Higurashi When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に. When the Cicadas Cry), known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the animé adaptation, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft sound novel series produced par 07th Expansion. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and are playable on Microsoft Windows PCs. The first game in the series, Onikakushi-hen, was released on August 10, 2002, and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, Matsuribayashi-hen, was released on August 13, 2006. While the first four games carried the global, ensemble titre Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, the suivant four games were produced under the titre Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. A bonus fan disc called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released on December 31, 2006. In addition to the original series, new story arcs were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS in order to expand upon the story. The original eight PC releases were released in English par MangaGamer with the first four games on December 15, 2009, followed par the last four being released monthly starting with Meakashi-hen on February 28, 2010. The series is focused on a group of young Friends and the strange events that occur in the rural village Hinamizawa where they reside.
Two sets of drama CDs were produced, one par Wayuta and the other par Frontier Works. Novelizations of the game series were released par Kodansha Box between August 2007 and March 2009. A manga series adapted from the games began with eight different manga artists working separately on one to three of the multiple story arcs, and is published par Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten. The manga was licensed for release in English in North America par Yen Press under the titre Higurashi When They Cry and the first volume was released in November 2008. Following the manga's release in Japan, two TV animé series were produced par Studio Deen in 2006 and 2007; a third animé adaptation was released as an original video animation series in 2009. The first animé series was licensed par Geneon Entertainment in English, but the license expiré in 2011. A live action film adaptation of the series, directed par Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters in May 2008, with a sequel released in May 2009.