Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is one of the most watched animes of all time (based on statistics using a few anime list related sites), and it shows why. Higurashi is one of the most exciting yet confusing animes I have ever watched. Based on the popular Visual Novel series with the same name by 07th Expansion, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni brings you possibly one of the best, if not THE best horror anime series ever.
Art & Animation: This is probably my only real complaint about Higurashi. It's not bad, but at times the animation can look a little bit off. But compared to the artwork of the game, I can't really complain... The thing is that sometimes it can look a little bit stale and you can see that this anime wasn't made on that big of a budget. It can feel like some details are missing or that the surrounding area is a little bit empty at times (but what do I expect from a village, really?). You practically never see anyone around the city unless it's a major event going on in the city or when the main characters are in school. Another thing that is actually both a good thing aswell as a bad thing is the colouring. The thing is that most of the time the colours are very grayish or are practically missing a tint completely, whilst this is of course a bad thing since it doesn't bring a lot of life in this world it is undeniably also one of the strong points as it brings much more atmosphere to the village and the horror feeling. And the gore is always enjoyable to watch!
Sound: Higurashi has without a doubt one of the best soundtracks ever. It ranges from cherry slice-of-life music to really creepy and scary tunes that sends chills down your spine more times than you can count. Just try to listen to its soundtrack on a rainy, cold, dark night. It will creep the life out of you. The opening was sung by Shimamiya Eiko and is called- like the anime itself, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and it brings this show to life. The first time you hear it you will think "Holy shit. My mind is ready for this". It truly is one of the best openings to any anime I have heard and it continues to amaze me everytime I listen to it. The ending was sung by Ooshima Hiroyuki and its name is Why, or Why Not. Altough not as amazing as the intro is still fits the setting of Higurashi very well. Even though the engrish is horrible...
Story: The story of Higurashi is told using many different stories (even told by someone else's point of view) and is about Maebara Keiichi who moves to a village after an incident. In the village he meets 5 girls and befriends them like a typical harem anime. Those girls names are Furude Rika, Ryuugu Rena, Hojo Satoko and the twins Sonozaki Mion and Shion. While everything seems nice and dandy in the beginning it starts to develop into a really mysterious anime filled with, well, mysteries! Disappearances, deaths, epidemics and other things plague the village of Hinamizawa. Now this is where the anime goes confusing on quite the level I've never experienced before. First the story will go this way and after a major event has happend, the time will go back to somewhere where the anime has been before. And this seems to be one of the reasons why a lot of folks drop this anime. But these stories are all part of a puzzle much bigger than what this season will tell you (See Kai for the answer to this puzzle). The best story in Higurashi is by far the first one and is in my opinion one of the best arcs in any anime ever. It was a clear perfect 10 and drags you into the anime like nothing else before it. However, this is also where disappointment awaits, no story after this one was even close to being as suspensful as the first one, with some of them being only good and never great. But that first arc will never be bad no matter what, in fact I've rewatched those episodes 2-3 times.
Character: The characters are presented very well with Keiichi being a really good protagonist, Rena being really creepy, Mion being very entertaining, Shion being crazy, Rika being mysterious and Satoko being... >.< The other side characters are also very entertaining (favourite being Irie Kyousuke) but some gets worse as the show progress. I'm looking at you Ooishi Kuraudo. But something I thought was a little annoying was that there was barely any townfolk shown. As I said before, most people are seen in the school. This season does not really have a real villain but instead uses one or two villains for each arc. The main villain is saved for Kai.
Enjoyment: It's as simple as this: if you love gore and horror, this anime is a must! But the confusing story can be more than a little annoying the first time watching this.
This show has very high replay value. With the first arc being as good as it is and all of the gore it has, makes Higurashi a very fine show to rewatch that I would say is even better after you've finished the second season, Kai. Although the later arcs are not as good and well written as the first one, they too are very entertaining in some way or another.
All in all, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a great anime that should not be missed! Don't pass this one up no matter what.
Thanks for reading, take care and see ya next time!
