The Horror Anime That Uses Your Fandom Against You

Anime is an art form with the potential to tell truly unique, wildly imaginative stories that push boundaries and challenge conception. Yet while new ideas are always welcome, there are several classic tropes cherished by fans for the familiar comfort that they bring. From “harems” to isekai,” these concepts are well-practiced and—if in the hands of a successful creator—bring joy to viewers despite their predictability. While these premises are often used to rehash traditional plots, there is an opportunity to do the complete opposite: to inject dread within the comfort to horrify the audience, ensuring that their fandom grants them insight into how the story will turn out.

The possibility of altering these classics is exemplified by Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU, an anime with a mind-bending narrative that plays with its audience by deconstructing (and bloodying) the plotlines that they know so well. By twisting them to their ultimate, goriest versions, the series capitalizes on the fandom of those watching to provide shock value and infect their perception of these ideas forever.

Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU

Keiichi Maebara is in his new home in the peaceful Hinamizawa village, making friends with girls from school. He’s here for a big festival. But something about this town seems off, with that fear what dark secrets can this small town hide?

Release Date

October 1, 2020

Cast

Soichiro Hoshi , Yukari Tamura , Mai Nakahara , Emi Lo , Apphia Yu

Seasons

1

‘Higurashi: When They Cry — Gou’ Knows What You Love and What You Fear

Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou follows Keiichi (Souichirou Hoshi) as he begins school in a new village and meets a group of fun-loving girls eager to have him join their escapades. From a timid Rena (Mai Nakahara) to the more childish Satoko (Mika Kanai), these characters are instantly lovable, and their eagerness to include Keichii in their games (and their potential affection for him) speaks to a very, very common anime premise: the harem. Popularized by shows like High School DxD, it’s common to see an individual in anime (usually teen boys) being inundated by a group of individuals (usually girls), who are vying for their love. While widely enjoyed, this trope carries with it numerous negative connotations, from the ways it discounts the autonomy of women to the harmful romantic ideals it broadcasts; basically, the concept of a ‘harem’ is often extremely damaging. While Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou appears at first to embody this trope, it does so only to lull its audiences into believing that they know exactly where the story is going, before shocking them by showcasing just how horrifying the plot could become.

The series punctuates its joyous, ‘slice-of-life’ plot with moments of intense horror, always keeping viewers on their toes as they ponder whether it’s safe to enjoy the scenes of typical comedy. This unsettling tactic is exemplified in the first few episodes, which show Keiichi loving the affection being directed to him by a group of girls, that is, until he notices one of them, Rena, begin to act erratically. She constantly shifts between giddily, shy, and ominously cruel, with her mood swings starting just as Keiichi begins to see flashes of himself gruesomely murdering her as the other girls in their group start echoing her menacing behavior.

These scenes are spine-tingling on their own, and by compounding them with moments of purity, Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou creates an overarching sense of anxiety that makes its characters and viewers thoroughly scared of anything that might happen next. It portrays the typical aspects of a harem that people usually love, but instead, baits viewers with these clichés before shocking them with intense moments of terror. It’s an ingenious way to unsettle, and with this method, the series taints the concept of an ‘enjoyable harem’ and creates a lingering sense of unease as fans view the things that once brought them joy eviscerated before their eyes.

Women in Anime Have Always Deserved Better

While Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou begins by breaking apart the ‘harem’ concept, this isn’t the only trope that it pulls apart. The series utilizes cyclical storytelling, with the characters being stuck in a time loop that allows the show to play through various horrifying plots before reverting to its innocent beginning. Because of this, it deconstructs more clichés, like that of the “protective older brother” and “evil stepmother.” One particular area where Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou thrives is in its critique of how women are treated in anime.

It’s unfortunate how many of this genre’s most popular tropes rely on removing its women of their autonomy and logic, oftentimes stripping them of any ability beyond serving as a love interest for the central man. The series recognizes this, and through its cast of primarily girls, it’s able to exemplify many of these concepts, that is, before showcasing their scariest possible outcomes. It subverts ideals by portraying a twisted version of them, satirizing these with a scenario nearly as plausible as the misogynistic ones anime fans continually buy into. Other series have attempted to critique these clichés with a less violent approach, but Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou pursues a different route: it uses horror to make audiences question how they were able to ignore the damage of these scenarios for so long.

One of the series’ best instances of this practice is in the way it tackles the “lovelorn twins” trope )identical siblings being in love with the same person), a concept popularized by romantic anime like Clannad. While this familial conflict over a shared love interest is often portrayed as cute, Higurashi pushes this rivalry to extreme circumstances. With twins, Mion and Shion (both voiced by Satsuki Yukino), and their shared affection for protagonist, Keiichi, the show displays a gentle competition that devolves into a terrible crime. Mion, sick with the intense love familiar to viewers of similar shows, eventually grows so jealous that she kills Shion to remove any romantic hurdles in her path. It’s within the genuine horror of this scenario that the show perpetuates its sense of anxious dread; it takes a strong, confident girl, and allows the effects of this recycled story to transform her into a pining murderer, dissecting the well-known character and revealing how destructive her primary trait (infatuated with the protagonist) is.

A Bloody Satire of Your Favorite Anime in ‘Higurashi: When They Cry — Gou’

A series whose central premise thrives off of criticizing other shows in its genre can easily be labeled as envious or hateful, using the pitfalls of other projects to compensate for its own lackluster story. While it may spend a good amount of its time highlighting issues, Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou does not spout these critiques lightly. It seamlessly merges the well-earned criticism of anime’s largest tropes with rampant violence to create a truly disturbing satire of the genre. It replicates images that entire industries have built themselves upon and pushes them to a bloody extreme that calls attention to these unjust concepts.

This inspired approach allows the series a unique sense of fear, one that resonates on a variety of levels as it plays with the fandom of viewers to force them to interrogate why exactly these tropes are their favorites. While extravagant in its terror, Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou uses the preconceptions of its audience to present grounded critiques sure to haunt all who watch, forcing them to question their favorite shows as they watch this one.

Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

Watch on Hulu