After the broadcast of the 24th and the last episode of “Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU”, The Higurashi Season 2 release date has been officially confirmed for July 2021. It was announced that a sequel to the series is already in the works.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Season 2 Starts in July 2021
The second season of the new “Higurashi” anime (Official website) is titled “Higurashi: When They Cry – SOTSU” and will be shown on Japanese television from July 2021. Combining the two words “SOTSU” and “GOU” is given the word “Sotsugyou”, which translates as “completion”. You can watch a teaser for the sequel later in the article.” Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU” started on October 1, 2020, and was directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi (“Iceland”) in Studio Passione know for the (Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, High School DxD Season 5 and Citrus). Akio Watanabe (“Monogatari”) acted as a character designer, while Naoki Hayashi (“Citrus”) wrote the screenplay. The music was composed by Kenji Kawai (Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai, Fate/stay night, Mob Psycho 100 Season 3, World Trigger Season 2).
The new anime covers new stories that did not appear in the original series of 2006 and 2007. In Buddhism, the word “Gou” stands for “karma” and the resulting fate of a being and alludes to the action of “Higurashi”.
Higurashi – When They Cry Watch Order
Higurashi’s story is divided up into question story arcs and answer story arcs. Originally, each arc was released as a separate game.
The question arcs pose a mystery from a certain perspective and ask that audiences form an opinion about the presented mystery. Often, the audience can’t trust what they are seeing, and it’s difficult to discern who the true villain is behind the scenes.
The answer arcs offer the solutions to the questions by switching the perspective or retelling the same time loop with a different twist. Here are the question arcs and their corresponding answers.
- Demoned Away (Onikakushi-hen) > Atonement (Tsumihoroboshi-hen)
- Cotton Drifting (Watanagashi-hen) > Eye Opening (Meakashi-hen)
- Curse Killing (Tatarigoroshi-hen) > Massacre (Minagoroshi-hen)
- Time Killing (Himatsubushi-hen)
The final story arc, Festival Accompanying (Matsuribayashi-hen), is different from the others since all the puzzle pieces have been revealed. It’s considered a good ending to the story since the characters join forces to stop the true villain and save the village of Hinamizawa.
Higurashi Anime Release Order
I. TV Series
- When They Cry (2006)
- When They Cry: Kai (2007)
- When They Cry: Rei (2009)
- Umineko: When They Cry (2009)
- Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou (2020) (ongoing)
II. OVAs
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira (2011–2012)
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku: Outbreak (2013)
III. Specials
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Special: Nekogoroshi-hen (2007)
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Specials (2007)
- Umineko no Naku Koro ni Specials (2009)
The first four-game arcs were adapted into a 26-episode anime by Studio DEEN (Log Horizon, Nanatsu no Taizai, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Season 2) back in 2006. The next year they released the sequel, Higurashi: When They Cry Kai, which adapted the four answer arcs with 24 episodes.
Higurashi Season 2 Teaser
Higurashi: When They Cry – SOTSU Action
Keiichi Maebara recently moved to the rural village of Hinamizawa. In his classmates Rena, Mion, Satoko, and Rika, he quickly finds new friends. But when Keiichi learns of a murder, the supposed idyll gradually turns out to be sheer horror. He cannot trust anyone, especially not his new “girlfriends”, who suddenly show a completely different side of themselves…
Higurashi Manga
In Japan, the third volume of the manga adaptation ranked as the 19th weekly best-selling book on January 16, 2008. The first volume ranked as the 18th weekly bestseller on June 10, 2008. The fourth volume ranked as the 19th bestseller on January 14, 2009. In the United States, the first volume was ranked 253rd in the top 300 graphic novels sold in November 2008 and ranked as 25th in the top 25 Manga sold in the first quarter of 2009 release of ICv2 Retailers Guide to Anime/Manga. The manga sold 8 million copies by 2009.
Higurashi Live Action
A live action film adaptation of the series entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, directed and written by Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters on May 10, 2008. The film is an adaptation of the first story arc, Onikakushi-hen. Gōki Maeda plays Keiichi, Airi Matsuyama plays Rena, Rin Asuka plays Mion, Aika plays Rika, and Erena Ono plays Satoko. The film was released in 60 theaters and earned over ¥200 million at the box office.
A sequel, also live action, was released in Japanese theaters on April 18, 2009 and is entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Chikai. The sequel is based on the Tsumihoroboshi-hen arc, but it incorporates elements from other arcs and has a slightly different ending.
A live-action television series adaptation directed by Tōru Ōtsuka and starring Yu Inaba as Keiichi premiered in Japan on May 20, 2016 on cable channel BS SKY PerfecTV!. A four-episode sequel premiered on November 25, 2016.
