Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

A group of wild minors.

Higurashi When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. 'When the Cicadas Cry') is a pretty cool show, probably. It's a visual novel, which was later turned into an anime which was later turned into a cooler looking anime. I don't really know anything about the visual novel because GameRant says it's supposed take more than 50 hours to read, but everyone knows the guys over there are six years old and visually impaired.

Anyway, it was written by this dude called Ryukishi07, which literally means Dragon Knight 07 in English. I think he's probably glad most of his audience is English speaking because he would've lost about half his fans as soon as they saw that lame ass username. Pretty sure nobody knows his real name because the first page of Google didn't tell me. Mr. 07 is a part of an online developer group known as 07th Expansion that only knows how to write visual novels about things crying.

They started writing this thing in like 2002 but they just made a sequel in 2020, and it looks exactly like how I would imagine a TV show made during Covid to look like. All the theme songs are real good though.

Plot/Arcs

Onikakushi-hen (the demoned away/abducted by demons arc)

The story's set in 1989, back when they didn't have cell phones. This isn't even the horror part, Stacey, sit back down. Some 14 year old twink named Keiichi Maebara moves to this tiny village in Japan called Hinamizawa and makes friends with four girls. No, it's not a harem anime, Conrad.

He joins this game club and hangs out with them, occasionally playing Go Fish and imagining young girls in inappropriate situations. But then he learns that there was a murder here that happened a long time ago! Like, okay? Is this a rarity in Japan? Just because you're in imminent danger doesn't mean you're unique, Keiichi.

He asks his new best ginger friend Rena Ryugu what happened, but she doesn't respond. So he gets all pissed and asks his best drag queen friend, Mion Sonozaki, what happened. She doesn't respond either, and instead changes the subject. Then this fat old policeman guy named Oishi is like "Hey, so you know about the murders, little twink boy?" And Keiichi is like "Finally, someone's going to tell me what's going on." Then Oishi doesn't really tell him what's going on. He instead makes a bunch of references to the god Hinamizawa worships, Lord Oyashiro, whom has placed a curse on Hinamizawa that causes someone to die and someone else to disappear every year during the Watanagashi festival.

Oh yeah! The Watanagashi festival, also known as the Cotton Drifting festival is the most boring festival ever in existance. People tear up their matresses or something and drift the cotton down the river, then Rika does a little dance. That's the whole thing.

Then that dumb little ginger starts stalking the poor kid. I hate gingers, unless they're Ed Sheeran. Anyway, Keiichi gets real paranoid. He starts practicing swinging this bat he found in a locker and somebody says it belonged to Satoshi Hojo. So Keiichi is like, "Who's Satoshi Hojo?" and everyone gets pissed at him for asking a rational question. Rena keeps yapping about how Satoshi transferred to another school (even though it's kinda obvious he died). Then she starts victimizing herself. Gingers think they're so special.

Keiichi stays out sick from school. The stalker and the drag queen show up at his door and give him some little food balls. He eats a little food ball and there's a needle inside of it! Instead of doing what a normal person would do, telling a trusted adult that he's being stalked, he decides to keep it to himself, then acts surprised when he's in real danger. Then his parents leave him home alone for a little (of course) and Rena shows up with dinner. Keiichi doesn't let her in.

He's sure he's going to die, so he writes this diary (I told you he was a twink) and then tapes it behind his clock. He kills Mion and Rena, runs away to a phone booth, calls Oishi, says something along the lines of "Oishi, I'm gonna die," and then he dies (which surprises Oishi due to how uncalled for it was, as there was no way to tell what was about to happen).

Here's something you may want to know about Higurashi. It's divided into a whole bunch of arcs where the same sort of stuff happens again and again. It's not boring though, trust me.

Watanagashi-hen (the cotton drifting arc)

Woah, we're back in Hinamizawa, except we've rewound to before anything bad happened, and nobody remembers anything. This time, instead of becoming friends with Rena, Keiichi decides to become friends with Mion.

I don't really remember what happens in this arc and I don't think it's that important, but one of the twins goes on some sort of spree and something happens with the torture chamber. Rena doesn't go killer mode this time.

An informational image summarizing the overall plot and depth of Higurashi.

Tatarigoroshi-hen (curse killing arc)

In this arc, Keiichi becomes a big brother figure to Satoko, because Satoshi's dead. Uh oh! It turns out Satoko is being abused by her evil uncle, Teppei! Without her older brother to protect her, she's certainly dead meat! Wrong. This is because Keiichi is a tool. Well, in a real world situation, he would be doing the right thing. But since Satoko is some sort of hell spawn, it's a waste of time that will end up getting him killed.

He decides to spend about 5 episodes protesting outside of a CPS with the gang because they won't help Satoko out. You may be wondering why these kids aren't doing their jobs. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. To move the plot forward
2. Satoko is a two timing liar and she put in a couple of false reports in the past so now she's got a record (what a moron)

Oh no! CPS won't do anything! We just wasted like 5 episodes for nothing! Half of the anime watchers dropped this show and never came back! The Cotton Drifting festival is here. Keiichi must take matters into his own hands. He makes up an excuse and decides to get rid of Teppei. Once and for all.

The deed is done. Keiichi's friends cover for him, and all is right in the village once again.

This would be super cool if it actually worked. Keiichi definitely killed somebody, but it wasn't Teppei, because Satoko still talks about him as if he were alive. Keiichi was a moron and didn't get his friends were helping him so he thought he was going insane. It was super lame. Also, Dr. Irie commits suicide and Keiichi decides it's his fault. One fan service episode later, he decides to tell Satoko what he's done. I think it's safe to say Satoko is not happy about this, because she throws him off a bridge and everyone else in the village dies from volcanic gases created by the Great Hinamizawa Disaster (GHD).

What is the GHD, you ask? Good question. It's somehow important now. We don't really know what it is, we just know a buncha people died because of something in the air. This won't be important again until like the 3rd series.

Himatsubushi-hen (time killing arc)

It's 1978. Introducing baby Rika and also this guy named Akasaka who's name is kinda funny. Akasaka is a rookie undercover police (not a good mix) who comes to Hinamizawa to investigate some stuff. His wife is pregnant? He and Rika become best friends or something, but he doesn't know that Rika is bipolar and quakes in his boots when she goes edgy mode.

Rika is only trying to get him to go talk to his wife, whom she knows is dying in the hospital. Akasaka has no way of knowing this, and there's no reason that he should believe Rika if she were to straight up tell him this, so they kinda stare at each other awkwardly until somebody tells Akasaka his wife and kid freaking died. Anyway that's the end of that arc.

Meakashi-hen (eye opening arc)

Shion gets bored of her life at St. Lucia academy, so her bodyguard brings her back to Hinamizawa. The Sonozaki family is really unhappy about this because Shion's one job was to not come back. Mion is helping her out, though. Then, Shion falls in love with Satoshi Hojo! But Satoshi has no time for her because he's so busy with Satoko and baseball.

The only rational conclusion Shion can make from this is that she should kill Satoko. She goes about doing this by smacking her with a chair over and over. It doesn't work, and certainly doesn't woo Satoshi at all. The Sonozaki family is REALLY unhappy about this and break each of her fingers off one by one. The end!

Tsumihoroboshi-hen (atonement arc)

Rena meets her dad's new girfriend. It may be safe to say that they don't quite get along, because the latter ends up dead at the end of this arc.

Anime

Not gonna lie, the first one is kinda ass when it comes to art style. The 2020 version has cleaner art, but it's still not that good. Although, in comparison to the visual novel, they're both Picasso. Just kidding, I love your art Ryukishi07.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni 2006

The first anime. I think it's reasonable to assume it came out in 2006. There are 26 episodes, and it comes first in the watch order. That's why I put it first in this list. Clever, right?

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Nekogoroshi-hen (or Cat Killing)

A 30-minute OVA. It's nonessential to the plot, but it's kind of interesting I guess.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai (Answers)

Definitely essential to the plot. It explains the arcs in the 2006 version, hence the name. It's got 24 episodes. If I'm gonna be honest, I read a summary for most of this section because I have an attention span of about 14 episodes.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Rei

This one's got 5 episodes. The first and last episodes are fanservice and filler, but the three middle ones are super interesting and have good plot. The canonity is debatable, though. I don't think I'll ever really recover from whatever the first episode was.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kira

It sounds kinda cool, because "kira" like "killer," but it's actually just four episodes of sexual relations. The animation and theme song are both way too good for the quality and length of the series. I actually recommend skipping it, for your own good.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kaku (Outbreak)

It's an hour long OVA. Not gonna lie, I don't remember what this one was about, so I don't think it really matters that much. I'm pretty sure there was some crossdressing involved, though. I have recurring dreams about that part.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Gou

The 2020 version, 24 episodes. A lot of people thought it was a remake, but it's actually a super top secret sequel. I don't think anyone has asked for this since 2010, but it was still pretty cool. Thanks, 07th Expansion.

PS: Gou will seem very similar to the 2006 version when you watch it (the 1st episode is optional because it's basically the same as 2006's episode one) but it changes in episode 2.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Sotsu

It's the finale, I think. There's no real way to be sure at this point. It's the second season of the 2020 version. The theme song slaps a little bit less. The plot is a little bit worse. They introduce another character no one asked for. Other than that, pretty solid 15 episodes.

Characters

All the characters in this show are super complex and have meaningful personalities. You will also likely hate them all at some point. The good news is your least favorites will die a lot of times.

• Keiichi Maebara His name is real fun to say. Also his lore is he shot a small girl with a BB gun and moved to Hinamizawa to escape his sin. Nobody really cares about him. He also makes out with every single girl in the storyline (and Tomitake probably).

• Rika Furude She's the super top secret main character. She likes to say "nipah" which is a Japanese onomatopoeia for "big smile." I had to Google this. I also had to Google how to spell ota mota pea. Rika is an alcoholic and also nine years old. She's also probably a schizophrenic, because she hallucinates a little e-girl named Hanyu in times of stress.

• Satoko Hojo She's the super top secret villain and also super top secret annoying. I swear to god I hate this little bitch. She can't do anything without her "nii nii" (her big brother, Satoshi) and then when Shion hit her with a chair everybody got mad. She literally had it coming. All the Trump supporters in Hinamizawa hate her because her parents were disgraceful during World War 2. Satoko's hobbies include stalking Rika and dropping anvils on people Looney Tunes style.

• Mion Sonozaki Actually I have no idea whether she's Shion or Mion. She's the leader of a board game club at her school, and loves playing sports and hanging out with her friends. She owns a torture chamber for when Satoko doesn't let her win at Uno. Her grandma's racist.

• Shion Sonozaki Assuming she's actually Shion, she was disowned at birth and goes to prestigious St. Lucia academy. Then she fell in love with some blonde, hit his little sister with a chair, then dressed up as her twin and massacred the entire village.

• Rena Ryuugu One of her main personality traits is her "cute mode," where she turns into an alpha male and takes home everything in her sight. Her main lore is her parents divorced and some lady started using her dad for money. After they used the talking stick to work out their problems, everybody got along. Just kidding, the talking stick may have been a saw capable of dismembering bodies, and no one other than Rena had a chance to use it.

• Hanyu Furude Rika's imaginary furry e-girl friend. Hanyu is also canonically Rika's mom (not physically, but spiritually, because Rika's got this other mom and I don't think they're lesbians). She's got powers but she was dropped on her head at birth and lost half of her abilities, now only able to say "au au au" and watch her daughter die over and over. Guess which one fanboys care about more.

• Kuraudo Oishi A big police guy. His voice actor desperately needs to clear his throat. Oishi's main job is to solve the string of deaths within Hinamizawa, but he's never really helpful. He's actually kind of unhelpful in like every arc. The phrase for his laughter is "nfu nfu nfu." I'm not kidding you.

• Rumiko Chie AKA Chie Sensei is the blue-haired teacher at Hinamizawa School. She's obsessed with curry, and doesn't really matter that much.

• Kyousuke Irie AKA Dr. Irie, the doctor at Irie Clinic. It MIGHT be named after him. He's a full grown man and in love with Satoko, an 11 year old.

• Miyo Takano She's the sexy nurse at Irie Clinic. She's also got a screw loose and wrote Manual 34. She basically caused all the problems. She's dating Tomitake and is responsible for the GHD and the death of Hanyu. I don't think that many people were sad about either of those things, though. The "au au au" bitch is SO annoying.

• Mamoru Akasaka A police officer that comes to Hinamizawa in 1978 to investigate something, but nobody really cares. His wife dies.

• Satoshi Hojo Satoko's older brother. He's a real important character even though he's dead or comatose in like 90 percent of canon arcs. Also he's blonde and kinda dumb. He likes baseball and Satoko, and has basically no free time because of how needy the latter is. I would say that he and Shion are in love if it weren't for the fact that Shion hit his little sister over the head with a chair. I'm not going to stop mentioning this.

• Jiro Tomitake He likes taking photos of children. This is all that's currently known about him.

• Teppei Hojo Satoko and Satoshi's abusive uncle that goes on a redemption arc only to get lied to and tricked into doing awful things (which ends up getting him killed) by his evil dumbass niece.

• Eua Some new character nobody asked for. She's like Hanyu if she wasn't brain damaged. Satoko's e-girl hallucinated friend.

Terms and Definitions

A lot of the words in this show are confusing as shit. Not because they're in a foreign language but because nothing in this show makes sense.

Term	Definition
Hinamizawa	The village Keiichi and his harem live in. It's based off of the real town Shirakawa-go. No, you won't be able to remember this term until the end of the series.
Watanagashi (Cotton Drifting Festival)	Also known as the cotton drifting festival, it's the dumbest gathering in all of existance. Everybody drifts cotton down a river and give thanks to Lord Oyashiro. One person dies and another disappears here every year.
Lord Oyashiro (Oyashiro-sama)	If you're a weeb and watch in sub, he's Oyashiro-sama. He's a really mean guardian diety that watches over Hinamizawa. By "watches over" I mean he makes sure nobody comes to the village and nobody leaves. Not a very smart business decision?
Dam War	Some guys from the big city wanted to turn Hinamizawa into a flooded area a long time ago. Everybody fought back and then the Hinamizawa people thought they came up with "one for all and all for one." But some blondes, the Hojos, were like "actually, yeah, let's make a dam" but then everyone pushed them off a cliff or something. That's why everybody's mean to Satoko, but it's probably not the only valid reason. Also, some kid was murdered, but we don't talk about that.
Onigafuchi	It's what Hinamizawa was called before they changed it because 'oni' means demon. This was another dumb move on Lord Oyashiro's part. If he didn't want anyone to move here, keep the scary name.
Tokyo	Not the city, it's a made up organization responsible for the Alphabet Project, the research institution on Hinamizawa syndrome, and the GHD. Takano, Tomitake, and Irie are all members. I knew they were opps.
Great Hinamizawa Disaster (GHD)	Always occurs if Rika is killed by Takano. Caused by Manual 34. Volcanic gas made of a bunch of scientific stuff like Hydrogen Sulfide and whatever spread throughout the village and killed everyone in their sleep. Then the village was quarentined for 20 years and Onigafuchi swamp was covered in concrete. This is about the time where I remind you that this is an anime.
Hinamizawa Syndrome	Fake brain disease caused by a parasite which can only be recovered from live people. The parasite sleeps unless triggered by stress. It causes seemingly unprovoked acts of violence (to yourself or others) and formication (itchy neck itis).
Alphabet Project	A top secret weapons development program created by Tokyo because they're posers and wanna be as cool as the US and Russia. They believe women are holding them back. It's alphabet because A (anti) B (bitch) C (convention).
Manual 34	Yes, this is what it's called. It's Takano's diary about her crushes. It's responsible for driving Rena insane. The less important part of the diary is where she wrote about a UFO that "brought a parasitic infection to Hinamizawa." The disease "turned villagers into demons" whom referred to the UFO as the "descent of Lord Oyashiro." Then Lord Oyashiro made a bunch of rules and the Three Great Families worshipped him for a really long time until everyone forgot.
Three Great Families	Made up of the Sonozaki family, the Furude family, and the Kimiyoshi family. They're said to have inherited the blood of the demons. Anyway, they're all crazy, but we don't really care about the Kimiyoshi family because we basically never see them.