Hotarubi no Tomoru Koro ni

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I'm quite surprised that with the popularity of the When They Cry franchise that Hotarubi has been quite overlooked to the level of it not even being reviewed on this site at all. As of the available chapters in English of Hotarubi no Tomoru koro ni it seems like you'll need to read or watch at least up to the Festival Accompanying Chapter of Higurashi no Naku koro ni and knowledge of Umineko no Naku koro ni isn't exactly required. Unlike its previous two entries Hotarubi strives to accomplish something just a bit different, yet something extremely familiar.

If you've followed the series even ... somewhat you're aware of the basics of a group of people being trapped in a seemingly inescapable scenario that gets way out of hand really fast. Hotarubi follows in the footsteps of Umineko by following a cast consisting of a family going to a remote location and tragedy unfolding - unlike Umineko, however, the family is much smaller and the location is much more realistic. The family in question isn't rich like the Ushiromiya family of Umineko with a mansion, in fact, they're visiting the house of one of their recently deceased family members, a grandmother, to prepare for her wake - we find out her fortune has been drained and she holds nothing left financially for the rest of the family. Quickly, tragedy strikes and it goes from a regular trip for mourning to a survival horror story - our cast finds themselves in a literal Hell on Earth. Returning from the Higurashi cast is Miyo Takano, who helps somewhat guide the family along their way. You won't find the bloodthirsty murderers in this that you saw in Higurashi, instead, you'll find supernatural occurrences that may not look as they seem and may have you second-guessing the nature of everything the cast finds or what happens to them.

Ryukishi07 outdid himself with the story this time - this is personally my favorite among all of the When They Cry entries. I think one of Hotarubi's biggest strengths is actually the idea that is presented that many other isekai series don't. Yes, this is in a way, an isekai as the world around the family is warped and they become trapped within. You see one of the family members, a grandson named Yukito is your obligatory NEET character who finds a second wind in the new world. Hotarubi actually touches upon why exactly does Yukito feel this second wind? Why does he actually feel the need to help others when in normal everyday life he's just reclusive? What drives this man? From arguments within the family to reconciling and realizing that working together is the best - the family holds all kinds of different tensions within them and each is different in their own way: an aspiring actress, the hated stepdaughter, the cool-headed analyst, one who steals with good intentions. Their philosophies on life clash as this world takes them for a turn, what they find will surprise them, the answers they find aren't always going to be the ones you expect. And just what is Takano's role in all of this? Knowing Higurashi, I shouldn't trust her one bit.

Generally, I think survival horror is hard to come by in anime and manga and this does it right and where it has a few bumps it recovers. You have your tried and cliche "kill her, she's not the one you knew anymore" line for example - but in the grand scheme of Hotarubi, that's nothing. The way it handles its world and the actions of each character are both logical and rational. I hope this series ends as strong as it began.

Well, they can’t all be winners.

I’m a fan of Ryuukishi07 and his work, I’m not a diehard fan or a rabid defender, in fact I only got into his works last year when I read Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, the second game in the famous When They Cry series and less popular younger sibling of Higurashi.
I like Higurashi a lot, I love Umineko, and I’m pretty down with Ciconia no Naku Koro ni and Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni as well… but this, this just doesn’t work on any level. Characters act weird, things just move suddenly with no pacing, it's a mess.

Maybe ... it’s me, I don’t like this kind of horror story that much, I don’t like survival stories, but even among them I’m not sure this manga works. A truly great piece of media lets you forget what genre it is and enjoy it anyways, despite your taste. Higurashi and Higanbana are horror, and I enjoy those despite not being a big fan of horror in general.

The characters don’t get nearly enough time to make you care about them before it’s over, and right in the last few chapters it shoves in some backstory for them to try and fix it but it’s too late. The story itself is basically just a cheap ghost story complete with obvious twist ending that’s not really a twist. Instead of telling an interesting or meaningful story, Ryuukishi really seemed to want to explain how much he knows about Buddhist Hell.

The only interesting part is the tantalizing idea this story plants in your head early on, “how does this relate to When They Cry?” as it introduces a clone of Takano from Higurashi, making you wonder about connections to that. Worry not friend, that idea is answered…

in an Umineko short story prequel to this manga haha gotcha you could have just read that~ Lambdadelta, probably.

Unless you’re a serious Ryuukishi fan whose run out of media of his to consume, perhaps go read one of his many Visual Novels or manga adaptions… maybe Harem Royale is better?