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When They Cry, Vol. 6
FUNimation // Unrated // December 23, 2008
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Series:
When They Cry comes to its gruesome conclusion with volume 6. One of the few horror anime shows that is actually horrific, this series is not for the faint at heart or squeamish. For those who enjoy chilling, well told stories punctuated by some bloody violence, however, this is a not-to-be-missed show.
Series background:
Keiichi Maebara is a teenager who has just moved to the small rural
Rena's a bit strange, but Keiichi hangs around with her mainly since she's the only kid his age. She likes to go to the local dump and look for things, and on one such trip the new student accompanies her. While he's there he meets a photographer from
This anime is a little unique. It is made up of several stories, with each story taking place at the different times, but with the same characters. Each story shows a different aspect of some events that happened over the course of a few years, and some of them don't fit into a general continuity and contradict each other. The backgrounds are the same but each different story is like a look at an alternate reality.
This volume:
The concluding disc finishes off the last story (in this season) "Atonement." The narrative reboots once again and the tale takes place soon after Keiichi arrives in Hinamizawa. Rena hasn't been there long either, having moved there with her father after her mother ran off with another man. Things are going well for Rena until she overhears her father's new girlfriend, Rina, talking to her real lover. She's planning on milking Rena's dad for all of his money before dumping him and moving out of town.
Rina tries to buddy up to her mark's daughter, but when Rena admits that she knows of the plan, a fight starts and Rina ends up dead. Hiding the body in an old junkyard, Rena then targets Rina's boyfriend, luring him to the same junkyard and coldly dispatching him. How far is Rena willing to carry this to protect her father, and what happens when her friends find out what she's done?
This series ends on a high note, just as it began. The final story has that eerie, suspenseful tone that's accented by the fact that Rena is so young and cute. The last person you would expect would be capable of multiple homicides.
There are a lot of horror anime, but very few of them are truly scary or horrific. Most of them deal with demons that rip off peoples arms or sever their heads. After you've seen something like that once however, it looses its impact. This show has a fair amount of blood, but the demons are real people and the violence can be gut-wrenching. Who can forget the scene, in an earlier volume, when Shion has to pay penance to her family for a transgression by having three of her fingernails ripped out? And she has to do it herself. A memorable show that has strong scripts in addition to some very near-tingling scenes.
The DVD:
This disc includes the next four episodes in the series. The version I received had a black case instead of the clear keepcase that the other volumes had. There was still a reversible cover however and insert that lists the episodes and opens up to a mini-poster. Audio:
This disc comes with the original Japanese soundtrack as well as an English dub, both in stereo. I alternated between languages while watching the show and enjoyed both tracks a lot. The young girl's voices in the English dub are high pitched and squeaky, which is annoying, but when the girls change to scary mode it's very effective. The voice changes aren't so different to be silly, but they are very eerie. The sound quality is very good, with the dialog coming through loud and clear and the effects coming in at the right levels. There isn't any distortion or other common audio defects. Subtitles are available in English and for signs only.
Video:
The 1.78:1 picture is anamorphically enhanced and looks great. The image is sharp, the colors are solid and strong, and the level of detail is fine. There is a small amount of aliasing in the background, but this is pretty minor and doesn't interfere with enjoyment of the show.
Extras:
The only extras are three previews.
Final Thoughts:
Eerie, scary, dark, and grim. When They Cry Volume 6 is all that and more. One of the better anime shows to be released in 2007, I'm really glad that FUNimation picked up where Geneon left off. It's an awfully good series and it comes Highly Recommended.
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