Higurashi does that thing, that trick, where it starts of easy, peaceful, simple, heartwarming, and calm but instantly changes when the smallest mistake happens. It can go from sweet and innocent, to the most unexpected, horrific, gore-filled, disastrous outcome you could possibly think of in less then 15 minutes.
Higurashi reminds me a lot of a RPG in the sense that the smallest thing always changes the whole outcome of the story. Higurash has multiple story arks in the series, resetting from the very start everytime the inevitable bloodbath of all our beloved characters takes place, usually ending the current story ark. If you take the RPG example again, and factor it into the scenario, it's essentially like starting a new game and trying to get a new ending. The start is always the same, but the events change, always leaving you asking, "I wonder who's going to got bat-s**t crazy this time around."
Higurashi is by far one of the most gory, stomach twisting series I've seen. If someone told you otherwise...you're sadly mistaken. Even if you go into in preparing yourself for the worst, you'll never see anything coming when it does. It leaves you in the dark until the perfect moment arises. It never fails to surprise.
As for animation, Higurashi has relatively decent animation but nothing to spectacular. Compared to other anime realised in 2006 (take Death Note for example) it doesn't exactly match in quality. I'm not saying the animation is awful, it's not, but it doesn't look as good as some others. It has its moments, but it's nothing to special, but it's not bad.
The sound in Higurashi though is considerably better. It's been a few months since I finished both season one, and two, so my memory is a little murky, but the soundtracks I remembered where very nicely done. They always fit perfectly with the current situation and setting, which is always a major "make it, or break it" factor for things like horror/mystery series like this.
And lastly, voice acting. The voice acting for Higurashi is also very nicely done. The actors all portrayed their characters and situations well. No complaints on that part.
Well, I think that concludes my full review of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. I hope you found this somewhat helpful and enjoyable! ^^
