Reviews

Jul 4, 2014
**SPOILER FREE REVIEW FOR BOTH SEASONS OF THE SHOW**

Ever heard of the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, Higurashi no naku koro ni is an anime that takes this saying to a whole ‘nother level. One minute you think you are watching some sort of K-ON clone, the next you are hiding under the covers and cringing at the horrific violence flashing across your screen. If that isn’t enough of a hint, let me preface this review by elucidating the fact that this anime is not for everybody; the sheer amount of blood, gore, and bone-chilling imagery ensures that fact. It's best that the faint of heart pass on this one. However, Higurashi is so much more then the mindless scares and random violence that so many horror shows divulge into; it is a masterfully written, well-thought-out, psychological thriller based around an enthralling mystery that keeps you guessing from beginning to end, and it is absolutely fantastic at just about everything it does.

Giving a proper synopsis for Higurashi’s plot is completely pointless because this isn’t the kind of show you can explain properly to people who haven’t seen it. To elaborate, this anime is based on a visual novel, and rather then focusing the entire show on a single arc, you get to see ALL of the arcs. What this means is that there is a lot jumping around in chronology; characters will die in one arc only to come back to life in the next, but it is easy to detect that something is very, very wrong with the town of Hinamizawa. Keichi Maebara and his friends seem like normal teenagers in every arc, but something always seems to go horribly wrong and one or more characters will completely lose their minds. This brings us to the real strength of Higurashi's storyline: The element of mystery. Viewers are constantly trying to figure out what is causing these seemingly innocent characters straight out of a slice-of-life harem anime to suddenly go insane and start slaughtering everything in sight, only to have their theory blown out of the water during the next arc. Not only do these mysteries maintain several layers of intrigue throughout both seasons, they are well written. The reason I enjoy this anime so much is because everything comes together beautifully. By the end, everything you were initially confused about will have made sense and been resolved in a fantastically satisfying manner, no matter how confused you get along the way. Really the only complaint I can make about the storyline is that the pacing of the second season is a bit slow, but considering that the pacing of the rest of the show literally could not be any more perfect, that’s just a nitpick. There is also a minor detail in one of the arcs that never gets explained; you'll have to look it up on the Internet to figure out the explanation, but it's nothing too major. Again, this is nit-picky stuff. All in all, FANTASTIC plot, especially considering that this is a horror show; a genre that is usually shallow.

The beauty of the characters in Higurashi doesn't necessarily lie in their character development; in fact, Higurashi leaves quite a lot to be desired when it comes to character development. The reason these characters work is because they are all relatable, they are all likable in some way or another, and they are incredibly entertaining to watch. Keichi is a stereotypical protagonist both in design and personality; I recognize that he is nothing special, but he actually has a lot of redeeming qualities that shine through especially in the second season. Also, he has a bit of a dark and disturbing past (NOT in the stereotypical "my parents died!" sense that you are probably thinking) that adds another layer of intrigue to him. Mion and Shion Sonozaki, on the other hand, are extremely entertaining to watch and absolutely steal the show, especially a particular one of those two. That is because she is by far the most fun character to watch "snap" (almost every character "snaps" at some point in some arc). She goes from an adorable, innocent girl to absolute psychopath. In one particular arc, this character will just leave you speechless with her cruelty and brutality; these sisters are truly some of the most memorable characters in anime if you ask me. I won’t go over Rena, Rika, Satako, or the awesome side characters for the sake of time, but consider this: All of the characters in Higurashi are very fleshed out and have depth to them; most of them don’t receive much development due to the fact that this is a show where we are constantly going back in time (every time an arc ends), so true development is next to impossible. However, if Steins;Gate taught us anything, it is that we don’t necessarily need to see change in characters in order for them to work, and Higurashi is another example of that. These characters are all likable, distinct, and they have fantastic chemistry with one another. That makes them very successful in my book.

Some people are very critical of Higurashi's art style, but I absolutely fell in love with the animation of this anime by the end of the very first arc for one simple reason: No anime in existence has ever executed contrast as beautifully and expertly as Higurashi did. One moment the animation will look like it's an over-the-top, moe, slice of life comedy, the next moment, it looks like a dark, stylized, bloodbath. It is executed to near perfection, and the viewers never, EVER forget the incredibly powerful facial expressions of the characters. Sure, the dialogue scenes can be sub-par and the character design is nothing special, but the execution is good enough to repent for these things. The soundtrack is the perfect compliment to the anime. It is uplifting and happy when it needs to be and dark/sinister/frightening when it needs to be. Throw in the show's iconic opening and you have yourself a great soundtrack, especially when you throw in the excellent voice acting. Satsuki Yukino provides what I believe to be one of the best voice acting performances in history with her unbelievably wide range of emotion as the voices of the Sonozaki twins. However, it is worth noting that the English dub for Higurashi is absolutely atrocious. It was so bad that they didn't even bother to dub the 2nd season. Needless to say, stick to sub on this one.

In conclusion, I absolutely LOVE Higurashi. Something about watching stereotypical slice of life comedy characters go insane and start butchering each other is just unbelievably appealing to me, but that's not all there is to this series; it is incredibly well written and will have you on the edge of your seat for its entirety. As I mentioned earlier, this anime is not for everyone, but if you are mature enough to handle it, it's a fantastic thrill ride that I highly recommend.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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