Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -- from now on just Higu because I'm terribly lazy -- can't really be categorized but I guess it can be called a detective story with a supernatural twist. It is divided in 7 short stories, sometimes related, sometimes conflicting, a couple of them a little heavier on the supernatural part and the others almost completely free from it, although things can never be completely explained without adding some kind of ghost -- which never manifests itself clearly -- to the cast of characters. It is a creepy show that always manages to shock the viewer or, at the very least, to make him feel very uneasy.

Animation

Most backgrounds are very nice and the character design is quite good. Most of the characters are loli, so expect big heads on small bodies; this does not really detract anything from anything and makes the quiet parts of the show quite cute and funny. When the characters are overcome by dementia, a death wish or the will to murder, the expressions on their faces are drawn very nicely and convey their feelings in a direct, extreme way although of course consistency suffers from this sudden changes. The continuous alternation between very bright days and very dark nights or rooms seems to follow a scheme that accompanies the rising and falling of the mood of the anime.

Too bad that sometimes looping animations are used on the character's faces, with horrible results; those are probably the worst parts of the anime.

Sound

The show forces the viewer to focus so much on the characters that the music is rarely noticed at all. While the OP and ED are nice, the rest of the show seems to unfold in complete silence and the soundtrack is hardly noticed at all. I don't personally judge this characteristic as a negative aspect, indeed it means that whoever chose the soundtrack did a very good job. It doesn't compare, however, to those anime that deliver great music fans usually hum for months after having watched the show.

Now, I don't know who the voice actors are although I've been told they are veterans. Anyway, I cannot stress enough how much they TOTALLY OWN. The voices of the characters dominate this anime completely; OP to ED, first ep to last ep, the voices are the one thing any viewer will remember for sure. Given the ever-changing nature of this show, the mood of which goes up and down countless times like so many waves, it makes sense that the voices must also match that movement. In this regard, the voice actors deliver a flawless performance conveying the feelings of the characters in a very powerful way, wether they have to talk softly, weep, or scream at the top of their lungs. Madness plays a huge role in this anime and the voice actors really manage to express that madness in a very convincing way.

The sound effects are above average, being particularly good during the creepy parts of the show.

Story

The story is the strongest element of this show. Usually the adaptation of original, non-anime material -- like games or novels -- that sports many different and conflicting storylines to a single anime is about collapsing all the different stories into a single one, a process that can lead to disappointments like Fate/Stay Night. While Higu suffers from the one problem characteristic of those kind of adaptations, namely an overabundance of female characters, its producers have been smarter and have kept the different storylines, deciding to show them one after the other.

This choice shaped Higu into a very interesting show that asks a lot from the spectator, who has to "reset" his brain after every storyline while trying to pick up the shared elements, but also has a lot to give.

It is noteworthy that most of the genre's conventions are turned upside down, which is what makes its categorization difficult. First of all there isn't a single detective with a helper, instead all of the characters do their own investigation. Just to give one example, this enabled the creators to show the same story twice, each time from a different character and each having its own investigation. This makes the show very, very enjoyable.

Secondly, there are some "supernatural things" going on, but we never quite understand exactly what. Instead of making the mistake of explaining exactly what's up with all the weird stuff and set rules by which the ghost -- or whatever -- acts, like many other shows do, in Higu the mystery is actual mystery. The viewer keeps trying to guess all the time and eventually comes up with an idea of what's happening, but he can't be sure so he keeps trying to guess. It's very important for any kind of show to keep the viewer interested and his brain active and in this regard Higu is an outstanding success.

Finally, most characters are kids. If you think this is just the same as those other anime where a 14 year old saves the world, think again; the young age of Higu's characters guarantees the immorality of their actions, not unlike what happens in Narutaru, while it also makes them so much more frail - more then once their minds kind of snap and in this anime when a character snaps, he snaps HARD.

All in all, this show is quite unique and if you like complex stories you'll definitely be interested. Be warned, though - at times it's very violent.

Character

All of the main characters are very well built and occasionally develop nicely into a crazy version of their former selves. If there's one thing Higu's creators are good at besides writing great storylines, that's detailing a character's personal descent into hell. Far from using cheap cliches or rushing the development to get to the creepy part where you get to see how much they "lost it", every change in the character's personality is justified by what happens to him or her and their responses to those events are quite natural, although of course some of them already had something weird about them ready to develop into paranoia, the will to murder or stark terror - or all of those together.

The supporting characters are very good too although of course they get less screentime and no development. Some of them have different personalities in different stories and they all serve a particular purpose - mostly their actions put a lot of pressure on the main characters, pushing them in certain directions.

While most will watch the show trying to understand who's the bad guy, if there's a ghost or not and, well, what the hell's up with all the weird stuff, they will fail miserably because the point of the show is to stress the relationships between characters and what kind of friendship they share - is it interested, selfless, loving? If it breaks, why did it break? If it becomes stronger, why? That's the kind of questions Higu expects its viewers to ask themselves, as it is made clear during the last short story; and in the meantime it will keep unfolding short, entertaining storylines that keep the viewers in a perpetual state of confusion and wonder and occasionally creep them out.

This is probably the second strongest aspect of the show.

Personal judgement

I personally loved almost every minute of this show, especially the way it progressed into something more and more creepy, dementia rising high then falling, then rising again, keeping me always guessing as to what was coming next and how far the characters could -- and would -- fall. I felt that most of the stories were something special and shows like this one are the reason why I still keep watching anime. It isn't always great but it certainly never disappoints and the best parts are amazing.

Overall

Great show, very entertaining and very rewarding.