Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Special: Nekogoroshi-hen

Okay this is my first review :)

Being a big fan of the Higurashi series I was excited to find out that a new adaptation of the story was being released. Needless to say i didn't have any hopes or expectations as most of the questions were answered (Watch Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai to find out) other than wanting to see my favourite cast of characters set off onto a new adventure.

......also just in case
WARNING THIS SPECIAL MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS AND MAY/MAY NOT AFFECT INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MAIN SERIES

Story: 6/10
This special gives a sort of side story to the main series and contains some mystery behind it. Whilst there is no actual involvement of the main characters other than the shenanigans at the start of the show the story does suffice to bring the characters back in for another adventure.

Art: 9/10
Same style as Kai and 1st season but still beautiful.

Sound: 8/10
The opening and closing songs are the same as season 1, but to my knowledge I believe it uses some background music from the 1st season so they are nice on the ear.

Character: 10/10
No new development just the same wonderful cast :) ~ Ni pah!

Enjoyment: 8/10
To see the cast of Higurashi doing something new is the main reason why i wanted to watch it and i did enjoy watching it but i want more!

Overall: 8/10
If you’re a fan of the series you should definitely watch it and even if you are new to the franchise it can give you a taste of who the characters are and half of what their like. BUT, just in case, be warned that it MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS as it does contain flashbacks of the main series but which aren't that harmful BUT parts of the special could affect how you interpret the first series of Higurashi.

So watch it to find out why it is called the cat killing chapter :)

~Abyssal

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My previous review on Nekogoroshi-hen was a bit messed up (people couldn't read all of it), so here goes try no. 2

For those of you who don't know Higurashi this review will be probably useless, since it's kinda aimed at people who already know it.

This special opens with Maebara and co. in the school on yet another club session. This time they're playing poker and betting large amounts of money. Unfortunately for our hero, halfway through the game he loses all of his money. But of course it's Keiichi we're talking about so instead of money he bets himself. If a loser, he promises the girls to do anything and everything they want (don't drool yet I'm not finished). Rika's imagination starts working as she sees Keiichi in a maid outfit and Satoko's only interested in making him suffer so she pictures him on all fours calling her "master". Rena wants to take everyone home (no suprise here) and Mion gets all red while imagining herself lying on Keiichi's laps while letting him softly carees her ear. Woah.

The gamble pays off though and Keiichi wins all of the girls' money. But the game goes on... and you can probably imagine what happens next. I'll tell you one thing though, I haven't seen that much fanservice in any other Higurashi series/OVA. You'll be having a nosebleed after a nosebleed after a nosebleed and you will be in danger of passing out halfway through this episode. For some of us it may be fun, for others it may not - you decide. I for one, enjoyed it.

To quickly sum up and avoid putting more spoilers in, the next half of the episode focus on the "scary" part where our heroes go off to an abandoned near-by village and learn of the terrible killings at the stone quarry. The story does get you interested though, with Rika and Mion both taking turns in explaining to the rest of the characters what (they think) really happened.

Now to review everything individually:

Story - The most important aspect in any anime in my humble opinion. Nekogoroshi hen however doesn't follow the Higurashi grid, and in turn we're presented with Higurashi that doesn't actually feel like Higurashi (for the first half anyway). As I said, lots of fanservice and comedy with a slight bit of horror or shall I say, mystery. But it's not the murderous, psychological, depressive and completely messed up kind of mystery. Compared with the bewildering mysteries in the first season of Higurashi no naku koro ni, Nekogoroshi-hen is pretty tame. There are 1 or 2 instances where you might go "wtf" but not much more than that I'm afraid. So I felt slightly disapointed by that, and had to lower my overal score for this special.

Art - I never write much about art because A.) I'm not an artist and B.) I hate lying to people about stuff I have no idea about. However I'll tell you this - never have Mion's boobs been so perfectly designed and animated. NO KIDDING!! You can actually see her giant melons gently bouncing up and down as she walks with our characters. That coupled with the fact that in this episode her cleavege is fully exposed will surely cause your brain to temporarily switch off, regardless of your gender. Just be sure that when you do lose your consciousness you fall on a soft surface. You have been warned.

Sound - Well there's really not much to write about here. The sound in this special, like nearly all sounds in Higurashi is taken from the Higurashi OST. So you get a decent mix of well composed music. When I say well composed I mean it. One second a comedic tune makes you wanna jump up and down till the end of time, the other a sad piano/violin combination makes you depressed and you feel like digging your own grave and lying there until you die of old age hoping someone comes along and shuffles all that earth you just dug up on you.

Characters - As always, funny and innovative. However in this episode, they're not scary and they're not trying to kill each other. On the other hand we see their funny and caring side. Rika is Rika, always concerned about the safety of her friends. Satoko wants Keiichi to acknowledge that she is better than him ( in... everything). Rena wants to take everyone home and molest them and Mion is fantasising about Keiichi.

Enjoyment - Well, this crazy special episode will make you nosebleed so many times you'll be begging for a blood transfusion as soon as you finish watching it. However there were no hospitals near by so for me that was actually not a good thing. 9/10

Overall - Seriously though all sarcasm and euphemism aside, this special IS worth watching. I'm a Higurashi nut, I've seen the anime, played the sound novels and probaly have everything that has something to do with higurashi. However even if you're not a Higurashi fan but you have come across it before then you should also see it because it is a genuinely entertaining episode. Hell, even if you haven't watched Higurashi at all and you think I'm just some sort of a crazy guy with too much time on my hands, then you should still see it!

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I am a massive fan of Higurashi (I've watched all the anime and am making my way through the manga) so when I found this I became unnaturally excited.

[Warning: May contain SPOILERS]

Story: I wasn't sure where this came in the chronology of the original series, kai and rei so I was watching it completely out of interest (but it did have the same creepy feel as the first season and the same music - which is a massive plus in its favour). There isn't much to the story. In true Higurashi style, the first section of the episode is happy and amusing and slowly deteriorates to something creepier with Rika being her usual mysterious self. If you want to have an episode where they explore something different to the rest of the series then this explores an interesting storyline that reveals no answers but is very interesting to watch nonetheless.The only thing I would say is that I wanted more! But maybe this is just because I am craving more Higurashi ;)

Art: Still very beautiful, I've always adore the Higurashi art.

Sound: Same music and background music as the first series (I have the soundtrack anyway) and really fits in with the creepy plotline.

Character - All the same characters, all being their 'usual' selves. And Rika being as strange and mysterious as she is throughtout most of the series.

Enjoyment - I enjoyed it, though as mentioned before it is short and I was craving more but the plotline was interesting and definitely something further to consider.

Overall - I really loved it and its another Higurashi work of art :) And if you haven't seen the other series : GO WATCH... NOW!

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This side story appears to take place some time during season 1, before Kai. This episode is essentially a filler, but a good filler.

Story (7):The cast of our usual lovable characters sit around and try to figure out another local mystery. The mystery has nothing to do with the overall plot. But if you watch this before Kai (which most of us didn't), it does provide good foreshadowing. That said, it doesn't really advance the plot at all besides that.

Art (7): It has the same art style as Rei, which can be distracting (since Rei is after both the first season and Kai). Regardless, it still looks good, so nothing to complain about.

Sound (8): The sound is what makes the Higurashi franchise stand out. But sadly, nothing intense enough happens in the story to make use of the best tracks. They stick with what they know works. But this episode wasn't the time or place to use it's stand out tracks.

Enjoyment (7 - 8): This depends on when you saw this episode. If you saw it before Kai, 8. If you're like most of us who saw it after watching the whole series, then a 7. Again, it's filler.

Overall (7): It's nice to see the characters acting like their usual selves. But don't expect to be blown away. If this was part of season 1, I would've said it was an above par filler. But on it's own, it just another excuse to see our favorite characters doing what they do best.

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