The story is flat-out amazing. While it may seem somewhat slow or even tedious for the first few episodes, the fourth episode will definitely mess with your head as it did with mine, and the fifth one will completely screw you up. From there, Higurashi takes you on an awesome ride through a darkly disturbing story involving some of the most interesting and compelling characters I've watched to date. The great thing about this anime's story is that it keeps you thinking on your toes throughout the whole thing; this may not be appealing to someone who "passively" watches anime, but for someone who really wants to have to think about a plotline, this is a great anime for you.
The art is relatively good overall, but it shines to greatness when the more disturbing scenes are being depicted. One of the things I liked about the art is while there is a substantial amount of blood 'n guts, Higurashi also works hard with "camera" angles, shadows, and facial expressions to depict images that are plainly disquieting without having to throw in all the blood to get a point across. Also, I personally found the opening sequence to be very artistically beautiful.
The sound is horrifyingly creepy - sound effects are used well, and scenes where people are crying, screaming, or laughing manicially (you'll hear all of this and more...) don't feel fake. The opening sequence is also enjoyable in my opinion, although the various poses that the characters are shown in during the opening may not make sense the first time you watch it; that'll change once you've completed the series. As for the ending theme, well, the words to it are hauntingly beautiful in my opinion, but I have to confess that I have never watched the whole thing, usually because I was too busy trying to get to the next episode so I could figure out what the heck was happening!
The characters...wow. Higurashi does a great job of starting you off thinking about all the characters in one light but then twisting the story around to make you think of them in another. The characters all have deep, compelling backstories to one degree or another, and as more is revealed about different characters' stories and their relations to each other, the more you realize how psychologically damaged and sociologically scarred the characters are. Really, it is difficult to talk about both the story or the characters without giving too much away, so let me just leave it at that.
I really enjoyed watching this series - like I said, it is the first one I seriously marathoned in my wee hours between working and sleeping. This isn't just because almost all of the episodes end at "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE IT THERE?!" points, but because the storyline they're a part of is so darn compelling that you just have to click on the next episode and keep watching.
I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in a thought-provoking anime that you have to think on your feet while watching, anyone who loves a story that plays with your head and characters that freak you out, or even just anyone who wants to know what a great horror and psychological anime should consist of.
However, I would also be quick to note that you should be able to deal with adult themes before you even think of picking up this anime. There is blood, gore and violence, yes, but there are also scenes that are so saddening, so sickening, so disturbing, so desperate, and so starkly human in their emotional content that they'll stick with you even after you turn off the screen...maybe even after you hear the last cicada of the summer cry.
