Drama CDs Several sets of
drama CDs based on the series have been released, mainly distributed by
Frontier Works and Wayuta. The latter's releases differ from other media adaptations in that they make extensive use of the source material from the original sound novels, and sometimes include original songs from dai's albums. The main eight sound novel arcs have been adapted into a total of eleven CD releases, published by HOBiRECORDS and distributed by Wayuta and Geneon Entertainment, between May 27, 2005, and March 9, 2012;
Minagoroshi-hen and
Matsuribayashi-hen have been split into two and three separate releases respectively. Each chapter is 200–300 minutes long and contains 3-6 discs. The CDs feature remixes of the games' music and sound effects and the voice cast members have been chosen by Ryūkishi07 himself, though some of them have been changed for the anime and PS2 release due to scheduling conflicts. The booklets included with the CDs contained passwords that, if entered on the official site, unlocked downloads to audio files that adapted the TIPS for each of the arcs. In response to fan requests, audio TIPS for the first five arcs later became available on drama CDs named
Append Disc 01, released on December 29, 2005, at
Comiket 69, and
Append Disc 02, released on October 26, 2007. HOBiRECORDS has also released three drama CDs that adapted several fan-submitted stories from the
Kataribanashi-hen novel/manga anthology arc. The first CD was released on April 25, 2007, the second on May 9, 2008, and the third on April 24, 2009.
Manga There are eight main titles in the
Higurashi manga series, spanning the four question arcs and the four answer arcs. Each question arc manga are compiled into two
bound volumes. The first two answer arc manga are compiled into four volumes, meanwhile
Minagoroshi-hen is compiled into six volumes, and
Matsuribayashi-hen into eight. The manga uses multiple artists between the various arcs.
Karin Suzuragi drew
Onikakushi-hen,
Tsumihoroboshi-hen, and
Matsuribayashi-hen, Yutori Hōjō drew
Watanagashi-hen and
Meakashi-hen,
Jirō Suzuki drew
Tatarigoroshi-hen,
Yoshiki Tonogai drew
Himatsubushi-hen, and Hinase Momoyama drew
Minagoroshi-hen. Another manga entitled is drawn by
Yuna Kagesaki and began in
Kadokawa Shoten's magazine
Comp Ace on August 26, 2008. The manga series was licensed by
Yen Press for English distribution in North America under the title
Higurashi: When They Cry. The manga was initially serialized in Yen Press'
Yen Plus anthology magazine, the first issue of which went on sale on July 29, 2008. The first English volume of the manga was originally planned to be sold in early 2009, but was released in November 2008. There are three side-stories related to the main
Higurashi story, but with new characters. The first, named , is drawn by
En Kitō and was serialized between March 2005 and July 2006 in
Comp Ace. The next, entitled , is drawn by Mimori and was serialized between in
GFantasy between 2006 and 2007. The last side story is known as is also drawn by En Kitō and was serialized in
Comp Ace between 2006 and 2007. A manga adaptation of
Higurashis precursor
Hinamizawa Teiryūjo began serialization in the debut issue of Square Enix's
Big Gangan magazine, sold on October 25, 2011. A manga spin-off illustrated by Asahi, titled
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni, began serialization in
Futabasha's
Monthly Action magazine on February 25, 2022.
Novels There are four
light novels which contain additional illustrations by five different artists, and seventeen novelizations of the separate visual novel
arcs. In September 2010, editor
Katsushi Ōta confirmed on
Twitter that the novelizations would be re-released in
bunkobon editions. The re-releases were published by Seikaisha with new cover art by Tomohi from January 12, 2011, to June 8, 2012. In 2020, the series received new bunkobon editions illustrated by Sato Yoshimi, published by
Futabasha under the Futabasha Junior Bunko label, starting with
Onikakushi-hen on October 23.
Anime The first
anime television series was animated by
Studio Deen and produced by
Frontier Works,
Geneon Entertainment and
Sotsu. It is directed by
Chiaki Kon, with Toshifumi Kawase handling series composition, Kyūta Sakai designing the characters and
Kenji Kawai composing the music. The season covers the four question arcs and the first two answer arcs, and aired in Japan between April 4 and September 26, 2006, comprising 26 episodes. Most of the characters were played by the same voice actors as the drama CD series. The series is available on DVD in Japan, France and North America (following Geneon Entertainment's licensing of the series). However, Geneon's U.S. division announced that it discontinued all ongoing anime projects in September 2007, including
Higurashi on November 6, 2007. Only three of a planned six DVDs of
Higurashi were released, under the title
When They Cry: Higurashi. On July 3, 2008, Geneon and
Funimation announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon still retained the license, Funimation assumed exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles.
Higurashi was one of the several titles involved in the deal. Funimation released a complete box set of the series in August 2009. However, in August 2011, the rights to the series expired due to low sales. In July 2015
Sentai Filmworks licensed both anime series. In January 2025,
Discotek Media acquired the streaming rights to the series after Sentai Filmworks lost the rights. People in Japan, who had bought all nine of the DVDs of the first season, had the chance to receive a special anime DVD entitled
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gaiden Nekogoroshi-hen, based on the short story that was given to those who had bought the manga. Despite being a bonus for the first season (and having the first season's opening and closing sequences),
Nekogoroshi-hen featured Sakai's updated character designs from the second season. A continuation of the series produced by the same core staff, and based on one new story arc and the final two original answer arcs of the franchise, entitled , aired in Japan between July 6 and December 17, 2007, containing twenty-four episodes. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the second anime series. as well as the Japanese media relating the case to anime such as
Higurashi, the latest episode screenings of both
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and another anime at the time,
School Days, were
canceled by a number of stations, due to excessive violence. An
original video animation (OVA) series, entitled , was released on February 25, 2009, and is directed and written by Toshifumi Kawase, with
Kazuya Kuroda taking over Sakai's role as character designer. The series also started a limited broadcasting in Bandai Channel prior to DVD release. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the
Rei OVAs. It is directed and storyboarded by
Hideki Tachibana and written by Kawase, with Tomoyuki Abe taking over Kuroda's role as character designer and
Tomoki Kikuya serving as additional music composer. An OVA film titled , adapted from Ryukishi07's short story "Higurashi Outbreak", was announced in December 2012 and was later released in August 2013. Sakai returned as a character designer for
Outbreak.
Gou and Sotsu On January 6, 2020, 07th Expansion and
Kadokawa announced that a new anime project by
Passione was in production.
Akio Watanabe served as a character designer and Infinite served as a producer.
Keiichiro Kawaguchi directed the series, with Naoki Hayashi handling series composition and Kenji Kawai returning as music composer. The main cast reprised their roles. The series was set to premiere in July 2020, but was delayed to October 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The series aired from October 1, 2020, to March 19, 2021. The series, entitled , was acquired by
Funimation and streamed on its website in North America and the British Isles, and on
AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand. Following
Sony's acquisition of
Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll. In Southeast Asia and South Asia,
Medialink has acquired the series, and are streaming the series on its
YouTube channel Ani-One. Before episode 2 aired, the title of the anime was
Higurashi: When They Cry – New and it was marketed as a remake to the original anime series. When episode 2 aired, the subtitle was changed to and it was revealed that the anime is not actually a direct remake as it was previously marketed to be. The new series ran for 24 episodes. After
Gō finished broadcast, a sequel, titled , was announced. The series aired from July 1 to September 30, 2021. Funimation will stream the series. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll.
Live-action A
live-action film titled , also known as
Shrill Cries of Summer worldwide, directed and written by
Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters on May 10, 2008. The film is an adaptation of the first
story arc,
Onikakushi-hen.
Gōki Maeda plays Keiichi, Airi Matsuyama plays Rena,
Rin Asuka plays Mion, Aika plays Rika, and
Erena Ono plays Satoko. The film was released in 60 theaters and earned over at the box office. A sequel, also live action, was released in Japanese theaters on April 18, 2009, and is titled , also known as
Shill Cries: Reshuffle in international versions. A live-action television series adaptation directed by Tōru Ōtsuka and starring
Yu Inaba as Keiichi premiered in Japan on May 20, 2016, on
cable channel BS SKY PerfecTV!. The cast includes the members of
NGT48. A four-episode sequel premiered on November 25, 2016. A stage play titled
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni -Ryū/Mei-, directed Ito Masami in co-operation with 07th Expansion and Shingekidan Yumemei Classics, was performed in 2019 between July 24 and July 28. Notable cast members include Maho Sugita who played the role of Rena. ==Music==