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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira's 'Magical Girl' Promo Posted

Animate began streaming a "Magical Girl" promotional video for the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira original video anime (OVA) series on Thursday. Animate also began streaming a video with the opening and ending animation sequences on Thursday. The site is also streaming two other promotional videos. (In the linked page, scroll down and click on the "Play" buttons to see the videos. The first two buttons link to the promotional videos, the third button links to the opening and ending animation video, and the fourth button links to the "Magical Girl promotional video.)

On July 15, the official website for the series posted the first installment in a four-panel preview manga. Manga artist Taka, who contributed to the Higurashi Anthology manga, is drawing the art for the preview manga.

The OVA marks the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni horror franchise's 10th anniversary. The first volume of the series, which was released on Thursday, adapts the software's Batsukoishi-hen storyline.

Ryukishi07/07th Expansion created the original story for the series, and Toshifumi Kawase is again supervising the scripts. Hideki Tachibana is directing at Studio DEEN.

07th Expansion's original Higurashi no Naku Koro ni visual novel software revolved around murders that coincide with an annual festival in a quiet rural village. The software inspired two television anime series, several video anime projects, two live-action films, and manga adaptations by several artists.

The game publisher MangaGamer licensed the rights to translate the original visual novel software for personal computers, and it has released them in English. Funimation took over North American distribution of the first Higurashi television anime series from Geneon Entertainment and released the first DVDs in 2008. North America's Yen Press acquired the Higurashi manga for its Yen Plus anthology magazine and later for compiled book volumes.

[Via Moon Phase]

Images © 2011 Ryukishi07 /Hinamizawa Gosanke