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Higurashi No Naku Koro NiFollow

#1 Oct 04 2009 at 9:30 PM Rating: Excellent
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This anime has succeeded in doing something no other animated work has done for me. It managed to make me lose at least half a day's sleep because of nightmares.

And so far, I've only seen the first arc. Smiley: eek

The TVTropes entry on it:
Quote:
The year: 1983. When Maebara Keiichi and his family move to the sleepy little rural village of Hinamizawa, everything seems peaceful and rustic at first. But Keiichi quickly learns that there is more to the four girls of the school's game club than meets the eye... and more to the town as well. Revelation follows revelation, and brutal murder follows brutal murder in this enigmatic tale told from a variety of viewpoints and scenarios. Just what links the scenarios together?


I read about it on TVTropes first, and it sounded interesting, then Allegory's description of it when I asked him about an image in his images intrigued me further, so I finally checked it out a few days ago. I was so creeped out that I had to watch a few episodes of Kamen no Maid Guy in order to relax enough to get to sleep. A couple days later, I find myself unable to sleep due to horrifying paranoia filled nightmares.

So, anyone else watch this(or read the manga) or gonna see it now?

Also, anyone ever wake up thinking they saw a girl with a cleaver on their balcony?


Edit: Looking at some other threads on this page, it seems there was a bit of discussion about a related series(Umineko No Naku Koro Ni) back in August(I even posted in it saying I was planning to watch Higurashi at some point in the near future since I had just finished discussing that with Allegory), so I'm guessing at least several folks have seen this. Now I just need to know if any of you had nightmares from it. Smiley: tongue

Edited, Oct 4th 2009 11:37pm by Poldaran
#2 Oct 05 2009 at 3:26 AM Rating: Good
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Sorry, no nightmares. Definitely creepy, though.
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#3 Oct 05 2009 at 4:09 AM Rating: Good
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I know what I'll be wasting time on today! Only 9 chapters in the manga... this should be done in a couple of hours ;-)

Edit: First couple of pages start with a little girl turned inside out, while still alive. Off to a good start! Doesn't really show much other than her head (blank stare eyes) and a lot of blood around her.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 8:10am by LockeColeMA
#4 Oct 05 2009 at 4:44 AM Rating: Good
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Nope, although its definitely creepy as ****.
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#5 Oct 05 2009 at 6:19 AM Rating: Good
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Edit1: I am a complete and total moron. There are 11 manga series of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. I read Himatsubushi. I am willing to bet some answers and more of the story is available in the other 10! Fun fact, the title means: "When the Cicadas Cry."
I SHOULD have read the entire summary:
Quote:
NOTE: The story is divided into a total of eight chapters: four "Question" arcs and four "Answer" arcs. Each chapter keeps the same main characters, but ends in a different way. However, each chapter gives valuable answers, hints, and clues to the previous one, while at the same time bringing forth even more mysteries.
The question arcs are: Onikakushi-hen, Watanagashi-hen, Tatarigoroshi-hen and Himatsubushi-hen.
The answer arcs are: Meakashi-hen, Tsumihoroboshi-hen, Minagoroshi-hen and Matsuribayashi-hen.
The side story arcs are: Onisarashi-hen, Yoigoshi-hen, and Utsutsukowashi-hen


Original post:
I finished the manga and read the TVTropes. It looks like the manga and the anime are COMPLETELY different. Here's onemanga's synopsis:
Quote:
Summer 1983...Hinamizawa is a tranquil village, but its inhabitants have been plagued by strange deaths and unexplained disappearances seemingly every year. Some say it's the terrifying curse of Hinamizawa's legendary deity, Oyashiro-sama, causing victims to be spirited away by monsters, but is this town harboring dark, horrying secrets even more sinister than any supersition or myth?


The story is left with a lot of unanswered questions, but it wraps up the main action completely. Really it's about an undercover cop who goes to a village that is protesting a dam being built. There's suspicion that the villagers, many of whom are in an NGO referred to as "The Resistance," kidnapped the Minister of Construction's grandson; but no one will talk about it. The undercover cop meets a strange little girl named Rika who sometimes goes a little preternatural and predicts the future.

The story is very straight forward, and not creepy at all. There is brutal violence, but it is only talked about; none of it actually occurs during the story. Long story short they find the grandson and get away alive. Rika had warned Akasaka that he'd regret coming to the village, and he did; while he saved the grandson, the kid would have been released anyway due to an agreement to stop working on the dam. In the meantime his pregnant wife slips at the hospital on the stairs and dies. In the second-to-last chapter, Rika reveals that she sees the future murders that the villagers will commit, including her own. She basically is begging Akasaka to save her, but he doesn't realize it because of his wife's death. He leaves, and several years later learns that all the deaths came true, including Rika's, because she kept hoping he would return and save her. Rika gets the last laugh, though; she doesn't tell the villagers about a poisonous gas leak that would occur after her death, so they all die as well. Akasaka publishes a book on the violence after.

What is left unanswered is WHY all these brutal murders happen. There are some seemingly irrelevant details given. One being that the villagers fed on human flesh, started worshipping a cannibal god, and make yearly sacrifices. Another being that Rika is the reincarnation of said god, so she has something to do with it. And really other than that, just that they're a bunch of creepy mofos who like to kill people. But we never find out who is murdering people, or why. It seems like this is just a story arc and the bigger picture is missing. The ending is disappointing, as Rika gets killed (the scene we see at the beginning is actually 7 years after the story, when Akasaka is told of her death; I was under the impression that Rika was already dead and the villagers just accepted her walking around as a ghost).

It sounds like the anime is a lot more interesting; any sites to get it from, or watch it streamed? I find horror is always done better with sound; sound is just a key part of it.

Edit2: Also, the plot runs pretty close to RE4 in some ways. Creepy village, undercover cop on a rescue mission. No plagas though.
Edit3: Apparently Poldaran watched the anime that relates to the Onikakushi manga. I just started reading it now; only 7 chapters. The main character is Maebara Keiichi.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 10:34am by LockeColeMA
#6 Oct 05 2009 at 6:33 AM Rating: Decent
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You just wait... it gets better!

Be ready to watch Kai (second season) and Rei (OVA) if you want to understand something. It all make sense in the end though.

Definitely one of my favorite anime.
#7 Oct 05 2009 at 6:43 AM Rating: Good
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Another update: I'm kicking myself for watching these out of order. I feel I wasn't supposed to know Rika and Miyo die eventually. I also get the impression that the storylines get darker and darker as they go on. So far this one is really light-hearted, besides the weird apologizing fit at the beginning.

Edit: Just met Tomitake Free, and my first thought was "Yep, you die too."

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 10:46am by LockeColeMA

Edit2: The correct order to read them in are, I guess:
Quote:
1. Onikakushi-hen
2. Watanagashi-hen
3. Tatarigoroshi-hen
4. Himatsubushi-hen
**Utsutsukowashi-hen
5. Meakashi-hen
6. Tsumihoroboshi-hen
**Yoigoshi-hen
7. Minagoroshi-hen
8. Matsuribayashi-hen
**Kokoroiyashi-hen

the starred ones are arcs that are only in the manga. they're just side stories, but if you DO want to read them, they go in the story in those places i put them in :]


Edited, Oct 5th 2009 10:58am by LockeColeMA

Edit2: Ok, this arc is a LOT cooler. More supernatural and freaky. Very neat so far.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 11:35am by LockeColeMA
#8 Oct 05 2009 at 6:44 AM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
I finished the manga and read the TVTropes. It looks like the manga and the anime are COMPLETELY different



Not sure about the manga but the anime is an adaptation from a visual novel.
#9 Oct 05 2009 at 8:27 AM Rating: Good
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Finished the first in the series now. That was AWESOME. So many questions left over, but a lot more interesting than the 4th installment. Lunch break now means I can start the next. Yahoo!

Edit: Starting the second manga, and it already seems like it'll rock. It's weird knowing the outcome of some of the characters. I think this one is done from Mion's point of view, as she's glomping Keiichi at the beginning. I can't tell if I like knowing that she's going to die. Actually, all of the club members except for Satoko I know will die. I guess it keeps you from getting too attached to the characters, and lets you put some more distance and see the story from new angles. But there's not as much of an emotional connection then.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 12:34pm by LockeColeMA

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 1:12pm by LockeColeMA
#10 Oct 05 2009 at 10:22 AM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:
Edit3: Apparently Poldaran watched the anime that relates to the Onikakushi manga. I just started reading it now; only 7 chapters. The main character is Maebara Keiichi.


I watched the first 4 episodes of the anime, so whatever that translates to. Smiley: tongue
#11 Oct 05 2009 at 10:30 AM Rating: Excellent
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OH, SON OF A -

So I finished reading all of the available second manga on onemanga... and it's two chapters short. It left off at SUCH a cliff-hanger! ARGH!!

I don't quite understand the differences happening in the series. At first I thought that each book was supposed to be an alternate PoV. Then I was thinking it just had a different focus. Now it seems like alternate dimensions. It really doesn't make much sense... but as I have like 8 more of the arcs to read (and I'm still in the "Questions" portion), hopefully eventually I'll get it figured out.

Edit: Answering my own question, I came across this neat review:
Quote:
Watching Higurshi is like locking a group of happy people in a test chamber, only coming back to find they've hacked each other into a bloody mess. Its horrific, its shocking, and yet a part of you, cannot help but wonder, how did it happen?

The curiosity takes over... and so you repeat the experiment, knowing full well that those cute looking teenagers you just sent are going to end up as bloody pulps. But hey, at least each time they die, you're one step closer to figuring out why they died, it's all good.

Higurashi essentially places you in the role of the scientist. It divides itself into several arcs, each of which begin exactly the same. A teenager moves into a remote countryside village, and befriends a group of sweet fangirls that could have come out right from a harem rom/com. Then, explicably, thing go wrong... very wrong. The pacing is excellent, the suspence pulpable. You know terrible things are going to happen, but you don't know exactly what. Higurashi would appeal to two types of people. The maglomanics who cackle madly in seeing a happy community descend into the depth of oblivion, and the curious scientist who watched each arc with intense interest... for they want to know exact *why* everything goes wrong (though they can also cackle madly just a little).

The true draw of Higurashi is the mystery. The series will leave you guessing, postulating all manner of reasons why the sweetest girl in the class is now butchering every child in sight with a giant cleaver. Each experiment you run (arc you see) reveals a few more clues, and you formulate a new theory, only to find it shattered by another totally unexpected horror in the very same arc. The beauty of Higurashi is that a mystery of such grand scale, every detail is meticulous, and while every bloody event seems random at first, they all eventually fall into place

Not only are the characters are memorable, and filled with interesting secrets, and unlike school days, they're actually also extreme likeable. This is no small achievements, given that they're portrayed doing everything from ripping nails of off each other to nailing 9 year girls on a cross.

Higurashi is really the pinnacle of a dark mystery. You'll start off the mad scientist, watching those innocents in the test chamber with morbid curiosity. Yet, slowly, that morbid curiosity will be transformed into sympathy, and as you fall in love these victims, that initial curiosity will into turn a genuine desire to figure out whats going on so that they can be saved.


So I guess that's the idea

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 2:45pm by LockeColeMA

Edit2: ARGH! The third arc is 5 chapters short and labeled as inactive. ***** you, onemanga!

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 3:38pm by LockeColeMA
#12 Oct 05 2009 at 10:48 AM Rating: Excellent
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Quote:
I don't quite understand the differences happening in the series. At first I thought that each book was supposed to be an alternate PoV



I don't want to spoil it for you but just a little hint; it is not the same story with a different POV. Answers will come later.
#13 Oct 05 2009 at 11:03 AM Rating: Excellent
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Now I wanna rewatch Higurashi Smiley: lol

I'm currently rewatching Clannad, so I'll need something a bit darker to watch next anyway.


feelz wrote:
I don't want to spoil it for you but just a little hint; it is not the same story with a different POV. Answers will come later.
I remember my friends telling me something like this, and I really didn't get it until the last few episodes.
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#14 Oct 05 2009 at 11:14 AM Rating: Good
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I remember my friends telling me something like this, and I really didn't get it until the last few episodes.


That's what I liked about it. You need to wait till the end to make any sense out of it but everything is explained. Unlike similar show where some stuff doesn't quite make sense, Higurashi does a good job at answering all the questions.
#15 Oct 05 2009 at 11:26 AM Rating: Excellent
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Yeah, same. It's what kept me watching Baccano!
Well, that, and I loved the animation style, and the plot.


I liked Gankutsuou for almost the same reason, except the viewer knows what's happening in the plot, it's the main character Albert who finally realizes the truth near the end.
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#16 Oct 05 2009 at 12:08 PM Rating: Excellent
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Sigh, no luck with the rest on onemanga. There are chapters here and there in the second season, but none are completed. So disappointing! I guess I'll have to watch the anime, so I'll ask again; anyone know a good streaming or torrent site? PMs are fine if we shouldn't discuss it on the boards.

Also, anyone know any free manga sites to get the missing chapters that onemanga lacks?
#17 Oct 05 2009 at 12:53 PM Rating: Excellent
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http://tokyotosho.info/ for most Japanese torrents (Anime, Manga, Music, etc.)
Try searching under "Batch" first, but some series are a little too old to be listed under Batch. If not, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni will be under "Anime".
I know Kai (2nd Season) is under Batch.

http://btjunkie.org/ for a larger selection, including American movies (may be NSFW ads sometimes)

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 3:04pm by Kirby
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#18 Oct 05 2009 at 12:59 PM Rating: Excellent
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anyone know a good streaming or torrent site?


I'm pretty sure you can find it on narutowire or kumby. I think umaianime has it also. All .com of course. It's streaming so quality is not great and sometimes they link to megavideo which sucks monkey balls but I don't think the serie is available yet in North America, at least not the second season or the ova.
#19 Oct 05 2009 at 2:10 PM Rating: Excellent
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Thanks for the links, Kirby and feelz. Watching the first episode on Kumby right now. I love the seemingly innocent things they do to foresahdow. For example, when selecting a game to play in the first episode, Mion goes to her locker... which contains, among other things, handcuffs and whips. And when Keiichi calls them out on marked cards, they get the "silly evil" expressions... but the theme from the shower knife stabbing in "Psycho" plays in the background.

This is going to be awesome.

Edit: Also the quote during the card game "You're demons... you're all demons. Except you, right Rena-chan?"
"Sorry Keiichi..."

So far the manga and anime line up pretty much the same, but the drawing in the manga is better.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 6:13pm by LockeColeMA

Edit2: First 4 episodes related perfectly to the first manga arc. Onto the second! Also, the anime is amazing; the cicadas and the music totally make the story come to life. And within the first 10 second of the second arc, I have already said outloud "What the ****!?"

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 7:31pm by LockeColeMA
#20 Oct 05 2009 at 4:20 PM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:
Edit2: First 4 episodes related perfectly to the first manga arc. Onto the second! Also, the anime is amazing; the cicadas and the music totally make the story come to life. And within the first 10 second of the second arc, I have already said outloud "What the @#%^!?"
Smiley: lol

Higurashi has one of my favorite anime opening's.

Ah yeah. The start of episode 5 made me squemish the first time I watched it.
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#21 Oct 05 2009 at 5:09 PM Rating: Excellent
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It's more fun to watch this freaking mindf*ck of an anime with friends:

Mion: "People who violated the Buddhist precepts were put on display as they were brutally murdered. That's what those tools were for."
Friend: "That doesn't sound very much like what Buddha would want..."

End of the episode

"Man, I hope they make this into a hentai. People are already getting nailed left and right!"

... ok, it was better to laugh than curling into a ball and crying in the corner.

Arc 2, done!

Trying to get to episode 17 tonight (I hear it's a fun one), but I doubt I'll get past 15.

Edit1: Arc 3, 3 episodes in. Holy sh*t, Keeichi is crazy.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 10:09pm by LockeColeMA

Edit2: And arc makes the series get a WHOLE lot more f*cking weird and freaky.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 10:41pm by LockeColeMA
#22 Oct 05 2009 at 6:53 PM Rating: Good
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I await your commentary after you finish the series Smiley: lolSmiley: lol
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#23 Oct 05 2009 at 7:04 PM Rating: Good
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Kirby, Star Breaker wrote:
I await your commentary after you finish the series Smiley: lolSmiley: lol


Honestly, I'll probably just keep going :-P Well, for two more. On 16 right now; skipped most of 14 and 15 because I read the manga and the episodes were pretty much the same. 16 is off to a good start, as Mion is dragging Shion around unconscious. Or it might be the other way around.

Edit1: I'm totally having a Cloud/Zack moment with Keiichi/Satoshi.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 11:13pm by LockeColeMA

Edit2: I've resigned myself to the fact that everyone in this series is batsh*t crazy, and just take turns acting like it. On to episode 17, which I have been advised to not eat before watching! Yahoo!

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 11:25pm by LockeColeMA

Edit3: I expected more screaming. That said, I think I'll be dreaming of that episode when I go to sleep. *Shudder*

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 11:46pm by LockeColeMA

Edit4: Episode 18. Awwwww yeah, "Shion on Mion action." That was my friend. Not me. Maybe.
Edit5: Man, what a nice cliff-hanger to end on! So far it seems like 16-18 are pretty much the same as the second arc (episodes 5-8). I GUESS that lines up with the "answers" section, but I was under the impression that the "answers" were the second season. If not, well, looks like Shion has pretty freaking bad luck.

Edited, Oct 6th 2009 12:12am by LockeColeMA
#24 Oct 05 2009 at 7:13 PM Rating: Good
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I agree though, I watched it with a few friends, and it was much better.
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#25 Oct 05 2009 at 7:34 PM Rating: Decent
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I've resigned myself to the fact that everyone in this series is batsh*t crazy


That's a safe call to make.
#26 Oct 05 2009 at 8:16 PM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:
Sigh, no luck with the rest on onemanga. There are chapters here and there in the second season, but none are completed. So disappointing! I guess I'll have to watch the anime, so I'll ask again; anyone know a good streaming or torrent site? PMs are fine if we shouldn't discuss it on the boards.


I think I mentioned the names of at least one of the sites I use for streaming when I can't get ahold of an anime through more legal means(such as when it hasn't been released in the US yet) in a PM a week or so ago.

Quote:
Also, the anime is amazing; the cicadas and the music totally make the story come to life.


Also as touched on in that same PM, I'm a big believer that watching the anime(of any series) is often quite superior to reading the manga(if the anime was done well, that is) just because of the music.

Edited, Oct 5th 2009 10:19pm by Poldaran
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