It's also important to understand that both Gou and Sotsu are regarded as blasphemy by many Higurashi fans. I definitely can see why, but that doesn't mean the anime outside of a Higurashi perspective is bad or deserves to be rated a one, as the anime itself isn't that bad; it's heavily flawed and poorly executed, and its premise is quite interesting.
Requirements before watching:
Please watch the Original Higurashi series for context because it's absurdly good. Additionally, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou, despite being a hot dumpster fire for 18 episodes, will also need to be watched to understand the characters and the situation they find themselves in, as Sotsu takes place after Gou and, from my understanding, is a ''sequel'' to the original series.
Story:
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu is fundamentally a Machiavellian story. It mainly revolves around the trials and tribulations of Hōjō Satoko and her desire to stop Furude Rika from leaving her side by moving away to the academy we saw in Gou.
The story mostly takes perspectives from the original Higurashi series and flips them on their head, allowing us to see the story from a new angle, which sounds good in concept but is poorly executed, which is a huge shame.
Mainly because it felt like a poorly done repetition of the main series with some slight deviations; naturally, this led to a poor reception from long-time Higurashi fans for multiple reasons, and one of those biggest reasons is that the mystery behind the story and its twists feel considerably more absent, which differs from what Higurarshi as a series is generally about. It's not bad per se, but it doesn't feel like Higurashi, and that doesn't sit well with many viewers. However, it gets more interesting towards the end of the anime around episode 11, where things get spicy really fast, so I'd hold out until then.
This is something to note and take to heart before you watch this anime.
Characters/Cast:
If you're expecting significant character development from the main cast of Maebara Keiichi, Ryūgū Rena, Sonozaki Mion and Sonozaki Shion like the original Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, then I wouldn't recommend this anime to you.
As it's mainly about Hōjō Satoko and Furude Rika's battle of wills. As a result, both of them have a considerable amount of screen time but understand that the focus is primarily on Hōjō Satoko, who goes through a lot of character development for better and worse, depending on the individual watching this. I, for one, enjoyed her story and found it quite fascinating despite its predictable nature.
Animation:
I'm going to be extremely blunt. ione's animation and design do not look good and still look just as bad as they did in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou. If you disliked how it looked before, you wouldn't like it now either, although I can't be too negative as they did fix Rika's hair; that gets a few points in my books. Everyone else, though, minus Hōjō Satoko, looks pretty awful.
Aside from the design, despite looking rough, the animations did improve from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou and got better towards the end of the series. The last two episodes are the exception to the rule and look very good.
Music:
The opening theme is a banger! As is the closing theme, but other than that, the rest of the soundtrack is entirely forgettable.
Closing Statement:
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu is a lousy anime for classic Higurashi fans, and I can understand why it has such a low score.
However, that isn't to say all those low votes are justifiable because they're not. The anime does have some bite, and there are some genuinely shocking moments and revelations toward the end.
I do absolutely think this anime is worth it despite all its faults.
It's very entertaining and has a good core philosophy regarding friendship and how we should let each other grow instead of suffocating each other with our own selfish desires. Also, Hōjō Satoko is very well written, so much so that people hate her. That should say a lot.
Final Scores:
If you're an original Higurashi fan and want a story full of mystery, intrigue and twists, it's a 3/10.
However, if you can look past the differences between both stories and enjoy the anime for what it is instead of what it can be, I'd rate it as a 6/10.
