Higurashi When They Cry
Japanese visual novel series and its franchise / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に, Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. 'When the Cicadas Cry') is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion that comprises the first two entries of the When They Cry franchise. The series focuses on a group of young friends living in the fictional village of Hinamizawa and the strange events that occur there in 1983.
Higurashi When They Cry | |
![]() Higurashi When They Cry Hō cover, featuring (from left to right): Rena, Hanyu, Satoshi, Satoko, Shion, Mion, Keiichi and Rika | |
ひぐらしのなく頃に (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Ryukishi07 07th Expansion |
Video game | |
Developer | 07th Expansion |
Publisher |
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Genre | Visual novel |
Platform | |
Released |
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Manga | |
Written by | Ryukishi07 |
Illustrated by |
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Published by | Square Enix Kadokawa Shoten |
English publisher | |
Magazine | |
English magazine | |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | March 24, 2005 – November 22, 2011 |
Volumes | 38 (List of volumes) |
Light novel | |
Written by | Ryukishi07 |
Illustrated by | Karin Suzuragi Yutori Hōjō Jirō Suzuki Yoshiki Tonogai Mimori Rato |
Published by | Square Enix |
Original run | 2006 – 2007 |
Volumes | 4 (List of volumes) |
Anime television series | |
When They Cry | |
Directed by | Chiaki Kon |
Produced by | Hiroyuki Ōmori Mika Nomura Yasutaka Hyūga |
Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Studio Deen |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Chiba TV, Kansai TV, Tokai TV |
Original run | April 4, 2006 – September 26, 2006 |
Episodes | 26 (List of episodes) |
Anime television series | |
When They Cry: Kai | |
Directed by | Chiaki Kon |
Produced by | Hiroyuki Ōmori Mika Nomura Takema Okamura |
Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Studio Deen |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Chiba TV, Kansai TV, Tokai TV |
Original run | July 6, 2007 – December 17, 2007 |
Episodes | 24 (List of episodes) |
Original video animation | |
When They Cry: Nekogoroshi Chapter | |
Directed by | Chiaki Kon |
Produced by | Hiroyuki Ōmori Mika Nomura Takema Okamura |
Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Studio Deen |
Released | July 27, 2007 |
Runtime | 23 minutes |
Episodes | 1 (List of episodes) |
Novel series | |
Written by | Ryukishi07 |
Illustrated by | Tomohi |
Published by | Kodansha |
Imprint | Kodansha Box |
Original run | August 2007 – March 2009 |
Volumes | 17 (List of volumes) |
Live-action film | |
Directed by | Ataru Oikawa |
Produced by | Takeshi Oikawa |
Written by | Ataru Oikawa |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Geneon Universal Entertainment Oyashiro-Sama Partners |
Released | May 10, 2008 (2008-05-10) |
Runtime | 105 minutes |
Original video animation | |
When They Cry: Rei | |
Directed by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Produced by | Hiroyuki Ōmori Mika Nomura Takema Okamura |
Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Studio Deen |
Licensed by | |
Released | February 25, 2009 – August 21, 2009 |
Episodes | 5 (List of episodes) |
Live-action film | |
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Chikai | |
Directed by | Ataru Oikawa |
Produced by | Takeshi Oikawa |
Written by | Ataru Oikawa |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Geneon Universal Entertainment Oyashiro-Sama Partners |
Released | April 18, 2009 (2009-04-18) |
Runtime | 106 minutes |
Original video animation | |
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Kira | |
Directed by | Hideki Tachibana |
Produced by | Yoshihito Danno Satoshi Nagaoka Satoshi Fukao Takema Okamura |
Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Music by | Kenji Kawai Tomoki Kikuya |
Studio | Studio Deen |
Released | July 21, 2011 – January 25, 2012 |
Episodes | 4 (List of episodes) |
Original video animation | |
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Outbreak | |
Directed by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Produced by | Masayuki Iida Satoshi Fukao Shigeto Suzuki Takema Okamura |
Written by | Toshifumi Kawase |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Studio Deen |
Released | August 15, 2013 |
Runtime | 52 minutes |
Episodes | 1 (List of episodes) |
Television drama | |
Directed by | Tōru Ōtsuka Tarō Miyaoka |
Produced by | Atsushi Nagauchi Motoko Kimura Tatsuya Itō |
Written by | Tōru Hasegawa Yō Hosaka |
Studio | BS SKY PerfecTV! |
Original network | BS SKY PerfecTV! |
Original run | May 20, 2016 – December 16, 2016 |
Episodes | 10 |
Anime television series | |
Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou | |
Directed by | Keiichiro Kawaguchi |
Produced by | Takayuki Nagatani Jōtarō Ishigami Yūkō Hirata Makoto Nakamura Hirotaka Kaneko Satoru Shimosato Tomoyuki Ōwada Takema Okamura |
Written by | Naoki Hayashi |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Passione |
Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
Original network | Tokyo MX, BS11, SUN |
Original run | October 1, 2020 – March 19, 2021 |
Episodes | 24 (List of episodes) |
Anime television series | |
Higurashi: When They Cry – Sotsu | |
Directed by | Keiichiro Kawaguchi |
Produced by | Takayuki Nagatani Jōtarō Ishigami Yūkō Hirata Makoto Nakamura Hirotaka Kaneko Satoru Shimosato Tomoyuki Ōwada Takema Okamura |
Written by | Naoki Hayashi |
Music by | Kenji Kawai |
Studio | Passione |
Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
Original network | Tokyo MX, BS11, SUN, AT-X |
Original run | July 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021 |
Episodes | 15 (List of episodes) |
Manga | |
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni | |
Written by | Ryukishi07 |
Illustrated by | Asahi |
Published by | Futabasha |
Magazine | Monthly Action |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | February 25, 2022 – present |
Volumes | 2 |
Other | |
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The games are built on the NScripter game engine and the Microsoft Windows operating system. The first game in the series, Onikakushi-hen, was released in August 2002, and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, Matsuribayashi-hen, was released in August 2006. While the first four games carried the overall title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and are considered the first entry in the When They Cry franchise, the next four games were produced under the title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and are considered the second entry.
A bonus fan disc called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released in December 2006. In addition to the original series, new stories were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, in order to expand the story. The original eight PC releases were released in English by MangaGamer between 2009 and 2010. Two sets of drama CDs were produced, one by Wayuta and the other by Frontier Works. Novelizations of the game series were released by Kodansha between August 2007 and March 2009. A manga series adapted from the games began with eight different manga artists working separately on one to three of the multiple story arcs and were published by Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten. The manga was licensed for release in English in North America by Yen Press under the title Higurashi: When They Cry and the first volume was released in November 2008.
Two anime television series (also known simply as When They Cry prior to 2020) were produced by Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon in 2006 and 2007; a third anime adaptation was released as an original video animation (OVA) series in 2009. The first anime series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in English in 2007, but the license expired in 2011. Sentai Filmworks has since licensed both anime seasons and the 2009 OVAs. A live-action film adaptation of the series, directed and written by Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters in May 2008, with a sequel released in April 2009. A six-episode live-action television series adaptation premiered in Japan in May 2016, and a four-episode sequel premiered in November 2016. A new anime television series by Passione aired from October 2020 to March 2021, and a sequel aired from July to September 2021.