windowmipers
There's so much to love about Higurashi that I'm not even sure where to begin.
To get it out of the way, not everyone is going to like the slice of life sections. A lot of the characterization is indirect and just comes in the form of watching these kids hang out, familiarizing you with their fun personalities and relationships and getting a lot of the more tangibly necessary character details through along the way. I found them really funny and entertaining most of the time, but I know that many won’t (there are also quite a few of them). Part of that goodwill also comes from how much I love this cast. Even without delving deeper into their motivations, the club members are super endearing and the bonds between them are immediately apparent as something to be treasured.
But no matter how you feel about the abundance of club activities, I wholeheartedly oppose the perspective that it only gets good once the tension really starts building. The peaceful scenes are absolutely necessary on multiple levels. The immersion they provide into the apparent normalcy of Hinamizawa and the club members’ lives within it is so effective to the point where by the time you get that first line of dialogue that communicates that something is off, you’re about as thrown for a loop as Keiichi is. Speaking of, his role in the story is a lot more important than some give him credit for, and his perspective is essential to what makes the gradual tone shift work so well. His narration perfectly conveys just how much he appreciates his surroundings and the friends he’s grown to really care for despite only being around them for a short time. The reason the second half is so compelling isn’t just because of how well-handled the building tension and everything that comes with it is; it’s because by this point we know enough about Keiichi to understand his feelings without him even telling us. A lot of scenes genuinely made me sad because of how much I felt for his uncertainty and what he (and I) had become familiar with being ripped away. That central element of empathy that makes you want to see the characters happy again is what keeps you reading and delivers, along with the rightfully praised psychological elements, an incredibly solid opening that invests you in all the right ways.
To get it out of the way, not everyone is going to like the slice of life sections. A lot of the characterization is indirect and just comes in the form of watching these kids hang out, familiarizing you with their fun personalities and relationships and getting a lot of the more tangibly necessary character details through along the way. I found them really funny and entertaining most of the time, but I know that many won’t (there are also quite a few of them). Part of that goodwill also comes from how much I love this cast. Even without delving deeper into their motivations, the club members are super endearing and the bonds between them are immediately apparent as something to be treasured.
But no matter how you feel about the abundance of club activities, I wholeheartedly oppose the perspective that it only gets good once the tension really starts building. The peaceful scenes are absolutely necessary on multiple levels. The immersion they provide into the apparent normalcy of Hinamizawa and the club members’ lives within it is so effective to the point where by the time you get that first line of dialogue that communicates that something is off, you’re about as thrown for a loop as Keiichi is. Speaking of, his role in the story is a lot more important than some give him credit for, and his perspective is essential to what makes the gradual tone shift work so well. His narration perfectly conveys just how much he appreciates his surroundings and the friends he’s grown to really care for despite only being around them for a short time. The reason the second half is so compelling isn’t just because of how well-handled the building tension and everything that comes with it is; it’s because by this point we know enough about Keiichi to understand his feelings without him even telling us. A lot of scenes genuinely made me sad because of how much I felt for his uncertainty and what he (and I) had become familiar with being ripped away. That central element of empathy that makes you want to see the characters happy again is what keeps you reading and delivers, along with the rightfully praised psychological elements, an incredibly solid opening that invests you in all the right ways.