KADOKAWA Brings New Higurashi: When They Cry Anime

KADOKAWA has announced a new television anime for the Higurashi: When They Cry franchise, on the anime’s 20th anniversary special broadcast. The June 21 announcement also coincided with Cotton Drifting Festival (the third Sunday of June), a date of specific ritualistic significance within the franchise’s lore.

Alongside the announcement, KADOKAWA unveiled a teaser visual and a short promotional video, confirming that a new TV anime is now in development. Following the new Higurashi anime reveal, the anime's website also released official statements from author Ryukishi07 and the original anime cast.

Higurashi: When They Cry debuted as a visual novel, produced by 07th Expansion in 2002. Higurashi became a breakout hit due to its blend of psychological horror, murder mystery, and supernatural lore-based storytelling.

What we Know so Far About Higurashi: When They Cry New Anime

The new Higurashi anime brings the franchise back to its original studio and voice cast. Studio DEEN, which animated the 2006 series, will produce the anime. KADOKAWA did not provide a title, plotline, or premiere window for the upcoming anime.

The teaser features imagery associated with the rural village, Hinamizawa, the central setting throughout the franchise. The atmospheric shots, featuring spaces associated with earlier anime adaptations, evoked the series’ signature mix of horror and unease.

The promotional video features newly recorded dialogue from Rena Ryūgū, offering fans their first audio preview of the production. The announcement visual also centers on a eerily smiling Rena Ryūgū with the tagline “Welcome back, everyone.” 

The character will be voiced by Mai Nakahara. Additionally, the other main cast is confirmed to reprise their roles. Sōichirō Hoshi will reprise the role of fan-favourite Keiichi Maebara, with Satsuki Yukino voicing both identical twin sisters, Mion and Shion Sonozaki. Other prominent characters, Satoko Hojo and Rika Furude, will be voiced by Mika Kanai and Yukari Tamura, respectively.

The lack of production details suggests the anime remains at an early stage. However, the decision to reveal the project now signals KADOKAWA’s confidence in the value of the When They Cry franchise more than two decades after its debut.

Studio DEEN adapted the series into a 26-episode TV anime in 2006, followed by the 24-episode sequel When They Cry II: Solutions in 2007. The franchise also expanded with Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU in 2020 and its follow-up SOTSU in 2021, both produced by Studio Passione.

KADOKAWA’s announcement arrives as psychological horror anime holds steady commercial value among modern anime audiences. Recent horror titles such as Dark Gathering, The Summer Hikaru Died, and Takopi’s Original Sin have helped keep the genre visible across streaming platforms and international markets.