review provided by Katie and Andrew
Title: When They Cry: Kai
Director: Chiaki Kon
Studio: Studio Deen
Author: Ryukishi07
U.S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks / Section 23
U.S. Release Date: May 31, 2016
Format and Length: Blu-ray / 24 Episodes / 600 Minutes
Genre: Action, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller
Industry Age Rating: 17 and up
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: When They Cry, Steins;Gate, Elfen Lied
“Someone taught me something- that the power of belief will give rise to a miracle that will cut through fate.” – Hanyuu
Synopsis:
When They Cry: Kai continues the story from the first series and sheds light on many of the dark mysteries prevalent in the first season. The young group of friends in the town of Hinamizawa continues to have terrible conflicts with one another in their never ending summer of 1983, often ending with the brutal murder of one of their members. With the help of her spiritual friend, Hanyuu, Furude Rika tackles these challenges over and over, trying her best to keep their lives from coming to a tragic end. With no end to the torture in sight, Rika must call upon the bonds of friendship and trust among her friends to discover the true villain of this eternal June.
Commentary:
When They Cry: Kai is the continuation of the horror genre series When They Cry, known for its repeating blood bath full of torture, death and insanity at every turn. If you did not get enough of the creative ways to perish in puddles of bloods, extravagant tortures, or even the heart break of betrayal, they introduce even more ways to suffer. Oh, and they also introduce a twist. Something the first season did not; a single coherent storyline, which includes every arc in the first season. Everyone was stuck in some time loop and has been repeating it time and time again all the while fighting to stay alive. It is of course offered as an explanation of the repeated and varied versions of the first season. When They Cry: Kai has a sense of hope that the first series could not provide, but still keeps you on the edge of your seat, and guessing. The way that the questions and mysteries of the first season were answered was amazing. There are very few things that are left unanswered. I also found the development and pacing of the story to be much more enjoyable that the first.
All of the characters are back from the first season and we are introduced to a new character, Hanyuu. Hanyuu is a spirit who has taken human form to help Rika and the rest of the characters survive living through the repeating time loop. The rest of the main characters develop throughout the episodes as we learn more about their background. We also see the struggles they face while living through the time loop.
The animation in When They Cry: Kai was beautiful and the opening and closing songs were awesome. They added the creepy feeling to the series that otherwise would not have been there. The voice actors did a good job bringing the characters to life and the subtitles were well done.
Extras:
When They Cry: Kai includes clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers as special features. This series was released with Japanese with English Subtitles as the only language option.
Overall Grade: A
I would recommend watching When They Cry before watching When They Cry: Kai as that is the only way it will make sense. This series is a masterpiece if you can get past the blood and gore.
