Higurashi ga Naku koro ni (When Cicadas Cry) is a series of visual novels that betray the point of the medium – namely, the plot is not interactive, at least not in the original releases. The series feature a group of friends from a tiny primary school in a climactic but isolated and equally tiny village which holds many secrets. In each installment, the children play together, learn of the mysteries of the setting, become paranoid and start killing each other in gruesome ways. Every new chapter introduces new and exciting ways to go crazy and die, and then slowly reveals the clues as to what exactly is happening and why. Since the series have numerous chapters, it may be difficult to approach, which is a shame since in my opinion it’s a fantastic mystery story and source of inspiration for many stories following it. For the help of potential new readers, I made this guide of key stories presented in order that makes the story most approachable. A fair warning: the series runs on violence against children, and the violence and abuse is very graphic and very gory, which the anime tends to tone down but the manga often exploits to the full potential. The most sexual material is barely suggestive in the story proper (plus one bathroom scene that was censored in English edition), and slightly spicier in extra chapters though.( Read more... )