Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei

The infamous series of unexplainable murders in Hinamizawa have been solved and the chains of fate have broken due to the efforts of Rika Furude and her friends. Rika believes she has finally obtained the normal and peaceful life she desired with her friends; however, she is proven wrong when the wheels of fate begin turning once again after an unfortunate accident.

Rika suddenly finds herself in a "perfect" world, the constant cycle of brutal killings having never taken place, where all of her friends are content and satisfied. Not wanting to abandon the world that she fought so hard for, she learns she must destroy an essential "key" to get back. But can Rika abandon the faultless world she is given the chance to live in, after all of her battles have brought her this far?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Furude, Rika Main

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Ryuuguu, Rena Main

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Sonozaki, Mion Main

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Maebara, Keiichi Main

Hoshi, Souichirou Japanese

Hanyuu Main

Horie, Yui Japanese

Houjou, Satoko Main

Kanai, Mika Japanese

Sonozaki, Shion Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Takano, Miyo Supporting

Itou, Miki Japanese

Ooishi, Kuraudo Supporting

Chafurin Japanese

Houjou, Satoshi Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Oomori, Hiroyuki Producer

Matsuda, Keiichi Producer

Okamura, Takema Producer

Fukao, Satoshi Assistant Producer

Reviews

Oct 2, 2009

ddrcrono

Recommended

Since a review is ~not~ supposed to be an plot summary, I'll give a general feel of what to expect and my opinion about it:

This OVA is broken into two basic sections: Silly episodes (the first and last) and plot episodes (the middle episodes).

You will likely not enjoy the silly episodes if you did not enjoy the silly/cute side of Higurashi. If, on the other hand you liked the antics throughout Higurashi, the silly episodes will probably just make your day. (They were the highlight of the OVA for me, though that's just personal taste).

The plot episodes have more of a traditional Higurashi feel to ... them - suspense and mystery are essential elements, though it's a different sort than we're used to, I would say it's much more 'subtle' than the main series. I can't say I enjoyed these episodes quite as much as the main series, but I felt that they were still entirely worth watching, and were very well-done considering the options open to the storyteller at this point in the story.

In short - If you watched Higurashi, you should enjoy this. (If you didn't like the silly stuff, just skip the first and last episode).

Even if you haven't watched Higurashi, the first and last episodes are still entertaining.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 21, 2009

SamFury

Mixed Feelings

Sea-bears and Skylines

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Rei [Rei] is the third installment of the Higurashi series based on the games created by 07th Expansion. Like the game, Rei covers the events after Furude Rika had finally escaped the meandering halls of fate, breaking the cycle of repetition.

Rei serves as more of a side story, giving small view into life after reiterating summer. The first and last episodes of the set OVA's are for purely comedic purposes. Nothing really happens and the only insight we get into any of the characters is that Rena finds Keichii's 'sea-bear' cute. Yes folks Higurashi went there... they ... implied our brunette buxom wanted Maebara's little friend.

The episodes in-between, 2 through 5 or the Dice Killing Chapter, serve as a more serious side story. Rika one day wakes up in yet another world where everything is seemingly perfect. Everyone she sees is spared of their sin's from previous realities, their souls not torn into shards waiting to be duck taped back together.

It's an interesting setup, but it fails in it's execution. The three short episodes lack any sort of engaging drama, and the story is squeezed down your throat in slabs of monologue. I commend the tale for trying to shade in some background on Hanyuu, Rika's goddess companion, but I didn't find myself caring.

Production

Rei is more of the same. The art hasn't improved much from 2006 when the original Higurashi premiered. The animation was cleaned up a bit, and the colors a bit more vivid. It's somewhat disappointing considering this is an OVA.

The sound work is still the same. The seiyuu remain untouched and the music is largely forgettable. The OP didn't really set an ominous tone like the first two shows did. No special effort seems to have been made in the production of Rei.

Watchability and Enjoyment

The two comedic episodes are hilarious. Funny has always been a part of the Higurashi formula, and it was refreshing to watch an episode focusing on Humor.

Rika's side story on the other-hand is about as engaging as wading through a swamp filled to the brim with molasses compared to the first season. Though it made the fifth episode all the more entertaining. After the dull chapter, the comic finale let me leave the realm of Higurashi with a sweet taste on my lips.

Themes

The Dice Killing chapter, through all it's faults, posed an interesting dilemma: Which world would you pick, one you toiled endlessly to create yourself or a perfect one handed to you on a silver platter. The reality you molded from fate is imperfect but yours, you own it. Which do you keep?

Closing Thoughts

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Rei is a mixed bag. If you enjoy Higurashi's brand of comedy then check out Episodes 1 and 5. I couldn't recommend The Dice Killing Chapter except to the most rabid fans who care to know even the palest of brushstrokes on Hinamizawa's canvas. But if your that crazy your better off getting the sound novels.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 15, 2012

WhiteBakemono

Not Recommended

Funny

Anime: Higurashi no Naku koro ni Rei

Title: Lost all faith in this series.

About the Anime: Several months have passed since the horrific events in Hinamizawa came to an end. Little by little life returns to normal, with Rika and her friends doing their best to put the past them and mend their old wounds. All seems to be going well until one day tragedy strikes again as Rika is unexpectedly involved in a bloody traffic accident that shatters her short-lived peace. As she wakes, she finds herself thrust back into the nightmare summer of 1983, and sets out to once again correct Hinamizawa's twisted killing ... cycle. Rika soon realizes, however, that such a task is more difficult than she first imagined; this Hinamizawa is drastically different from all those in the past, and now more than just her own life is at stake...

Story 3.5/10: Hey there, boys and girls, it’s time again for everyone’s favorite gameshow: Does This Anime Suck?!
So, time to play – let’s start with the first question! Which of the following is a more intelligent decision: watching Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei or skydiving out of a plane without a parachute? Hopefully you guessed skydiving, because that’s sure what you’ll feel like doing after wading through this OVA’s attempt at a plot! If you thought Higurashi Kai’s mediocre attempt at concluding its story was bad, be prepared for a whole lot more of the same. Watching Higurashi Rei waste its potential is on par with throwing puppies on the street, and we here at Does This Anime Suck?! do not approve of abandoning puppies – always have your pet spayed or neutered!
Time for the next round! What is Higurashi Rei’s worst quality: a. its bumbling story with anticlimactic ending; b. its inability to be funny due to atrocious animation quality during worthless “comedic” parts; or c. the fact that nothing at all happens in two and a half hours? And…hidden answer e (all of the above and more!) was the right choice! Few OVAs, save for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Next Season, manage to piddle around and waste as much time as this. Plus, as if the viewer needed to be explicitly told after wasting so much time, Higurashi Rei is generous enough to openly inform its audience that all the story’s intrigue served no purpose. Despite the initial and captivating return to a non-standard 1983 setting, the show manages to let every one of its potential high points blunder around like a drunk clown in a circus tent, and spectaculary fails at providing any sort of satisfaction. Whereas before the viewers were given only a bare minimum to piece together major events and revelations, in Higurashi Rei every important revelation is insultingly spat out in a silver platter that utterly ruins both the mood and the story.
At last we’re at the final round, so here’s the third and most important question: should Higurashi Rei be watched by fans of the series? I think the answer is already clear. While the middle portion may seem somewhat intriguing at the time with Rika's induction into a radically different and seemingly-hostile environment, just remember that if you decide to stick with it to the end you’ll end up like the nerdy kid at prom whose date ditched him midway for the douchebag on the football team. This botched attempt at a second conclusion ends up being on par with taking School Days’ two crack-job OVAs as legitimate sequels, as the story has no idea whether it wants to be humorous, serious, or outright stupid. Fortunately, even if the show can’t make up its mind about how to properly present such spurious content, the answer is already clear: Higurashi Rei is definitively stupid.
And there you have it, folks, this concludes another tantalizing episode of Does This Anime Suck?! – make sure to stay tuned for Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and You – A Beginner’s Guide to Decent Voice Acting. With that, congratulations for getting the way through the show; you’ve won a spared viewing of Higurashi Rei! Cherish every moment you would have spent on this anime by doing other things with your life, like fishing with your elderly grandfather or volunteering to feed poor orphans at the local homeless shelter.

Animation 4/10: If
I
typed
like
Higurashi
Rei’s
framerates,
it
would
look
like
this.
At times the animation can be godawfully poor, and really there’s no excuse for such a shoddy level of workmanship for a 2009 (or 1996, maybe?) production. At its worst moments, Higurashi Rei’s on-screen presentation was comparable to a movie composed of flipping through sticky tabs. Sure on occasion some scenes like Rika’s shiny communication orb look great (yes, she has a "communication orb"), but skipping down the quality as a whole to animate the series in a non-painful way would have done leaps and bounds for improving this score, as just…my pupils. They burn.

Sound 6.5/10: At least something about Higurashi Rei is acceptable, and by that I mean “of the quality I’d expect from the original series.” Despite the music being proper and fitting for the writers’ desired level of suspense, there ends up being nothing for it to build up to. Hell, even the lowliest of Rika’s potentially dramatic decisions ended up about exciting as watching noodles boil in a pot. Had something – anything – happened in this OVA to merit this use of music it would have no doubt been great, but underperformance is Higurashi Rei’s second name. What’s the point in emulating the mood of the first Higurashi if none of the content is the same? Your guess is as good as mine!
Oh, and Keiichi? Shut the fuck up. The synthetic Windows voice laughs better than you.

Characters 5/10: Considering that Higurashi Rei is composed almost exclusively of Rika’s monologues and trying to piece things together, it’s hard to comment on the other characters. Except Keiichi, because he’s an annoying piece of shit – probably because he’s animated so poorly that I wanted to take an axe to my screen about fifteen and a half times during the first episode alone. Be that as it may, the characters' comedic stupor does drift away fairly soon, allowing the middle portion of the series take on a more serious tone. As such, it proves a bearable watch, allowing for the story to feign an interesting premise and presenting the original cast in a new and intriguing light. Yet, given that Rika’s incessant monologues turn out to be as meaningful as a lame duck on a telephone pole, all this development ends up being little more than extraneous fluff. Ultimately, this degredation of both the story and the characters does little more than salt the old wounds left by Higurashi Kai, and boy does it sting.

Overall 3.8/10: DOUBLE SHOCK AND TWIN WATERFALL OF TEARS! How did this OVA even get consideration for Anime-Planet’s top horror series of 2009? Seriously, Higurashi Rei is about as horrific as my grandmother baking delicious cookies. Which she does, by the way. Damn delicious cookies at that. Really now, I can’t fathom how this OVA could even land itself in the ballpark of any sort of achievement – such a feat would be comparable Konomini winning most intelligent story of 2004. When all is said and done, the closest this poorly constructed OVA comes to horror is being a horror to watch.
~WhiteBakemono

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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