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

Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983, and quickly becomes inseparable friends with schoolmates Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, darkness lurks underneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead.

As the village prepares for its annual festival, Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding it. To his horror, he discovers that there have been several murders and disappearances in the village in the recent years, and that they all seem to be connected to the festival and the village's patron god, Oyashiro. Keiichi tries to ask his new friends about these incidents, but they are suspiciously silent and refuse to give him the answers he needs. As more and more bizarre events occur, he wonders just what else his friends might be keeping from him, and if he can even trust them at all.

When madness and paranoia begin taking root in Keiichi's heart, he will stumble straight into the mysteries at work in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, a story that is told across multiple arcs.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Geneon Entertainment USA initially licensed and distributed the first season of Higurashi until their closure in 2007. Funimation later distributed the Geneon release, but dropped the license in 2011 due to poor sales. It remained unlicensed until 2015 when Sentai Filmworks announced that they picked up the series.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni adapts the first six chapters of 07th Expansion's eight chapter visual novel.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Watanagashi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Tatarigoroshi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Himatsubushi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Meakashi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Tsumihoroboshi-hen
Sequel:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Side story:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Special: Nekogoroshi-hen, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku: Outbreak
Alternative setting:	Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Other:	Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira

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

Houjou, Satoko

Main

Kanai, Mika
Japanese

Takano, Miyo

Supporting

Itou, Miki
Japanese

Ooishi, Kuraudo

Supporting

Chafurin
Japanese

Houjou, Satoshi

Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu
Japanese

Akasaka, Mamoru

Supporting

Ono, Daisuke
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Oomori, Hiroyuki

Producer

Urasaki, Nobumitsu

Producer

Danno, Yoshito

Assistant Producer

Okamura, Takema

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" by Eiko Shimamiya

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Ending Theme

"Why, or why not" by Hiroyuki Oshima feat. Rekka Katakiri

Reviews

Nov 26, 2008

Ceptryn

Recommended

Watching Higurshi is like locking a group of happy people in a test chamber, only coming back to find they've hacked each other into a bloody mess. Its horrific, its shocking, and yet a part of you, cannot help but wonder, how did it happen?

The curiosity takes over... and so you repeat the experiment, knowing full well that those cute looking teenagers you just sent are going to end up as bloody pulps. But hey, at least each time they die, you're one step closer to figuring out why they died, it's all good.

Higurashi essentially places you in the role of the scientist. It divides ...

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Aug 16, 2008

LilGunmanX

Mixed Feelings

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has received much praise from the anime community in general, which hails it as the mystery to end all mysteries. Everybody loves it and chances are that, if you're reading this now, you've heard good news!

However, upon my completion of the anime and the 2 subsequent seasons that followed, I came to the conclusion that this praise was COMPLETELY undeserved by the anime, which is mediocre in the intellectual department, and is much less a mystery story than it is an action/adventure story with a lot of secrets. Furthermore, any actual "mystery" behind the story is made impossible to solve ...

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Apr 4, 2010

thesilentarmy

Not Recommended

There is an alarming number of people in the online anime community who hail this series as one of the best series in not only the horror/suspense/mystery genre, but in all of anime itself. For the life of me, I cannot discern where people get these feelings from. Higurashi is one of the most over rated series I've ever watched.

90% of the reason Higurashi is so terrible results directly due to the fact that the series is basically the same premise retold over and over again, a little different each time, in each 4-6 episode arc. It becomes a chore to watch it after you ... realize it's going to start over and retell a similar story in the second arc. But it goes beyond that, once you realize it's not even the same story. It's an entirely new story that has little to do with what you just watched before it.

Higurashi attempts to be a mystery, yet fails miserably. A mystery requires consistancy, something Higurashi lacks entirely. What happens in each arc is not the same as what happened in the arc before it. Imagine a story that retells itself again and again, each time showing you different perspectives of the same story, letting you in on different key knowledge that you may have lacked in the last arc, that you might come to understand and solve the mystery over time: This is what Higurashi SHOULD have been. But it's not. Each arc tells the story differently, to the degree that you are confused by what has actually happened and what events are relevant to what is currently going on. Things happen so differently that what is actually going on is indecipherable, leaving Higurashi little more than imagery of cute little girls turning psychotic in various situations that tell no complete story. Higurashi is utterly confusing and incomprehensible. The true mystery becomes, "Why does this have nothing to do with what I watched in the last arc?" not, "Why are strange murders happening every year at the same time."

The only thing propelling you to watch more of Higurashi is faith that it will eventually explain everythng to you. But it will not. Without giving any spoilers, Higurashi throws entirely new concepts at you at the end which bring about more questions than answers. At the end of the 26 episodes, one feels entirely cheated, as though an enormous amount of time has been wasted. One goes on web forums and complains of this, only to be told by fervent lolicons that, "You have to watch the second series before judging it. It explains all." But one is left looking at another 20-something episode long series and feeling not very optimistic, ready to watch something worthwhile, something that is not Higurashi. I don't waste my time watching an entire season with very little redeemable about it to conclude that I need to watch the second season. I just cut my losses and move on.

The characters aren't even likeable. There is a stupid male protagonist that is often referred to as bright even though he consistently does the stupidest things known to man (horror protagonist syndrome) and everyone else is a generic little girl. Oh, and there's a detective. In one arc he's a nice guy. In another he's a terrible douchebag. Again, no consistency.

Higurashi will appeal to certain groups of people: Lolicons, people that like stuff just because it is weird and confusing, and people that like anything with blood and graphicness in it. Unless you fit that bill, I cannot comprehend what you would like about Higurashi. The only good thing I can say about it is that there are parts of it that are a bit creepy. But it's even a bad suspense story, as each time the suspense builds up, the story retells itself in a new arc and drops all the suspense.

Ignore the hype. Unless you like little girls, pass on this one.

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Poll: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Tekky99 - Mar 14, 2008	268 replies	by walgreenscanada »» Apr 13, 9:49 AM
Poll: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) mitsukuni07 - Feb 16, 2008	171 replies	by Extremo888 »» Mar 27, 3:44 PM
Poll: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) mitsukuni07 - Feb 17, 2008	210 replies	by ohwaitwhat69 »» Mar 21, 12:08 PM
Poll: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) mitsukuni07 - Feb 16, 2008	142 replies	by ohwaitwhat69 »» Mar 21, 9:56 AM
Poll: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Voltlighter - Dec 28, 2007	148 replies	by Ratris_Decision »» Feb 4, 12:14 AM

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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

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Sonozaki, Shion

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Maebara, Keiichi

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Synopsis

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