Higurashi: When They Cry or Why Hinamizawa Sucks As a Tourist Location.

   I'd always wanted to get into the anime for Higurashi: When They Cry the day I first picked up the first volume of the manga. It was an intriguing plot; Our young, plucky protagonist, Keiichi Maebara moves to the rather quietly tucked away countryside town of Hinamizawa, makes a few friends, and finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that is downright creepy. The conspiracy: mysterious deaths, explained by locals as an event known as 'Oyashiro's Curse'. It seems that for every year for the five years prior to Keiichi's arrival, one person dies, while another disappears or is 'spirited away by the demon', as the locals say. The truth is darker than the legend. And what starts out peaceful becomes a delightfully gory and creepy ride throughout.
   I've always said that good art, good storytelling, music that fits the mood of the scene, and well fleshed out character development are the core of every great anime. Higurashi delivers all of this in panorama of awesomeness that will leave you wanting more after the final episode. Every character has a story to tell, every scene holds great importance in the storyline, and every question has an answer, no matter how strange or hard to understand (at first).
   I do have a few things to nag about concerning the art. While everything else looks great, sometimes there are some peculiar moments when things get a little too crazy and the art suffers for it. Some characters end up with weird looking limbs, or their faces have a little too much wrinkling when they are laughing maniacally. One scene in particular had me actually say "What's wrong with her face?" out loud. And I try to never talk when I'm watching anime.
   In conclusion, this is one anime most people who like creepy stuff shouldn't miss. It had me watching episode after episode until I ran out. Sadly, only the first season of the anime is available here in the states. As of this writing, that's the only season I've watched, but I know that each season has their self-contained storylines, so worrying about the other seasons is moot. I think I'll give this magnificent anime a 9.5 out of 10.