Ryukishi07 (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.
From here on I'm probably not going to actually review any more books in this series because it's too difficult to not spoil things, so I'm just going to link to my review of the first book. I think once you get to this point you'll know whether you want to continue with this series or not, and as of now my review of the first book is pretty much how I feel about the series as a whole.
Though I might share some random thoughts or images still, like something like this:
This is a very good presentation of the "Cotton Drifting" arc, with perhaps the best explanation for the Watanagashi Festival in any version of Higurashi I've seen. The art is very pleasing and the sense of horror and tragedy this arc needs comes across extremely well.
The next part in the series and this time the gore happens. This time the prelude is over and people start dying. AND OMG dying they do. Keiichi finds out all sorts of more things about the town and about the Sonozaki's. About Mion, but also about Shion. It was quite interesting to read, though at times there was just SO MUCH dialogue that I got a bit tired of it all, I noticed that my head and eyes just started wandering (and they already do that a lot, but here it is even more). It was still exciting to read, but I was just eager for things to really get exciting. For Mion/Shion to just snap. The last part of the book is OMG and then there is the ending that just is the cherry on the cake. I totally forgot that happened in there. That was scary. I did feel sorry for everyone involved and everyone surrounding them. The message of this arc is clearly that one should be honest, don't judge based on appearances (the doll and how Keiichi didn't give it to Mion which is why she went totally south) and also to just put heavier locks on everything.
I was planning on writing a longer review, but all I want is curl up and sleep at the moment. Sleep.
It’s festival time for Hanamizawa, which is better known as the moment where the other shoe drops. This time around is no different, as curiosity threatens to kill several cats and the endless tragedy of the village gets a little more fleshed out.
This is definitely the lesser of the two Higurashi series I’ve read so far. It’s not a bad read, by any means, but it doesn’t offer as much mystery and while the doomed romance angle is there this time (and not from the direction I expected), it isn’t capitalized on.
People die, things have changed, it doesn’t feel quite as hopeless (until it does), some explanations are given but then get supplanted by even more mystery. There’s definitely some good stuff - the potentially expanded roles and questions about just what the other characters actually know are quite a welcome addition, though they largely come to naught this volume.
Part of the problem is that the antagonist here doesn’t offer the quiet psychopathy of the last arc. It goes less dread-filled and more cackling evil pure villainy which just isn’t as interesting. That said, the last pages of this book nearly make up for it, a magnificent set of two-page spreads that make for a killer ending.
It’s a long read, but not a bad one. It’s impossible not to compare this with its predecessor and it does come up a little short. Still, I definitely enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to dipping back into this universe to see what the next arc brings.
I didn’t sweat too much brain power trying to figure out the mystery because either we get a clever resolution or we get something that makes no sense. I have hopes that the author is more for the former than the latter - there is at least one theory I have that plays to an Agatha Christie style of making an assumption into a fact without you noticing, so I will be interested to see if I’m proven right.
3 stars, but really it’s worth 3.5 for that ending sequence. Wonderfully chilling. I hope it’s not the start of diminishing returns for the series, but that’s a problem for the next instalment.
On the night of the cotton-drifting ceremony, the night when someone has been murdered each year since the dam project was destroyed, Keichi and Shion run into the photographer and local nurse. They want to sneak into the saiguden, a sacred storage house. Inside, they discover strange machines of torture that were supposedly used back when the village was known for its cannibalism and demon-possession. Then they hear a noise and sneak out before anyone can find that they've invaded the sacred place.
Unfortunately, Keichi awakens the next morning to find that the photographer and the nurse have disappeared. He and Shion try to keep it secret that they sneaked into the saiguden, but then Mion does that weird thing with her eyes (different from what Rena did in the "Abducted by Demons" arc), and Keichi knows she knows the truth. There are more disappearances, even of his friends in the game club. It all points to Mion... especially when he hears that Shion has been missing for several days, and the phone calls he received from Shion were likely made by her twin, Mion.
This was not anywhere near as wonderfully gory as v. 2, although clearly it is the second volume of each arc that is going to contain the real horror. It was certainly creepy, especially at the end. Keichi continues to confuse me - Mion stares at him with her creepy eyes and tells him she is now a demon, yet he ruffles her hair and tells her she's his best friend. He kind of deserved what he got at the end of this.
I love manga, but many of the ones put out nowadays seem to have overly drawn out plotlines & shallow mysteries. While that doesn't mean that they're terrible, it makes me hunger for something a bit more substantial. Thankfully there's manga such as Higurashi being put out right now. Readers who aren't fans of heavier plotlines may not be as enchanted as I am, but I do recommend that just about everyone checks this series out.
While the first plot arc (Abducted by Demons) focused around Keiichi & Rena, this volume concludes the first half of the 'Cotton Drifting' plot arc. After sneaking into the village's sacred shrine with Shion, Tomitake & Takano, Keiichi discovers the horrific background of the village- that originally it was supposedly filled with demons. With people disappearing left & right, Keiichi has to try to discover the who & whats of what is going on.
This series just keeps getting better & better. I can't wait for the answer arcs to eventually come out for this series so I can start figuring out more & more of the series. (We've got a ways to go though.) I love how tightly woven the plotline is & that we're beginning to see how the various layers of the story are starting to come through. I honestly can't say enough good things about this manga. I hate to use "buzz lines", but I can't help it. If you could only buy one manga series this year, buy Higurashi. If you love manga such as Evangelion & After School Nightmare, you'll love this series.
When I read this book until 98%, I still think it just a regular mystery book. Everything seems a normal murderer story although the criminal is very cute girl. And I still guess it in my mind about this suspect, since the middle of the book. So there is no any surprise at all.
But the last 2% is very surprising and make me must read the answer episode (episode 5 if I am not mistaken). Everything seems creepy at the end. Are there any logical explanation in here? Or the ghost and curse is real thing?
The bad news is that the sound book version that I read (ipad version) only has 4 first episode. I don't exactly get the idea when the answer episode will be released. Hopefully it will be released soon. Or if not I should get the other way to find the answer by watching the anime, which I don't actually want to, since I think reading it will give more feel, tense and imagination.
Uuwah. If anything that scared me more than the Abducted by Demons arc. I'd always liked Mion...
I found that the first volume of this arc relied a fair amount on you having read another arc before... It didn't go into as much detail about the dam being built, whereas AbD arc had.
Still, those drawings were terrifying. I nearly died when I read the last few pages...
This is one of the scariest things I've ever read. I was literally afraid to go to sleep for almost an hour after finishing it. My god, those last eight pages will haunt my dreams. Highly recommended. Even if you don't read volume 1 (or 3 depending on how you number the volumes), read this. Read this and be terrified.
This volume wraps up the Cotton Drifting arc as things become rather intended yet surrounded in mystery. This volume leaves the reader eager to k ow what the answer to this arc is right away! Also can I just say that the artist for this and it’s answer arc is fantastic! Their art is my favorite out of the whole series!
I'm planning to get this book on the weekend. I LOVE the anime and it'll be awesome to have a book on my shelf from the series. =D If you like the manga, but haven't seen the anime, be sure to check the anime out! It's AWESOME!
My summary for this book is basically the same as the one for the third volume. While the third volume focused more on the fun and amusing side of this series, this second book is where all the scary stuff happens. (laughs) Very good, anyway.
That's what I'd describe the series in a nutshell: creepy.
Anyway, this continues with the current arc and it got weird and of course it has to have its creepiness. And near the end it got crazy. Then it reminded me back to when I watched the anime. Not fun.
Oh my God. This was so good. I think this arc may have beaten the first one in terms of how much I enjoyed them. The whole Mion and Shion story line was awesome. The ending was so creepy though! Can't wait for the answer arc and for the other arcs as well!
ngl for a higurashi book this one was rlly good- but prolly just bc i read them out of order and like I still understood everything that was happening which was rlly nice
personally tho there was a lot of dialouge and stuff so i skipped thru a lot of it- and like idk in the anime he gives the doll to mion but in the manga, he doesnt and i feel like it makes a bigger difference???? they should've kept the version from the manga in the anime bc like it gave context to why mion was upset but in the anime things just didn't really fit together (but maybe im just dumb)
anyways yea it slayed and i love this series now just like WHY DIDNT THEY USE THIS STORY FOR THE ANIME LIKE BRO WE DIDN'T EVEN GET TO SEE THEIR DEATHS IN THE ANIME THEY WERE JUST LIKE "ah nah yea everyone's dead but you and somehow the only damage caused to u was from HITTING YOUR HEAD ON A STEEL DOOR REPETIVELY WTF"
Otro arco más se la increíble saga de Higurashi When They Cry. Esta vez se nos presenta con un sangriento y macabro desenlace que no deja indiferente a nadie. De hecho ha sido el único manga que me ha hecho dar un pequeño brinco con las escenas del final. Este manga en particular nos enseña que a veces lo que no puede pasar, ocurre y que las apariencias engañan totalmente.
4.5/5 پایان بندی کار جز بهترین داستان های جنایی،ترسناک و میستری بود که تا حالا توی هر مدیومی تجربه کردم و چند دقیقه پایانی تک تک سلول های خاکستریت در حال فریاد زدن هست... خلاصه توی رحت ریوکیشی که همین فرمون باز تا اومینکو باید برم XDDD
Day 4 of reading a volume of Higurashi every day, and Watanagashi Vol. 2 is some of the best this series gets, I love later parts of course, but this half of Watanagashi is just so tense and well written, and especially interesting to re-read knowing the plot of the series.
I found out about this manga in YouTube, with the song I just killed my ex and I didn't expect to be like this, I really don't recommend it, If you want to risk it risk it I made a really big mistake and if I start reading something I have to finish it and not leave it....
Ho sempre amato questo arco. Leggendolo sulla Novel quasi mi sono commossa. Ma non vedo l'ora di leggere la parte di Shion, uno dei miei personaggi preferiti. Davvero carini i disegni.
I know what this manga is about and I am generally unfazed by the spooky shit that happens, but reading this volume in the middle of the night, lights off.... 10/10 would not recommend.