*Higurashi no Naku Koro ni*

This has to be one of my favorite shows ever. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (known as "Higurashi - When They Cry" as the dubbed version) is a psychological horror/thriller that is probably one of the most horrific things I've ever seen. It takes great pleasure in making you squirm. I found myself dreadfully awaiting when Higurashi would bring a new level of "messed up" up to bat.

At first, it doesn't seem there is any real connection between the different story arcs other than the characters, but slowly things begin coming into focus. It's definitely something I would recommend people experience at least once.

Higurashi has 3 seasons available to watch, though the 3rd is just a 5 episode OVA. The first season is known simply as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The second is called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, and the last is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei. There is a 4th season in the works, though I can't remember what it was called nor when it is supposed to air.

I plan on writing up a fuller synopsis on my blog whenever I end up getting a chance, but as of this moment I haven't yet.

I have yet to see this. I have some of the books but I'm wondering when it's going to be complete (if it isn't already).

I'm not sure about how complete the manga is, either the licensed one or the Japanese one. I know they're based off of a set of video games, and I'm not sure if they're up to speed, and whether or not there may be more games on the way. They do tend to cut a little bit out of the anime, from my experience reading the manga. I would like to play the games, but I'm not sure if there is any sort of reliable translation out there.

That is so cool that its from some games! I would love for more japanese games to come to the U.S. There are a lot of anime games out there that don't come to the U.S. :/

Yeah, Higurashi started out as a sort of "murder mystery" type visual novel-style game. It's definitely something I would pick up if they brought them over to the US, though I can't really see it happening. The typical anime market over here is that of a young teenager, and considering Higurashi's graphic content, there just wouldn't really be as much of a market. It's the bad thing about Japanese games, is that they don't tend to do very well over here.

Yeah and it's too bad