Higurashi When They Cry vol. 2

Review by Kris

The mysteries of Hinamizawa continue in Higurashi When They Cry vol. 2. The strange and mysterious deaths from the past several years are now bearing down on Keiichi Maebara’s frayed psyche. He’s been approached by a detective from the next town over and has asked for his help. Ooishi, the detective, seems to be the culprit behind sewing the seeds of doubt in Keiichi’s mind. Ooishi has also asked Keiichi to spy on his friends and report back to him any bizarre behavior. Because of this Keiichi is now trying to act normal all while trying to suppress his fear and anxiety. Things go from bad to worse when he finds a needle in the ohagi that Mion and Rena drop off at Keiichi’s house. Because he’s already overly paranoid by this point he sees this as a sign that he’s next on the list to be offed. When he turns to Ooishi again Rena’s mysterious past comes to light and freaks him out even more. What will become of our paranoid friend Keiichi?

When I volunteered to review Higurashi When They Cry vol. 2 I had to pick up the first volume. I always struggle with starting in the middle of a series, so because of my obsessive-compulsive personality I knew that I couldn’t read this one without reading the first one. Feel free to check out my micro-review here. Now that I’ve read both in the series I have to say I probably won’t continue it and after reading this series I’ve decided that the horror genre is not for me. It was a gripping story and Yen Press has done a great job in the actual properties of the book. The paper is a higher stock, the translation was smooth, and it’s a high quality product all around. The art and story go well together and you can see how the artist lovingly created the characters to fit into the story, but it just isn’t enough to cause me to fall in love and be hooked. You see I’ve always enjoyed suspense type stories, but when it comes to horror I’ve never really enjoyed it. Blood, possession, etc. have never been my cup of tea and Higurashi When They Cry definitely falls into this category.

Even though I may not have enjoyed this simply on the reason that I’m not a fan of the genre doesn’t mean this isn’t a title to check out if you like tales such as this one. Yen Press has loving brought this title to our shores and has done an excellent job delivering it to fans. The story is suspenseful and I will admit that I was gripped and had to read the two books in one sitting. For that reason alone I will recommend it. Just because I’m not into horror doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out if you enjoy horror and suspense in your manga. I’m leaving the decision up to you!