Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

In the small village of Hinamizawa, Rika Furude and her friends live together in relative harmony. Beneath this mask of peace, however, lies a hidden darkness, one that Rika understands all too well. In this eternal summer, she has been witness to unspeakable horrors. Every time the clock resets, Rika must try to find the villain behind these senseless deaths before tragedy strikes again. However, trying to decipher a mystery when only half the clues are present proves time and again to be disastrous, and each time she believes that things will change, she inevitably fails. As the annual festival approaches, Rika begins her descent from hope to despair in her struggle to break the chains of fate entangling them all.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Furude, Rika Main

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Ryuuguu, Rena Main

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Sonozaki, Shion Main

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Sonozaki, Mion Main

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Maebara, Keiichi Main

Hoshi, Souichirou Japanese

Hanyuu Main

Horie, Yui Japanese

Houjou, Satoko Main

Kanai, Mika Japanese

Takano, Miyo Main

Itou, Miki Japanese

Bernkastel, Frederica Supporting

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Ooishi, Kuraudo Supporting

Chafurin Japanese

Oomori, Hiroyuki Producer

Okamura, Takema Producer

Iijima, Kouji Producer

Fukao, Satoshi Assistant Producer

Reviews

Jan 3, 2008

z-pak

Recommended

I will say this now, if you have not seen the anime called Higurashi no Naku koro ni, then this review will be as useful as the dust that lies under your bed.

With that said, most of what I have to say about Kai will be a rehash of what I said in my season 1 review; therefore, I will not be giving a detailed review. Instead, I will say what I thought were the stronger aspects in Kai compared to that of the first season. No doubt, both seasons of Higurashi were wonderful and one cannot exist without the other. Because of this, it ... is not exactly fair for me to use the same criteria I use with a stand alone season series or a stand alone anime. Thus, I rate and review Kai based on what was different, whether it be an improvement or not, from season 1.

Story: As said earlier, Kai is a direct continuation of where season 1 left off. Kai shows the last two answer arcs of Higurashi plus an anime-exclusive arc to fill up the holes to answers that were missing from season 1. Every mystery or question posed in the first season is answered nicely. The way everything falls together is very well thought out. The solutions provided to the mystery leaves very little things unanswered.

Art/Animation: Vast improvement in the art department from the last seasons. Animation, however, while it is much better, can still be inconsistent. Well, Higurashi was never known for its animation, and it does its job fine without KyotoAni, Bones, or Madhouse quality animation.

Sound: One aspect of Kai that was the same as the first season. The first season had an OP that matched very well with its atmosphere and mood. Kai was no different. Instead of the creepy, unsettling feeling, Kai uses an OP the shows the drama and desperation of Rika's struggle. The voice acting is still superb, and besides the major theme that is used in Kai and some new tracks, the music remains the same.

Characters: I found the character development to be better and given more time in Kai. While the first season introduced and partially developed the characters, they are fully fleshed out in Kai, especially Rika. Even the characters that you think played minor roles in the first season, Akasaka, Tomitake, Takano, Irie, and Ooishi, gets a good deal of development.

Enjoyment: While I had a lot more fun brainstorming theories and (sometimes, not always) being confused, I enjoyed Kai for other reasons. Firstly, I loved Minagoroshi-hen. It is, no doubt, my favorite Higurashi arc. While some people might enjoy watching psychotic girls beat the hell out of a certain, horrible uncle (I mean, who does not?), I had just as much fun watching Keiichi give his epic speeches. After all, Keiichi is called the Magician of Words for a reason. I also enjoyed watching as everything unfolded.

Overall:This would average out to a 9.4. I did think there was improvement of pacing, being a lot more consistent, quality wise, than season 1, and the awesome ending. The pacing in season 1 felt rushed at some parts and caused certain facts to be left out. Thankfully, most of that was rectified in Kai. So yes, in some ways, I did think Kai was superior to the first season. The first season did really well in setting up the mystery and atmosphere. While Kai's atmosphere may seem too different from that of season 1, it is actually a lot closer to its original source material (the VN). Of course, I will not be going into this, but overall, the way the story unfolds is wonderful, especially if some of your theories turns out to be correct. Even with all that said, this series is not perfect. While the ending itself and final episode was brilliant, the lead up to that ending was weak and could have been executed better. Even with that said, Higurashi, as a whole, is a series that I would definitely recommend. Final verdict: 9/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 10, 2008

L-sama

Mixed Feelings

After finishing the first Higurashi series, I was actually looking forward to seeing what Kai had in store for me. Despite my dislike of the horror genre, I was more than willing to give this one a chance too, since I was proven wrong by the former. I was proven wrong, all right, but it was not for the right reasons.

Where the first Higurashi was centered on shocking the viewer at every turn, Kai went for a slower, more suspenseful approach. Because of this decision, this approach turned out to be exceedingly slow. With only two major arcs present and twenty-four episodes to use, many ... events were stretched out beyond their limits. There were several occasions where the story virtually stalled for two episodes at a time with almost nothing being accomplished. Perhaps because of this, the twists that were thrown in became more surprising. There were just enough of these to help me see this series to its unexpected end.

Luckily, thanks to this pacing change, I did see some good come out of Kai. With several major questions raised at the end of the first Higurashi, the series took each one and explained the reasoning behind everything clearly. I can safely say that I had no further questions about any past events when the final credits rolled. There was one other good thing about this slower approach; something that I didn’t expect. The amount of back story given was a rather nice treat. Most of this was focused around Takano, someone that barely received any time in the first season, but proved to hold much more that what I saw previously. Her story was more compelling and memorable than the actual plot ever was at any given point.

Throughout the entire run of Kai, there seemed to be something missing. The sense of paranoia that was so prevalent in the first season was absent. Granted, this had to do with the focus shift, but there still could have been a way to keep it in the plot. Without the constant fear that someone or something may be lurking around the corner, this series felt rather dull outside of Takano's story. At least the beginning and ending of each episode is enjoyable with the new opening and ending themes.

When all was said and done, I could do nothing but sigh. The ending may have been satisfying, but I still wanted more. Despite my distaste for graphic violence and horror, I actually wished that it were there from the beginning. That, my friends, is saying something.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 11, 2009

MikeOnHighway61

Not Recommended

What did we see in Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni so far?

Well, it's been an amazing journey through the depths of human psychology, telling us that everyone is capable of becoming a killer under different circumstances... Watanagashi's mysteries were quite fascinating and there were specific scenes and moments the watcher won't forget that easily, in matter of psychological tension or brutal violence. The season ended with a slight glance of hope to escape the murder scenario repetition going on, so the watcher was looking forward seeing the resolve of that twisted maze.

Then there was Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai... ...and the tension was gone.

The ... second season of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni was successful in erasing every intriguing aspect of the first one.

- The Story:
The second season tells you every answer you need to understand what's going on in Hinamizawa, not only once, but plenty of times, so that even the most distracted watchers would understand. Maybe because of that, the answers presented seem very odd and the excitement level drops. The rest of the screentime is used in more unnecessary scenario repetitions, which feel quite inappropriate, because you already had a complete season using this method and it becomes boring. The higher quality of exciting psychological mystery plot vanishes and gives way to some kind of youth adventure filled with plotholes, similar to Spielberg's The Goonies...

- The Atmosphere:
Higurashi was all about the tension created by the menacing situation the main characters were in. Well, because of the disappearance of most of the elements concerning that, the atmosphere becomes dull and you start to loose the contact to the characters. Also, because of the trivial answers you get to the big mystery, the enigmatic factor in atmosphere gets lost as well. In the final part of the season, the watcher will find himself watching some kind of Arnold Schwarzenegger movie with oneliners, shootouts and fistfights... THAT completely destroyed the mood...

- The Design
This is one of the few minor improvements Higurashi went through. The character design looks far smoother than season one's did. Also, the rate of SD usage was increased, which makes the humorous sequences more enjoyable than in season one.

-The Final Conclusion:
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai destroyed most of the precious elements of the first series. The psychological mystery disappeared complety, the disturbing scenes of violence are not disturbing anymore and the twisted plot gets cleared in a most trivial way. Even without comparing the second season to the first, you will still find yourself bored by the redundant scenario repetitions and the more than unnecessary flashback sequences.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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