Higurashi: When They Cry has many different adaptations, and with each one come changes, sometimes minor, sometimes major. Ryukishi07's acclaimed creation first began in visual novel form. The combination of the audio and visuals attracted many fans, and eventually, the series was turned into manga and sold as well. Soon after it was adapted into an anime series, and in 2020, was even picked up again for Higurashi Gou, a sequel to the original anime.
However, fans with a keen eye have picked up on the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the mediums. While the manga tends to remain more true to the original story, the anime was forced to condense the content to fit the more standard series and episode lengths, meaning that many things had to be changed or cut. Thus, when comparing the manga to the anime, fans will certainly see some differences.
CAUTION: Major spoilers ahead.
10 The Manga Is Far More Detailed Than The Anime
With the restrictions placed on the anime for time and episode numbers, it is no surprise that the manga goes into far greater detail in each arc. Some arcs remain shorter, requiring 2 volumes to read the complete story, while others are much longer, with 4 volumes per arc.
The Festival Accompanying arc is by far the longest, with 8 volumes to the story. With as many manga volumes as are needed to get the full story across to the reader, the manga version goes into extreme detail and has a much slower pace compared to the anime.
9 The Manga Features Several Different Artists
The Higurashi anime experiences its own art evolution, with the first season covering all of the question arcs and some of the answers as well before getting an art upgrade in Higurashi Kai. In the manga, however, the art changes in each arc.
Individual artists were brought in to draw each part of the series, meaning that there can be quite a difference from arc to arc when reading. Despite this, the characters never feel out of place as the artists manage to capture each one's personality in their unique style.
8 Some Details Changed Between The Manga And The Anime
The Higurashi anime changed several small details when translating the story from manga and visual novel form. Most of the changes have no real effect on the story, leaving the central themes and general sequence of events intact. However, keen-eyed fans may notice these small changes regardless.
Some of the minor changes include Shion's skirt changing from a maxi skirt with a long slit to a mini skirt in the anime and Rena's weapon of choice changing from an ax to her cleaver when she kills Teppei in the Atonement arc. However, the anime does make some larger changes such as inserting Rena into the future sequence of the Atonement Arc in the first episode of Higurashi Kai, whereas the manga implies that everyone was killed in the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, Rena included.
7 The First Season In The Anime Begins Nearly Every Arc With Someone's Death
The Higurashi anime's first season begins each arc with someone's death, beginning with Abducted By Demons where Keiichi kills Rena and Mion with Satoshi's bat, then backtracks to the beginning of the arc and follows the rest in the proper order. The only exception is Time Killing, which begins with a kidnapping instead.
However, most of the manga arcs start at the beginning of the story, often with a lighthearted scene like a club event or the walk to school. Both have their merits, as the anime hooks the viewer from the get-go and maintains its status as one of the most successful horror anime, while the manga allows the increasingly tense atmosphere and slower pacing to build suspense.
6 The Manga Adds More Mystery While The Anime Focuses On Horror
While both the anime and the manga for Higurashi have their fair share of horror, mystery, and suspense, each one leans a slightly different way. Due to the slower pacing and longer length of the manga, it is very successful in capturing the mystery and suspense of the visual novel. There is a high degree of gore and violence, but the manga does a nice job of balancing this with an overall unsettling feel and multi-dimensional characters.
The anime takes things in a different direction, focusing on the horror elements more than the mystery. While the characters are not given as much depth as the manga, it captures the horror of the Hinamizawa Syndrome very well. Both adaptations have their merits, and ultimately it comes down to fan preference.
5 The Manga Delves More Deeply Into Each Character's Point Of View
The anime version of Higurashi begins with Keiichi's perspective, which it follows for much of the first season. The point of view does shift throughout the series, moving from Keiichi to Akasaka, Shion, Rena, and Rika, so there are a variety of perspectives included.
However, the manga goes beyond this, following several more characters throughout the arcs. It spends far more time on Akasaka's perspective as well as Takano's. It also gives a significant amount of background for Shion and fan-favorite Rena. Some arcs even follow Mion or Satoshi's perspectives as well as those of non-anime characters such as Natsumi and Akira.
4 The Manga Series Does Not Include Some Of The Anime Arcs
Studio Deen released an OVA for the Higurashi series after the completion of the main story. This arc is based on one of Ryukishi07's short stories and follows the main cast as things in the village quickly fall apart, plunging the friends into a nightmare as the villagers suddenly turn on anyone considered an outsider, including Satoko, Keiichi, and Rena's families.
The short OVA, called Higurashi: Outbreak is action-packed, about one hour long, and focuses on Rena and Keiichi. It was well-received by fans, with a MyAnimeList score of 7.23. The story is not available in manga form currently, though a visual novel has been released for it.
3 The Manga Features A Special Crossover Arc With Sister Series Umineko: When They Cry
The Higurashi cast appears in a crossover manga with one of Ryukishi07's other works, Umineko: When They Cry. Though the manga was released under Umineko's name, Higurashi fans will enjoy seeing their favorite characters bringing all of the fun, creepiness, and randomness of Hinamizawa to Rokkenjima and to popular Umineko protagonist Battler.
The manga includes Rena mowing the lawn, the Furude Shrine and Watanagashi Festival, and even a special appearance by Shion and Angel Mort. Unfortunately, this manga is yet to be translated into English, though the recent reboot has given many fans hope that this arc along with some others will be available in English in the future.
2 The Manga Has Arcs Which Were Never Animated
While many of the side arcs such as Dice Killing eventually received an anime version, not every Higurashi manga did. Many popular arcs can only be read, some of which feature new characters, while others follow the main cast. The side arc Demon Exposing follows a new character Natsumi, a teenage girl whose family lived in the town beside Hinamizawa as she moves into the city.
The Beyond Midnight arc follows a young man named Akira and a group of strangers who visit Hinamizawa after the disaster which killed all of the townsfolk, only to meet Mion Sonozaki who the records show is deceased.
1 Bernkastel's Poems Appear In The Manga But Not The Anime
In the Higurashi manga series, there are many poems sprinkled throughout by the mysterious Bernkastel, whose identity is eventually revealed in the Dice Killing side arc. These poems serve as metaphors for things that are happening or will happen in the manga and also serve as clues for the reader to begin to solve the mystery of Hinamizawa.
Unfortunately, these poems were not included in the anime adaptations, likely due to time constraints and the difficulty of incorporating a written poem into an animated series. Though the story certainly still makes sense without them, the poems add to the mystery and intrigue of the series.