After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 07th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios.
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
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.
__I am including the whole anime series from 2006-2013.__ Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. Also known as When They Cry was originally produced as a Visual Novel in 2002 by independent doujinshi writer Ryushiki 07 and would release the entire story in chapter format from 2002-2006 and in the year of final publication of his work in 2006 was also the year famed Studio Deen would release the anime based on the first 6 chapters of this visual novel to the world. In 2007 I was still in school and my tastes in anime were quite simply just Inuyasha or whatever was airing on Cartoon Network or Studio Ghibli films. I hadn't had much exposure to the world of anime or what could be, then I got into my horror phase and wanted nothing more than to gobble up every horror film, series, and anime. For the anime scene, there were a few good horror anime's even then like Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Elfen Lied, or Paranoia Agent were all great examples, even something like Perfect Blue so I wasn't spoiled for choice and had a great time with all those anime's when I would eventually see them, but one of the first to ever actually grab me and demand my attention was Higurashi, it's music was everywhere on Youtube, it had so many early AMV's or tributes to it and I had even seen some scenes that legit made me scared and too disturbed to watch, I just had to check this show out. When I started watching it on Youtube I was kinda feeling as if it was a bit odd like the first scene hooked me and then I was treated to the most amazing opening for a show I had seen at that point, but after that, the whole story just seemed to be about a bunch of kids hanging out having fun. The story has a pretty simple concept with an interesting setting in that it takes place in 1983 in a rural village of Hinamizawa and follows 5 friends that all just seem to like hanging out and playing games, teasing the one guy in the group (It's not a harem btw, but I could see people jumping to that idea) and to be honest it just feels like your simple SOL anime and more so a comedy than anything else you'd think scary or horrifying. While I was expecting the horror to come because of what I had already seen I also felt that what I was watching was great for what it was as I immediately took a liking to the characters. Then things just start getting a bit strange, like that not everything is what it seemed, then just as quickly as that feeling had occurred almost everything started to change, the music got different, the animation was more focused on character's eyes and the sounds of the world were much louder. Almost as if the whole world of Higurashi was shifting. Then... It happened, Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni haunted me forever with the horror it presented. The type of horror it assumes isn't jump scare or gore, though they would eventually employ those too in small places, the horror I felt was that of seeing everyone around you as a monster. This has been a fear I've had since a nightmare and to witness an anime take all of it and put it to anime was just something earth-shattering like I had never known that the ones closest to you could also be the ones that could do such terrible things to you and with joy. Almost as like they were manipulated to do this by an evil force of nature. Ever since then I've never felt the same way about an anime like Higurashi, it's honestly one of the most amazing shows of all time for not just anime, but horror as well. From its story to its sound to its music to its characters, which are so easy to connect to even in a world set in 1983, I feel that this is mainly due to how great the voice cast is, they all give fantastic performances here and there is not one-off sounding individual of the entire lineup. The main cast especially gives what I feel are award-worthy performances as at times throughout my years of re-viewing I have cried at some of the more painful and tragic moments that the whole franchise presents and the older I get and the more I connect to the story and its characters and the lessons it was telling. It's a show that starts its genre in horror for its first season but as the show goes along and the more you look into the story and its other installments, it turns into a tragic drama, and this metamorphosis of a genre I had never seen be done before. It's like something I would relate to Evangelion in how it twisted its genre into something else so elegantly. There are so few animes that can shake me to the core and those that do I've always praised and recommended to people, and from my experience most people I recommend the show to have loved it as well, also I think the legacy of Higurashi speaks for itself, while the VN and Manga are just as popular in their own right, Higurashi's anime has become iconic as well as being considered one of the greatest horror/mystery animes and has garnered lots of references in other animes as well as western shows. Now there are some flaws in this show no doubt, and some of those flaws are in the production parts, as especially with this first season the art is easy to criticize and has not aged well nore even in its time was it a splendid view and I could easily see people being put off by it even back then, especially if they were not a fan of horror. Although I do see the defense that the rather lackluster artwork adds to the charm of the first season, I still have to admit it's not the strong point of the show. Also, there is the case that Higurashi's anime is an adaption of the Visual Novel from 2002 and as with many animes that adapt from manga's light novels and visual novels, it cuts a lot of content. Some fans of the VN have even called it a bad adaptation as well as losing the core themes of Higurashi. Which while I disagree and feel the show still showcases the themes perfectly, I can see how a person going from the VN to the Anime could feel this way. In honesty yes I can see that Higurashi's anime goes much more for a horror approach rather than a mystery drama with some of the tragedy not being complete without the added Slice of Life scenes. And with the Visual Novel updates and the voice cast even being a part of the VN then yer one could argue that Higurashi's ultimate story is in its Visual Novel and not the anime. But for me, I don't enjoy Higurashi's VN more comedic elements or its sol scenes that it puts forward also I feel the VN's length is too much of a snail's pace for me to enjoy as I could with the anime or the manga. I love the VN and the fanbase for Higurashi is quite great too, but most will agree that the anime didn't fully adapt Higurashi to its full potential. Still, I do have to argue that one does not need to be a perfect adaption to be great on its own, and in my case, I feel Higurashi has so much to offer its anime viewers that I think it would be a shame to dismiss the anime based on those reasons alone. But having said that, Higurashi's anime from 2006-2013 is honestly one of the greatest experiences I've ever had and even today I still see Higurashi among the greatest animes of all time and still holds a candle for being one of the greatest horror anime, I hope that people have a great experience as I have had.
# Preface This review contains spoilers for "Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni" and it's sequel: "Higurashi Kai". While the spoilers are all marked, I recommend watching the show before reading any reviews. It should be no surprise that, by this rating, I highly recommend the show. If the gore is keeping you back, all I will say is that it is very purposeful and it always gives the audience time to mentally prepare for it. Also, despite being a Denpa, the ending is satisfactory. I feel the need to clarify due to most Denpa having unfulfilling and or abrupt endings. # Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni ________________ “I trusted her. ...No, I still trust her. Even in this very moment, I trust her. But… I’m starting to realize. I only wanted to trust her because I refused to accept the truth. It was as if I was trying to convince myself, in such a silly...sobbing voice… That kindness made me happy. That adorable smile brought me joy. I liked petting your head. I loved how demure you were . ...Because this will be the last time. Because when I swing this down [kill], I’ll forget. This is… my… First and last… bouquet for you Perhaps… I really did… ...love you.” ~ Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni - Onikakushi-hen Visual Novel ________________ As humans, we can never completely have trust in each other. No matter what, we are fated to always have the slightest bit of doubt about each other. Even undeniable companionship can be suspected and doubted. “Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni” (Higurashi) and it’s subsequent sequel “Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai” (Higurashi Kai) explore this idea of learning to trust your friends with undeniable certainty. While the former focuses on the character’s descent into paranoia, the latter shows the fight against paranoia - to have faith in your friends and defy fate. # STORY Higurashi, referring to both sections, has an extraordinary story with powerful themes that are effectively discussed. In the first episode, protagonist and transfer student - Keiichi Maebara - visits the junkyard with his friend - Rena Ryuugu - where he discovers that a brutal murder occurred in Hinamizawa where the victim’s body was dismembered by a group of people. Concerningly, one of the perpetrators hasn’t been found. Every year since then, a murder of one and the dissapearance of another takes place during the village’s Cotton Drifting Festival. The locals attribute this to “Oyashiro-sama” - a deity of the village. If one upsets this deity, then they will be punished accordingly. At the end of episode 4, Maebara Keiichi claws at his throat and kills himself not before murdering his two classmates - Rena and Mion Sonozaki. Peculiarly, in the next episode, all of the characters are brought back to life; they are all friends again as if the events of the previous arc never happened. All of the events are locked in a time loop which all occurs in June 1983. In each arc, while most of the plot points stay the same, something slightly different happens that causes a character to doubt their friends, provoking their violent tendencies. That is the basic structure of a “question arc”, which includes the first four arcs of the series. As the name suggests, they create questions, such as “Why did ‘Character A’ kill?”, “What happened to ‘Character B’?”, and, most importantly, “Why is everything happening?”. These arcs put the audience in the position of the terror-stricken detective. Each subsequent arc supplements the audience with just enough information for there to be a possibility of connection between them. This compels the audience to have a more intimate relation to the story. We might believe some information to be true - only to be denied by another arc, completely destroying your previous understanding of the story. The pieces are all there; we just need to figure out if they connect, how they connect, even if they are real - or part of some character’s imagination. Interestingly, at the beginning of most arcs, there is a preview for the end of each arc. The audience is transparently told which characters are going to die. Unlike many mainstream horror works, which mostly revolves around jumpscares, no shock value is used in Higurashi. The audience is scared, not because of the fear of “who’s going to die” but “how this happens”; how these kind friends come to murder each other. These terror-inducing scenes are intertwined with “slice-of-life” episodes, which creates a major tonal dissonance with the later parts of the arc. It is jarring, which helps create uneasiness. The audience is conflicted between indulging in the enjoyment and being cautious. They are just waiting for someone to kill another; they doubt the friend group’s ability to ascend out of paranoia ~!(not unlike Hanyuu)!~. The audience vicariously feels the character’s descent into paranoia - allowing the audience to entertain the reality of these characters. In contrast, Higurashi Kai generally has all of the “answer arcs”, which answer the questions posed by the “question arcs”. It discusses defiance against fate and learning to trust your friends This creates a huge tonal shift in the series that some people did not enjoy. It is a lot more somber and emotional - rather than horror based. Throughout all the time loops, the characters have struggled and failed to try and reach their happy ending; in all of their attempts, they have failed and met tragic ends. However, there will always be a light no matter how dark the tunnel is. It may be a cheesy ending but it's a fulfilling one that fits the story's themes. # CHARACTERS: Most time-loop stories fall into the trap of having boring side characters, with only the main characters being compelling. Higurashi takes a different approach by, instead, teaching us a different aspect of each character in each loop. The characters technically never change, but their actions and our perspective does. Keiichi comes across as a generic relatable protagonist, which prompts the audience to sympathize with him. He goes insane over doubting his friends which leads to, sometimes, exaggerated reactions. However, he shows face when the situation calls for him. Throughout the second season, he actively works against what he would naturally do and takes the best course of action to ensure everyone is happy because, at the end of the day, he loves his friends. The audience is led to sympathize with him as we see everything from his perspective for the first three arcs. As such, their relationship with the whole world and its characters are through Keiichi. ~!It’s tragic to see him kill Rena and Mion in the first arc but, even after finding the answer, we can still understand him. Nothing he did was wrong or illogical; it was just an unfortunate circumstance.!~ Rika is one of the few characters who actually has a character arc. As such, she naturally has the most development. In the first season, she is the most mysterious. It’s clear she possesses some knowledge of the time loops but the audience doesn’t learn much about this until the second season. Her character shifts from the overly adorable little girl to a mature nihilist. She doesn’t believe that there is anything to do than trying again. However, she does not have hope. Ironically, even though she does not suffer paranoia, she doubts her friends the most. Her journey is to learn to have faith and trust her friends. Like Satoko, she puts up a facade of cuteness. Whenever the situation is tense, she says, “Nipah~” and the situation is quelled. This is her scapegoat out of any situation where her friends might gain too much knowledge. In the same way, Hanyuu also doubts the friend group. While her character may seem purposeless, she is intended to serve as a stand in for the audience. Like the audience, she doubts the friend group and simply waits for their demise. ~!Her growth, like the audience, is to learn to trust her friends.!~ The Sonozaki Twins are also compelling characters. Mion portrays herself as the super up-beat tomboy and Shion portrays herself as sensitive and feminine. The second question arc and its answer arc provide the most development and characterization for them. Because of her Sonozaki lineage, she has been characterized as possibly being the most villainous; the audience is led to doubt her the most. ~!In the answer, her complete innocence is almost unimaginable. After Shion’s reveal as the true perpetrator, the audience feels such a complex myriad of emotions towards them. It’s tragic and heartbreaking that despite all of Mion’s suffering, the audience never understood her. Though it’s not explicitly stated, Mion used to love Satoshi. However, after learning about her sister’s affection for him, she resigned her love for him because she believed that it would create the best possible outcome. When Rena is going insane, Mion ensures that she gets the help that she needs. Mion’s overwhelming kindness is epitomized in the final arc of the series where she attempts to sacrifice herself. !~ All of the other character's all have depth and personality that is unveiled in each arc. # ANIMATION: The animation of Higurashi serves thematic purpose and adds to the horror of the show. A common criticism of the animation is that, while it’s perfect for the fluffy “Slice of Life” moments, it is unsuitable for the horror. While, from an objective standpoint, this statement is true, it isn’t completely purposeless. The most notable contrast is, during the horror, the exaggerated detail in a character’s facial expression. This diverges heavily from the “Slice of Life” scenes where there is little detail on the character’s faces. This exaggerated detail gives the character’s psychopathic expressions much more weight - especially when considering the contrast between the “Slice of Life” bits and the Horror bits. Less arguably, the lighting in the show is very well done. In almost all of the horror shots, there is an aspect of complete darkness and one of bright light. There are many possible purposes for this. It could represent the uncertainty of the information presented to us, with the darks. This is most apparent in the scene where ~!Keiichi kills Rena and Mion!~. However, it could have also been used to create a sense of unease with how unusually bright and dark the scenes are. The character designs of the show all fit their intention as well. Due to Mion’s long skirt and jacket, which are commonly associated with the Yakuza, one may be led to believe the misconception that Mion is aggressive. Likewise, Rena’s character is intended to look overly warm and cute to contrast with the developments we learn in the first arc. # SOUND: Higurashi’s music powerfully fulfills its purpose of creating the atmosphere. Half of the soundtrack consists of generic cheerful music for the more upbeat parts of the show. Whereas, the other half consists of depressing tracks for the horror scenes. The horror scenes are supported and are significantly more unsettling with their depressing tracks, as the audience sympathizes with the character’s mix of emotions. Some of these tracks, such as “Main Theme”, evolve over the course of the series. After completing the show, the audience feels a complex mix of emotions, somehow feeling both comforting and unsettling. For example, the track is played both when Keiichi kills Teppei and when Rena is confronted in the junkyard. While in the first scene, the audience understands Keiichi’s dread, anger, and vengeance; in the latter scene, the audience feels Rena’s regret and the friend group’s resolve. This is aided by the excellent Japanese dub. The voice actors do a good job at making these characters seem believable. During the scenes where the characters descend into despair, their screaming, crying, and yelling all carry emotion behind it. When Mion condemns Takano in the final scene, there is resolve behind her voice - resolve to protect her friends. When Shion laughs ferociously, the audience can detect her lack of remorse. # NOTABLE SCENES: ~! ## Satoko’s Death: Up until this point, the audience has learned most of Satoshi’s story. Satoko’s brother, Satoshi, was working to buy a bear for her but mysteriously disappeared - supposedly at the hands of the Sonozaki family. Shion believes that Satoko and Mion deserve to be punished for not helping Satoshi enough. Satoko’s sheer willpower to not cry because there is hope that her brother might still be alive is almost beautiful. After her brother’s death, she has worked hard to ensure that she is no longer a burden to her brother - that she is worthy of her brother. In that way, her death goes directly against the themes of hope. This is necessary to build and condition the audience’s despair. To the audience, Satoshi is already believed to be dead, which makes Satoko’s resolve much more powerful. She is clinging on to hope, only to be stabbed 25 times by Shion. ## Episode 22/23: Rena Ryuugu’s once-in-a-lifetime story endeavour: In the preview of this arc, the audience is led to believe that this scene is the end of the arc. The form of previews up until this point has been the conclusion of the arc. Even though this scene appears very early in the arc, the second episode, the audience has reason to believe that one of the characters will go insane. Rena’s monologue and the fact that her violence has already been triggered make this seem plausible. It’s eye opening that, despite the fact that Rena brutally massacred two people, her friends still reach out to her. Keiichi recognizes that Rena’s actions were atrocious and unacceptable but, as her friend, he accepts that. They trust her enough to forgive that murder. They trust her enough to hide the body, forget that her hands are bloody, and play with her. This begins the discussion of the themes of trusting your friends. So far, all of the murders only occurred because someone doubted the friendship. This, seemingly, evaporates all of that doubt. Their bonds are thicker than blood. Despite the sorrow tone in the main theme, it is played here which provides evidence for the audience’s suspicion that Rena might succumb to her paranoia. At the end of the scene, when no one is hurt, it conditions the audience to feel an array of emotions. The song now connotes both hope and dread at the same time. In the proceeding scene where they dispose of the body, no one talks and there is no music playing. The only audio features are the cicadas crying. !~ # CONCLUSION “Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni” is one of the best examples of storytelling, pacing, and horror that anime has to offer. Combined with its unique narrative structure and its compelling characters, it is definitely worth your time and I can't consider it any less than one of my favorite works of all time. "There is no way to avert tragedy. There is no choice but to give up. But don't give up. Only you can stand up to this".
__[NOTE: Basically everything I say in this review also applies to Kai]__ Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is obviously a pretty big deal to me, to say the least. So how have I not rated this above even an 80, let alone a 90 or at a 100? It's right there in the title, of course. The original VN is one of the most complex, beautiful stories I have seen, spanning themes of family trauma, recovery and community in a way that reflects our world that Higurashi was written in, hoping to send a message of supporting the mentally ill and valuing trust in others above all. It's a bittersweet story, and one that also makes for a master-class in worldbuilding and immersive storytelling. And then there's this thing, the anime adaptation. The one that got Higurashi this "slasher-thriller" type reputation, with a pretty inaccurate yandere tag to boot. But this isn't the fault of anime fans being stupid, as much as I'd like to say that is the case. Like the VN, this anime has a very clear split between the SoL and horror genres that makes it almost infamous for its tonal inconsistency. In fact, if we were talking about the VN we could say that the series prioritises its themes over genre, which is what gives it this inconsistency that helps define the experience of reading it. But the anime deals with this differently - the scenes of gore are dealt with in much faster pace and in much more grotesque and graphic form than the source material, which works for momentary shock value but often feels like a desensitised approach to portraying this violence. Another major problem with the anime as an adaptation, and probably the biggest problem, is the characterisation. There are a variety of scenes and interactions that are cut for the sake of controlling the pacing, trying to eliminate the "slow-burn" effect that the visual novel relies heavily on. This decision doesn't really make much sense, considering how the series as a whole was written to be consumed in such a way and that changing the pacing makes it a lot harder to digest everything going on properly in the story. There is also the rollback of the first-person narration that plays a critical role in the VN, which makes a lot of character motives more confusing to follow and dulls the nuances of different character relations. ~!Shion being motivated by revenge for Satoshi (hence the misleading "yandere" tag) in the anime, despite the VN putting a much greater emphasis on her psychosis, paranoia and survivalist mentality that leads her to believe that murder is her only way to survive in Hinamizawa.!~ I promise that if you watch the anime and then come to read the VN after - just as I did - you will see the characters of the series in a completely different light as a whole afterwards. So do I recommend the anime? Not as much as the VN, but still yes actually. The animation and directing still make a very visually compelling experience, and the voice-acting is phenomenal from top to bottom. It's a pretty enjoyable watch - just don't come out of it thinking you've gotten the definitive Higurashi experience.