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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
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Animation - 7.2 |
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Sound - 8.2 |
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Story - 8.7 |
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Character - 8.5 |
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Value - 8.4 |
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Enjoyment - 8.7 |
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Average - 8.3 |
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has a compelling plot. In an era where mystery animes comes infrequently and the "horror" genre is pretty much non-existent, this anime shines. While the ratings I give this anime most likely won't do it justice, the anime world most likely needed a series like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni because it revived a genre that was dying out in most otakus' eyes. The animation is actually quite poor, but if you're willing to forgive animation for content (and I'm a pretty big fan for good plots), than this anime is actually pretty good.
Like most mysteries, this anime keeps you guessing and sometimes makes you a little paranoid. (Whether that is a good thing is debatable. A friend who was a newbie to anime and a scaredy cat, was afraid to watch past the second episode.) Essentially, the content comes with the quality of the mystery, and whether you think the plot is compelling is up for debate, although I believe it is pretty good.
If you like mysteries, this is most likely a must-see. The goal in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni like many mysteries is to find the cause of the crimes which in this case are murders, and whether the source of the murders was supernatural or not. Occassionally, the violence is overly graphical at segments, but unlike many anime which try to sell using violence, this (I do not belive is one of them) isn't one of them.
This anime is a new twist to the fading mystery genre and should please those who are interested in trying out mystery and can handle some blood occassionally (or you can close your eyes like I did and try peeking).
My first impression of the anime was that it started out slow, but I ended up enjoying it on the most part. A fair warning though, this anime isn't for everybody, and it has received mixed reactions from various otakus and anime fans. I think its worth trying, but watch at your own risk and know this isn't for everyone. If you want to watch a surefire anime you would like or are not into mystery as much, this might not be one to see.
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|
Stopwatch |
(2009-10-22 12:46:01) 2009-07-10 05:34:54 |
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| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Higurashi-When They Cry came as a pretty exciting watch for me,the same feeling when I was watching Kindaichi's mystery case but I didn't foresee so much violence here,got pretty shocked back then.
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| Average |
5.5 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koroni is a 26 episode horror mystery anime released in 2006, consisting of several different arcs, or alternate storylines. However, despite having interesting plots, the jumbled in which the arcs are mixed up and the constant repetition of the underlying premise results in an anime which does not live up to its expectations.
The style of Higurashi is quite simplistic. From the character designs to the animation to the background scenery, Higurashi fails to stand out in any way or form. It is true that Higurashi is not an anime which is focused on good graphics or animation, but falling short on the animation quality is rarely a good thing.
Although I am not a fan of the music or theme songs in Higurashi, they are decent and do fit in with the scenes and genre of the anime. The voice acting is more of a mixed bag, with some characters voiced brilliantly and others voice less so. The disappointing fact is that the appearance of some of the better voiced characters are less frequent than those less well voiced.
The storyline is Higurashi's main focus, and it sadly fails to live up to many expectations. Higurashi consists of several alternative story lines in the same setting, each consisting of series of different events and conclusions. The events and conclusions themselves are well thought out and are very interesting, but the way in which these different storylines are presented to the user can only be described as a garbled mess. Instead of showing one story from start to finish, and then continuing with the next story, Higurashi groups them by events instead. Therefore, the first several episodes consists of the introduction and explanation of the setting, and the final few episodes contain the endings of each of the storylines. This means that in the first few episodes, the user will be hearing almost identical explanations and introductions several times in a row, and they will have to try and match up which episode concludes which storyline twenty episodes later. This may be appealing for some viewers, but most will no doubt be put off by the repetition in the first dozen episodes.
As an anime which relies greatly on its storyline, the characters featured in Higurashi are also key. Due to the alternating stories which make up the anime, the personalities of the characters also differ from story to story. This results in an unusually complex task for the voice actors, and it is very audible in the anime. There are some characters who sound excellent from start to finish, but those are a clear minority. The alternating stories also create a severe handicap in terms of character development, as many characters have different pasts and experiences.
Higurashi no Naku Koroni is an anime which has been severely let down by its presentation and compilation. Had it been released as a series of separate short mystery stories, it might have received critical acclaim. As it currently stands, it is only worth checking out for fans of the popular Higurashi When They Cry manga series, or viewers looking for horror mystery anime.
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|
andy |
(2009-02-08 13:36:28) 2009-02-08 13:27:40 |
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| If Higurashi's 1st 4 episodes were a standalone OVA, despite what would have been an inconclusive ending, we would have had a pretty decent horror title. It's too bad that it revisits the same formula for the rest of the entire series.
Higurashi is a collection of mystery and horror stories, which in and of itself sounds refreshing, but it goes with the same cast and a similar setting in every single story. The formula is pretty much the same as well: The story starts off as a harem slice of life, complete with the prototypical cast of harem girls and a bland male lead. Things eventually degenerate into some form of freakiness whether it be torture, cannibalism, or just good ol fashioned curses.
The only viable scary or creepy moments are all in the first few episodes. I must say that Higurashi is the first anime that actually made me jump, even if it was on a somewhat cheap, loud noise scare. The extent of the creepiness in Higurashi is just severe dementia, indicated by dilated pupils, a scrunched face and incessant smiling or laughing. It's a little unsettling at first, never bonechilling, but what little creepiness it had early on quickly gets tired because the series really has no other scares in its bag.
The different story arcs also have a number of commonalities with each other, but what remains the same and what changes between the different stories is always a mystery. The general setting is a little too similar, and though you can't predict exactly how the mystery will go because some characters will be completely different from one story to the next, it's never surprising the way a good mystery should be either. The supernatural oyashiro sama makes his way into everything, and some events also recur in every story.
By far the most unbearable part of the story is the shamelessly empty, fanservice-y slice of life episodes that always begin every story arc. Imagine a love hina, hand maid may, Inukami or any other similarly cliche'd harem series without any of the central story, only the filler episodes. That's the slice of life portion of higurashi, and time wise, these segments must take up around 40% of the series. Even if the series had exciting and scary moments scattered throughout, and it doesn't, I still would not be able to recommend it because of all the uninspired, and honestly, embarrassing to watch junk that you have to wade through to get to anything worthwhile.
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| Average |
5.8 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| A series that prevents trusting a little girl ever again and has Chris Hansen waiting at your doorstep.
Hinamizawa Village, June 1983 - Summer is here and the Cotton Weaving festival is approaching fast. But not everyone is excited. For the last four years, one person has died under suspicious circumstances and another has gone missing. Everyone expects the village god, Oyashiro-sama, to unleash his wrath once more and strike for the fifth time. Keichi, the relative newcomer of the village, has a strange feeling that he and his five female school friends will be the next targets. But as the dreaded festival nears, the lines between truth and insanity begin to fade as history repeats itself once again...and again...and the cicadas will cry once more.
A yandere-fest meets Groundhog Day - that is essentially what this is. The arc style of this series presents a focus on one of the characters per arc - in each a different person will lose their mind and do the unthinkable. But in each a bit more about the characters, their dark secrets, the truth behind previous murders and disappearances is revealed, eventually revealing a common link that might just provide salvation for Keichi and his friends.
Studio Deen picked this up and give it a 2nd-3rd tier priority, deciding to funnel the majority of the funds for that year into Simoun, their baby project and big hope for 2006. But watching this, one really wonders - why did Studio Deen not see what potential this series had?! Why did they underfund it and leave it weaker than the mind-blowing series it should have been?! *sigh* Deen - did you not learn from your mistakes with Fate/Stay Night? If you're going to pick up a visual novel game, give it the attention it deserves and don't do it half-arsed!
That said, they got some things right. Yet the animation is definitely not one of them. It is hideous at times, overall passable by the thickness of Rena's axe blade. The skin is a creepy paste-like consistency, the hair looks like a cardboard cutout, backgrounds have a pre-school look. Clothes look ragged. Sometimes character dimensions are right, sometimes they look as if they're being warped by an animator having a bad day. It's a tell-tale sign of why this series needed more money behind it. If only they were given the time and money needed to do the animation in general like they drew blood - because that is one thing they do right, albeit in a very surreal, twisted way. Slow-flowing, sometimes floating blood that almost takes on a life of its own. This is he kind of thing that give Higurashi an aspect of thrill. If only the rest of the animation was to that quality, the series would have been a greater thrill.
One thing they get right is the music and voice acting. It's chilling. It's juicy. It's enough to make you reach for the closest potentially lethal weapon and go berserk, or run for your life yelling to the brink of going bonkers. The opening theme is the pinnacle of the mood. Just watching it you get the impression someone is coming up from behind and about to stab you into oblivion. It makes sure you know those seemingly innocent girls are anything but. The ending theme provides a gentle reprieve of sorrow, reflecting the character's agonising struggle to avoid tragedy. It acts as a sobering reminder, but it is the only time one is made to feel any remorse or guilt for seeing Keichi and his friends suffer a gory fate over and over. (More on that later) In-episode music is chilling and more than enough to have one looking over their shoulder.
The character cast is solid. Although the male lead is a spineless lump that really isn't that interesting at all. Keichi's arc was the first and easily the most annoying. The simple facts that Keichi chooses to ignore and continually dig his own grave with - no wonder the guy meets a bitter end so much. He whines, he trusts people he shouldn't. The cliche of seeing a weak guy trying to lead a bunch of slid female characters - a sad standard of visual novel games. Unfortunately Keichi is a bad lead and he almost made me stop watching. Mion - the elder of the identical Sonozaki twins and heir to the powerful Sonozaki family - provides a much more interesting story and some true meat to the mystery. Her arc instantly revived my interest. Hiding her true feelings towards her friends for their sake combined with the daunting fate of eventually being the head of the Sonozaki family - she is a strong, conflicted, enthralling character. Satoko's arc provides material that is part-cute, part-chilling and part-Chris Hansen vibes. A sweet girl whose beloved brother has gone missing to leave her to endure her uncle's abuse alone - it's a harsh case. But what gets unsettling is the 'Nii-nii' factor - it's dangerous. Intentions may be pure but the way this is presented has produced a high level of fandom of the wrong kind - Satoko fans taking their obsession with the 'Nii-nii' to very sick levels. And one can't help but feel that this was the intended effect somehow. It's an aspect of the anime industry that is insidious - exploiting otakus for their ability to be suckered in by a moe character. It grows old fast but this goes to a worse degree. A character like Satoko deserves better.
And unfortunately, the same has to be said for Rika. Rika is the innocent, kind one of the bunch. Villagers love her, her mere presence makes those around her feel better, act more responsibly. She is a great source of positive energy. Her role as a village shrine maiden and to be Satoko's reliable friend is admirable. But unfortunately by association, Rika's fandom ends up being a source of the sick behaviour Satoko's is. However, her overly-cutesy behaviour and moe appearance don't exactly help to prevent those effects. Ironically, Rika's arc, albeit a short one, reveals so many crucial pieces to the puzzle. Shion, on the other hand, provides what would have to be the best arc of the series. Shion's tale is a dark one - her interactions with others leads to adverse effects through no fault of her own. However her ability to interchange places with Mion makes for a very thrilling arc. Yet it also provides a rabid 'twincest' fandom in some vocal circles, which just isn't on.
Rena provides an arc of revelation and hope. Things go sour for her in a big way with her tortured father, but Rena manages to find a way to resist fate and provides the group a glimmer of hope to escape a gory fate. After being the token cute voice character that looks innocent but acts anything but away from the eyes of her friends, Rena portrays the consuming insanity/yandere character best. While Shion provides the most shock value and gets the blood pumping, Rena provides an edge and shivers down the spine. The evolution of Rena from a mere moe to one of the most solid characters is one of the highlights of this series.
The support cast makes for some good material. Ooishi, the inquisitive detective who always seems to have an uncanny ability to appear when a character is it their weakest, makes for amusing and intriguing material. You just never know whether he is on the side of Keichi and the girls or acting to fuel the paranoia, which makes him an effective character, maybe even moreso than certain primary characters. Irie, the friendly doctor, acts to help the crew but you get the feeling he knows more than he's letting on, as does his creepily smooth, confident female associate Takano and the sculpted freelance photographer Tomitake.
There are three unforgivable sins the series commits over and over which weaken the viewing experience considerably. Firstly, poor pacing. Deen seemed to learn one thing from their mistakes in Fate/Stay Night- you can't show just one arc. So they tried to show as many as possible. But here's the problem. Providing that much information makes for certain scenes being played several times over or hearing the same revelations again as certain details get a replay. Too much time is wasted on repetition or drawing out scenes that negate the thrills and almost provide a yawn. Higurashi drifts between thrilling and dreary too often - it is a real slap in the face when you try to get a feel for the atmosphere/series, only for it to flip on itself once more.
Secondly, the sicker side of fandom. You're not going to get new people into anime when you're providing otaku-oriented jailbait. Solid chaaracters get degraded with unfair tags or silly behaviour. In a society where women are breaking the restraints and stereotypes that had been enforced on them for a long time, this is not going to help them think that the perception of the female gender has changed in Japan or within the anime industry. Considering the females carry the series while Keichi flounders, it's insulting to see them degraded the way they are.
Finally - violence is portrayed as justified and glorious. There is no guilt to seeing extreme pain/horror being inflicted on the main characters. You are made to love it, to scream for it. Then when it's over, you end up wondering why it was you wanted it so bad. It's not something that is worth applauding. Versus something like Elfen Lied, which portrayed gory violence and nudity, but consistently made one feel guilty for daring to take a thrill from it, even taking the step to condemn it. Higurashi doesn't offer such confliction. It's a guilt-free trip where your own conscience is the only limiting factor.
I don't regret watching this series but I find myself unable to watch it again, save for the Shion arc. Instead of making something memorable, it implants the otaku seed or nurtures it even more. That is the last thing we need. And Deen has to bear some of the responsibility for that.
Higarushi - a series that had the potential to be a classic thriller. However, the sicker side of otaku fandom, a weak male lead and poor pacing make for a sigh. One wonders just what might have been with a proper budget and less otaku pitches. If you like killer cuties with morals - watch Elfen Lied. If you want a guilt-free trip, watch Higurashi. It's as simple as that.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Roto |
(2008-05-23 10:25:56) 2008-05-22 12:44:25 |
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Those that are really young do not watch this whatsoever. Not to mention those who cannot not handle BLOOD and GORE LOTS OF IT. I mean this can be very disturbing for them. I still have goosebumps from watching this. And you could say i'm in some kind of shock from watching this. Yeah you think that the picture displayed for this anime is going to be nice and all, but you're being fooled. I mean seriously they torture people here, the cruelest way you could imagine.
Now after that introduction. Yes as I said this is a bloody anime. However if you decide to watch the first 4 episode and get confused by episode 5. Fear not this is not really related to the first four episode. However it is similar in some parts.
But first of all. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is based off a PC game. This game is a mystery based. So for those who want a mystery about death and a case to be solved, well this isn't your spot then. This isn't like detective Conan where we already see the person dead. No, this story is based off of 4 question arc and 4 answer arc. The question arc are first given and leave the whole question a mystery. Then after that the answer arc comes and gives you the solution to what happen and why it happened. In the anime it does not go like question arc then answer arc. No. It gives you the all of the question arc first. So people will get confused and say what happened? Don't worry people they are giving you a whole new story. The first time they give you the answer arc is right after the fourth question. These answers solve all the mystery to the questions. However their are some flaws.
Basically all of these questions take place in a place village called Hinamizawa. It's a population with less than 2000 people. There's a curse though. During the festival of Watanagashi, one person dies, and one person disappears. This all started because of the construction of the dam. During the first year someone was all cut up into pieces and a person was missing. The second is the death of Satoko's parents, falling from a cliff. The third year is the death of Rika Furude's father. Her wife disappeared dying in the marsh. The fourth the aunt of Satoshi and Satoko was beaten up to death. Leaving making him disappear. Now it is the fifth year.
During the question arc the main story is all focused on Maehara Keiichi. The main protagonist. He's a transfer student who came from a big city. During these question arc we have these four girls who cause them. The question arcs aren't related to eachother whatsoever, but you can put them together to make it sense. These four girls are Ryuga Rena Sonozaki Mion and Shion (twins), Furude Rika, and Hokujo Satoko. And all of the other sub-characters are in all of the question and story. Rena is a person who transfers into the village and creates the first question. Sonozaki Mion is the next head of the Sonozaki house. One of the Big Three Families. Furude Rika is the next head of the house as well as one of the Big Three Families. And Satoko is one of the family that deals with Satoshi's past.
Each and one of these characters start each question. And these questions have really good answers. This is what makes this series very enjoyable. That is if you can watch it. However with each of question and answer the story changes and the characters role as well. Except for those sub-characters.
To me with each story. It makes me think that each of these stories give the perspective about the curse to each character. And the solution comes up with a great answer.
For the animation i have to say it was beautifully done including those gory scene. It was disturbing but yeah. However i did notice that sometimes the eyes of some characters weren't the same as the other eye. One was big one was small. I thought that was weird. I also don't think it has anything to do with the story. Also in some scenes you see a big head and a really small neck. Or you could see a really big head and a small body.
The sound was actually well made. I quite enjoyed and it fit into most of the scenes pretty well. As for the Opening song. I read an it on Wikipedia, if you play the Opening backward you can hear the word "Nigerarenai" ( You can't escape ) and that fits this anime really well. Because you can't. Oh i do have to mention they do really well with the voice when the people go crazy.
Well they don't tell all of the answers in the first season, but in season two they will continue. I REALLY enjoyed this anime.
My favorite character is Mion~
EDIT: I have watched season two now .
~SPOILERS~
For those that want to know what kind of blood, gore and torture they show here's the list.
1. Girl with knife puts against wall and bangs her head against it.
2. Girl tied to a wall is being stabbed with a knife.
3. Girl carries a taser and uses it on people
4. Girl with a machete/axe
5. You see intestines and maggots
6. Guy beats up people with a bat.
You get the picture now.
Question 1 Episode 1-4 Victim Keiichi
Question 2 Episode 5-8 Victim Mion
Question 3 Episode 9-13 Victim Kotoko/Keiichi
Question 4 Episode 14-15 Victim Rika
This is the prequel to the story and for all of the Questions.
Answer 1 Episode 16-21 Victim Shion
This Answer answers to question 2.
Answer 2 Episode 22-26 Victim Rena
This Answer answers to question 1. Okay here is a completely different story to what happen to question 1. However this is the same ideal that happened to Rena in Question 1. Or i thought another possibility was that Keiichi in Question 1 was being extremely paranoid.
Answer 3 Season 2 episode 6-13 This answers all of the Question Arcs. Focusing on Rika
Answer 4 Season 2 Episode 14-24. This Answer is the solution of saving the village.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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|
lauren. |
(2008-06-08 16:18:20) 2008-04-30 15:30:42 |
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| Average |
5.2 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| Wow, this is BORING. I was seriously expecting to be captivated, etc but I had no desire to watch it after every ep I finished except after 5 but that didn't mean anything after all. This anime did not grow on me at all so I say feel free to drop after episode 1, etc. I was really hoping it'd turn into this amazing show that everyone was talking about but no it didn't.
SO I heard this show is different and has a really good story, makes you think, etc... something about cute + moe + psycho + gory = win but actually it equals = sucky. But seriuosly I'm starting to believe whenever people say "different" it actually means "boring"... no need to sugar-coat it, just be honest.
I usually avoid the average/mediocre - romance/slice of life/harem/comedy/etc that always come out every season and that crap constitute like 90% of this show at least. The other is serious/horror/gore/psycho/interesting/story.
In short too much filler, not enough story, itcould be condensed into like 10 eps if they cut out all that boring,pointless slice of life crap.
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0 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| In order to satisfy my eBay bargain hunger, I picked up Vol. 1, 2 and the art box of When They Cry on eBay.co.uk. Not bad for a total of £13.50!
Before actually getting into reviewing the anime, I'd like to talk about the When They Cry art box Geneon (RIP) released. The art box is pink, with images of the 5 main female characters (Mion, Rena, Rika, Satoko and Shion) in maid outfits, all looking either cute or sexy. I'm not sure what the people who designed the box art and picked the colour were on; the art box would give someone ignorant about the series the wrong impression of the show. No sane male would be seen walking out of a shop with it... Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to pay for something that looks like animated child porn?
Thankfully, the reversible DVD cover art had someone with a brain design them. One side of the DVD cover is good (happyish looking, but no pink or maid outfits)and the other side of the cover is evil, with shadowy versions of the characters showing. Unlike the art box, you could walk out of a shop holding copies of the DVD's themselves with your head held high. The only issue I have with the DVD's is the infamous Vol. 2 misprint where some intelligent person decided to put the episode descriptions for the first 5 episodes as the descriptions for episodes 6-10. Due to Geneon closing, not many copies were released and even less were re-released with the error corrected.
Whilst talking about the R1 DVD's, it's only right to inform those not in the know that only the first 3 volumes (there was going to be 6) ever got released. Geneon imploded (the child porn art box was the cause, obviously) before they could finish releasing the series and we will probably never see the rest of the series released in English. Also, although I'm not sure, Vol. 3 may well have been the last DVD Geneon released.
Anyway, enough talking about the DVD's: Time to get down to business.
Plot: 8/10
Quite frankly, When They Cry is the hardest anime I've ever had the 'pleasure' of attempting to explain. The reason for this is that the story is told in various question (the mysteries aren't explained) and answer (the mysteries are explained) arcs, with nearly all them being out of sequence for the fun of it. This is further complicated by parallel universes, meaning each arc (question and answer arcs are set in the same universe) have no direct connection to most of the others... Are you confused yet?
All the arcs are set in the fictional village of Hinamizawa, most of the time during June 1983. Changes are made to the characters, varying from them being heroes and villains depending on the arc.
The opening arc reveals that Keiichi, a young boy, moved to the town with his parents a month or so prior to the beginning of the series. By the time the story starts, Keiichi has already become friends with a group of of 4 girls in his class - Mion, Rina, Rika and Satoko. Things soon start to take a darker turn when Keiichi learns that the people of Hinamizawa worship a God known as Oyashiro, said to be the protector of the village. Keiichi soon manages to discover that there have been 4 murders each year on the same day as the Cotton Drifting festival; a festival that honours Oyashiro. Concerned about these serial murders, Keiichi soon starts to have doubts about his new friends when they lie to him about the murders...
Each arc is a variation of the above theme, with a small amount of information revealed about the mystery in each arc. It's very hard to follow if you have a terrible memory (like myself) and you'd probably find yourself re-watching certain arcs later on to see if you missed anything. If you're looking for an easy to follow series, I recommend you run away now.
It's also best to avoid When They Cry if only enjoy light-hearted series. While the character design and story try to trick you into believing it's a kiddie series at first, you soon discover that When They Cry is actually a horror series - A true rarity in anime. You'd be surprised how shocking it is to see a cute face change into a psychotic one, along with the voice changing from soft to menacing. There's plenty of gore on show, too, with the main characters dying on a regular basis throughout.
My thoughts on the story you ask?
I LOVED the initial four episode arc. The first episode set the tone of the show by opening with someone finishing beating two people to death with a baseball bat, the person screaming and looking seriously disturbed whilst doing so. After that, the scene changes and, for the rest of the first episode, the story follows the largely uneventful day of Keiichi at school with his friends, allowing the viewer to slip into a false sense of security.
To my utter disappointment, I soon discovered the truth about the show; nearly every arc is set in a parallel universe. While it's an interesting and unique way of telling this mysterious story, I couldn't help but feel like the plot was standing still and not moving forward. I started to lose motivation as the story 'progressed', finding it hard to get into a show made up mostly of disconnected stories that will, rather inevitably, link up at the end.
Overall, I did enjoy the unique When They Cry experience. Outside of the parallel universe confusion, the main issue I have is that the mystery is far from solved after 26 episodes and there are still MANY more questions than there are answers... I'll have to watch the 2nd season if I want my headache to go away.
Characters: 8.5/10
In When They Cry, there's a group of 6 characters of importance: Keiichi, Mion, Rena, Rika, Satoko and Shion. Excluding Shion, all of them go to the same school (there's only 1 in Hinamizawa, the only class being a mixed age class). They are all young, none being older than about 15 or 16, some being pre-teen.
Keiichi, the only male in the 6, plays the role of the main character in the first few arcs. Through his eyes you are introduced to Hinamizawa and the other characters. He's a kind, friendly and easy to get on with guy, said to have scored high on IQ tests.
Mion plays the role of the class leader due to her age and dominant personality. She's a green-haired tomboy who hides a more girly side. Her family, the Sonozaki's, are the head family in Hinamizawa and she's the heir to them. The mystery of Oyashiro and the mysterious deaths that occur every year on the day of the Cotton Drifting festival seem to be linked to the Sonozaki family. Mion has a twin sister, Shion, who has been thought of as a cursed child since birth (twins are supposed to be a bad omen), chucked into a distant boarding school away from the the family.
Rena moved to Hinamizawa a year before Keiichi. A shy girl who has a love of cute things, she comes across as the harmless. However, her past is a dark one and she's known for going into a rage at the mention of Oyashiro...
The final 2 main characters are friends and the youngest characters. Rika, a cute blue-haired girl, is the head of the Furude family; one of three main families in Hinamizawa. Much like Rena, she comes across as harmless, but she has the strange tendency to change into a more serious, more intelligent and more sinister person - As if two people were inside her. She will probably play a key role in solving the mystery in the second season. Satoko, a short haired blonde girl, has a tomboy type of personality, mixed in with a lot of insecurity. Her family is hated in Hinamizawa and all are dead or missing, leaving only her.
There are other, seemingly less important, characters who feature on a regular basis: The police officer Oishi and the village doctor Irie making appearances in most of the arcs, Oishi appearing in all of them.
Usually, a reviewer would evaluate the depth and development of the cast when rating. However, this is difficult in the case of When They Cry due to the story being told with parallel universes and the plot not progressing as a whole. I know a lot about the characters after seeing them various angles, playing both the good guy and bad guy, but it's near impossible to rate the development unless I rate the characters in each arc individually.
My favourite characters are the twins; Mion and Shion. Both characters get fleshed out more than the rest in the first series, a lengthy arc towards the end of the series revealing all about the sisters relationship, how their families work and, quite simply, how the sisters feel. The best eye candy (I'm SURE they're 16...well, 99% :D) and character development together - A win-win situation.
The thing I didn't like about the characters was how the characters acted rather bizarrely or out of character in certain arcs to play the roles they played in those arcs. For example, one character decided to kill someone to help one of his friends, who they had known for all of 5 minutes... What kind of person risks going to jail for life to help out someone they don't know very well? That plot point in particular seemed to be a bit forced to me.
I feel that 8.5/10 is a fair rating when, while the characters did have depth, the parallel universe thing stopped any episode 1-26 character development.
Art: 8/10
Animation: 7/10
When They Cry uses cute, loli character designs to first fool the viewer and then shock them later. A horror series with cute looks - Who would've thought it?
As you'd expect for a series that aired in 2006, the series is in widescreen format.
The art is pretty good. There's nothing amazing on show here... It doesn't compare to some of the other series that aired at the same time. I'm sure most people wouldn't mind too much; they'd be too distracted by cute young girls holding meat cleavers whilst laughing in an insane manner!
The animation quality was a little disappointing. It's not an action series, so you can forgive it for not being brilliant, but the few scenes with fast movement that do occur failed to impress me.
Sound: 8.5/10
Rating the When They Cry soundtrack reminds of when I rated the Koi Kaze soundtrack: Koi Kaze didn't have too many tracks that stood out, yet the music fitted the show like a glove.
The opening theme of When They Cry is brilliant. Creepy, dark and a little scary, I couldn't imagine a better song for this type of the show. The ED is also very good; a dark, relaxing type of song, part of which also plays doing the episode previews.
The soundtrack itself is made up of the dark type of music you'd expect to hear, mixed in with some cheerful music that play during the more amusing parts of the show. Very little of the music made me want to download the soundtrack and listen to it while on my PC, meaning it has little to no truly outstanding tracks in my opinion, but the soundtrack does fit the show perfectly.
Just to give the voice acting a quick mention, the voice acting was as excellent as Japanese voice acting usually is. I was impressed by the performance of Satsuki Yukino; the voice actress behind Mion and Shion. I've added her to my favourite voice actor/actress list after watching When They Cry.
Total: 8/10
While I did end the series feeling a little disappointed after the near perfect start, I do regard When They Cry as being up there with the best. It's certainly the best horror series out there... Not that there's much argument when you look at the competition!
My rating may improve when I get around to watching the second season and the questions the first series raised are answered. However, I feel 8/10 is a fair rating for the first season on its own.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
0 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
0 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| What a shocker.I can't believe that I'd allowed that cuteycutey image up there to deceive me into watching this series.
I had always liked mystery animes like Conan(some parts),Kindaichi,DN and Paranoid Agent.Higurashi was definitely a great watch too.Think and solve but is it right?Are you already overwhelmed by fears?
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| You may be reading the other reviews and asking yourself what is so great about this title. Rarely is there an anime show which fascinates and pulls the audience as much.I myself on one night decided to watch only the first 3 episodes-however I truly couldn't wait to see what happened next and just had to watch the 4th one.
The animation has nothing special, except for the opening which I liked a lot-and the characters look very ordinary, almost simplistic in design.
This anime has one of the best opening music i heard in anime. It's sort of a dance theme with lyrics that fit with the story of Higurashi. The ending theme was not to my tastes-too mild, i suppose. The other sounds were ok, however i don't think there was much music (if any) during the episodes-you will hear cicadas pretty frequently, that's for sure. The few sound effects that were used were used well and at appropriate times, adding to whatever stuff happened at the moment. The crazy laughter is quite memorable, to the credit of japanese voice actors.
A mysterious village with a grim past, a past which brings more questions than answers when explored. Creepy stuff happens here. Like repeated serial murders on a yearly basis, during the time of a local festival. The locals say it is an ogre beast who is angered by disrespect to the village. No wonder there is a small social club at the local school in which kids play murder mystery card games.
You will meet a newcomer, Keichi, who just moved in and recently assimilated himself at the local school, as he has fun with his girl friends, as he gradually finds out about the circumstances of the village's cruel past and present and as he is inevitably pulled into the mystery. Somehow our Keichi will find himself in a nightmare, surrounded.
I want to tell you more, but I can't really do so without spoiling. Let's just say some people will lose their marbles.
There might be some confusion about the twin sister's Mion and Shion-so make sure you pay attention-because they will even do the ol' switcharoo at some point.
this series has a high recommendation from me because of the story and its characters.
There is some violence in this title, and the ending seemed to me like it was a rushed idea, perhaps meant to only confuse me.
Overall I must say this is a must-watch, without a doubt. This story will pull you in like no other in my opinion. I enjoyed re-watching this series too.
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| “If it was your fate to die would you fight against it with all your might or would you just give up”
This review is based upon both seasons 1 & 2 of “When They Cry” (can’t be bothered to type the Jap title lol).
Don’t be fooled by its childish appearance, this anime is VERY complicated and has a exceptionally well written story which does include Extreme Violence, Extreme Drama, Extreme Conspiracy and plenty of mystery.
Upon watching the first few episodes I was wondering if this was the violent yet thought provoking horror mystery that had shocked so many of my friends as it just seemed kinda boring.
All I will say is watch every episode even if it SEEMS boring and pointless as the story slowly unfolds and you gradually see how deep the rabbit hole goes!
Animation
Hmm a little bit cute for my taste but that can change in an instant when characters get upset (Shion is very VERY scary). I think the animation is average but cute which works well for the shock value that this series uses.
Sound
Sound is pretty good, opening and ending credits are very nice. Character voices are spot on…I have no complaints at all here. I hope the English dub is just as good.
Story
Without giving any spoilers…if I could give this story an 11 rating I would.
At first you think this anime is some pointless and ridiculous violence fest where every couple of episodes a different character becomes a murderer for no apparent reason but by the time you get to the second season you will find there is a reason for everything and there is actually a exceptional and well written story that is very dramatic, traumatic and thought provoking. In the end I was amazed at the direction this anime took and was completely satisfied with the conclusion. In one word the story is Excellent.
Character
The characters go hand in hand with the story, as everything may seem childish in the beginning later you get to understand each character individually. This can be confusing at times because of the way the story always goes back to the past and sometimes shows different sides of the character which may not be their true self. In general character development is what makes the story so excellent but the implementation of the anime may cause some confusion, my advice is to stick with it keep watching and it will all make sense eventually.
Enjoyment
I thoroughly enjoyed this anime because it went through so many seasons of violence and confusion that kept me wanting more and wanting answers to numerous questions.
I’m so glad I stuck with it and watched it patiently as I believe it was probably the best anime I watched in the past three years…next to Death Note of course lol.
Value
Many people class this as some mad violence anime but the story is just too exceptional to be put in the horror category alone. I will be purchasing this anime when it has finished its US distribution (hopefully thin pack) and I implore anyone looking for a good mystery story to give this a try and watch BOTH seasons before making judgment.
10/10
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I've really never really liked horror series, but this was a great series.
This series is different. It has seperate chapters. In each chapter, there is a senario that is different from the previous ones with some very important factors, which stay constant.
The first few - called question chapters - keeps you wondering what really went on behind the scenes. The later chapters replay the scenes in a different perspective, answering some questions which are put together quite nicely.
One problem I had with the series is that, you will be confused if you don't watch the second season (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai). It would also have been better if they kept the animation constant.
Overall this series is great if you like horror or even if you don't like it, and like mystery. Though I suggest if your going to watch this series, be prepared to watch the second season.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This is an anime with a weird story line. The original story line is very short, so short that it only qualifies for 6 eps. But the anime shows different sides of it a a lot of times, which is good. Imagine this anime is like one big game book, where different chooses of outcomes will give different result. And all can be fitted back logically to the story line. A good watch, contains gore, and only meant for adults.
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De Baer |
(2007-06-07 17:25:49) 2007-06-07 17:24:51 |
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Seit Elfen Lied dürfte den meisten Leuten wohl klar sein dass ein Anime mit niedlichem Charakterdesign nicht zwangsläufig auch niedlich ist. Man erwartet eine unschuldige, liebliche Serie mit herumwuselnden knuddeligen Kulleraugenmädchen und bekommt schon direkt zu Beginn der ersten Episode die Faust in die Magengrube gerammt, angesichts brutaler Gewaltszenen die sofort klar machen das die Serie alles andere ist, als eine zuckergetränkte Knuddelklamotte. Doch die Gemeinsamkeiten von Higurashi no Naku Koro ni und Elfen Lied enden damit auch schon, denn in Sachen Präsentation von Schockszenen und Gewalt geht HnNK völlig andere Wege. Anstatt dem Zuschauer ständig zerfetzte Leiber und herumfliegende Gliedmaßen zu präsentieren, um sich damit auf gezwungen Art und Weise die Aufmerksamkeit des Zuschauers zu sichern, vermittelt Higurashi den Horror durch gruseliges Storytelling und subtile Thriller-Elemente die die Spannung mehr und mehr auf den Gipfel treiben und durch die es sich beim Zuschauen so anfühlt als hätte man eine unsichtbare Schlinge um den Bauch gewickelt, die sich von Episode zu Episode immer enger zuzieht bis man es kaum noch aushalten kann. Die auftretenden Splatter-Szenen dienen einzig und allein der Intensivierung des unbehaglichen Gemütszustands des Publikums und stellen sich obendrein noch um Längen schockierender dar als es in Elfen Lied der Fall ist. Zwar beginnt jede Story noch ziemlich frohherzig und lässt noch vereinzelt Comedy und SD-Szenen zum Einsatz kommen, aber es dauert nicht lange bis die lustige Atmosphäre langsam aber sicher einem unheimlichen Schleier weicht der sich über das Geschehen legt und dafür sorgt das man nur noch gebannt auf den Bildschirm starrt und seine gesamte Aufmerksamkeit der mysteriösen Gruselgeschichte zuwendet. Apropos Aufmerksamkeit: Diese ist auch dringend nötig um der Story zu folgen, denn Higurashi bietet keinen fortlaufenden Handlungsstrang der sich über die gesamten 26 Episoden zieht sondern ist in insgesamt 6 Kapitel unterteilt, welche abermals noch mal in 2 Gruppen gespalten sind: Die Frage- und die Antwort-Arcs. Die Frage-Arcs bieten vom Inhalt her zwar den gleichen Grundplot, erzählen aber alle eine andere Geschichte aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln. Am Ende dieser Arcs wird man, wie der Name schon sagt, so gut wie immer von einem Haufen von Fragezeichen umringt sein. In dieser Phase der Serie überlässt man es komplett dem Zuschauer sich Gedanken über die mysteriösen Vorkommnisse der einzelnen Kapitel zu machen, eigene Schlüsse zu ziehen und Theorien über die Zusammenhänge der Ereignisse aufzustellen. Die Antwort-Arcs hingegen decken die Hintergründe der Geschehnisse in den Frage-Arcs auf und fördern nicht nur eine Überraschung nach der nächsten zu Tage sondern liefern auch Ergebnisse die immer wieder zu schocken und zu verblüffen wissen. Meines Erachtens ist dieses Schema absolut genial und wie der Anime damit den Zuschauer dazu animiert sich als kleiner Hobbydetektiv zu versuchen und später dann den Hammer auspackt und für den großen AHA-Effekt sorgt ist einfach nur großartig. Ich zumindest konnte meinen Blick bei keiner einzigen der 6 Storyarcs auch nur für eine winzige Sekunde vom Bildschirm wenden. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ist einfach so verflixt spannend in seiner Erzählweise, so unheimlich psycho mit seinen Charakteren und so verdammt gänsehauterregend mit seiner unheimlichen Atmosphäre, das ich diesen Anime schlussendlich zu den mit Abstand besten Horror-Myster-Thriller-Animes zähle die ich jemals gesehen habe. Es macht einfach wahnsinnigen Spaß dabei zu zuschauen wie sich das große spannende Mysterium der Geschichte nach und nach aufklärt und nebenbei noch die verstreuten Puzzleteile zu suchen und zu einem Gesamtbild zusammenzufügen, während man ständig von Fassungslosigkeit und Schockmomenten geschüttelt wird. Elfen Lied ist hiergegen schon fast Pipifax und sogar bei Monster hatte ich nicht durchgängig dieses quälend unbehagliche Gefühl. Das einzige was ich kritisieren muss ist das am Ende leider nur 2 der 4 Frage-Arcs beantwortet werden und sich somit einige spannende Fragen, bezüglich der zwei verbleibenden Frage-Arcs, nicht aufklären. Zum Glück läuft aber bald die 2. Staffel an und da werden dann auch noch die letzen Unklarheiten beseitigt werden. Ich persönlich kann es kaum noch erwarten! Fazit: Für mich ist Higurashi no Naku Koro ni auf jeden Fall ein absoluter Must-See und wer sich diese Serie entgehen lässt der verpasst einen der ungewöhnlichsten aber gleichzeitig auch genialsten Animes der letzten Jahre!
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2 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Summoner |
(2009-10-02 10:16:32) 2007-05-12 09:02:20 |
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Note: This review is for both Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and ni Kai.
What would you do if one day.... You would start noticing people following you. You would start finding needles in your food. Your friends would begin acting strange. Finally you would learn that the area you're living in is infamous for its grissly serial murders?
Just at the time I was thinking that nearly every new anime is commercial fanservice crap intended for the masses, I found out about this show. Not only Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is unappealing to the masses, but it tries its best to scare normal and usual fanboys away. I haven't seen a show this unnerving since watching Monster, I haven't seen a show this violent since watching Elfen Lied, finally, I haven't seen a show this gross since watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. Bloody brilliant. From the very first episodes this anime got a guaranteed spot in my top 10 favourite anime list. These words don't come out lightly either, as to this date I have seen nearly 200 of different anime shows and I am pretty ruthless when judging the new ones. Out of all anime I have watched, this show comes as fifth closest to perfection, though at the same time I can easily tell why and how a lot of ordinary people could hate this show.
If you're up for something gross, intelligent, violent and mysterious then for god's sakes watch this show. And if you've already seen and liked Higurashi no Naku Koro ni I would recommend watching Monster, Boogiepop Phantom and Serial Experiments Lain. Either that or learn japanese and read Higurashi no Naku Koro ni visual novels, those are great as well.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I really enjoy mystery and horro shows and this anime just happens to be one of the best horror/mystery shows ever around!!
imo this show is one of the best horro animes ever (even rivaling Elfen lied)!
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| bom...pode ser em português né?
então vamos la ^^
higurashi no naku koro ni, para mim foi a melhor série da temporada de 2006...sugoiiiii xD
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Avalanche |
(2007-01-04 02:21:59) 2007-01-04 02:11:45 |
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is one of the most talked about series of 2006. Adapted from an amateur visual game from by the same name, the anime is set in June 1983 in a small sleepy village of Hinamizawa. Recently moved in boy, Maebara Keichi discovers that bizarre murders have been happening in the village since the last 4 years during a local festival. Something about Hinamizawa is just not right, and slowly Maebara Keicchi gets dragged into the entire mess. Using clever techniques of storytelling, sudden plot twists and clever character developements and a non-linear plot conitinium - Hiharushi no Naku Koro Ni excels in its storytelling enticing the user to find out more and more, while kepping a few cards to itself leaving the viewer all eager for more.
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Ridian |
(2007-01-04 02:43:57) 2007-01-03 19:39:22 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni is a triumph of storytelling. It boggles my mind that a screenplay written by one man for an independent sound novel can be so much better than the brainchild of a bunch of workers at a high-powered anime studio. This series is all about its story, with not a whole lot more going for it - the attempts at comic relief are weak, and the characters don't have much personality, but fortunately the extremely complex and intelligent plot more than makes up for it. The narrative is fantastically outlined and manages to be both intricate and clear at the same time. It rewards the viewer for careful watching, and because of the legion of mysteries the series presents, rewatching is imminent.
Fundamentally, the murder mystery Higurashi establishes is pretty basic. A little village called Hinamizawa annually holds a festival called the Watanagashi, and for the last five years there's been a string of unusual deaths on that very night. Keiichi Maebara, who just moved to Hinamizawa, gets to experience his first Watanagashi - and the subsequent death of a freelance photographer soon after.
Past that, it's difficult to say anything more, because of Higurashi's unconventional plot presentation. The anime is divided into eight arcs: four "question" arcs, and four "answer" arcs. The question arcs propose four different scenarios that could have happened that explain the death of the photographer, as well as other bizarre events. All four are extremely different from each other, and are all subtly interlinked through one way or another. Scenes that don't make much sense in one episode could end up being massively important fifteen episodes later, and for that you have to commend the anime.
The answer arcs (there were only two of these in the first season) each address one separate question arc, explaining in greater detail why everything happened as it did. Though it may sound tedious in concept, the answer arcs are possibly more captivating than the question arcs. It's amazing how the plots come so full circle while still retaining such a great sense of mystery; the writing is so airtight that even fantastically elaborate mysteries seem clear. There's a handful of those "lightbulb clicking on" moments scattered throughout Higurashi, stuff that makes the viewer feel really rewarded for catching on to. Finally, all this writing makes the anime engrossing on an unparalleled level. I've never gone through a 26-episode series faster (4 days).
Granted, Higurashi isn't perfect. One of the things that bugs me the most is the visual presentation of the series; the characters are bright, colorful and borderline SD, which doesn't fit with the mood at all. These are bloodthirsty freaks, not Love Hina rejects - make them look like it!
Aside from their actual physical appearance, none of the characters stick at all. Each one is best served as a mechanism in the plot, not as a person, which is a bit of a shame. They all have a few interesting quirks, and aside from the occasional insane rant or mental breakdown, they're pretty interchangeable with most other anime casts. Ryukishi07 may have developed an extremely powerful plot, but his characters still need work in every conceivable aspect.
The final problem is that each arc begins at a markedly slow pace. If I had come into Higurashi without knowing anything about it, I would never have made it past the first episode. Plenty happens and we learn about the characters and Hinamizawa, but there's very little there to capture a viewer's interest. Similarly, the first episode of each new arc is kind of like a "reset", so you get some pretty chipper antics from the main characters and maybe two minutes worth of substantial plot-building. It's a bit of a drag to sit through, but just remember that far more rewarding things are on the way.
Reward is the name of the game in Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. The series is well worth those 26 episodes alone, and offers immense rewatch value simply because there's so much more to discover. I burned the series to CD after completing it beacuse I'm positive I'll watch it again in the future, and I'm waiting with bated breath for the second season.
KILLER LOLIS!
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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nauXolo |
(2006-12-18 12:58:38) 2006-12-18 12:50:20 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| In all of my anime watching experience, none have kept my mind working more than this series. Full of subtle details and complicated story telling methods, Higurashi truly appealed to my 'mystery' sense. The amount of time I put into pondering the subtleties in the storyline is unrivaled when it comes to Higurashi. From figuring what exactly is the 'truth', to what causes these crazy personality changes, Higurashi had me thinking on end. However, that said, I highly doubt that this series can be enjoyed passively. What it boils down to is: If you pay close attention to every little detail from episode 1 and attempt to connect it together, you'll enjoy it. If you just want to lay back and watch some entertaining series with loli/gore, you'll be extremely disappointed after time. Be sure to heed this warning.
Oh, yeah. Another thing that may seem like a spoiler (but isn't), but I feel will help you keep a heads up is that there are multiple stories, each somehow connected (the fun is figuring out how). There isn't one linear storyline from start to end, yet it isn't episodic and fillerish.
Read more details below if you wish, but Higurashi doesn't offer much more (but who needs more?) than intricate story and mysteries.
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