Original Article
The MangaGamer.com company has
announced at the Anime Expo convention in Los Angeles this weekend that it has licensed the rights to translate
07th Expansion's
Higurashi: When They Cry (
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) suspense horror visual novel
franchise. According to the company, the license includes the first eight personal computer games, which 07th Expansion calls "sound novels." MangaGamer.com plans to release the first part of the series at the end of October, followed by next one about two months later. The game series inspired two television anime
series, several video anime
projects, two live-action
films, and manga adaptations by several artists.
Funimation has
taken over North American distribution of the first Higurashi television series from
Geneon Entertainment, but no announcement has been made yet of future Higurashi anime licenses in the region.
Yen Press publishes one of the manga adaptations in North America.
Update: More background information added.
Update 2: MangaGamer.com
confirmed its plan to release the first four chapters of the Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) franchise at the end of October, followed by the next four chapters about two months later. The chapters will be available as downloads from MangaGamer.com's website.
Discuss.
Edit: Whoops, thought that news was current, not a month old. I guess I can't read months. Discuss anyway if you wish. :P