Trivia / Higurashi: When They Cry

• Acting for Two: Mion and Shion Sonozaki are played by the same voice actress in every iteration of the series — Satsuki Yukino in the original Japanese version, Megan Hollingshead in the Bang Zoom! dub of the 2006 series, and Michelle Rojas in the FUNimation/Crunchyroll dub of Gou and Sotsu. This extends to live-action, where they're played by Rika Nakai in the 2016 television drama.
• Bonus Episode: Accompanying the first season DVDs was Nekogoroshi-hen (Cat Killing Chapter), a single episode scenario based on a light novel.
• Cash-Cow Franchise: Higurashi: When They Cry has become one of these, with the ever increasing fanbase in both Japan and the States, the manga, the anime and its OVAs, the drama CDs, and the overdose of merchandise.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: Due to a real life stabbing incident, Japanese news media claimed Higurashi as the culprit's inspiration giving a less than honest depiction of Rena's character.
• Creator's Favorite: According to Ryukishi07, Keiichi is his favorite character.
• Crossdressing Voices: Satoshi Houjou, who is male, is voiced by Yuu Kobayashi.
• The Danza: Miyuki Sorimachi, whose first name is the same as her voice actress, Miyuki Sawashiro.
• Directed by Cast Member: The English dub of Gou is directed by Michelle Rojas, who voices Mion and Shion in the new dub.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Happened to the anime for several years. Geneon licensed the first season and dubbed it (with BangZoom!), but had only released its first half by the time they went belly-up in late 2007. They later partnered up with Funimation to finish it, as part of their wider deal to handle several "orphaned" shows. A complete set of the entire first season came out in 2009, but sales were low, so when Geneon's license expired, Funimation stated they would not renew the rights themselves (something they did do for better-performing ex-Geneon shows), and any further seasons were out of the question. However, Sentai Filmworks (who had rescued the similarly-ill-fated Rozen Maiden) finally pulled Higurashi out of purgatory in 2015. In addition, they also picked up the Kai and Rei seasons. However, the follow-up seasons lack an English dub (something they were willing to spring for with Rozen Maiden).
• Marth Debuted in "Smash Bros.": Gou is the first animated adaptation of the franchise dubbed to Latin American Spanish, since neither the previous animated adaptations nor the games were brough there before.
• No Dub for You: After years of being stuck in limbo, the anime was eventually picked up by Sentai Filmworks, who ended up giving this treatment to Kai and Rei. Just like with The Familiar of Zero. This may have to do with the show's lackluster sales for Geneon and FUNimation, along with the its buzz dying down considerably in the years that followed.
• No Export for You: The Alchemist-owned (now Entergram-owned) ports, and their associated bonus content, along with the spinoff games, light novels, and the non-core manga, have never been officially localized outside of Japan. Mangagamer is currently in the process of retranslating and rereleasing the entire body of works which comprise the Hou version (the core eight arcs, Rei, and Hou), so those previously un-localized arcs are eventually going to come to the West, but the process has taken eight years from its initial Steam Greenlight listing until now (January 2020), or six years if you want to be more generous since the games passed Greenlight some time in 2014.
• The Other Darrin: The Funimation English dub for Gou and Sotsu uses a completely different cast from the 2007 Bang Zoom dub for the original season. The only returning actor is Patrick Seitz, but as a different character (he voiced Mamoru Akasaka in the original season and Okonogi in Gou).
  • Keiichi: Grant George —> Khoi Dao
  • Rena: Mela Lee —> Emi Lo
  • Mion and Shion: Megan Hollingshead —> Michelle Rojas
  • Satoko: Jennie Kwan —> Brittany Lauda
  • Rika: Rebecca Forstadt —> Apphia Yu
  • Satoshi: Darrel Guilbeau —> Casey Mongillo
  • Kuraudo: John Snyder —> Mark Stoddard
  • Jiro: Kyle Hebert —> John Burgmeier
  • Miyo: Karen Strassman —> Mallorie Rodak
  • Kyosuke: Dave Mallow —> Cody Savoie
  • Rumiko: Sam Carr —> Macy Anne Johnson
  • Mamoru: Patrick Seitz —> Aleks Le
  • Teppei: Steve Kramer —> Bryan Massey
  • Oryo: Barbara Goodson —> Pan Dougherty
  • Kiichiro: Kyle Hebert —> Mike Pollock
• Promoted Fanboy: Half of the cast of Gou’s main characters in the english dub (Rika, Satoko, Rena) are themselves fans of the Higurashi series.
• Reality Subtext:
  • The Hinamizawa Dam Conflict is based very loosely on the events surrounding the construction of the Miboro Dam near Shirakawa (the village that served as the setting for the Sound Novel backdrops and whose designs were used in the anime) in the late 1950s. The construction of the dam necessitated the flooding of four villages, consisting of over 200 homes that housed some 1200 people. The force relocation sparked intense protests from the villagers that sometimes turned violent. However, unlike in Higurashi, the construction of the dam was ultimately completed and the villages were submerged.
  • A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment from Gou. Following the Time Skip, Satoko wanders around Hinamizawa and overhears a couple of farmers talking about how they're going to be tearing down the old schoolhouse on account of its age. This mirrors the fate of the real building in Shirakawa that served as the schoolhouse, which was demolished (along with the Irie clinic) not long after the original Sound Novels were first released.
  • The Hinamizawa Gas Disaster was inspired by an actual disaster that happened at Lake Nyos in Cameroon, where a massive amount of Carbon Dioxide was released from the lake and created a toxic cloud of gas which suffocated over 1700 people and 3500 livestock. The major difference here is that the Gas Disaster in Hinamizawa was actually a cover-up by Takano and the Mountain Dogs when they committed genocide of the entire village in most of the timelines. In fact a major clue that this was a cover up was the fact that Onigafuchi Swamp didn't turn red after the disaster.
• Referenced by...:
  • Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated has an episode titled "When the Cicada Calls", which contains a couple of other references to Higurashi. This has also caused some theorizing that the plot of the show was partially inspired by Higurashi due to the similarities.
  • Rena's weapon makes an appearance in Disgaea Dimension 2. The series (possibly Umineko as well) gets referenced in the episode 7 preview.
• Tourist Bump: The town Hinamizawa is based off had to make a new wall in their shrine because fans put too many things on theirs.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The sound novels were originally supposed to be one long game, but they decided to break it up and go with an arc system.
  • A few years before Higurashi's first arc Onikakushi-hen "On was published, Ryukishi07 wrote a short story named "Hinamizawa Teiryuujo" (translated as Hinamizawa Bus Stop) with Rika Furude and Mion Sonozaki as the main characters with completely different personality traits from their Higurashi counterparts. Several characters such as Rumiko Chie, Miyo Takano and Kasai were also parts of the short story with different names and roles. When Higurashi's first story arc was officially released, Ryukishi07 had made many alterations of his short story into Higurashi we know today.
  • Tatarigoroshi-Hen was meant to be the final question arc as evident by the All-Cast review in that chapter and Ryukishi07 himself said that he started working on Meakashi-Hen right after this arc was finished. However he had some trouble writing Meakashi-Hen at the time and decided to add in Himatsubushi-Hen before he managed complete Meakashi-Hen.
  • It's uncomfirmed, but according to the Gamefaqs Message Boards from back in March 2012, Higurashi: When They Cry was originally scheduled to air on Cartoon Network's [adult swim] block (presumably around 2008). Plans fell through because the company dubbing it at the time, Geneon Entertainment, shut down before it was completed. Funimation would later complete the dub and release the remaining episodes on DVD, but poor sales presumably canceled plans to air the anime in America.^note It should be noted that compared to Elfen Lied, the series would've had less censorship problems with Standards and Practices.
• Word of God: According to Ryukishi07 during SP Live Talk regarding Gou, he was shown the storyboards with St. Lucia's Academy's "self-study rooms" and Satoko in a "jeresy" and have approved the script. When the episode was colored and animated, he was surprized those being jail cells and an orange jumpsuit. It's unclear if Passione decided to add some style for Satoko's Through the Eyes of Madness or have misinterpreted something.

Poems by Frederica Bernkastel (Yen Press Manga Translation):

Abducted By Demons Arc:

Onikakushi-hen A

Please don't be sad.
Even if the world doesn't forgive you, I will forgive you.

Please don't be sad.
Even if you don't forgive the world, I will forgive you.

So please tell me.
What should I do so that you'll forgive me?

Onikakushi-hen B

Do you know wherein lies the sin?
It wasn't in partaking of the fruit of the tree.

Do you know wherein lies the sin?
It wasn't lending an ear to the serpent's enticements.

Do you still not know wherein lies the sin?
Therein lies your sin.

Cotton Drifting Arc

I cannot quench your thirst.
Because you who want the truth will not acknowledge it.

I cannot quench your thirst.
Because the truth you hope for doesn't exist.

Even so, I want to quench your thirst.
Because I am the one who left you in the desert.

Curse Killing Arc

I was the most unhappy.
Because I knew that this maze had no exit.

He was the next most unhappy.
Because he didn't know that this maze had no exit.

The other masses weren't unhappy.
Because they didn't even know that they were in a maze.

Time Killing Arc

Himatsubushi-hen A^†  In this poem, Bernkastel wonders if she will gain a kishi (きし) – a knight (騎士) or a bank (岸) – that will save her, or the opposite, a shiki (しき), time of death.

What is it that I seek?
Perhaps a knight from a far-off land.

What is it that I seek?
Perhaps a bank to help me crawl out of the eternal swamp.

I seek but one thing: will I gain a timely rescue, or a time of death?

Himatsubushi-hen B

Who is the culprit you ask?
Obviously the point of this story is to find that out

Who is the suspect, you ask?
Do you even know what crime is?

Who is the culprit?
Who is the culprit who will kill me!?

Eye Opening Arc

"I dropped her beads in the sand", the girl cried.
The girl searched the desert for a hundred years.

"Maybe I didn't drop them in the desert, but in the ocean", the girl wept.
The girl searched the seafloor for a hundred years.

"Maybe I didn't drop them in the ocean, but in the mountains", the girl wept.
How many years will it be before the girl questions whether she really dropped them at all?

Atonement Arc

The first time, I think to myself, Well it's only this once.
The tragedy I couldn't avoid.

The second time, I am shocked that it happened again.
The tragedy I couldn't avoid.

The third time, it goes beyond shock to agony.
Once it reaches seven, it starts to become a comedy

Massacre Arc

Minagoroshi-hen A

I wished to know the world outside the well.
So I crawled up from the bottom of the well.

I wished to know the world outside the well.
So I climbed on, no matter how many times I slipped and fell hard on my back.

But I realized.
The more I climb, the farther I fall, and the more it hurts.

When my interest in the outside world matched the pain in my whole body.
I finally understood the words of the Frog Prince.

Minagoroshi-hen B

Please tell me what happened on this night.
If I must describe it, I'd have to say it's like a box with a cat tucked inside.

Please tell me what happened on this night.
As long as it's possible, no one knows if the cat in the box is alive or dead.

Please tell me what happened on this night.
The cat in the box was dead.

Minagoroshi-hen C

What kind of world waits outside the well?
Is it worth the suffering that I must pay to find out?

What kind of world waits outside the well?
Is it alluring enough to risk falling again and again to get there?

What kind of world waits outside the well?
I will try to find out and enjoy the pain of my falls.

After all of that, it's sure to be a wonderful world..
Even if it turns out to be the bottom of the well.

The resolve to see the world outside of the well is the key to a new world.
Whether I escape the well or not,
I know I'll make it to a new world...

Festival Accompanying Arc

Matsuribayashi-hen A

Everyone has the right to live in happiness.
The hard part is accepting it.

Everyone has the right to live in happiness.
The hard part is acting on it.

Even I have the right to live in happiness.
The hard part is the compromise.

Matsuribayashi-hen B

We will take back all the happiness
from then till now.

A hundred years of happiness for me.
And a thousand years for you.

Dice Killing Arc

Saikoroshi-hen A

Bread fell down from heaven.
Some lamented loudly that the bread was not meat.

Meat fell down from heaven.
Some lamented loudly that they preferred the bread.

God came down from the heaven.
He will make water fall down for a time
until everyone knows what will make them happy.

Saikoroshi-hen B

Long, long ago
in the days when gods appeared to men...

Bread fell down from heaven.
Some lamented loudly that the bread was not meat.

Meat fell down from heaven.
Some lamented loudly that they preferred the bread.

God came down from the heaven.
He will make water fall down for a time
until everyone knows what will make them happy.

Rain fell down from heaven.
Everyone lamented loudly that their clothing became wet.

Flames fell down from heaven.
Everyone lamented loudly that their houses had been burned.

God came down from heaven.
He will make nothing fall from heaven
until everyone knows what will make them happy.

Nothing fell down from heaven.
Some lamented loudly that God had forsaken them.

All manners of things fell down from heaven.
Some lamented loudly that God should be more selective in what he sent.

Boulders rained down from heaven.
Now the lamentations finally ceased.

Rain fell down from heaven.
Passing travelers expressed their gratitude.

"God, we thank thee for the unexpected weather.
Now we can carry on our long journey and enjoy the break from the monotony."

God saw them off without a word.

As it should be. Gods and dice are best when silent.

Poems by Frederica Bernkastel (MangaGamer Translation):

Onikakushi-hen:

Don't be sad.
The world may not forgive you, but I forgive you.

Don't be sad.
You may not forgive the world, but I forgive you.

Tell me.
What must I do to earn your forgiveness?

Watanagashi-hen

I can't satisfy you.
Because what you want is the truth.

I can't satisfy you.
Because the truth you want doesn't exist.

But I still want to satisfy you.
Because it's all my fault.

Tatarigoroshi-hen

The frog in the well was happy.
Because he wasn't interested in the outside world.

The frog in the well was happy.
Because he didn't have anything to do with the outside world.

And you were happy, too.
Because you didn't know what happened outside the well.

Himatsubushi-hen

Who's the suspect?
The story is about finding that out, right?

Who's the suspect?
Do you know what the suspect did in the first place?

Who's the suspect?
Who's the suspect that's going to kill me?

Meakashi-hen

She dropped her beads in the sand. So the girl cried.
For one hundred years, she searched the sands.

They might be in the ocean, not in the sand. So the girl cried.
For one hundred years, she searched to ocean.

They might be in the mountains, not the ocean. So the girl cried.
How many years will pass before the girl wonders if she really dropped them?

Tsumihoroboshi-hen

The first time, I would try harder to avoid
the inevitable tragedy.

The second time, I would be disgusted by
the inevitable tragedy.

The third time, my disgust would turn to anguish.
The seventh time, I'd be laughing by then.

Minagoroshi-hen

Minagoroshi-hen A

I wanted to know what's outside the well.
So I tried to claw my way up from there.

I wanted to know what's outside the well.
So I continued to climb even when I fell and injured myself.

I finally realize.
The higher I climb, the more pain I feel when I fall.

When my curiosity toward the world and my pain became equal...
I finally understood the meaning of the frog in the well.

Minagoroshi-hen B

Please tell me what happened this night.
This is like a box with a cat inside.

Please tell me what happened this night.
I don't even know if the cat is alive or dead inside the box.

Please tell me what happened this night.
The cat in the box is dead.

Minagoroshi-hen C

What's outside the well?
Is it worth fighting for?

What's outside the well?
Is it worth getting hurt for?

What's outside the well?
I'm going to fight and get hurt to find out.

I'm sure what's waiting is a beautiful world.
Even if I get to the bottom of the well again.

The key to the new world is my willingness to get out of here.
Even if I get out or not,
I will eventually get to the new world...

Matsuribayashi-hen

Matsuribayashi-hen A

Everyone is entitled to happiness.
The difficult part is accepting that.

Everyone is entitled to happiness.
The difficult part is fulfilling that.

I, too, am entitled to happiness.
The difficult part is working out a compromise.

Matsuribayashi-hen B

Because from now on,
I'm going to live a much, much happier life.

I'm not going to compromise with just this.
We'll retrieve all the happiness we missed.

100 years worth for me.
1000 years worth for you.

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