REVIEW - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2006)

There are some anime that always hit the mark no matter what they do when it comes to the plot. Whether it's extremely well thought out plot lines, characters that are deep, introcrate and memorable or anime that rely solely on atmosphere they never seem to miss the mark. For some reason, today's anime hits every single ball you throw at it out of the park and then some.

The anime adaptation of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, ladies and gentlemen.

Visceral, bloody, brutal and tragic. Higurashi is a goreophob's nightmare. With the exception of very few, every episode of this anime is filled to the brim with blood, guts and estranged deaths. So be forewarned before I begin: 

THE FOLLOWING ANIME CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGERY THAT WAS UNCENSORED FOR IT'S RELEASE. IF YOU ARE UPSET BY GORE/CHILDREN DYING, PLEASE LEAVE NOW.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place in the month of June, 1983 in the Japanese village of Hinamizawa. The main character - for season one at least - is Keiichi Maebara, a transfer student new to the village. He meets a host of colourful yet mysterious people, such as the shy but vicious Rena Ryuguu, the Loud and arrogant Mion Sonozaki, the cute and adorable Rika Furude and the annoyingly funny Satoko Houjou. They normally mess about in their school club and just act the fools, but one day, Keiichi notices that some time ago, there was a murder in Hinamizawa and his friends keep denying it happening and start to act strange around him. All of a sudden Keiichi begins to become Paranoid and starts to think his friends are out for his blood, due to the recent deaths at the Watanagashi festival, where another series of strange events has been occouring for 5 years in a row now: someone dies and someone goes missing. This is the set up of the first of many arcs in the plot line of this series. You see, Higurashi was originally a visual novel released in 2002 that was split into multiple arcs.

And none of them ended very well.

In Higurashi, near the end of an arc most people have been killed due to the circumstances of the arc, since most arcs have a different focal character. It's a great set up to an anime and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The plot is visceral and unique, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The characters are the Highlight of the series, but for the sake of keeping this review short (I have to go asleep soon </3) I'll talk about the main character and my favourite character.

Maebara Keiichi (AKA Kei-chan)

Keiichi is the innocent protagonist of Arcs 1 (Onikakushi), 2 (Watanagashi) and 3 (Totorakori). He's recently moved to Hinamizawa and has no real idea what the town is about. It's this lack of knowledge and the strange happenings in the town that combine to make Keiichi's paranoid side come out. He's constantly questioning others, wanting to know what the hell is going on in Hinamizawa. Although he is paranoid, he's humourous, clever and determined to help others any way he can, even if he only helps a little. He's brave and while he's not the most memorable lead in the world, he does a good job at what he's supposed to do.

Shion Sonozaki (AKA Shii-Chan)

*ahem*

Shion Sonozaki is the twin of Mion Sonozaki and is a daughter of Hinamizawa's most powerful family. Shion is smart, funny, athletic and pretty too. Shion is only the main character in one arc, although it is the longest one by far (Arc 5).

But she's not my favourite for that. She's my favourite for being bat-shit insane. I only need this picture to sum her up really:

She's evil when she's pushed to the limit, going as far as killing her friends in order to find her loved one. It may sound very Gasai Yuno-ish,, but Shion's kill count ranks far higher than Yuno's. She's despicable, but she is without a doubt my favourite anime character of all time. Her depth and trauma amaze me still to this day.

Animation wise, Higurashi is not perfect, but it's fitting. The show's high contrast works well when the mood is all happy and moe and it's suitable for the more...shall we say, disturbing parts of the show. It's medium quality sure and it's not very detailed but it still does the job quite well, and it has one hell of a striking opening.

She's too happy about this.

The sound is great, but again not perfect. Not a lot of tracks were memorable, but the soundtrack was very diverse and fitting to the show's cute and scary parts. The show's main theme is haunting and has a sense of hopelessness and dread tto it, and it's a brilliant piece that will make your spine tingle. The opening is very catchy and fits the shows somewhat supernatural element to a tee. It's a very well done soundtrack, but again not as memorable as it could've been.

Overall, Higurashi is just short of being a masterpiece. It's amazing in almost every single way possible. It's brilliantly paced, extremely well written and has an amazing cast of characters. If you're planning on watching it, watch the fansub by We Are In Denial subs, since this show's English dub is complete shit.

Story: 10
Characters:10
Animation: 9.7
Music: 9.9
Personal Enjoyment: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR HIGURASHI NO NAKU KORO NI (WHEN THEY CRY): 10/10

Yes. I did just give it a 10.