In the quiet and peaceful village of Hinamizawa, it seems nothing wrong can happen, from the eyes of Keiichi Maebara, the recent arrivee. Keiichi quickly befriends the female populous at his school: Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou. As time goes on, the Watanagashi festival draws nearer. Soon, Keiichi learns just what this festival is about. According to the townsfolk, it's there to commemorate their local god, Oyashiro. By a small few, Keiichi is informed that every day for the past four years, someone has been captured and murdered on the night of the festival.
*This anime functions in story arcs for the first two seasons*
In each story arc, someone close to Keiichi either goes insane, gets murdered, or both, usually due to a paranoia.
The Cast
Keiichi Maebara
Keiichi is the character we follow around most, as the viewer. He's just moved to Hinamizawa for reasons untold (or I can't remember hearing), to live a peaceful and happy life out in the middle of the country. He's easy to get along with, supportive, and willing to take a few hits for the team.
Rena Ryugu
Rena, the girl who can always seem to find a machete, is the first girl Keiichi spends time with, from our perspective. She suffers from deep depression, and because of it, is the most fearful one of the bunch. She's rarely the victim, and is more often the main villain.
Rika Furude
The shrine maiden of the village, Rika, is the one most often linked to the Watanagashi festival. She is the only one left in her family that can 'speak' with Oyashiro, and also has a ghostly and godly follower. She is the youngest of the bunch, and by far the most knowledgeable (as you find out in Kai/Rei ;). Before the Wataganashi festival with the first murder, she told an officer everything that would happen over the course of five years. The officer shrugged it off at the time, because what is a little girl supposed to know about predicting the future? Nothing, that's what.
Satoko Houjou
Satoko is a close friend of Rika's, and also very young. She's the trickster of the group, nicknamed 'Trapmaster,' due to her uncanny ability to make things like bombs, or just general traps, like pitfalls, out of nothing and in impeccable times. Her family is more-or-less shunned by the community, because of an argument that took place some time ago. As a result, she lives with Rika, or her uncle in some cases. She's also often searching for her long lost brother, Satoshi.
Mion Sonozaki
Mion is the leader of the little group; leading in both the club (which I didn't really delve into), and operations that happen. She is also in line to be head of the village, after her grandmother dies. She has a twin sister, Shion, who was exiled after birth, because there can only be one ruler at any given time. The two sisters often use each other as covers, or sometimes switch places in life, for various purposes (work, fun, talking to granny, etc), and they do it so well that it's hard to tell the difference sometimes.
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If you enjoy playing Mitadake High, you'll enjoy this, and vice versa.
If you do watch the first series, I recommend watching all three. You're going to be confused after just the first, guaranteed.
Hopefully I didn't spoil too much, but some of it had to be done for explanation purposes, sorry! This anime ranks up with my favorites, because of the murder/mystery elements that are present throughout, as well as the intriguing storyline (which, again, comes with Kai/Rei).
Thanks for your time,
DT
If you liked Higurashi, I also recommend checking out a different title by 07th Expansion: Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (another member of the Naku Koro Ni franchise). In this case, however, I starkly recommend avoiding the anime, and playing the games themselves, which have been translated (and are being translated) by http://witch-hunt.com/.