Review: Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira

When The Cicada’s Cry ~Glitter~

Higurashi Kira is the final installment into the When The Cicada’s cry franchise, and it shouldn’t be missed by any fans. Sure, it does have a large amount of lightheartedness and seriousness, and the deep, complex element from the previous seasons has gone missing, but that doesn’t mean its bad, right? In it’s four episodes, KK and the Brotherhood return, Rika turns into a mahou shoujo to fight evil, instead of going crazy, everyone falls in love with Keiichi, and Rika from long ago appears in modern day Hinamizawa. Most of them are funny. But the last one…well, the last one is a farewell episode.

It’s really hard to rate this show, actually. The episodes are very hit and miss, and the comedy ones will always depend on your personal style of comedy, rather than what’s good and what’s bad. But even if you skip the first 3 episodes, Episode 4 is an episode which no fan of Higurashi can miss. If you miss it, you’re clearly not the fan you claim to be :b. But, in all seriousness, you can view Kira is a goodbye message from everyone to Higurashi. We miss Higurashi, and we’re still annoyed that Umineko won’t get a finished anime. And more 07th Expansion in anime is always welcome. Higurashi holds a special place in the hearts of most anime viewers, and this series was aimed at the biggest fans of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni.

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira Episode 4

Daydreaming Chapter

My personal feelings are probably the worst part of this episode. See, for someone who dearly loves the style of 07th Expansions characters, and who only actually got into serious anime properly through Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, it was kind of hard to see it end.For the second time. And for someone who loves Umineko more than almost everything, seeing the final origins of the characters also has an oddly sentimental value.

The first part episode is a rather adorable farewell to Hanyuu, as a younger Rika ends up falling in a time hole and travels forward by a fair couple of years.In doing so, they travel all across the lovely Hinamizawa to find the shrine to send her back in time, stacking up the sentimental value as we say a mental goodbye to all those places.

In doing so, the rest of the gang joins together to help get little Rika back to her time. Sure, it’s got the slightly comedic aspect that you’d expect from having all the characters togther, but it’s the last time that anyone will get to see these characters again.

Hanyuu cottons onto the fact that by letting Little-Rika return to her timeline, it’s the same as letting little-Rika go through all the pain and suffering that they’ve been through over these past 3 seasons. I guess that Rika choosing to go back and re-do it all can be taken to mean lots of different things, but I think she went back because she wanted to live every day possible in her Hinamizawa, through bad days or through good days. It neatly wraps up the franchise, spanning 4 seasons, and gives everyone a rather sentimental and emotional goodbye to Hinamizawa.The only way it could be better was if the last spoken line was “I’ll see you all again…when something else cries” :L (Bonus points to whoever can tell me where that’s from)

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira Episode 3

Musubienishi-hen (Affinity Rectangle Chapter)

Alex: You know, this was actually a lot like some of the parts of the visual novel. Higurashi isn’t all about running around and killer lolis and murders and stuff…they’re a bunch of teens, and teens fall in love. This episode was a slightly ridiculous remake of one of the arcs in the series, where instead of going crazy, the girls all fall for Keiichi.

Mion finally accepts her feelings, Rena accepts her feelings, and Shion views Keiichi as Satoshi yet again, but instead of getting angry she gets all smitten. It’s basically like all the arcs packed into one in terms of characters, and it was a lot of fun to watch. Funny fanservice is the best kind of fanservice…if there is a good kind of fanservice.

Yet with three girls after one guy, it was only a matter of time until  the harem war broke out.And it’s the most scary thing ever to have Rena as a rival…especially when she knows. She knows everything~

Authors note: I can’t look at Hanyuu anymore without thinking of Featherine >< Especially when Rika spoke to her in her Burnkastel voice…

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira Episode 2

Ayakashisenshi-hen (Bewitching Battle Chapter)

Alex: Uh. This time, thanks to the power of a strange staff Rika picked up from the shrine storage, Rika and Satako have stumbled into a parallel world where fog covers Hinamizawa, and Satoshi is living with Keiichi. And the Tokyo Magika is making its move on the humble village..dun dun dun!

In this world, Magical Girl Oyashiro Rika fights off the Ritual Tool Summoning Demons with the aid of her magical partner, Hanyuu. Rika’s landed in the craziest world possible…and there doesn’t seem to be anyway out.Even the great witch personality, Bernkastel, thought that the whole scenario was stupid. It was interesting to hear that only the Rika in the world we’re used to has Bernkastel inside of her, though. Maybe being a magical girl makes everything okay?

So yeah, this episode does what Kira should have done from the start – take the setting of Higurashi and go nuts. Think of as many anime genres as possible and stuff them into a single episode, call it comedy gold and you profit. Enjoyable, funny, and far out..~ Go Magical Girl Rika-Chan~:333 07th…Explosion!

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kira Episode 1

Batsukoshi-hen (Penalty Loving Chapter)

Alex: So im editing this post yet AGAIN. After watching the subs, I realized how terrible my Japanese really is and that I missed the whole point of the episode. >_>

The first in the Higurashi Kira bonus episodes focuses on the dynamic return of K, with the Soul Brothers (Ooishi, Irie and Tomitake) as they scumb to the power of dillusions which were led on by the punishment games. The nods to the darker moments of Higurashi, and the way it almost made fun of some of the darker moments was done really well, and you could tell that it was a proper adaption from one of the bonus VN arcs. The whole “true Hinamizawa Syndrome” part made me laugh, and the last five minutes did have me in hysterics. Mission accomplished? Yes.

The preview was what got me excited, though…Rika becomes a magical girl to fight off the evil invasion of something and the club members team up to transform with her. That looks hillarious xD

But yeah. If you enjoyed Higurashi, then it’s worth checking out this OVA. It’s not as dark or as frightening as the series, and it’s completly lewd, but it’s fun and enjoyable to watch.