Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | |
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| | Alternate title : When They Cry - Higurashi
Studio : Studio DEEN
Licenced by : FUNimation
Also involved : Geneon Entertainment (USA)
Length : 26 Episodes
Year : 2006
Genre : Mystery - Horror - Drama - Gore
Synopsis :
The Higurashi (Cicada) are crying, and they cry an almost sombre sound at night...
Keiichi moves to a small town named Hinamizawa Village consisting of 2,000 people. His friend Rena is interested in the junk yard, and there, Keiichi finds out from a camera man that "something" happened there years ago.
"They didn't end up finding the missing arm, huh..."
Keiichi asks around about the Junk Yard and his friends tell him that it was an area for the construction of a dam, but it was unsuccessful. He then asked if anything disastrous, or weird happened then, his friends Rena and Mion immediately say nothing happened.
He's yet to find out that a chain of deaths have been occurring each year around June. The same time the big fight happened around the construction of the dam. One person will die, and one person will disappear.
Is this planned? a coincidence? ...or a curse?
Other Notes : Based on a popular, amateur created murder-mystery computer game.
This series ranked #19 in Anime-Source's Best of 2006 poll.
Added : 2006-04-17
Synopsis by : Himitsu
Last update : 2008-10-31
Last update details : Link added
Score : 8.54
Number of reviews : 26
Link(s) :
Official #1 : FUNimation Entertainment's When They Cry Website (English)
Official #2 : Official Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Website (Japanese)
A-Source #1 : Anime-Source.com In-Depth Series Review by Strongbad87
A-Source #2 : Anime-Source.com Spotlight Review by Strongbad87
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : Eiko Shimamiya - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Ending #1 : Hiroyuki Oshima feat. Rekka Katakiri - Why, or Why Not
Release(s) :
2007-05-25 -- Episode(s) 26 by Ayu. BT Link
2007-05-23 -- Episode(s) 25 by Ayu. BT Link
2007-05-21 -- Episode(s) 24 by Ayu. BT Link
Found 79 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
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Posted by : Terentius 
Posted on : 2009-12-03  
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni was inspired by a amateur/fan-based murder mystery video game. It has also gained a reputation for its cute but psychopathic girls. I would recommend that this and its sequel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai are both watched. Otherwise the enjoyment of this show would be more muted.
Animation
The animation was strange in the sense that it was animated with extremity to mind. On the one hand, the girls were disproportional with character designs that had very large but cute heads with typically pre-adolescent bodies. On the other hand, the violence was graphic and incredibly disturbing. I had initially expected the violence to perhaps be shown off-camera but Higurashi didn't hold back by showing the gore in its near entirety. Overall the animation was never extravagantly polished or even that brilliant, so it remains perhaps one of the weaker aspects of the show.
Story
This was very confusing. It was only when I decided to do a spot of background reading (thank you Wikipedia!) on the different story arcs that things finally became comprehensible. The multiple story arcs are perhaps the major aspect that polarised viewers. At times it showed the same core group of characters undertaking different choices and decisions in the same repeated situation. Much like a videogame that has been replayed it helped formulate a better understanding of the events of Hinamizawa village. The downside is that the repeated slaying and reincarnation of the same characters initially made the entire effort of watching Higurashi a futile and self-gratifying exercise in on-screen violence.
I would strongly urge that viewers continue watching this not only up to the season’s conclusion, but also its sequel as the sequences and story arcs do have an ultimate purpose and conclusion.
Characters
It has been almost an age since I've seen a group of characters as bipolar as these. At any given moment they were just adorable and the next moment they're charging at you with their meat cleavers! For a show of its length I would have been bored of seeing the same two to three characters become paranoid with murderous intent, but luckily there were more than just the odd two nutcases. It definitely kept me on my toes and as a result I never once saw an individual as overtly good nor evil. Every character (whilst bordering on the excessive), had relatively balanced personalities that when pushed were tested to the extreme. It has rarely been done and despite the targeted youth of its cast, I found it entertaining.
Music/Sound
I loved the OP and ED. The OP was almost primal with its eerie tribal chanting. Additionally the ED was sung in English and as always it sounded strange with the heavily accented Japanese singer. The imagery used in both was spine-tingling. The score was not as atmospheric as I had expected but it was suitably haunting when it needed to be.
Summary
The show and its sequel were an unusual premise overall. I was always kept guessing as to the reasons behind the strange behaviour of the cast. I never was too sure what to make of it. Was it a horror story? A murder-mystery? A school comedy? Anyway I enjoyed it and even though there was a lot of violence, it never put me off (unfortunately I've seen much worse both in entertainment and in reality). It wouldn't appeal to everyone and most certainly not for those with a sensitive disposition. For those who have the stomach for something unusual AND plenty of gore, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is an excellent choice.
Posted by : Killswitch
Posted on : 2009-08-06 
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
(When They Cry)
Review
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a murder mystery anime based on the first 6 chapters of a visual novel series. The story takes place in the small sleepy village of Hinamizawa. Enter one Keiichi Maebara, the newest resident of Hinamizawa, and his new found friends. That's as far as it goes for the introduction; after this point Higurashi no Naku Koro ni splits into 6 subsections. Each subsection is determined by choices the relevant characters make during each episode.
For example, in one episode the main character may believe that his friends are murderers, and the rest of the episode revolves around this suspicion and how he interprets certain situations, while in another episode he may believe and trust in his friends and so he won't question certain strange occurrences. This will give room to another situation. Yes, it's almost like the characters are trapped in a never ending cycle of death and rebirth. Like replaying a game and choosing different dialogue choices to get different endings.
Don't be fooled by the blood and gore. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has great storylines despite the violence and evil little girls. There is a lesson that can be learned in almost every one of the subsections.
Visual
The background artwork is awesome and is based on a real life village in Japan. However, there are times where the same backgrounds are used repetitively, but that is to be expected. The character detail is also great with the exception of a very few scenes where the animators went overboard to show facial expressions. What I personally enjoyed was the use of lighting and character placement in some great environments. An example would be Rena standing on a heap of rusting scrap, holding her cleaver in one hand with the orange sunset behind her.
Audio
The opening and closing songs accurately represent the anime's themes and fit in well. The general background music wasn't anything special but did well to show the mood of certain situations. The sound effects were awesome in that they were realistic, and even creepy sometimes. All in all everything came together rather well. The voice acting was done well, and I'd have to say I preferred English over Japanese in this anime.
Personally
I really enjoyed this anime. It's got a great storyline, awesome visuals and creepy little girls capable of gruesome and bloody murder. Its originality is only matched by its brutality.
Posted by : miestersean
Posted on : 2009-05-15
The mediocrity of bad movies is easy to notice. All of the drama is superficial. The plot is full of forced events, the actors overact, and everything feels empty. This palpable vapidness is what half of Higurashi is plagued by, and it’s also what keeps it from succeeding.
Higurashi starts out well, misleadingly so. Its first two episodes are filled with vitality in their comedic harem-ish scenes and small horror previews. But afterwards, the evilness of the cute girls (who are all drawn in moe style) escalates far too quickly and the conflict gets resolved miraculously through a rapid sequence of deaths.
The next arc then begins everyone alive again and a completely different scenario. Amazingly, the show gives absolutely no explanation for what is going on and leaves the viewer in the dark. At this point, the viewer will guess that this anime must simply be sloppily put together, with the different arcs being alternate universes. But this isn't the case, which still shows that show is not well-written. Meta-story aside, the second arc has a decent plot and average character development, but it’s even less believable than the first and thus a step down.
The next two arcs, also completely separate from the other ones, are filler. Because the characters become very wooden and the storyline gets too talky, the show comes close to falling apart and causing total disinterest the viewer.
The show survives, though, as it moves toward its end. The last two arcs explain the truth behind two of the previous ones, with the events being exactly the same but the perspectives different, and they are watchable, but nothing special. The characters remain essentially plot devices, not real people, and the story continues to be confusing as the series ends.
The biggest flaw with this series is its lack of depth in storyline and characters. With an enormous focus on cuteness and violence, there is little room for a believable plot or heartfelt emotion. The style of presentation is also irritating. The viewer is never told what is really going on and forced to speculate blindly to try to make sense of the carnage that continues to conclude each of the arcs.
I wouldn't recommend Higurashi, but if you're curious, the first two arcs should be more than enough to give you a taste of the best of what this series has to offer.
Posted by : kevinchaosvs
Posted on : 2009-03-29
Higurashi, be it the visual novel or anime, certainly wasn’t the best of its mediums. However, it is one of the more successful adaptations (in this case, novel to anime) because of the way the series is done. What are the main characteristics of Visual Novels? Choices leading to different Paths, unfolding different story progress and endings—and that’s practically how Higurashi was done as an anime. And the storyline suited the way it was done as well.
Story: 86%
Now it certainly was difficult to review Higurashi solely on season1, because at this stage, the story was still in its incomplete stage and we were at the level of wondering what the hell was going on. As said, it consisted of different arcs seen through the different characters that lead to different versions of Bad End – much like how a visual novel is played anyway. Pick a bad route and you’ll have to re-do the paths again, so in season 2, we were actually treated to how they "avoid" the same mistakes and find the correct "path". Now, I certainly won’t say that Higurashi was scary, but it does have the sufficient level of creepiness to maintain the suspense and air of mystery. Personally, I dislike shows like the Saw franchise that just goes for pointless gore. Higurashi’s display of blood and gore on the other hand, was actually relevant to the plot (but I'll leave the explanation to my review for season 2).
Also, what better ways are there to script a story about paranoia, than to utilize concept of folklore and superstitions? You know the formula: a new character enters some village in the outskirt, and the superstitious residents all seem to be keeping some sinister secrets from the new resident. On the downside, I found the series somewhat too long and I felt that it could have been shorten by a few episodes; I found myself losing attention during the last few episodes.
Finally, Higurashi deliberately showed spoilers (in the form of how the character gets killed) right in the beginning of each arc. For example, the first episodes opened with Keiichi brutally battering two girls with the baseball bat before the cue of the opening theme, after which, when the show really starts, we are actually shown the comedy side of the story, prompting the audience to wonder how, just how, the hell was such a juxtaposition going to occur in the later part of the show? True, by showing spoilers in the beginning, it killed off the potential of a plot twist, but in return, it heightened the curiosity of the audience. Need a show that is funny as hell one moment and creepy as hell the next? Higurashi has done very well to slice out the point that slaughter can't be spelled without laughter.
Characters: 73%
The use of an unreliable narrator is Higurashi strongest strength and played it to its advantage. Another thing about it is how the characters are being presented which is very important in the sense that ultimately you know that at some point of time, all of them will break their sanity streak, and that the only difference is how and why each ended up that way during their own story arc; if the characters do not each have a distinct notable personality, the arcs would have appeared very repetitive.
Animation/Graphics Design: 72%
Indeed, like what many have said, the characters were weirdly proportioned. Other than that, the arts on the overall, was pretty good. Especially the facial expressions when the characters went off the rockers and goes on a killing spree.
Music: 84%
Excellent OP. The tribal chant sort of music managed to give off the ambience of mystery, without being creepy. What’s actually creepy is the imagery used in the OP – like Rena wielding a cleaver, walking on broken glass bleeding and such. Throw in the fact that the story is set in the classic scenario featuring the village with a dark secret.
Summary:
I don't consider Higurashi a masterpiece but it is nonetheless a good series. Definitely recommended for those looking for a good suspense psychological thriller and do not mind blood and mild gore.
Overall Personal Rating:80%
Posted by : Kimmie-chan
Posted on : 2008-10-02
After 2 years of avoiding, I finally gave into my curiosity and love for moe and decided to watch Higurashi no Naku Koro ni also known as When the Cicadas Cry, which I think is quite a nice title ~ definitely gives it an eerie feel.
It's set in the 80's in a fictional remote-ish village in Japan and basically every year since the movement against the dam construction during the Cotton Floating Festival one person would die and another would go missing due to Oyashiro-sama's curse. And the main cast plays a key part in one way or another in these freak incidents. The way they presented the plot through arcs and alternate tellings from different point of views was quite a nice way to unfold the underlying plot. Although I have to admit I'm not sure if everything added up in the end.
I also really liked the format of how they presented each episode, starting with a clippit at the begining, then the title of that episode, followed by the opening song.
Higurashi's charm lies in its combination of cute and gore, one moment it would be a fun school comedy with cute characters in SD form running around the next moment its of the cute next door neighbour girl running after you with a meat cleave xD. But yes the gore is indeed quite disturbing ~ note to self don't watch Higurashi at 12am in the morning by yourself with no lights on >.< I was lucky I didn't get nightmares that night.
The characters are definitely all very memorable and all play a very key role, should be noted that in the altenating stories, different characters gets portrayed as the 'villain' of the arc.
Music should definately be mentioned, the opening is an eye-catcher, gives you a slight idea what to expect with the show and the lyrics draw you in. Ending was a song sung in Engrish ~ but the lyrics were coherent, only listened through it once ~ so wasn't all the memorable to me. I'm sure the soundtrack did what it needed to do during the anime ... and every time I hear cicadas now, I think of Higurashi xD
So all in all ~ I enjoyed Higurashi immensely and would recommend it only to people who can stomach gore and are up for something a little different.
Posted by : Molenir
Posted on : 2008-09-19
Higurashi is a show about murder. Theres no other way to really describe it. Rika, Keiichi and their friends are killing and being killed one after another. The murders never stop. And when they do, when the last person has been killed, it starts all over again. Over and over, so you end up wondering what the hell is going on. Why do these kids keep killing each other. Even if the story is different each time, they keep killing each other in different ways.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, apart from the extremely long name, is a seriously disturbing show. So much so that I struggled to watch it. And frequently I couldn't bring myself to finish an episode. I had to Fast Forward through the worst of it. Episode 21 was particularly bad. That said, it was also an amazing show. With outstanding, creepy, spooky insane stuff. So many questions, so many problems. So much death and blood. In fact there was so much blood, and so many disturbing scenes, that I simply can't recommend this show. While being very impressed by it on many levels, I was simply so grossed out and horrified by it, that I know its one I'll never watch again. Having said this though, there is one positive that I need to mention. The OP is one of the most memorable and outstanding OPs I have watched. It sucked me in, and kept me watching, all the way to the end, despite all the horror, in watching different characters go insane and kill each other.
After watching this series, I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach watching the second season. So, after finishing this series, I went ahead and looked up the spoilers, to find out what everything was really about. Then watched the final episode of Kai to witness the Miracle. I give this show points for inventiveness, and for the OP, but the sheer horror of the show forces me to give it an average score. Watch at your own risk.
Posted by : jayou521
Posted on : 2008-05-03
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni~ I remember when I first heard of it, all I could think about was how long the shows' name was, and exactly how I was going to remember it. After watching the first four episodes, the title was practically burned into my memory. By the time I finished the series, it had become a personal favorite of mine. It is definitely one of the best psychological/horror anime I have seen.
If you do not like violent anime you may want to stay away from this one. There are many gruesome scenes. Don't let the cute faces fool you!
The character development, the way they accurately portray each characters' fall into paranoia and madness, is brilliant and highly entertaining. The characters are awesome, each one with their own unique personality. The music fits the mood greatly, and the OP is awesome.
One thing people seem to have trouble with is the way the show is arranged. They complain about being confused because of how the show resets after each story arc. It's alright if you are confused, because you're supposed to keep asking yourself . . . what exactly is going on in Hinamizawa? O.o The mystery is part of what makes this series so great
The sequel, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, will give you all the answers you seek. Also, once you finish the sequel, be on the lookout for the third season. It's supposed to come out later this year ^_^
Posted by : Yuun
Posted on : 2008-04-22
Higurashi naku koro ni (Higu) is in my opinion, probably one of the few most amazing and perfectly blended of Cuteness and violence as well as mystery, anime ever created in the anime history. Cute girls with cleaver? Now this is something new… Nevertheless this anime never fail to amuse me with its horror scene.
Not only does the story plot contain amazing and smartly planned progress, it also has a unique way of showing us the ‘puzzles’ or story plot and force us to go thinking and figure out the story. As an anime that encourage us go thinking throughout the series, this isn’t a good relaxing anime either. Like the saying goes ‘never judge the book by the cover’, Higu cute characters appearance always get a 180 degree turn and most of the time left me shocked and amazed how they can pull out such character design in terms of facial appearance which send the chill down my spine.
Unlike most anime out there with one proper story progress, Higu seems to have several stories. If not mistaken, 6 arcs which comes to all different story, conclusions and ending. Despite maintaining the same characters throughout the 6 different arcs which left you clueless most of the time. Bare in mind that this anime is like a big huge puzzle to solve, you have to watch all 6 arcs to make a deduction or roughly get the basic idea of what’s actually going on.
So in a way is quite fun, joining the forum and discussing what you have in mind about this anime is a good bonus to enjoyment of this series. Couple with great BGM and Music songs especially the chilly and sensational Opening song, it definitely gives off a deep impact and feeling to the series. Besides, Rena with that beautifully crafted machete (large cleaver tool) really makes me fall for her. There’s even torture chamber and portrayed various medieval torture equipment and poor children being torture to death. Oh and yea… lots of bloods were spilled in this series… and I mean it… uhhhh…. Bloody…
I did enjoy the series with my family members and friends so I definitely recommend this series to everyone! But due to my weak psychology mind, I have to take some break in between stories or seriously… I might go nuts! Do take note that, if you’re looking for something to relax or still young like below 16 or so, best avoid this series. The violence content isn’t minor and psychological play is brain twisting throughout the series.
Posted by : Muskrat
Posted on : 2008-03-22
I don't believe that there will be horror in animes, not to say being a fan of it. Elfen Lied did not prove me so; Jigoku Shoujo, too bad, is another; Monster too and along with some others not worth the mention. Higurashi is no exception, but it brings much more suspense since it is also an mystery anime. Lets get this started.
Story: Unlike other animes, which channeled everything in order as a whole, Higurashi splits it to 6 different arcs. Some arcs correspond to others, but all of them are linked. Getting confused is common, but as you advance answers will eventually reveal themselves. The fifth arc was my favorite. This is the arc where most mysteries start to unravel, meaning you should notice your eyes moving closer towards the screen and also this is the most dramatic part of Higurashi. The story is much better than I expected and most characters were introduced in the first episode. However, with the 1st, 2nd and 5th arc being so good, the 3rd and 4th arc had to pull down this section for not being dramatic, not interesting and not provoking at all. Last arc was decent. All in all, it was creepy and it requires you to think a lot. 9/10
Animation:Not too bad. Background was fine. Characters are decently designed. The only thing that shines here is the expression of the characters. You never know when they will change from a cute friend to a sadist psychopath. 7/10
Sound: I have heard many great OSTs but the OST here is Higurashi was absolutely superb and breathtaking. EST is good but nothing to compare with the OST. For 'horror' animes, 'horror' sound effects have to be added in and Higurashi did well for this section. The sad thing is there were no memorable ISTs to begin or end with, do not give me that annoying cicadas' cries. As for the voice acting part,it certainly have to be good. Seiyuu of Keichii had also done voice acting for Kaoru Hanabishi from Ai Yori Aoshi (one of my favorite romance series). I love Rika's voice. 7/10
Characters: Can't find a term for the characters here. Profound I guess. My favourite character is Rika. She is the cute, smart and appearing-innocent-but-not type which I like. Watch finished the whole series so you don't mix up Shion and Mion. 8/10
Overall: I am definitely going to buy the DVD once I saved enough money. So to end this, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is definitely a brilliant watch and I will re-watch them in the future for sure. I have not watched the sequel yet, but hopefully it will be equally good as well.
Overall rating: 8 (rounded up)
Posted by : wolfie208
Posted on : 2008-02-23
This anime and its sequel has to be one of my favorite animes of all time. I decided to watch it after seeing an AMV for it. It has a very good story line, and the question and answer arcs are very clever, maybe I'm just gullible, but every time after seeing an answer arc it left me saying "ooooohhhhh so that's what happend OoO!" This show not only overloads cuteness, but gore as well (nice combination). Though I didn't find it very "creepy" or "scary", you can't really take my word for it because I'm a hard person to scare; but I've been told by others that it scared the crap out of them. Great story, plot, great voice actors, great art (when not being compared to Kai, the 2nd season), great characters, and overall just a great anime. If you're into gory anime, hell... if you're into anime in general, see this one.
Posted by : Lightningcount12
Posted on : 2008-01-04
Higurashi is certainly one of the most interesting ideas to arise in anime, though it falls short in the end.
Story (5.5/10): I have to give credit to whoever came up with the idea to combine a cute kiddy anime with blood and horror. It may seem like a strange mix, but that is this anime. Higurashi is actually a composition of several alternative stories. While the first two are very interesting and actually quite horrifying. I find very few things in the horror genre, even beyond anime, to be any good or even horrifying, but Higurashi is, at first. The problem is that after the first two stories (the first 8 episodes) the later story lines did not hold my interest. I still felt the horror element throughout, but for some reason I just got bored with Higurashi.
Characters (6/10): Well the characters are pretty interesting. Especially the cute girls that turn out to be creppy and psychotic. Rena is definitely the best of the girls in this role. But the characters are unique because of the occurances in this anime and not because the characters themselves really drive the stories.
Art (8/10): The animation is very nice with the bright colors. You would not think that this type of animation could be used for horror, but it actually fits very well for some bizarre reason. I really loved the character designs, which are central to the novelty of cute little kids being murderers.
Music (8.5/10): Things sounded creepy at all the right times. This was probably the best OP for a horror anime ever (or a horror anything for that matter). The OP itself kind of creeped me out. The ED was also a good fit.
Entertainment (4/10): As I stated in my evaluation of the story, the first 8 episodes are worth a watch. You will feel the horror and feel entrenched in the stories and the mysteries they present. It is definitely nice to have a unique horror anime like this and I would recommend that any fan of horror watch these first two stories. But, this series should have been much shorter. Instead we have too many stories and too much jumping around to really remain interesting.
Once the novelty wears off into the third story and Higurashi becomes uninteresting, even with the horror element remaining. Because I could not even finish the first season, and it leaves me with no interest in seeing the second season, I have to give this anime a lower rating. Frankly, there are better things to watch than 24 episodes of Higurashi.
Posted by : leoxjm
Posted on : 2007-11-29
An excellent anime.
In term of storyline, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Higurashi, for short), is nothing short of magnificent. Throughout its 6 stories the series explores the human psyche, and how our perceptions of the world truly define our actions and ideas, regardless of what may truly be happening or of what is unknown to us. Higurashi is, at its core, an essay on human paranoia.
Of note, first, is the intelligent way that the series is arranged. It is composed of 6 short, independent storylines that can be well appreciated on their on, but that truly shine as a larger whole. They are somehow mirrored by the series' halfway point, with stories 1, 2 and 3 complementing 6, 5, and 4 respectively. This way, having seen the way one story develops helps will help you understand another one that, in a sense, has nothing to do with it, while at the same time they have many important points and even developments in common.
The story combines very "psychologic" elements with folklore, the occult, and even with some sci-fi overtones. The mixture may seem strange, but actually works quite well. It's not like everything is thrown together at once in an attempt to appeal to everyone, but each segment of the series has a carefully balanced measure of some elements. The result is nothing short of intriguing. Just what is going on in Hinamizawa? Is anyone responsible for all that's happening? Or are people just imagining things aided by untimely coincidences? It doesn't matter that these and other questions are asked 6 times... the answer remains always creatively elusive, always with one of the pieces not fitting exactly where it should. A series like this can leave you wondering about it for hours after watching, trying to figure out the just hat you saw. Higurashi has an exquisite dose of mystery that never goes away.
The character development of the series is also one of its best points. Each story has a different character at its center. While that may not be the main character of the arc itself, the various developments of the same characters in different circumstances, make the viewer realize the effect that a character can have on the others.
In terms of design, Higurashi is also a marvel to behold. The characters can go to extremely cute to extremely creepy in a split second. The background art is gorgeous and beautifully colored. I really wish the animation had been smoother, though. There is quite a bit of visual appeal in some of the animation's crudeness, sometimes necessary to add to the comedy or maybe even the drama of the current situation... but doing things more smoothly and consistently might have been better. Thankfully, a viewer will probably be too immersed in the storyline to truly care about such technicalities.
Now that we're on the visuals part, Higurashi also makes a very wise choice in some of its imagery: While it could have been extremely graphic without being gratuitous at it, the show is not as explicit as it could have been. I'm not squeamish about blood and gore and the show still has a more than healthy dose those, but it always carries itself whit a certain grace. It doesn't always show mangled bodies in all their mutilated glory, but sometimes chooses to leave things to the viewers imagination, which has the double plus of not spoon-feeding us hat truly transpired and making us feel as we somehow contribute to the shows effect as well. Higurashi can impress and disgust with what it doesn't show just as much as with what it does.
The shows music was actually pretty good. I rarely take note on sound effects or other cues, but in the case of Higurashi the use of the cicadas from which it takes its name is extremely important. When the show's higurashi cry, you know that something is happening. The cast's voices are done excellently and can change from cute, nice and friendly to cruel, cold and merciless in a heartbeat. Outstanding.
Aside from the ever-present thing that doesn't quite fit, and maybe the occasional plot hole (perhaps intentionally left there), Higurashi has no real flaws. Fans of extensive CGI or of great animation will be disappointed, but Higurashi's emotional and intelectual holds are so strong that they more than make up for that. The only circumstances in which I'd recommend giving this show a pass are if you cannot stand violence/blood and gore, or if you don't like shows that make you think, because, believe me, Higurashi is going to make you. And the things that you'll think about are probably going to scare you.
Posted by : bricbroc
Posted on : 2007-11-19
Addicted to the story(ies).
That's how i could sum up my first feeling about this anime.
First of all, I hope you can forgive me for my English as I'm French and not really suited to writing nice reviews in English.
Let's start with the Chara Design.
I'm not so fond of it.
It looks like it will be a story for children with high schoolers looking like kids.
It's not so sophisticated but don't worry worry you'll get used to it.
By the way, it's that "kiddy" style is at complete odds with you're gonna discover. 6/10
Animation
Nothing in particular. The animation is not so great but is not bad either.
The animation isn't the strongest part of the show but it is absolutely acceptable. 7/10
Story
This is where i lost my mind.
There's one story but the show is "sliced" in several short stories that will give hints to understand what is going on in this small village...
Each story is very well built and gives you different point of views on each character.
It is so passionate, i couldn't help myself but to watch the whole thing just to discover more and more.... 9/10
Value
The writers of the show did a really good job.
They found a way to get you addicted to the show.
Sometimes it may be hard to watch if you're not to comfortable with "bloody" scenes.
I was so fascinated that I tried to discover new elements by watching some "stories" again. There are some details that you may discover the second time you'll watch the show. 9/10
Overall, Great Show!
Posted by : ErwinRommel
Posted on : 2007-11-08
What a disturbing series! I've sat through Hostel, Saw, Saw II, and Saw III and yet I still cringe at certain scenes in this anime. It really is worth watching if you are a fan of horror.
The story structure is similar to "Ghost Hunt" in that it is several short stories involving many of the same characters. The one thing that is most puzzling is the fact that the story just seems to reset each time. It was confusing at first and it still made me confused at the end. The anime answered one question but so many more pop up as well. You'll have to come up with your own theories until you go watch the second season.
I liked how each chapter would introduce a new character and constantly build on the legend of Oyashiro-sama. It is especially wonderful since the anime was able to constantly introduce the legend and it never once felt old. Each time it is told you keep getting a new sense of creepiness since there would be slight differences in each one.
The reason I gave this an eight and not higher is because I think it made a very good horror but the characters are not that good. I like their designs and their personalities but I think they could've been better fleshed out. I never felt any sympathy when one of them got tortured or when one of them would become paranoid. Unlike Ghost hunt which relies heavily on story this series is all about the characters. All the killing is due to character and not really caused by anything else.
Posted by : 1412kid
Posted on : 2007-10-01
The first impression I received from anime fans about this show was an anime about killer lolis. How wrong that was. I soon found that the story is juicy, the storytelling is chilling and laughing scenes have never been so creepy.
The story is the main piece in any show or novel. In Higurashi, story proves to be the forte of the anime. Its story constantly invites the viewer to think of the many possible solutions to the mystery that unravels in each episode. However, unlike most animes, its story somehow was not arranged in chronological order. Instead, the anime introduces “chapters" that differ from the other but relatively link to each other. Indeed, most of these chapters are filled with suspense, bone chilling scenes, puzzles and yes, more creepy laughing.
Interestingly, its music opening has the same name as the anime and sweetly adds the creepiness of the show. BGM is just as great too as it blends in to the scenes, giving more chill and suspense as you watch. Japanese voice acting has once again amazed me as I continue watching the anime because one moment the character sounded cute and lovely but the next thing you know creepy laughing and bone chilling conversations start to surface from your speakers.
Ironically, the animation quality seems to fall short compared to other animes airing at the same time. Mediocre, I would put it but still the anime still gives me a good impression about it. Character facial expressions are well done as their faces turn from cute, moeish faces to distorted, emoish faces.
I do admit Higurashi is by far one of the best animes I have ever watched and I do not think it is being overrated in any way. Recommended for older teens and adult alike but do keep the children from it. My final verdict is a 4 out of 5.
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