If you stumbled upon this article because youre curious about Higurashi and think you can start from here. This is the place for you. Dont worry. I wont include any spoilers at all. Now let me tell you this is not a remake a reboot a spinoff or any of that. Its a bonafide sequel. Whoever told you otherwise is a liar and should be ashamed of themselves. When it comes to the haters. Are there what seems to be what you call plotholes or simply that things dont make sense? What did you expect? If you have watched the prequel and not wandered into Gou just cause youd know these things. I want to say I am honestly disappointed in those who dare call themselves fans of the visual novel. Did you even realize that Gou is by far the most consistent Higurashi to date that follows the style of the visual novel to the teeth and Ryukishis writing? Its answering questions that only true fans are aware of from the prequel expanding on topics hinted at in Higurashi all the while establishing a proper connection to Umineko and even the newly WTC When They Cry visual novel Ciconia. On top of all that while building upon the finer details from previous Higurashi. Its giving us a new story that still manages to retain the mysterious and other aspects we love from Higurashi. In other words if you are a Ryukishi07 enthusiast. It doesnt get any better than this. I have seen all kinds of nonsensical reasons to justify the hate. If you are talking about production being a hit or miss or other inconsistencies. I get where youre coming from even if I dont entirely agree but having seen all of Higurashi followed by Gou. All this should have at least told you from a writing point of view that Ryukishis the kind of writer that likes to confuzzle the audience make them feel utterly lost give them a reason to use the mind. Hence leave enough evidence and clues to give them a crack at solving the puzzle pieces. The WTC franchise has always been the kind of story where you have to go through the entire story to genuinely appreciate it because its designed that way. We only got parts of the pages in the book but many are still missing though it will be filled by Sotsu when it rolls around 2021 07/07. Bless you for that reference Ryukishi07. Higurashi Gou is first and foremost a sequel. In which case it means we got five seasons of Higurashi Rei and Sotsu included. I cannot even begin to express my happiness at the thought of that. Ryukishi is known to write his story in a way where each work influences the other making the experience richer and even savourier. Hence reading another work from WTC might give you a completely new perception of what Higurashi as a whole is about. It might make things even easier to follow or hard depending on how you take it. Regardless if youre done with Higurashi I highly suggest checking out Uminekos visual novel or the manga not the awful anime adaptation. Another masterpiece by the hands of Ryukishi. Itll definitely clear your mind and give you a completely new comprehension. Let me throw this out there the origin of miracles and the origin of certainty. If youve read Umineko already then you should know what I am hinting at here. I wont include direct spoilers as I want everyone the joy of figuring it out for themselves. After all part of the fun about any entries of WTC When They Cry is being able to predict and theorize to your hearts content. Oh not to mention witnessing how completely off the mark you are when your ideas fall flat as Ryukishi sneers at you. I will admit it was not cool of Ryukishi to introduce Gou as a remake or a reboot. That even the newcomers can watch it. Considering it spoils major chunks of Higurashi in the second episode. In contrast in the first episode things are not as clear. Sadly not everyone knows that Ryukishi is a major troll that lies as naturally as he breathes. But you have to be lying to me if you said nothing felt off by the second episode. Its true Higurashi is meant to give you a sense of feeling lost things not making sense but Gou took that to another level. If you watched it without having seen previous installments you could tell it was clearly not friendly to newcomers even for a bit suggesting it mightve been a sequel which it happened to be. Theres no denying the new arts more lighthearted than the previous Higurashi which might ruin the atmospheric tone for some. In my case I love it. Why? Because its the most faithful style to the visual novel weve received yet. I adore the good old artstyle from the Deen adaptation too but when it comes to expressions and comedy it hits far stronger with this new style. The characters have never been so expressive without looking all messy and offmodeled which is a recurring issue in the Deen version. Even voiceacting has been absolutely topnotch and cleaner as you would expect with upgraded software and hardware. No the production and direction are not perfect but would you seriously call it terrible? Not even close. I have nothing but praise for Akio Watanabes gorgeous and rich artstyle and Keiichiro Kawaguchis strong direction which never made me wonder if I was watching anything but Higurashi. One specific episode was a genuine masterpiece from the direction to the voice acting to the shot composition to the way the colors were used to emphasize the severity of the situation. Oh lets not forget about the gore and the sound effects which make you so uncomfortable that you have to turn away or cover your eyes. It was gruesome but it also illustrated the unstable mind of a certain someone. And Most of the few animation inconsistencies here and there can easily be fixed in the BD release. Studio Passione didnt even shy away from gore by giving us an early release of few uncensored episodes. Sadly haters somehow found a way to insult it even that failing to notice how good the effects the tone and brutality were. Trust me this was gore without any limitations whatsoever. I was cringing like mad had to even cover my eyes since it was truly a visceral spectacle. Dont get me wrong here. I loved it even if it made me hold onto my gut as my life counted on it. Gou also got a manga adaptation that was released at the same time as the anime. It includes more details that anime cut out. The artstyle of Tomose Akase is absolutely gorgeous as is the execution of the tone and paneling. Think of the manga as a supplementary to the anime. Its amazing so far. Chapter comes out on a bimonthly basis. Did you know Higurashi has always been more of a mystery than a horror story but not many seem to not understand that? Sure the first part clearly had lots of jumpscares and other terrifying moments that made you jump out of your seat. But Higurashi always has been a circle of tragedies with a big dash of mystery to make you feel lost question things and so on. The unfamiliarity of Hinamizawa and the things going on there had us under the influence of paranoia. But at the end of the road we got our answers and we knew where and how to connect the dots. In Gous case its trying to sell itself even more as a tragedy than horror. That might be why you dont feel as frightened but youre straight out lying if you said youre not feeling lost either. An example of this is the iconic main theme of Higurashi. The original version has a more scary and paranoid vibe while the Gou version sounds sad and emanates a feeling of loss and suffering. In other words tragedy. Hopefully you see the point I am trying to make here. Gou is a completely new take on our beloved Higurashi without losing key elements of the prequel. On another note the soundtrack in Higurashi Gou is phenomenal and nails its relevant themes Gou is trying to showcase. We had Asaka on the opening blessing us with a bopper track. Ayane returned again with more striking and beautiful tunes. Mind you both songs include heavy symbolism foreshadowing context. Even the dialogue is super important. You can tell Ryukishi was there with Passion supporting them and instructing them as clearly his fingerprints are everywhere. Yes I loved Higurashi Gou as if it was not obvious already plus evidently I am biased with it but thats fine. I am not forcing you to take things I am writing her for granted. If I can offer you a new perspective and give you some value then thats enough for me. I dont like seeing one of my favorite writers being insulted when haters arent even able to provide logical reasoning to support their rant. So here I will state who Higurashi and WTC franchise as a whole is truly meant for. Are you on the lookout for a puzzle that might seem hazy not make sense at first but gradually as the pieces get revealed it falls in places? Do you love the idea of been giving the room to theorize and predict events? Then there you go. Its also worth noting you need to patient have your brain on at all times be openminded able to think outside of the box. Higurashi is not meant for your average watcher or reader. Whats so good about Higurashi? Its the fact Ryukishi utilizes details from his enormous WTC collection to build upon and expand the story further. Plus he somehow makes things always connect when it seems impossible and does a wonderful job of explaining it. He writes the works to also gives out a very meaningful and emotional message that is relevant in the current day and even the past. If you are curious about more of those takes I suggest reading my first Higurashi review which also includes no spoilers and delves into characters among other things. Since I mainly wanted this review to show you why Gou was always meant to be a thing should you watch it and dispel some of the hate its been received by others. In any case Higurashi Gou is my favorite anime of the 2021 Spring season and with Sotsu right around the corner. This new installment of Higurashi most likely will be my AOTY of 2021. My hats off to Ryukishisensei and the entirety staff off Passione. They killed it. If you have not already started Higurashi. I highly recommend it. Whether it be the superior visual novel solid manga adaptation or the aokay but not even close to terrible anime. Sure its lowcost but Deen nailed the atmospheric tone even if many details from the manga and especially the visual novel got cut out. Its completely worth your time and a good way to dip your toes into WTC verse even if its not the best way and definite way to experience Higurashi. I didnt include any spoilers since Gou is so fragile that slipping some can ruin it completely. I want everyone to watch Higurashi and the second part of Higurashi starting with Gou ending with Sotsu. As blind as possible you dont want to ruin this unique gems onceinalifetime experience. By the subtext hints even the writing its clear a lot of time and effort went into writing Gou. If you go ahead and reread Higurashi you could see that it was even planned. It should be noted my score encompasses my enjoyment and the faith I have in Ryukishi when everything is complete thats why its already so high. Despite so I also had moments where I was not entirely on board and failed to understand things in Gou but in the last two arcs I was completely absorbed into the story. I shouldve expected as much since I was lost during the very first Higurashi. Still I was addicted the deeper I went into it. It tells me on a new rewatch I will be able to appreciate it far more since now some key things do make sense. We know whodunnit whydunnit howdunnit but clearly there is a lot more story to tell. We have some of the keys to grasp certain details and comprehend them even if the puzzle got holes left to fill. Thats what makes Ryukishi such a brilliant writer since you know its all intentional. There are hints of the events of Gou in the prequel even before it was a thing. Youd most likely only realize it first now since your perception will once again increase alongside your passion for WTC. After all this franchise is the kind of story that revisiting would be much more rewarding than the first time. Plus reading other WTC works will again influence your feelings about other products from the WTC franchise. At last I want you to know Higurashi Gou karma is playing out like Kai because it answers parts of the questions but leaves the rest for a sequel. You might be confused about whats going on but this will clearly be answered in Sotsu. All your worries will be laid to rest. The anime adaptation of Kai had two answers arc so does Gou. But like prequel Higurashi we might have eight arcs in total. Four of which are questions and the remeaning being the answers. In other words Sotsu is the answer to all our questions. Plus it will be the graduation the ultimate closure to the whole Higurashi franchise. Its been going for over 20+ years but Ryukishi can finally complete the whole puzzle at last. This is again hinting at Higurashi Gou always being planned. Dont even get me started on how Gou might be the segue into the events of Ciconia. If my words were able to pique your curiosity even slightly take this chance to dip your toes in WTC starting with Higurashi. Welcome to Hinamiazwa.