We don’t know when, where, or why but 07th Expansion and Kadokawa announced that Ryukishi07’s Higurashi no Naku Koro ni franchise will be receiving a brand-new anime! While that’s all that was announced, there was a promotional video and a key image released to help tease us.
The series received multiple anime adaptations starting with the 26-episode Higurashi no Naku Koro ni in 2006, the 24-episode sequel, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai which aired one year later in 2007, and a small 5-episode third season, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei that aired two years later in 2009.
In addition to the main shows, a poorly-received 4-episode fanservice OVA series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira aired from 2011-2012. In 2013, a side-story OVA, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku: Outbreak aired. This was the last time we saw anything from the Higurashi side of the franchise. In 2009, we received Umineko no Naku Koro ni, which is an alternate setting apart from the main series.
MyAnimeList.net describes the show as follows:
Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983, and quickly becomes inseparable friends with schoolmates Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, darkness lurks underneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead.
As the village prepares for its annual festival, Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding it. To his horror, he discovers that there have been several murders and disappearances in the village in the recent years, and that they all seem to be connected to the festival and the village’s patron god, Oyashiro. Keiichi tries to ask his new friends about these incidents, but they are suspiciously silent and refuse to give him the answers he needs. As more and more bizarre events occur, he wonders just what else his friends might be keeping from him, and if he can even trust them at all.
When madness and paranoia begin taking root in Keiichi’s heart, he will stumble straight into the mysteries at work in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, a story that is told across multiple arcs.
