Yes, I already put this up in FFN. But I swear to Oyashiro-sama, this anime kicks ass! Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: The title literally translates to "When Cicadas Cry" or "When They Cry." The red "Na" is actually an official part of the logo. Second season adds the word "Kai" after the entire title, which means "Solution." Developer: 07th Expansion Author: Ryukishi07 Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Psychological thriller Story Overview (Taken directly from Wikipedia.org) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983, at a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa (based on the village of Shirakawa, Gifu, a World Heritage Site), which has a population of approximately 2000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Hojo. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser, usually him.) Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi. However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro-sama. Keiichi learns that for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes implicated into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro-sama. In each story arc, he or one of his friends become paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed. More info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_naku_koro_ni Story Arcs Basically, there are several different story arcs. The eight original are deemed as Question Arcs or Answer Arcs, four in each category respectively. The Question Arcs are the basic story arcs that bring up the mysteries behind events and many other things. The Answer Arcs recapitulate the events of the corresponding Question Arcs and provides most of the answers and solutions that were left hanging in the Question Arcs. Also, there is an extra special arc introduced in the second season of the anime, which would pretty much be considered a Recap + Answer Arc of the first season. More at the Wikipedia link if you want to understand more about this. My Review - Score (9.5/10) At first I thought it would turn out lame since it's hard to believe that lolita people would actually be able to stab, kill, and maim anyone or anything. But I went ahead and watched it since a friend recommend it to me, and boy was I wrong. It may not be as horrid as Elfen Lied was with the bloody scenes, but it's still what I'll consider grotesque. The different arcs and scenerios can get a little annoying when they repeat the basic events like with the Watanagashi Festival and the deaths of a certain couple of people, but when different characters play the villain role and more truth is introduced, it gets rather creepy. What I like about this anime the most is the splitting of Question and Answer Arcs. It keeps people watching to want to find out more. There was never really a time when I became bored and wanted to quit watching like I would with some other anime, which is a bonus. I recommend this for those that want mystery horror + blood scenes + humor. Though the people look like lolitas to me, but on a lolita scale rating, at least it's not quite as high like Lucky Star. The graphics are actually better than that anime in my opinion, probably matching with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Plus, by second season the graphics improve quite a bit. Also, if you understand Japanese and listen to opening of first season, you may notice the weird chanting. Well, if you watch the opening of second season, you can hear the hidden messages "I can't escape...", and if you watch 2nd season OP in reverse format, it'll sound exactly the same as the chanting in 1st season OP. o_o;; That, by far, already creeps me out.