The first volume of the Higurashi When They Cry: Gou manga hits hard, so it should be no surprise the second does as well. However, in this instance it is because of the hope that sometimes appears throughout the tales and the promise of perhaps seeing characters get to be truly happy.
Editor’s Note: While there will be no specific spoilers for the stories contained in Higurashi When They Cry: Gou volume 2, there will be general ones for the situation in the manga and game.
While the first volume of the Higurashi When They Cry: Gou manga focused on Rena, Mion, and Shion, as well as setting the stage for things happening in Hinamizawa ahead of the Cotton Drifting Festival, the second really stars Satoko and Rika. It’s a smart decision, given the situations both characters faced in the game. Both of their routes can involve more spoilers, especially with Rika.
However, this also means that we really get to better understand the nature of what’s happening in Higurashi When They Cry: Gou and wonder if there’s an out by the time we get to this volume. In the first entry, Satoko seems like an enthusiastic, boisterous, obstinate, and perhaps even tsundere girl. In the first part of this second volume, we better understand what her life is like when she isn’t around Keiichi, Rika, and her friends. We see them rally around to lift her up. It offers a sense of hope that the first volume didn’t impart, what with all the death. Which means when we hit the conclusion of that story, it really affects the reader.
Likewise, by the time we get to the Rika segments, we have an idea of the realities she keeps experiencing. By that point the reader understands that this isn’t an ordinary time loop situation. So when she has stories where things seem to be going well or be better, it’s such a weighted experience. It makes you wonder if this could be it for Rika. If she, and everyone, gets to be happy. So again, when you see how her story goes, the depth and darkness can really be felt again.
I honestly felt the events in volume 2 of Higurashi When They Cry: Gou left more of an impact than ones in the first, as now Ryukishi07 and 07th Expansion teased us with these idealized, perfect moments. After a volume of only the sorts of stories we expect from Higurashi, we get that “oh, almost” storyline. But of course it also needed to be this way. We had to go through the initial Keiisuke, Rena, Mion, and Shion segments to better appreciate the complexities of Rika’s situation and her own experiences.
This also means that the actual end of this volume, which is the end of this storyline and run, involves a real moment. This Higurashi When They Cry: Gou manga feels like it promises both pain and potential. We know going in that it is going to hurt after what happened in volume 1. But the stories contained also suggest there is hope, because we’ve seen things start to go right. So when the end of this begins, we still come away wondering what if and perhaps even daring to hope for the best.
Volumes 1 and 2 of the Higurashi When They Cry: Gou manga are available now via Yen Press.
