Higurashi: When They Cry (often referred to by its shortened title, “Higurashi”) is arguably one of the most impactful visual novels to have come out in recent years. It spawned several adaptations such as manga, anime, and live-action films — all of which have helped cement its status as a fully-fledged horror franchise.

It tells the story of a group of friends that live in a fictional small town based on a real village in Japan, the UNESCO Heritage Site of Shirakawa, Gifu. The game and its subsequent adaptations explore the mystery behind the terrifying events that befall the group and the story of what comes out of it all.

The latest anime adaptation, Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou, premiered in October 2020. It takes some inspiration from the first anime series that was launched back in 2006, with the original cast coming back to reprise their respective roles.

To promote the new anime, Animate Cafe in Ikebukuro, Tokyo is opening a pop-up cafe themed after the series. It’s set to open for a little over a month from January 13 to February 15, 2021, and Animate released the cafe’s menu ahead of time so that fans know what to expect.

The cafe’s cold drinks are inspired by three of the main characters from the show. Mion is represented by a bright green muscat grape drink, Rika is represented by a deep purple grape juice served with flower embellishments, and Keiichi is represented by a cranberry float that also comes with a decorative syringe. All three drinks are priced at 600 yen each.

Two other characters that get their own menu items are Rena, with a sweet potato latte topped with the purple bow from one of her outfits, and Satoko, whose soup is served with a side of habanero sauce for increased spiciness. Both the latte and soup come in at 600 yen each.

Lastly, the cafe also has a takoyaki dish (650 yen) inspired by the takoyaki served in food stalls during traditional Japanese festivals. It also comes with a box and inside it is a randomized bean jam wafer cake (known as a “monaka” in Japanese) of one of the 7 characters.

There is also a take-home cookie set (600 yen) that’s being sold for a limited time from February 9-15, 2021. Five of the cookies are printed with images of all the main female characters.

Aside from food, there will also be merchandise from the show sold exclusively through the cafe. You can find more details about the cafe’s opening times (now shortened as a result of the current state of emergency), address and the merchandise through Animate’s Japanese website.


By - Jen Laforteza.