Manga Recommendation: Higurashi When They Cry
I’ve virtually read all the commercially available English volumes for Higurashi When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) and I’m enjoying it more than I expected I would, considering it is a manga based on a video game, is a warped tale of violence and horror, and the darn thing isn’t even a third of the way over yet as near as I can tell. Some of the arcs I’ve actually rated a 10 on MyAnimeList, Pandora Hearts being the only other series I’ve awarded such high marks.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the series or seen the anime (I have not). You’ve probably heard it’s a horror story or a mystery. It’s all that. It’s scary as shit, I won’t kid you, and very disturbing in places and I don’t normally like that sort of thing, but I love this work. What makes it worth it to me is the intellectual stimulation it provides, as well as the smooth narrative flow and repetition of symbols that makes you feel the author Knows what he is Doing.
This is the only manga I’ve ever read with a notebook and pencil in hand, keeping notes on the different characters and circumstances of the different killings/incidents. I guess you’re supposed to try to figure out what the hell really happened, which is challenging because darn every narrator is delusional in his/her own way, or at very least, has their own distorted perspective. In that sense, it follows the historic footsteps of the great film Rashomon; you have to try to piece together a kind of murder mystery story with biased evidence. Ultimately, there may be no right answer.
What I love about it is the mindfuckery and the sense that the author is a freaking genius. Certain details are repeated and echoed throughout the series, making you feel the connection between arcs. On the down side, you are presented with the same details, facts and situations again and again…you’re forced to relive the same series of days in June again and again, but each time, the details shift ever so slightly, so you really have to pay attention or you’ll miss some vital piece of new information that’s buried in what looks like the same old story.
Let me explain how the manga volumes work, in case you want to read it:
If you go to the bookstore and look at the spines, they are all numbered, which makes it easy. But otherwise it is not at all clear what order you are supposed to read the arcs in, and quite honestly, I’m not sure it matters a whole lot. However, you are expected to read the ‘question’ arcs before the ‘answer’ arcs. Only one ‘answer’ arc (Eye Opening Arc) has been published so far, and only partially that. And it's extra confusing because the manga reading sites use the Japanese names for the arc, for the most part.
Handy Dandy List:
Abducted By Demons Arc (books 1 and 2, question arc)
Cotton Drifting Arc (books 3 and 4, question arc)
Curse Killing Arc (books 5 and 6, question arc)
Time Killing Arc (books 7 and 8, question arc)
Beyond Midnight Arc (books 9 and 10, side story)
Eye Opening Arc (books 11, 12, 13, 14, answer arc for Cotton Drifting Arc)
Demon Exposing Arc (unnumbered, side story)
Atonement Arc (not yet released in book format, answer arc for Abducted by Demons Arc)
There are apparently 30+ volumes to this story, but I will probably just read them as they get released as books, since I'm not a big fan of scrolling through endless pages of manga on my tiny MacBook screen.
Hey Keichi, there's someone next to your bed.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the series or seen the anime (I have not). You’ve probably heard it’s a horror story or a mystery. It’s all that. It’s scary as shit, I won’t kid you, and very disturbing in places and I don’t normally like that sort of thing, but I love this work. What makes it worth it to me is the intellectual stimulation it provides, as well as the smooth narrative flow and repetition of symbols that makes you feel the author Knows what he is Doing.
This is the only manga I’ve ever read with a notebook and pencil in hand, keeping notes on the different characters and circumstances of the different killings/incidents. I guess you’re supposed to try to figure out what the hell really happened, which is challenging because darn every narrator is delusional in his/her own way, or at very least, has their own distorted perspective. In that sense, it follows the historic footsteps of the great film Rashomon; you have to try to piece together a kind of murder mystery story with biased evidence. Ultimately, there may be no right answer.
What I love about it is the mindfuckery and the sense that the author is a freaking genius. Certain details are repeated and echoed throughout the series, making you feel the connection between arcs. On the down side, you are presented with the same details, facts and situations again and again…you’re forced to relive the same series of days in June again and again, but each time, the details shift ever so slightly, so you really have to pay attention or you’ll miss some vital piece of new information that’s buried in what looks like the same old story.
Let me explain how the manga volumes work, in case you want to read it:
If you go to the bookstore and look at the spines, they are all numbered, which makes it easy. But otherwise it is not at all clear what order you are supposed to read the arcs in, and quite honestly, I’m not sure it matters a whole lot. However, you are expected to read the ‘question’ arcs before the ‘answer’ arcs. Only one ‘answer’ arc (Eye Opening Arc) has been published so far, and only partially that. And it's extra confusing because the manga reading sites use the Japanese names for the arc, for the most part.
Handy Dandy List:
Abducted By Demons Arc (books 1 and 2, question arc)
Cotton Drifting Arc (books 3 and 4, question arc)
Curse Killing Arc (books 5 and 6, question arc)
Time Killing Arc (books 7 and 8, question arc)
Beyond Midnight Arc (books 9 and 10, side story)
Eye Opening Arc (books 11, 12, 13, 14, answer arc for Cotton Drifting Arc)
Demon Exposing Arc (unnumbered, side story)
Atonement Arc (not yet released in book format, answer arc for Abducted by Demons Arc)
There are apparently 30+ volumes to this story, but I will probably just read them as they get released as books, since I'm not a big fan of scrolling through endless pages of manga on my tiny MacBook screen.
Hey Keichi, there's someone next to your bed.