is a Japanese visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

 developed and published by Konami

Konami

is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

 for the PlayStation Portable

PlayStation Portable

The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

, with Ryukishi07

Ryukishi07

is the pen name of a Japanese man originally from Chiba Prefecture who is well known as the original creator for the idea of the visual novel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni. He is the representative member of the group 07th Expansion...

 of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

, known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the anime adaptation, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft sound novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and are playable on Microsoft Windows PCs...

fame as game director

Game director

Game director may refer to:* Video game producer, the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game* Technical director, usually a senior technical person within creative group...

 and the manga author

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

 duo Peach-Pit

PEACH-PIT

is a female manga artist duo in Japan, made up of and . Their group name derives from the diner hangout Peach-Pit from the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Although both have similar styles, with some artwork it is possible to identify which artist drew it. Both are known for their bishōjo styled works...

 as character designers. The game was released on August 20, 2009 in Japan. An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 adaptation produced by AIC began airing in Japan on January 8, 2010 on TBS

Tokyo Broadcasting System

, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

.

Plot

A 15 year old boy, Hiroshi Kuzumi, has recently moved into a new town in the mountains. The town is separated into new and old streets by the river, and many mysterious local cultures still remain, and the townspeople are unusually friendly to him. Although confused and enjoying his new life, one person kept her distance from him: class committee member Kushinada Nemuru. In their few encounters she gave him a word of advice: "Stay away from the old streets."

As the story goes on, Hiroshi learns about the town's local traditions and legends—most prominently the ones about the local Wolf Spirits. However, something mysterious goes on in the background; people mysteriously "move away" and students suddenly "transfer schools" while none of the locals pay any attention. Hiroshi initially tries to ignore it, but he soon sees a girl with an enormous scythe

Scythe

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...

 along with people in strange masks kill someone that was written off to have "moved away" the next day. Hiroshi is soon drawn into the dark secrets long hidden by the townsfolk, and uncovers a plot to destroy the town.

Main characters

Hiroshi is a 15 year old boy and is the main character of the story. His family moved to the city of Jōga due to reasons relating to his father's line of work. The kanji for his name can also be read as "Professor", so many people call him Hakase (Professor) as a nickname. Hiroshi is not fond of this nickname, because it makes people believe that he is smarter than he is. Despite this, he still allows Kaname to call him by it. Hiroshi later learns from Nemuru that he is a 'Temptation', a rare human who emits a subtle scent so intoxicating to Jouga wolves that constant exposure will drive them insane. While all humans emit some faint trace of this scent, small enough that most can resist it without much difficulty, less than one in a million may exist whose scent has such volume and potency.

Nemuru is the 15 year old sole daughter of the Kushinada clan, the family with the most political power and presence in Jōga. Nemuru, as part of her role as the Hunter, patrols the city at night clad in an elaborate ceremonial outfit and wolf mask and wielding a scythe, hunting for Fallen, which she is charged with executing. She is the class president of Hiroshi's class. Nemuru is initially very cold to Hiroshi because she considers him to be an eyesore. Despite this, she eventually warms towards him and they become friends.

Isuzu is a 15 year old girl who lives next door to Hiroshi. She is tomboyish and extremely affectionate towards Hiroshi, sometimes to his dismay. Kaname is Isuzu's best friend. She has a brother named Issei, who attended university before becoming a "Fallen" and is killed by Nemuru. She herself becomes a "Fallen" and attacks Hiroshi, but manages to stop herself and is spared her brother's fate.

Mana is Hiroshi's 12 year old younger sister. Due to a car accident she is bound to a wheelchair. In spite of this, she strives to be independent, and becomes quite annoyed when her brother rushes to her side to help her with the smallest of tasks.

Kaname is a 16 year old girl who moved to the Jōga with her family a few months before Hiroshi and she is Isuzu's best friend. Being the eldest of her, Hiroshi and Isuzu, she tends to act as the voice of the reason for the group. Kaname has somewhat of a dark personality, and does not hesitate to tease or trick her two friends. She is interested in the occult and loves city legends and folklore.

She is a deity who prowls Jōga, carrying out the god of the lands's will to rid it of the fallen "wolves". She appears as a young girl wearing an elaborate white outfit and wolf-like mask. She is named after the bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...

 Kannon. Her true form is later revealed to be Kaori, a lady Hiroshi and Mana meet while having a walk.

Internet radio show

An Internet radio

Internet radio

Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...

 show entitled to promote the anime series started broadcasting on the Animate TV

Animate

is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...

 Internet radio service on December 18, 2009 and airs weekly on Fridays. The show is hosted by Yū Kobayashi

Yu Kobayashi

is a female voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is affiliated with HolyPeak. She also occasionally works as a key animator.-Anime:*12Riven - Yuyu Hoshino*Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Emily Adachi*Amatsuki - Benitobi...

 and Yūko Gotō

Yuko Goto

is a Japanese voice actress who works for Production Baobab. In direct contrast to her cute-and-vulnerable moé typecasting, Yūko in real life is a devotee of biker culture who dresses and acts as such when not working, right down to her motorcycle...

, who voice Hiroshi Kuzumi and Kaori Mana in the series, respectively.

Manga

A manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 adaptation illustrated by Mirura Yano titled began serialization in the February 2010 issue of ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works

is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...

' Dengeki Daioh

Dengeki Daioh

is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...

shōnen manga magazine. A second manga adaptation illustrated by Kuroko Yabuguchi titled began serialization in the February 2010 issue of Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

's Monthly Shōnen Rival

Monthly Shonen Rival

Shōnen Rival is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine by Kodansha that had its first issue on April 4, 2008. It is issued on the 4th of every month....

manga magazine.

Anime

An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 television series adaptation produced by AIC and directed by Nobuhiro Takamoto began airing in Japan on January 8, 2010 on the TBS

Tokyo Broadcasting System

, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

 television network. The anime will begin airing on other networks including Sun TV and BS-TBS at later dates. The anime's opening theme is by FictionJunction

FictionJunction

FictionJunction is Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura’s solo project. To date, all such collaborations have consisted of a vocalist, with Kajiura on the keyboard or the piano. Most FictionJunction songs have been featured in an anime series , most notably Gundam Seed, Tsubasa Chronicle and recently...

, and the ending theme is by Yuuka Nanri

Yuuka Nanri

, commonly referred to as Yuuka, is a seiyū and also a known Japanese pop singer. She is contracted to Space Craft Entertainment of Space Craft Group.-Biography:Yuuka Nanri first debuted on NHK's in 1995, as a child star....

, who is also a member of FictionJunction.

External links

• Ōkami Kakushi at Konami
  Konami
  is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
  
  
• Anime official website