Greywings Anime

It’s finally arrived, the first episode of the anime version of our beloved sound novel, When They Cry 3. As someone who experienced Higurashi mostly through the anime (with some TIPS and translated chapters here and there), I was anxious to see how my perspective may have changed now that I have actually played the games released so far before the anime aired. Turns out I had a lot to say about one episode, so let’s just use lists.

What irked me:

1. The OP/ED: Now this is odd considering they kept the same singer from the game for the OP. However, i felt that the song itself didn’t have the same punch like the one in the game did. It simply reminded you that it was a different song than the novel’s. At least Higurashi’s OPs had a bit more impact in them. The ED was visually nice, especially that neverneding chessboard, but the song itself was a big ‘meh’ and will hopefully be replaced by a second one soon. Again, a softer gentler ED like the ones from Higurashi would go well here.

2. The voices: None of them matched the ones in my head as I played the game. I expected a little bit of that, but the voices in the anime were just way too off. In particular Eva, who I imagined would have a much more shrill voice, and instead comes off sounding exactly like Takano Miyo. I could hear Hocchan give her best at doing Maria, but it still sounded a bit off. Overall, the adults sounded a bit too much like they were simply reading the script instead of being in character. I feel that instead of going simply off of star power and industry experience, DEEN could’ve chosen some lesser known actors who fit the role better. It was well-intentioned I’m sure, but it’s really just not working for me.

3. The character designs: I couldn’t recognize some of the characters. Rosa looks like a brunette version of Rika (huh, never realized how similar their names were…), while Shannon and Kannon looked like they got pulled straight off the set of Children of the Corn. DEEN should’ve hired the guys behind the UMGs.

4. The unoriginality: While I supremely appreciate how closely the anime is sticking to the canon, it does come off as more of a Cliff’s Notes version. The directing feels very conservative and samey, and didn’t really offer anything that couldn’t already be found in the game. On a side note, I found it a bit amusing that they just gave up narrating the character intros about halfway through, and not sure why they went with a camera shutter sound.

Again, the above are my complaints after playing through the English tranlsation of the game. Maybe everything matches appropriately with the original Japanese version, though I highly doubt it.

What I liked:

1. The pace: Yes, it felt a bit rushed at times, but DEEN was pretty good about selecting which narrative parts to leave out. And they successfully captured that moment in the garden when you realize that the story all of a sudden took a darker, more serious tone (accompanied by a storm).

2. The BGM: They used songs from the game. And in most of the right places. Even some of the sound effects were kept. Definitely a plus there.

Looking forward to how the rest of the series will play out, and what Studio DEEN manages to pack into the season. I’m doubtful I will get any revolutionary insight about the mystery from the anime, but you never know. At the least, it’s a good way to review my notes and see what the director felt was important.