Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Season 2: Everything We Know

Developed from a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion, ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’ or ‘When the Cicadas Cry’ is an anime series that revolves around a group of school students living in the fictional village of Hinamizawa in 1983. Their idyllic lives come to a sudden halt when they discover that their village has many troubling secrets.

‘Higurashi’ is a rare example of an anime show that perfectly blends horror, sci-fi, and slice-of-life elements and creates a story that is both unconventional and engrossing. The first anime series, titled ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni,’ originally came out in 2006. The overwhelmingly positive response it received served as the foundation for a sprawling franchise that includes a manga series, a collection of light novels, and live-action films and TV shows.

‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou’ is the most recent rendition of the anime series. Initially, it was labeled as a remake of the first anime show, but it was later revealed to be a continuation of the original story. ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou’ received widespread positive reviews from the critics, and rumors about a possible season 2 or a sequel series started circulating quite early into its run. Here is what we know about it.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Season 2 Release Date

‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’ season 1 (also known as ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou’) premiered on October 1, 2020, and aired 24 episodes before concluding on March 19, 2021. Not long after ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou’ ended, the anime show’s official Twitter account announced a sequel series titled ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu,’ will begin airing sometime in July 2021.

Funimation’s official Twitter account subsequently confirmed this news. The anime streaming service is set to make the episodes of the new series available outside Asia. According to reports, Passione Studio, which produced ‘Gou,’ is producing ‘Sotsu’ as well. Furthermore, most cast and crew members of ‘Gou’ are slated to return for the sequel series.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Season 2 Plot: What can it be About?

In the final episode of ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou,’ Eua reveals to Satoko that the changes in Teppei happened because of her (Eua) interference. The memories keep piling up with each new loop, enabling this drastic transition in Teppei. Satoko decides to make the best use of her uncle’s transformation. She tells Eua that her real concern is Miyo Takano, the person inside the “birdcage.”

On June 19, 1983, Takano is confronted by the Mountain Dogs, a counterintelligence unit from Tokyo. Their commander, Okonogi, informs Takano that this is the end of the line. The Bloodhounds, a special forces unit, have arrived and freed Tomitake. He then gives her a gun and tells her to shoot herself in the mouth. However, all of this later turns out to be a dream.

Takano speaks to Nomura on the phone. Nomura instructs her to execute their plan and reminds her what might happen if it doesn’t work out. However, moved by a letter her grandfather left for her in a photo album, Takano decides not to inject Tomitake with the syndrome. Meanwhile, Satoko tells Eua that she wants Rika to suffer for her decision to leave Hinamizawa. Eua subsequently makes Satoko the Oyashiro-sama, giving her the ability to inflict her own curses. The season ends as Satoko acquires the vial of the syndrome.

In ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’ season 2 or ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu,’ Satoko might cause much pain and misery with the vial. Interestingly, if the kanji for sotsu and gou are taken together, “sotsugyou” (卒業) is formed. It translates to “graduation” in English. Graduation has been a major plot device in ‘Gou,’ It might continue to be so in ‘Sotsu.’ Satoko’s anger stems from her sense of betrayal and abandonment, which might be explored in the sequel.

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