Hi there everyone!! Dorchet-chan here again, with another anime review for you all. This time it's Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, or When the Cicadas Cry. It's an awesome show that Dorchet-chan just watched recently, but Dorchet-chan fell in love with it and its style instantly :D
But any way, here's Dorchet-chan's review, and don't hesitate to argue any point with Dorchet-chan, Dorchet-chan loves to discuss things.
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni anime Review
Maebara Keiichi is a young man who just moved to the small town of Hinamizawa, a small rural town in Japan, that still boasts a one-room school house. Every year, the town holds a festival, known as the Watanagashi (Cotton Drifting) festival. Keiichi soon learns that every year at the Watanagashi festival, someone will die, and another will disappear. He learns that this event is known to the locals as the Oyashiro-sama's (Shrine God's) curse. The first victim is Tomitake Jirou, a photographer who comes to the village every year for the Watanagashi. Next, local Takano Miyo disappears. The following events differ between each arc of the story, but the beginning is always the same. As the suspense increases, so does the danger to Keiichi and his friends.
The story of Higurashi revolves around a small group of friends in Hinamizawa. Sonozaki Mion, Ryuugu Rena, Hojo Satoko, Furude Rika, and Maebara Keiichi spend their time together after school and on their time off playing together as a club. Sonozaki Mion is the hard-headed club leader and the heir to the local Sonozaki Family, an important family to the Hinamizawa area. Ryuugu Rena is a Hinamizawa resident who moved away from the village and then moved back. She has a cute way of speaking and spends her time scouring the landfill at the old dam site looking for cute things people throw away. Hojo Satoko is younger than the others, and is all alone. Her parents supported the dam construction the would have destroyed the village. Shortly after, they suffered an accident while on vacation, which left her and her older brother, Satoshi, to live with their abusive Aunt and Uncle. Soon after, Satoshi disappeared following the death of his Aunt. Satoshi's disappearance left Satoko alone. Furude Rika is the same age as Satoko, and shares something else with her. Rika's parents also suffered and accident, leaving her alone. Rika's way of speaking is a cute style, adding things like “Mii” and “Nippa” to the ends of her sentences. She lives alone with Satoko after their parents deaths.
*Spoiler Alert*
When I started watching Higurashi, I was a little leery of how it would turn out. It started out a little slow at first, but then it quickly picked up, the suspense and sinister feeling growing. As the first arc drew to a close, I was confused. The way the first arc ended with the death of three of the main characters, so I wondered how they were going to continue the series without three of the more important characters. That point, was the point of no return for me. As I started the second arc of the story, I was shocked. It appeared that the whole story reset itself. It introduced a new character, Sonozaki Shion (Mion's twin sister). The story continued to throw me through many twists and turns, and crazy plot twists. As the arc continued, the sinister feeling I had had before returned, and grew. The arc drew to a close, leaving me confused once again. The third arc started, and I had to know what the heck was going on. The story threw me through several loops, and the sinister feeling never abated, but it did keep growing. The fourth, fifth and sixth arcs, continued to increase the sinister feeling I had felt from the start. The reset at the start of each arc confused me, and the events of the story continued to chill me to the bone. As the anime drew to a close, I had hoped that they would explain what was happening, but unfortunately, I was left in the dark. The characters and situations the show offered, made up for the slightly disappointing ending. The series combines the violent and bloody tendencies along the lines of Elfen Lied, with the psychological thriller style of something similar to Death Note. The simple setting of the rural town, along with the down to earth characters, made for a very compelling series, one that I would readily watch again, along with its sequel. What really caught me and kept me watching was the well done opening. The animation was detailed and eye catching, and the song, Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni by Eiko Shimamiya, was perfectly done, and really keeps the viewer watching.
8 out of 10
And Here's another video pieced together by Dorchet-chan, not as good as the last, but video quality wasn't as good this time, but Dorchet-chan still loves it :D
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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