Higurashi When They Cry: Abducted by Demons Arc (EN) T.02

Up until now, Keiichi’s been having the time of his life with his new friends in Hinamizawa. But when their good-natured pranks take a deadly turn, Keiichi grows more and more suspicious about their involvement with the so-called “Oyashiro-sama’s Curse.” Turning to Ooishi-san for reassurance only confirms Keiichi’s worst fears as dark secrets about Rena’s past are revealed. Is it just his imagination? Or do his friends really mean to kill him?

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up

In volume 1, Keiichi moved to a new village and learned that someone has died on the night of the Cotton Drifting Festival for the past four years. Here, he discovers that each of his new friends is connected in some way to the previous victims, and that they may be more dangerous than Keiichi could have imagined. He spends a lot of time worrying, trembling, and talking to himself. Meanwhile, his new friends continue to act sweet and wonderful one minute and darkly terrifying the next-but is that their fault, or are they being controlled by the village curse? Keiichi alternates between being a sympathetic and an annoying protagonist. Sometimes it takes him several pages to worry out loud about whether or not his life is in danger, when the same effect could be achieved more efficiently in a couple of panels. Suzuragi’s artwork sets a fantastic mood, especially during the scenes in which the girls appear to be possessed and their eyes look like those of a cat reflecting a flashlight in the dark. The cute/scary ratio of the book remains fairly consistent until the ending, which is far more grisly than many readers might expect.-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library