CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Umm.. uh.. f-fight-o
Mii, nipa~

Welcome to the When They Cry thread. When They Cry is 07th Expansion's series of horror/mystery sound novels. The story is told mostly in text, with very minimal animation (some backgrounds and characters), and sound and music. As of the creation of the thread, there are three games currently released, with two adapted into anime and aired and the third anime adaptation to be aired in less than a month.

Since the anime for the third game is coming in July, which is less than a month, I thought it'd be a good idea to raise its profile a bit, as well as that of its predecessors. We can talk about both the games and the anime, for both Higurashi and Umineko.

Higurashi no [color="Red"]Na[/color]ku Koro ni (ひぐらしの[color="Red"]な[/color]く頃に)
Do you know Oyashiro-sama?


It is 1983, in the rural village of Hinamizawa. For the past four years, on the night of the Watanagashi Festival, murders have taken place. The villagers have come to believe that the cause of these killings is an act of Oyashiro-sama, the local deity. A group of friends finds themselves drawn in and trapped in these murders and it's up to them to try and piece the puzzle together so they can break free of their fate.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is divided into two games. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When the Cicadas Cry) consists of four question chapters. These arcs introduce and present the story. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (When the Cicadas Cry Solutions) consists four corresponding answer arcs. These arcs are meant to answer the question arcs and are the solutions. These two games are considered When They Cry 1 and 2.

The Higurashi anime is also divided into two seasons. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni consists of the four question arcs and the first two answer arcs. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, the second season, consists of an anime-only arc and the final two answer arcs. If you haven't watched the second season, you haven't finished Higurashi yet.

A bonus fandisc, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was also released. The currently running OVA of the same name is based on these arcs.

The first season of the anime has been licensed by Funimation and is available for purchase in North America. The second season has not been licensed and has complete fansubs by all the major groups that subbed it. The original games can be purchased on the Internet, but there is no complete translation available.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Question arcs
Onikakushi-hen (Demoning Away Chapter) - Episodes 1 - 4
Watanagashi-hen (Cotton Drifting Chapter) - Episodes 5 - 8
Tatarigoroshi-hen (Curse Killing Chapter) - Episodes 9 - 13
Himatsubushi-hen (Time Wasting Chapter) - Episodes 14 - 15
Answer arcs
Meakashi-hen (Eye Opening Chapter) - Episodes 16 - 21
Tsumihoroboshi-hen (Atonement Chapter) - Episodes 22 - 26

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Answer arcs
Reunion - Episode 1 (Tsumihoroboshi-hen Epilogue)
Yakusamashi-hen (Disaster Awakening Chapter, anime original) - Episodes 2 - 5
Minagoroshi-hen (Massacre Chapter) - Episodes 6 - 13
Matsuribayashi-hen (Festival Accompanying Chapter) - Episodes 14 - 24

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei OVA
Hajisarashi-hen (Shyness Exposing Chapter) - Episode 1
Saikoroshi-hen (Dice Killing Chapter) - Episodes 2 - 4
Hirukowashi-hen (Daybreak Chapter) - Episode 5



Umineko no [color="Red"]Na[/color]ku Koro ni (うみねこの[color="Red"]な[/color]く頃に)
When the seagulls cry, none are left alive.


It is October 4, 1986. The members of the Ushiromiya family return to their estate, the island of Rokkenjima, for their yearly family conference. The 12 family members, five servants, and the Ushiromiya family head's personal doctor are trapped on the island by a typhoon. On October 6, it is discovered that all of them are killed.

There is a legend on the island, about the Golden Witch Beatrice and her relation to the head of the Ushiromiya family, Ushiromiya Kinzo. It is up to you to figure out what happened on the island, and deny the witch.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry) is considered to be When They Cry 3 and is the spiritual successor to Higurashi. So far, there have been four episodes released, forming the question arcs. The next release is expected to be the first answer arc, and there are expected to be four such arcs. The anime adaptation begins airing in Japan on July 1.

Like Higurashi, it's possible to buy the games on the Internet. Unlike Higurashi, there is a massive fan translation effort, which has, as of a few days ago, completed the translation of all released episodes. In addition, Ryukishi07, the writer of Higurashi and Umineko, has recognized their efforts to bring Umineko to English speakers and has encouraged them, even slipping in an easter egg into Episode 4 for them.

Available
Episode 1 - Legend of the Golden Witch
Episode 2 - Turn of the Golden Witch
Episode 3 - Banquet of the Golden Witch
Episode 4 - Alliance of the Golden Witch

--

I'll say it in red: [color="Red"]Higurashi and Umineko are amazing.[/color]

So, questions? Theories? Impressions? Thoughts? I'll invite you to join us here in this thread. [color="Red"]Hi-hhihihhihihihihihihi!![/color]

I so have to finish Higurashi >__<

There were a few parts that creeped me out. LIke...

[spoiler]When Rena (I think that's here name was all ike,"Oyashiro watches me while I sleep.." Or, something like that >_>[/spoiler]

Tsukuyomi (post: 1318028) wrote:I so have to finish Higurashi >__<

There were a few parts that creeped me out. LIke...

[spoiler]When Rena (I think that's here name was all ike,"Oyashiro watches me while I sleep.." Or, something like that >_>[/spoiler]

There's tons of creepiness in Higurashi, but the first one that did it for me was [SPOILER]Rena's "gomennasai" as Keiichi tries to close the door on her hand.[/SPOILER]

In fact, once you learn enough about what goes on in Higurashi and can piece things together, the first arc becomes a lot more disturbing.

How far are you in the series?

I've been told I can't handle this series because if I watch it, I'll probably end up cowering under my seat, shivering in fear.

And then spontaneously combusting.

It sounds so GOOD though....

I think the last part I saw was when...

[spoiler]Where the little boy was kidnapped and that one guy went to investigate. I think it was somewhere where he was warned.[/spoiler]

Is it a coincidence that the ending to Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni is on xDD?

Miiiiiina, you should so watch it O.O Just.. watch it during the day 8D

blkmage (post: 1318629) wrote:There's tons of creepiness in Higurashi, but the first one that did it for me was [SPOILER]Rena's "gomennasai" as Keiichi tries to close the door on her hand.[/SPOILER]

Oh man, I totally second this one! Higurashi never actually scared or creeped me out, but that scene just looked...really disturbing. I think it's because the idea of having your hand in a situation like that would be insanely painful--the screaming didn't help things either.

The other really wince worthy and just wrong scene would have to be the whole fingernail bit. I don't think words even need to be said.

Otherwise I'm a huge fan of these stories, Ryu is a total genius! The only thing really nagging me is trying to figure out exactly HOW Higu and Umineko are connected. Depending on how they're intertwined, that could totally change up bits and pieces of the storyline.

[spoiler]I already mentioned this part in another thread, but what if Hanyuu is just another witch? I mean her power is pretty limited, not much different from Bern and Lamb. There's also the question of which came first--Higurashi or Umineko. Did the Higurashi world come to exist because Bern and Lamb made it up for their game? Or were Bern and Lamb born as a result of Rika and Takano's actions? I think there's been more stuff to support Bern and Lamb making the story up, but unfortunately I've been missing a lot of Umineko stuff lately. If you know anything, please do share. So far I've tried to keep up with each game, but sadly I'm only able to obtain bits and pieces of info. T_T [/spoiler]

I wanted to edit the first post to include some videos, namely the OPs for each, but I guess I'll just have to post them here.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni TV OP: Eiko Shimamiya - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai TV OP: Eiko Shimamiya - Naraku no Hana
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei TV OP: Eiko Shimamiya - Superscription of Data
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Game ED: dai - you/thanks

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Game OP: Akiko Shikata - Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Umineko no Naku Koro ni EP4 OP: Akiko Shikata - Umineko no Naku Koro ni

minakichan (post: 1318638) wrote:I've been told I can't handle this series because if I watch it, I'll probably end up cowering under my seat, shivering in fear.

And then spontaneously combusting.

It sounds so GOOD though....

As someone who can't take horror movies, I'll say that I didn't find Higurashi to be unwatchable in that respect, but it's more like it's kind of disturbing and very discomforting. You won't be combusting out of fear, but if you make it far enough, you'll be combusting out of the curveballs that it throws you as you solve the mystery.

Momo-P (post: 1318676) wrote:[spoiler]I already mentioned this part in another thread, but what if Hanyuu is just another witch? I mean her power is pretty limited, not much different from Bern and Lamb. There's also the question of which came first--Higurashi or Umineko. Did the Higurashi world come to exist because Bern and Lamb made it up for their game? Or were Bern and Lamb born as a result of Rika and Takano's actions? I think there's been more stuff to support Bern and Lamb making the story up, but unfortunately I've been missing a lot of Umineko stuff lately. If you know anything, please do share. So far I've tried to keep up with each game, but sadly I'm only able to obtain bits and pieces of info. T_T [/spoiler]

Have you been playing the games or have you just been following the story from other people? Which episode are you up to?
[spoiler]I believe that it's mentioned at one point that Bernkastel was born from Rika's resets and Bernkastel mentions that she used to be a human. On the other hand, Lambdadelta existed beforehand and used Takano as a piece. So, Bernkastel is Rika, but Lambdadelta isn't Takano. At the same time, Bernkastel was playing against Lambdadelta in Higurashi. Apparently, Bernkastel can play herself as a piece (as Rika). As for Hanyuu, I think Lambdadelta says she's a god, which is a different being from a witch]

In the dubs, Rena's voice is really small and really innocent sounding, so when she has her episodes.. It's really freaky O.O;

I am not very familiar with Umineko yet... but I LOOOOVVEEE Higurashi.

So I mentioned that the first arc becomes more disturbing after all of the facts that you learn later on. I was wondering if anyone else noticed it. Here's what I thought:
[spoiler]So we know about Hinamizawa syndrome and it's clear that Keiichi had it in the first chapter. This means that all of the crazy stuff we saw was from Keiichi's point of view while he was paranoid. In fact, I think it's in the sixth chapter, near the end of the first season, that we see glimpses of what some of those scenes looked like from a point of view other than Keiichi's.

How does this make things more disturbing? Think about all the times he interacts with Rena and Mion during that arc. Why couldn't Keiichi find the needle in that rice ball? Because he imagined it; it never existed. When he was slamming the door on Rena's hand, he only imagined her being crazy. When they're telling him the "coach" is coming to see him, they're referring to Dr. Irie.

Suddenly, he's not doing brutal things out of self-defense because everyone's trying to kill him anymore. He's brutally killing his friends who are concerned for him, but he thinks they're trying to kill him because he's under the influence of the Hinamizawa syndrome. His friends didn't have crazy eyes when he killed them, they were completely normal.[/spoiler]
When I realized all of this, it gave me the chills.

blkmage (post: 1318795) wrote:So I mentioned that the first arc becomes more disturbing after all of the facts that you learn later on. I was wondering if anyone else noticed it. Here's what I thought:
[spoiler]So we know about Hinamizawa syndrome and it's clear that Keiichi had it in the first chapter. This means that all of the crazy stuff we saw was from Keiichi's point of view while he was paranoid. In fact, I think it's in the sixth chapter, near the end of the first season, that we see glimpses of what some of those scenes looked like from a point of view other than Keiichi's.

How does this make things more disturbing? Think about all the times he interacts with Rena and Mion during that arc. Why couldn't Keiichi find the needle in that rice ball? Because he imagined it]they were completely normal[/i].[/spoiler]
When I realized all of this, it gave me the chills.

Ooh, I noticed this too *Shifty Eyes* >_>.. <_< Well, I kept going back and forth with it ^^; It was like,"Maybe it is all in his head. Orz, they really are crazy and after him D:<" u_u

It's confusing but I love it 8D

The music to this series is really good, too O.O I have three of the songs <33

blkmage (post: 1318795) wrote:So I mentioned that the first arc becomes more disturbing after all of the facts that you learn later on. I was wondering if anyone else noticed it. Here's what I thought:
[spoiler]So we know about Hinamizawa syndrome and it's clear that Keiichi had it in the first chapter. This means that all of the crazy stuff we saw was from Keiichi's point of view while he was paranoid. In fact, I think it's in the sixth chapter, near the end of the first season, that we see glimpses of what some of those scenes looked like from a point of view other than Keiichi's.

How does this make things more disturbing? Think about all the times he interacts with Rena and Mion during that arc. Why couldn't Keiichi find the needle in that rice ball? Because he imagined it]they were completely normal[/i].[/spoiler]
When I realized all of this, it gave me the chills.

Oh yeah... that was very creepy... *shivers*

About the music, honestly, the only music that I can remember from Higurashi are the OPs, and I guess "you", but only because it's been remixed to death on Nico Nico Douga. What's interesting about the Higurashi music is that the first game just used free music that they found on the Internet, and it was the second game that had music by all the doujin artists. The anime, then, has a completely different soundtrack from the game. From what I hear, the music wasn't that big of a part of the game anyway, so they could do that. That, or all the BGM was some variation of "you".

One of the things that makes me excited for the Umineko anime is that they're keeping the music from the games. Unlike the Higurashi music, the music in Umineko is pretty much half the game. It's really intricately tied to what happens in the story and the events, a lot like how the music from Phoenix Wright is. It's fantastic and I'm going to be posting some more links to Youtube, but be warned that it'd almost be kind of spoiling yourself, because of how awesome the musical cues are. But if you still want to find out, here goes:

worldenddominator
rahu goldenslaughterer
Dread of the Grave (EP2)
EP1 ED: 牢獄STRIP
dreamenddischarger (EP4)
EP3 ED: activepain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBVQnbbVadc

This is the full Umineko opening, 6 minutes long, and I've got it on my shuffle.

Higurashi is great. Very few Japanese people I know have heard of it (though many of them know "Tomitake FLASH!" from Higurashi Daybreak... ) and I was told it's a very "otaku" thing, and normal people don't watch it. The exact words from a Japanese girl I know were:

"Japanese people don't watch anime... Well, they don't watch this kinds of anime"

I got a friend into Higurashi, and he got through the whole thing, and I've tried with other friends, but I guess they can't handle the mood whiplash. Right now I'm just waiting for Rei to finish and for Umineko to start in Anime form. I'm interested in how they'd make an anime out of Daybreak, haha... Especially if they plan on making it fit in the continuity of the rest of the show.

Bobtheduck (post: 1319091) wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBVQnbbVadc

This is the full Umineko opening, 6 minutes long, and I've got it on my shuffle.

Higurashi is great. Very few Japanese people I know have heard of it (though many of them know "Tomitake FLASH!" from Higurashi Daybreak... ) and I was told it's a very "otaku" thing, and normal people don't watch it. The exact words from a Japanese girl I know were:

"Japanese people don't watch anime... Well, they don't watch this kinds of anime"

I got a friend into Higurashi, and he got through the whole thing, and I've tried with other friends, but I guess they can't handle the mood whiplash. Right now I'm just waiting for Rei to finish and for Umineko to start in Anime form. I'm interested in how they'd make an anime out of Daybreak, haha... Especially if they plan on making it fit in the continuity of the rest of the show.

That makes sense, since Higurashi and Umineko started out as doujin games released at Comiket, where you won't find many normal people. But I was under the impression that visual novels and most anime aren't really a mainstream thing anyway.

I've always thought that tacking on extra arcs wouldn't be a problem because of the fact that
[spoiler]it can just take place in one of the billions of different shards/worlds. One of the manga arcs had the Great Hinamizawa Disaster happen with Mion being the one who survived and that arc takes place 20 years later.[/spoiler]

I love the Umineko opening and I have the single too. I was wishing very hard that they'd leave it as the opening for the anime, but they didn't. Instead, they got Akiko Shikata to do another song ([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW9wlpQSD0Q]片]) that sounds similar enough to Umineko no Naku Koro ni that I couldn't stay disappointed.

blkmage (post: 1318699) wrote:Have you been playing the games or have you just been following the story from other people? Which episode are you up to?

A little of both, but mostly reading what people tell me. Don't have the games... *sigh* I know you can find some of it on youtube to watch, but I almost feel guilty about doing it, I'd rather own the game if I'm going to read it, yanno? But for now I just can't afford it (though I do know where to purchase them). Otherwise I've gotten up to the most recent game.

[spoiler]I believe that it's mentioned at one point that Bernkastel was born from Rika's resets and Bernkastel mentions that she used to be a human. On the other hand, Lambdadelta existed beforehand and used Takano as a piece. So, Bernkastel is Rika, but Lambdadelta isn't Takano. At the same time, Bernkastel was playing against Lambdadelta in Higurashi. Apparently, Bernkastel can play herself as a piece (as Rika). As for Hanyuu, I think Lambdadelta says she's a god, which is a different being from a witch]

[spoiler]Ah ok, thanks for explaining that more. Some of it I already knew, but unfortunately when talking about Higu and Umi, too many people will treat their theories as fact. Makes it hard to tell what stuff is actually canon. ._. Also in regards to the Hanyuu thing, I think I know what passage you're talking about. Doesn't one of Lamb's diary entries detail the order of power? Humans, then witches, then gods, then the ultimate Creator. If I remember right though, I think it seems to outline that the "gods" are nothing more than just slightly more powerful witches. It's just a title given to them to set them apart. Otherwise Hanyuu indirectly refers to Bern as a god as well in the Dice Killing Chapter and we know she's technically just a witch.[/spoiler]

blkmage (post: 1318795) wrote:So I mentioned that the first arc becomes more disturbing after all of the facts that you learn later on. I was wondering if anyone else noticed it. Here's what I thought:
[spoiler]So we know about Hinamizawa syndrome and it's clear that Keiichi had it in the first chapter. This means that all of the crazy stuff we saw was from Keiichi's point of view while he was paranoid. In fact, I think it's in the sixth chapter, near the end of the first season, that we see glimpses of what some of those scenes looked like from a point of view other than Keiichi's.

How does this make things more disturbing? Think about all the times he interacts with Rena and Mion during that arc. Why couldn't Keiichi find the needle in that rice ball? Because he imagined it]they were completely normal[/i].[/spoiler]
When I realized all of this, it gave me the chills.

I remember when I rewatched it and that all dawned on me. I was like ... whoa o.o

For those of you who are wondering what the Umineko anime will look like, they've finally released a trailer with actual footage from the anime and not just stills of concept art or Beatrice's portrait:

http://www.famitsu.com/anime/news/1224979_1558.html

It looks like it'll be at least Higurashi Rei quality.

Just saw that trailer on youtube. Looks nice. Can't wait!

The thing is... Are they not going to use the song I've had on my shuffle this whole time? Is that song on the trailer the theme song? Hmm... That'll be sort of like when I saw Haruhi for the first time, and the opening wasn't Hare Hare... Or when I first saw Higurashi, and the opening wasn't Naraku no Hana... It's a bit offputting, I guess.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に) is the opening for the game. Kata Tsubasa no Tori (片翼の鳥) is the opening for the anime. Both are by Akiko Shikata. Actually, they sound really similar, more than Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Naraku no Hana did. They've both got the whole Italian thing going. Actually, Superscription of Data (the Higurashi Rei OP) sounds just as similar to Naraku no Hana, so that'd be the comparison to make.

I guess I was half expecting them not to use the game OP. It could have been worse, or my hope is that it'll show up eventually, as an OP later or maybe an insert. And I wouldn't be surprised if they went with a new OP for the answer chapters that are going to start coming out in August.

[quote="blkmage (post: 1320165)"]Umineko no Naku Koro ni (う]

I don't think you understood me. I meant my second introduction to the Higurashi universe (my first being AMV Hell 4) was through a Mother 3 video set to Naraku no hana (actually an imitation of the Higurashi Kai opening with Mother 3 characters) I was a bit off-put to hear the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni theme when I started watching the show. I had listened to Naraku no Hana so many times, it felt weird.

On that same not, my introduction to Haruhi was via the dance, and when I started watching the show, I found the actual opening strange because I was so used to the end theme, and thought it was the opening.

It has nothing to do with how similar or not the songs are. It's just that I WON'T be hearing the Umineko theme I've been getting used to, and that's going to be weird.

From 2channel, we have reports from the pre-airing screening of the first episode of the Umineko anime:
[spoiler] Episode 1:
1. Kinzo's scene + family meeting explanation in the beginning. Narrated by Ono.
2. OP: Real world scenes + Meta world scenes. Contains ep2 events (recite request)
3. Eyecatch: Clock + broken glass effect
4. Similar to Higurashi, lots of scenes are cut. Adult talk is kept, beach scene is mostly cut.
5. Battler's "らめええええええええ" is kept
6. No ED video yet. OP video was just barely finished for the event.
7. Contains arranged versions of the original game music.
8. Beatrice lends umbrella to Maria -> end of episode 1.


Ohara Sayaka (Beatrice):
1. Wore a black dress with golden butterfly pendent and earings.
2. Treated the MC as human furniture
3. No lines in episode 1. "Beatrice finally shows up (talks) in episode 5, but everyone is dead." by Ohara. -> Ep1 has 5 epsiodes (?)
4. Didn't enter any audition for the role. (in other words, was hand picked)

Other points from the event:
1. MC was a employee from frontier works. He dressed up as Kanon for the event. Unlike Kanon, he talked alot.
2. Kon Chiaki, Ohara Sayaka and Shikata Akiko were also there.[/spoiler]
Non-spoiler stuff that was interesting: The eyecatch is the broken glass and clock effect from the game that separates chapters. Pretty cool! Ohara Sayaka, Beatrice's voice actress, was hand picked for the role. I recognize her as Alicia from ARIA. And the music contains arranged versions of the original game music, which is great news.

Lol, for a while now.. Every time I see "Umineko" it reminds me of "Seakittens" XDD Soooooo, when I see the entire title, it's like "When The Seakittens Cry" XDDD

Which, reminds me of Peta's seakittens :2

Tsukuyomi (post: 1322552) wrote:Lol, for a while now.. Every time I see "Umineko" it reminds me of "Seakittens" XDD Soooooo, when I see the entire title, it's like "When The Seakittens Cry" XDDD

Which, reminds me of Peta's seakittens :2

I feel like eating some land fish now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY5GzyjMF5Q&feature=player_embedded

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=215975

Umineko, while it literally means "sea cat" it's actually a type of Seagull in Japan... I'm gonna guess they're called that because they sort of... sound like cat, perhaps?

Maybe they do, because in the game, the cry of a seagull is transliterated into nya. I'm pretty sure we'll see some more When the Seacats Cry jokes, but there are already a bunch of stuff like that floating around already.

blkmage (post: 1322615) wrote:Maybe they do, because in the game, the cry of a seagull is transliterated into nya. I'm pretty sure we'll see some more When the Seacats Cry jokes, but there are already a bunch of stuff like that floating around already.

Lol, really? Darn, and here I thought I was the only one XDD

Probably, since everyone's been talking about it as of late ^^

I wish my town sold more anime u_u Higurashi would definitely be in the top 5 buys for me 8D

Tsukuyomi (post: 1322621) wrote:Lol, really? Darn, and here I thought I was the only one XDD

Probably, since everyone's been talking about it as of late ^^

I wish my town sold more anime u_u Higurashi would definitely be in the top 5 buys for me 8D

If you wanted licensed english versions, you couldn't get all of it because the OVAs and the second season never got licensed and were sort of forgotten.

I find it disappointing that Kai hasn't yet been licensed...

I recently made a review for Higurashi. It doesn't take Rei into account or even mention Umineko, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T86l6MHzBBw

The sound gets low at times... I don't know how to fix this without manually raising the volume on every single bit of sound that's not a P or a T. I tried to raise the volume (and lower the volume on the pops) in a general sense, but there were still a couple places where it was too low.

I also briefly mention a DnD topic, though it's not the focus of the video.

For whoever else is trying to solve Umineko, someone made a handy collection of all the red text in the game so far. If you don't know what red text is, you don't need to know yet and you'll find out later.

In other news, the anime is coming out next week! Canada Day? More like Umineko Day!