Review of Higurashi: When They Cry – Kai

Warning possible Spoilers After having a very interesting and pretty damn messed up first season we are left with a lot of questions so hopefully season 2 would be able to fill in the gaps which it does and ends the story fantastically. The story continues with our group of characters from Hinamizawa who are trying to break the cycle of death in this village while also trying to find the true mastermind behind these evil scheme's. Going into season 2 what I was hoping to get was all of the answer's because season 1 will leave you confused with some idea of whats going on and luckilyseason 2 completely fills in the dots, we learn a lot of things like the curse of Oyashiro is actually some kind of Virus that turns people into paranoiac maniac's and the people who kept dying after the cotton drifting festival were the ones behind everyone dying in the village in some of the arcs.
We find out that the village of Hinamizawa is really a quarantined place because all of the residents have a disease or parasite that is pretty much seen as the curse of Oyashiro and the government set up a special research facility so they can study the effects of the virus and find a cure for it.
The second season really shifts from being a gorey, horror like show to being a mysterious action type thriller because even though there are still anthology arcs in this series they are a lot longer as our group of characters do start to put the pieces together and actually fight back true it takes them a couple of attempts, but they get there in the end and this is what I like a lot about the second season because instead of being another season where the kids kill each other again we actually get to see a better relationship between the characters and that the life they are living is so much bigger than what they think.
I really liked the ending too because after seeing these characters die so often you feel glad that they actually got a happy ending plus they seemed like good and fun people so in a way they deserved the victory they got.

There is actually some development between the main roster of characters because during the first season we usually saw them kill each other along with bits of comedy showing their friendship, but this season really builds upon that as we see them work together to defeat an enemy that has been killing them so many times and the way they defeat the bad guys was absolutely amazing makes me think if these kids join the army the enemy would be fu*ked.
Aside from fighting bad guys there was a point where we see these friends come together to protect one of their own because at some point Satoko's uncle comes home and starts abusing her, but unlike in season 1 where Keiichi kills him they actually use every ounce of their power to make the government see what's going on and manage to save her which shows in this season that teamwork, determination and patience are more effective than just quickly killing someone.
Another thing is that during the first season we thought that Keiichi is the MC, but season 2 actually reveals that the true MC is actually Rika which was actually a surprising twist and does make sense since she along with Hanyuu have been turning back time so they can repeat the same timespan so they can break the cycle and she is the queen carrier of the virus itself meaning that she keeps everyone in the village under control and they'll lose control if they leave her presence which is why she also ends up mysteriously dying sometimes in a gruesome fashion, you also get to see the development in her character as she has experienced this timespan of events so many times that she has lost hope until she eventually starts getting closer to the answer where she gets her determination back.
There are some characters who had minor roles in the first season actually become much bigger characters thanks to the reveal of their true nature along with a new character to help turn the tables.
Hanyuu is the new character that is introduced this season, she is actually a deity and is possibly the real Oyashiro, but she is actually much kinder and cuter than you think since she resembles a young girl about Rika's age and tends to make weird noises when she feels nervous or uncomfortable, despite this she believes that Rika and the others can break the cycle so they can finally live a peaceful life.
Kyousuke Irie is the villages local doctor, but really he is actually a scientist who is studying the effect of the virus so he can find a cure, but unlike most of the others on the project he actually cares about the villagers and the kids and eventually helps them defeat the enemy.
Jirou Tomitake is a photographer who frequently visits Hinamizawa and actually ends up being one of the victims during the cotton drifting festival, but it is revealed he is actually a bodyguard who works for the same organisation that Irie does until he decides to switch sides and help the kids defeat the organisation.
Miyo Takano is a nurse at the local clinic with Doctor Irie and ends up being another victim during the cotton drifting festival, but it is revealed she is actually the mastermind behind everything and the reason she does this is to prove her grandfathers research is actually real, but everyone thought it was nonsense so she is out for revenge to prove it that the virus is real and she'll even go so far to kill everyone in the village to make sure it is proven real, apparently she also had a horrible childhood since her parents died in a bus accident and she was sent to live at an orphanage where she and the other kids were treated poorly until she attempted to escape which is when she realised what her true destiny was and she was eventually adopted by her grandfather.

The artstyle in this season does feel more cleaned up compared to the first because in the first season it was actually quite difficult to see the characters eye colours yet in this season they definitely stand out more plus the design of the characters looks better too just by looking at the female characters is a clear giveaway.

There isn't really any horror in this season since it has become more of a mystery thriller true people still die, but not in a terrifying way more like a mysterious way so pretty much it has become one big mystery which it is really and there is even a good amount of action too especially in the final arc where our group of characters prepare for the final battle which was actually pretty damn good, it was very clever guerrilla style warfare and it shows that these kids have amazing teamwork and shouldn't be messed with.
I also like how it delves a lot into the whole Oyashiro curse and making it some kind of virus which makes sense how it became a curse in the first place and why this village is secluded from the rest of the country because of this.

Overall this was a fantastic end to a mysterious story that was at first terrifying, but really gripping as the more answers came to light the more the mystery was starting to make sense so I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good mystery/horror fest.