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I’ve seen a lot of anime, from the gory “Elfen Lied”, to the psychological “Serial
Experiments Lain”, to the romantic comedy “Chobits” and this is the first anime I’ve
seen that has true scare potential. The first of its kind, “Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni” is
creepy, scary and it makes you think, “What in the world am I looking at?” It starts off
calm and peaceful, with the male lead character, Keiichi, a teenager whose parents
recently moved them to the rural village, Hinamizawa, heading to school and picking up
various friends on the way. The village is so small that one class is used for all grade
levels so he and his friends share the same classroom with the one teacher in the school.
Though life is slower in the village, thanks to Keiichi’s friends, Mion, Rena, Satoko and
Rika, he soon enjoys living there and finds delight in water pistol fights and card games.
However, what he doesn’t know is that the village has a dark history of murder,
dismemberment and kidnapping. Each year during the Watanagashi festival a person is
found murdered and another disappears. Some of the villagers believe this is the curse of
Oyashirosama. The cops believe the culprit is human, not god or demon. As Keiichi starts
to learn more about the village’s history, tragic events begin to unfold and he realizes that
one or all of his friends may not be what they seem.
This anime is based off the visual novel game series of the same name that came
out in Japan for the PC and PS2 produced by 07th Expansion. The game consists of four
“Question Arcs”, each of which tell a different story from a different perspective, has a
different villain, different character deaths or sometimes the same character dies in a
different way. Each “Question Arc” in the anime is about five episodes each, so when
they begin the first arc you are seeing the story from Keiichi’s point of view, not
necessarily what is true, but what he sees. Then the next arc will tell a slightly different
story from Mion’s point of view and so on. The only constant is the village itself,
Hinamizawa, and the fact that there have been murders in the village’s past and there will
be more. Next, there are four “Answer Arcs” which provide answers for the four
“Question Arcs”. The object of the game is basically the same as the anime; you play the
game and slowly piece together what is the truth to unveil whether there is a killer in the
village, or a curse. The only significant difference between the anime and the game is
Vivas 2
that, due to the fact that the last two “Answer Arcs” of the game were not out, they could
not be included in the anime series.
There’s very little not to like about this anime. The way the female characters are
drawn is colorful and makes each stand out as individuals. It lulls you into a false sense
of security because they look like bright, energetic, kind young girls. You can’t picture
them as psychotic, murderous fiends. Throughout the anime you do get several clues, if
you are paying attention, one of which is the way the landscape is drawn. Everything
looks too quiet, too peaceful, and you feel that something’s wrong. The appearance of
sunset brings even more foreboding. It’s wonderful when any show, film or anime can
capture that sense using subtlety instead of being overt. Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
delivers this sensation in full.
They also trick you with the characters’ voices and behavior. Each girl’s voice,
especially Rena’s, is so innocent and soft you just can’t picture her being dangerous. So
when you hear their voices turn cold and deadly, but somehow still maintain that
innocent almost cheerful quality, a chill runs up your spine. When you hear an angelic
girl’s voice sounding as though she could joyfully eviscerate you, it makes you freeze.
Even the characters’ behavior is misleading. Rena loves cute things and does childish
dances and shakes when anything cute is nearby. Rika is constantly in danger of being
hugged to death by Rena because she is so cute and adorable and instead of saying “Hi”,
she says, “Ni-pah”.
The sound effects in this anime have the perfect blend of eeriness, melancholy
and suspense that few animes I’ve seen have been able to duplicate. The sounds in this
anime are not overly dramatic; thereby it doesn’t take anything away from your visual
sense. What plays during some of the violent or dramatic events is softer than what you
would expect to hear. It accompanies what you’re seeing and makes it stand out even
more, though the greatest sound effect that is put to use in this anime is silence, a
deadening quiet that, because of its lack of use in anime, is far scarier than any loud
booming sound could be. When you’re listening to the sound a bat makes when
connecting with flesh and bone, with no other sounds to detract from what you’re
hearing, your whole body stills, unable to move. You want to look away, but you can’t.
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The only thing that’s disappointing about this anime is that the other two “Answer
Arcs” are not included. So, at the end, you basically have a cliffhanger. Some questions
are answered, but you never find out if the villain is a murderer in the village, or a curse.
You also don’t know what becomes of some of the characters. So far, there is no word as
to whether the creators of the anime will release the other two arcs in a second season or
OVA. I’m hoping they will because the anime needs the other two arcs for closure and to
develop a stronger fan base in the U.S. if a U.S. company decides to license it.