Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Gou just finished airing and the story it told was very… different, to say the least.
I’ve read multiple entries of the WTCverse through the years and, honestly, Ryukishi07 sucks at pacing. Gou is a structural mess and I’m unwillingly happy that it apparently had the sequel “Higurashi Sotsu” planned from the start, otherwise it would be very difficult to justify (and close) all these loose ends from Gou.
Anyway, regardless of all that, this post is about the animation studio which brought this black swan of a sequel to life.
Passione (Rail Wars, Citrus, Ishuzoku Reviewers) founded in 2011, is still a relatively small company in the big leagues. They aren’t really well known by the mainstream folks but are clearly improving in quality with every new franchise.
While lacking in plot, budget and action, Higurashi Gou was a joy to watch thanks to some ingenious, yet simple, beautiful storyboards.
Bellow is a compilation of selected scenes that left me in awe.
But first,
Character Design
Where it all began.
Created by Akio Watanabe (@punipoyo), it has a goofy moe aura to it. With the cute proportions and clichés (i.e. flesh fang) commonly attributed to CGDCT slice-of-life anime. Rena is irresistibly huggable; Rika is a cinnamon roll, too pure for this world; our boy Keiichi is a cool shota and Satoko is packing some killer thighs.
The moefied design was a genius move. It’s the perfect contrast to Higurashi’s trademark mood of suspense and intrigue. The shock between moe design and cartoon violence when the inevitable and, obviously anticipated, gory scenes appear is already impactful on its own. Additionally, the manner how the money shot scenes were composed: exaggerated blood spatters and sounds, makes a sinister perfect match to the cartoony designs.
A couple of franchises like WIXOSS, Madoka and Happy Sugar Life explored this notion before but Higu Gou is definitely the one to perfect it.
DEEN’s 2006 anime did have better creepy L5 faces, though.
Higurashi Gou storyboards
Keiichi find clues about the dam incident (Episode 1, 22:23)
What makes it great?
The perfect ending scene for the first episode. A throwback to the original anime, with Rena’s machete and all but with a twist after the credits roll, showing voyeur Rika with witch eyes, indicating that this won’t be a remake and that the minor differences we saw through the episode weren’t just aesthetic choices.
The entire scene moves from close up shots to expanding moving camera, first focusing on an important element (magazines, Keiichi, machete, Rena) then expanding to show the setting around it.
Sound plays a major role here to boost the nostalgia. Cicadas are going crazy on the background and the original OP theme starts playing.
Slow walk into the shed (Episode 6, 22:38)
What makes it great?
The Furude Shrine’s tool shed (aka Saiguden) is a pivotal place for many arcs and the story shifts drastically whether Keiichi enters it and how. The storyboard for the ending of episode 6 plays with the relevance of this fact in a “we know that you know that we know that this matters” manner, presenting Keiichi’s decision to enter the shrine but instead of showing us he walking in, it limits itself to Takano holding the door and Keiichi and Shion walking towards it in slow motion, as the ED plays on the background.
Will something or someone stop them? Will Takano hear footsteps? Will Hanyuu show up? Will the shed be any different from the previous Higurashi entries? Will Keiichi change his mind? What’s inside this time?
It’s one massive cliffhanger.
(Brightness is slightly boosted on these screenshots, by the way)
Akasaka is here, everything will be daijobu (Episode 15, 11:09)
What makes it great?
Rika believes she had a good roll on the dice of fate this time and with Akasaka showing up, it’s matsuribayashi time! Except it isn’t.
With a contrast cut, her world goes from heaven to hell and she’s baffled by the change. With one of her greatest allies going L5 her thoughts mirror the scene as she goes from slightly hopeful to instant despair.
It’s the first time this type of cut is used on the series and it will be more prominent from this episode on as her mindbreak journey continue and the violence escalates.
Episode 16
What makes it great?
While gore has always been an integral part of Higurashi and, admittedly, what made many of us pick up the original series back on our edgy teen selves, Gou’s episode 16 blows anything from 2006 out of the water.
15 minutes of straight, nonstop, sensory overload of loli torture. Everything from sound to camera angles and color is designed to make you feel uncomfortable and disgusted. What sets it apart from mindless violence that can be found on many other series, especially older ones, is how it cuts back and forth from “safe” shots to explicit ones. The constant shift in tone of the dialogue, along with two flashbacks, makes the viewer wonder when it’s going to end, if it’s going to end and legitimately ask to “make it stop”.
It makes sense script-wise as it’s Satoko’s final attempt to break Rika. It makes sense to be where it is, as it required the buildup from previous episodes. But above all, it’s the ultimate “how you like me now” shut up to all the fans who were complaining that Gou wasn’t gory enough.
Finally, as if it’s self-aware, it ends with a classic breather beach scene. Cheeky and ironical, probably the only way to finish the episode.
On a side note, production for this episode must’ve been fun. While someone was assigned to draw hundreds of frames of Satoko eating Rika’s guts, this other guy got to draw the main cast in swimsuits.
What’s on Rika’s box? (Episode 17, 20:49)
What makes it great?
Box, Satoko, box, Satoko, Rika, Bear, Satoko, Rika, Hanyuu, Satoko, Rika, gun. Gorgeous voice acting by Yukarin and a sequence of cuts between the two characters.
The actual final scene of Gou, whose conclusion we will likely only see in the middle of Sotsu.
It’s the culmination of all the clues from previous arcs and foreshadows satokowashi-hen. In a certain way, this scene represents the entire plot: Rika unknowingly traps Satoko and the latter falls for the trap due to her own circumstances. The fact that it’s a teddy bear inside the box just adds to the irony as Satoshi got shafted from Gou completely. It even makes a nod to Sword-chan who’s also due to make a gallant appearance sometime.
Tite Kubo would be proud of this ending as the other club members are nothing more than background noise and the storyboard focus only on what really mattered in Gou: Rika, Satoko and the heart.
In conclusion, Higu Gou wasn’t anything exceptional but sure packed some interesting episodes. I also didn’t have a huge budget, so while in this post I praise the storyboarding, it also had its fair share of ugly and rushed frames akin to SHAFT’s Madoka TV series. Additionally, some continuity errors could be spotted here and there:
In episode 9, Keiichi goes from barefoot to socks after falling to one os Satoko’s trap;
In Ooishi’s massacre, he fires a dozen shots despite shooting with a revolver that only holds 6 rounds. Though, this one might actually end up being intentional if somehow Sotsu shows there was a 2nd shooter and it was Satoko.
Ryukishi07 had a so-so concept for Gou, Passione did a wonderful job executing it. For that, even though the anime didn’t do so well, they deserve praise.
Based Shinji Says 