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To describe Higurashi in a word would be easy. It's bland.

Here you have bland, male MC moving to a new town only to be thrown face-first into a harem full of girls! But wait!!!! Nothing is as it seems!

Where could you possibly you go wrong?
Everywhere, that's the answer you're looking for.

Story: 5/10
Let's start from the top. When it comes to the horror genre, Higurashi has a fairly standard premise: boy moves to idyllic little town, and all hell breaks loose. Unfortunately, the execution of this premise is decidedly sub-par. Higurashi has a solid start, the first arc builds on itself and engages the watcher. Then... ... Nothing. A bunch of people die, everyone goes crazy, move on to the next arc. That's right. There are no answers. This anime provides no answers. Instead it becomes a shameless attempt at self-promotion. Hey, kids, ya wanna know what happens NEXT? Too bad, you'll have to watch the second season, here have some fanservice to hold you over until then. A good mystery should be able to be solved by the observer, not by spoonfeeding the observer the answers and that's exactly what Higurashi does. It presents an unsolvable mystery and then proceeds to spoonfeed you the answers... In the next season.

Art: 2/10
It's an eyesore. The only thing that saved it from a one is that the art in the Visual Novel was actually worse. Distorted proportions, lazy animations, ugly and bland colour schemes, you name it, this anime has it.

Sound: 7/10
The actual anime soundtrack is highly forgettable, but the OP and ED themes are very well done and fit the mood that the anime tries to create well. The Japanese voice work was nice, and the English dub was okay as well. Save for Rena who's voice will make sure you mute your television.

Character: 5/10
This is where the anime really falls flat. The characters have literally all been done before. To death.
Bland, supposedly smart protagonist with no personality? Check
Yandere girl? You're in luck! There are several!
Forgettable side characters? Check.
Creepy children?
Tomboy who secretly wants to be more feminine? Check!
Inconsistencies in characters between the arcs? Check and double check.
Implied twincest?
And in the characters lie one of Higurashi's biggest problems: it's inconsistency. Characters may be sympathetic one arc and inexplicably unlikable the next. Personalities change on a dime with little-to-no explanation (which can apparently be rectified by simply slapping the yandere label on them). It's hard to like any characters because their personalities are just so inconsistent.

Enjoyment: 5/10
Interesting for the first one or two arcs. Gets bland and stale after that. Just really repetitive and becomes a bore to watch. Not the mention the art makes you want to gouge your eyes out.

Overall: 5/10
Another (heh) mediocre entry into the horror/mystery genre. Bland, stale, and far too long for it's own good. Also fails to deliver any scares (and, seriously, isn't that the whole point of horror?).

If you're into watching a young monkey masturbate in the bath, then this is probably right up your alley.
Otherwise, this is the single most appalling thing I have ever had the displeasure of reading in my entire life. If I could give this a zero, I would. Better yet, never read this in the first place.

Without further ado, I;ll just jump right into my review~

Art: 8/10
The art was consistent, although in later episodes, there became a larger focus on overstated emotions (chibis) then there was in the earlier episodes. Character designs were simple, but worked well for the setting. Environments were very nice with lots of detail.

Story: 8/10
The series is split into several pieces; each piece being a case that they have to solve. Keeping this from a perfect score is the bit of filler that laces the series from episode to episode and the lack of explanation of central plot points (people not using powers they had until ... just the right moment with no prior indication).

Sound: 7/10
I really liked the OP. Nothing really memorable about the rest of the soundtrack. General mood-fitting stuff. The lack of memorable compositions keeps it from a higher score.

Character: 7/10
This is the biggest problem with this anime: most of the characters did not have a clear back story. Indeed, a character's past was explained only when convenient to the story and was usually only mentioned a few times afterward. Character relationships (especially the romances) were also not clearly developed, leaving a lot of loose ends after the anime ended.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Not much to say here, it was a fun watch. Not too creepy, but enough to send a few shivers down your spine if watching at night. As someone who gets bored very easily, I got through it remarkably quickly without it feeling like a chore. The ending was slightly disappointing, but that was the only major complaint from me.

Overall: 8/10
A good, solid horror/mystery anime. A fun, easy watch, even for those who scare easily. Definitely recommended to any anime fan.

Nothing else to really say, so I'll just jump right into it.
Story: 5/10
The plot is rather cliche. Predictable, boy meets boy, there is an issue and one runs off in anger, issue is resolved, happily ever after. That being said, the plot isn't horrible, it does have it's sweet moments, and there are moments where it seems like another more developed plot is fighting to emerge, but never does. There are no really "heavy" scenes (which should be expected as this is rated 16+ not 18+). The ending is rather rushed, and the conflict resolved relatively quickly without much in the way of an explanation ... as to exactly how the resolution came about. Just in general, the plot wasn't very memorable at all.
Art: 8/10
The art was perhaps the nicest thing about this manga. The lines are strong and dark and anatomy on the characters is generally done very well. The biggest problem I had with the art is that the consistency with the thickness of the lines and the darkness of the lines was a bit unpredictable.
Character: 4/10
Although Yohito's backstory had some potential, the manga was really too short for that to develop and it seemed like it was pushed on the backburner completely. The drama with his father was almost an afterthought at an attempt to give the manga a story. Keiichiro's backstory, even less fortubately, was not mentioned at all. Yohito's shy and guarded personality (predictably) does a complete 180 at the end.
All other characters (including Yohito's father) were just afterthoughts and were not developed at all.
Enjoyment: 6/10
The good art cannot make up completely for the storyline (or lack thereof) so I find it difficult to rate it higher, unfortunately. After reading it once, it is one of the few manga I have not picked up again as there's nothing new to really "discover" plot-wise.
Overall: 6/10
It's not bad, just forgettable.
Characters are cliched and unmemorable, art is good, story is subpar.
Overall, as much as it pains me, I can't really see any way to recommend buying this manga. Its a fairly fun (and short) read if you ever get the chance, but your money is better spent elsewhere. (If you're going to buy it.)