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07th Expansion’s cult classic murder-mystery series Higurashi is experiencing a resurgence with its new anime.
Originally a series of visual novel games released between 2002 and 2014 in Japan, Higurashi’s immense success quickly led to adaptations. Manga, light novels, anime, live-action films, OVAs, and television dramas have since come out in recent years, building off the original game’s psychological horror and intense violence.
You don’t need to catch up on all those to start watching the current series, but some past events do play into the anime. Read on for more information.
Fair warning, expect slight spoilers for Season 1’s second episode below.
Higurashi has been released on Funimation since October 2020. The current iteration of the Higurashi anime is called Higurashi: When They Cry–SOTSU. The season serves as a sequel to last year’s Higurashi: When they Cry–GOU, which also premiered in October.
Hulu subscribers can also watch both seasons.
Season one wrapped up in March 2021. GOU was originally released as Higurashi: When They Cry–NEW to indicate its remake status. However, episode two revealed that the series is much more than a remake of the original 2006 anime adaptation. The Japanese kanji for “gou” can be translated as “karma,” setting up the series as a sequel to the 2000s anime.
GOU and SOTSU are both animated by Studio Passione and directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi, with several cast members reprising their roles from the original series. You can credit the twists and turns to series developer 07th Expansion, who wrote the anime’s story for Passione.
SOTSU continues where GOU left off, and introduces us to a new side to shrine maiden Rika Furude, one of the series’ main protagonists. Higurashi’s summer season will run for 24 episodes, releasing subbed on Thursday’s.
Interested in catching the original anime as well? The 2006 adaptation, When They Cry, is available on VRV via HIDIVE. Fans can also watch When They Cry: Kai and When They Cry: Rei via the service.