Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku: Outbreak

I was actually very excited when I heard about a new Higurashi. I have been a die hard Higurashi fan since I watch the first series and have now almost read and watched everything that even sllghtly related to Higurashi. Considering how disappointed I was with a large proportion of Kira, I was trying my best not to get my hopes up for this OVA but upon seeing the trailer, I found it difficult not to. It looked serious, it looked exciting; Rena had her cleaver and Keiichi is armed with the bat. What's not to instantly get excited about? In general, it was an interestingepisode and longer than your typical episodes so that it is about the length of a double episode. It did however have a few flaws that with some careful thought about the plot could have been easily smoothed out. This may be an obvious point but you should have watch series 1 and 2 before watching this. Story: In general, the story is interesting. It deals with the 'Outbreak' (unsurprisingly) of the "virus". I will avoid going into too many details but it deals with the action from external groups and more importantly the reaction of the villagers themselves. The plot-line is very reminiscent of the original Higurashi episodes. It is dark, there is plenty of violence and you can see the connection between the club members. Character: With a couple of exceptions, I felt this is where the episode really fell down. It was without... 'love'. Both Rena and Keiichi in particular seemed to do things that had very little emotion attached to them - unlike in the previous series, their violence seemed a little... like a spree rather than for any particular reason. Actually Rika, despite her small part in the episode as a whole, gets me applause. Everything from her expressions and her 'Bern-esque' voice got me. I'm pretty sure there may have been some gentle underlying suggestions about the links to Umineko. Overall: Overall I enjoyed it despite the little character flaws, it made a nice change from Kira and the 'happy-happy-love-love' Higurashi to something just that little bit darker. There seems to be doubt as to whether this is the last episode or whether there will be more. It seemed to me that the episode lent itself to a little more storytelling.

Well, in short, This wasn't what I expected. The thing I am most disappointed with, is the story. I really loved the whole Higurashi series, and I was very happy, when I heard that Higurashi didn't end yet, and there will be a new OVA soon. I looked forward to watching it. But now, after I finished it, the movie seems to be a trailer for something bigger. It just simply seemed short. I couldn't find the curve of the story. There was no beginning. It jumped right into the middle of the story. There was no problem to develop, because it jumped right into aproblem that had already developed. And there was no conclusion. No happy ending, no bad ending. There was nothing in the whole movie. About the art, it was like the rest of the series' : great. Well I have to say one very important thing: there is no lazy 3D animation in it. And that is very important. That describes how high quality it is. I don't really have anything to say about the sound. Maybe that the OST is pretty good, and sometimes the girls' voices can be annoying, but that is how it is usually in the anime these days. There were no new characters in the series, or no important new characters. There were the parents of Keiichi, Rena, Satoko, Irie, Rika, Keiichi, Mion and Mion's grandma. Some of my favorite characters were left out of the OVA. For example, I really missed Takano Mio. She was my very favorite in the series. And I also missed Shion, and her bodyguard. Some of the main characters' personalities were screwed up. For example, Irie acted so strange... In a way he would never act. I definitely did not enjoy this OVA. I was waiting for a good story the whole time. And the fighting scenes were disappointing too. Not even close to the level of the rest of the series. All in all, do not hope for some good Higurashi quality OVA when you are watching this.

So I'll start by getting to the main point that might help you decide on whether to watch this or not. It was a great addition to the first two original Higurashi seasons. Not a continuation, but it gives you the same vibe. However, there are key things that need to be pointed out. Just note that some of these points might only apply to the unknown fact of this OVA being the only one to come, or if it will have more episodes following it. The story moved very fast (if it's a single OVA, then that's more understandable) and the mystery vibe of the Oyashiro'scurse seems to be non-existent; which I thought was one of Higurashi's greatest elements. The villagers were also a bit more insane than usual, but they definitely added to the tension. Above all, the soundtrack was definitely amazing. It was, might I say it, one of the higher ones in many animes. I'm not good with words describing music (that's for someone else whose talent is there to do) so I'll just leave it at: watch it and find out. To be general, this was interesting to watch, but I personally couldn't say it was that close to the feel of the original two series' episodes.

In short : Higurashi fans, run away !!! I've been a fan of this fiction for a long time : anime, manga, visual novels.... I love them all and am probably biased toward them, but I don't care. Little did I expect to one day come across something related to it that would be this horrifying. Because under this pretty design mimicking the Anime, this is very far away from the original material, in an awfully negative way. Story : Did you ever come across an original fiction that seemed like a fanfiction to you ? I did : The Knights of Emerald, Akame ga Kill, ZenbuChoudai, The Witcher (novels), Fire Tripper (OVA), etc. Oh, I stop you there, just because something is "fanfictionish" doesn't make it remotely bad, Knights of Emerald for example remained entertaining despite that. After all, some fanfictions are really well done. When it comes to this OVA, though, we're among the bad fanfictions. To me, it looks like the product of a fan : he/she took his favourite elements of the show/manga/visual novels and tried to bring to life some of his/her phantasms. Even if it doesn't fit the Higurashi universe. Do we have the implication of the virus ? Yes, right from the start it's thrown into our face without any type of introduction, which, I would have accepted if there had been a counterpart for making it right retroactively, but, nope, cross that. This OVA may be long, but it didn't have the time for that, instead, it took plenty of time showing us how absurdly epic Keiichi and Rena are. The others you ask ? Who cares !? Let's find an excuse to have them as little as possible on-screen. Show the build-up insanity from the villagers ? (because this time around it's their turn to become mad) Who cares ? Keiichi's parents are present....even if they aren't really important in the end, considering the lack of care Keiichi shows overall of their....disappearance.... Er....what happened during that ellipse ? (oh and they are very, very understanding parents, or incredbily irresponsible...I hesitate....) which matches Rena's reaction perfectly when it comes to her own loss. I could rant and piss about this story for ages, make a fuss about close to every elements, but I should cool down a bit, so I won't. Let's just say it focuses on everything that matters the least and avoids sharing with us, viewers, the most important information ON-SCREEN. It could also pull the various elements in better ways. All in all, even though the story is easily understandable, it has many pieces missing to bring a decent continuity to the plot, you just have various fragments brought together with poorly done transitions. I would like to add a word about the end however.... Is it me....or is it suggesting Mion, Keiichi, Rena and Satoko (and Rika) are the only surviving beings ? Or are living in a post-apocalyptic world with "zombies" killing each other and only them as "normal" humans ? .....Well, Adam will have three wives this time, how lucky ! To say a word about the dialogues....they mainly sound off or forced, like they weren't put in appropriately. Characters : Aside from the story, the characters are also very fanfictionish.... They look like the one of Higurashi, they share traits with the one of Higurashi, but everything feels off or incomplete. Irie kills himself ? Ok, why not ? But you have to develop it, not throw it into our face. Keiichi and Rena are perfectly ok from a second to another to kill people and have thorough FUN with it. Isn't there some middle path first ? Usually, between point A and point B there's something to develop. Oh and also, they are....ninjas ? Don't know, but they are really good at killing many opponents on their own, and yes, they tend to show these types of qualities in the "every day" life, but in case you didn't notice, these absurdly awesome moments are purposefully restricted to the "fun days", while the more psychologically hard moments make them more human....again for a reason. Something this OVA seems to have completely forgotten. Mion ? Useless....with her weak self being specifically worked out so you're sure to get she won't be of any (real) use. Satoko ? Damsel in distress, we know close to nothing about her, because telling us how this virus is behind every religions and everywhere in the world is much more important. Hanyu ? She turned evil. Because it was decided so ! And to come back to Keiichi's parents, for once that they had a minimum of role to play, I do not understand the choice of avoiding to show us their face, it just increases the lack of empathy for them. The only one I could praise, to some extent, is Rika, even if during the last part of it, she was also of. All in all, none of them react as they would normally, even their "insane" self. There are in-betweens missing to justify said attitudes. Art & Sound : They are the best part of the show. Well, the soundtrack is mainly what we had already, but it still nice to hear them again. Nothing to say about those two elements all in all. The seiyuus did a good job, overall, but there was some lack of...."soul" ? "Heart", "implication", however you want to put that. Overall : ....Wait ? I've just been told it was based on a short story written by Ryukishi07 ? ...................Without further information about it, it may be wiser to turn yourself toward that version, at worst, it'll be as bad as the anime, at best, it'll be better............................ Now I shall go back into my horrified corner again.

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