Higurashi or simply known as When They Cry, is a murder mystery series. The series sets up an eerie atmosphere for the viewers and is a solid answer to those who think anime is only for kids. The series is a loop of realities, and each loop depicts a different ending based on the decisions made by the characters.
Higurashi started as a sound novel produced by the 07th Expansion. The manga series and the anime version are the adaptions of these sound novels. The first game was released in August 2002, followed by the later versions in the year December 2002, August 2003, and August 2004, respectively. The first four games were part of the question arc of Higurashi: When They Cry.
The next four games released in the year December 2004, August 2005, December 2005, and August 2006, respectively, were part of the answer arc. Two major fan discs were announced by 07th Expansion and were released in December 2006 and August 2014.
The story is set in the year when Keiichi Maebara moves to a village, Hinamizawa, and befriends some of the locals. The village, however, is said to be cursed, and around the annual Watanagashi Festival, sudden disappearances and murderous incidents take place. The chain of events remains unsolved and is a mystery to everyone. The series showcases events that will be solved by these characters and also forms a loop of inevitable results.
The novelization of the games was done by Kodansha between 2007 to 2009. The manga series adapted from the sound novel was first premiered in 2008 by Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten.
The anime adaption of the novel began in 2006 and was released in parts of 2 seasons by the production company Studio Deen. An extra 3rd season was released in the form of OVA in 2009. Several other OVAs and live-action films were introduced as an addition to the series and to expand it.
The series was a success in more than one way. The game was among the first to attain a feat that no other doujin games have achieved in a long time. The manga series has a circulation of over 10 million copies and is famous among suspense and horror fans.
The anime series also garnered many positive reviews from acclaimed TV networks and critics all over the world. Some of them also titled it “Watch it, if you can stomach the brutality” and “Despite some dated artwork, When They Cry holds up really well as a horror title.”
Hirugashi: When They Cry Storyline
Keiichi recently moved to the town of Hinamizawa, where he befriends Mion Sonozaki, her twin sister Shion, Rena Ryugu, Rika Furude, and Satoko Hojo. He also started attending the same school as them and joined an after-school club.
Life in the town was peaceful and calm for some time until Keiichi met a visiting photographer named Tomitake. Tomitake informs him about recent disappearances in Hinamizawa at the annual Watanagashi festival. When Keiichi inquires about the incident from his friends, he is met with a wall of silence.
The next day Keiichi is interrogated by a police detective, Oishi, who informs him about the death of Tomitake. After this incident, Keiichi notices strange behavior from his friends and becomes paranoid about them. Soon he is followed and kidnapped by Rena and Miona. In defense, Keiichi beats Rena and Miona to death with a baseball bat and escapes from the abduction.
Soon, Keiichi is also found dead and is prompted to be murdered by “Oyashiro.” His death remains a mystery.
The story similarly creates several loops of such kinds of events and forms different arcs in every season. The series creates a paranoia environment for the viewers too, and is also gore at the same time.
The story arcs almost always end with the death of all the characters, the reasons being different each time. Keiichi, the protagonist, is somehow always the last person to die or is gravely injured in the end.
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Higurashi: When They Cry, Watch Order
The timeline of the series is quite complex and becomes a maze of different story arcs, making it difficult for the viewers to enjoy the show. So a proper chronological order is really important to watch Higurashi: When They Cry.
When They Cry (2006)
The anime series was the first adaptation of the gameplay and manga versions. It was animated by Studio Dean in Japanese and was released in English by Funimation. This season consisted of a total of 6 chapters covering 26 episodes.
The chapters are named “Spirited Away by Demons,” “Cotton Drifting,” “Curse Killing,” “Time Killing,” “Eye Opening,” and “Atonement,” respectively.
The first chapter helps in setting up the basics of the story and one of the main plots. Keiichi arrives in the town of Himanizawa and meets with four local girls, befriending them in the process. However, he soon realizes that the town of Himanizawa is not your regular town and actually has a curse of Oyashiro.
Keiichi tries to uncurtain the incidents happening at the annual Watanagashi festival. In the process, he is met with certain incidents that make him paranoid and anxious towards his friends. He is kidnapped by Rena and Miona and kills them as a part of self-defense. But soon, he is also killed at the end, and the first chapter concludes in mystery.
The second chapter revolves around Shion’s twin sister, Mion. Rika is to perform at the annual Watanagashi festival, where Shion and Keiichi come to know about the death of visiting photographers, Tomitake and Takano’s death. He is now worried about their own safety and indirectly asks Rika for help. But soon, Rika and Satoko disappear, which fears him more.
Keiichi and Rena then confront Mion, to which she accepts her crimes but asks to spend some time with Keiichi before she is handed to the police. Mion takes Keiichi to an underground cavern where Shion is imprisoned. It is revealed here that Mion has been completely engulfed by her inner demons and is not human anymore. She lets Keiichi go, but she later stabs him when they meet outside.
In the hospital, Oishi tells Keiichi that all this time, Shion was the real Mion, and Mion was Shion. Later, Shion (Mion) appears in Keiichi’s hospital room after Ōishi leaves and presumably kills Keiichi.
The third chapter covers Keiichi’s wish to unearth Satoko’s older brother, Satoshi’s disappearance. Satoko is harassed by her abusive uncle, Teppei. Keiichi kills Teppei and dumps him on the night of the annual Watanagashi festival. Shion (Mion) appears in Keiichi’s hospital room after Ōishi leaves and presumably kills Keiichi Shion (Mion) appears in Keiichi’s hospital room after Ōishi leaves and presumably kills Keiichi.
However, the next day Keiichi is informed by his friends that he was with them the previous night, and Teppei is still harassing Satoko. Keiichi then meets the head doctor of a local clinic, Irie Kyosuke, and confronts him about his wrongdoings. Irie, however, calls Keichi delusional, at which Keiichi flees the clinic. He then goes to find Satoko t her uncle’s residence and finds her in a critical state.
Keiichi takes Satoko to the doctor’s, only to later find out that Irie has committed suicide. At the Furude Shrine, Keiichi discovers Rika’s dismembered body, and Satoko believes that Keiichi is the culprit and flees, eventually coming to the conclusion that he is possessed by Oyashiro. Satoko pushes Keiichi off a bridge at her suspicions, and shortly Hinamizawa is struck by a gas leakage disaster resulting in only Keiichi being the sole survivor.
The fourth chapter is an investigation of a previous dam incident which also leads to child kidnapping incidents.
The fifth chapter is a recap of the second chapter but also tells the story from a different perspective. Shion acts as Mion and falls in love with Satoko’s brother, Satoshi. On the night of the annual Watanagashi festival, Satoshi’s aunt is murdered, and Shion reveals that she is actually Mion. Oishi investigates Mion and tells her about the disappearance of Satoshi.
Cut to the present day, Shion thinks that her family is somehow connected to the “Oyashiro’s curse” and accidentally kills her grandmother. She also imprisons Mion and takes her place the next day.
Shion then confronts Rika about the disappearances and then kills her too. Shion, acting as Mion, tries to make Keiichi the murder suspect but fails to do so. Meanwhile, she also kills Satoko and is confronted by Rena and Keiichi, who abducts Keiichi only to let him go later.
Shion then kills Mion by pushing her into the well and is later rescued along with Keiichi. She gravely injures Keiichi in the hospital. Keiichi dies a few days later due to heart failure as he hallucinates Mion and Shion. The real Shion also dies by slipping at her residence.
The sixth chapter showcases a different story and presents the story from the perspective of Rena. Rena is introduced to Rina, her father’s girlfriend. Rena later finds out that Rina is trying to scam her father along with Teppei and decides to kill them both.
Rena kills Rina by slash opening her belly and beating her to death with a pipe. She also kills Teppei and dumps both of their bodies. However, her friends find her when she is dumping the bodies but support Rena in her decision and decide to keep this a secret.
Some days later, Rena finds out that Oyashiro’s curse is nothing but a rumor to cover a virus that is responsible for the previous deaths in the town. The town’s three noble families are responsible for the Virus and are now behind Rena to cover for their sins.
Rena also finds out that Mion has shifted the bodies of Rina and Teppei, causing Rena to suspect her friends too. Keiichi tries to talk sense into Rena but is confronted by his own dark past. Keiichi now recalls the incidents of the first chapter, the incidents that have never occurred in the present timeline.
Rena is now at the peak of her madness and paranoia, where she holds her friends captive and threatens to kill them. She is confronted by Keiichi, and in the process, she regains back her sanity resulting in no deaths in the chapter.
When They Cry: Gaiden (2007)
A special OVA was released by Studio Deen after the airing of the second season, which served as a link between the final of the first season and the start of the second season.
Keiichi and his four friends go on a trip to a neighboring remote village, Yagochi. Once there, Keiichi learns about the strange haunted quarry from Mion and Rika, who are debating whether or not to investigate.
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When They Cry: Kai (2007)
The second season consisted of three different arcs ranging from 24 episodes. The chapters are named “Disaster Awakening,” “Massacre,” and “Festival Awakening.”
The first chapter is the prologue to the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. Irie, Tomitake, and Takano accidentally stumble upon Keiichi and his friends. They tell Keiichi about the infamous “Oyashiro’s Curse,” and he understands his friend’s intentions of keeping this incident a secret to him.
As the annual Watanagashi festival approaches near, Rika is feared for her life. Satoko worries about Rika’s depression and also tries to console her. However, Satoko is convinced that someone is following her and Rika.
Despite the efforts, the mysterious man succeeds in killing Rika in front of Satoko. Satoko flees, narrowly avoiding her pursuers by falling off a bridge. Meanwhile, Hinamizawa is struck by the gas leakage incident, and Satoko safely evades the disaster too.
In the hospital, Oishi interrogates her about Rika’s murderer and also relays a cryptic message left by Rena hinting at the motives of Rika’s murderers. However, Sakoto is too killed by Rika’s murderer.
The second chapter is the recollection of Rika’s memories and her being fed up with the endless loop of her and her friends doing the same acts again and again. In the chapter, Rika starts a new life with Hanyu, but her friend’s acts are the same as in previous incidents. However, specific changes occur, and she believes that maybe this time will be a new beginning. But her plans her hindered by the appearance of Satoko’s abusive uncle, Teppei.
Teppei starts to abuse Satoko as usual and is decided to be stopped by Keiichi and his friends. But Satoko is reluctant to act against her uncle due to her own circumstances. At this, Keiichi decides to ask the government but is met with a wall of silence from them too. Rika decides to take the matter into her own hands and decides to end this cycle of reluctance.
Keiichi and his friends confront the village elders and the head of the Sonozaki family. The pressure of Keiichi, the government takes measures to free Satoko from her uncle’s clutches. However, when Rika and her friends think everything is back on track, the real villains of the previous arcs appear. Rika opens up about the secret behind the Hinamizawa syndrome to her friends and her connection with it.
The villains act behind the track and start to kill Rika’s friends one by one as they try to protect her. At the scene of her loss and her friend’s killings, Rika asks Takano to dissect her, which will help her to remember the villains in the different timelines and will act as a precaution later. In the end, the villagers are rounded up in the school and killed by the gas leakage.
The third chapter sheds light on Takano’s past and her relationship with the Hinamizawa accidents. The story starts with the occurrence of the dam incident in Hinamizawa and Satoko being affected with the Hinamizawa syndrome. Rika, at her friend’s state, offers herself as a test subject to Irie and Takano.
The chapter also explains the deaths of Satoko and Rika’s parents. Satoshi’s older brother, Satoshi’s disappearance is also showcased in the story. More details of the Oyashiro’s curse are explained further.
Hanyu is physically introduced into the world as a transfer student in Rika’s school but forgets the intention behind her introduction. Accidentally, she meets with Takano and Tomitake and remembers the incidents of the past world, and informs Rika about this. Rika makes an elaborate plan to capture the villains and spreads a false rumor of her being dead. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Group questions the research and its explorations.
The photographer gets captured, and Irie escapes from his lab to save him. On his way, he meets up with Shiona and his bodyguard, Kasai. However, he accidentally slips up the location of Rika to the enemies. Irie, with Akasaka, Shion, and Kasai, reaches his lab to save Tomitake and reveals to Shion about Shatoshi’s disappearance.
The chapter ends with a happy ending, with Rika and her friends enjoying the annual festival.
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When They Cry: Rei (2009)
Studio Deen released the second OVA of the series, When They Cry, in 2009. It was a three-arc series, the series namely: “Shame Exposing,” “Dice Killing,” and “Daybreak.”
The first chapter was a fun pool party story. It is a boy-against-girl pool story. Keiichi forgets to bring his trunks to the pool party and wears Mion’s uncle’s trunks. Though the trunk has a magical ability, the name of the person written on the trunk will fall in love with the wearer. Keiichi writes his own name on the trunks, and now the girls of the story try to make him get out of the trunk.
The second chapter is yet again one of the timelines where Rika has set her foot in. One day Rika, on her way to cycling, meets up with an accident with a trunk and is transferred to a different Hinamizawa. Rika is unknown to her then friends, and some of them are hostile to her. The dam project is still ongoing, and none of the tragedies has occurred in the town yet.
Rika gets to know that she has to dispose of a piece from her previous world to get back. If the piece is a person, she will have to kill that person. However, instead of getting back, she starts to enjoy her new life. She enjoys her time with her mother and makes new memories with her friends.
Rika’s new life goes well until she comes to know that her mother is the reincarnation of Oyashiro in this world, and she is the piece that Rika has to dispose of. Trapped in a dilemma to get to her world or to continue her life in the new world, Rika grows anxious but, to her surprise, wakes up in her own world as if this was a dream.
The dream was made by Hanyu to showcase the importance of Rika’s friends and their role in her life.
The third chapter is again a fun and light story. Rena becomes lovesick after accidentally swallowing one of the mysterious “Fuwazaru Magatama” that falls from the sky. Rena swallows the red stigmata and falls in love with the person having the white stigmata. The story is a cat-and-mouse chase of Keiichi and his friends to save Rena from the mysterious stigmata and gives rise to funny sequences.
When They Cry: Kira (2011)
When They Cry: Kira is the third Ova of the series and was released by Studio Deen. The OVA was a fanservice released on the occasion of the story’s tenth anniversary. The first arc was a parody of the first season, and the other arcs were original stories.
When They Cry: Kaku (2013)
The movie was based on the Higurashi outbreak and was animated by Studio Deen. Hinamizawa is struck by an unknown virus, and the town is quarantined. The Virus resembles the Oyashiro’s curse, and the town is in panic. Keiichi and his friends try to find a cure for the Virus.
The Hinamizawa town is isolated from the outside world, and all connections are cut. Mion is shot during her attempt to contact Keiichi and Rena. Keiichi and his friends flee from the town leaving behind Rika, as she wants to watch over the town.
When They Cry: Gou (2020)
The third season of the series consisted of five different arcs ranging from 24 episodes. The chapters are named “Deceived by Demons,” “Cotton Deception,” “Curse Deceiving,” “Cat Deceiving,” and “Village Destroying.”
The first chapter starts with Keiichi arriving in the town of Hinamizawa and being informed about the mysterious disappearances and the dam construction project in the town by a photographer. His friends do not tell him about these secrets and keep them a secret. However, Keiichi and his friends attend the Watanagashi festival and meet Jiro there.
The next day, Oishi calls Keiichi to his clinic and informs him about the recent disappearances. Meanwhile, Rean starts acting suspiciously toward Keiichi, and he becomes afraid of her. One day, Rena comes to Keiichi’s house for dinner, where she tries to stab him with a knife. At the counter, Keiichi beats up Rena with an alarm clock and kills her.
Keiichi gains consciousness two days later in the hospital and is told by Mion about the deaths of Rika and Satoko by Rena.
The second chapter of the season gives us a different story from the previous ones. The story starts with Keiichi joining a club to enter a game tournament and winning a doll as a prize, which he then gives to Mion. Keiichi later witnesses a Mion-look-alike, who claims to be Mion’s twin sister, Shion. Keiichi thinks this is a prank by Mion and goes with the flow until Shion tells him the truth later.
At a later date, Keiichi is informed by Takano and Jiro about the dam incident and is horrified. Also, Oishi tells Keiichi about Mion being the daughter of a Yakuza boss and advises him to be safe. Meanwhile, the killings start in the town of Hinamizawa. The first victims were Takano and Jiro, later followed by the mayor.
Mion calls Keiichi to her home and takes him to the Sonozaki bunker and shows him how Watanagashi has become a way for the three families to eliminate people, and Rika is one of the heads.
She then locks him in one of the cells and confesses her love for him, and also declares that she will protect him. Keiichi is saved by Oishi, who tells him about the deaths of Satoko, Rika, and Mion. They finally came to the conclusion that Mion might be the one responsible for their deaths.
The third chapter’s timeline is again reset to one week before the festival. Keiichi comes close to Satoko as she finds her older brother, Satoshi, in him. Satoko’s parents were killed in an accident, and her brother ran away from the town. Meanwhile, Satoko lives with her abusive uncle, Teppei.
Keiichi has flashbacks of previous timelines of him killing Teppei and turns to panic. The next day in school, Oishi investigates Satoko from Keiichi, but Keiichi does not cooperate and is concerned for Satoko.
However, Satoko denies being abused and is hesitant about her condition. Keiichi and his friends then turn to the Child Welfare Association but get no help from them. Then they move to the village mayor and council, and they accept to help them. Under the pressure of the council, Child Welfare takes down Teppei and helps Satoko.
Satoko invites Keiichi to her house, where he is ambushed by Teppei, but Keiichi succeeds in killing him before passing out. When he wakes, Rena tells him that Oishi has killed Rika, Satoko, Mion, and Shion on the night of the festival.
The fourth chapter is an attempt by Rika to be free from the endless loop and end her suffering. Hanyu tells Rika that she has used the last of her power to maintain Rika’s loops and informs her about a sword in Oyashiro’s statue that can end her loops. However, Rika decides to give herself five more loops before she kills herself.
In one of the loops, she is killed by Akasaka. On the other, she is beheaded by Akane Sonozaki. In the other loop, she is drowned by Kimiyoshi at one of the camps, and finally, she is beaten to death by Keiichi. In another loop, Satoko rips open Rika’s abdomen as a way to repent for her sin of thinking about leaving the town.
Rika wakes up again in a new timeline and tells Satoko about her nightmares, and now she wants to stay in the village. Days pass by, and no tragedies occur. However, now Rika becomes paranoid about how perfect the loop has become and that there might be some errors. Despite Rika’s efforts, in the end, it is Satoko that decides to kill her and points a gun at her at a birthday party.
The fifth chapter showcases the life of the characters when they have succeeded in evading all of the tragedies. Mion has graduated from college, Keiichi has become games club president, and Satoko has successfully subsided the Hinamizawa syndrome. Meanwhile, Satoko and Rika attend St. Lucia’s Academy.
Rika is a brilliant student, but Satoko’s marks start to slip, and Satoko gets jealous of Rika’s new life at the academy. A year later, the group of friends decides to meet up at Hinamizawa town and relish their past. Satoko decides to take a walk and stumbles upon an item that grants her the ability to be in an infinite loop whenever she dies. She is taken back to 1983, before these incidents, and thinks of these as a dream.
Satoko now lives in endless loops, all ending up with Rika attending St. Lucia’s Academy with her. Satoko is given bigger powers, and Rika will now have her memories from her past as soon as Satoko dies shortly after Rika. As a side effect, Satoko’s close ones also experience memories from the past.
Teppei is a changed man and wants to have a proper relationship with Satoko. Takano doesn’t want to kill Rika and the whole of Hinamizawa town. However, Satoko is not happy with this kind of ending and wants more for her.
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When They Cry: Sotsu
The fourth season of the anime series, and the last in the Higurashi chronological order, was released in 2021 and consisted of four chapters, namely “Demon Revealing,” “Cotton Revealing,” “Curse Revealing,” and “God Entertaining,” ranging up to 15 episodes.
The first chapter shows the events of “Deceived by Demons” from the third season but from the perspective of Rena and Satoko. Rena’s father is dating Rina, who wants to take advantage of him. Rena comes to know about Rina’s intentions and decides that she will save her family by killing Rina. She calls Rina at her hideout and strangles her. While dismembering Rina’s body, she notices Keiichi there and comes to the conclusion that he has seen her.
Rika, to keep the murder a secret, tries to kill him. But she is killed by Keiichi in self-defense, and Keiichi is hospitalized. Meanwhile, Rika suicide by the fact that this loop has also ended critically. In the sea of fragments, Satoko tells Rika that she will continue to face Oyashiro’s curse in subsequent worlds until she gives up.
The second chapter of the series shows Mion being the victim of Hinamizawa syndrome. Satoko experiments by injecting Mion with Hinamizawa syndrome, as she has not been affected by it in any of the previous loops. Mion starts to grow feeling for Keiichi and kills Shion accidentally. Mion, then, in an attempt to find out about the Oyashiro’s curse, goes on a killing spree. She kills the head of the three families, abducts Keiichi to protect him, and also kills Rika.
Satoko ends Mion’s life and then hers to go onto a different timeline.
The third chapter showcases the events of the “Curse Deceiving” of the third season from the perspective of Satoko and Eua, also revealing the mastermind behind it. Satoko, to eliminate Rika from the timelines, plays sympathetic and asks Teppei to move in with her. Meanwhile, she tells everyone else about her situation and how she is back with her abusive uncle, Teppei. The village tries to help her by going to the Child Welfare Service and keeping her case.
Satoko injects Oishi with the vial and beats Teppei to death. She then invites Keiichi to play humane and deceive him by killing him too. Oishi finds out about the two bodies and, by the effects of the vial, kills Rika and the rest of the friends at the festival.
At the Sea of Fragments, Eua is joyful about Hyun not being part of the Sea of Fragments anymore and that now she will vanish from the timelines.
The fourth chapter is the last confrontation between Rika and Satoko. Rika finds out that it was due to Satoko that she had to die in so many different timelines and exist in an infinite loop. The chapter includes the events after the “Village Destroying” chapter of the third season.
Rika confronts Satoko and Eua and manages to overpower them. Meanwhile, Hanyu stabs Eua with the sword, and Eua departs from the Sea of Fragments. Rika and Satoko are founded by their friends fighting by the riverside.
They tell them to remain friends and convince them to do so. Some years later, Rika departs for St. Lucia’s Academy, and Satoko decides to stay in the village. Meanwhile, Hanyu sits near the shrine and watches everyone peacefully moving on for their lives.
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