Please note that as of this writing, I have only read the first three arcs of the manga version. I have not played the VN, and I am avoiding the anime, so I don't know anything beyond the first three arcs. With that said, the first arc is my favorite thus far. Let's find out why.
Story:
Keiichi Maebara and his family have moved to a rural town called Hinamizawa. This place is literally out in the sticks; it's mostly open fields, the locals know everyone by name, and cicadas will not STFU. Also, this takes place in 1983, an age when Japan was economically flourishing, when cell phones weren't widespread, and when Michael Jackson was still universally beloved.
Keiichi is a high school student who gets along with the girls in his class really well. They form a sort of club that does fun stuff whenever possible. One girl, Rena, loves cute things to an extreme, another girl, Mion, is tomboyish and has huge breasts. Another girl named Satoko does the practical pranks, and there's a shrine maiden girl, Rika, who is rather quiet. And they all do silly things with Keiichi.
HOWEVER, despite that, this is NOT a high school comedy/harem series. Good God no. Shortly after Keiichi settles in, he meets a freelance photographer named Jirou Tomitake. Jirou tells Keiichi that four years ago, someone tried to build a dam that would've destroyed Hinamizawa. There was strong opposition. Someone supporting the dam was murdered. The plan was canceled, and Hinamizawa stands to this day. Every year, on the day of cotton drifting, someone is murdered, and someone else goes missing. And in the present, it's about to be the cotton drifting day. Not only that, Keiichi's friend Rena starts acting as though she were possessed by a demon at times. One moment, she is moeblob Rena, the next, she's an unstable psychopath. Keiichi also learns about something called, "Oyashiro-sama's curse," a curse that is said to afflict the locals of Hinamizawa. Not long after, Keiichi's life is in danger.
This is a horror series, a horror series done right. The setting of Hinamizawa feels like one you could be in. Not only that, it's a mystery too. Why is Rena behaving like how she is? Does Oyashiro-sama's curse exist? Who is responsible for the deaths on the cotton drifting? Is Keiichi right to be paranoid of the people around him, or has he himself gone mad? The series doesn't say. This ambiguous nature is good, for it leads to interesting analysis, but it is also bad, for I don't know all of the answers. Nonetheless, once everything unravels, you'll be gripped. 9/10.
Art: The art for the Higurashi VN is terrible. 07Ryukishi, the original author, did improve by the time he made Umineko, but the PC games . . . ugh. The anime artwork isn't much better. The manga series, though? It looks great. Each story arc is done by a different artist . . . I don't know why that is, (it could be Oyashiro-sama's curse for all I know!) but the artist for this arc is talented. The characters and backgrounds are well drawn, the panels flow fluidly, and when it gets violent, it gets violent. The colored pages are astounding. I personally like the art for the second arc more, but this looks great too. 8/10.
Characterization: A big problem with a lot of horror stories is the lack of characterization. Higurashi does not have this flaw. All the characters, both minor and major, are important. Keiichi isn't just another "everyman in an extraordinary situation", he's a flawed but well-meaning person. His friends have depth, but this arc mostly focuses on Keiichi and Rena. Other characters are shown, such as Jirou, Keiichi's parents, and Ooishi, the police captain, but we don't see too much character development in this arc.
But what truly impresses me more than anything else is how Keiichi reacts. He reacts how anyone would in his situation: he has reason to believe that his friends are trying to kill him, he can't stay out too late because he's a minor, he can't outrun his foes because they own a white station wagon, he doesn't have the internet, and on top of that, he may have to resort to killing his own friends just to stay alive. If that doesn't make you scared for your life, then you're not human. 9/10.
Enjoyment: Once the series stopped pretending to be a comedy, this drew me in. The revelations of Hinamizawa, Keiichi's confrontations with Rena, the very real fear that permeates every chapter, it gripped me heavily. My only complaint is a lot still doesn't make sense to me. If I read more of Higurashi, I should be able to fill in the blanks, but regardless, this was a great introduction to Higurashi, and one I recommend if you don't mind seeing a scary franchise that actually is legitimately scary. 9/10.
I do have another complaint, but it's not about Higurashi itself, it's something else. Fans, Higurashi is not a cutesy moe moe kyun exercise in kawaii-ness; this is essentially a Stephen King novel set in Japan instead of Maine. If I see any more of you saying, "OMG! Rena-chan is so adowable when she holds her cweaver wike that! OMOCHIKAERI!" I'm gonna facepalm for hours.
