Higurashi: When They Cry

Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に, Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. "When the Cicadas Cry"), known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the anime adaptation before 2020, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin softvisual novel series produced by 07th Expansion that comprises the first two entries of the When They Cry franchise. The series focuses on a group of young friends living in a fictional village and the strange events that occur there in 1983.

The games are built on the NScripter game engine and the Microsoft Windows operating system. The first game in the series, Onikakushi-hen, was released on August 10, 2002, and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, Matsuribayashi-hen, was released on August 13, 2006. While the first four games carried the overall title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and are considered the first entry in the When They Cry franchise, the next four games were produced under the title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and are considered the second entry. A bonus fan disc called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released on December 31, 2006. In addition to the original series, new story arcs were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, in order to expand the story. The original eight PC releases were released in English by MangaGamer between 2009 and 2010.

Two sets of drama CDs were produced, one by Wayuta and the other by Frontier Works. Novelizations of the game series were released by Kodansha between August 2007 and March 2009. A manga series adapted from the games began with eight different manga artistsworking separately on one to three of the multiple story arcs and were published by Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten. The manga was licensed for release in English in North America by Yen Press under the title Higurashi: When They Cry and the first volume was released in November 2008. Following the manga's release in Japan, two anime television series were produced by Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon in 2006 and 2007; a third anime adaptation was released as an original video animation (OVA) series in 2009. The first anime series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in English in 2007, but the license expired in 2011. Sentai Filmworks has since licensed both anime seasons and the 2009 OVAs. A live-action film adaptation of the series, directed and written by Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters on May 10, 2008, with a sequel released on April 16, 2009. A six-episode live-action television series adaptation premiered in Japan on May 20, 2016, and a four-episode sequel premiered on November 25, 2016. A new anime television series by Passione aired from October 2020 to March 2021, and a sequel aired from July to September 2021.

The first anime series was animated by Studio Deen and produced by Frontier Works, Geneon Entertainment and Sotsu. It is directed by Chiaki Kon, with Toshifumi Kawase handling series composition, Kyūta Sakai designing the characters and Kenji Kawai composing the music. The season covers the four question arcs and the first two answer arcs, and aired in Japan between April 4 and September 26, 2006, comprising 26 episodes. Most of the characters were used by the same voice actors for the drama CD series. The series is available on DVD in Japan, France and North America (following Geneon Entertainment's licensing of the series). However, Geneon's U.S. division announced that it discontinued all ongoing anime projects in September 2007, including Higurashi on November 6, 2007. Only three of a planned six DVDs of Higurashi were released, under the title When They Cry: Higurashi. On July 3, 2008, Geneon and Funimation announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon still retained the license, Funimation assumed exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. Higurashi was one of the several titles involved in the deal. Funimation released a complete box set of the series in August 2009. However, in August 2011, the rights to the series expired due to low sales. Sentai Filmworks has licensed both anime series.

People in Japan, who had bought all nine of the DVDs of the first season, had the chance to receive a special anime DVD entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gaiden Nekogoroshi-hen, based on the short story that was given to those who had bought the manga. Despite being a bonus for the first season (and having the first season's opening and closing sequences), Nekogoroshi-hen featured Sakai's updated character designs from the second season.

A continuation of the series produced by the same core staff and based on one new story arc and the final two original answer arcs of the franchise, entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (ひぐらしのなく頃に解, lit. When the Cicadas Cry: Solution), aired in Japan between July 6 and December 17, 2007, containing twenty-four episodes. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the second anime series. As the result of a murder case in September 2007 in Japan involving the murder of a police officer by his sixteen-year-old daughter with an axe,as well as the Japanese media relating the case to anime such as Higurashi, the latest episode screenings of both Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and another anime at the time, School Days, were canceled by a number of stations, due to excessive violence. However, AT-X, TV Saitama and Sun TV announced that they would be airing the episodes as planned. Later, TV Saitama announced that they had ceased broadcasting of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai from episode thirteen onwards.[citation needed] Additionally, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaihad its opening altered when it re-aired. Originally, a bloody bill hook cleaver (as used by Rena) was shown halfway through (at timestamp 0:55) the opening; it was replaced with an image of a van from the series' fictional junk yard.

An original video animation (OVA) series, entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei (ひぐらしのなく頃に礼, lit. When the Cicadas Cry: Gratitude), was released on February 25, 2009, and is directed and written by Toshifumi Kawase, with Kazuya Kuroda taking over Sakai's role as character designer. The series also started a limited broadcasting in Bandai Channel prior to DVD release. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the Rei OVAs. The OVA contains three story arcs, Hajisarashi-hen, Saikoroshi-hen and Hirukowashi-hen, with Saikoroshi-hen concluding in three episodes, and the other two arcs concluding in one episode each. Hajisarashi-hen was originally a light novel included with the limited edition of the PlayStation 2 game Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri, and took the place of Batsukoishi-hen from the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei fandisc. Frontier Works announced another original video anime series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira (ひぐらしのなく頃に煌, lit. When the Cicadas Cry: Glitter) in March 2011, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. It is directed and storyboarded by Hideki Tachibana and written by Kawase, with Tomoyuki Abe taking over Kuroda's role as character designer and Tomoki Kikuyaserving as additional music composer. An OVA film titled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku: Outbreak (ひぐらしのなく頃に拡〜アウトブレイク〜, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku ~Autobureiku~, lit. When the Cicadas Cry: Expansion ~Outbreak~), adapted from Ryukishi07's short story "Higurashi Outbreak", was announced in December 2012 and was later released in August 2013. Sakai returned as a character designer for Outbreak.

On January 6, 2020, 07th Expansion and Kadokawa announced that a new anime project by Passione was in production. Akio Watanabe serves as a character designer, and Infinite serves as a producer. Keiichiro Kawaguchi is directing the series, with Naoki Hayashi handling series composition and Kenji Kawai returning as music composer. The main cast will reprise their roles. The series was set to premiere in July 2020, but was delayed to October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series aired from October 1, 2020 to March 19, 2021. The series, entitled Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou (ひぐらしのなく頃に業, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gō, lit. When the Cicadas Cry: Karma), was acquired by Funimation and streamed on its website in North America and the British Isles, and on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand. In Southeast Asia and South Asia, Medialink has acquired the series, and are streaming the series on its YouTube channel Ani-One. Before episode 2 aired, the title of the anime was Higurashi: When They Cry – New and it was marketed as a remake to the original anime series. When episode 2 aired, the subtitle was changed to Gou (業, Gō, lit. Karma) and it was revealed that the anime is not actually a direct remake as it was previously marketed to be. The new series ran for 24 episodes.

After Gou finished airing, a sequel, entitled Higurashi: When They Cry – Sotsu (ひぐらしのなく頃に卒, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu, lit. When the Cicadas Cry: (Finishing, Graduation or Death)), was announced. The series aired from July 1 to September 30, 2021. Funimation will stream the series. In Southeast Asia and South Asia, Medialink has acquired the series, and are streaming the series on its YouTube channel Ani-One.

## Characters

* Rena Ryuugu - Mai Nakahara
* Mion Sonozaki - Satsuki Yukino
* Shion Sonozaki - Satsuki Yukino
* Rika Furuda - Yukari Tamura
* Satoko Hojo - Mika Kanai
* Hanyu - Yui Horie
* Keiichi Maebara - Sōichirō Hoshi