Theofficial siteforHigurashi Meiwas updated with a story introduction and profiles for the new characters appearing in this gacha game. A new trailer was published as well. We translated everything below so let’s take a look.Note that this article, andHigurashi Meias a whole, is geared towards those who already know theHigurashistory line, so we’ve got spoilers.
First off, here’s the story introduction:
On Summer 1983, poisonous volcanic gas suddenly emerged in the village of Hinamizawa, killing around 1200 residents. This event is known as the Great Hinamizawa Disaster.Higurashi Meibegins ten years later, on June 1993. A girl who lost her family in the disaster, Ichiho Kimiyoshi, decided to visit her now abandoned hometown. There, she ended up discovering monsters she’s never seen before. Ichiho desperately ran away, but got cornered. As she was about to be killed, Ichiho was saved by Tamurahime no Mikoto, who introduced herself as a goddess. Ichiho received from Tamurahime no Mikoto a special power which allows her to fight against the Tsukuyomi, the monsters. And as per Tamurahime no Mikoto’s instructions, she headed towards the Furude shrine ceremonial tools' shed, the Saiguden. When she entered Saiguden, Ichiho suddenly found herself in a nostalgic, peaceful Hinamizawa. It seems like Ichiho time-traveled to before the disaster.
Tamurahime no Mikoto is a character was was first introduced inHigurashi Hou, the “Utimate” version ofHigurashifirst released in 2014 on PC. Entergram later made a Switch port, and then a PS4 port. These are only available in Japan. Tamurahime no Mikoto appears inKamikashimashi-hen, one ofHigurashi Hou’s new chapters. While she’s a goddess like Hanyuu, the two don’t get along. Tamurahime no Mikoto is voiced by Yoshino Nanjo. It seems like she’ll actually be one of the key characters inHigurashi Mei.
Next up we have the profiles of the characters ofHigurashi Mei.
Note that no official reading was published for the characters' names, so the kanji in their names might be read in a different way than the way I’ve translated them.
Ichiho Kimiyoshi, voiced by Mayu Sagara.
Ichiho is the granddaughter of Kimiyoshi Kiichiro, the former mayor of Hinamizawa, who is a side character appearing in multipleHigurashichapters. Due to the 1983 disaster, she lost her entire family and lives in a dormitory, with financial support from a distant relative. Her profiles says she likes Japanese food, and has “I’m sorry " as her catchphrase, so she’s the type who immediately apologizes all the time.
Miyuki Akasaka, voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro.
Miyuki is the daughter of Mamoru Akasaka. Like her father, she has an incredibly sharp mind. She’s a cheerful girl who isn’t afraid of interacting with older kids or strangers.
Miyuki already appeared in multipleHigurashiside chapters, either as a child or as an adult. Her adult version is named Miyuki Sorimachi, using her husband’s name, and is one of the main characters ofYoigoshi-hen.(Note that Miyuki Sawashiro also voices Dlanor inUmineko.)
Nao Ootori, voiced by Rie Takahashi.
Nao is a girl from Tokyo. She visited Hinamizawa with a certain objective in mind. We don’t know what this objective is though. She’s incredibly confident, trusts her instinct, and has a strong resolve.
Profiles and artwork for Rika, Rena, Satoko and Mion were shared as well. K1 also appears in the trailer. It’s only basic info you already know if you read this article in the first place though, so we won’t be translating them. What’s interesting though is the narration and out-of-context dialogue lines in the trailer:
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni MeiFirst Trailer
The lines in the trailer indicate that not only Ichiho, but Miyuki and Nao as well are actually from a 1993 Kakera where everyone in Hinamizawa died. It looks like Miyuki doesn’t know the truth behind the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, and is trying to investigate it. Meanwhile, Nao is unhappy with her life in 1993, and wants to change her fate.
Another interesting fact we can deduce from the lines K1, Rika and the other classic characters are saying: They’re aware something supernatural is going on, and it seems like they’re their selves from after one of the good endings, where everyone survived June 1983. It’s hard to tell for sure though, with only the typical out-of-context one-liners of Japanese trailers. Another thing we can deduce from the trailer is that Ichiho, Miyuki and Nao will all start living in Hinamizawa with the others, going to the usual school.
Higurashi Mei’sscriptwriter is Saichi Kanou, who worked on multiple chapters initially made for the consoleHigurashiports by Alchemist, and Ryukishi07 also worked on the draft, so it’ll definitely be interesting. I’ll be keeping an eye on all this as aHigurashifan, so stay tuned.
The trailer featuresHigurashi Mei’s theme song,Frustration, sung by Ayane (彩é³), and with lyrics and composition by Chiyomaru Shikura. Comments from Ayane, battle BGM composer Motoi Sakuraba, and the seiyuu were published too. We’ll be covering that in another article.
A Pre-registration campaign forHigurashi Meiis ongoing. Currently, it’s at over 50K accounts:
Developed by D-Techno,Higurashi Meiis scheduled to launch later this summer in Japan. It’s an RPG with gacha mechanics. It’s also tied in with the newHigurashianime adaptation starting in October 2020. They both use Akio Watanabe as character designer. You can read more detailshereandhere.
A live streamforSinoalicewith new details on both theHigurashinew anime andHigurashi Meiwill also be coming August 21. If time permits I’ll be doing a full summary.
