Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (Higurashi: When They Cry

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2nd Series, Higurashi no Nakukoro ni 2nd Season, The Moment the Cicadas Cry 2

Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に解

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 24

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jul 6, 2007 to Dec 18, 2007

Premiered: Summer 2007

Broadcast: Fridays at 02:30 (JST)

Producers: Geneon Universal Entertainment, Frontier Works, Sotsu, Movic

Licensors: Sentai Filmworks

Studios: Studio Deen

Source: Visual novel

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Suspense

Themes: Gore, Psychological

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 8.17¹ (scored by 254,156 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #412²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #467

Members: 479,736

Favorites: 7,433

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8.17

Ranked #412Popularity #467Members 479,736

Summer 2007TVStudio Deen

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Episodes: /24

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Synopsis

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]

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Background

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai adapts the last two chapters of 07th Expansion's eight chapter visual novel.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Minagoroshi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Matsuribayashi-hen
Prequel:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Sequel:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei
Spin-off:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Specials

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

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

More staff

Staff

Okamura, Takema

Producer

Oomori, Hiroyuki

Producer

Danno, Yoshito

Assistant Producer

Fukao, Satoshi

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"Naraku no Hana (奈落の花)" by Eiko Shimamiya

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Ending Theme

"Taishou.a (対象.a)" by anNina

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

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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 ...

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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.

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Poll: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Entropy - Sep 24, 2007	141 replies	by benisgu »» Apr 6, 2:03 PM
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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

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