Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

[Moogy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni

Episode 26 was released today. The series is now complete; however, be aware that only the first six arcs are covered in the anime series. The actual explanations, as well as a nasty plot twist after the end of arc 6, are left out of the anime adaptation.

Anyway, excellent show. There's suspense, drama, gore, mystery, and even a bit of comedy. The artwork is really not that great, and as the series goes on, it gets worse due to the, you know, lack of a budget and all. However, the series itself is great. Don't let the bad character designs (transparent hair etc) turn you off.

Ep 26 was released literally an hour and a half ago, but you can already find complete torrents for the show. Subtitle quality is great; WinD did a really nice job with the series. Triad is also subbing it, but they're only up to episode 15 or so.

Music is by Kenji Kawai, whom you may recognize from a bunch of Japanese horror movies, such as Ringu, and the Fate/stay night anime. Very dark stuff, and it works well. One of the high points.

It's not entirely good, though; as I said before, the art is highly lacking later on. The last episode manages to pull off some very nice scenes, though, so I don't really mind. There's also a number of plot inconsistencies and instances of bad pacing - however, being based on a visual novel, you have to expect that (Tsukihime or F/SN, anyone?).

If you're too lazy to read the Wikipedia entry:

Originally Posted by Moogy on Wikipedia

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983, at a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa (雛見沢) (based on the village of Shirakawa, Gifu, a World Heritage Site), which has a population of approximately 2000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his classmates Rena Ryugū, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, consisting mostly of card and board games. Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful village to Keiichi. However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a local festivity to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro-sama. Keiichi learns that for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing, never to be seen again, on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes implicated into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro-sama. As the series unfolds, numerous questions are encountered.

Anyway, despite its faults, Higurashi is an awesome series. If you can speak Japanese, be on the lookout for the PS2 game coming out this December - it's a completely redone, awesome version of the PC games. It'll also, you know, contain the answers to the questions presented in the anime.

It goes without saying, but, if Higurashi gets localized, buy the ****ing DVDs. Maybe that will convince someone to localize the PS2 game (haha, yeah right).

Check out the manga, too!

PS: http://youtube.com/watch?v=K5UfIRmkv28 This is the video that made me start watching the series in the first place.

Links:

http://07th-expansion.net/ - Original doujin author's page
http://www.oyashirosama.com/ - Anime site
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ency...me.php?id=6134 - ANN entry
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=31732 - Spoilers, read after watching show
http://www.higurashi.host.sk/ - Manga translations
http://zettai.makenaidesuwayo.com/ - Minagoroshi-hen (arc 7) game translation project