Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen

Sep 19, 2009

DannoLL

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Now, to get things straight before touching the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Abducted by Demons Arc, you have to realise that, even in completing the manga, almost no questions are solved whatsoever, and if reading the manga in order, none are going to be solved for a fairly long time to come.

Starting off just as the Higurashi animé did, 'new kid in town', Keiichi Maebara, is plunged into a world of darkness in the idyllic village of Hinamizawa. The story in the Manga takes a lot longer than the animé does to get into its stride (The first Volume, or 3 Chapters is ...

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Jul 25, 2011

xm0123

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Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, or When the Cicadas Cry, was originally a visual/sound novel series by 07th Expansion. It was adapted into a manga series and an anime series. The anime series is (based off my unprofessional observations) very popular amongst J-pop fanatics. Until about a year or so ago, I knew absolutely nothing about Higurashi, or its followup Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, or When the Seagulls Cry. It wasn't until a friend of mine recommended these franchises to me that I was even interested. I tried to play the VN version of Higurashi, but it wouldn't work. (What, do PC games hate ... Windows 7 that much?) So I opted for the manga version instead, which I heard was better than the anime. Suffice to say, it was worth the investment.

Please note that as of this writing, I have only read the first three arcs of the manga version. I have not played the VN, and I am avoiding the anime, so I don't know anything beyond the first three arcs. With that said, the first arc is my favorite thus far. Let's find out why.

Story:

Keiichi Maebara and his family have moved to a rural town called Hinamizawa. This place is literally out in the sticks; it's mostly open fields, the locals know everyone by name, and cicadas will not STFU. Also, this takes place in 1983, an age when Japan was economically flourishing, when cell phones weren't widespread, and when Michael Jackson was still universally beloved.

Keiichi is a high school student who gets along with the girls in his class really well. They form a sort of club that does fun stuff whenever possible. One girl, Rena, loves cute things to an extreme, another girl, Mion, is tomboyish and has huge breasts. Another girl named Satoko does the practical pranks, and there's a shrine maiden girl, Rika, who is rather quiet. And they all do silly things with Keiichi.

HOWEVER, despite that, this is NOT a high school comedy/harem series. Good God no. Shortly after Keiichi settles in, he meets a freelance photographer named Jirou Tomitake. Jirou tells Keiichi that four years ago, someone tried to build a dam that would've destroyed Hinamizawa. There was strong opposition. Someone supporting the dam was murdered. The plan was canceled, and Hinamizawa stands to this day. Every year, on the day of cotton drifting, someone is murdered, and someone else goes missing. And in the present, it's about to be the cotton drifting day. Not only that, Keiichi's friend Rena starts acting as though she were possessed by a demon at times. One moment, she is moeblob Rena, the next, she's an unstable psychopath. Keiichi also learns about something called, "Oyashiro-sama's curse," a curse that is said to afflict the locals of Hinamizawa. Not long after, Keiichi's life is in danger.

This is a horror series, a horror series done right. The setting of Hinamizawa feels like one you could be in. Not only that, it's a mystery too. Why is Rena behaving like how she is? Does Oyashiro-sama's curse exist? Who is responsible for the deaths on the cotton drifting? Is Keiichi right to be paranoid of the people around him, or has he himself gone mad? The series doesn't say. This ambiguous nature is good, for it leads to interesting analysis, but it is also bad, for I don't know all of the answers. Nonetheless, once everything unravels, you'll be gripped. 9/10.

Art: The art for the Higurashi VN is terrible. 07Ryukishi, the original author, did improve by the time he made Umineko, but the PC games . . . ugh. The anime artwork isn't much better. The manga series, though? It looks great. Each story arc is done by a different artist . . . I don't know why that is, (it could be Oyashiro-sama's curse for all I know!) but the artist for this arc is talented. The characters and backgrounds are well drawn, the panels flow fluidly, and when it gets violent, it gets violent. The colored pages are astounding. I personally like the art for the second arc more, but this looks great too. 8/10.

Characterization: A big problem with a lot of horror stories is the lack of characterization. Higurashi does not have this flaw. All the characters, both minor and major, are important. Keiichi isn't just another "everyman in an extraordinary situation", he's a flawed but well-meaning person. His friends have depth, but this arc mostly focuses on Keiichi and Rena. Other characters are shown, such as Jirou, Keiichi's parents, and Ooishi, the police captain, but we don't see too much character development in this arc.

But what truly impresses me more than anything else is how Keiichi reacts. He reacts how anyone would in his situation: he has reason to believe that his friends are trying to kill him, he can't stay out too late because he's a minor, he can't outrun his foes because they own a white station wagon, he doesn't have the internet, and on top of that, he may have to resort to killing his own friends just to stay alive. If that doesn't make you scared for your life, then you're not human. 9/10.

Enjoyment: Once the series stopped pretending to be a comedy, this drew me in. The revelations of Hinamizawa, Keiichi's confrontations with Rena, the very real fear that permeates every chapter, it gripped me heavily. My only complaint is a lot still doesn't make sense to me. If I read more of Higurashi, I should be able to fill in the blanks, but regardless, this was a great introduction to Higurashi, and one I recommend if you don't mind seeing a scary franchise that actually is legitimately scary. 9/10.

I do have another complaint, but it's not about Higurashi itself, it's something else. Fans, Higurashi is not a cutesy moe moe kyun exercise in kawaii-ness; this is essentially a Stephen King novel set in Japan instead of Maine. If I see any more of you saying, "OMG! Rena-chan is so adowable when she holds her cweaver wike that! OMOCHIKAERI!" I'm gonna facepalm for hours.

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May 3, 2011

melancholylover

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I was attached to Higurashi a few pages in. Seeming like atypical Harem manga, it takes a total U-turn when a series of murders are told to Keiichi.

I really like the art in the Abducted By Demons arc. The characters look so cute and innocent, but when they get into murder mode, they get seriously freaking creepy. I have a feeling that it was done on purpose to catch the reader off guard. It certainly worked on me!

The character Keiichi is the main character in this arc. He is very relate able. Everything he does seems like something a real human being would do, I ...

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Jul 25, 2011

AniJournal

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Story: The story is something different, there aren't too many stories out there that are genuinely this creepy. It's an amazing story along with psychological twists. There's so much thrown into two books but the author handles it well. They build up the friendships between the characters, get you attached, then rips it apart in a slow but strangely fast manner. It's one event after another but doesn't seem speedy or sloppy. You're always kept in suspense once things get going. This series will seriously mess with your mind and emotions.

Art: The author used art to fully express change in the characters and succeeded ...

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Aug 7, 2011

BBHood22

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Wow! And here I thought I did not have any imagination...

I am not really into mangas since I like to see-hear-feel the action on my TV... but I think that reading this one would be better than watching it unfold on screen...

I would rate everything a 10... I am a big fan of the horror genre and I've seen a lot of horror/gore films already... I've been disappointed countless times since I was not even moved or scared by a film...

I've seen positive reviews regarding the Higurashi franchise and so it caught my interest... and boy, was I in for a very pleasant ...

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Apr 4, 2021

Emerald1016

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Higurashi Onikakushi-hen vol. 1 and 2 were the very first manga I've ever read. I had already seen the anime and played the Onikakushi-hen vn beforehand so I knew what I was going in to. What I DID not know what I was going into was that this would very quickly become my favorite way to experience Higurashi, period. I got this as a birthday gift because I had just finished the anime for the first time and learned of the manga. I didn't know what a manga was at the time and I didn't even know how to read them properly either.

The story ...

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Sep 25, 2016

TheRightList

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SPOILERS FREE!

This Manga series starts with this arc the onikakushi - hen or abducted by demons arc.
I know it looks kind of childish maybe a typical highschool manga or maybe I don't know boring? but it really isn't. This manga series which was taken from a Virtual Novel by the same name is my favourite manga series and I couldn't stop reading it. There are 8 main arcs anda few arcs which add to it and I have read all 8 (4 question arcs and 4 answer arcs) and the dice killing arc at the end. I think the name question arc and answer arc ...

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Jun 20, 2011

bizarrequazar

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Onikakushi-hen is the first arc in the Higurashi series as well as one of the most popular, but is it really as good as people say?

The story is a relativly good one: Boy moves to small town and learns of annual murders that take place. Boy becomes paranoid and begins to suspect friends, etc. It's well done, but it Keiichi's change between believing his friends weren't telling him about the murders to avoid scaring him and believing it to be because they themselves had played a role in the murders seemed a bit sudden. This is a bit of an issue since it doesn't give ...

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Jun 11, 2016

fillyy

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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen is a horror/mystery manga. The story is told in quite a unique way through the mysterious plot with horror and psychological twists. Judging the manga by the front cover, I thought it was going to be a generic harem with cute girls. This is however not the case; far from it actually. The story is told from the viewpoint of Keiichi Maebara. Maebara is a transfer student who doesn’t know a lot about the town he has moved into. He thinks he is an “outsider” and often feels left out when he isn’t told details about past events that ... happened in the town. This way, it makes the audience feel the urge of knowledge that Maebara is looking for adding to mystery of the manga. Although I generally don’t like anything to do with horror, the mystery that is added to the plot combines well with the horror overall making the plot interesting and intriguing.

The art is quite interesting in this manga. The girls are portrayed as “cute and innocent”; quite small and petite. This contrasts with the horror and mystery theme that is portrayed throughout the manga. It adds an ironic element which makes the whole manga interesting as it can be quite deceiving. The main female characters are unnecessarily overly sexualised which was not needed for the horror/mystery plot. The character designs and backgrounds are overall drawn beautifully. It is visually appealing. The panels also flow smoothly and it isn’t hard to know which panel to read next allowing for the fluidity of the story.

Character development and insight is something that this manga is quite lacking. That is however to be expected as it is such as short manga and it is only the first of many arcs of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series. There isn’t much shine to the supporting characters so they just feel like characters which are just drawn into the character with no real purpose to support the story. The main focus are on the main characters but due to the mysterious nature of the manga, there is still a lack of insight between the main female characters and we have yet to find out the “truth” as we are seeing the story from Maebara’s point of view who knows pretty much nothing about the history of the town.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this manga. I don’t quite like the horror genre but when it is combined with mystery, it instantly becomes one of my favourite genres. I believe this is a manga series which non-manga lovers will actually quite enjoy. It has quite a generic genre; horror mystery. It is something that most people are familiar with and can relate to other texts, whether that be a movie, a book etc. I would definitely consider re-reading this series as being a mystery anime, there may have been hints that forecast oncoming events which I have missed that I would catch onto if I re-read the series. higurashi no Naku Kori ni was quite a memorable series. It’s mysterious/horror element is something that cannot be forgotten that easily as that it where the anime shines in its brilliance.

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Sep 6, 2016

Nagadir-chan

Recommended

This manga is crazy!

Story: 9/10
Story is very intriguing and it was an actual cause why I continued. It starts very normaly and slice-of-lifey but then everything just makes a huge loop. It became creepy and very mysterious. Why is all of this happening? I don't know but I want! Also I love the idea of the storytelling (yeah I've read guides how to read Higurashi) and that interested me very much.

Art: 7/10
I can't say it was my cup of tea but when creepy things started it was drawn masterfully. It's not the type of extremely detailed art but doing it simple is sometimes better.

Character: 7/10
Actually ...

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Apr 15, 2021

jiaojasjjasjsa

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The first part of a eight long chapter series, Onikakushi. Is it good? or not?

First off, The story is great. It does its job well, introducing you to Higurashis true natrue perfectly. How we see Keiichi going batshit insane after finding out what happened in Hinamizawa is great as well. Secondly, The art. It is okay, i guess. It could do a lot of polishing, but when it needs to do its job, it does it well. Thirdly, the characters. Definitely the best part of Higurashi, they really feel like natural real life people, like people you know before. Also helps with moments where youre ...

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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen
Higurashi WHEN THEY CRY: Abducted by Demons Arc
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