I don't like to brag, but I've made it clear I know something about Japanese culture. Sure, I'm no Debito Arudo, But I've been around the block. However, that doesn't mean there aren't aspects to the culture that absolutely baffle me. I could get into the social and political problems, but since this is an anime and manga site, I'll have to limit myself to that.
I'm talking about the conflicting nature of Visual Novel turned hit, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (AKA "When They Cry"). Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the series. It wasn't until earlier when I listened and guiltily enjoyed one of the tracks off the CD, Nano Desu. Take a look if you dare.
Yeah, cuteness overload and all that. If you aren't familiar with the series, you'd be surprised to find out that it's actually a psychological horror dealing with interdimensional gods, teenager's going crazy and murdering people, and children having their stomachs ripped open. I think this scene shows what I'm talking about (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS)
The whole "cute and deadly" deal has been going on in Anime for a while (See Elfen Lied), but never before have both been given an equal amount of attention. Not only do these conflicting and opposite genre aspects mess with the individual fan but the fanbase as a whole. Who is the target audience here? Is it the standard otaku open to all genres? The term niche is thrown around all the time when talking about these things, but in theory, this should be in a category of its own. Of course that isn't true considering the series popularity, but when you have a track like that, you gotta wonder if this unholy blending of genres is actually a viable combination with untapped potential.
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