So, this is supposed to be really good, right?

[Miklik]

Okay, i don't want to offend anyone, but I'm three hours into this, and I'm getting sick of waiting for it to get good. Am I close? I just finished the part where Rena and Keiichi got that Colonol Sanders out. I guess my real question is will it stop with the idle chit chat soon and actually get into the story, or is that going to be a theme throughout? Also, about how long is this?

[Miklik]

It's really too bad about the anime. The character interactions were so much funnier than in the game. They really should've spread that first arc into a full season, at least, to do it justice

[Joshua Graham Crackers]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Yirba:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Wraith:

Quick word of warning about watching the anime: Funi dropped the license after finishing the first of the two main seasons, so you won't be able to see the second season without exercising *ahem* creative measures.

Not really. Siren Visual licensed the second season and their DVD release is pretty easy to find. It doesn't have a dub though, if that happens to be absolutely vital to anyone.

Forgive me, Oyashiro-sama, for I have been negligent in my pursuit of Higurashi. I did not know about the Siren Visual release and I don't care at all about a lack of dubs if it means I can finally have a boxed set of Kai for my collection. There goes a nice chunk of my last paycheck and I have no regrets. Thank you times a million, you've made my whole year with this.

[CutToSleep]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Wraith:

Forgive me, Oyashiro-sama, for I have been negligent in my pursuit of Higurashi.

If the negligent cat will repent, he will be forgiven. Meow-meow. Mi-

[Phyro]

I have experienced Higurashi in every form (anime, manga, and visual novel) and I definitely would advise everyone to stick to the VN's for the first read-through. I unfortunately watched the entire anime before I even knew that it was based on a visual novel, and man I missed a LOT. The visual novel has so much to it that the anime leaves out that I found it to be a fantastic and compelling read, despite that I already knew how it was going to end. There are so many scenes that foreshadow stuff that comes later and hints to the answers hidden right underneath your nose throughout the whole thing. It's really incredible; don't write it off because the first couple chapters seem "boring."

[ashleymon]

Overjoyed to see how much you liked this. ^_^ People going on blind to the experience and getting sucker-punched is so fun to see. (Especially since that's how I first experienced it too.) The first four episodes aren't exactly about explaining as much as laying all the groundwork for the total mystery, but all questions will EVENTUALLY be answered. Look forward to a lot of confusion in the second arc especially.

If you want to take you time waiting for the next episode, I would definitely recommend going through it with the voice patch that was just put out. I know some like visual novels better without voices, so it's honestly up to you, but the whole cast is amazing, especially in scenes where Keiichi is descending into paranoia and fear, and certain other characters start to get a little strange...

As Heatth said, the anime relays a lot more on shock factor than actual atmosphere, which is a shame since some of the moments are wonderfully done but on a whole it seems a bit flat. :/ I will recommend watching once all eight episodes are out (so that'll be awhile...), especially since season 2 seems to work more on the atmospheric tension. Still incredibly condensed, but the later arcs try to slow it down a bit more.

Though if you can find the manga too, though there are some changes/condensing there, definitely give it a peek. Onikakushi's done very well.

[Miklik]

Oh, I didn't know they had voice acting available. Where can I get it? I think I'll try it with the first episode and see what I think.

[ashleymon]

There's a thread in the community, right here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/310360/discussions/0/617336568077464293/

You can play with the Steam sprites/original, or use the sprites from the PS3 version, as well as some updated backgrounds. There's instructions on where to put everything once it's downloaded.

[Miklik]

Oh, cool, thanks!

[Hitoshura]

Miklik, I'm ecstatic that you kept going and got what you wanted! Honestly, I had watched the anime originally, finished it, and wanted more. I heard about the "sequel" (not actually a sequel, just the next in the When They Cry series) Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, and decided to check it out. Like you, I spent most of the first episode going "Mmkay... when's this going to get good? Where's the "murder mystery" aspect? Like you, I kept trudging through, and... boy, was I not disappointed!

Unfortunately though, Umineko has worse treatment with its anime than Higurashi. Higurashi's anime at least comes together as a coherent story -- Umineko's anime is so heavily rushed with actual, important hints to the story completely omitted, it's just... awful. It was so terrible, there was no second season to finish it up. There is a 10 minute fanmade video of Episode 4's ending that puts the anime's version of that scene to absolute shame. My girlfriend's been reading the VN, and when she finished Episode 2, she decided she wanted to watch the anime up to that point. She managed to get about two episodes in before just flat out ragequitting, hah.

Anyway, whenever you're inevitably done with Higurashi, know that if you want more, Umineko exists in a fully fan-translated format! Unfortunately, I can't recommend to read Umineko while you wait on Higurashi, as there are some scenes that can spoil Higurashi for you. Glad you're enjoying this series though!

[OJ191]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Hitoshura:

Miklik, I'm ecstatic that you kept going and got what you wanted! Honestly, I had watched the anime originally, finished it, and wanted more. I heard about the "sequel" (not actually a sequel, just the next in the When They Cry series) Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, and decided to check it out. Like you, I spent most of the first episode going "Mmkay... when's this going to get good? Where's the "murder mystery" aspect? Like you, I kept trudging through, and... boy, was I not disappointed!

Unfortunately though, Umineko has worse treatment with its anime than Higurashi. Higurashi's anime at least comes together as a coherent story -- Umineko's anime is so heavily rushed with actual, important hints to the story completely omitted, it's just... awful. It was so terrible, there was no second season to finish it up. There is a 10 minute fanmade video of Episode 4's ending that puts the anime's version of that scene to absolute shame. My girlfriend's been reading the VN, and when she finished Episode 2, she decided she wanted to watch the anime up to that point. She managed to get about two episodes in before just flat out ragequitting, hah.

Anyway, whenever you're inevitably done with Higurashi, know that if you want more, Umineko exists in a fully fan-translated format! Unfortunately, I can't recommend to read Umineko while you wait on Higurashi, as there are some scenes that can spoil Higurashi for you. Glad you're enjoying this series though!

What crazy drugs are you on they never made an Umineko Anime

Umineko is so information dense I think they would have had to have an entire season per episode to really do it justice. Higurashi was far, far, far less dense and that anime was already borderline even with the second season adding a lot of the mystery aspects/clues back into the mix.

[Miklik]

Wait, so Umineko is a sequel to Higurashi? But different from the "episode 2" or whatever that we're waiting for? So are the two stories pretty connected, or is it just in the same universe?

[SuperVolcano]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Miklik:

Wait, so Umineko is a sequel to Higurashi? But different from the "episode 2" or whatever that we're waiting for? So are the two stories pretty connected, or is it just in the same universe?

Umineko is set in the same universe as Higurashi, but has an entirely different cast, setting, premise and plot. There are some connections, but they're never at the forefront.
What we're waiting for is Higurashi Ch. 2 - Watanagashi.

Both Higurashi and Umineko are eight novels.
Higurashi (Ch. 1-4) = When They Cry 1
Higurashi Kai (Ch. 5-8) = When They Cry 2
Umineko (Ep. 1-4) = When They Cry 3
Umineko Chiru (Ep. 5-8) = When They Cry 4

Higurashi Rei, Higurashi Hou, Umineko Tsubasa and Umineko Hane are fandiscs, which include bonus content not part of the main plot of each story. Numerically they're "When They Cry 2+" and "When They Cry 4+", but no-one really calls them that ever.

[Heatth]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Miklik:

Wait, so Umineko is a sequel to Higurashi? But different from the "episode 2" or whatever that we're waiting for? So are the two stories pretty connected, or is it just in the same universe?

Umineko is a sequel (it is called "When They Cry 3/4"), but it is not the same story. It is very loosely connected. I guess you can say it is in the same "universe", but even that is weird, considering the main character of Umineko read a book called "Higurashi", and quoted a passage from it (from Chapter 3, specifically).

Overall, they are not terribly connected. There are a few references, but that is it. You can playh Umineko first and wouldn't be spoiled about Higurashi and not understanding the references don't hinder the understanding of the story.

[jarlathcoconnor]

Watch both seasons of the Anime as well as its probably the best horror anime out there right now...

[ashleymon]

Re: Umineko, the creator's recently said they take place in worlds that are very distant from each other, but still connected. Essentially, Umineko's a spiritual sequel, with it's own emphases and story devices different from Higurashi, but some of the same themes and coming down to its own murder mystery.

Regarding Higurashi, with the Steam version there will be more releases than just the eight mentioned, Miklik, since this is Hou instead of the original. It was released with not only the main four arcs, but Rei as well as three more stories. So what we're looking at here is:

Ch. 2 - Watanagashi
Ch. 3 - Tatarigoroshi
Ch. 4 - Himatsubushi
Ch. 5 - Meakashi
Ch. 6 - Tsumohoroboshi
Ch. 7 - Minagoroshi
Ch. 8 - Matsuribayashi
And then the stuff that hasn't been translated at all by Mangagamer before, which I don't know how they're gonna number, since two are fun side-stories and one is a technical epilogue. Also, I THINK at least Batsukoishi is much shorter so maybe they'll combine some releases, I'm not entirely sure since I haven't been able to read this one at all. Regardless! Those are:
Saikoroshi (the epilogue)
Batsukoishi
Hirukowashi (based on the fighting game)
And then the new stuff! Hou was released last year in Japan, as a thank you to the fans, and it has:
Hinamizawa Teiryūjo (a VN version of the original play the creator adapted Higurashi's story from)
Higurashi Outbreak (VN adaptation of a light novel written for the series)
Kamikanshi (continuation of Outbreak)

Again, I'm not sure of the length of some of these, since I haven't read them, so not sure what we're looking at in terms of releases, but at the max, we have 14 episodes in total counting Onikakushi. Of the main story, there's the first eight and if you'd like, Saikoroshi as the epilogue nine. The rest are side-stories using mostly the same characters or early incarnations of them. Since Mangagamer hasn't done an original translation of Rei and Hou, I suspect we'll be waiting a bit longer between releases for them, but that's just my hypothesis.