Story: 35/37
The story of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) is a little tough to go into without spoilers, but I will attempt to explain the general setup. Most of the first season is divided into short 4-5 episode arcs. In total, there are 4 of these arcs, and each arc is more or less a “repeat” of what happened in the previous arc, but with time reset, and different events occurring. Now, these first 4 arcs are called “Question Arcs”, and it is highly unexpected for the audience to understand what the point of the show is, or even what's going on in several situations. However, not only is that part of what makes this show a GREAT mystery anime, but all of these arcs are fun to watch, and have plot twists within themselves. The last couple of arcs from the First Season, and the first arc from the Second Season are essentially non-related to the primary 8/9 arcs. However, these “Side-Arcs” are also amazing, and serve to give important background information and by the first arc of the Second Season, the audience should be getting some hints, and possibly figure out what the over-arching story-line is. Finally, by the end of this first arc of the Second Season, the next 4 arcs consist of what are called “Answer Arcs”. These arcs, with some exception, are essentially re-tellings of the first 4 arcs from different points of view which serve to answer many of the unknowns in the Question Arcs. This might sound boring, but in reality, these episodes are also great and extremely well put together in order to keep things 100% fresh. By the end of the Answer Arcs, the audience has figured out “who the main character is” along with “who the main antagonist is” and things like this, and the final arc is longer, and is pretty much what you'd expect out of a standard, good guys vs. bad guys anime, since, in general, all of the mysteries have been solved.
I have to provide a special mention here, because after getting through the answer arcs, I felt let down. How could there be such a long arc when there are no more serious mysteries left to be solved, in such a mystery-centric anime. However, I cannot say, in any way, that I wasn't absolutely thrilled with this Final Arc (minus the first couple more boring episodes). This Final Arc is absolutely amazing in its own way, and I loved the entire series' complicated but carefully explained story.
Back on topic, while this was probably one of the most boring Story sections I have written, it should in no way alert you to the possibility that I wasn't just as amazed with this Story as any other anime deserving a boggling 35/37, but there is too much to say to waste too much space on unnecessary rambling. In summary, the Story of Higurashi is one of the best, if not the best I have ever seen.
Characters: 33/37
The characters in Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) are difficult to talk about, just like the story. On one side of things, there really aren't any characters who stood out to me like a Gasai Yuno, or an Okabe Rintarou which is why I can't really give this anime a perfect score on Characters, but... on the other hand, the way that almost every character who is mentioned is integral, in some way, to the plot is amazing, and all of the characters are extremely well written and always, without exception, match the personalities that they become known for as you watch the show. All of the characters have significant flaws (which are intended), but seeing the main protagonists interact with each other in the lighter, and the darker (and I mean DARKER) moments provide probably as much entertainment as a show like Kokoro Connect, which is the only anime that I will ever award a perfect score on Characters for. To be honest, I can't even say what makes the characters not as good as those from Kokoro Connect, but something about them just isn't “quite” as perfect. Regardless, there is not a single character I didn't like culminating in one of the best casts I've ever seen.
Art/Sound: 17/25
As usual, I don't really have a lot to say about the art, but it was average. It definitely isn't the best looking anime I've seen, and it loses some points for not looking as good as an anime its age could, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, and many of the characters and backgrounds are endearing.
There are a few things that decide sound for me: the opening/ending (more emphasis on the OP), series soundtracks, and voices/sound effects. The opening to Higurashi is one of my favorites, although I do admit that I seem to like a lot of anime openings for non Slice-of-Lifes. It's chilling, and the animation behind it is awesome though. It's a shame that the second OP and the EDs aren't as good, but they aren't bad either. The ambient sounds are fine, and the voice actors and actresses are absolutely great and really pull of the casts personalities well. While I usually don't even mention sound effects, with some of the brutality that happens in this show, Higurashi's sound effects appropriately do justice to the horrifying scenes and otherwise.
Romance: 0/1
This section is basically whether or not there was a romance that I enjoyed. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I particularly enjoy watching a romance develop, and I wished that other reviews would tell me if I was going to get to see one.
Overall: 85/100
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) was an anime that I wanted to watch for a while, but kept putting off. In some ways I'm glad I did so, since that meant I got to enjoy it to the fullest over the summer, but this is, hands down, the best mystery anime out there. It's the best horror anime I've seen as well, and all of this is paced well and kept in check by the cute, but powerful character interactions throughout the seies. I recommend this show to anyone who likes to think, but warn you that it is, unlike most other anime that claim to be mystery, in fact centered around a mystery and will require attention and thought in order to get the fullest enjoyment out of
Deductions in points from the score are my attempt at being as objective as I can, but they will be listed here in case anyone reading this cares more or less about anything I take points away from:
-There are one of two episodes that feel slightly out of place in the series, and seemed practically like filler. Good filler episodes, but filler nonetheless.
-The art style is consistent, but just seems really outdated for no apparent reason, and really could be a lot better (although there are some definite advantages to the style, especially in some of the darker (thematically) moments).
If you have any questions about my review (or want to talk about anything at all, really), feel free to email me at: nickwillis64@gmail.com
