Higurashi no naku koro ni watch online HD

This a series of many different arcs all taking place in Hinamizawa of 1983. With the first episode it kinda make you think this is gonna be your typical cute funny anime. But it's not. It is truly a horror and a thriller anime. Even if you don't like violence I believe most people would still appreciate this anime. In a way it could also fit into the mystery genre.

Surprisingly, the arcs do not get old nor repetitive. Which before watching this anime I was afraid of. After each episode you want to watch more. Overall this is an amazing anime and I would recommend it to anyone. (not children though of course since it is quite violent}.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni starts off in a quiet, peaceful little village that looks quite ordinary and amiable to anyone.

But, of course, there's always something horribly wrong.

Higurashi was first brought into the world in the form several PC games, with the covers designed to look quite disarming so any person would think that this series was harmless. But once you get into the meat of it, things aren't looking so rosy. You'll be pulled, dragged, and unwillingly shoved into a head-spinning mystery that you wished never surfaced in the first place, fighting for your life against people you trusted, and digging through graves and lies in order to survive.

There are four "question" arcs, consisting of four different viewpoints of the fateful Hinamizawa festival and two "answer" arcs (in the anime), which will reveal what went wrong in two of the question arcs.

What's best of all is the horror, both physical and psychological. If the blood won't get to you, the emotional tension will. With a cast of memorable and lively characters, you won't be able to watch this anime only once.

There are FOUR of them now. Yes, you'll have to deal with four creepy girls instead of one like a normal horror film would. They'll be cute and bouncy for one moment, then murderous and psychotic the next. Full of twists, turns, and unpleasant surprises, after watching this, you won't be able to close an eyelid for some time.

Welcome to Hinamizawa. Enjoy your stay.

For those who doesn't know about Higurashi. Three points:

(1) Higurashi has 50 episodes in total. Second half (24 episodes) are called "Higurashi no nakukoroni Kai". "Kai" means "Answer to mystery". You won't get answer and you won't understand the whole story until you watch "Kai" part.

(2) Style is somewhat similar to US drama "Lost". You will keep wondering if bizarre phenomenon will be explained by science and logic, or by pure fantasy.

(3) If you don't know about Anime, you may think some part are very childish, silly or weird. There are many "Moe" elements in this anime, which are prevalent in current anime. Maid dress, multiple very young female characters with one central male character, are typical "Moe" elements, and you should just ignore them and they shouldn't distract you from concentrating on the main story. What's new about Higurashi is the combination of "Moe" and horror, not unlike "Elfen Lied" which combined "Moe" and Science fiction. But "Moe" part may be just annoying for those who like serious drama.

I said good but this show is amazing...

After watching the first episode most people will discard it as a kids show, personally, I wouldn't let my kids anyway near this show, although I like horror movies and shows it's really rare for me to feel horror myself, this show though, did it like no other.

The story takes place in a small village, around a group of small kids (I wold guess the ages between 8 and 14, but that's all this is), although the village gives you a warm and soothing feeling, it will, by the end of each story, make you feel isolated and suffocating, the children are perky and sweet at the beginning (a little too much, some will say), are really dark and scary at the begging, The show divide to few stories, all around the same time of the year, it runs as a detective story from different angles, slowly gaining more details about the dark past of the village and it's people.

You should watch the whole show, though, if you expect to understand any of it (even twice won't hurt, if you'll like it as much as I do), but only after seeing the sequel "Higurashi no naku koro ni kai" (which is not half as good, and can't really be called "horror") you'll really understand more then a few pieces.

And I'll finish in a few words of warning, this is one of the best Japanese anime shows ever created, but it really ISN'T FOR THE FAINT OF HEARTS, enjoy

For those who have not watched this show yet, this anime is based on popular digital novel created by and amateur (refered as 'Doujin' in Japan)writer.

Unlike other anime series, this one splits itself into several stories(arcs). Each arc consists of about 2-5 episodes. All episodes tells the story of main characters(some side characters) encountering different/same/similar events in small countryside village called 'Hinamizawa' (This feels like parallel universe setting, after each story ends, good or bad they go back in time and start again but this time something else happens with new characters, and more mysteries are created or answered).

First few episode of each arc are done average to near horrible (Personal Experience: I almost decided to stop watching the series after half way through the first episode,,,thank god I didn't!). It's probably due to the way they made it very 'comedial' and some of the ways characters talk, and also how they look.

However, real excitement usually starts from around mid-second episode. Everything will change dramatically! There are plenty of mystery you can try solve in each story (Later episodes reveals the answers to the mystery, so I recommend watching them in order, it is also hard to solve the mystery with anime version due to lack of details in the story compared to the original novel).

Voice acting is very well done, Mion/Shion Sonozaki are personal favorite characters, but everyone else does good job of making the overall warm/dark feel of the atmosphere!

I highly recommend this animation for people who likes mystery, suspense, violence with interesting plots and twists.

*Added - The same author of this series has released new digital novel called 'Umineko no naku koroni (Umineko - Japanese Gull/Black tailed gull)'. 'Umineko' is not a direct sequel to 'higurashi', but has similarity to higurashi. It has better character settings in term of 'realism' (People are a lot more believable), more serious (less jokes that was less appearing to 'serious story' seekers, and still contains a lot of gore. If you understand Japanese, I highly recommend all mystery loving people to read the novel!

I LOVE this anime. It's my second favorite (After One Piece). The girls are all so cute(Especially Rena and Rika *Ni-pah!*). The story's original, and the characters all have wonderful personalities.

However this anime does get very dark at times and may not be suitable for everyone as it DOES contain stuff like murder, child abuse, child torture, beatings, and the story keeps going back which may get on some peoples' nerves. However, aside from all this, it really is a great anime and in my opinion, is a true masterpiece in both story and horror. A must see for any horror fan.

BEWARE THE KILLER LOLIS.

Once upon a time, a young man who had grown to love those about him began noticing things; little things at that, and too many little things. He was then to die, and he did. Suddenly it began again. The young man was alive and he loved those about him; and they loved him.

With each of the chapters, little more is revealed of why there are murders which occur during each 'Watanagashi Fesitval', however, with each chapter, more IS revealed through our ignorant Keiichi (our unlucky-as-all-hell protagonist who is to experience this all). Every chapter begins fresh, with time having seemed to rewind it's self and Keiichi having no memory of having suffered; as do also most every other of the characters.Each chapter can be divided as beginning simple and very humorous (Rena, the secondary character, has an obsession towards cute things and finds garbage and the like as such), and this will contrast with it's inevitable climax (that tends to be extreme in that some or most of the character die, and in brutal ways). The transition between points A and B is very organic and unclean, in that it never seems too 'planned out'.

The characters become very interesting through this transition. Again, the character of Rena begins cute and innocent (moe urges growing!) though she is not without her 'moments' during point B. The character of Keiichi changes also. During each 'begining', he is 'simple', and during point B, he is then already paranoid towards every of the supporting cast. This change only adds to the suspense which builds it's self gradually.

This show is perfect, in that it masters what even most films try and cannot: the ability over an audience's fear, and it uses little gore so to do this (though that's not to say that it's without such 'scenes'). Watch this show and enjoy it's intro sequence (which I think captures the exact feel of the show it self).

The only thing negative I can say about this show is that it's English voice cast is weak, or course, and that it's animation dose not transition with it's subject matter (it's too cute during point B, but I'm just complaining for the sake of complaining about something).

10/10

I recently watched this anime for the first time and initially wasn't sure what to make of it; I'd heard that is was a horror story but the animation style and opening episodes gave little suggestion of what was to come apart from the short pre-credit sequence in the first episode.

Keiichi has recently moved from the city to the small, traditional village of Hinamizawa and has settled in at the local school where he has befriended a group of girls and joined their "club". This all suggests it is going to be a comedy with him getting into embarrassing situations with the girls, there is some of that but it leads on to murder and mayhem.

The story repeats a few times during the series with slightly different situations leading to different characters taking the lead roll. All the stories however end in murder, often shockingly brutal murder and torture.

We later learn that the repeating stories aren't merely showing how things could be different if different choices are made but time is repeating like a macabre version of "Groundhog Day", except that more than a day is repeated. We later learn that one of the girls is aware of this and is trying to change fate to prevent it from reoccurring, occasionally one or more of the others will remember something too but tends to write it off as a half remembered dream or déjà vu.

The story is fairly gripping and doesn't get boring as events repeat themselves. I found the juxtaposition of cute animated characters and disturbing imagery quite disturbing in a good way.

This delightfully prepared anime has one of the best plots I've ever seen.

In style, the anime employs cuteness, fun and games to ease you into it just to make the creepy parts even more creepy. Always shocks you at the right moment. Kept me up on my seat the whole time.

Starts with a lovely intro music with thoughtfully written lyrics, if you're into that kind of thing. I am.

What is really wonderful about this anime though, was the mind blowing quality of the subs provided by WindFS, who even included their often cryptic messages to us somehow (look out for them). Only this feature kept me going excitedly through just a few monotonous moments this anime had to offer.

Also has a sequel named Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, for which all my previous comments still apply. And there is a second sequel named Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, which is a lot different, though equally elegant.

This series was so immensely pleasurable to watch. It's a horrific and slightly sadistic series that leaves you constantly guessing what's really going on in this small haunting rural village. I must admit though that I couldn't bring myself to complete it. Not because I was scared or anything, but because the explanations for why things were happening were unfolding and I didn't like it. I was hooked on the series from the beginning to around the last few episodes simply because I never really knew why things were happening the way they were. I was blissfully confused and baffled throughout the whole series, and the final episodes were like getting smacked upside the head with the facts of all the episodes previously. From what I've read though, those final episodes didn't explain everything all the way anyway, so maybe its worth watching. For me personally though, I felt that explaining the mysteries of the village the series takes place in took away from the overall appeal. If you love mysteries and creepy moe characters and can handle some gore, I highly recommend that you at least watch the first few episodes. If you aren't completely hooked then I'd say leave the series alone and watch something you'd find more fulfilling.

Oh and by the way, for those comparing to Elfen Lied, this series is tens times better and creepier as opposed to being composed of pure gore.

Review: I've known about Higurashi for a while now, shortly after discovering Elfen Lied, as I scanned the internet in search of animes that could possibly be more violent and disturbing then Elfen Lied itself. No matter how I typed in ''anime horror'' or no matter how many websites I've clicked on, that golden title would always pop up: Higurashi. I've had people say that Higurashi was even more violent and brutal then Elfen lied, so of course I was curious and was willing to learn more about it, and I could very well understand why many would consider this piece of work a ''True Anime Horror'', and, on the most part, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE. In a nutshell, I suppose you could consider Higurashi ''unique….'' And the one difference between Elfen Lied and Higurashi is that, even after watching Elfen Lied, I was still unwilling and afraid of watching this. Yes, that's how creeped out I was, and why would one be willing to visualize fingernails being torn off, little children being brutally murdered, and well animated violence all, topped off with cute, childish graphics and art? PHSYCOS LIKE ME! :D So, after many months of thought and after finishing Rin: Daughters Of Mnemosyne, I decided to stop being such a baby, and go for it. Yes, Higurashi truly is a brutal piece of work regardless of the confusing, innocent and comedic moments. No, it's not disturbing because of the on screen gore, oh no, if it were just for the gore, I'd find myself watching another attention seeking cartoon, something high in violent content to attract young boys and kids, with the help of pastel graphics(**note to otakus out there, yes anime is a cartoon, DEAL WITH IT!). No, this series is beyond that. It's the psychological insanity behind it all. Yes, that's it. Because I truly feel that, as I was watching Higurashi, I was going crazy and paranoid along with these characters, needless to say that all the characters suffering the traumatic events of 1983, are all underage teens and children as young as ten! What a lovely and warming animated family series! Also, I just loved how the creators decided that instead of having one boring plot run straight through all 26 episodes, have decided to come up with various ''mini stories'' if you will, brutally grab the characters and force them to relive and suffer the grotesque and emotionally agonizing events of 1983. Lovely! LOVELY. So, I suppose that the bottom line is whether of not I enjoy this series. As much as I hate to say it, I cannot deny the fact that that element of suspense was quite present throughout the show, and that it was a true breathe of fresh air to watch something that wasn't the typical harem romance anime. Also, I love how the show haunts you psychologically, instead of just in your face gore, and it was, in a sadistic and traumatizing way, about friendship, instead of romance, which is something I guess I could appreciate. The art is decent in the show; your typical, cute big eyed characters with supernatural hair color. Some may say that the characters look like they were ripped off of other anime characters, but, when you get down to it, don't all anime characters look the same…? To be honest, I think that the cute art added to the true insanity of this show and that you really shouldn't assume or judge a book by its cover, right? And, what made this show even more interesting was how each scenario, or chapters, as they were called in the show, would be played out. While the start-out-innocently-then-progress-to-gory-madness idea isn't exactly uncommon among the horror genre, the first episodes of each chapter is so cute and innocent that you're sure you're not watching the same anime, but the cuteness is quickly devoured and forgotten by the psychological mess that is Higurashi. Overall, yes, I do like this show, and would easily give it 8/10, for not going too in-your-face with the gore and for the clever psychological moments here and there. The show is very different and memorable so if you like gore and unusual yet creative ways to torture other people as entertainment, by all means give this insane mess a try, oh, and did I mention that Higurashi features a relatively good soundtrack that is well suited for the show, and that gets straight to the point of the show: dark, violent and mysterious. In my opinion, Higurashi is way more than Elfen Lied and IS a true anime horror that will freak you out! As for the appropriate audience suited for this show: ADULTS ALL THE WAY. This show may not feature fanservice of any kind of sex or nudity, but the discussions of actual ancient torture methods and observing the darker side of the human race is enough to earn this show a well-deserved 17+ rating. You must be very mature to handle this show, regardless of the fact that it is animated. I know there were a few moments that haunted me and still do. My final word: WATCH THIS SHOW, IT'S FREAKING AWESOME.

Simply put...NOT FOR CHILDREN!

A lot of anime is somewhat violent and sometimes disturbing but Higurashi is something else! The violence is untamed and brutal. The story is surrounding a little village that is led by 3 families. It all starts when a young boy Keichii moves to the little village from the city in the month of June 1983. He makes friends with 3 girls, Rena, Mion (and later her twin sister Shion), Satoko and Rika. All seems well until he learns the village has a lot of secrets of murder and unexplained deaths. In a series of different chapters (arcs) the story is repeated all based around each character in turn. Each character goes mad and a lot of the time at least one of the group of friends is murdered brutally by one another. The stories explore murder, suspicion and even aliens!

It's not something i would recommend to everyone but certainly one I'd recommend to those who don't mind a bit of violence!

--Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, or When They Cry is a mystery anime with some cute characters, a few morbid scenes and several stories that are shown in sequence.

--It revolves around the standard Japanese anime trick of not giving you enough information. The lack of information lets your imagination run wild, contemplating the reasons and motives of the events that take place, which can sometimes be a really good thing. When the story reveals one of those ideas to be right on the money, or when it's so inconceivable it sweeps you of your feet! However, this is not the case with When They Cry. The initial mystification caused by the apparently cute characters with dark secrets falls short when the characters' motives are reveled to be underdeveloped, oversimplified even. Grievous topics such as insanity and family abuse are touched, but shown with the depth of perspective you would get from reading about it in a news paper. Even when love is mentioned, it's used so trivially to motivate characters that all immersion is lost.

--The animation aspect of the anime is also lacking. The colors of the characters will hurt your eyes due to distasteful and unappealing choices, while the backgrounds are pretty standard. The characters sometimes go into "spooky mode" which is overemphasized, like emotions in most anime. In this case however, the overreactions in "spooky mode" cross the line necessary to communicate the characters emotions to the viewer and wind up being outright grotesque.

--The end of the anime is inconclusive and looks pretty much like a commercial for the video game from which this anime was adapted.

--In short, When They Cry doesn't deserve it's misleading current score of 8,3 on a site like IMDb. This score is held by famous movies such as Rashomon, Snatch and Some Like it Hot. The more appropriate number, in my opinion is around 5, maybe even lower. Cheap thrills in a visually unstimulating package. Cheers!

After looking at some reviews about the anime, I became excited to see this anime with all the praise it has gotten. But sadly, I quit watching around episode 6 and came to the conclusion that this anime wasn't as good as everyone made it out to be. Where do I start:

Animation: Surprisingly, the animation was very...bland and sub-par to the other anime I have seen. The setting while well made were just dull to look at. Most of the environment weren't that great and fell flat most of what I had watched.

Characters: There are times when I ask whether color theory is even a thing in Japan anymore, because this show has some of the worst color palettes I have ever seen. Colors were definitely never considered in this anime and could have actually made the show itself much more scary.

Also, the fact that the character design are also stiff and feel restrained to the point that they too feel dull. Giving characters large cat eyes when they go insane did nothing for me. They weren't intimidating in the slightest and made me question how anyone could find the characters terrifying when their visible personality is never really shown.

Also, just to get it out there, I hate moe stuff. Their actual designs and character makes me cringe and forces me to watch anime before the moe craze became a thing.

Plot: The one thing that got under my skin the most weren't the characters, but the structure of the story. Literally the first second of the first episode starts with a gruesome scene, and then we get a boring backstory that lead up to the scene that takes several episodes to tell before we actually get back to it. The story being half moe slice of life and half psychological and suspenseful doesn't work when you reveal the gimmick to your anime this early. To be honest, I didn't care anyway about what happens since this anime loves to beat you over the head with its disgusting moe sh*t.

Overall, the anime fails to interest me in its story with flat, boring characters and poor structure of storytelling. I do have to give credit to the soundtrack though, it was one of the few things I actually did like.

When watching When they cry for myself I binged so much; Watching 14 episodes before 1 PM, waking up early to see as much as I could. Every episode leaves you wanting more, it is very mysterious and can be quite confusing but looking at that as a negative would be idiotic.

The characters are lovable and yet very creepy, disturbing and sick as well; I don't want to spoil anything because you really should give this a shot; you will not be disappointed!

As I said earlier though, it can be very confusing and it left me bewildered, almost nothing is answered even at the end and that is why you must be sure to watch when they cry:Kai (season 2) once you complete this.

This anime will make you feel sick to your stomach at times and will make you want to die because of how cute it is at others, I laughed, I cried, its a very complex and beautiful work of art with just the right balance of morbidity, mystery and fun.

Animation: 10/10 It makes you feel all sorts of freaked out, absolutely amazing and suits this style of anime perfectly.

Voice acting: 10/10 There is never a moment where you feel as if the voice actors don't care, every scene is engaging and awesome and the cry's and screams of our beloved antagonists will never leave our minds.

Re-watch(?): 10/10 I am actually planning to re-watch it soon myself and it has only been a year since I saw it. It is amazing, be sure to pay close attention to it because there is so much going on, you don't want to get lost and forget things. Even if you watch kai (season 2) some things (not essential things, don't worry) will be left unsolved, if you find yourself (like me) hungering to know all there is about When they cry, feel free to go and read the manga series which in English is called (wont let me say Japanese name) "When Seagulls cry", this is a different story line but it features some of the same characters, it is not a redoing of the anime.

You will not find an anime better than When they cry.

So yes this is a nice harem Anime, oh wait, this is supposed to be a horror? You sure could have fooled me. In terms of horror and suspense Higurashi is a complete and utter failure. Elfen Lied has nothing to fear now, it still probably can top this. Okay seriously I am very disappointed in this series, considering I wanted a good suspense thriller that wasn't based purely on 100% excess and shock-factoring.

Higurashi is a story of several different arcs. Each arc is a different version of the same story. In 1983 a young male transfer student comes to a small town. A town with a deadly secret. Apparently after a traditional summer festival one person will be killed and another will disappear. The story repeats in the same fashion through each arc usually ending in a brutal murder or murders of some one or some people, but something.

As wonderful as the plot sounds it really isn't. The series had immense potential to create a suspenseful masterpiece, but instead it's like watching a filler arc when something finally happens after 6 episodes. Each episode is as long winded and wordy as the next, until something may just happen only for it to be a classic and clichéd horror blunder trick. Oh but don't get me wrong, eventually something does happen, but when it FINALLY does it provides maybe a few minutes of fright but that's it. So yes this series seriously lack suspense, half the time you feel more like you are watching a slice-of-life comedy instead of a thriller.

Until some annoying detective constantly shows up to go over the SAME mystery we heard 5 episodes ago! The series can work up it's suspense and chill level, but fails to keep it long enough for us to get remotely interested. The whole time you are just questioning should I fast-forward or not? Sure I like a talky as much as the next guy maybe even more than the next guy, but excessive dialog simply doesn't usually work well in a thriller. The series tries to build and build but the suspense just keeps falling down again. But there are a few eerie moments, (key word being few) such as the wonderful psychotic laughter from the tiny little ones. (see: http://tinyurl.com/2w5tll) and when it finally does get to the horrifying climax it can give you a few chills, before it abruptly cuts off. Other than that, the series heavily relies on it's dialog and music to give any sense of a creepy atmosphere. And that is all it has going for it.

I can't express how dull of a horror this really was. Die hard horror lovers may want to stick to Elfen Lied, as for general suspense lovers (Like me) you may want to avoid this one. Apparently when cicadas cry, this horror dies.

When They Cry is a perfect example of a horror/thriller done right. The show takes place in an isolated village in Japan, giving it an ominous feeling. As the show progresses, we learn that not everything that happens there is all innocent and nice. It starts out looking like a cute show intended for children, but there is no way a kid should be exposed to this. Starting around the second episode, we are introduced to several horrifying stories, that may or may not be true. Stories and events contradict each other, making the viewer decide for themselves what actually happened. Amazing characters, paired with the confusing and terrifying story make the show worth the time to watch.

In the town of Hinamizawa, a group of young friends violently die shortly after the annual Wataganashi festival. For four episodes, these kids have been your eyes and ears into a World where paranoia and murder lurk just below the surface of a cute and loving exterior.

And so the cycle begins again and again. Each time with different results.

The story of Hinamizawa begins quite confusingly. As the chapters of each cycle develop, more hints as to what is really going on are dropped and it becomes more of a puzzle in which the audience has to put things into perspective. In almost a David Lynch manner, people are not who they appear to be, bizarre goings on are never fully revealed or solved (perhaps they never even happened) and a seemingly innocent act can descend into a massacre.

I found the story to be a bit too kitsch for me in the beginning but it quickly finds its momentum and continues to build strength. When you first encounter the show it's all very scary and hard to understand. However, as it progresses, the edge of the show moves from violent horror to psychological terror. Knowing the fates of each of the young people from the beginning and seeing them struggle to survive or overcome their mistakes becomes increasingly depressing and tough to watch so even though the camera begins to look away when they're being murdered, it hurts even more.

Truly disturbing at times and a testament to the strength of storytelling, I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good story or just unfiltered gore. Because there is a lot of it. Season One is by far the more violent of the two seasons so viewer discretion is advised. I'd also recommend that you source the second season for it explains fully the mystery of Hinamizawa. Also, watch it with subtitles, the dubbing is really rather poor.

Now this show, has got to be one of the best cartoons that Japan had to offer. To think of the plot, think of Happy Tree Friends meeting Pokemon. In the show, a boy named Keiichi, moves to the town of Hiniwazama. There he meets these girls, and they start acting rather strange. On a day that is called the Day of Cotton (I presume), one person is brutally murdered, and one is spirited away by "demons." They believe that their local god was responsible for this, and believed that he was judging them. Now the plot, is kind of a mind screw, but somehow, a loop occurs over and over, and the characters enter another world after they had failed in one. In season two, it was explained that the villain was a nurse named Takano Miyo (whom I despise) who was trying to kill Rika, to see if the village would fall with her, and become God (OF COURSE!). And it was also revealed that there was a disease called the Hiniwazama Syndrome, that made all the characters crazy, and Miyo used the disease to kill off her villagers. Despite it being dark, it was rather enjoyable. I wouldn't recommend it to children though, unless they watch it with their parents.

When They Cry is a fantastic show, worth the watch, worth the buy. Revolving off a story where a curse spreads through the village at each cotton drifting festival keeps the story interesting. Each time the arch is finished, everyone is set back to normal and is alive once again. This show definitely has re-watch value, and becomes better each time you watch it. When They Cry is also one of the few horror shows that actually fits the genre, relying less on gore and blood, where instead it uses fear and story to scare the audience.

An anime with adorable character designs... then stuff happens. Creepy stuff. This is not an anime for kids or those who do not like seeing extreme forms of torture gore... Otherwise, it's an amazing mystery anime for you. It's average in that it follows the life of a teenage boy, surrounded by his female schoolmates... but the commonness of it ends there. A horrific tale breaks out at about the halfway point of each arc, revealing a more gritty atmosphere and art style. From start to end, I found myself forming theories in my head as to what is truly going on. As stated before, the art style is not of high quality, but that was never really an issue for me. I find that its unique... "expressions" expressed by some of the characters would not have the desired shocking effect otherwise. The sound is also spot on. Constantly having the cicada chirps fill the otherwise empty soundscape creates a very unique kind of tension. I was actually surprised when I heard this was a visual novel first, given that I can usually tell by cliché elements... but there were next to none that I noticed. Overall, a beautiful show that I highly recommend to any horror/mystery/anime fan.

I really enjoyed this anime, one of the best I've seen so far. The thing that makes it so good is that it can change from a relaxing environment to deadly one and this is what we see from the first episode and throughout. The story line is 8/10 graphics 6/10 however the graphics make the anime brilliant because that's one of the ways the anime changes the environment so quickly. Characters 8/10 and mystery 9/10. Just brilliant however don't be put off from the first episode. It's meant to be like that. The anime higurashi is divided into two seasons 24 episodes each and it talks about a new transfer student who joins the hinamizawa village an school and befriends a group of girls and life is good for a while. However he starts to uncover a deadly mystery within the village and not knowing who to trust is the least of his problems. The first season is more of a astonishing mystery masterpiece and the second season is more drama and the answer for the questions in season 2 ????????

Higurashi is amazing. Wow. I don't even know what to say about it. But whoever is comparing Elfen Lied and Higurashi, don't. You can't even do that. I don't even consider Elfen Lied horror. Elfen Lied is my favorite manga, because of the wonderful characters and beautiful love story. I think Lucy's and Kouta's love for each other was just beautiful. But the gore is not the reason I watched it. The gore in Elfen Lied didn't even bother me, and that's before I even started getting into bloody and gory things. (At that time, I was into Sailormoon and stuff like that xD) But don't even compare Elfen Lied and Higurashi..that's just sad. Now HIGURASHI, I watched for the horror. This anime was just simply amazing for that. So guys, don't compare. Elfen Lied and Higurashi are both amazing. (Well, the ending to Elfen Lied's anime was a bit...different. Much different from the ending to the manga. After reading the manga, I don't even think watching the anime is worth it. But I still loved the theme song and soundtracks.) And Higurashi's soundtracks are amazing, also. Both mean a lot to me. It somehow offended me when I see you guys comparing Elfen Lied and Higurashi, I don't even know how, but it did. xD