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Higurashi When They Cry Manga Japanese Numbering #5
Higurashi When They Cry: Curse Killing Arc, Vol. 1
The dark mysteries of Hinamizawa village unfold anew in the Curse Killing Arc! After a short trip to the city, Keiichi Maebara returns to the small mountain hamlet where he is welcomed with a fresh batch of pranks from Satoko and the rest of his school friends. Satoko may be the youngest of the group, but she always puts on the biggest smile. Who knew her upbeat attitude masked a terrible tragedy - a year ago her older brother, her only family, vanished without a trace. Keiichi's glad to step in and act as her big brother figure, but he can't shake the nagging questions about her real brother's disappearance. Transfer student? Teenage runaway? Or could it be...Oyashiro-sama's curse?
198 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2005
16 people are currently reading
304 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 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 17, 2017
Satoko isn't my favorite character (that would be Rika) but her story is still sad.
For more of my thoughts on this series please see my review of the first book.
For more of my thoughts on this series please see my review of the first book.
February 28, 2010
A weak volume on its own, focusing more so on the social aspect of our main characters than the horrors they hide. It flows very well into Volume 6, which was just released stateside. Curse Killing Arc 1 and 2 (volumes 5 and 6) are so different in tone it's scary (quite literally.) This was most likely meant as a prerequisite to the vastly disturbing Volume 6.
October 29, 2010
As a fan of the Higurashi series, I knew that eventually this arc would show up in manga format. This arc focuses around Satoko, revealing more information about her, her past & her tragic circumstances. The "Curse Killing" arc is the saddest part of the series, so I'll warn potential readers- this arc will pluck at your heartstrings.
This arc starts off as the previous ones do- the fateful summer seems to have been reset, with no memory of what happened before. Keiichi Maebara still falls for Satoko's traps & seemingly has an antagonistic relationship with her. However Rika alerts him to some of her past, telling him that underneath her playful exterior lies a young girl who has been through a lot & is ultimately very lonely. Keiichi tries his best to befriend Satoko, but as things always are in Hinamizawa, things always end tragically for someone...
I enjoyed this volume & I'm looking forward to the next one coming out. This volume gives a lot of info on Satoko & I liked her interaction with Keiichi. I love the artwork in this series- it's so nice looking & you can tell that the artists really loved working on it. Again, I'll warn readers that this will be a very hard arc to read compared to the previous volumes because the drama & trauma is in a different tone than what has come before. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil it!
This is the next to last arc of the original question arcs of the game series, so I can guarantee any newbies to the series that eventually things will start getting explained & you'll be very satisfied with the outcome!
This arc starts off as the previous ones do- the fateful summer seems to have been reset, with no memory of what happened before. Keiichi Maebara still falls for Satoko's traps & seemingly has an antagonistic relationship with her. However Rika alerts him to some of her past, telling him that underneath her playful exterior lies a young girl who has been through a lot & is ultimately very lonely. Keiichi tries his best to befriend Satoko, but as things always are in Hinamizawa, things always end tragically for someone...
I enjoyed this volume & I'm looking forward to the next one coming out. This volume gives a lot of info on Satoko & I liked her interaction with Keiichi. I love the artwork in this series- it's so nice looking & you can tell that the artists really loved working on it. Again, I'll warn readers that this will be a very hard arc to read compared to the previous volumes because the drama & trauma is in a different tone than what has come before. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil it!
This is the next to last arc of the original question arcs of the game series, so I can guarantee any newbies to the series that eventually things will start getting explained & you'll be very satisfied with the outcome!
November 22, 2025
hello my name is nii nii
October 7, 2021
Re-read 2021! It is time for Spooktober and time for a new batch of re-reads for this series. Last year I read up to 4, this year I am going to read another 4. Very excited!
In this one Keiichi has been around for a bit and returns back to the village. We see him discover new things about the village (including of course the dam incident), about fun places but also some not so fun places. It was really fun to read and I love that in this arc Keichii is mostly used to village life. In the beginning it is pretty quiet, but when things get revealed things slowly escalate until the last chapter. Be warned what you say about the syndrome or Satoshi-kun.
I loved Satoko in this one. She was adorable and I love her pranks. Such a shame her character was completely ruined in Gou/Sotsu.
In this one Keiichi has been around for a bit and returns back to the village. We see him discover new things about the village (including of course the dam incident), about fun places but also some not so fun places. It was really fun to read and I love that in this arc Keichii is mostly used to village life. In the beginning it is pretty quiet, but when things get revealed things slowly escalate until the last chapter. Be warned what you say about the syndrome or Satoshi-kun.
I loved Satoko in this one. She was adorable and I love her pranks. Such a shame her character was completely ruined in Gou/Sotsu.
August 11, 2016
The art was a bit weird but different for this arc. But it still has the creepiness and weirdness at times so there's that. I'm really liking the series so far and wonder what each arc will be like, seeing the same characters again.
September 8, 2016
Another rating: 9/10 (for whole series)
Ok, for me this one was the best so far. Characters developed very well, a lot of new important informations were said and also many many questions rose!
I'm trying to solve this mystery very hard...
Please no footsteps ok?
Ok, for me this one was the best so far. Characters developed very well, a lot of new important informations were said and also many many questions rose!
I'm trying to solve this mystery very hard...
Please no footsteps ok?
June 8, 2022
This volume begins the final of the question arcs which centers around the mystery behind Satoko and Satoshi. I thought the brother-sister relationship Keiichi and Satoko fostered during this volume was sweet to see for this story. However, we all know this sweet point in the story will not last.
September 16, 2013
As I have said in previous reviews I don't like this character, I am sorry I know she was in a bad situation but still the feeling remains.
November 2, 2020
Hinamizawa has a set list of victims in its reiterative history, but our exploration of those circumstances is ever-changing. This time out we see things from the perspective of Keiichi’s interactions with Satoko, the trap-laying gremlin of the bunch. There’s more to her than simple mischief, however, as nothing in this village can ever be simple...
Talk about a pleasant surprise. To this point, Satoko has been my least favourite of the four main girls in the story, but this is a surprisingly affecting story of her rather sad home life.
With her parents gone and her brother... somewhere... she turns to taking care of Keiichi and really bonds with him. It’s very sweet watching their relationship evolve and it really broadens out a thin character.
Now, it wouldn’t be Higurashi without creeping dread and this feels much more interesting than last arc - there’s one particularly gruesome death that just nails (sorry) a single shot showing how over the top it is. It also might be me, but I feel like Keiichi’s pleas for things to stay the same get more and more fraught as the series has gone on.
Elsewhere, it’s interesting how consistently unhinged Rena is, no matter the scenario. She always feels like she’s one wrong question away from going to a very dark place. I did find some of her dialogue very interesting this time though...
I did feel like the baseball section was a bit of a swing and a miss (sorry again). Keiichi’s means of turning the tables was, for lack of a better turn of phrase, super lame. There’s some seriously inappropriate sentiments towards various females as well. That’s kind of an ‘is what it is’ that I’ve had to accept while reading these, but I’m still calling it out.
On the flip side, I found it very interesting that Shion is just integrated into the cast now and they sort of handwave her reintroduction away. It’s a nice way to illustrate that even when this seems like the same thing over and over, changes are certainly manifesting beneath the surface.
3.5 stars to this one. Not as good as the Demon Killing arc, better than the Cotton Drifting arc. Hopefully the second volume, also known as the ‘volume where everything pays off in an orgy of terror and murder every single time’ can bring it all home.
Talk about a pleasant surprise. To this point, Satoko has been my least favourite of the four main girls in the story, but this is a surprisingly affecting story of her rather sad home life.
With her parents gone and her brother... somewhere... she turns to taking care of Keiichi and really bonds with him. It’s very sweet watching their relationship evolve and it really broadens out a thin character.
Now, it wouldn’t be Higurashi without creeping dread and this feels much more interesting than last arc - there’s one particularly gruesome death that just nails (sorry) a single shot showing how over the top it is. It also might be me, but I feel like Keiichi’s pleas for things to stay the same get more and more fraught as the series has gone on.
Elsewhere, it’s interesting how consistently unhinged Rena is, no matter the scenario. She always feels like she’s one wrong question away from going to a very dark place. I did find some of her dialogue very interesting this time though...
I did feel like the baseball section was a bit of a swing and a miss (sorry again). Keiichi’s means of turning the tables was, for lack of a better turn of phrase, super lame. There’s some seriously inappropriate sentiments towards various females as well. That’s kind of an ‘is what it is’ that I’ve had to accept while reading these, but I’m still calling it out.
On the flip side, I found it very interesting that Shion is just integrated into the cast now and they sort of handwave her reintroduction away. It’s a nice way to illustrate that even when this seems like the same thing over and over, changes are certainly manifesting beneath the surface.
3.5 stars to this one. Not as good as the Demon Killing arc, better than the Cotton Drifting arc. Hopefully the second volume, also known as the ‘volume where everything pays off in an orgy of terror and murder every single time’ can bring it all home.
August 20, 2024
The second arc was the most disturbing and violent (it's been years since I've seen the anime and it's still good and freaks me out), but this one is the most painful and tough to read, it's also the saddest. I can handle anything in books and manga except child abuse (I have to keep reminding myself that what's going on is not reel but it's still hard), any story with child abuse (especially movies and shows will be so difficult for me get through). There were parts where I had to stop reading because it was so hard to see them hurting.
Review will be posted later.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
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Review will be posted later.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
August 25, 2020
La tragedia se avecina en este nuevo arco. Los problemas vuelven a florecer en una historia que, de nuevo, nos venden como pacífica a la espera de algo trágico y brutal que, evidentemente, va a suceder.
November 8, 2018
Really loving this series!!!^.^ one of the best Psychological mangas I’ve read!!!👌😁😻😻
May 8, 2020
Not really my favorite arc until the end.
April 15, 2023
a día de hoy sigo sin entender este arco
September 15, 2024
I can't understand those girls minds why are they so crazy to even want to kill each other
May 29, 2025
I'm so confused but it's so fire
June 11, 2025
No me agrada del todo Satoko, espero que en la segunda mitad eso cambie
May 12, 2021
weebing with Berfin dostumm #7
October 20, 2017
Bohužiaľ, asi som si na začiatok nevybrala správnu mangu. Mám pocit akoby som začala práve tou najslabšou. Celkovo to nebolo zlé ale akosi ma príbeh Satoko vôbec nezaujímal a počas čítania som sa nudila. Ale budem veriť ešte druhému dielu, že možno sa vyšperkuje.
October 17, 2012
Poor Satoko, did I spell it right?
October 10, 2012
Scary as hell. My favorite that I've read so far. Dark, psychopathic, and one of those that makes you cry yourself to sleep at night... LOVED IT!
February 11, 2013
awesome book
July 9, 2015
Slow paced but fun none the less. So far all of the first volumes in each Higurashi arc have been slow, and the second ones full of action and horror.
April 28, 2016
bloody mess
oh poor satoko,dear child must be protected.
oh poor satoko,dear child must be protected.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews