Higurashi WHEN THEY CRY: Curse Killing Arc

And now, my review of the third Higurashi arc. Please note that this is the last arc I have read; I currently know nothing about Higurashi beyond this point. Story: It's summer of 1983 . . . and this is also starting just like the other arcs, almost as if they were all separate canons almost . . . well, Keiichi and his family move in, he gets along with some girls, they have wacky hijinx, but then he learns about Oyashiro-sama's Curse. Not only that, he learns that Satoko, one of his friends, lives under the thumb of an abusive uncle, and yet, she doesn't doanything to better her situation. At first, the story is rather slow. Fortunately, the attempts at humor are better than in the first arc, (you'll laugh during the baseball game) but things don't start getting interesting until Keiichi becomes obsessed with helping Satoko. It does raise some interesting issues; at what point does helping out someone go from simple compassion to violent crusade? Not only that, the ending is a shocking ending. Again, many mysteries abound, but the story still intrigues me. 8/10. Art: Oh man. Why do they have different artists for these? This particular artist in unworthy. The characters, especially in the first half, are lacking in detail, the backgrounds look rushed, and, well, I would expect more from a professional publication. I've seen Touhou doujins that look better than this. By the second half, the art does improve, especially during the more shocking scenes, but it's too little, too late, and it never compares to the first two arcs art-wise. 5/10. Characterization: In spite of the unanswered questions, the characters are still quite the cast. Keiichi is even more paranoid here; you could even argue that he becomes a villain, and I wouldn't dispute it. Satoko appears to be a helpless little girl, but there is information that contradicts that, too. That would be the best word to describe these characters, contradictory. Another example, Ooishi appeared to be trustworthy in the first two arcs, but here, Keiichi doesn't trust him, and with good reason. We also learn more about Satoko's older brother, Satoshi, who was mentioned in the previous arcs. More and more about the characters is revealed. 9/10. Enjoyment: When this arc started, the mediocre art turned me off somewhat. I only slogged through that because I knew that it would eventually turn into a gripping horror tale. Luckily, my prediction came true. This arc was more straightforward than the second one, and I just can't get the ending out of my head. However, it only starts getting really good once Keiichi decides to do something about Satoko's situation; once you get there, you won't be able to stop. Disturbing thoughts and imagery are plentiful throughout the second half, yet somehow, instead of turning me away, I welcome it. Like I said before, if you don't mind seeing a horror story done right, well, you can't go wrong with Higurashi. 8/10.

This is my review for Higurashi no naku koro ni; Curse Killined Arc. Pros: Still as bloody as the other ones. Very in depth, i prefer this one over the animated arc It adds a new part of the curse into the story and i love that Cons: Takes a while to pick up (The entire first part of the arc is mostly talking and building up to the amazing second arc) Something i didn't expect happened, but it wasn't given an explanation to it. (hopefully higurashi no naku koro ni kai will clear that part up).Overall: I really liked it and this is one of the first mangas that i have gotten and im glad it was this arc, i prefer this one over the anime beacuse i feel like it is paced better. But still love this series, looking forward to getting the next one in the series.

By far the best question arc. Not only does it serve the best questions, it also has the best story. The story had no boring points whatsoever, the slice of life was not dragged on, and was actually important to the story. Seeing Keiichi slowly going insane as more and more contradictions build up, while seeing Satoko in more pain each second, truly showed us how depressing Higurashi can be. Characters were great as well. I loved that Satoko got the spotlight for once, and i loved keiichis realism in this arc. Overall, a very good experience for a Higurashi question arc. Most definitely recommendedif you want one hell of a mystery manga. 4.5/5, 9/10

At this point in Higurashi, Keiichi is really starting to piss me off as the main character, Keiichi being paranoid for almost six volumes gets old, and he really goes insane in this arc. I really liked how Satoko finally got an arc to herself, she is probably the least focused on main Higurashi character in the series. This arc focuses on a real issue in life, and that is child abuse, everyone wants to save Satoko and there was a point when Keiichi was argueing with Mion and it was like, DUDE YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS!This was a good arc none the less, it provides more mystery to the secrets of Hinamizawa at the end. But i have to say, I'm glad that this is the last arc where Keiichi is the narrator.