A staple of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series is its grim (and, sometimes, excessively gory) depictions of death. It's fair to assume that most people who pick up the series are looking for a smorgasbord of graphic murder scenes, and Higurashi does not disappoint. But what's most important to Higurashi's deaths isn't the violent depiction as much as the emotional depth underscoring the tragedy of their situation.
The series goes out of its way to show the main cast forging friendships, having fun, and relying on each other when they feel weak. That’s why even the non-violent deaths in the series can be so jarring, especially in times when Rika Furude has had to watch her friends die over and over during her 100-year travels through the fragments. And it's not any less traumatizing for the others, who are on the receiving end of violence from someone they thought they could trust.
10 Satoko Commits Vehicular Suicide After Failing To Convince Rika At The Okonomiya Bookstore (Higurashi: Gou)
The Village Destroying arc in Higurashi: Gou revealed a lot of new content for the Higurashi series, namely the fact that Satoko is given the power to loop. While this death isn't excessively gory, it's still incredibly shocking considering the context of the scene. Satoko has just recently received the ability to loop and she is trying to convince Rika to let go of her dream to attend St. Lucia Academy. Rika isn't willing to let go of such a hard-won goal, however, and refuses to give up—meaning Satoko feels as though she needs to end her life and try again.
9 Shion Tasers Mion By The Body Disposal Well Underneath The Sonozaki Estate, Causing Mion To Fall To Her Death (Higurashi 2006)
The Eye Opening arc in the original 2006 run of Higurashi is one of the more upsetting arcs and it's all about Shion Sonozaki, especially concerning the details and aftermath of her relationship with Satoshi Hojo. What starts as an innocent crush ends up becoming a negative spiral into full-on yandere behavior, resulting in multiple deaths throughout this arc.
Her own twin sister Mion was not spared during her emotional onslaught. Shion was not moved by Mion's assertions that no one in the village killed Satoshi, instead claiming her sister can ask Satoshi the truth herself in the afterlife.
8 Detective Oishi Fatally Shoots Several Villagers Before Bludgeoning Rika To Death On The Night Of The Watanagashi Festival (Higurashi: Gou)
This is a surprising scene in the most recent addition to the Higurashi lineup, as Oishi had not previously fallen victim to Hinamizawa Syndrome before episode 14 of Higurashi: Gou. He's a heavy-handed figure who's not above using intimidation in his quest to solve the Watanagashi Festival murders, so it's shocking to see him take part in the murders himself. The emotional impact here is underscored in the following scene, as viewers watch a reborn Rika scream and writhe in pain in the plane of time fragments.
7 Keiichi Beats Rena & Mion To Death With A Baseball Bat (Higurashi 2006)
This scene arguably put Higurashi on the map with its disturbing depiction of a young man fearfully and frantically beating his friends to death with a blunt weapon. Being the first arc of the series, it does a wonderful job of setting up the mystery and emotional trauma that are central to Higurashi. Keiichi spirals into paranoid delusions as Hinamizawa Syndrome takes over his psyche and makes him question whether an outsider like him is safe from Oyashiro-sama's curse.
6 Rika Takes Her Own Life After Shion Injects Her With C-120 (Higurashi 2006)
C-120 is a medicine created by Dr. Irie for the purpose of subduing level 4 and 5 stages of Hinamizawa Syndrome. Rika knows that Shion is suffering from high levels of Hinamizawa Syndrome and wants to use C-120 to reduce the symptoms. Shion is predictably paranoid about Rika’s intentions and overpowers her, injecting Rika instead.
C-120 is dangerous in individuals who aren't suffering from high levels of the illness, so Rika puts herself out of her misery before Shion can torture her to death instead. This scene became famous due to Shion's maniacal laughter as Rika takes her own life.
5 Shion Stabs Satoko To Death During Her Vengeful Killing Spree (Higurashi 2006)
Satoko is another casualty during Shion's murderous rampage in the upsetting Eye Opening arc. Shion's paranoid hatred for Satoko is based on her belief that Satoko made Satoshi's life harder. It was Satoshi who always bore the brunt of their relatives' abuse by protecting Satoko and Shion won’t forgive her for it. Satoko bravely agrees that she relied on her brother too much and refuses to cry while Shion stabs her to death. This scene's horror is enhanced by the fact that Mion is locked up in a nearby cell watching her own sister kill her friends.
4 Akasaka Stabs Rika To Death Before Lighting The Building On Fire (Higurashi: Gou)
Akasaka is considered a "safe" character in that he's never previously exhibited high levels of the Hinamizawa Syndrome. Even Rika is shocked that it was Akasaka who contracted the illness this time as she laments over how cruel her fates have been. This scene occurs after Rika claims she will give up looping, kill herself with the sacred sword shard, and end her suffering once and for all if she can't turn things around. Watching Rika slowly give in to despair is difficult to watch.
3 Takano Slices Rika Open At The Furude Shrine—While She's Still Alive & Conscious (Higurashi: Kai)
This scene is the definitive moment in the original Higurashi murder mystery that kept Rika from escaping the Hinamizawa of 1983. There are several scenes in the 2006 Higurashi anime depicting Rika's innards pulled out at the Furude Shrine, but viewers did not know who perpetrated the crime.
The last episode of the Massacre arc in Higurashi: Kai reveals it was Takano all along. Rika vows she will not forget her murderer's face as Takano coldly delivers the finishing blow.
2 Satoko Crushes Both Herself & Rika With The Chandelier Trap (Higurashi: Gou)
Satoko kills herself several ways in the last arc of Higurashi: Gou, but this death is definitely the most dramatic. Satoko publicly confronts Rika about her promise to assist Satoko if she needed help studying at St. Lucia. Satoko is clearly hurt and feels betrayed, despite Rika pointing out she did try and help but Satoko is the one who pushed her away. The two are unable to reconcile their differences and it's painful for viewers to watch such good friends be at odds over a misunderstanding. Satoko knows she needs to restart the loop and try again—and uses the chandelier to do so.
1 Satoko Tears Up Rika's Innards In A Grotesque Mockery Of Wataganashi (Higurashi: Gou)
This is arguably the hardest scene to watch in the Higurashi series thus far. Not only is it graphically unsettling, but the whole time Satoko is ranting about how it's sinful for Rika to want to leave Hinamizawa. The scene is bathed in red and Satoko tearfully chastises her friend for betraying Oyashiro-sama and refusing the abundant gifts of Hinamizawa. She tells Rika that it's her curse to be torn apart as an offering for Oyashiro-sama. There's a lot to unpack in this scene, but it's surely the most traumatic death for Rika thus far.