Higurashi is probably the most underrated mystery horror anime out there. It has actually a good story but most people find it confusing. I can't blame them cause its true. But when you watch the show from the beginning, you will understand what the story is all about. And it is very simple.
It is basically just a loop and the story just revolve around Oyashiro-sama curse. They believed that this certain god is responsible for the death and disappearance of some individuals during "Cotton Drifting Festival" in their village every year. This incidents followed by the change in behaviour of some characters and makes them violent. They believe that Oyashiro has been vengeful towards them and they started to behave inhumane. They become paranoid and began to hallucinate that mostly result into murders and suicide. But Oyashiro-sama is really the cause of all of this?
What is the mystery of Oyashiro-Sama's Curse?
First I wouldn't want to call this phenomena an Oyashiro Curse but instead "Hinamizawa Syndrome". In their legend, Oyashiro is actually a good deity that decent from heaven to protect Onigafuchi Village (later known as Hinamizawa) from the attacks of the demons. He also created the rules to prevent the spread of syndrome by preventing the townspeople from leaving the village.
In Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Season 1) they always pointed to Oyashiro-Sama's Curse the Series of Mysterious Death in their Village. They believe it is their punishment for breaking the rules of village. But the truth is Oyashiro-sama's curse or Hinamizawa Syndrome is just the embodiment of mental stress of the characters. All of them have a past that will surely break them down if triggered.
Maebara Keiichi once hailed genius because of his knowledge advance from what an ordinary kid should be. Because of this his parents and other people praised him. But as times go on their expectations also becomes higher and that's what makes Keiichi put to stress. He started shooting people with his Airsoft gun as a way to relieve his stress. That's what makes him trsnfer to Hinamizawa to start a new life.
Hojo Satoko She and her family was hailed as traitors by the villagers as they support the dam project. This project is also the start of the mysteries as it put people into stress. Her mother remarried often and the only person who she is closed with is her older brother (which later become a victim of syndrome too). She lived with abuse from her stepfather and distrust from the village.
Ryugu Rena's past also makes her mental stress even worse. Her mother have an affair to her co worker and ask Rena to go with her and start a new family. As when Rena knew that her mother is pregnant it breaks her down and start to hate her mother.
There is also Sonozaki Shion. She is actually the older sister of Mion and the rightful heir of Sonozaki Family. But because of sister swapping her younger sister got the tattoo and get the title. She fell inlove with Satoko older brother, Satoshi. But when Satoshi started to disappear believed to be the result of Oyashiro Curse she begun to distrust her family. She believed that the village is the responsible for Satoshi's disappearance because of their hatred towards Hojo family.
So the curse of Oyashiro didn't come from Oyashiro itself. What makes them cursed is by believing that Oyashiro-sama is the cause of all of this. It makes them paranoid that cause to trigger the disease. But it's true that there is a certain being that cause all of this event and even cause the mysteries of deaths and disappearances during Cotton Drifting Festival.
Why it isn't so Popular?
This is really surprising why this anime is so underrated despite of its solid storyline. I can't blame people because there are so much factor that affects Higurashi's rise in popularity.
The Animation. People prefer anime with much better animation than Higurashi. And the biggest factor about this is the studio that animates this series. Studio DEEN is responsible for this one. And for those who didn't know Studio DEEN, they are the studio who's responsible for those anime that failed in animation. This includes Fate/Stay Night (2006) which may play the biggest role in fall of Higurashi.
Confusing Story. As I said earlier Higurashi has a very good story but most people didn't get it. It comes from visual novel and the first season is composed of first 6 chapters from the novel. Every chapters may look different but they are all connected to each other. This anime is so confusing that if someone ask you to explain the story, you will probably have a hard time. Messy it may be but that whats makes Higurashi beautiful.
Underestimated because of Characters Design. This is really outrageous cause people underestimate anime just by the look of characters. I may agree that this anime can offer more in terms of art (if they just give it to other studio). The design of character is so bad that you will laugh at their faces when you accidentally pause the anime. But still the VA, background art and Sound Effects covers all of what's lacking in character design.
So in summary the mystery of Oyashiro-Sama's Curse is most likely created from the anxiety of these characters. Well the real cause of mental disorders comes from parasites. But let's leave for that on the second part of this article. It will be all about Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, the second season of this series. As well as some talks about the announcement of Season 4.
it's true that some viewers don't want to watch anime with poor animation and confusing flow of story. I admit that I prefer to watch anime with good animation ang English subtitles. I tried to watch a horror anime you recommend which is another, but I can't other episodes of it on internet. :(