Higurashi When They Cry

Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に, Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni; lit. 'When the Cicadas Cry') is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel produced by 07th Expansion that comprises the first two entries of the When They Cry franchise. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and the Microsoft Windows operating system. A bonus fan disc called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released in December 2006. Apart from the original series, new stories were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, to expand the story. The original eight PC releases were released in English by MangaGamer between 2009 and 2010. Two sets of drama CDs were produced, one by Wayuta and the other by Frontier Works. Novelizations of the game series were released by Kodansha between August 2007 and March 2009. A manga adapted from the video games began with eight different manga artists working separately on one to three of the multiple story arcs and were published by Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten. The manga was licensed for release in English in North America by Yen Press under the title Higurashi: When They Cry and the first volume was released in November 2008. Two anime television series, also known simply as When They Cry prior to 2020, were produced by Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon in 2006 and 2007. A third anime adaptation was released as an OVA (original video animation) in 2009. The first anime series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in English in 2007, but the license expired in 2011. Sentai Filmworks has since licensed both anime seasons and the 2009 OVAs. A live-action film adaptation of the series, directed and written by Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters in May 2008, with a sequel released in April 2009. A six-episode live-action television series adaptation premiered in Japan in May 2016, and a four-episode sequel premiered in November 2016. A new anime television series produced by Passione aired from October 2020 to March 2021, and a sequel aired from July to September 2021. Another new anime television series produced by Studio Deen has been announced.