Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
ShotgunHelmet
Fans may tell you that Higurashi When They Cry is an "emotional rollercoaster". It's more like a drive-thru. And you've ordered a nothing burger.
Touted by internet typewriter monkeys as "the best horror anime," Higurashi When They Cry apparently proves that there is no good horror anime. Or, at least, there wasn't any in 2006. Anime fans of the time were so starved for a decent scare that you'd think a white bedsheet with cut-out eye-holes would have done the trick, so Higurashi When They Cry certainly must have blown a handful of otaku minds clean open when it first aired. But the year is 2022. We are not cavemen anymore. We have modern sensibilities, technology, therapy.
Higurashi When They Cry wants to be schizophrenic for the internet cool points, because it really has NPD. Higuras…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
Overview:
Time to mix things up and review something good for a change. Today I will be reviewing Higurashi no naku koro ni/Kai. Do your best crazed evil laugh and read on if you dare!
WARNING: Mild spoilers! Nothing major, but it is difficult to talk about the story or characters without saying something. If you haven't seen Higurashi and want to go in to it knowing absolutely nothing, please skip this review!
Story: 10/10
The story takes place in the small, rural town of Hinamizawa. The story takes place in the 1980s, but Hinamizawa looks like its stuck in the 1950s or earlier. This is no ordinary small town though, because great evil is afoot and supernatural forces are at play. Plans for an American film adaptation quickly fell through, but I'm sure the American version would inevi…
Read at the sourceLink_of_Hyrule
**SPOILER FREE REVIEW FOR BOTH SEASONS OF THE SHOW**
Ever heard of the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, Higurashi no naku koro ni is an anime that takes this saying to a whole ‘nother level. One minute you think you are watching some sort of K-ON clone, the next you are hiding under the covers and cringing at the horrific violence flashing across your screen. If that isn’t enough of a hint, let me preface this review by elucidating the fact that this anime is not for everybody; the sheer amount of blood, gore, and bone-chilling imagery ensures that fact. It's best that the faint of heart pass on this one. However, Higurashi is so much more then the mindless scares and random violence that so many horror shows divulge into; it is a masterfully written, well-thought-out, psyc…
Read at the sourcexLeo
What the fuck did I just watch? I don't know , so I decided to make a review about it.
This show contains scenes of graphic lolita violence , as well as numerous murders commit by green haired girls. If your hearth is weak or you dislike seeing a river of blood coming out of a person's neck , you might want to stop reading and head to over to watch Kyoro-chan.
Ok , now all the girls and sissy men have left , let's take our magical briefs and jump right into the bloody mess of confusion called Higurashi.
The anime contains all the required otaku elements for the creation of harem oxide. The elements in question are : twin sister , a compound of two lolis , a moe neutron (she always uses the phrase "I wanna take it home" , which implies she wants to form a covalent bond with a certain che…
Read at the sourceYuffira
I never showed any interest towards this anime but a lot of people seemed to like it because of its unique approach. So I thought, why not give this a try? To be honest, I still don't know what to think about Higurashi...
Let me start by saying this anime is divided in arcs counting 4 to 6 episodes each approx. Each arc tells a different story (though I'm not sure they really were different) and the last two arcs seem to explain the events in the previous arcs. I didn't like this idea but why not give it a try? Well, my main reason why -not- to watch this again is because the first 3 to 4 arcs are practically the same and bored me for about 13 episodes. I only enjoyed the horror moments which unfortunately were few. After the first half the arcs did get better and the explanatory arcs we…
Read at the sourceAkatsukigirlTy
–Spoilers–
Higurashi no naku koro ni happens to be a particular favourite of mine, not only because of its horrifically high gore content, but for the number of times it managed to catch me off guard. I found it hard to believe how someone could commit such stomach-churning acts of violence and mental torture. It’s the original shock at this fact that compels the viewer to continue watching this highly addictive bloodbath of an anime.
The concept of the anime is simple enough. It follows a teenage boy, Maebara Keiichi adjusting to his new life in Hinamizawa, an isolated village buried deep in the mountains. It’s not long before he makes friends with a group of girls. At first glance they seem like the average group of teenage girls but all is not as it seems because they’re actually hidi…
Read at the sourcethesilentarmy
There is an alarming number of people in the online anime community who hail this series as one of the best series in not only the horror/suspense/mystery genre, but in all of anime itself. For the life of me, I cannot discern where people get these feelings from. Higurashi is one of the most over rated series I've ever watched.
90% of the reason Higurashi is so terrible results directly due to the fact that the series is basically the same premise retold over and over again, a little different each time, in each 4-6 episode arc. It becomes a chore to watch it after you realize it's going to start over and retell a similar story in the second arc. But it goes beyond that, once you realize it's not even the same story. It's an entirely new story that has little to do with what you just wat…
Read at the sourceunclesnapple
June 1983, a sleepy rural town in Japan. This is the auspicious setting of a tragedy that will befall a small group of classmates and their entire community. This is a tragedy that is destined to happen again, and again, and again. How and why is Hinamizawa doomed to this fate? What dark secrets does the town hold? This is a tale that seems simple on the surface but the use of character, perspective, and story-telling helps to make Higurashi one of the greatest anime ever made.
The very first episode of Higurashi can be off-putting, as it introduces a cast of characters that seem at the time more like a collection of overused anime tropes from a slice-of-life anime than people the viewer would want to care about. Here's Keiichi, the stock new kid in town. Here's Rena, the stock girl-next-…
Read at the sourceSii_Kei
Higurashi is a really confusing, complex and difficult to explain anime. Some may view it as belonging to the horror or psychological genre; some may find it as a really weird harem series containing crazy, killer lolis; others may consider it a failure since it doesn't seem to belong to any of the afore-mentioned genres. Considering how much amount Higurashi incorporates, all views are understandable; this certainly isn't a series that's easy to comprehend by everyone. Higurashi is a mixture of mystery, blood, humor, romance and especially nice moral stories; but above all – Higurashi should be perceived as a really challenging logic problem. Basically, there are two approaches when watching Higurashi. You may choose to view it as any other anime: wait for the story to unfold, wait for th…
Read at the sourceCeptryn
Watching Higurshi is like locking a group of happy people in a test chamber, only coming back to find they've hacked each other into a bloody mess. Its horrific, its shocking, and yet a part of you, cannot help but wonder, how did it happen?
The curiosity takes over... and so you repeat the experiment, knowing full well that those cute looking teenagers you just sent are going to end up as bloody pulps. But hey, at least each time they die, you're one step closer to figuring out why they died, it's all good.
Higurashi essentially places you in the role of the scientist. It divides itself into several arcs, each of which begin exactly the same. A teenager moves into a remote countryside village, and befriends a group of sweet fangirls that could have come out right from a harem rom/com. T…
Read at the sourceReikaku
First off, a word of advice. Do not judge this show by the first episode.
It starts off like your standard anime with several lighthearted moments all the way through the first episode. However, you’d be a fool to think that this is all there is to it. This is not that type of show. Higurashi masterfully combines physiological, mystery, horror and comedy in a way that is simply remarkable. The anime is mind breaking and murderously genius. It is so brilliant and unique that it’s almost criminal to not give it the credit it deserves.
It takes physiological and horror to a different level, it makes you feel secured using lighthearted moments to give the audience a feeling of false security. The next thing you know, you might be looking right at death and despair. Trust me, it…
Read at the sourceSephSora
Although i do not usually find myself watching much anime of this kind, with it's violence and gore, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (as well as the subsequent second season) has had me hooked from the very beginning.
So, where do i begin? Right from the very first the story has you thrown, the opening few sequences quell your thirst as you watch the first of many entangled mysteries, involving the initial main character Keiichi Maebara play out a horrific opening few minutes.
All of the main characters remain likeable, this despite the stories and events that unfold. Unlike much other anime, where the story unravels gently as the episodes flow, Higurashi cleverly (and at times annoyingly) allows you to observe whats is essentially the same story many times over, each time with differing event…
Read at the sourceLilGunmanX
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has received much praise from the anime community in general, which hails it as the mystery to end all mysteries. Everybody loves it and chances are that, if you're reading this now, you've heard good news!
However, upon my completion of the anime and the 2 subsequent seasons that followed, I came to the conclusion that this praise was COMPLETELY undeserved by the anime, which is mediocre in the intellectual department, and is much less a mystery story than it is an action/adventure story with a lot of secrets. Furthermore, any actual "mystery" behind the story is made impossible to solve by the introduction of unnecessary paranormal elements and fictional diseases.
Overall, I was very disappointed by this anime, and it is not worth the hype.
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Story: The fi…
Read at the sourceTheLlama
This show is suspenseful, dramatic, creepy, confusing (in a good way), and it's got some good horror.
The storyline follows a small group of friends who live in a village called Hinamizawa. Not all seems be like it should be here, though...
The characters are pretty interesting, to say the least, and they're pretty well "built up". It's pretty obvious that they're a bit crazy at some point, depending on which story arc you're watching.
The story is pretty good, because it leaves you guessing all the time, and even though it may seem a bit confusing at first, don't be discouraged; you start to understand as you watch more of it.
The animation is pretty cool, but also kind of lame, especially their facial expressions at times. It's a pretty mediocre result, really.
All in all, this is a…
Read at the sourceMaster10K
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a Psychological, Horror, Mystery anime unlike any other, as it is easy to get hooked on it. The story is incredible because it does something I haven’t seen before, by splitting the series into various arcs, each telling a different story. Each of these arcs are somewhat linked with each other, as they provide the viewer with different questions and try to give an answer. What’s more interesting is how each story slowly builds up to its climax. I found it amazing how each retelling gave me a different feel and how a lot of things were finally pieced together. The only problem is that it can be very confusing for people watching this show for the first time, but this just promotes its re-watch value.
The characters for this anime are what deceive yo…
Read at the sourceYandere
The first reason I came across Higurashi no Naku Koro ni was in an animation icon in which I saw a very graphic and disturbing scene and even though it was only about 8 seconds long, it was enough to have me hooked and this was because of what I could see - something insane happened, someone else was there, they were shocked, but then they looked liked they laughed insanely, probably out of fear and being psychotic, I presumed, but I had no idea what it was! I looked for a bit, but did not find it and about two weeks ago I finally did come across it, found the name and began watching and I will say that within the first 20 seconds I was hooked.
I do have a rather disturbing view on animes such as this, as well as others that are mature, violent and have tragic, jealous love stories - they…
Read at the sourceBlueYoshi
Horror. Blood, guts, gore, screams and its very dark tones. Something i am not a big fan of. But despite all that, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is simply astounding. Mind-bending, chaotic and filled with near-perfect execution.
Story: The story focuses on the village of Hinamizawa, and it's hidden and very chilling secrets. Keiichii Maebara has just moved to the countryside village, and is enjoying his new life with his new friends Rena Ryuugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude and Satoko Houjou. But underneath the peaceful times, is the chilling mysteries of the Hinamizawa Dam Construction murders, and the Watangashi festival. With this season split into the 4 question arcs and the first two answer arcs, not everything is answered yet. But the crazy plot twists will keep you eager to watch the nex…
Read at the sourcejet2r0cks
5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Cute and Bloody
On the surface, Higurashi seems like a cute and moe anime that’s chockfull of loli girls forming their own harem for the main character Keichi. It’s not. Seriously, a small village separated from the rest of the world has “murder” written all over it.
Who knew cutesy characters and blood would make a psychotic anime that’s absolutely fun to watch? I’ve always liked cute anime and violent anime but I never thought I’d find one that incorporates both. Whoever made this into an anime knows me too well. It’s even funny sometimes, and I love watching anime that makes me laugh. It also makes me think and come up with conclusions, another aspect I like about it. Combining all four elements I mentioned is no…
Read at the sourcez-pak
Higurashi epitomizes how you should never judge something by its cover. At first glance, it looks like a simple, generic harem series or a lame, cliched romance. This anime, however, is nothing short of genius. The whole setting, atmosphere, and mood are incredibly well executed. The plot may seem simple at first, a new kid moving to a strange, new town and meeting new friends. Beneath the exterior appearance of this seemingly tame series, however, lies a dark story of murder, violence, and mystery.
Story: I can confidently say that the story/plot is the strongest aspect of this series. I congratulate the original game designer who created this series. The execution of the plot is genius. This series mainly consists of arcs. Although these arcs seem disjointed at first, it is all part of…
Read at the sourcedkaceblaze
If Alfred Hitchcock made an anime, it would be something like this. It\'s a story about a group of kids, and the evil secrets that lies underneath the surface of their small town. Every year during a festival a mysterious murder accurs. at the same time someone else goes missing without a trace.
This story is actually made of several completely seperate but loosely related story arcs. At the begining of each things are almost exactly the same each time. They all start right before the festival begins and follows through the mysterious killings and to the conclusion of what acctually happened. And it\'s always the same person who gets killed and the same person who goes missing. The diffences come in the hows and whys (Kind of like the end of the movie \'Clue\' "This is how it could have…
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