Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に, Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. "When the Cicadas Cry"), known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the anime adaptation before 2020, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion that comprises the first two entries of the When They Cry franchise. The series focuses on a group of young friends living in the fictional rural village of Hinamizawa and the strange events that occur there in 1983.