Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2020) (Higurashi: When They Cry - New) Will Bring Back Anime Horror!

The world of anime horror has with no doubt had its highs and lows. Some series like Paranoia Agent or Shiki pushed horror in ways anime hadn’t done before. Likewise, Another and the Junji Ito Collection made people wonder why anyone could fear horror animation in any form. However, one series rose above all horror anime before it and created something that would psychologically attack your senses and truly make your spin freeze, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

Split into two main arcs—a question and answer arc—as well as a third “epilogue” of sorts, the Higurashi franchise has proven to many non-believers that horror anime could truly give the viewers nightmares with relative ease. As of late, anime has stepped back from the horror theme a bit but Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is returning this fall 2020 anime season. Here are some reasons why you need to be ready for this truly terrifying series!

Revamped and Refocused

Fans of the Higurashi franchise are well aware of its original visual novel roots. Released originally in 2002, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Onikakushi-hen acted as an introduction arc for visual novel players by introducing the world of Higurashi such as the main setting—Hinamizawa which is based on the real world village in Japan called Shirakawa—and several of the main characters.

In the original 2006 anime adaptation, Studio Deen did their best to recreate the horrors of the VN but now in 2020 anime has made tremendous leaps in quality and with Studio Passione—creators of Rokka no Yuusha and High School DxD Hero—now helming the series, we are quite excited to see how visually terrifying this new Higurashi can be! We highly recommend checking out the YouTube trailer as we are noticing already some really upgraded visuals!

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2020) PV

Return of True Horror

While we here at Honey’s Anime love the master horror creator Junji Ito, we have to admit his creation didn’t translate well from manga to anime. Higurashi seems to have actually improved from its roots and now we get to experience true fears in a more modern setting. We have already noticed that this newest adaptation isn’t afraid to get violent with a brutal scene returning from the original series—a certain baseball bat-wielding Keiichi is back at it again—and that has us smiling…but also wondering how far this series will go from its predecessor.

Quicker but More to the Point
A famous line we hard once long ago is that writing a shorter story is harder to do well than a longer story. Many might have noticed that it seems like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2020 is going to be split into two 13-episode cours but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The original 2006 version was 26 episodes that often felt repetitive due to the theme of resetting the story/world with each mini-arc. Maybe with half of the episode count, we will have a greater focus on the dark elements of Higurashi and worry less about seeing the gang play card games or hide and seek for the tenth time.

Horror on All Fronts

Horror is usually a very open-ended theme since it can come in numerous flavors. You have horror that focuses on attacking reality—better known as psychological horror—or more violent horror that is filled with blood/carnage. Higurashi has always been one of the few horror anime series that does it all. It has psychological themes, supernatural elements, gore-filled moments, and unnerving real-world concepts/fears. Higurashi to us is the king of anime horror franchises and we can’t wait for those unaware of its existence to see it release in October 2020.


Final Thoughts

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2020 will be the rebirth of a horror franchise we loved from years back. Not only are we excited to return to the hellish landscape that is Hinamizawa but to see our favorite characters like Rena, Keiichi, Mion/Shinon, Rika and Satoko.

Will you be returning to the nightmare-scape that is Higurashi or will this be your first trip? Let us know in the comments below! For more coverage of Higurashi and other horror-themed anime keep stuck to our spooky hive here at Honey’s Anime!

078 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2020) (Higurashi: When They Cry - New) Will Bring Back Anime Horror!

Writer

Author: Aaron

Hey everyone I’m Aaron Curbelo or Blade as I’m called by my YouTube Subscribers. I’ve been an anime/manga fan since I was a young kid. In terms of anime I have watched nearly a thousand shows and have read hundreds of manga series. I love writing and honestly was so happy to join Honey’s Anime to get a shot to write articles for such a wonderful site. I’m a firm believer in respect in the anime community being the most important embodiment we should all have. We all love anime and we have varying opinions of series but we should respect one another for those differences! Life is too precious to spend it making needless arguments in a community that should be the shining example of loving an amazing medium. I hope as a writer for Honey’s Anime I can bring you folks some amazing articles to read and enjoy!

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