Review of Higurashi: When They Cry – Kai

About a year ago, I started watching Higurashi because I felt like it was time to delve into a well-received horror/thriller anime. However, I had to drop the series and neglected to pick it back up due to it being very hard to find online. Oh, how I wish I put in more effort back then, because I love this series so much. [ Story: 10/10 ] The main method of story-telling for the Higurashi series fascinates me; telling the same story (with slight variations) over and over again in different character's perspectives helps us find out more about the happening of the small town of Hinamizawaas well as the dreaded Oyashiro-sama curse. The small arcs in the first season helped develop our curiosity of the curse, and the second season (Kai) took that curiosity and answered it.

[ Art: 8/10 ]

Now, I will say that I really enjoyed the art update in Kai. The first season has an iconic art style that features large eyes/large foreheads and tiny bodies, but I do have an appreciation for the more bishoujo style that's taken on in Kai. I think that the animation quality is pretty much the same as the previous season, and overall kept me engaged with the story.

[ Sound: 9/10 ]

I think the sound design for Kai was great. The OSTs seemed to fit every scene and I LOVE the opening and ending themes. One thing that I liked about the opening sequence was that it changed slightly when a *certain character* decides to do a *certain thing*, and I really appreciate this small attention to detail.

[ Character: 9/10 ]

In the previous season, the main focus of each arc was on each of the main characters: Keiichi, Mion, Satoko, Rika, Shion, and finally Rena. Although most of the early arcs are in the perspective of Keiichi, we get to se different sides of these core characters and the different actions they take under similar circumstances. There are several secondary characters (like Ooishi, Takano, Irie, etc.) who have their parts to play, but they aren't focused as heavily on.

This changes in the second season, as we learn more about Rika and the *curse* itself. More characters are shown, and *a side characters* who I personally didn't see coming gets their own personal arc.

[ Enjoyment: 10/10 ]

I don't know if it's already obvious, but I really love and enjoy this series. I wasn't expecting the turn away from the horror aspects to happen, but I'm really glad it did. I like shows that make me think, and Kai really make me do just that during the entire run of the season.

[ Overall Score: 9/10 ]

That being said, I still don't think that Kai is worthy of being rated a 10/10. Even now, I'm still tossing between rating it a 9 or a 10 simply because of the genius this series brings. However, I think that even though my enjoyment and the story are fantastic, there still seemed to be something missing from it. I think that that ending arc opened some doors way too late, and I'm worried that they won't be closed.

Overall, I really enjoyed the second season of the Higurashi series. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is okay with having to use at least one brain cell while watching an anime.

Thanks for reading! <3