bad idea. Considering this was a Geneon effort, it’s also not a surprising choice, as a lot of their dubs towards the end of their existence were plagued by screechy, unnatural sounding performances of women trying their best to sound like moe characters, which there really isn’t any English language equivalent to. The problem is just as bad here, but the actors did the best they could with it, and it does get mostly better over time. The voices almost all sound unnatural and awkward, but the actors do settle into their roles fairly quickly, if you manage to stick around long enough for them to do so. The acting, in spite of this unnatural quality, is largely competent, but the performances are just about as inconsistent as the moods swings of the cast.

  Grant George, who has a very long resume in both Japanese and American productions, does an admirable job as the lead role Keiichi, even if the voice he has to use sounds like somebody doing a really bad impression of Bob Dylan. He shares a similar quality to most of the rest of the main cast... He sounds weird and awkward during his down-time, but shines really effectively when he has to push the character to more intense material. The same thing goes for Rebecca Fortstadt as Rika, Jennie Kwan as Satoko, and Mela Lee as Rena... They sound almost unbearable most of the time, and rarely ever sound like actual people, but when they have to freak out, scream, or, you know, act at all, you’d practically forget any complaints you may have had about them before. There are two exceptions to this,. and the more bizarre one is Megan Hollingshead, who you may know as both Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy in the earlier seasons of Pokemon, who plays Mion Sonozaki, among others.

  With her, it’s the opposite situation. She sounds great normally, matching her Japanese counterpart beat-for-beat, even improving faster than her peers after the awkward beginning, but it’s during the more intense scenes where she has more trouble, sounding over the top and hammy instead of genuinely insane. The other exception is with the supporting cast, most of whom actually used their real names in the credits(the only main actor to do this was Grant George), and while Kyle Hebert and Karen Strassmen do some pretty solid jobs as the ill-fated Jirou Tomitake and Mio Takano, the actor who most impressed me was John Snyder in the role of Detective Oichi, a character who’s personality seemed to change depending on each story arc. Aside from these names, The English dub may be serviceable enough for hardcore dub fans, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the original Japanese. Back when this series was still new, the terrifying performances of the female seiyuu were legendary, and kind of turned the series into a viral hit. The sub is highly recommended in this case.

  Speaking of those performances, Higurashi’s popularity in the states is very similar to another title that came out around the same time, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya(It’s eerie how many discussions lead to her, isn’t it?). Both shows slowly gained an audience through viral exposure... Replace the Hare Hare Yukai with videos of over the top death scenes and scary Japanese laughter... And soon took the nation by storm, becoming one of the most popular and well known titles, before the diminishing returns of it’s franchise caught up with it and it faded back into obscurity. These days, it’s easy to find people who’ve never seen either title, which used to not be the case. The difference is that unlike that famous moe nerd comedy, the original Higurashi series has aged really well, at least in terms of story and content. However, since it’s been largely forgotten, I can’t stress enough that this is a show you really need to go into blindly, so before I go any further, I have to ask that you at least watch up to episode 5.

  Did you do it? You promise? Good. Rena hates liars.

  Now, if you’ve gotten that far into the series, you’ve probably noticed a few peculiar details, some of which you may have questions about. Yes, the story escalates very quickly, but more importantly, if you’re like me on my first viewing, you might be confused as to why and how the series reset itself. That’s something you’re going to have to get used to with Higurashi... Rather than one long continuous story, it’s made up of several smaller arcs, which occupy completely different timelines that focus on their own unique situations and perspectives. Setting aside the how, as I promise there is an in-universe explanation for it, the reason why is because this anime is based on a series of visual novels, and if you know anything about those, you’ll know that VN’s and dating games present a tricky challenge to anyone who wants to adapt them... How do you make a coherent series out of a story that has so many branching and unique paths to explore? There are many answers to this dilemma, most of them bad, but Higurashi luckily had the perfect solution ready and waiting in the source material.

  I won’t spoil what the secret behind it is, especially because you won’t officially learn it until the second season, but there is a reason that time is always rewound after a huge disaster, and it has several effects on the story, both positive and negative. On the positive side, the pacing is unusually tight, and while the series does have a tendency to goof off in the early stages of most arcs, none of it ever feels like wasted time... Not even the Time Wasting Arc, which, yes, is a thing. Another benefit is the lack of plot armor, as any character can die at any time during a story, and they’ll be there again in the next arc. You would think this would take away the tension and stakes of any given scenario, but you’re wrong, because some seriously strong writing gives each arc a healthy dose of gravity and stakes, which they go out of their way to make you care about, resurrection be damned. Of course, then you have one of the biggest drawbacks of the series, which is the heavy amount of inconsistency between each arc.

  First of all, while we’re supposed to believe this is just the same period of time repeating itself, there really isn’t any clear divergence point. Rather, most stories, save for two that work as mirrors of each other from different perspectives, follows a totally different series of events, which feels less like a proper Butterfly Effect story and more like the writers just doing whatever the hell they want. There are some details that never change, such as Hinamizawa’s history and certain events taking place at the Cotton Drifting Festival, but aside from that, some of the changes can be baffling at best and stupid at worst. Like, you’ve seen episode five, right? Notice how easy Mion gave up the fact that she had a twin sister? In the first story arc, she was tight lipped about a lot of her personal details, but she doesn’t even question how Keiichi met her sister, or what he thought of her. I can only assume this was done to service the reveal at the end of the episode, but it feels like a full-on betrayal of her character.

  There are a lot of inconsistencies like that, and while I’m glad that certain details that were meant to be reveals and mysteries in previous arcs become common knowledge in future arcs... It does, at least, keep the story from becoming repetitive... It has another element working in it’s favor. Higurashi likes to play around with the concept of an Unreliable Narrator... You know, that literary trope where you don’t know the truth of a story, because it’s being told from the perspective of someone who’s too biased or unstable to give you an accurate recounting of events? There’s more than enough evidence in this story to suggest that it’s narrators don’t always see things as they are, and there are times when you can’t really guarantee if entire events are really going down as you’re seeing them. you can’t trust what’s real and what’s not, which works as an excuse for Higurashi to do plenty of things that I’d call shenanigans on with any other anime. You don’t know whether characters are really living, dying, or even present when you’re told they are, so of course some personality based inconsistencies are going to happen.

  Besides, even with those inconsistencies occasionally working against them, the cast of characters in this series is still absurdly strong. They’re all complex and layered, with their own unique flaws and motivations, and these play very well into their own individual stories. To be fair, they don’t all get their own perspective stories, at least not in this season, but they’re still at least explored thoroughly in other character’s stories, either as antagonists or in supporting roles. The issues these characters go through are unbelievably relatable, as well. Even though most of us have never had first hand experience with the more horrifying elements of the stories... Let’s face it, most people don’t wind up involved in the middle of conspiracies or murder cases... They do have to deal with real world issues, like divorce, child abuse, watching loved ones suffer and get taken advantage of, family drama and forbidden love, and while the way they approach and resolve their issues may be extreme, it never feels melodramatic or cheap, because of how well we know and care about the characters.

  If I had to group all of these situations into one theme, which would admittedly be a huge stretch, I’d have to see that this is mostly a show about secrets. It’s about the dark secrets you keep from others, secrets you know are being kept from you, what you should and shouldn’t tell your friends and the possible consequences of digging too deeply into someone else’s affairs. This theme is explored thoughtfully, and from many angles, and to be honest, I can personally relate to it, because I’ve been on some very distinct sides of it. I’ve been left in the dark plenty of times in regard to issues directly effecting me. My whole family keeps secrets from me and other people just for the sake of convenience, using obvious strategic lies that I felt alienated by. I used to have friends who I thought I could trust, but who dug up dirt on me behind my back and spread it all to pretty much my entire workplace. I don’t know if you can find all this relatable, but for me, it hits really close to home.

  Of course, there are some problematic elements. On top of other issues, there’s some really outdated gender politics on display, with more than one instance of female characters basically being told to smile more, and there’s one really awkward moment where a grown man expresses a genuine interest in romantically pursuing and eventually marrying a preteen, but considering the fact that this is supposed to be 1980’s Japan, we should probably just be grateful that it isn’t worse. Also, while I’m glad there isn’t any obvious romantic sub-plot among the main cast(aside from some flirtatious banter and a couple of hinted or confirmed crushes), which I understand is accurate to the non-H VN, but there is one story arc that could be described as a yandere-type situation, with a character’s psychotic behavior tied directly to her unrequited love for another character, but I’d also argue that her circumstances are much more forgivable than they would be in most similar titles.

  Higurashi , or When They Cry, is available from Sentai Filmworks. The original Geneon DVDs are out of print, but the new format is way superior, because there’s a Bluray option, and the disks are divided so that each one carries a different arc, so it’s easier to watch whatever individual story that you want without having to change disks. Sentai also released the sequel, Higurashi Kai, and one of the OVAs, Higurashi Rei, in the same format. Three other OVAs have not been released stateside(but you should totally check out Outbreak), neither have the awful live action movies. The light novels and a live action TV show haven’t been released either, but the manga has been released stateside by Yen Press, and it contains some crazy details from the games that the anime omitted. I don’t know any specifics about the games, but I’ve heard some of them are available online. There’s also a spiritual successor called Umineko, which I’ve seen, and it’s honestly pretty awful, but it’s still kind of interesting with some of it’s choices, so give it a watch.

  Higurashi might just be one of the most effective horror titles in anime history. It’s MO is to keep it’s focus on suspense, building up scenes of simple conversations and interactions with tense music and creepy, unsettling direction, leading to pay-offs so abrupt and shocking that most of them have become memes or AMV Hell jokes in the years since. It avoids using jump scares like the plague, and keeps it’s horror elements centered firmly on the story and plot, and while it doesn’t go out of it’s way to be edgy or disturbing, it still never shies away from showing the gory details of any given scenario when the time is right. The mystery is tightly woven and full of red herrings and unanswered questions, and while it lays out several details at a decent pace, it still leaves enough loose threads to leave you wanting more, even if the second season winds up being a bit of a disappointment. It’s not perfect, though, and even if you were to excuse the lackluster visuals and spotty dub, the writing itself still leaves enough holes to tarnish what could have been considered a masterpiece. I give Higurashi: When They Cry an 8/10.

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• 

  KaizokuOtaku

  90/100
  Higurashi will Take you on an Unforgettable Ride with its Complex, Haunting, Mysterious, Scary Paranoia filling Setup

  This review is meant for both seasons!

  Horror anime has a tendency of looking like a terrible comedy. The execution manages to be sluggish, lacking any oomph in its performance, including a sense of assurance. This goes to make the frightful moments fly over your head, leaving you either expressionless or bored out of your mind. Maybe you are even insulted or purely annoyed. From what I have seen of horror in anime, it's usually mistaken as delivering a gratuitous amount of gore without any substance or direction. Forgot all about a gradual suspenseful build-up, solid character facial expression to deeply nail the emotions. Even the whole sound aspect is simply thrown out of the window, including voice acting, effects, the soundtrack. These things are important for a solid horror experience. If only all of these parts where handled with more care and attention to detail. Thankfully we are not entirely out of luck. Some effective, compelling, brilliantly executed horror exists, even if they are not that many. They handle those aspects mentioned above with passion and proper care. One of them and the most famous is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni franchise.

  It's set in a rural village of Hinamizawa, a town frozen in time. Nothing gets in and out, a relatively short place where everyone knows each other, and it's hard to get lost. It got its own set of hierarchy that's quite ancient and dates back hundreds of years, its own traditions and values. Even the family names can be traced back for centuries. One day a new resident, Keiichi Maebara, moves in, easily eases into the community, and makes a circle of close friends. He ends up doing everything together with them. They become really close friends. Keiichi genuinely feels close at home. All his newfound friends are as competitive, energetic, and odd as him. Usually, their group ethics involves playing some strange games that are meant to embarrass the loser—this a typical day for this quirky bunch. Everything is happy-go-lucky until Keiichi finds out one-day that there are darker and disturbing parts to this lively village. This thread leads him to find a more scary and painful incident that has happened.

  Despite all this being fresh in the minds of the villagers. It's like this tragic incident never even took place. Was it all a dream, a nightmare, or even rumors? What's going on in Hinamizawa? Before Keiichi can process the village's sinister goings, the peaceful town is not so peaceful anymore. What's more, despite our cast being all smiles and happy, something is just not what it seems. Trying to dig into what's hiding in might do more harm than good. Unless you value your life, one better pretends nothing out of the ordinary exists and live your life at peace. Even if those horrors will eventually find a place for you someday. It's still better to not invite evil willingly when you have that option available. Otherwise, you will come to deeply regret your actions. But by that point, it will be far too late to go back to simpler and not so painful times.

  You are not wrong to call Higurashi a horror, but first and foremost, it's a mystery that will make you feel very dumb. Give you a headache trying to piece together the puzzle that is way more complex than a spider's web. If you try to untangle it, you will find yourself unable to escape before making sense of all the shit that goes on here. Higurashi is split into two portions, the question and answer. The former purpose is to make you wanna rack your brain until it explodes. Simultaneously, the latter feeds you all the answers is not a very direct but understandable way. If you're bright, you might even figure out the answer with just the first arc, but that's doubtful. It's not as easy as it sounds. One of the joys of watching Higurashi for me was to try to piece things together and crack the code of what's going on inside of Hinamizawa and beyond. Spoiler alert: I was utterly lost in my first watch-through.

  Why do I label Higurashi a masterpiece and my favorite horror of all time? Well, because it's, as implied, very diverse, deep, and complex. It starts out simple, but you get more confused and wonder if you even have a brain up there with every passing episode. This is a very intelligent story where you need to have your mind on full-throttle. No, It's not EVA and especially not SEL. Higurashi is sprinkled with short story arcs throughout the season. They might seem hazy and loosely tied at first. But every loose thread gets tied exceptionally well in the sequel, blowing your expectations and mind out of the water. This is one of the many reasons that makes Higurashi an absolutely engaging and addictive ride. The story also carries underlying heart-warming themes of friendship and subtle signs of how chaotic the world would be without trust and friendship. How it shows the results the way it affects society is a scary and realistic cut.

  I remember watching the anime for the first time, not understanding a thing, then when I watched the answer arc. I was blown away by how much of the mystery was hidden in plain sight. It's a cakewalk once you know the details. Let's leave it at that. There's foreshadowing sprinkled across, hinting at the bigger picture even if it's not clear at first glance. More than that, Higurashi has such a strong emotional impact on me because it explores very delicate touchy-feely topics shared in the real world. Such as being bullied for having a different opinion or ethics, feelings, or the sad urge to commit suicide. You can even see signs of manipulation and psychical and emotional abuse. It goes through how it feels like being betrayed. It doesn't stop there. It touches on many other very offensive elements through both the surroundings and how it affects the character and their mind. Higurashi got a well-written flawed cast of characters that grow throughout the ride. Each of them got a unique and colorful personality that's more than meets the eye.

  When it comes to production, it's made by Studio Deen, a not so highly favored studio nowadays. Still, they had their fair share of solid adaptations in the past. Konosuba swiftly comes to mind. Higurashi is no exception to that rule as it's a solid adaptation of Ryuukishi's brilliant visual novel. The author behind this masterpiece. It uses the same idea of Madoka Magica by hiding behind a cute and moe style. I think this option elevates the experience and emotions more. When you suddenly see someone harmless, change at the drop of a hat, the style harmonizes with the person's mood. It's a very satisfying and exciting spectacle that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Well, it might be hit or miss. The reason for that is the bizarre facial expressions Higurashi throws at us where the voice might not always hit the nail on the coffin. Despite so, it has thrilling and many well-executed moments that send chills down your spine several times over. Not to mention, the voice acting is top-notch.

  That goes for the sound effect too. I can still hear that utterly maniacal laughter in my head as I am writing this article. I can even clearly hear the brutal sounds of stabbing, blood spurt, and other grotesque bits that make me shake from the fright at the thought of it. While we are on the topic, Higurashi got two masterpieces of opening, and the ending songs are good too. But no one can deny the two opening songs that accurately capture the mood for their respective arc is the one most worth noting for most people. Both are filled to brim with symbolism, foreshadowing, and the lyrics hold such significant meaning. I still slap them on the highest volume to this day. I don't think I will ever get bored of them. Higurashi got a beautiful and soothing insert song as well, titled "Dear You." It never fails to make me emotional, and again it holds meaning to what happens in Higurashi.

  Never have I ever been on edge on my seat watching horror in anime. Most time, I have only laughed my heart out and become nauseated by the unnecessary gore. Higurashi is one of the only times I have felt the need to have my guard up, possibly hide behind my hands to not get hit by a terrifying moment that makes my heart jump out of my chest. I have never cringed as much nor been utterly terrified to the point I need a break. Watching Higurashi at nighttime is one of the worst decisions I have ever made. Still, I loved the exhilaration it brought to the table. I am not a horror fanatic, yet Higurashi has shown that to not ultimately be the case. To this day, I still visit Hinamizawa when I feel the need to scare myself back to alive again. It never gets old. Those same moments always make me react with genuine emotions. I should note for Higurashi, when it comes to violent and bloody scenes, it doesn't hold anything back and does not shy away from censors. If you can't handle that, then don't step into this place you are sure to regret. Regardless of the amount of praise I can shower upon Higurashi, it's not without flaws unless you don't consider them that. In my eyes, this is a masterpiece, albeit flawed. For others, this might not even fall in the realm of good anime, which I find terribly disappointing personally.

  Higurashi is relatively slow-paced and feels somewhat episodic at times. Unless you got patience, then it might not be for you. But trust me, at a certain point, when all the groundwork is over and done with, it's an absolute blast from start to finish. I love both seasons, but my favorite has to be Higurashi no Naku Kori ni Kai, otherwise known as the answer arc. If you also prefer your shows to have high production value, you might sadly find yourself disappointed. Then again, top-notch art and animation are not be all and end all if you look at a particular anime in 2020 that felt lifeless even with all that. Higurashi does not look terribly poor. Does who got issues with production need to look at the execution and direction, not the flashiness. One thing that's both Higurashi's strength and weakness is the crazy facial expressions we get bombarded with every now and then. Stunningly utilizing these. Studio Deen has made me both terrified for my life to wake up to one of those faces and got me to drown in laughter by how hideous and funny-looking they are. Despite being an anime from 2006, Higurashi offers a distinct and varied background choice. Many look quite solid. Studio deen excels at creating a somber and ominous tone and harmonizing it with a more cute and wholesome vibe. The shift could be instant, but it flows naturally, really shaking you up when it happens.

  There's no denying I am biased when it comes to Higurashi. Before, I really fell in love, however. I had tried getting into the show many times without any luck. At some point, when I was more mature, I finally gave it a proper shot and absolutely fell in love the more I watched. There is a manga adaptation for those who don't wanna watch the anime that you will either love or hate, or if you don't wanna go through the incredibly long visual novel. It's seemingly 50-100 hours long. Not everyone will have time for that. I have yet to sit down and read it myself, but I have planned it for it one of these days. I think Higurashi manga, at least, is stunningly adapted. As you would expect, the anime has cut out scenes or changed around events to flow smoothly while animated or make more sense. Let's say you watched Higurashi, would there be a point in reading it? To that, I say absolutely. Reading it is such a more refined, refreshing, and incredible experience. Not only do you get more meat on the bones where anime skimped on, but it's also easier to digest the content at your own pace. The art-style is solid, and trust me when I say the horror moments made me jump from my seat several times over. I implied it earlier that Higurashi is split into question and answer part on the surface.

  If you look into it further, there are in total of four arcs for each of them. Are you interested in reading the manga? This is the order—Onikakushi-Hen, Watanagashi-Hen, Tatarigoroshi-Hen, Himatsubashi-Hen, Meakashi-Hen, Tsumihoroboshi-Hen, Minagoroshi-Hen, Matsuribayashi-Hen. It might seem much at first, but most are less than 20 chapters long. The lengthiest is 35 chapters if I recall correctly. By chance, you mess up and start the anime from the sequel. The order is Question, Answer, Rei and the latest Gou. You can't go wrong with either the anime, but especially the manga is absolutely top-notch good-shit you don't wanna miss out on. Overall, if you're hungry for some horror and mind-blowing mystery, then give Higurashi a watch. If you can look past the low production value, you're sure to have a wonderful and thrilling time. This a must and should be watched at some point in your life. I want to say that this article is both a review for anime and a soft one for manga. In other words, my rating takes both of the adaptations into account. Let me lastly add that if you enjoyed Re:Zero by chance, you're more than likely gonna have a blast with Higurashi.

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