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

Alternative Titles

English: Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou

Synonyms: When They Cry, Higurashi: When They Cry - New, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2020), When the Cicadas Cry, The Moment the Cicadas Cry

Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に業

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 24

Status: Currently Airing

Aired: Oct 1, 2020 to ?

Premiered: Fall 2020

Broadcast: Thursdays at 23:30 (JST)

Producers: Frontier Works, Infinite

Licensors: Funimation

Studios: Passione

Source: Visual novel

Genres: Mystery, Dementia, Horror, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller

Duration: 23 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 7.07¹ (scored by 22,088 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3355²

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

Popularity: #972

Members: 148,494

Favorites: 526

7.07

Ranked #3355Popularity #972Members 148,494

Fall 2020TVPassione

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Synopsis

Rika Furude and her group of friends live in the small mountain village of Hinamizawa; in June 1983, they welcome transfer student Keiichi Maebara into their ranks, making him the only boy in their group. After school, they have fun playing games and spending each day living their lives to the fullest. Despite this seemingly normal routine, Keiichi begins noticing strange behavior from his friends, who seem to be hiding the town's dark secrets from him.

Elsewhere, a certain person watches these increasingly unsettling events unfold and remembers all the times that this, and other similar stories, have played out. Using that knowledge, this person decides to fix these broken worlds. However, when certain variables change, the individual is faced with a horrifying realization: they have no idea what to expect or how to stop the impending tragedy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou
Alternative version:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Ryuuguu, Rena

Main

Nakahara, Mai
Japanese

Furude, Rika

Main

Tamura, Yukari
Japanese

Sonozaki, Shion

Main

Yukino, Satsuki
Japanese

Sonozaki, Mion

Main

Yukino, Satsuki
Japanese

Maebara, Keiichi

Main

Hoshi, Soichiro
Japanese

Houjou, Satoko

Main

Kanai, Mika
Japanese

Hanyuu

Supporting

Horie, Yui
Japanese

Takano, Miyo

Supporting

Itou, Miki
Japanese

Ooishi, Kuraudo

Supporting

Chafurin
Japanese

Irie, Kyousuke

Supporting

Seki, Toshihiko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Kawaguchi, Keiichirou

Director

Morishita, Hiroto

Sound Director

Takahashi, Takeo

Storyboard

Ayane

Theme Song Performance

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Opening Theme

"I believe what you said" by Asaka (亜咲花)

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Ending Theme

#1: "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (ひぐらしのなく頃に)" by Eiko Shimamiya (ep 1)
#2: "Kamisama no Syndrome (神様のシンドローム)" by Ayane (eps 2-??)

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Reviews

Nov 6, 2020

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 6

NisemonoDesu (All reviews)

133 people found this review helpful

Oh boy. This is a review I wish I didn’t have to write. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou was my most anticipated show from the Fall 2020 season, but in its current state it’s shaping up to be a disappointment to fans of the original, and confusing to newcomers to the series. Disclaimer: this show is still ongoing. All of my thoughts are subject to change as the show progresses. With that out of the way, let’s dive in.

I’m not sure if Passione ever officially said this would be a remake, but that’s definitely what everyone thought it was going to be. Google “Higurashi remake” and you’ll see what I mean. Well, turns out that they pulled a fast one on us and instead of giving the original series the Fruits Basket treatment, this is actually (kinda?) a third season! I’m not marking that as a spoiler since it’s obvious from episode 1. The way they’ve done this is weird though. Instead of all new content, they’re remaking the arcs from the original show but giving them different endings. I’m sure as the season progresses it’ll deviate more and more from the first season, but the unfortunate consequence of that decision is that it leads your brain to make direct comparisons to the original show. So, how does the new one stack up to the old one? So far, not so well.

The first issue I have with Gou is the animation. Let’s think back to the original show; we all know Studio Deen is famous for… ahem… “subpar” animation. And the old Higurashi definitely suffered from that, mainly in the first season. Characters were often drawn off-model, backgrounds were simple, character proportions were kinda off, movement was stiff. But the one thing Deen did right is they basically had 2 “modes” for the show: moe mode, and horror mode. During the majority of the show when characters were acting normally, everything had a bright moe look. But when the horror started, everything about the art style changed. Lighting got darker, camera angles went askew, and character proportions changed. You could tell just from the stylistic changes that some serious stuff was about to go down. Sometimes they’d even use that as a fake-out—they’d change to “horror” mode, but the scene would pass and nothing would happen. That added suspense and tension, and kept us as the audience from ever getting too comfortable in this world.

The new show is bright and moe all. the. time. Even during the kills. I’ve seen people try to defend that as being some kind of deliberate contrast. “It’s supposed to be shocking seeing these cute characters covered in blood and killing people!” Yeah, that’s shocking, but it’s not scary. The worst change has probably been to the famous “Higurashi face”. You know the one, it’s been imitated in almost every horror anime since. In the original show, characters’ faces would become heavily distorted during the intense horror scenes, sometimes to an almost unrecognizable extent. In the new one, they stay too moe. They eyes are still too soft and round and the expressions aren’t as intense. I was really excited to see the Higurashi face updated to 2020 animation standards, but from its first appearance, I’ve been disappointed.

The second issue I have is with the writing. The original Higurashi was, in my opinion, a masterclass in tight writing. Every episode flew by; 24 minutes always felt like 5. This is because every line mattered. Every conversation mattered. Every scene mattered. You couldn’t take anything away from the original show without losing something. That’s how a good show should be, it keeps you engaged by always feeding you relevant information. The way a show starts to drag is by having lines of pointless dialogue, characters repeating themselves, or having filler scenes that go nowhere. That’s the trap (pun intended) the new show is starting to fall into.

For example, in the original show, we establish early in the second season that the character Satoko makes traps. It’s established quickly in one scene in episode 2, it’s played for laughs in episode 3, and it isn’t brought up again until it becomes relevant to the plot. And in each of those instances, we’re taught something about the other characters, too; it doesn’t JUST establish Satoko’s trap-making skill. In the new show, we establish her trap-making skill in the first 10 minutes of episode 1 in a new scene where she hides a blackboard eraser in a doorjamb. Keiichi falls for it, and then the characters practically mug to the camera and go “Hey, did you know, SATAKO MAKES TRAPS???” And then again, at the end of the same episode, Satoko wins their scavenger hunt for a marker with a trap which, this time, makes no sense how she could have set one up without knowing ahead of time where the marker was. A throwaway line like, “Satoko has traps set all over the school!” could have explained it away, but we get nothing. Instead, it just re-establishes what we already know.

There’s an even worse example in episode 4 where Keiichi ends up in the hospital after being attacked by a certain character. Ooshi walks into his hospital room and asks him to explain what happened, and Keiichi basically tells him he doesn’t know what happened. Ooshi says “I’ll visit again soon. Feel better.” and walks out. I still don’t understand what the point of that interaction was. We already know Keiichi is confused, that interaction didn’t teach us anything we didn’t already know about the characters or the plot.

One other thing that bothers me is how early they’re revealing an important aspect of a certain character. I won’t get into detail on that one because it’s major spoilers if you haven’t watched either show, but suffice to say that if you’re a newcomer and you start with Gou, you will have certain elements of the original spoiled for you if you do decide to go back and watch the original show. That wouldn’t matter if this was a direct remake, but like I said before, it seems like it’s a third season, meaning you still have to watch the original to get the full story.

Overall, I think it’s still too early to tell how good this show will ultimately be. But as of episode 6, there are some early warning signs that this season might not live up to the legendary status of its predecessors. Here’s to hoping they manage to surprise us.

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Jan 11, 2021

14 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Pasturple (All reviews)

76 people found this review helpful

A REVIEW AND WARNING FOR EVERYONE WATCHING OR PLANNING TO WATCH:
> Higurashi no naku koro ni: Gou

I see a lot, and i mean A LOT, of negative reviews for this show... and i think this is clearly because most people came into this show with the wrong mindset.
THIS. IS. NOT. A. REMAKE.
THIS IS A SEQUEL! A THIRD SEASON!

This should have been clear from episode 2 and the opening alone.

(Slight Spoiler Warning if you haven't seen/read the original)
Episode 2 immediately jumps into it and shows you Hanyuu (who wasn't even introduced in the first season of the Deen adaptation) with Rika talking about the time read more

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Nov 14, 2020

7 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 2

OnePumpMan (All reviews)

77 people found this review helpful

Disclaimer: This review was originally written as of Episode 5. Updated at Episode 15. This somehow got even worse. I'll update the review text to include all my updated thought when the show ends but basically, the story has gotten more stupid, the direction has gotten worse and the animation is making Deen look like Studio Ghibli.

So, I don’t usually take the time out of my day to leave a review on anime I don’t like, but as a huge fan of the original Higurashi (at least season 1 and most of the VN) I took personal exception to Higurashi Gou, a project I’d read more

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Nov 5, 2020

6 of 24 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

eeasuper (All reviews)

56 people found this review helpful

The creators tried to find a balance which both newcomers and revisitors to Higurashi can enjoy. In the first 2 episodes, the attempt is evident by the inserting of novel cutscenes of Rika, made short for newcomers but nevertheless done for the sake of revisitors; and alongside the cutscenes, the usual progression of the storyline continues keeping it newer for revisitors as much as it is altered. I’d like to emphasize that the revisitor can feel positive elements subtracted from the original.

The creators’ balancing is an attempt that feels appreciable but not largely successful in the eyes of a revisitor. The revisitor feels it is a pity the newcomer will miss out on starting Higurashi believing that 'magic' doesn't exist as the 'magical' aspect of Higurashi is awaiting him at the beginning of season 2 for his fine tasting of 'plot-twist.' One of the ingenious aspects of Higurashi was this surprising holy conversion to being magical themed from being non-magical themed.

The new anime fails to outdo its predecessor in making him invest his emotions and concerns for the characters. In the original, the moments of sloppily drawn characters which gave some moments of laughter induced by good “tsukkomi - boke” comedy (Rena’s ‘Omochikaeri’ is sort of like this), and the melancholy dim orange gleam of twilight which would transport you back in time to a day that you saw that light without a worry in the world were factors in making the watcher invested and that this newer anime doesn’t have so far. The intermittent cartoonish art of the original allowed more creativity for scripting the character’s interactions to make them feel more playful, naughty, and caring for each other, which, in turn, are also such factors. Despite having watched only up to episode 6, I can still say with some confidence that such emotion-investing factors will be much weaker in this anime because of its short length, 24 episodes, compared to the lengthy 50 episodes of the original (season 1 and 2 combined), and I will continue to explain why below.

There is a problem with this slightly newer plot that might come from a subjective viewpoint and is only noticeable to a revisitor. While we're thankful for another season of Higurashi, it just feels all too imprudent to cast Rika down the pit again right after her salvation from it. This plot decision expands the rift between reality and the fictional by its inhumanity; for the revisitor, the reality is that this plot change (or plot addition) doesn’t exist and the fictional is this plot change itself. What normally follows salvation is a time of rest and comfort, but to give her no time to rest only accomplishes the reinstating that Rika is damned to Hell for eternity and removes a 'Happily Ever After' which many of us have now falsely believed in for over a decade. Not only is Rika thrown down the pit again, the spirit of Hanyuu hovering in front of her is now only a remnant of her actual self. So that's more than adding just a bit of garnish to that undesired plate of suffering there. (Rika cooly accepts Hanyuu's image as a remnant without much agitation though) - the creators just seem to be shouting at the pit, “Just burn in hell a little longer for us, Rika, so we can earn more money!” - This inhumanity confirms the suddenness and rashness of the plot change that had no foreshadowing failing to shrink the rift that is key to pulling the revisitor back into the anime. It may not be so for the newcomer because nothing is sudden and rash about something that is new!

However, after episode 4, the revisitor will feel that the newer plot additions are surprisingly admissible to at least a “B-” in his criteria of “good remakes.” He will go like, “Ah, so this is the path they are taking!” The creators are taking the path that has been in the back of the mind of a fervent ponderer of Higurashi’s plot, someone who spends a lot of time loving the story: “What if Keiichi were to have done ____ than that? What if that happened instead of that?” He can start to foretell what left of this anime is going to be solved, assuming that there was anything left unsolved in the first place. He may also feel a little optimistic about the future and eager to find out the greater happiness this newer anime may beget than the happiness achieved at the end of season 2 - this may be the driving source of the revisitor to continue watching.

While my next line of criticism I have isn't one that the creator is largely responsible for, I have to mention it. It is a problem for me that this new anime doesn't facilitate your reminiscence of June of 1983, a time long before many of us were born, by forgoing the normal artstyle: the old colorings, old anime hairstyles which bangs of great sizes were drawn in, (Rika's bangs used to be so much bigger), weird head-to-body ratio in cartoon scenes, cute cartoony Rena, and the recordings of cicadas' cries from what feels like the summer of 1983. The somewhat fuzzy and older artstyle itself seemed to testify that it came from that year. The mesmerizing sound of teeming bugs on trees varying in volume and always humming in the background made it feel like life undoubtedly exist in this world of Higurashi, a world whose main theme is so contradictory to that very idea; this sound transported you to the past, in which wildlife was actually more abundant due to less pesticides and environmental damage done by humans. One of my prime reasons for loving Higurashi was this nostalgic reminiscence, but this may not matter to most people.

This Higurashi is in a newer artstyle, with refined characters, and with less sloppy artwork, but I wish they kept the same character design and art style as from Higurashi Kira... Their hair always has gloss; like, is the sun really shining from that direction? I think I am seeing gloss not only on their hair but on their cheeks as well…

I highly recommend the newcomer to watch the original first and then this. The more I progress, the more this opinion gets solidified because the newcomer will miss out on some hints and turning points so subtle the newcomer would never imagine was a hint. The faster pace of this newer anime may be an advantage because the original first season felt like it was going nowhere at times due to the lack of a “solution” and the redundancy felt in season 1. Watching the original required some patience, which is not required for this new anime, but the way the original drags you into their world is of another level, which this anime can’t do with its fast-paced dialogue and the less artistic scenes for the lack of time. Indeed, the dialogue is sometimes so fast-paced (noticeable in episode 6) that I feel like I am more in a theatre watching live actors and actresses speak their lines than a motion-picture with smooth sequences.

Overall, the balance isn't mastered, but will most likely be effective to produce its desired result: to entertain both newcomers and revisitors. For the moments of shock and the shivering tension pulling the newcomer to the edge of his or her seat still seems to remain in this new anime.

In all categories: 8 out of 10, but when viewing it with the eyes of comparison to the original, 7 out of 10 in all categories except the semi-new plot, which I haven’t finished.

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