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Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
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alt title(s): Higurashi; Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai; When Cicadas Cry 
Welcome to Hinamizawa
Whoever finds this note, please uncover the truth. That's all I ask.
The year: 1983. When Maebara Keiichi and his family move to the sleepy little rural village of Hinamizawa, everything seems peaceful and rustic at first. But Keiichi quickly learns that there is more to the four girls of the school's game club than meets the eye... and more to the town as well. Revelation follows revelation, and brutal murder follows brutal murder in this enigmatic tale told from a variety of viewpoints and scenarios. Just what links the scenarios together?
The first season focuses on the cycles of paranoia and death that plague the main characters. The second season, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai, delves deeper into the causes of the repeating scenarios and their inevitable conclusions and the struggle to defy fate. The third installment, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, is a series of OVAs and, rather than a true third season, is simply a collection of side stories.
Higurashi consists of several different story arcs with most arcs beginning similarly but ending differently. If watched or read out of order, it can raise many questions about what is going on. See The Other Wiki's entry for Higurashi get the order the manga are supposed to be read in. The anime can be watched in order (episode one first), with Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai being season two.
Part of the When They Cry series of visual novels by 07th Expansion, which also includes Umineko No Naku Koro Ni.
Feel free to check out the character sheet, the WMG page, and the Fanfic Recommendations page. And if you're feeling brave, feel free to take a look at the High Octane Nightmare Fuel page.
Provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion - In the first episode of Rei, this is combined with Expy and invoked in the form of Chie-sensei pulling out wooden T squares which look a lot like Black Keys.
- And again in the final episode of Rei, where one of Rena's cutaway fantasy scenes puts Miyo in the role of Sachiko Ogasawara.
- Adaptation Decay - The first season suffered in conveying the mood of the games—the suspense, mystery, emotion and whatnot. The "killer lolis" description does not do it justice, though to be fair, it is not entirely inaccurate, either.
- Adaptation Dye Job - Eye variation. Keiichi's eyes are blue in the manga, sound novels, and Daybreak but purple in the anime and Mah-Jong game.
- The live action adaptation movies change everyone's hair colors to a "natural" color.
- Adults Are Useless - Subverted as an Aesop.
- An Aesop - A bunch, including: Stick by your friends no matter what terrible things they do, and you can fight fate (but if you screw up even slightly everyone you care about will probably die a horrible death anyways).
- Agent Mulder - Rena isn't the only one who believes in the the Hinamizawa god Oyashiro-sama, but she's definitely the most emphatic about it.
- All Just A Dream - The Dice-Killing Arc of Higurashi Rei... Or Was It?
- Alphabetical Theme Naming - The Houjou kids are called Satoshi and Satoko.
- Miyo Takano and Professor Hifumi Takano. Hifumi can be written as 一二三 (123), while Miyo is written as 三四 (34), which continues the sequence. Would be a stretch, except that it's pointed out in the anime when the two characters first meet.
- Alternate Continuity- Onisarashi-hen.
- Ambiguously Gay - Arguably, or not, Rika and Satoko.
- Rika, specifically, if her Almost Kiss with Hanyuu in the second season ending is any indication.
- It's almost funny how much Shmion ship tease there is in Meakashi-hen. Also, in the Japanese DVD release, they included an OFFICIAL ARTWORK poster of Mion and Shion fully naked and cuddling on the floor with lips almost touching.
- The anime is famous for the amount of Twincest artwork they use but still the Ship Tease is there in both the manga and anime.
- Anachronism Stew: The Sound novel seems to like invoking this trope for the lulz. In the Watanagashi Arc, the gang is playing the game Sympathy. (In which someone says a word and each player must write down what first come to mind. A player receives points by having the same answer as another player.) When the word is sakura (cherry blossom) Keiichi tries thinking like a girl in order to gain the lead. His answer? Card Captor Sakura.
- Not to mention that by looking at the counter on the game shop in the Watanagashi Arc, Yu Gi Oh and Duel Masters packs can be clearly seen.
- The anime gets in on this action too. In the OVA, the Cat-Killing Arc, Satoko is seemingly dressed up as Shampoo.
- Ancient Conspiracy - Or maybe that's just what they want you to think.
- The Anime Of The Game
- Arc Words - Arguably, "Uso da!" (in the English version as "Liar!"), considering its relevance to the theme and the fact that, whenever someone says it, the world is pretty much doomed.
- "I'm sorry" might fit the definition a little better. Similarly, just about by definition, if a character hears someone else say it, especially if they can't see the person who says it, then someone is either about to snap or, more likely, already has. Indeed, the poem at the beginning of Onikakushi-hen underlines the secondary theme through the series of atonement.
- The Atoner - Keiichi in the appropriately-named Atonement chapter.
- Audio Adaptation - Before the anime and Matsuri we had a drama CD. Higurashi still few drama C Ds coming out though.
- Ax Crazy - At least one person for most of the first season.
- Axes At School - the end of the first season
- Backstory - Characters' backstories remain the same in all scenarios, with one exception: Saikoroshi-hen.
- Backup Twin - The major cause of confusion about the ending of Watanagashi-hen.
- Beach Episode- Shyness-Exposing Chapter in the recently animated adaptation of Higurashi Rei (To be fair, that was more like a Public Pool Episode).
- Because Destiny Says So
- Beware The Nice Ones - Some of the perceived nice ones have faultier wiring than others.
- Berserk Button - If all the berserk buttons were on a berserk keyboard, then this series is the cat that falls asleep on that keyboard. *
- Big Brother Complex - Keiichi shows a dark version of this one toward Satoko, whereas Shion plays it a little straighter late in, to the point that Satoko actually starts calling her "Nee-nee."
- Big Damn Heroes - Akasaka saving the day. Less seriously, Tomitake/Oishi/Irie (together with Keiichi, the "Heavenly Kings of Darkness") swooping in on surfboards in the middle of a pool scene to save Keiichi from having his swimsuit removed. Oishi ends up summoning a squad of fully-armed riot police to help, which storms in after their truck bursts through the pool fence.
- Big Screwed Up Family - The Sonozaki family seems this way initially, but later arcs show that they're not quite as bad as they looked at first.
- Bishonen - Arguably Satoshi and Keiichi. They are both tall, slender, have delicate features, and big eyes; as well as being quite handsome.
- Bishoujo - Just about all of the females.
- Bittersweet Ending - The PS 2 remake's Miotsukushi-hen. Basically ends the same way as Matsuribayashi-hen, with one very noticible difference- Hanyuu doesn't dodge that bullet.
- Blood Splattered Innocents
- Bodyguard Betrayal - The Yamainu were supposed to be protecting Rika, as far as she knew, not killing her.
- Bokukko - Both Rika and Hanyuu.
- Satoko almost qualifies, but she uses the neutral (and much more formal) "watakushi".
- Bonus Episode - Accompanying the first season DVDs was Nekogoroshi-hen (Cat Killing Chapter), a single episode scenario based on a light novel.
- Bowdlerise - In the PS 2 remake, all instances of red blood were censored into being dark colored or blue, due to CERO reclassifying its rating system, requiring the change to ensure the game got a D rating (17+) instead of a Z rating (18+).(In fact, the game was partially responsible for the creation of the Z rating.) The red blood was restored for the DS remakes.
- Break The Cutie - (They're really not picky about who they break, though)
- Bratty Half Pint - Satoko
- Butt Monkey - If there's a joke made or a prank pulled at someone's expense, that someone will be Keiichi. Guaranteed.
- Cash Cow Franchise - Higurashi, and the whole When They Cry franchise, is slowly becoming on of these. With the ever increasing fanbase in both Japan and the States, the manga, the anime and its OVAs, the drama C Ds, and the overdose of merchandise..
- Catch Phrase - "Hau hauu, omochi kaeri!", "Nipah~~!", "Kana, kana?"
- The last is lampshaded in the anime's Tsumihoroboshi-hen during the watergun fight, where her Evil Laugh is KAAAAAnakanakanakanakanakanakana!
- The Cavalry: Akasaka in the final Arc, and later the Banken.
- Cheerful Child - Satoko, Rika (subverted by her various Creepy Child moments, which become more and more common toward the series' end) and, later on, Hanyuu.
- Chekhovs Gun - Protagonist Mion constantly carries around a gun in a very visible holster, and, in a subversion, never, ever uses it. The manga reveals that it's an airsoft gun.
- She did use it in the manga once, though as a joke, in Onikakushi-hen.
- Cliff Hanger
- Clingy Jealous Girl - Arguably Shion.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Applies somewhat to Rena, as her thought process is often adorable but weird.
- Comatose Canary - Satoko in Yakusamashi-hen, and Mion in Taraimawashi-hen.
- Compressed Adaptation
- Conspicuous CG: Don't tell me you didn't think that watermill stood out...
- Covert Pervert - In Rei Rena seems to have a bit of an attachment towards Keiichi's "equipment", If You Know What I Mean.
- Crack Pairing: In Hirukowashi-hen Rena/Tomitake, Takano/Rena, Ooishi/Rena (OVA Only), Irie/Rena (Game Only).
- Crapsaccharine World
- Creepy Twins - Mion and Shion. The insanity in the first season doesn't hurt, either.
- Crowning Moment Of Awesome
 - Many times, especially during the answer arcs.
- Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming - The fact that those moments seldomly happen and are a very big contrast in comparison to the very dark atmosphere usually takes them to Tear Jerker levels.
- Cryptic Conversation - Happens a lot in the first season.
- Cold Blooded Torture - See Nightmare Fuel Unleaded.
- Curiosity Killed The Cast - Most strongly subverted in Onikakushi-hen, but a few different arcs have aspects of this. Ironically, the Cat-Killing Chapter is a complete aversion.
- Cute Little Fangs - Satoko, sometimes.
- More so noticeable in the sound novels, where quite a number of her poses show it, and manga.
- Darkest Hour - Yakusamashi-hen, where Rika pretty much gives up all hope of changing her fate. It Gets Better right after, because the next arc is basically one big Hope Spot.
- Dead Man Writing
- Dead Pan Snarker - Rika tends to play this role when she isn't Obfuscating Stupidity.
- Dead Person Conversation
- Deadly Doctor - Despite usually being the first to go along with Tomitake, Takano Miyo is not harmless. Well, it's not quite "despite".
- Decoy Protagonist - Keiichi, Akasaka, Shion, Rena and Ooishi. In that order.
- Determinator - Keiichi. So, so much. It reaches its peak in Minagoroshi-hen, and Matsuribayashi-hen.
- Despair Event Horizon - Keiichi is a Laughing Mad wreck in an insane asylum in the ending of Tatarigoroshi-hen, and all of the abuse he went through in Watanagashi-hen takes a toll on him until he hallucinates himself into a heart attack in a scene that's Nightmare Fuel Unleaded. In addition, when Mion is found at the end of Taraimawashi-hen, or Satoko in Yakusamashi-hen, she's practically in a vegetative state. Akira is stated to have suffered a Taraimawashi-esque breakdown at the end of of Someutsushi-hen.
- Distant Finale — Both subverted twice and played straight. The first episode in the second season is a "bad end" distant finale; the very end of the final episode has a 'distant finale' that takes place in the past... sort of. There is controversy over whether the woman who talks to little Miyo and thus sets right what once went wrong is a time travelling adult Rika, or Bernkastel of Umineko, or both, as per the popular theory.
- It might even be neither. It could be Frederica Bernkastel, who might not be either Rika or Bernkastel.
- Doing In The Wizard
- Drowning My Sorrows: Rika drinks wine despite being underage, as seen in the second season. A TIPS in the game confirms that she drinks to get drunk.
- Dummied Out - The English version of the sound novel has several songs, the Music Room, a mini-game, and the Staff Room cut out due to copyright issues.
- Dying As Yourself (At the very end of Meakashi-hen, Shion has a moment of genuine regret and apologizes to everyone as she falls to her death.)
- Dysfunction Junction - Everyone has a tragic backstory and/or psychological issues, even Mr. Delicious. Satoko and Rika lost their parents (or more). Rena and especially Satoko have psychological issues related to their families; Shion's are related to losing someone she loved in a very torturous experience. There's a reason Keiichi's family had to move. Detective Ooishi lost a close partner and vows revenge. And so forth. Most of these characters reach Break The Cutie proportions.
- Early Bird Cameo - Hanyuu in the third episode of Kai (her actual appearance to the viewers is in Minagoroshi-hen, and her first appearance to the cast, aside from Rika, is halfway through Matsuribayashi-hen) as a silhouette behind Rena and Keiichi◊.
- She appears earlier, during the Atonement Chapter, in a manga omake.
- Earn Your Happy Ending - Almost every individual arc has a bad ending, but the characters do, in the end, manage to stop the chain of deaths.
- Ensemble Dark Horse - Rena may be the most iconic character, the most commonly related to the show, and her popularity may dwarf the true protagonists', but she's truly relevant in only two chapters. Still, the creator seems to have taken this in stride; see Wolverine Publicity.
- Epileptic Trees - If we go by Saikoroshi-hen's continuity (in Rei), Rika mutters to Hanyuu at one point that she should return to being Rika Furude and stop being the witch Bernkastel.
- Eternal Recurrence
- Even The Guys Want Him: Keiichi, to an extent. Mion canonically harbors a crush on him, and it has been hinted several times that Rena likes him too. He's close friends with Rika, Satoko, and Shion, and Satoko looks up to him as a big brother. On the guys side there's a baseball player who fell for his "K" persona in Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai. Also, a lot of kids in his class, both male and female, admire him.
- Everybody Lives - Oddly enough, it's an example of Anyone Can Die, Kill Em All and this one, the rare triple whammy! But only with the Matsuribayashi ending.
- Evil Laugh - Over and over and over again, complete with creepy face contortions.
- Evolving Credits - At first it seems that Rika waves at the viewer in the opening of Kai, but it turns out to be Hanyuu. A somewhat nightmarish shot of Hanyuu is added as well.
- Exactly What It Says On The Tin - The title roughly translates into When the evening-cicadas cry. Guess what sound you hear throughout the series.
- Also several of the arc names- most notably Tsumihoroboshi-hen (Atonement Chapter) and Minagoroshi-hen (Massacre Chapter).
- The series name also fits. "When They Cry". "When They Cry Higurashi" is more or less what "Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni" means.
- Expy - Chie-sensei, of Ciel-senpai in Tsukihime, with permission from Type-Moon. This is lampshaded in the Pool Episode with Chie whipping out imitation Black Keys in the form of wooden T-squares. In fact, this is one of her weapons in the doujin game Higurashi Daybreak, and she can be selected as wearing Ciel's outfit.
- Eyes Of Gold - Takano, at the very least in the early episodes.
- They're more so brown in the sound novels, and later episodes.
- The Faceless - The appearanced of Keiichi's parents aren't shown in the novels at all, and in the anime we just get their faces from the mouth down. The manga do show their entire faces, but they conflict with what little we see in the anime; for example, nothing is really notable about the bottom half of Mr. Maebara's face in the anime, but in the Onikakushi-hen manga, he's got a beret and a Frenchy goatee. And is in much better shape.
- Plus their voices and personalities don't seem to match.
- Face Death With Dignity - Rika, in a particularly disturbing scene, and later, Satoko.
- Faking The Dead - Takano every time, Shion in some arcs, and later, Rika.
- Family Unfriendly Aesop - "Stick by your friends, even if they've brutally murdered some adults and are now attempting to blow up the school."
- Fangirl - Rena goes nuts over anything she thinks is cute, squealing and announcing her intention to take said object of her affection home. In the second season, the perpetually-stoned Takano reveals her terrifying fangirl side over the dark legends of Oyashiro-sama).
- Fan Nickname
- Kuraudo Ooishi to "Mr. Delicious" for his name's similarity to oishii ("delicious").
- Mion and Shion Sonozaki to a collective "Shmion" for being Creepy Twins and pulling off Twin Switches, including a permanent one when they were little.
- Miyo Takano to "Droopy-tan" for her perpetually stoned appearance.
- Keiichi Maebara to "K1" for the kanji of his name, which contains the number 1.
- Rena Ryuuguu to "Cleaver Girl" for her iconic Weapon Of Choice.
- Fanservice With A Smile - Shion's work uniform at the Angel Mort Cafe. There's official art with all the other girls wearing it, too.
- Fantastic Aesop - Defied in the last chapter of the OVA-only Dice-killing chapter. When Rika is angsting because she chose what might be the worse world, Rena tells her about how choosing the kind of world she lives on is something beyond her choice and then goes off to deliver a different, valid aesop about how the multiple tragedies they faced have made them better people.
- Festival Episode (repeatedly)
- A Fete Worse Than Death - You know that cheerful summertime festival these townspeople have? Well, it wasn't always cotton that they tore up...
- Finger Lickin Evil
- Finger Twitching Revival
- Fingore - This is common. And also, the opening song has a line that translates roughly as "I'll cut off your fingers and leave them in the forest."
- Flashback Twist - In one of the latter arcs, the famous Tsumihoroboshi-hen or Atonement Chapter, it is revealed in Keiichi's flashbacks that it was actually him who was the insane one in the first arc and that Mion and Rena were the sane ones. Poor Rena, offering her arms out to Keiichi even as he's about to bash her head in.
- For Science - The catalyst for many unpleasant things.
- For Want Of A Nail - Arguably, the doll in the Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen arcs. It shows up again, but this time, the choice was the right one. In fact, this trope was the point of the parallel arc system used.
- Freak Out: Often. Shion goes through layers of them.
- Fridge Brilliance: It's mentioned extremely early on that Rika has a lot of skills. Naturally, she's had a very long time to develop them.
- A Friend In Need
- Gag Dub - The somewhat infamous Casey & Friends.
- Gaiden Game - Higurashi Daybreak, a game done in the style of the Gundam Vs Series, specifically Alliance vs. Z.A.F.T.
- Gainaxing - Shion, but for only one scene in the second season.
- Also, Mion in the first season OVA (Nekogoroshi-hen).
- Gas Chamber - The Hinamizawa gas disaster is revealed to be a cover-up for the government implementing this on the village.
- Gas Leak Coverup (see above)
- Getting Crap Past The Radar - When Rena was taking Hanyuu home with her. Her friends tied her up. In bondage rope.
- Ghibli Hills
- Glurge Addict
- A God Am I - Takano, who wants to achieve a sort of godhood for herself (by reviving the legend of Oyashiro-sama) and for her grandfather (by proving his theories about Hinamizawa Syndrome)
- Especially dramatic when you contrast this with the character of the actual deity in the series, Hanyuu, who is fearful and painfully shy.
- Gold Digger - Rina Mamiya. And how.
- Gondor Calls For Aid - Done spectacularly in the Minagoroshi-hen arc.
- Good Eyes Evil Eyes - Consider for a moment the difference between the main characters' eyes and Droopy-tan's. Also, this one may be at work on Shion at various points. When Rena, for instance, goes insane, her eyes just go blank, and when Keiichi does, his pupils shrink, whereas a lot of times when Shion has an episode, her eyes narrow to an almost grotesque degree.
- Grotesque Cute
- Groundhog Day Loop - One of the major components of the show's premise.
- Hate Plague - The other major component of the show's premise.
- Hellish Pupils - The "cat eyes" in Onikakushi, as well as about ten other different types of iris contortions.
- In the manga, and sound novels, their eyes are often a mix between "depressed" eyes, and glowing eyes.
- Amusingly, the girls also get the glowing eyes and ominous lighting when they're about to inflict some humiliating-but-funny "punishment game" on Keiichi.
- Hidden Eyes - Common among the main cast.
- High Octane Nightmare Fuel - A whole fucking lot. (Enough to have its own page)
- Hime Cut - Rika.
- Hollywood Atheist - Miyo.
- Hope Spot - Happens in Tsumihoroboshi-hen, which seems like a happy ending at first, but gets worse right afterward, leading into the Darkest Hour right after that. More notably is, Minagoroshi-hen, which is chock full of them, and though it ends on a depressing note, it renews Rika's hope and shows her how she can change her fate.
- Of course, with Minagoroshi-hen, it can be assumed that most fans weren't fooled. The title essentially MEANS "Kill Em All"
- Hot Blooded - In the later arcs, many characters exhibit this behaviour (especially Keiichi).
- Ho Yay - Notable in Keiichi's "K" persona in Kai. On the other side of the fence, the official artwork and such often exploits the fact that, out of the core seven characters, only one of them is a guy for all it's worth.
- There's also a bunch of Les Yay between the female cast members. The animators take advantage of this in their anime-only scenes, and official arts.
- The Hyena
- Hot Mom - Akane Sonozaki, Shion & Mion's mom. Her Daybreak Mega Edition ending is even fanservice with her in an Angel Mort uniform.
- Hyper Awareness - Rena. She figures out exactly how Satoko and Rika got kidnapped because there was an empty bottle of soy sauce on their table, for crying out loud.
- In the game, the empty bottle is stashed away. She still figures it out based on that and their dinner for the day being in the fridge.
- Identification By Dental Records
- I Know You Are In There Somewhere Fight - Between Keiichi and Rena in the end of the first season.
- I'm Taking Her Home With Me!- Trope Namer, uttered by Rena whenever she sees something cute.
- Improvised Weapon - Weapon options in Higurashi Daybreak.
- Insane Equals Violent - Oh heck, let me list the ways...
- Infant Immortality - Brutally averted, over and over again, in the most horrible manner possible.
- Intertwined Fingers - Hanyuu and Rika do this in the ending credits of Kai.
- I Promised Myself I Wouldnt Cry - Poor Satoko, while she's being tortured to death by Shion.
- I Wished You Were Dead - To a near-superpower extent in one arc.
- Though we find out later that not only did all of those deaths have other explanations, but all but one of them were the deaths which occur in every single universe; he didn't even wish anyone unusual to death!
- The Jail Bait Wait - Doctor Irie and Satoko.
- Jumping Off The Slippery Slope - Almost every arc starts with something minor or forgivable that gets worse and worse until...
- Just In Time - Happens twice, The first time is in Minagoroshi-hen, where the rest of the group arrives in time to save Rika and Satoko. It doesn't end well... The second time ends better, with Akasaka arriving just in time to show how much he's been level grinding in Bad Ass. And it was awesome.
- Karma Houdini - Nomura and the opposing faction from Tokyo, who were behind supposed Big Bad Takano Miyo and were driving them on when they wavered, apparently get away without anything more than the failure of their power play, presumably by making Takano their scapegoat for everything. This despite almost EVERYTHING being their fault and them having NO Freudian Excuse.
- Karmic Death
- Large Ham - Dr. Irie gets some of this. Not to mention Keiichi when masquerading as Kei-kun.
- Laughing Mad - Rena and Shion get to this point pretty quickly when it's their turns to snap.
- LesYay - Several pieces of official art. Usually revolving around Mion & Shion (first season) or Satoko & Rika (sometimes with Hanyuu; second season). Also behaviors throughout the series.
- Lets Get Dangerous - When the nakama finally gets it together, what was a squabbling squad of broken children who were easily preyed upon becomes a tightly-knit unit that resists the Hate Plague and completely owns a crack unit of corrupt members of government (with adult help, but even they appeared useless at first).
- Live Action Adaptation - The films Shrill Cries of Summer (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) and Shrill Cries: Reshuffle (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Chikai).
- Lolicon - Dr. Irie, for Satoko. Not taken seriously.
- Loser Son Of Loser Dad: Satoshi and Satoko, because their parents suppoerted the dam project
- Losing The Team Spirit: Keiichi's demise during the penultimate arc of the second series.
- Love At First Sight - Shion with Satoshi, essentially. Sure, he defended her from some thugs (while under the impression she was Mion), but from there on, save for one strained phone conversation, he's cold and distant with her (which is understandable, given that, at one point, she tries to bash his little sister's head in with a chair because she dares to go around crying after her parents both died and her adoptive guardians abuse her) - and hardly ever speaks with her directly. By the time he learns her real identity and is nice to her then, he's killed his aunt and has Hinamizawa Syndrome - AKA is completely AxCrazy. Yet Shion loudly declares that she is -in love with him- before her entire family, is willing to loose a fingernail for him and commits mass-murder because -his death- pushed her over the edge - and at one point considered committing suicide because she wants to "be with him forever".
- So, in summary, love at first sight makes you crazy.
- The manga has a lot more interaction between Satoshi and Shion, and describes in much more detail how she fell in love with him. All of which the anime left out, for some weird reason.
- Same with the sound novels to anime.
- Love Triangle - Keiichi and the twins. Oh yes. Though it's revealed to be a subversion. Shion was never seriously interested, and she was either doing it to hurt Mion or encourage her to act on her feelings, depending on the timeline. In later arcs and Higurashi Daybreak, Shion is replaced by Rena.
- The Love Triangle between Keiichi, Mion, and Rena is hinted as early as Watanagashi-hen in the "doll incident." Ironically, it is Shion who goes crazy because of it even though it's Mion who is jealous.
- Lyrical Dissonance - Shion and Mion's image song, Futari no Birthday, is an incredibly upbeat pop number with incredibly depressing lyrics. Get some of that action here.
- Mad Doctor - A TIPS in the games notes that Dr. Irie performed psychosurgery on unwilling subjects in the past, and a flashback in the final season of the anime has him dissecting the brain of a living patient (albeit with persuasion from the Big Bad). Takano is a little bit more literally one.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter - Inverted. Dr. Takano was nice, but Miyo is insane.
- Mafia Princess - Mion, although technically she's a yakuza princess.
- MIB - Beware the Janitors, for they are Anonymous, and they are Legion!
- Milkman Conspiracy - The mastermind behind everything is some stoned-looking nurse?
- Mind Screw - In general the whole air of mystery and paranoia (both of which are cleared up in the second season). A specific example - in the second arc Keiichi finds out that Mion killed a bunch of people. In the fifth arc, we're shown that it was actually Shion pretending to be Mion.
- Miko - Rika.
- Mood Swinger - Rena.
- Mood Whiplash - Not just the anime itself, but even some of the character image songs get in on this, particularly Rena's.
- Moe Moe - Gone horribly wrong!
- Not ALL the time. For example, Mion's reaction when a remorseful Keiichi embraces her in episode 25 of the first series is adorably Moe Moe!
- Moral Event Horizon - The Shmion arc is a veritable Lensman Arms Race of dog-raping. Even more so, Miyo in Minagoroshi-hen after she caps an 11 year old girl in the head after playing mind games with her (and after promising to spare her life before she executed another member of the Nakama in front of the poor little girl's face).
- Multiple Reference Pun - The title. The "naku" means "to cry" as in both weeping and an animal making noises. Higurashi is a type of cicada, but can also mean "everyday life"; the entire title can be translated as "when there is no everyday life."
- Murdered In A Phone Booth - Subverted: Someone is killed in a phone booth while trying to give the police information, but investigation showed it was suicide by clawing out one's own throat.
- My God What Have I Done - Numerous instances. Keiichi gets one after beating Rena and Mion to death in Onikakushi-hen, and another one later on when he recalls this during Tsumihoroboshi-hen, Rena at the end of Tsumihoroboshi-hen, and Shion gets one for all of ten seconds when she remembers Satoshi asking her to look after Satoko after she murders her, and then goes on to merrily add two more bodies to her pile.
- She gets another 5 seconds after she's killed everyone and has slipped off the balcony. "I'm sorry, everyone. Next time, I'll do better." *splat*
- Nakama - "Anyone could have realized this. All we had to do was something this simple! If something awful happens, or if we start doubting each other, or if something painful happens... Your nakama! You have to talk to your nakama!"
- Never Mess With Granny - Oryou Sonozaki, or Oni-baba, devil granny, to Mion and Shion.
- New Transfer Student - Keiichi and, later, Hanyuu.
- Nightmare Fetishist - Takano Miyo. Seriously, Jiro, when your girlfriend is all but orgasming over torture equipment, it's time to rethink her place in your life.
- Noblewomans Laugh - Satoko does this a lot, and always does after pulling off a prank.
- No Export For You - Subverted. The original PC games (so far only first four arcs), the first season of the anime, and the manga are all licensed.
- Nosebleed - Rena gets this after imagining ripping off Keiichi's swimsuit in Higurashi Rei. "Keiichi's furry seal... I want to take it home!"
- Keiichi also gets one in the last episode of Rei, thinking of the possibilities the magatama could be used for since the one holding one half (Rena) will fall in love with the person holding the other half.
- Rena gets these often.
- Not Quite The Right Thing - If Akasaka finishes helping out in the kidnapping case in Hinamizawa, his wife dies from falling down the stairs, something he is able to prevent if he heeds Rika's warning. In addition, arguably Keiichi giving the doll he wins to Rena, as what seems like a kind act makes Mion sad and leads to the murders in Watanagashi and Meakashi-hen.
- Unless after watching the latter you come to the conclusion that that was a bold-faced lie and the doll had nothing to do with the murders, and the claim was just another way to torture Keiichi.
- It's not so much a lie as it is a more...indirect influence. If not for the doll, Mion wouldn't have poured her heart out to Shion, in turn restoking her repressed Yandere feelings for Satoshi, leading to the events of Watanagashi-hen and Meakashi-hen. For Want Of A Nail indeed.
- Off Model: The first season is infamous for this. Doesn't help that this came to a head during what should've been a badass fight scene in the finale (you know, the episode where most series are guaranteed an Animation Bump?).
- Off To Boarding School - Shion, as seen in her flashback arc. Her first appearance has her return to Hinamizawa after breaking out.
- Once Is Not Enough - In Onikakushi-hen, Keiichi shoves Rena to the ground and runs, only to be beaten down by the Almighty Janitors and be unpleasantly awakened by guess who.
- One Hundred Percent Completion - In Kizuna, the DS adaptation, in each volume, after you finish the arcs, you can go back to complete the situation tree and get alternate endings, as well as unlocking CG pictures and music.
- Only Sane Man - Rika, though she hides this behind a very cutesy facade out of necessity. This doesn't keep her from from dispensing with wisdom when necessary.
- Mion is this as well. Aside from Rika, she happens to be the only one of the group never to become murderous. This is despite the audience being intentionally misled to believe she had in both Onikakushi-hen and Watanagashi-hen. Remarkable, too, as she lacked Rika's immunity to the Syndrome. It probably helps that she has the most stable and confident personality of the group and, unlike the others, she's devoid of major unresolved trauma.
- Although Mion doesn't snap in the continuities we are shown, Rika alludes to alternate worlds in which she does.
- Hey, don't forget Keiichi! Even if it's subverted, it's not nice to forget one of the main characters.
- Oracular Urchin - Rika, especially during season two.
- Orphanage Of Fear - Miyo Takano (or Miyoko Tanashi) is trapped in the orphanage from hell in Matsuribayashi-hen's flashback. The manga cranks it up several thousand notches.
- Our Hero Is Dead - Almost every arc, actually, but notably at the end of Onikakushi-hen.
- A better example would be more like, Our lancer is dead, Where Miyo effectively ends the Hope Spot during Minagoroshi-hen, by shooting Keiichi during his Kirk Summation.
- Out Of Continues
- Painting The Fourth Wall Okonogi in Rei during the pool episode.
- Panty Fighter - Higurashi Daybreak
- Parental Abandonment - Satoko's parents are dead, and her sometimes-appearing uncle is an abusive alcoholic. Rika doesn't have any surviving family; the two live together by themselves. Rena's mother ran off with another guy. Shmion's mother is on bad terms with their yakuza family and seldom shows up, while their father makes one appearance in the second season.
- Playing Against Type - Tamura Yukari as Rika, Horie Yui as Hanyuu and Itou Miki as Takano all appear to be the same old, same old... but not when you see the characters' real selves.
- Playing With Syringes - Hinamizawa Syndrome is being tested on the villagers to see if it can create a biological weapon. The major irony with this trope being that just about all literal instances of syringes in the series are either illusory or actually meant to help the protagonists.
- Poor Communication Kills - The events of Onikakushi-hen as a whole and the last third of Tatarigoroshi-hen are a result of this.
- Power Of Friendship - If there was ever a show to which the saying "Friends help you move, best friends help you move bodies" applied, it's this one.
- Power Of Trust - At least as important to the solution as the Power Of Friendship, if not more.
- Present Day Past - The series is set in the earlier 1980s yet there are a couple things that really shouldn't be back there. Particularly blatant in a background for a game shop at the beginning of Watanagashi-hen, which is quite blatantly a picture of a modern store as even with it blurred you can make out merchandise for things that would not start for over a decade.
- Promotion To Opening Titles - Hanyuu. Also,Takano, although, as she's seen as a child in the opening sequence and her face is obscured, you might mistake her for Satoko until it's revealed in the relevant arc. A variation occours with Rika who is featured much more prominently in the credits of the second season, as they have run out of Decoy Protagonists.
- Promotion To Parent - Satoko's brother Satoshi, until he 'transferred out'. Now, Rika and Satoko live alone without guardians.
- Pun Based Title - Hirukowashi-hen is named after Higurashi Daybreak, but "hirukowashi" means "day-breaking" (like breaking a day into a million pieces, not dawn).
- Quivering Eyes
- R Rated Opening
- The Rashomon - Watanagashi-hen, as with most of the early arcs, is told from Keiichi's point of view. Meakashi-hen revisits this arc from the perspective of Shion.
- Razor Apples - Rena sticks a needle in the rice balls she gives to Keiichi.
- Or so his Hinamizawa syndrome-fueled delusions told him.
- Really Seven Hundred Years Old - Hanyuu (she is some sort of god) and the physically preteen Rika, thanks to the Groundhog Day Loop effect. Unlike Hanyuu and most other examples, the latter's maturity matches her actual age, though this is deliberately hidden so as to not freak people out.
- Refusal Of The Call - In the Playstation 2 game, if you don't have Keiichi enter any other arcs through their triggers, you end up in Taraimawashi-hen, which basically flogs you for doing this. And yes, you still die.
- Religious Horror - The origins of the Cotton-Drifting Festival.
- Retirony - Subverted in the end, although Ooishi really pushes it with his big speech in the final arc.
- In point of fact, though, Oishi probably dies fewer times than anyone else in the main cast—he's almost always there at the end to make futile attempts to put together what happened.
- Rich Bitch - Rina Mamiya
- Roaring Rampage Of Revenge - Meakashi-hen is this combined with Jumping Off The Slippery Slope. Shion was mainly targeting those who took Satoshi from her... in her eyes, this included Rika (for conspiring with the village head) and Satoko (for receiving the brunt of his attention), along with those who actually were responsible (most of the other people in the village). Keiichi was just targeted to torture Mion.
- Rope Bridge - The bridge that Keiichi chases Satoko over and gets shoved off of. In Yakusamashi-hen, this trope is used slightly more traditionally. Satoko uses the ropes as a place to hide from the Yamainu. They notice her and slice the ropes, sending her plummetting into the river.
- Sanity Slippage - All over the damn place.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud - Rika will sometimes say "pachi pachi" (the Japanese onomatopoeia for clapping) to emphasize her own clapping. Similarly, she says the Unsound Effect "Nii-pah~!" when she grins.
- Screw Destiny - Theme of the second season. Although Rika had long since given up escaping her death, Keiichi's incredible powers of persuasion and determination to destroy fate — combined with a sequence of minor miracles — revive her own will to fight against destiny and give both her and Hanyuu the courage to face their fears.
- Self Made Orphan - Or at least that's what Ooishi suspects about one character.
- In Rei, it's mentioned in passing that he was right in the "real" world, but it never happened in that universe.
- Series Mascot: Rena. Quite easy to notice.
- Serious Business - The club's assorted games usually end up involving Hot Bloodedness, blackmail, and/or shameless cheating.
- In the mahjong game for PSP and Arcade, winning or losing a game of mahjong is a matter of life and death in Oyashiro-mode.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong - Every time Rika is killed, Hanyuu takes Rika to the past of an alternate universe to try to solve the mystery again.
- Shoo Out The Clowns - Any given arc generally gets serious (and scary) after the shrine festival. Until then it's usually a chance to show the characters at their cutest.
- Shout Out - to Studio Deen's own Maria Sama Ga Miteru franchise in Rei.
- Shrines And Temples
- Sibling Yin Yang - Mion and Shion contrast each other, and Irie mentions that before Satoshi "transferred," he and Satoko also had those tendencies.
- Smite Me Oh Mighty Smiter - In a flashback arc, the villain challenges God to kill them or save them. 'God' then misses with its subsequent lightning bolt, instead vaporizing the neighboring tree and apparently losing the bet.
- The same situation is inverted later in the same arc, when Hanyuu asks Takano to shoot her and spare the others... and a few seconds later, Takano's last and only bullet goes whizzing past her ear to the tune of a delicious karmic echo. A shame so many people mistook it for a Deus Ex Machina.
- The Deus was standing right there—Hanyuu can stop time.
- Actually, in the game, Hanyuu stops time when the bullet is about to hit her, believing her death inevitable. Then, Rika starts moving despite time being stopped and grabs the bullet. Everyone other than Hanyuu and Rika believe the bullet just missed, though.
- So What Do We Do Now - Twisted in Saikoroshi-hen, a bonus chapter for the game that takes place after the main storyline, where one character wakes up in a perfect world without any of the tragic backstories or danger from the previous worlds and finds that it's more painful this way.
- Split Personality - Arguably Rika and Frederica Bernkastel. One of the less-clear aspects of the story... and that's saying something.
- It gets really bad in the anime, where it's just lightly touched upon with absolutely no explanation.
- Stab The Salad
- Staying With Friends
- The Stinger - Of the "Or Is It?" variety at the end of season one: "All right. I'll play the game with this endless June. As much as you wish."
- Every episode of Kai's Matsuribayashi-hen.
- Surprisingly Good English- The ED "Why, or Why Not" features English lyrics that, while spoken with an accent, reproduce the structure of the language quite faithfully, save for a few spelling slip-ups.
- Still prone to a few amusing Mondegreens, such as "I want to be a river in life" rather than "I want to believe in life." Damned accent.
- Sweet Tooth - Hanyuu.
- Tag Team Twins - Mion and Shion have a habit of pulling Twin Switches during the club's games, confusing everyone.
- Talking To Himself - Yukino Satsuki (the seiyuu for both Mion and Shion) must have been nearly as insane as the characters by the time the series finished.
- Tall Dark And Bishoujo - Mion, Shion, Takano, and Rena, despite being rather short.
- Tastes Like Diabetes - The beginning of each arc. After that...
- Tattooed Crook - Mion has an Irezumi.
- Tear Jerker - And HOW.
- Tears Of Remorse
- That Liar Lies - "USO DA!" Played for comedy in Hirukowashi-hen.
- There Are No Therapists - Well, there is one, but if you don't believe you're paranoid... Averted with Rena, though.
- The Thing That Goes Doink - Mino's family home has one.
- This Is Your Premise On Drugs- Bipolar murder mystery anime on PCP.
- Through The Eyes Of Madness
- Time Stands Still - Hanyu's power. In Higurashi Rei, she uses it to reposition Keiichi so that he falls into the pool, instead of just pulling his Speedo off, which was the goal.
- Title Drop - Once done by Keiichi.
- Also by Akasaka at the end Himatsubushi-hen arc in the game.
- And by Rika towards the end of her second Image Song.
- Token Loli - Satoko and Rika.
- Tomboy And Girly Girl - Mion and Shion, or at least that's how they're used to being seen. They use it to their advantage, but Mion actually has a soft side, and when Shion gets mad, she certainly isn't a Yamato Nadeshiko.
- Torture Cellar - The Saiguden
- Also, the basement of the Sonozaki estate.
- Town With A Dark Secret - "A" dark secret? More like a few dozen.
- Trailers Always Spoil - You see those spoiler tags by the mention of You Cant Fight Fate? That's in the first trailer for the second season.
- Traitor Shot - In Watanagashi-hen, closeups are used in the first episode to make Mion and Shion both look suspicious to the audience, although one of them is completely innocent. Also applied to Mion and Rena in Onikakushi-hen, with Hidden Eyes combined with dangerous smiles to tip off the audience before Keiichi has any reason to suspect them. This turns out to be a subversion, as Mion and Rena really were harmless, and every Traitor Shot they were given was a product of Keiichi's escalating paranoia.
- Trauma Induced Amnesia - Complete with Fake Memories in Onisarashi-hen.
- Tsundere - According to Mion in the TIPS from the VN, Sonozaki Oryou, also known as Oni-baba, towards the Houjou family.
- Twin Banter
- Twin Threesome Fantasy - Oishi suggests something to this effect after he sees Keiichi with Shion (knowing that Keiichi also hung out with Mion often).
- Uncanny Village
- Unreliable Narrator - Keiichi in Onikakushi-hen, thanks to the Hate Plague
- And Natsumi in Onisarashi-hen.
- The Untwist - The manga arc Yoigoshi-hen, which is in a Great Hinamizawa Disaster timeline, features a woman claiming to be Mion, but characters point out that Mion died 20 years ago, and "Mion" is shaken when she meets another major character who bears an uncanny resemblance to Satoshi. She even delivers a monologue that resembles Shion's speech in Watanagashi ("I'm the demon inside Mion!" etc. etc.). Yes, she's actually Shion. It's a bit different from Watanagashi though; Mion's ghost actually possesses Shion for most of the story.
- The Usual Suspects Ending - The final scene of the anime, which introduced a character who either had never been seen before in the show before or was a grown-up, time-traveling Rika just to make sure your recently unscrewed mind gets screwed all over again. It makes slightly more sense in the original sound novels, Or So I Heard.
- She is actually Bernkastel, who is all of the past Rikas together. She's a witch.
- Utsuge - Replace "make players cry" with "scare the crap out of them".
- This is not to say that you won't cry at some point. Unless you left your soul somewhere, you will.
- Vague Age - The gang's ages are not directly said. It is said that Satoko and Rika are the same ages (most likely Hanyuu too), and that Satoko is between the ages of 9-13. Keiichi and Rena are the same age, but since Rena was born in July, and Keiichi in April, she's younger than him. Mion and Shion are in the grade ahead of Keiichi.
- The TIPS note that April is the cut-off month for grade levels and that Mion (and by extension, Shion and Satoshi) is only a few months older than Keiichi.
- Verbal Tic - Rika, if not for Yukari Tamura's voice, would sound just like a certain Rozen Maiden.
- Video Game Remake - The original PC sound novels were remade as "Matsuri", which was in then made into an Updated Rerelease. Matsuri has been ported onto the DS into multiple games but they're also Updated Rereleases of Matsuri.
- Villain Protagonist - Subverted. Most of the time, neither the character nor the audience knows this until The Reveal.
- The Voice - Hanyuu: first arc, second season. As a bonus, a faint outline can be seen behind Keiichi and Rena in the third episode.
- Trademark Favorite Food - Wine for Rika, (not his favorite but it's a trademark food) ohagi for Keiichi, and cream puffs for Hanyuu.
- Wake Up Go To School Save The World - In Saikoroshi-hen, when the murders never happen and neither do the tragic backstories, Rika realizes that it's more painful for her to lose her newly-formed nakama than to be locked in a battle for the townspeople's survival with them on her side.
- Wall Banger - Rika ends up in a world void of the curse that has marred the existence of every other Hinamizawa she's been to. Hanyuu is missing, Keiichi is replaced by Satoshi, Irie is replaced by...someone, and Rika doesn't have the friendships she formed in all the other worlds. On the upside, the Big Bad never gained power, the main characters never suffered their horrible tragedies, Rika's parents are alive here, and Rika is offered the oppurtunity to form new bonds with the main characters. Rika has the power to return home; all she has to do is kill her mother. Hanyuu, communicating through a magic crystal, convinces Rika that the tragedy-touched world is worth coming home to, even at the expense of her mother's life. Cue Rika killing her mother (offstage, of all things) so she can return home to a world where everyone has suffered considerably. Actually, it's just Hanyuu teaching Rika that she was wrong to disrespect her parents.
- Or is it?
- This is more so a translators Wall Banger, but still. According to Mangagamer, Satoko and Rika are one year less then Keiichi, who is sixteen. That contradicts everything we've heard of ingame, where their ages are given to be between 9 and 12.
- Weapon Of Choice - Keiichi always uses Satoshi's bat, Shion is often seen with a taser, and everyone's favorite cleaver girl, Rena, uses a... well, you can guess.
- We Could Have Avoided All This - Even if the characters don't figure out how, they still seem to realize that there was a way, since most of the arcs end with the main characters lamenting how pointless all the fighting feels like it was.
- What An Idiot - After Keiichi is almost killed by Shion posing as Mion, he narrowly gets away after being warned by her that if he sees her again, he shouldn't come near her. The next night, she comes and throws pebbles at his window. Being the kind of character he is, Keiichi goes down and talks to her. Naturally, she promptly stabs him. At least he had a better reason in the game, but still...
- Also, in both that and Watanagashi-hen. "YES! You've caught me, I'm the psychopathic murderer! Now, before I surrender to the cops outside, will one of you please follow me alone into this underground soundproof torture chamber?"
- Rika, after finally escaping an everlasting cycle of paranoia, murder, torture and death, abandons all caution and and gets hit by a truck. Starting the entire goddamn thing all over again.
- Or so we think. She's just in a coma
- At least this last one's only questionably cannon.
- What Do You Mean Its Not Awesome - Episode 22 of the first season opens with an intense water pistol fight, complete with sabotaged weapons, traps, dramatic camera angles/music, and Glowing Eyes Of Doom. It ended with a victory to Keiichi and Rena, who got each other at the same time.
- What The Hell Hero - Most of the main cast for most of the series.
- Given the gross misunderstanding of this trope, who calls who out?
- Wide Eyes And Shrunken Irises
- Wise Beyond Their Years - Rika, later revealed to be because she's Really Seven Hundred Years Old due to constant resurrection.
- Wolverine Publicity - Rena is featured on the covers of most of the original CD chapters of the game. Specially in those where she isn't even a relevant character, let alone a villainess.
- Word Of Dante - The events of the fanmade Higurashi Daybreak have literally ascended to canon.
- Worthy Opponent - Okonogi ends up seeing the kids as this. After all, it's not often that you can see an entire intelligence unit getting their asses handed to them by a group of teenagers!
- Yakuza - The Three Families, specifically the Sonozaki family.
- Yandere - Shion in Meakashi-hen in particular may just be the all-time Queen Bitch of yandere. Natsumi is competing for her throne by the end of Someutsushi-hen.
- Yangire - Pretty much every important character villain included.
- Years Too Early: This line is mentioned during the credits of the last episode of Season 1 of the anime.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Chie-sensei.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness- Okonogi gives Takano this treatment at the end of Matsubayashi-hen when it is clear that all has been lost. One can assume that she does not fare any better in the Worlds where she "wins"
- You Should Know This Already - You should already know about Hanyuu, that Miyo is the villain, why the characters keep on appearing after they've died, and about Shion (during Onikakushi). Seriously, the manga even shows Shion and Hanyuu during their omakes, before they appear.
- A minor example, but according to Daybreak Portable MEGA EDITION (and Daybreak itself but that game shows it in the intro), you should know that Natsumi, from Onisarashi-hen, had Hinamizawa Syndrome and was the killer in Onisarashi-hen.
- Zettai Ryouiki - Evidently part of Miyo Takano's nurse outfit.
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