Higurashi WHEN THEY CRY: Beyond Midnight Arc

I can’t help it but Beyond Midnight Arc is a bit too perplexing to me as to how it’s supposed to fit to the overal story. I expect that every part of Higurashi would give you another piece of puzzle towards the grand reveal. And so far it was true. But not with this one. So, there are two options. Either the author just forgot to actually work in anything from the main plotline here and this is truly just a side story with almost no connection, or I’m too dumb to notice the hint there, even after reading the whole Higurashi series. Both conclusions arequite possible and I dare not to say which one is right with a hundred percent conviction, but I’m going to assume it’s the first one for now. Beyond Midnight Arc is an alternative timeline, set two decades after the original story, focusing on different main cast with only some of the original cast making what almost just a guest appearance. It’s not a bad self-contained short story by itself, but it doesn’t add up anything of value to the ongoing overall plot – though I still wouldn’t recommend to skip it, just to be sure. There is one aspect that I absolutely loved about Beyond Midnight arc, and it’s the art and arstyle. The manga looks visually great, and especially the colored pages are delightful to look at. So, it’s worth to read even if just for the art alone. Overall, it’s the weakest part of the original Higurashi manga series, but still a fine read.