| Average |
6.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei is the OVA to the Higurashi series. It consists of 5 episodes, the first and last of which are completely meaningless fanservice. You're not missing on much.
Animation:
Clean drawings, good animation. Nothing breathtaking, but better than what can usually be expected of Studio Deen in this regard.
Sound:
The seiyuus in Higurashi have always been good in my opinion, and they keep up the level of work they had been doing. The new intro is decent, not on the level of the first season, but slightly better than the second for the opening beat. ED is hardly worth mentioning, even though it does have good lyrics.
Story:
If you're looking for something on the level of the first season here in terms of story or mood, you won't be finding it aplenty. The second arc - episodes 2-4 - feels a bit like Higurashi, but not particularly so. There are a couple of lines which give off the appeal that made the first season so immortal in my memory, but for the most part it's more like Kai. The focus is on Rika being yoinked to a perfect world where seemingly nothing happens that could possibly provoke acts such as happened during the first season. The first episode is a fanservice episode dressing up the cast in swimsuits (Rika gets a skimpy bikini, go figure -.-) and is better off not being watched.
Character:
The depth Higurashi's characters developed over the course of the arcs is missing almost entirely. Hanyuu and Rika get treatment in this regard. The rest doesn't.
Value:
The subs are decent enough, and the BD Rips offer good visual quality.
Enjoyment:
I wished for another typical Higurashi arc; "typical" being the first season. Episodes 3-4 gave me a bit in that regard, but for the most part I was sorely disappointed. There is one notable scene which was clearly and very much Higurashi, but it's, what, 30 seconds in a 90min arc? Pitiful. Rika contemplates issues one might consider typical for Higurashi, but they are never realized. I never bothered watching the last episode. There is surely a more sensible investment for your time.
|
