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Higurashi When They Cry Manga Japanese Numbering #18
Higurashi When They Cry: Atonement Arc, Vol. 4 - manga
Based on the evidence detailed in Takano's notebook, Rena believes she's uncovered the truth behind Oyashiro-sama's curse and the mysterious deaths in Hinamizawa! But although her theory fits perfectly with Hinamizawa's dark history, it is difficult for Keiichi to believe such an outlandish tale, especially given Takano's obsession with the occult. However, Rena's obsession with the plot she believes will inevitably destroy the village cannot be swayed. Will her mounting paranoia cause her to take drastic measures once again?
Driven out of her mind by the murderous plot exposed in Takano's scrapbook, Rena is on the run from the police and her friends. When Officer Ooishi confronts Mion about the Sonozaki family's invovement in the murder conspiracy, Mion reveals a number of other scrapbooks, detailing even more outlandish theories to explain the string of murders in the village. But will this new development be enough to calm down Rena? Or, in her panic, will her next move put all of her classmates in danger?!
The long-awaited 'answer arc' to the Higurashi When They Cry - Abducted by Demons Arc:Life couldn't be better for Keiichi Maebara. Sure, he's moved to a sleepy, little town where nothing happens and high school consists of a one-room schoolhouse - but his new friends and fellow students are all cute girls! When he happens upon a story about a grisly local murder, however, his contentment turns to uneasiness as he finds himself drawn into a web of silent intrigue that involves his newfound friends...and threatens his very existence.
Driven out of her mind by the murderous plot exposed in Takano's scrapbook, Rena is on the run from the police and her friends. When Officer Ooishi confronts Mion about the Sonozaki family's invovement in the murder conspiracy, Mion reveals a number of other scrapbooks, detailing even more outlandish theories to explain the string of murders in the village. But will this new development be enough to calm down Rena? Or, in her panic, will her next move put all of her classmates in danger?!
The long-awaited 'answer arc' to the Higurashi When They Cry - Abducted by Demons Arc:Life couldn't be better for Keiichi Maebara. Sure, he's moved to a sleepy, little town where nothing happens and high school consists of a one-room schoolhouse - but his new friends and fellow students are all cute girls! When he happens upon a story about a grisly local murder, however, his contentment turns to uneasiness as he finds himself drawn into a web of silent intrigue that involves his newfound friends...and threatens his very existence.
290 pages, Paperback
First published June 21, 2008
6 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Ryukishi07
299 books319 followersRyukishi07 (竜騎士07, Ryūkishi Zero Nana?, born November 19, 1973) is the pen name of a Japanese man originally from Chiba Prefecture who is well-known as the original creator for the idea of the visual novel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. He is the representative member of the group 07th Expansion. His pen name originated from the Final Fantasy series, "Ryūkishi" being the Japanese term for "Dragoon", and "07" goroawase for the name "Lenna". His illustration style is recognizable from the large hands he draws on people.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 6, 2017
I like it better when they kill each other lol.
And we get a glimpse of Hanyuu in this one! I completely forgot about her.
And we get a glimpse of Hanyuu in this one! I completely forgot about her.
December 27, 2020
“Oh my. You’ve gone and turned the page.”
That’s the real explosive in this concluding volume.
Keiichi and Rika promised to stop Rena no matter what, but much like a door that’s fallen over she’s gone to ground and become quite unhinged. When she reappears, Rena turns out to be like a goat set loose in a recycling plant - far cannier than she appears. It’s lunacy versus experience and the clock is literally ticking...
What an ending! This is the fastest 280 pages I have read in ages. The final volume of the atonement arc leverages so much of what came before it and wraps it all up within the confines of the classic hostage situation - this is like high school drama by way of an 80s movie.
We know what happened to the school in other timelines, so there is no reason to think Rena can be stopped as she plots to “save the day”. That doesn’t mean they won’t try though and these chapters utilize everybody’s strengths to brilliant effect.
I love that Rika’s knowledge is offset by how she is forever stuck in a tiny girl’s body. Then Satoko gets a chance to shine like we haven’t seen in ages. As an aside, I still think there’s more to Keiichi’s dad than we’ve been told... but this is really a story about friends sticking together throughout it all.
Ah, then there’s poor Reka. Having been totally taken in by the story she was fed, it falls to Keiichi to bring her back from the brink. The way he attempts this is pretty solid, if a bit soapy, and I think they have a great climactic throw-down. It’s crazy and very sweet, which is this series to a tee.
Then the ending comes.
Mild spoilers after this point.
This is meta storytelling that I can deal with because it’s used to knock the story completely on its end. You might not remember all the various timelines we’ve seen, but the author sure does. What we see here is actually a place we’ve been before and it wasn’t one I was expecting.
The happy ending lasting a whole day is the kind of messed up plot twist that Higurashi does perfectly and I love how this dovetails back into a story arc that looked like it had concluded. Turns out this was part of it and we never knew and by reminding us of an unsolved murder, clearly there’s more to come...
4.5 stars and I am rounding up because it packs a dynamite ending into a masterfully executed plot twist that leaves me excited for the next arc, while ending this one with style. Brilliantly consistent and consistently brilliant.
That’s the real explosive in this concluding volume.
Keiichi and Rika promised to stop Rena no matter what, but much like a door that’s fallen over she’s gone to ground and become quite unhinged. When she reappears, Rena turns out to be like a goat set loose in a recycling plant - far cannier than she appears. It’s lunacy versus experience and the clock is literally ticking...
What an ending! This is the fastest 280 pages I have read in ages. The final volume of the atonement arc leverages so much of what came before it and wraps it all up within the confines of the classic hostage situation - this is like high school drama by way of an 80s movie.
We know what happened to the school in other timelines, so there is no reason to think Rena can be stopped as she plots to “save the day”. That doesn’t mean they won’t try though and these chapters utilize everybody’s strengths to brilliant effect.
I love that Rika’s knowledge is offset by how she is forever stuck in a tiny girl’s body. Then Satoko gets a chance to shine like we haven’t seen in ages. As an aside, I still think there’s more to Keiichi’s dad than we’ve been told... but this is really a story about friends sticking together throughout it all.
Ah, then there’s poor Reka. Having been totally taken in by the story she was fed, it falls to Keiichi to bring her back from the brink. The way he attempts this is pretty solid, if a bit soapy, and I think they have a great climactic throw-down. It’s crazy and very sweet, which is this series to a tee.
Then the ending comes.
Mild spoilers after this point.
This is meta storytelling that I can deal with because it’s used to knock the story completely on its end. You might not remember all the various timelines we’ve seen, but the author sure does. What we see here is actually a place we’ve been before and it wasn’t one I was expecting.
The happy ending lasting a whole day is the kind of messed up plot twist that Higurashi does perfectly and I love how this dovetails back into a story arc that looked like it had concluded. Turns out this was part of it and we never knew and by reminding us of an unsolved murder, clearly there’s more to come...
4.5 stars and I am rounding up because it packs a dynamite ending into a masterfully executed plot twist that leaves me excited for the next arc, while ending this one with style. Brilliantly consistent and consistently brilliant.
October 21, 2025
I rate this 4.5 stars.
Despite being a bit disappointed in vol. 3 with a few things, especially with some of what was revealed in this arc, it ruined the magic of the series for me a bit, but that might be because I've been so immersed in this series to the point that it's all I can think about and I'm just not satisfied with what Keiichi has realized, I feel like there's more to it that such a simple answer, there has to be something scientific and or paranormal that's going on. There are a few things that still don't make sense. What if Rena was right? What if some or all (although I don't believe all of it is correct) of it is actually what's happening. She was still delusional, considering how far she went with her crazy plan, but maybe some of that stuff from the scrapbook was actually true, but we're lulled into a false sense of security by thinking that it's all stuff made up by Takano😮 I guess we'll find in the last two arcs. I really hope they're mind blowing and not disappointing, I love this series so much!🙏🏼
I'm glad there isn't the stupid "I don't fight girls" crap in this series. He actually took Rena seriously while fighting her, despite it being the 80s in the series. That gives this series more respect from me.
I just realized something while I was reading this book. I remembered that in the Curse Killing arc, Keiichi kills Satoko's uncle and then later can't find his body, same thing happened with Reina in this arc after she killed those two yakuza. What if what happened to those bodies is exactly what happened to the dead body of Satoko's uncle.
Some people might be disappointed that they stopped killing each other, but those people clearly don't understand the series. If you want pointless violence, then watch the many slasher movies out there.
I'm trying to be really careful not to spoil anything, but it's really hard, so I'm going to stop this here.
Every year I say I'm going to cosplay as Rena, but then I end up not doing it, but now I want to cosplay as her even more.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
Despite being a bit disappointed in vol. 3 with a few things, especially with some of what was revealed in this arc, it ruined the magic of the series for me a bit, but that might be because I've been so immersed in this series to the point that it's all I can think about and I'm just not satisfied with what Keiichi has realized, I feel like there's more to it that such a simple answer, there has to be something scientific and or paranormal that's going on. There are a few things that still don't make sense. What if Rena was right? What if some or all (although I don't believe all of it is correct) of it is actually what's happening. She was still delusional, considering how far she went with her crazy plan, but maybe some of that stuff from the scrapbook was actually true, but we're lulled into a false sense of security by thinking that it's all stuff made up by Takano😮 I guess we'll find in the last two arcs. I really hope they're mind blowing and not disappointing, I love this series so much!🙏🏼
I'm glad there isn't the stupid "I don't fight girls" crap in this series. He actually took Rena seriously while fighting her, despite it being the 80s in the series. That gives this series more respect from me.
I just realized something while I was reading this book. I remembered that in the Curse Killing arc, Keiichi kills Satoko's uncle and then later can't find his body, same thing happened with Reina in this arc after she killed those two yakuza. What if what happened to those bodies is exactly what happened to the dead body of Satoko's uncle.
Some people might be disappointed that they stopped killing each other, but those people clearly don't understand the series. If you want pointless violence, then watch the many slasher movies out there.
I'm trying to be really careful not to spoil anything, but it's really hard, so I'm going to stop this here.
Every year I say I'm going to cosplay as Rena, but then I end up not doing it, but now I want to cosplay as her even more.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
August 14, 2024
“…But hey, Rena…if you still want to get me to believe you…there’s a simple way for us club members to make each other believe stuff. …That’s right. In our club…the winner is always right. Right?”
Maebara Keiichi, the man that you are.
Again, I know that this arc is focused on Rena, but Keiichi almost steals the show in these last two volumes. He really does show Rika and the readers that he truly is the key to breaking the curse of June 1983. This is not to say that Rena deserves any less praise than Keiichi, though. After many arcs and tragedies, she’s the first character to come back from the brink of paranoia. It’s hard not to feel like their last battle is a total victory.
But then you turn the page. And realize that we, and Rika, are nowhere near free from this maze of tragedies.
Even so, this volume was exciting to read. It really felt like a rollercoaster from the very beginning. Keiichi and Rena’s fight on the roof might be a little over the top for such a grounded series, but it’s easy to let it slide. It’s nice for once to have such outlandish violence that doesn’t end in blood and gore. Besides, with this arc over, more is yet to come.
Maebara Keiichi, the man that you are.
Again, I know that this arc is focused on Rena, but Keiichi almost steals the show in these last two volumes. He really does show Rika and the readers that he truly is the key to breaking the curse of June 1983. This is not to say that Rena deserves any less praise than Keiichi, though. After many arcs and tragedies, she’s the first character to come back from the brink of paranoia. It’s hard not to feel like their last battle is a total victory.
But then you turn the page. And realize that we, and Rika, are nowhere near free from this maze of tragedies.
Even so, this volume was exciting to read. It really felt like a rollercoaster from the very beginning. Keiichi and Rena’s fight on the roof might be a little over the top for such a grounded series, but it’s easy to let it slide. It’s nice for once to have such outlandish violence that doesn’t end in blood and gore. Besides, with this arc over, more is yet to come.
November 8, 2018
Really loving this series!!!^.^ one of the best Psychological mangas I’ve read!!!👌😁😻😻
May 25, 2020
Happy to see the story movign along in a very interesting way. Can't wait for the next arc!
October 29, 2020
damn, this arc was so brutal
May 24, 2021
weebing with Berfin dostumm #20
January 1, 2022
Yup, I definitely liked this arc more in its manga format than the VN format. Makes me think I definitely should go through with trying to give the VN a more fair reread at some point.
November 4, 2022
Fabulous
July 4, 2018
Am terminat Capitolul Ispasirea Pacatelor, noroc cu mangarock.com/manga. E de admirat ca adaptarea manga contine mai multe detalii decat animeul; orice ar fi totusi, va recomand sa cititi povestea originala - romanul vizual.
April 20, 2012
I've been ever so patiently waiting for this to get shipped to me, resisting the urge to track it down at my local bookstore. This volume wraps up the Atonement arc, which is the answer ark to the Abducted by Demons question arc that the entire series started off with. We get to see a similar situation, only this time we get to see the viewpoints of the people around the conflicted person as well as that of Rena herself.
Story-wise, there's a lot to like here. If you're one of the readers who keeps getting frustrated that the endings and story arcs are just repetitions of everything that's come before (only with a few changes), rest assured that this final volume is not like any of the ones that came before. We're getting closer to the end of the answer arcs, with Atonement being the halfway mark and setting things up to reveal what is ultimately going on. If you're like me and have been following along with the story via the anime episodes or through other avenues, then you're pretty aware of where Ryuzaki07 is ultimately leading to and can spot all of the obvious clues. For those who are lucky enough to be reading all of this for the first time and have resisted the urge to read spoilers (so disciplined!), then you have the extra treat of being able to play Sherlock Holmes and piece together the clues to see what's going on.
Art-wise, this was great. It's a cute style and I really enjoyed all of Rena's facial expressions and her demeanor. There's a reason why she's one of my favorite characters: when she decides to jump the train to crazy town, she goes all out. (Although I have to say that my favorite character can change depending on who the current arc focuses on!)
This is absolutely worth getting in my opinion, and if you're a fan of Higurashi then this will be an obvious "must have". If you're a little hesitant due to the amount of volumes out there, then that's understandable. In that case I recommend looking into seeing if your local library has any of the volumes available and reading them through there. (Or read them on the bookshelves of your local bookstore or watching the anime, which is good but not as good as the manga at times.)
Merged review:
I've been ever so patiently waiting for this to get shipped to me, resisting the urge to track it down at my local bookstore. This volume wraps up the Atonement arc, which is the answer ark to the Abducted by Demons question arc that the entire series started off with. We get to see a similar situation, only this time we get to see the viewpoints of the people around the conflicted person as well as that of Rena herself.
Story-wise, there's a lot to like here. If you're one of the readers who keeps getting frustrated that the endings and story arcs are just repetitions of everything that's come before (only with a few changes), rest assured that this final volume is not like any of the ones that came before. We're getting closer to the end of the answer arcs, with Atonement being the halfway mark and setting things up to reveal what is ultimately going on. If you're like me and have been following along with the story via the anime episodes or through other avenues, then you're pretty aware of where Ryuzaki07 is ultimately leading to and can spot all of the obvious clues. For those who are lucky enough to be reading all of this for the first time and have resisted the urge to read spoilers (so disciplined!), then you have the extra treat of being able to play Sherlock Holmes and piece together the clues to see what's going on.
Art-wise, this was great. It's a cute style and I really enjoyed all of Rena's facial expressions and her demeanor. There's a reason why she's one of my favorite characters: when she decides to jump the train to crazy town, she goes all out. (Although I have to say that my favorite character can change depending on who the current arc focuses on!)
This is absolutely worth getting in my opinion, and if you're a fan of Higurashi then this will be an obvious "must have". If you're a little hesitant due to the amount of volumes out there, then that's understandable. In that case I recommend looking into seeing if your local library has any of the volumes available and reading them through there. (Or read them on the bookshelves of your local bookstore or watching the anime, which is good but not as good as the manga at times.)
Story-wise, there's a lot to like here. If you're one of the readers who keeps getting frustrated that the endings and story arcs are just repetitions of everything that's come before (only with a few changes), rest assured that this final volume is not like any of the ones that came before. We're getting closer to the end of the answer arcs, with Atonement being the halfway mark and setting things up to reveal what is ultimately going on. If you're like me and have been following along with the story via the anime episodes or through other avenues, then you're pretty aware of where Ryuzaki07 is ultimately leading to and can spot all of the obvious clues. For those who are lucky enough to be reading all of this for the first time and have resisted the urge to read spoilers (so disciplined!), then you have the extra treat of being able to play Sherlock Holmes and piece together the clues to see what's going on.
Art-wise, this was great. It's a cute style and I really enjoyed all of Rena's facial expressions and her demeanor. There's a reason why she's one of my favorite characters: when she decides to jump the train to crazy town, she goes all out. (Although I have to say that my favorite character can change depending on who the current arc focuses on!)
This is absolutely worth getting in my opinion, and if you're a fan of Higurashi then this will be an obvious "must have". If you're a little hesitant due to the amount of volumes out there, then that's understandable. In that case I recommend looking into seeing if your local library has any of the volumes available and reading them through there. (Or read them on the bookshelves of your local bookstore or watching the anime, which is good but not as good as the manga at times.)
Merged review:
I've been ever so patiently waiting for this to get shipped to me, resisting the urge to track it down at my local bookstore. This volume wraps up the Atonement arc, which is the answer ark to the Abducted by Demons question arc that the entire series started off with. We get to see a similar situation, only this time we get to see the viewpoints of the people around the conflicted person as well as that of Rena herself.
Story-wise, there's a lot to like here. If you're one of the readers who keeps getting frustrated that the endings and story arcs are just repetitions of everything that's come before (only with a few changes), rest assured that this final volume is not like any of the ones that came before. We're getting closer to the end of the answer arcs, with Atonement being the halfway mark and setting things up to reveal what is ultimately going on. If you're like me and have been following along with the story via the anime episodes or through other avenues, then you're pretty aware of where Ryuzaki07 is ultimately leading to and can spot all of the obvious clues. For those who are lucky enough to be reading all of this for the first time and have resisted the urge to read spoilers (so disciplined!), then you have the extra treat of being able to play Sherlock Holmes and piece together the clues to see what's going on.
Art-wise, this was great. It's a cute style and I really enjoyed all of Rena's facial expressions and her demeanor. There's a reason why she's one of my favorite characters: when she decides to jump the train to crazy town, she goes all out. (Although I have to say that my favorite character can change depending on who the current arc focuses on!)
This is absolutely worth getting in my opinion, and if you're a fan of Higurashi then this will be an obvious "must have". If you're a little hesitant due to the amount of volumes out there, then that's understandable. In that case I recommend looking into seeing if your local library has any of the volumes available and reading them through there. (Or read them on the bookshelves of your local bookstore or watching the anime, which is good but not as good as the manga at times.)
January 3, 2013
Still very likes this book. The chill level is somehow decreasing far from the other books. I even can say it is action drama rather than horror / thrilling story.
Several comments:
1. If in book 5, the point of view change to Shion, in this book 6, point of view change to several persons (mostly Rena and Keichi). Since we already know the personality of Keichi, this book focuses in building personality of Rena. Not very difficult, because Rena has been introduced so far in previous books. It's easy also because Rena personality isn't as complicated as Shion (IMO). Having all of that trouble in her life I can believe that Rena is very reluctant to mental disorder sickness.
2. There is some scene that I think too long. For example when Rena and Keichi fighting on the roof. It's like taking forever.
3. New style of story. After reading book 5, I would think that book 6 will have same format. The same story from book 1 but from perspective of Rena, but I am wrong. This book is totally new story. Yes it has same plot as book 1, about paranoia disease that is suffered by Keichi, now it's on Rena, but all things inside it; the cause, the symptom, and the solution are totally different. Also we have good ending in this book.
4. This book starts to explain about relation of other book. I say ‘start to explain’, means that the relation is still a mystery but we now know there is relation between each book.
5. Moral story is told in this book. Unlike other book this book has a good ending when every misunderstanding solved without anyone death. And the moral is that when you have problem, talk to your buddy, don’t try to keep it yourself, you need somebody to stand with you. And this morale is applicable in the story of this book. On the other book you can’t have it (sure, how can you tell the moral story if you have bloody death ending).
6. The background sound is very supporting and touching hearts, hehehe
7. The mystery of series murder is still a mystery. Is it really a human conspiracy, just coincidence or supernatural things? To answer it we still have 2 books to go :)
Several comments:
1. If in book 5, the point of view change to Shion, in this book 6, point of view change to several persons (mostly Rena and Keichi). Since we already know the personality of Keichi, this book focuses in building personality of Rena. Not very difficult, because Rena has been introduced so far in previous books. It's easy also because Rena personality isn't as complicated as Shion (IMO). Having all of that trouble in her life I can believe that Rena is very reluctant to mental disorder sickness.
2. There is some scene that I think too long. For example when Rena and Keichi fighting on the roof. It's like taking forever.
3. New style of story. After reading book 5, I would think that book 6 will have same format. The same story from book 1 but from perspective of Rena, but I am wrong. This book is totally new story. Yes it has same plot as book 1, about paranoia disease that is suffered by Keichi, now it's on Rena, but all things inside it; the cause, the symptom, and the solution are totally different. Also we have good ending in this book.
4. This book starts to explain about relation of other book. I say ‘start to explain’, means that the relation is still a mystery but we now know there is relation between each book.
5. Moral story is told in this book. Unlike other book this book has a good ending when every misunderstanding solved without anyone death. And the moral is that when you have problem, talk to your buddy, don’t try to keep it yourself, you need somebody to stand with you. And this morale is applicable in the story of this book. On the other book you can’t have it (sure, how can you tell the moral story if you have bloody death ending).
6. The background sound is very supporting and touching hearts, hehehe
7. The mystery of series murder is still a mystery. Is it really a human conspiracy, just coincidence or supernatural things? To answer it we still have 2 books to go :)
September 16, 2013
It's kind of surprising in these books who comes out on top and who ends up the murderer. But one things for sure, what ever the main character thought they knew at the beginning of the arc, isn't really what happens.
August 29, 2014
That ending. This arc was really good. Interesting but good. And the art was also pretty good in this. Good volume.
November 18, 2015
Well, I'm glad we finally got one that has a happy ending. I can't wait to see what's gonna happen next.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews