Overall Rating - 7.2 out of 10 - Smarter than average, even if dragged out show
I recommend watching.
Higurashi is what Ryukish07 was writing before he created Umineko. You may call it the Umineko prototype of sorts. However, Umineko went all out to the very bottom of Nietzschean abyss, pulling all the stops along the way and showing just how far you can take the "train of thoughts". Umineko is one of a kind "black tea" for fellow "monsters", I rate it only below Code Geass. However, you need a far above the average intelligence to fully understand it. Many fail to understand Umineko at all and thus Higurashi remains fans favorite as it is more accessible for an average intelligence. Either that or they all obsess over Keiichi, just like female heroines of this show.
Compared to Umineko, Higurashi is a much simpler show, but it still has a few clever tricks to offer. This review is of the second season. I watched the first one a while back (8 years ago) but did not review it. In the first season, girls all took turns getting jealous of Keiichi for preferring someone other than them and went on a killing spree, killing all their rivals and sometimes Keiichi as well. I might miss some details here and there.
Second season is the so called "answer" ark, where it all explained or covered up if you understand what is going on. Events of the first season are re-interpreted as caused by Hinamizawa syndrome and is said to be triggered by Miyo Takano's revenge for the treatment of her adoptive grandpa. They also show alive older Rena as a hint to the answers for the first season.
Takano as well as her backstory is rather well written. She is an interesting and realistic villain who knows how to jest, lie, pretend and use feminine charms to get something. In contrast the protagonists certainly overdo the "power of friendship" routine. At times it's worse than shonen anime. It certainly makes the anime feel drag out. Ryukishi07 was never the laconic type, but if length of Umineko was due to sheer complexity of the ideas he wanted to explain, in Higurashi it feels unjustified.
Of course, that could also be because I just do not find the setting or characters very likable or relatable, so excessive cheering for them does not fill me with good emotions. Characters do fit the story well, but hardly likable in their own right. If I had to name a favorite it will be Rena, because she is all cute and sweet half of the time at least. That is rather unusual for anime or Japanese media, where some shows hardly even have plots and entirely carried by the cast. Compare to that this show is story driven.
Overall, however I can recommend it simply because it was written by someone much more smart than average screenwriter. It's a show that can actually give you things to think about and keep your brain entertained. A tad rare thing in our anti-intellectual era where dumbness and room temp IQ is standard, because everything should be understood even by a 5-year-old toddler to maximise profits. Though to really help your intellectual solitude I recommend Umineko and my other 10, 9 and some 8.5 shows.
I wrote a review for Umineko, but even a review for Umineko cannot be understood with room temp IQ, much less show itself.
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