When They Cry: Complete Box Set
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Artist: Artist Not ProvidedBrand: Funimation
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 650 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-08-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Funimation/Geneon Entertainment
DVD Reviews of When They Cry: Complete Box Set
DVD Review: A fresh take on the "cutesy characters murdering the hell out of each other" genre
Summary: 4 Stars
"When They Cry", or "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" (When the Cicadas Cry) is a unique murder-mystery anime series based on a popular Japanese video game. And how do video game adaptations usually fare, class? Well, consider the curse shattered. This is the best animated horror not named Hellsing that I have seen in many years and the opening credit sequence is wonderful and reportedly features backmasking in the industrial-tinged theme song. Creepy!
The first 5 episodes of this anime are beyond fabulous and the story is told in amazingly bold form. It closely resembles both The Wicker Man and Rosemary's Baby in tone and themes, but Higurashi adds that brand of cloying cuteness that can only be found in anime which only manages to accentuate the disturbing content. There have been two seasons total that have aired in Japan with a third just beginning and an OVA (original video animation) planned as well. Here in America, we've only had the first season so far. This is the season I'll be reviewing.
Keichi is a transfer student making friends at his new school in the village of Hinamizawa. he's already found his way into a club of energetic girls who play games and enact embarrassing punishments on the loser. It's adorable. But the village has secrets. Lots of 'em. And nearly as many endearing characters to go with those buried secrets. Each year they hold a celebration known as The Drifting Cotton Festival . Each year somebody dies on that night and another disappears altogether. Nobody talks about it. It is simply dismissed as the curse of the village's guardian deity, Oyashiro, and those who vanish are referred to as having been "spirited away by the demon". The more Keichi learns, the more frightening the first story arc in the anime becomes. Who are his new friends and why have they been connected to every single victim? "When They Cry" is a tale (several, actually) of paranoia, secrets & lies (gotta have those), mystery, and suspense so thick that a cherubic anime girl could cut with a very large cleaver. And that's just in the first part of a story that will be retold in many different ways.
What sets this apart from any other murder-mystery I've seen is that we see the ending (one of many more to come) at the finish of the first four episodes. After that, time is rewound and we are taken back to the beginning to see a different sequence of events play out and fall in love with the characters all over again in spite of knowing (part of) the horrible truth. The cast bugged me for the first 10 minutes or so with their cutesy character designs and cliche anime mannerisms, but by the end of the first episode, I was hooked on Higurashi. And it wasn't just the people clawing their own throats open. It's the fright of seeing a typically darling girl for this medium turn into a menacing entity for just a second before switching back to her saccharine self as though nothing at all had happened. Or the way their pupils narrow cat-like into slits as they innocently (or maybe not) point out similarities between Keichi and the last student to "transfer" away from the school without a trace. The first climax in episode four will drop your jaw, guaranteed. But by the end of the very next twenty minutes, all will be forgiven and you will again be wrapped up in the sweetness of the same characters whose lives you just saw end horrifically. Just another day. And another. And another. It's like Groundhog Day with more darling anime girl murderers.
The cast is outstanding and expansive, and each retold story tends to focus on a different character or aspect of the village. Some arcs are prequels or sequels to other arcs or link up with them in ways that change your perception of a given event. For example, there are a pair of identical twins within a yakuza family who are fond of switching roles with each other, so you never really know which one you are seeing. Confusing, but intriguing. Other arcs are entirely apart from the rest and seem to be based on alternate dimension scenarios. This theory is given credence in the season's last episodes. The inner workings and history of Hinamizawa are chilling and each story adds to this. Then there is the violence. Sweet, sweet violence. Adorable characters being tortured mercilessly or found with their entrails hanging out while birds feast upon them and the occasional baseball bat murder are the norm here. The show always has something disturbing waiting for you around the next corner. And after that: more disturbing.
The relationships between the characters are important and spiderwebish in their intricacy. It seems that everybody in Hinamazawa is connected to each other. It is a small isolated town, after all. This makes for a great setting that allows the characters to breathe. It also keeps you guessing about what combination of characters will die in any given story and how. Will it be the nosy photographer and his beautiful companion from out-of-town? Okay, so they never live. One can always hope. Maybe little Satoko-chan will get gutted this time out while she pines for her "Nii-Nii", the brother who mysteriously "transferred" out after their parents were killed at the festival and he murdered their cruel uncle. But no, not the sweetheart priestess Rika?!?! Oh, sucks to go out like that! Man, this series is fun and sadistic.
"When They Cry" is a psychotic good time filled with mystery, murder, and cuteness. Lots of cuteness. On occasion it goes over-the-top and becomes unintentionally comedic and seeing the story play out with the same setting and characters over and over may wear on some viewers over time. The final arc is the weakest and fizzles out at the end just when it seems ready to serve up the biggest buffet of horror yet, which is disappointing to say the least. But at the end of season one, I am definitely up for more, though I do wish the rest of the season had been as strong as that first series of episodes. Having read reviews of future seasons, I've been greeted with the notion that Higurashi does indeed get old, but as of now it's a fantastic and intricate horror anime that murder-mystery fans need to check out.
4 1/2 stars rounded down because variety is the spice of life.
Description of When They Cry: Complete Box Set
Studio: Funimation Prod Inc Release Date: 08/25/2009 Run time: 624 minutesBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Anime Legends)Bandai; Release date: 2010-07-06; DVD
Best price: $24.44
Price in other shops:
Darker Than Black: The Complete First SeasonFunimation; Release date: 2011-04-19; DVD
Best price: $26.99
Price in other shops:
Full Metal Panic FUMOFFU - The Complete SeriesFunimation; Release date: 2010-10-05; DVD
Best price: $20.98
Price in other shops:
Soul Eater: The Weapon CollectionFunimation; Release date: 2011-08-09; DVD
Best price: $31.44
Price in other shops:
Spice and Wolf: Season Two (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo)Funimation; Release date: 2011-08-30; Blu-ray
Best price: $37.48
Price in other shops:
Soul Eater: The Meister CollectionFunimation; Release date: 2011-05-24; DVD
Best price: $31.95
Price in other shops:
Lucky Star Anime LegendsBandai; Release date: 2010-04-06; DVD
Best price: $29.86
Price in other shops:
High School of the Dead Complete CollectionADV Films; Release date: 2011-06-28; DVD
Best price: $30.49
Price in other shops:
Artist Not Provided - Angel Beats Complete CollectionMVD; Release date: 2011-07-26; DVD
Best price: $33.98
Price in other shops:
Artist Not Provided - Disappearance of Haruhi SuzumiyaRelease date: 2011-09-20; DVD
Best price: $16.91
Price in other shops: