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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni starts with a taste of what's to come in the first scene and the opening. Then it's funny but slowly builds up to what the series is famous for. Next episode, things reset but with changes here and there.
In each story arc, that's how it goes. Nothing is wrong, something is wrong, EVERYTHING is wrong. The show sometimes shows a teaser of what is about to go wrong in the story arc but otherwise, it follows this pattern.
A constantly resetting story sounds like it would get pretty boring but the anime has paced it masterfully such that each arc drops little hints as to what causes everything to go wrong, moving the overall story forward. Then, while you're still trying to piece the clues together, another arc would drop another clue that would make you question the legitimacy of the pieces you were given earlier. A new revelation would show you more of the truth behind a disaster, assumptions from before are turned on their heads. It could get confusing but that's what makes finally knowing the truth so much more enticing, compelling me to keep watching.
Visually, it's really 'eh'. By today's standards it'll obviously be considered bad. One particular part with the facial distortion looked more amusing than frightening even. However, I am with a small group of people that say the simplistic visuals actually adds to the show. I find that it lends weight to the moments when people go crazy, with the characters suddenly becoming more detailed.
Music is mostly okay and blends into the background except for two tracks, the opening song, titled the same as the anime, "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" and the losing-sanity kind of music titled "Main Theme".
Overall, the first season of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is really great.
9/10
