Higurashi no Naku Koro ni dilemma!

[Michael01]

Ach! I just watched an entire season of this recently and after starting a second I have no idea which seasons I'm watching - especially now that I've discovered a third season. I'm so confused...

I first found this series on WatchAnimeOn and started watching it in what I assumed to be the correct order. The first episode I saw was about three policemen investigating the wreckage of a town in which everyone had been massacred, two of them explaining to the other what might or might not have happened there. They also spoke to a single survivor of the massacre named Rena. This bit doesn't really spoil much, considering the story goes really wild from there, but this is the season with which I started.

Oddly, it seems like this one should be the last. The conflict and all loose ends are fully resolved by the end. When I started with the next season on the the list (unnumbered, by the way), I assumed some new conflict might arise from an even bigger, more powerful enemy (the powers behind Takano), but instead it went back in time, reiterating the story from Keiichi's POV (pretty cool too - classic in its use of horror conventions).

Yeah, I've tried looking this up. Reading the Wikipedia entry only confused me more. Games, Kai, Rei, Kizuno ... I don't know what to think. Can anyone tell me more about this anime? What is the correct order for the seasons? How many seasons are there? I really like this one and want to see more, so thanks in advance for any info you can give.

 

[Michael01]

Sorry about the double post, but I guess not everyone is as excited about this show as I am. Well, now I've seen all three seasons (don't much like Rei, but the rest is spectacular). I've also seen the live action movie (which basically follows the events of the first four episodes), but I hated it. Oh, it was relatively faithful; it just didn't appeal to me the same way the anime did.

Anyway, please ignore the questions in the above post, since I now know the correct order. I like the series so much that I'm rewatching it immediately in the correct order.

Maybe someone will recognize it more by the English translations for the title? It's something like "In the Moment the Cicadas Cry" or "When Cicadas Cry," but was released in the US as "When They Cry."

 

[Asmiley]

actually i recognize the Japanese title but have never seen the anime myself. i've only heard good things about it. maybe you should be asking stuff like that for future reference to a more anime based community like the acen.org forums or an anime diverse place since this board seems to be more the science fiction focus. I hope i get to see the series you meant someday.

 

[Michael01]

True. I probably should have stopped by Animu and asked there. They might even be able to discuss it more. It think it's relatively new (couple years old at most), so it could be that not many people in the West have seen it yet. But it does have a SFF theme to it. I hope you get to see it too. One of the best series I've seen.

 

[Kei]

The series is relatively new, and it is very very good. I'm not sure how I am feeling about the third season yet, but the first two were very interesting and enjoyable.

If you enjoy discussing the anime you've watched, you really should check out the forums and listings on myanimelist.

 

[Michael01]

The third season had some good points but wasn't anywhere near as good as the first two, especially the first of the four episodes (which just too silly). It had an interesting premise, but it still didn't have the same appeal for me.

I've encountered some people who thoroughly hated it, though, citing that it was just too brutal for them and couldn't keep watching. A shame, really, since the story progresses to more interesting things, and the characters become quite endearing as they work to overcome their "fate." It certainly isn't a plain "shock fest" all the way through, anyway.

 

[einlanzer]

No, you´re watching it in the right order. The whole thing will make sense after you finish the second season, i really don´t want to spoil it, I too forgot most of the details but I do remember that [spoilers ahead, mark over to see them ^^] >>the purple-haired girl plays a big role in the whole thing, you realize that the anime is played in multiple universes where the above mentioned girl needs to stop the happenings that lead to the towns destruction but fails pretty much every time until the last one I guess<< but as I said i forgot the most of it. This might be coming a bit late seeing that you posted the topic in March, hope the 2nd season did actually clear it for you.

 

[Michael01]

Perhaps a little late, since I've watched it all twice now (except the third season).

But I loved it, and it ranks as my number one favorite anime series now. Yep, it even beat out Blood+ for me. I'm still under the impression that the first time I watched season two, then season one. When I watched it again in the other order, everything made more sense. Keiichi is the wildcard!

EDIT: Although, as I mentioned earlier, some people found it too brutal to keep watching. I think they're missing a great series with wonderful characters, but ... to each his own. Still, if they watch it in the order I watched it the first time, they might have less trouble with it....