Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku

When They Cry - Outbreak
ひぐらしのなく頃に拡～アウトブレイク～
(Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku -Outbreak-)
GenreMystery, Psychological horror, Supernatural
Anime television series
Directed byToshifumi Kawase
Produced byMasayuki Iida
Satoshi Fukao
Shigeto Suzuki
Takema Okamura
Written byToshifumi Kawase
Music byKenji Kawai
StudioStudio Deen
Original runAugust 15, 2013
Episodes1

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku -Outbreak- (ひぐらしのなく頃に拡～アウトブレイク～, When the Cicadas Cry Expanded -Outbreak-) is the name of the third OVA project for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The anime adapts Higurashi Outbreak, a short story included in the soundtrack of Higurashi Daybreak.

Summary

On June 27, 1983, Hinamizawa is placed under quarantine by the Japanese Self-Defense Force. An outbreak of a mysterious virus has affected the nearby Takatsudo area. Keiichi Maebara, Rena Ryuuguu, and Mion Sonozaki meet up at a designated area in order to pick up supplies provided by the Self-Defense Force. After a police car loses control and crashes into a telephone pole, the phone lines in Hinamizawa go down. In order to gain information on the outbreak, Mion accesses the Self-Defense Force's radio waves. She then learns that Rika Furude has been taken away to a private facility. When Keiichi and Rena question why Rika would be taken but her housemate, Satoko Houjou, would be left behind, Mion posits that the villagers likely believe Satoko is somewhat responsible for the outbreak. Since the villagers believe that a anyone who supported the Dam Project is cursed then they also believe that, since Satoko's parents supported the Dam Project, Satoko herself is cursed and the local deity, Oyashiro, is causing the outbreak as a result. To appease Oyashiro, the villagers plan to sacrifice Satoko. Furthermore, since the Maebara and Ryuuguu families are outsiders, the villagers come to believe that they are also partially responsible for the outbreak. That night, Mion attempts to warn Rena and Keiichi about the villagers and advises they leave Hinamizawa before they are killed. However, while she tries to relay this message to Rena, Mion is shot by the villagers. Rena and Mion manage to escape the villagers and meet up with Keiichi. Keiichi's parents take Mion and attempt to flee the city while Keiichi and Rena leave to save Satoko.

The Self-Defense Force soon learns that all the members who quarantined Hinamizawa have become infected with the virus. As a result, the Self-Defense Force withdraws from Hinamizawa and a military group is brought in to keep the villagers from leaving. The Prime Minister of Japan is approached by a mysterious woman who claims to be in control of the Alphabet Project, a powerful organization that has been researching Class-C viruses. The woman explains to the Prime Minister that Class-C viruses are brain parasites that have a symbiotic relationship with their hosts. She estimates that 99.9% of all humans are infected with some strain of Class-C virus. Furthermore, Class-C viruses cause their host to be friendly towards other hosts of the same strain of virus while hostile to hosts of different strains. These strain clusters fall in line with national and cultural borders, implying that all of human conflict is based on the differences in Class-C virus. The Alphabet Project has been researching Class-C viruses in an attempt to create a biological weapon from them. However, their experimental version of Class-C virus accidentally leaked into Hinamizawa, causing the outbreak. The Alphabet Project plans to observe the situation to see how humans react to the strain. As a result, the woman demands that the Prime Minister hand over control of the Hinamizawa situation to her and the Alphabet Project.

After Rika was kidnapped, she was taken to the Irie Clinic by the Self-Defense Force. The head doctor, Kyousuke Irie is shocked by the viruses' advancement and is slowly driven insane. He eventually takes a gun and massacres the Self-Defense Force members within the clinic before eventually shooting himself. Meanwhile, Keiichi and Rena attempt to save Satoko from the villagers who intend to sacrifice her.

An orchestral version of "You" is used as the ending song.

Characters

Deaths and Disappearances

All deaths and disappearances are listed only as they are told in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku -Outbreak- and apply only for the individual arc, not the overall series

Deaths

  • Rena Ryuuguu's father, shot to death by villagers.
  • Kyousuke Irie, committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth.
  • Several residents of Hinamizawa, murdered by Keiichi Maebara and Rena Ryuuguu during their attempt to rescue Satoko.

Disappearances

  • Satoshi Houjou, disappeared June 1982, one year before the story.
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