News

Higurashi Kai Preempted "Due to Various Circumstances" (Update 2)

The official Japanese websites of the Tōkai TV broadcast station and the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai murder mystery anime series have announced that Tōkai TV will preempt the early Friday morning airing of this series "due to various circumstances." School Days, which is another late-night, game-based anime series with schoolgirl characters in occasionally violent scenes like Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai, was preempted after the alleged axe murder of a police sergeant by his 16-year-old daughter. Officials have not directly linked either series to the murder case.

The Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai psychological suspense series deals with a series of mysterious, violent murders that take place in a village after a dam construction project. The series is a sequel to a game and an earlier anime series called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry - Higurashi), in which school-aged characters have occasionally wielded axes.

Update: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai airs on five other stations and runs on the Anime Theater-X (AT-X) satellite channel. These other outlets have yet to announce their future plans for this series, but they normally premiere episodes one to six days after Tōkai TV does.

Update 2: The Kyoto KBS Television station has announced that it will preempt its Saturday 2:30 a.m. showing of this series, specifically citing "the murder of the father in the Kyoto Prefecture city of Kyō Tanabe." Kyoto KBS serves the city of Kyō Tanabe. While the announcement notes that it is unknown whether there is a connection between the murder and this program, it also notes that there are scenes of a girl holding an axe (apparently referring to the original Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series). The decision was made in light of the "possible discomfort to the audience." The station is considering its plans for future showings.

Thank you to dormcat for the news tip.

Image © 2007 Ryūkishi07/Hinamizawa-Gosanke