Higurashi no naku koro ni (lit. 'When the Cicadas Cry', often referred to as Higurashi: When They Cry) is a series of CD-Rom visual novels made in the very early 2000s by japanese author and developer Ryukishi07. They detail, in a summary that will be VERY shortened, the daily life of the rural vilage of 'hinamizawa', a place far removed from society, wherein a string of mysterious, brutal murders are taking place. The village attributes these murders to the wrath of the local deity 'oyashiro-sama', believing that the victims are being 'spirited away' for their faithlessness. The story is told by its main protagonist, a young boy named Keiichi Maebara, whose parents recently moved into the village. He quickly makes a group of friends, but he can't shake the feeling they're all hiding something from him about the village.

Higurashi as a piece of work is, and I do not say this lightly, one of the greatest fictional stories ever composed. It has its issues - it's convoluted, often drags, there's a distinct focus on scantily clad children that is a little souring, to say the least -