Higurashi 1-8

A horror anime for Halloween. I have seen two whole arcs of this, that totally qualifies me to talk about it! Higurashi (in long: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, When the Cicadas Cry) is about a boy who moves to certain small town. He befriends four girls, two his own age and two younger. They have fun and play games, etc. Eventually, he learns that in this town, one person is killed and one "spirited away" on the same day each year. The premise sounds straightforward but the anime actually tells the same story several times -- each time, the time span is the same, but the victims and protagonists are different. Also, each time, the "arc" concludes, but in a kind of inconclusive way that leaves you wondering what really happened. worldserpent explains it better here.

Super-special spoiler warning: this is a series Charmian refused to spoil, and she is more open-minded about spoilers than anyone I know. So if, you know, the summary intrigues you and you're thinking about maybe watching the show, don't check below the cut. (Though I guess can't spoil anything major, since I've only seen the first eight episodes.)

( First Arc, 'Spirited Away by Ogres' )

( Second Arc, 'Cotton Drifting' )

You know what, I do feel a little bit like ranting hysterically. ^^; DESPITE EVERYTHING. The second arc did it for me where the first arc did not -- something about the contrast between *spoiler* and *spoiler*. Also, Keichii being reasonable and trusting his friends enough to tell them what's bothering him, rather than...that other thing he did.