Watch as the tragedy of Hinamizawa consumes more victims and piece together the events to find the truth of the matter.
Creative Staff
Story: Ryukishio07
Art: En Kito
Translation/Adaptation: Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley
What They Say
It’s been almost a year since Natsumi and her family moved from the town of Onigafuchi. Her grandmother, a native of Hinamizawa village, fears that they will be cursed for abandoning the mountains, but Natsumi has never been happier, making new friends and enjoying school life.
When a terrible gas explosion in Hinamizawa wipes out everyone in the village, her grandmother is convinced it is the wrath of the village god, Oyashiro-sama. Natsumi’s family has never taken Grandmother’s beliefs seriously, but her devotion to Oyashiro-sama has taken a frightening turn. Have the old woman’s fanatical convictions gone too far?
An independent side story set in the world of the main Higurashi series.
Technical:
Clocking in at 400 pages the oversized release of the Demon Exposing Arc contains the entire story arc in one book. Given the page count manga can be tough to read in standard size (and particularly challenging to not crease the spines) and so it was a pleasant surprise to see that this omnibus is printed in a larger than normal manga size format (about the size of a hardcover book minus the hardcover) that also has the benefit of making for larger images and makes the small sound effects easier to read. The edition also includes four double sided pages (or eight as page count numbers go) of full color art work that includes the first couple pages to start the manga. The paper is a decently thick stock that doesn’t bleed through and the binding is sturdy.
The cover for the release features a simple picture of the main character Natsumi with her arms over her head against a simple deep black background, a vertical and horizontal red line that cross in the top right and the series title and credits written in white in the lower right of the cover. The spine echoes the front as it is glossy black with Kadokawa’s logo in red at the top, the title in white with a red blood splash, a pair of thick red lines at the top and bottom of a picture of Natsumi that is taken from the page just inside the front cover, creator credits as seen on the front and Yen Press’ logo in white at the bottom. The back of the cover has the same red lines though they meet in the bottom left side along with the copy and title in white and a red blood splatter behind it.
The art itself is rather nice as well though a few issues pop up from time to time as the artist doesn’t always draw adults (particularly Natsumi’s family) always consistently. Most of the rest of the cast is drawn well though and emotions come through which is a positive as the artist focuses on them throughout the work to the extent that much of the time the background art is either minimal or just skipped which brings more attention and impact on the characters. For the release Yen Press opted to leave the Japanese sound effects and writing unmolested and put Romanji translations for the sound effects underneath them with the English translation under that as well as translations of written Japanese that are also included in the space between panels. It is a nice touch but it isn’t always consistent as some of the effects get translated only at their first appearance on a page and some get it more often than that. Still it is a rather enjoyable method of translating over all and the text itself flows in a smooth way that feels natural. Also of note the material uses honorifics although it also uses Western naming conventions throughout the book and there is a translator’s notes section at the end of the book for some things that are too long to explain in the margins.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Life as a child isn’t always easy-one example is that if a parent has to move for their job they have to come along but this isn’t always a bad thing. Natsumi Kimiyoshi has discovered that living in a major city has a number of advantages for a young person that the village of Onigafuchi that she grew up in did not. One example is that she has far more television choices though this is also a temptation as she has a tendency to stay up too late watching movies. The story begins on the morning of June 22, 1983 after a late night feature viewing as Natsumi wakes late. She is rushing to get ready to go to school as she is being scolded for her late night tendencies and not waking up the first number of times she was called. She just has time to have her grandmother help her fix up her hair before she can meet up with the close friends (Chisato Saeki and Tamako Makimura) she has made since moving. Her two friends grew up together along with Akira Toudou, a boy whom Natsumi has a crush on and her world is flying high as after class Akira proclaims he likes her though Natsumi is too stunned to respond immediately in kind. It seems like it may be the greatest day ever for her, but those who know the stories of Higurashi know these days are almost always at best short lived.
For Natsumi events turn when she gets home as the television is covering reports of a disaster as a poisonous gas leak has occurred in the small village town of Hinamizawa and has killed all of the residents. While such a tragedy is bad the event is brought close to home as her grandmother was from Hinamizawa and starts rambling that these events are a result of the curse of Oyashiro-Sama, the village’s local deity. While Natsumi thinks it is stupid tensions in her house rise over the following days as her grandmother continually goes on about Oyashiro-Sama and his curse which grates on the family dynamic. Then on Saturday when her parents go to visit their relatives Natsumi is approached by a strange pair of men who say they are from Okinomia Books and are looking to talk to her grandmother. Since her grandmother isn’t there and Natsumi has been locked out of the house since she forgot her key she goes with the men who introduce themselves as Mamoru Akasaka and Kuraudo Ooishi to a place where they can talk out of the rain.
As they sit at a restaurant the two men talk to her to see if she has seen any strange behavior from her grandmother as it seems that many of the people from Hinamizawa have been behaving strangely lately. As they talk about events that have been happening Natsumi gets more and more unnerved but is suddenly saved by Akira as he interrupts them at their table and he takes Natsumi home. Just as it seems Natsumi has gotten a hold of herself they round the corner and see her house covered in writing and Japanese totems meant to ward off evil. She quickly convinces Akira to leave and enters the house in time to receive a strange phone call from her parents saying all of her older relatives have gone crazy just as her grandmother approaches her. Natsumi’s life then shatters as events start to spiral as her grandmother grows increasingly bizarre and her mother increasingly less patient in dealing with her and trying to hide her actions from the neighbors as rumors of people from Hinamizawa going crazy have swept the nation. What happens when events reach a breaking point and what horrors will be unleashed in the wake of the Hinamizawa tragedy? And in the world of Higurashi how much of what one sees or hears is even a reliable truth anyway?
When creating a new tale for Higurashi there are all sorts of opportunities to play off of established events and people’s understanding of them but there are also traps laid in with expectations and story setup as well. Four hundred pages is a limited amount of time to introduce a character and their situation compared to all the space the main characters get in the original game as well as the anime and manga adaptation chapters. To help deal with this the decision to focus on a girl in love helps speed along many of the events and create an atmosphere that establishes a welcoming and somewhat familiar atmosphere so the process of destroying that tranquility can be speed up. It does lack some depth to a number of the characters and those not already familiar with the world of Higurashi and some of its peculiarities may not get the same sense of dread from some events and appearances as others but fans of the series will find a strong story and main character who fits right in to the universe Ryukishio7 has created.
In Summary
The Demon Exposing Arc is a great addition to the Higurashi universe as it adds a rare peak outside of the limited world of Hinamizawa that fans of the series have come to expect. Obviously the events of June 22 1983 would impact others but by and large the stories end around that date and focus inward on Hinamizawa and this title will break free of that. The book has elements that can be appreciated by those who have never visited the world of Higurashi before but existing fans will likely get the most from events and some of the characters that appear as the story goes about its grisly tale.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: May 31st, 2011
MSRP: $18.99
