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Mar 18, 2021
Higurashi - Gou feels like two shows spliced together. The first 16 or so episodes are mostly a remake of the first season of Higurashi, with a few important pieces that only make sense if the viewer has seen the first two seasons of the series. For the remaining episodes, Gou takes a hard turn into original content. Because two parts of the show substantially differ in quality, it's especially hard to evaluate the show as a whole.
The first 16 episodes of Gou are slightly different retellings of the arcs from Higurashi's first season, but rely enough on the first two seasons of Higurashi that
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a newcomer to the franchise would likely be confused. These episodes hit the terrible sweet spot where there are enough changes for a returning Higurashi viewer to have to watch them to understand the last eight episodes, but there's not nearly enough new content to justify spending 5+ hours watching them. Watching replays of previous story arcs for almost four months was so boring as to be borderline torturous.
The final eight episodes are completely new content and are far more interesting than the first part of the series. Without going into spoilers, the story takes a large twist at the end of Episode 17, and the series gets a much-needed breath of new life. For dyed-in-the-wool Higurashi fans, these episodes are a must-watch. That said, it's hard to say if they justify the first two-thirds of Gou for the casually interested.
Art and Sound:
Part of the appeal of the original Higurashi was how its plain mid-2000s aesthetic clashed with the series's horror and gore. Gou gives the animation a much-needed update, but it's nothing particularly spectacular. The OP and ED2 are fairly strong, but aren't iconic like the original Higurashi's OP. Otherwise, the animation and music were fairly nondescript and inoffensive.
Characters:
The original two seasons of Higurashi were mostly Keiichi-centric, while Gou is almost entirely focused on Rika and Satoko, at the expense of its other characters. While focusing on Rika's psychological deterioration does have its merits, it hurts to not have further development of the full cast after over a decade since the last full season, Higurashi - Kai. I've seen preliminary reviews particularly criticize the one-dimensionality of Rena, which is entirely warranted. Hopefully, the coming sequel does a better job of including the rest of the cast into the plot, or at least gives them some meaningful moments.
Overall:
Usually, mixed-bag shows start strong and spectacularly combust as they conclude (see Darling in the Franxx). Higurashi - Gou upends this standard by having eight great episodes at the end of a mediocre 24-episode run. It's definitely not worth it to watch all of Gou, but with a sequel season on the way soon, true Higurashi fans will probably be forced to. A far better single-cour series exists somewhere in Gou, but it's sadly up to viewers to splice that series together for themselves.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 12, 2021
On its face, the whole concept is completely bizarre - an anime adaptation of not only western source material, but a western children's series. In a strange way, it may have made more sense in the current medieval fantasy-heavy anime landscape, but I have no clue how Deltora Quest was successfully pitched in the mid-2000s.
Despite the language and cultural barrier, the Deltora Quest anime remains surprisingly faithful to the source material, with the notable exception of the filler episodes tacked on to the end of the series (completely skippable). For this reason, the anime carries over most of the strengths and weaknesses of the
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book series, with a few significant differences. First and foremost, Deltora Quest is a kids series. The plot is simple and predictable, and the series extensively borrows tropes and themes from existing fantasy works, especially LOTR. The animation is fairly typical of mid-2000s anime, with the occasional, jarring use of CGI. The anime is also a poor medium for the book's puzzles, a particularly memorable part of the original series, although they are recreated as faithfully as possible. That said, Deltora Quest is a true classic and can be enjoyed by anybody, even though children are definitely the target demographic. The stories are engaging, the characters are better than those of any given season's "trash" anime, and the plot twists are legendary for people who read the books as kids (**** was an Ol?!).
Overall, I found the series a pleasant, nostalgic experience and would encourage fellow fans of the books to give it a try. Emily Rodda, the author of the books, is said to have received many offers to adapt the books, but approved only the anime adaption on the promise that it would be faithful to the original series. After enjoying the anime, I am much happier that we received this and not a complete butchering of a live-action movie a la Percy Jackson. I hope to be able to share both the books and the anime with any kids I have someday, if they're not busy being TikTok degenerates.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 12, 2021
In short, it's an unnecessary recap episode. At the very least, it's not part of the second season, which would detract from the season's value. The title is misleading - the episode has nothing to do with Hinata Sakaguchi or her backstory, with the exception of thirty second clips at the beginning and end of the episode. I have no other complaints on the content of the story, art, etc., seeing as it's all more or less directly pulled from the first season of the show. The episode's not egregiously terrible, but it's completely unnecessary and adds nothing of value to the series as a
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whole. Production studios should really stop making recap episodes for single seasons of anime - I think potential viewers of the second season can be expected to watch the first season first. I wish I hadn't seen it at all.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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