Jan 26, 2013
Let's be honest for a moment here. Anime often relies on cliches. It's just a fact. Needless to say, as with most things that are repetitive, these cliches eventually get tired. I wanted an original story that didn't rely on cheap thrills to keep the viewer engaged. Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni did just that by renewing my faith in anime and as an otaku.
What makes this show so special? Two things: characterization and storytelling.
The true genius in this anime is that it plays rather like one of those "choose-your-own-adventure" books you used to read as a kid. The anime consists of multiple
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story arcs that all start out the same, but end differently. It shows you the events of a story arc from one perspective leaving many questions unanswered, then it shows you them again from a different perspective, revealing how the scenario really played out. While each of these story arcs could be a stand-alone series, the story arcs parallel each other, revealing more about the other scenarios with each arc watched. It's really unlike anything else out there, and, in my opinion, is sheer genius.
The second thing that sets this anime out from the crowd is the believable characters. You can connect an sympathize with every single character in the show, and your heart aches whenever one of them is killed. Also, I don't want to spoil any of the story for you, but there is something truly horrifying in the way these seemingly innocent characters transform into murderous psychos in the blink of an eye.
tl;dr:
Pros:
+Unique storytelling
+Believable characters
+Creepy
Cons:
-Bad dubbing (watch subbed)
-Animation could have been a bit better
9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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