Anime Review: Higurashi: When They Cry

[RollForInitiative]

I was half-wondering if I should hold out for the visual novel...I think I'll look up the anime, now, instead.

Which one? There have been many visual novels released for Higurashi already. If you can read kanji, a number of them are available for import, including recent DS releases of several titles.

when people just refer to "the visual novel" they refer to the originals: Higurashi and Higurashi Kai are originally visual novels, the anime and manga are mere adaptations, and then there are spinoff novels that supplement the original eight arcs.

Yes, that's a given. I was simply implying that the visual novel (or sound novel, as the Higurashi titles were originally coined) wasn't a single game, but several. =)

This time around it's sorta based on "and then there were none", from Agatha Christie. A number of people are stuck for two days on an island, together with a serial killer who seems to be following an esoteric poem. Most are quick to suspect the legendary witch who supposedly haunts the island and whose resurrection the poem is about, but because the protagonist would rather believe the culprit is very much human, he has to figure out all the seemingly supernatural murders before his turn comes. And from there on it becomes a great mindfuck peppered with Phoenix Wright-esque confrontations and all manners of demons, not to mention a thorough deconstruction of whodunits plus a few very unique twists on the usual visual novel structure.

Thanks for the rundown on Umineko. I've been patiently waiting to see if anybody is going to license it for a North American release. It sounds about as good as I'd hoped it would be.

 

[BlindTom]

I watched the first series of Higurashi recently because I knew people would spoil it for me if I tried to discuss Umineko.

Oddly enough the main thing that threw me off was how similar Takano from Higurashi, and Beatrice from Umineko sounded, I was barking up the wrong tree for quite some time thanks to that. (Probably the same VA but I can't be bothered looking it up)

Then again there's always time for my convoluted theory... Just don't expect to be watching the second series any time soon.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Huh... why did they change the title from the more literal "When the Cicadas Cry?" I always thought that was an interesting title...

Because US localisers can be stupid sometimes.

Also, the more literal title would be "When the Higurashi Cry". Higurashi Cicadas are a particular type of Cicada known for their particularly mournful cry, which are active in the evenings in late summer, which is, of course, relevant to the atmosphere of the series and when many of the key events take place. So you do learn things on the internets..

There are two live action movies as well, adapting Onikakushi-hen and Tsumihoroboshi-hen (the first question arc and the answer arc for it), though I don't know if they're any good, I've seen mixed reviews.

Yes, that's a given. I was simply implying that the visual novel (or sound novel, as the Higurashi titles were originally coined) wasn't a single game, but several. =)

Depends how pedantic you want to be. The original is an episodic game released in eight chapters. So, do you consider Half-Life Episode 1 and 2 seperate games, or episodic parts of a single game?

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

Wow, on a side note to earlier about adding it to the list, I just finished watching the first 2 episodes.
All I can say is, thanks for reviewing it and bringing it to my attention

You, sir, just made the time I spent writing this review worthwhile. My goal is to bring this series to the attention of a few more people since it seems to get easily overlooked based on the overly cute box art. It doesn't exactly give any impression of what the series really is, and most people that stumble across it pass it by accordingly.

If I can put the series into the hands of even one more person, I consider my goal to be met. Not that I'd mind putting it into many more hands than that.

I also recognized a certain moment in the first episode which is used in a motivational poster I've seen
but really, I would watch more tonight, but I've got to go watch District 9

 

[RollForInitiative]

Depends how pedantic you want to be. The original is an episodic game released in eight chapters. So, do you consider Half-Life Episode 1 and 2 seperate games, or episodic parts of a single game?

While I imagine the question is rhetorical in nature, I'll actually answer it for the sake of clarifying my own position. =) Yes, I do consider Half-Life Episode 1 and Episode 2 to be separate games, despite the nomenclature they employ. They are clearly tied together in a linear fashion but are still purchased separately from one another.

 

[Bobby_C]

Actually, to be technically correct:

-it's not a game. the very last episode of Higurashi Kai makes a half-baked attempt at interactivity but it's only a guise to make you more invested in the final episode, the visual novels are purely linear, they're really novels that you read on your screen.

-People refer to the original as singular because it's a serial. The eight episodes form one story. If you wanna be really thorough Higurashi is considered as two novels though. First one is Higurashi no naku koro ni, made of the four question arcs, then there's Higurashi no naku koro ni kai, made of the four answer arcs (the anime's a bit different, because they didn't know if they'd be allowed to do a second season, so they crammed some of the answer arcs in the first). As such, each episode is always sold with the previous ones in the novel it's a part of, but the final whole is not one eight-episodes novel, it's two four-episodes novel sold separately.

Those two wholes are considered two novels in the "When they cry" series (yes, said series has an english title even in japanese). And then Umineko no naku koro ni (the four question arcs of Umineko) is "when they cry 3" and Umineko no naku koro ni rei (the four answer arcs of Umineko, only one published for now) is "when they cry 4". That also explains the odd titles of the english version somewhat.

That's for the PC versions though. As far as I understand on console they added interactivity and grouped all eight episodes in a single branching storyline (which you do have to play several times in different ways to eventually reach the good ending)

 

[RollForInitiative]

Actually, to be technically correct:

They say you learn a new thing every day. I was aware of the question/answer delineation between the arcs, but I've never come across the original sound novels so I didn't realize they were completely linear. Fascinating stuff.

 

[Bobby_C]

There's still a bit of a gratuitous game component, but in the classic whodunit way. The author is daring you to try and figure out what's happening before the final episode comes out. It's even more blatant in Umineko where the original bit of promo is a challenge to future readers issued by the hypothetical witch, and during the novel some very formal rules are established or referenced to guide the adventurous reader who'd want to try and solve the mystery. And then characters refer to logic or writing concepts during the story, throwing around Knox's rules of detective fiction or Hempel's raven as if they were special attacks (some of them are, after all, trying to solve the mystery too), which may give you further help. In that respect it's kinda like one of those treasure hunt books.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

Wow, on a side note to earlier about adding it to the list, I just finished watching the first 2 episodes.
All I can say is, thanks for reviewing it and bringing it to my attention

You, sir, just made the time I spent writing this review worthwhile. My goal is to bring this series to the attention of a few more people since it seems to get easily overlooked based on the overly cute box art. It doesn't exactly give any impression of what the series really is, and most people that stumble across it pass it by accordingly.

If I can put the series into the hands of even one more person, I consider my goal to be met. Not that I'd mind putting it into many more hands than that.

Wow, it really starts to go crazy after episode... well, 1, really.
but I just finished ep 5... and I... don't have a clue anymore...
Does it start to make sense the more you watch?

 

[GloatingSwine]

Does it start to make sense the more you watch?

It starts to make sense eventually.

However, the next thing you have to do is turn off your internet until you have finished the series, so as to avoid spoilers.

 

[Gigaguy64]

Sounds like a very interesting anime.
I suppose I'll add it to 'The List'..
I don't know how I'm going to manage watching everything on the list...

yes, the list has gotten quite long.
When they cry has kinda intrested me, the first time i saw it it freaked me out.
but you gotta learn the story, it gets very deep.

 

[RollForInitiative]

Wow, it really starts to go crazy after episode... well, 1, really.
but I just finished ep 5... and I... don't have a clue anymore...
Does it start to make sense the more you watch?

You have to remember that the arcs are all initially disparate from one another. They aren't re-telling the same story from different angles. Consider the fifth episode to be a complete reset; the events of episodes one through four never happened there.

There's a lot to puzzle out as you watch and the first season will answer a few things but still leave you with plenty of questions and theories. Second season is where you'll get the rest of the answers but, in the end, everything will make sense.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

Wow, it really starts to go crazy after episode... well, 1, really.
but I just finished ep 5... and I... don't have a clue anymore...
Does it start to make sense the more you watch?

You have to remember that the arcs are all initially disparate from one another. They aren't re-telling the same story from different angles. Consider the fifth episode to be a complete reset; the events of episodes one through four never happened there.

There's a lot to puzzle out as you watch and the first season will answer a few things but still leave you with plenty of questions and theories. Second season is where you'll get the rest of the answers but, in the end, everything will make sense.

so it effectively resets every 4 episodes? with the 4th being the Grand Finale?
I'm just going onto the 8th ep now... damn you for getting me addicted to this fine anime! :|
(Mix of emotions... must not laugh insanely...)

 

[RollForInitiative]

so it effectively resets every 4 episodes? with the 4th being the Grand Finale?
I'm just going onto the 8th ep now... damn you for getting me addicted to this fine anime! :|
(Mix of emotions... must not laugh insanely...)

Well, not necessarily every four. Most arcs are a bit longer than that. The "Demoned Away" arc is the second shortest in the series. There's also brief, two episode interlude halfway through the series that shows some of the prior events.

Feel free to laugh insanely. Everyone else does.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

so it effectively resets every 4 episodes? with the 4th being the Grand Finale?
I'm just going onto the 8th ep now... damn you for getting me addicted to this fine anime! :|
(Mix of emotions... must not laugh insanely...)

Well, not necessarily every four. Most arcs are a bit longer than that. The "Demoned Away" arc is the second shortest in the series. There's also brief, two episode interlude halfway through the series that shows some of the prior events.

Feel free to laugh insanely. Everyone else does.

Well, in that case I shall!
Ah hahahehehhahahah!
or approximately

 

[historybuff]

Holy crap, this series is so crazy. But I loved it. It was great.

 

[AvsJoe]

Sounds good. Sounds real good. You make this sound like good competition for Erufen Rito for the best Anime I have ever seen.

Wanna know what convinced me?
this [http://z0r.de/L/217.swf].

Hahaha such a disturbing series of images, such a happy-go-lucky Disgaea song. This was the final nail in the coffin, I have to see this show.

 

[Aptspire]

I finished the 1st season and HOLY F***ING BALLS that was awesome
What I liked most was

OH, THE RAPE FACES
Also Heard about Rei, but don't know what it is...

 

[Motakikurushi]

No joke. This is one of THE greatest anime, heck, series ever created. Absolutely fantastic characters and great plot development. You spend 30 minutes getting to know a decceptively adorable 16 year old girl, and only then find out she's actually a raving, axe-wielding maniac. Every episode is so unique that perhaps its best aspect is the inconsistent nature of it all. One minute, everything's cliched anime-cutesy stuff, the next its horrifically violent dismemberment and torture. The fact that every episode is so different is what makes it a great series, yet it still comes together so well at the end. Was blown away by every second of its relentless atmosphere. Was by far the scariest anime I have seen. This anime PROVES that japanese animation is not just for children and can be intelligent and mature viewing.

And let's not forget the
'YOU'RE LYING!'
bit... honestly had nightmares after that. The artist needs an award for 'scariest faces in anything ever'.