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aiman24

  • Joined Oct 25, 2010
  • 33 / M

Higurashi No Naku koro Ni, is based on a series of events that seem to keep happening in a small village called Hinamizawa. The story(or stories) revolve around a small group of friends and a supposed curse that has been inflicted on the village.

I won't talk about the curse because it is talked about often through out the series so that you 'know' what is going on. Although actually understanding what is going on may be tough because the show does not do much to explain what keeps happening.

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni(1st Season) is spread upon 6 chapters(with a total of 26 episodes), where each chapter tells of the same timeline of Hinamizawa but with some character and perspective changes.

~STORY

As explained earlier, it is the story of a group of friends and the curse of a small village. If I push on further with the story, I'm afraid I will give off vital information.

Just remember this- keep Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai(2nd Season) readily available to watch right after finishing the first season. You should know this that the first season has the 'Question Arcs' while the second season has the 'Answer Arcs'.

So if you are confused with what is going on, then remember that season 2 is there to answer all your questions. 

~ANIMATION

Although the animation wasn't 'that' great as a lot of animes available now, I felt that if the animation was any different than it is now- it would not have made the same impact it did on most people that watched and understood the beauty of HNNKN(Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni).

Not like I can explain it properly, but to me HNNKN's animation had been done perfectly for maximum effect. There is this vibe you get when you see cute animated characters go into their psychotic modes. Backgrounds are done beautifully and colors are quite nicely done. Character models are great too.

~SOUND

I have not heard or watched the Dubbed version of HNNKN(When They Cry), so that is to be disregarded. The original voice actors did an awesome job at keeping the paces of what had been going on on-screen. I was surprised by how they could go from making such nice and cute voices to psychotically murderous tones.

Other than the voice acting, the only reason why SOUND does not receive a 10 is because, all through out the season- during the episodes- all i can remember hearing are the cicadas crying.

I admit that the OP and ED are both brilliant, also some YouTube-ing reveals that this series has many beautiful songs('Dear You')- but i just can't remember listening to any music 'during' the stories/episodes.

~CHARACTERS

All the characters are nothing short of awesomeness. The Main character cast has little kids to kids almost out of their teens. Most people who watch the series can actually relate to these characters who have detailed backgrounds from where they came from and why everything on screen seems to happen.

This is the reason why a lot of people get partially paranoid and scared after watching this show. The characters are very real and prove that even the most sane person can have a truly bad day- no matter where they come from. 

don't.be.fooled...even.for.a.second.

 

~OVERALL

This review also partially takes in Kai(2nd season) & Rei(3rd season/5 episode OVA) into consideration, and overall I rate it to be my no. 1 anime as of this moment of writing. 

Remember that this series involves a lot of thinking and open mindedness. You cannot watch it if you do not give this a chance, that is why I will implore you to watch the first 7 episodes before judging it.

When you first watch it, it looks like any cute harem, but once you watch the 2nd or 3rd episode you realize there's more to it than that. The 4th episode marks the end of the first arc, but keep watching till half of the second arc(7th episode) before choosing to continue on this mind boggling journey or missing out the opportunity on such a rare gem.

Violence is not something that should turn you away from this. You are to watch it for a memorable story.

As I said before, keep Kai at hand as it clearly explains why your brain can't handle the awesomeness.

HNNKN- Rei is good to keep at hand too(episode 2,3 & 4)- but that's only the sweetest of toppings on a mind f*cking sundae.

(ok, it's not that much of a mind f*ck)

~ENDING/PERSONAL COMMENTS

Two years ago, I was watching a lot of Naruto and being an anime-noob. Having only watched(well to what I remember) DBZ and Ninku before, I had no idea about all the brilliant anime available.

While on youtube, I randomly stumbled upon an AMV that showcased Rena with her axe. Intrigued by it(i'm big on horror, mystery, mind f*cks, psychological stuff), I began my research and came across 3 animes.

DeathNote, ElfenLied & HNNKN... I took a chance and went with the middle choice(EL). Quickly done with it- I started both DN and HNNKN but for some reason I never watched past the 1st episode of DN. I got so hooked onto HNNKN that I still haven't(as of this writing) seen past the 1st ep of DN.

If you've watched the other two series, you should definitely give HNNKN a go.

ElfenLied, although an excellent show- lacked some of the emotion that you see in HNNKN.

So, dear reader- here's hoping my DN experience goes as well as your HNNKN experience. If you've already seen it, let me(a Higurashi wh*re here) know what you thought.

the smile of a yandere, before she rips the sh*t out of you.

9.8/10 story
9.2/10 animation
9/10 sound
10/10 characters
9.6/10 overall
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aiman24 Dec 4, 2010

@GrimRulz,

thanks for the comment :)

if you like the show- be sure to follow Kai and Rei and then move onto Umineko No Naku Koro Ni(totally different show, but there are some things related between the two series- also has the same writer)

GrimRulz Dec 3, 2010

Really good and Unique anime, just finished watching.. gonna start watching the next season soon.

By the way nice review pal !!