It’s almost Halloween~!

BAS is taking a short break from the psychological/experimental theme to explore horror for a week in celebration of Halloween. It was a huge debate on whether to screen Higurashi no Naku koko ni (also known as When They Cry or The Moment the Cicadas Cry) or Elfed Lied. Both are known for their horror and gore-y ness, but it seemed like Higurashi would be more audience-appropriate. Well okay, Elfed Lied has more gore and bloodshed whereas Higurshi is more of a murder-mystery type of series.

Anyway, Higurashi. It was first a game developed by 07th Expansion with a total of eight games, released between the years 2002 and 2006. Afterwards, a manga and anime based off the game were released in 2008 and 2006 respectively. The series has had three tv series thus far and a live-action adaptation was released a couple of years ago.

An introduction to the tv series (meaning the first several episodes) is being screened on October 28th, 2011. Here is a quick synopsis about Higurashi from MyAnimeList:

After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem.

Since it is based off of a mystery game, the tv series doesn’t have just one straight-forward ending. In fact, the story is told in a series of different scenarios. So after every 5-6 episodes, the story will reload with new characters, a new scenario, and new perpetrator. It’ll make the screening at anime club a little weird but hopefully it will be understandable to all!

If you’ve seen Higurashi or Elfed Lied before, or if you just watched it with BAS, feel free to leave some thoughts and comments here!