{"id":23378,"date":"2023-11-27T18:28:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T09:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=23378"},"modified":"2023-11-27T18:28:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T09:28:35","slug":"20231127-23378","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20231127-23378\/","title":{"rendered":"Hira Hira Hihiru launches to rave reviews \u2013 an enthralling portrayal of illness, hardship and society\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>ANIPLEX.EXE released the visual novel game <strong>Hira Hira Hihiru<\/strong> on November 17 for the PC (Steam). The game has had a favorable launch so far, receiving high acclaim and performing well on Steam, with 99% of reviews being positive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1469\" height=\"802\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1469px) 100vw, 1469px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001.jpg 1469w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-600x328.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-380x207.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-768x419.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-150x82.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-696x380.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-1068x583.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-001-769x420.jpg 769w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hira Hira Hihiru is a fully voiced visual novel game set in a fictional version of Japan\u2019s Taisho Period (1912-1926). In the world of Hira Hira Hihiru, the dead sometimes come back to life \u2013 but not as the person they once were. This phenomenon has been occurring for centuries due to a disease called Aerodema. In Japan, those afflicted by the condition are reviled by society due to their decomposed appearance, unstable speech and behavior, and are referred to as \u201chihiru.\u201d The story follows Masamitsu Chigusa, a young doctor, and Takeo Tenma, a high school student who has moved to Tokyo from the countryside. The two must confront\u00a0the terrifying Aerodema as it finds its way into their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ANIPLEX.EXE\u300e\u30d2\u30e9\u30d2\u30e9\u30d2\u30d2\u30eb\u300fPV\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZldeEVGFb1E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hira Hira Hihiru launched on November 17, receiving rave reviews ever since. On Steam, the game has a Very Positive status out of 150 user reviews, and after playing the game for myself, I understand why.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the main premise of \u201cthe dead coming back to life\u201d feels like fantasy, Hira Hira Hihiru straightforwardly deals with the topic of how incurable diseases and mental illness affect the patients who suffer from them as well as the people around them. Falling ill changes your life drastically. Falling ill means never being truly understood. Falling ill can be an economic burden on your family \u2013 these problems that the game highlights are all universal issues that apply to any modern disease, and the story makes you reflect quite heavily upon them. Although the game does contain some shocking and violent scenes, it does not rely on extreme content. The refined art, music and text have a heart-rendering impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231127-23378-002-747x420.jpg 747w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Renya Setoguchi was responsible for Hira Hira Hihiru\u2019s scenario and planning. His previous scenario writing credits include titles such as Carnival, Swan Song, Musicus!, and the more recent Black Sheep Town, which was released in September 2022. Black Sheep Town is likewise a highly acclaimed title, which portrays the suffocating conditions of a slum. Although Hira Hira Hihiru\u2019s subject matter and setting is different, the sophisticated\u00a0\u201cSetoguchi-esque\u201d style of the previous game is felt throughout. Both titles explore the difficulties of living in human society through carefully crafted characters.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hira Hira Hihiru is available for the PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2314820\/Hira_Hira_Hihiru\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>). It can currently be purchased at a 10% discount.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:12px\"><br><br><br><br><em>Written by. Amber V based on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/newsjp\/20231127-273515\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">original Japanese article<\/a>\u00a0(original article\u2019s publication date: 2023-11-27 12:34 JST)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANIPLEX.EXE&#8217;s fully voiced visual novel game Hira Hira Hihiru depicts a disease that makes the dead come back to life, as well as the suffering and prejudice it brings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-23378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-reviews","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hira Hira Hihiru launches to rave reviews \u2013 an enthralling portrayal of illness, hardship and society\u00a0 - 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