Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei

Synopsis:

When racing downhill on her bike against her friends, Rika pulls ahead but is struck by an oncoming truck and killed. When Rika wakes up this time though the world she is in is now a sinless version of her own. Keiichi never came to Hinamizawa, Rena's parents never divorced, Satoshi never disappeared, and Satoko's and Rika's parent never died. Rika realizes she finally has arrived in the perfect world she's been trying to reach for so long but each time it resulted in her own death. Rika must now chose to stay in this new world forever or commit the first sin and return to her own reality.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 5


Review:

Okay, first of all, if you haven't seen Higurashi no Naku Kori ni (When They Cry) or the sequel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai then stop reading this. Just stop. Because if you haven't seen the rest of the series then this 5 part OVA series isn't gonna make much sense watching it as a stand alone mini-series. Now, saying that, let's get started.

In it's traditional sense, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei (Damn that name is a pain in the ass to keep typing. Screw it, I'm just gonna truncate it to 'Higurashi') starts off with one episode dedicated to portray it as a comedy which by now you know it's not. But, what is the 'Higurashi' series without a few episodes of comic relief? Don't worry, after the first episode the creepiness settles back in as the next few episodes put Rika into that perfect world she's always wanted to obtain by constantly altering the events that took place leading to her death each time but now she's stumbled into it by being killed... yet again. Most of the characters make a return with different attitudes and lifestyles and in just a few episodes you begin to see that the reality that Rika's been trying to achieve all this time might be... too perfect.

Even though the the original Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is notorious for it's high level of violence, this installment into the series sidesteps the violence just as the second season did. Which I guess it doesn't really matter because this time it's just a small story of being handed something that you've always wanted but didn't have to work for it. This is a nice addition to the series even if it's only a few episodes long and it still boasts the same great animation, characters, and intriguing storytelling as it's full length counterparts making this a must see if you're a fan of the 'Higurashi' series as I am.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei (opening)

Recommendation: |Very High|