"Higurashi no naku koro ni" (2006) TV series

Creator:

Ryukishi07

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

5 April 2006 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a story of many chapters. It's about the town of Hinamizawa, and the people who live there...

Plot Keywords:

Cicada | Based On Sound Novel | Beautiful Girl | Multiple Homicide | Gore

Cast

Soichiro Hoshi	...	Keiichi Maebara (22 episodes, 2006)
Mai Nakahara	...	Rena Ryugu (22 episodes, 2006)
Satsuki Yukino	...	Mion Sonozaki / ... (22 episodes, 2006)
Yukari Tamura	...	Rika Furude (22 episodes, 2006)
Grant George	...	Keiichi Maebara (22 episodes, 2006)
Mela Lee	...	Rena Ryugu (22 episodes, 2006)
Mika Kanai	...	Satoko Hojo (21 episodes, 2006)
Fûrin Cha	...	Kuraudo Oishi / ... (16 episodes, 2006)
Toshihiko Seki	...	Kyosuke Irie / ... (10 episodes, 2006)

Also Known As:

When They Cry (USA)
When They Cry: Higurashi (International: English title)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Japan:R-15 (AT-X)

Company:

Higurashi no Naku koro ni Seisaku Iinkai

Trivia:

The nickname Rena uses when referring to Shion (Mion's twin sister) is Shi-chan. Shi means Death in Japanese. Whether this was intentional or not is up to the viewers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Maiserufu; Yuaserufu: Kodomo ja naiyo (#1.4)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Higurashi no naku koro ni

Takes nail bitingly nerve wracking horror to a new extreme

Keiichi Maebara has recently moved to the cozy village of Hinamizawa. Here, he's made friends with four young girls – Rena, Rika, Mion, and Satoko – out of the mere fifteen students in his class. At first glance, nothing really seems to be out of the ordinary and it's easy to be misguided by the mostly peaceful appearance of the first episode. Unfortunately, something's just not right with this picture after all…. But Keiichi and his friends seem so cute, innocent, and happy with themselves and their lives. What could possibly go wrong? That question is abruptly answered upon the arrival of Hinamizawa's annual Watanagashi festival. Keiichi becomes suspicious of this ritual and the townspeople as he learns that on this day every year for the past four years, one person has been found dead while another has mysteriously disappeared.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes advantage of its viewers by making them vulnerable to the sweetly big-eyed, bubbly, and bright exteriors of the main characters and the setting which is often so sunny it's difficult to imagine anyone living there could be anything but harmless. This is undoubtedly one of the more convincing arguments as to why appearances can be so very deceiving. What separates this as a horror series is that it plays on every kind of fear any of us can have. From the feeling that you're being watched to the delusion that everything and everyone around you is an outright lie. However, what would any product of horror be without shamelessly graphic gore and disturbing content playing off of the viewers' neuroses? One scene in particular is brilliantly executed in raising tension slowly enough so that it's almost unbearable to watch the infliction of pain. There are plenty of creepy moments which get under the viewer's skin (at times almost literally) sometimes to the point of encouraging paranoid thoughts in him or her as well. One unique aspect of the series is its cyclic quick transitioning from a funny scene to one that is dead serious and then back again.

The voice acting (in the Japanese version) deserves recognition. This could have gone so wrong if less than talented people were cast; these actors sound perfectly natural as they seem to effortlessly convey a wide range of intense or subtle emotions, often in a matter of seconds. My favorite is the unpredictably versatile voice actress for Mion. I don't think I've heard creepier laughs or more unrestrained screams than the ones in this anime. After all this praise I've given to this series, you might think that the animation is probably the most unimportant thing about it. That's not the case at all. I have no doubt that every one of the cutesy, subdued, or horrific scenes are very reliant on the animators and art director(s) to effectively project the various emotions and reactions of a character to the viewers and they do an incredible job – from dilation of a character's pupils in response to confirmed suspicions to reducing characters' eyes to squinty slits as they gradually lose control of themselves. Besides, what is a great script without a shocking or slowly induced visual impact? I don't even think I have to say that the music is perfectly fitting to every moment as well.

I knew from the very first episode that this was the show I'd been looking for. I was routinely nervous, surprised, nauseated, and uncomfortable until the end and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend this to anyone who is in the mood for a story that is so addictive it's worth staying up all night to watch.