A new anime television series by Studio Deen is planned
Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に, romanized: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) is a Japanese murder-mystery sound novel series produced by 07th Expansion and created by Ryukishi07. The first game was released in 2002. The series has been adapted into manga, novels, anime, live-action films and television shows.
The story is about a group of friends living in the small, fictional village of Hinamizawa, where mysterious murders and disappearances have happened every year during the same local festival. The games were originally released for Microsoft Windows and were later brought to consoles and other platforms. The first eight games were also translated into English by MangaGamer.
Two anime television series, made by Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon, aired in Japan in 2006 and 2007. A new anime television series, made by Passione, aired from October 2020 to March 2021, with a sequel airing from July to September 2021. In June 2026, another new television anime was announced, this time returning to Studio Deen for animation.
a group of Higurashiː When they cry cosplayers
Plot
The story begins in June 1983 when Keiichi Maebara arrives in the rural village of Hinamizawa and quickly becomes close friends with several local girls. He discovers that the annual Watanagashi Festival has been linked to a death or disappearance every year for the previous four years. The series presents the same basic period of time from different perspectives across its chapters, with the later parts gradually uncovering the causes behind the tragedies.
Rather than using full animation, the games rely mainly on text, still character images, background art, music and sound effects. 07th Expansion itself calls the works "sound novels" because of this emphasis on audio atmosphere. The eight main chapters are grouped into "question arcs" that present the mysteries and "answer arcs" that supply the explanations.
Cast and characters
Keiichi Maebara
The main character of the series. He is short-tempered and passionate, but also indecisive. He has recently moved to Hinamizawa.
Rika Furude
A younger classmate of Keiichi and the same age as Satoko. She has a calm and quiet personality that is unusual for her age, and she often spends time with Satoko.
Rena Ryūgū
The main heroine of the series and a classmate of Keiichi. She looks after Keiichi after he moves to the village and is kind and devoted to her friends.
Mion Sonozaki
An upperclassman of Keiichi and the class representative. She is outgoing, friendly, and has a natural leadership role among her friends. She enjoys non-electronic games such as cards and board games.
Shion Sonozaki
Mion's younger twin sister. She has a crafty personality and usually lives in Okinomiya, rarely visiting Hinamizawa.
Satoko Hōjō
A younger classmate of Keiichi. She usually speaks politely, but her grammar is sometimes incorrect because she is still young. She enjoys setting traps and often tries to catch Keiichi with them.
Satoshi Hōjō
Satoko's older brother and a member of the Hinamizawa Fighters baseball team. He has a quiet and somewhat timid personality, but is willing to put himself in danger for Satoko. He disappeared several years earlier after being "demoned away".
Hanyū
A timid and easily teased deity who likes cream puffs and dislikes the horns on her head.
Rumiko Chie
The teacher at the Hinamizawa branch school. She cares about her students and is trusted by both the children and the villagers. She is extremely fond of curry.
Production
Ryukishi07 made Higurashi When They Cry together with his group, 07th Expansion. He wrote the story and directed the first games, and he also drew the characters for the early versions himself.
Before Higurashi, the group spent about two years making cards for a trading card game called Leaf Fight. Then Ryukishi07 decided to try a sound novel instead. In the beginning, the games were sold mostly at dōjin events, and the group made only a small number of copies, burning the CDs by hand.
Ryukishi07 has said games by the company Key shaped how he planned Higurashi. He studied how Kanon and Air mixed calm, everyday scenes with strong emotional moments, and he used a similar idea but with horror instead of sadness. He also said the movie The Blair Witch Project gave him the idea to add extra documents and outside information to the story.
Games
The first chapter, Onikakushi-hen, came out at the Comiket convention in August 2002. The main story was finished in August 2006 with the last chapter, Matsuribayashi-hen. In the early years, 07th Expansion made the CDs themselves, and by 2004 the group was producing more than 1,000 copies of some releases at home.
MangaGamer brought the first eight chapters to English between December 2009 and July 2010. Later, the company released updated versions on Steam under the name Higurashi When They Cry Hou, starting with Ch.1 Onikakushi in May 2015.
An expanded edition, Higurashi When They Cry Hou+, came out in English on November 9, 2023, adding four new chapters: Outbreak, Kamikashimashi-hen, Hinamizawa Bus Stop, and Mehagashi-hen.
A mobile game, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei, started service in Japan on September 3, 2020, for iOS and Android, with a new story made with Ryukishi07's help.
Manga
The manga began in 2005. Square Enix published the first volume, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen, on December 22, 2005, drawn by Karin Suzuragi with Ryukishi07 credited for the original story.
Different artists drew different story arcs, and Square Enix published most of them in Japan. In English, Yen Press began publishing the manga on November 18, 2008, starting with Higurashi When They Cry: Abducted by Demons Arc, Vol. 1.
A prequel manga, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni, started in the magazine Monthly Action on February 25, 2022. Drawn by Asahi, it tells the story of a young Oryō Sonozaki in 1923, and it kept going even after Monthly Action stopped being published.
Anime
Studio Deen made the first TV anime, which began airing in April 2006, followed by a second season, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, in 2007.
A new TV anime was announced in January 2020, this time made by the studio Passione. Its planned July 2020 debut was pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new series, Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU, began airing on October 1, 2020, and ran for 24 episodes. A follow-up, Higurashi: When They Cry – SOTSU, started on July 1, 2021, with 15 episodes.
In June 2026, a brand-new TV anime was announced for the first anime's 20th anniversary. Studio Deen is making it, with some of the original voice cast returning. No release date or story details have been announced yet.
Live-action adaptations
A live-action movie directed by Ataru Oikawa came out in Japan in May 2008, and a second movie followed in April 2009.
A live-action TV drama aired on BS SkyPer! in 2016, with idols from the group NGT48 playing the main characters. The first series had eight episodes and covered the first three story arcs; a second, four-episode series followed later that year. NGT48 also performed the theme song.
Reception
The English release of Higurashi When They Cry Hou got positive reviews. On Steam, the first chapter holds a 4.5 out of 5 score from Hardcore Gamer and an 8.5 out of 10 from APG Nation, with both praising the storytelling and atmosphere despite the simple graphics.
In a 2017 reader poll by the Japanese site Goo Ranking, Higurashi was voted the third most disturbing ("guro") anime, behind Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul.
References
1234567"ひぐらしのなく頃に". 07th Expansion Official Website. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
