Higurashi When They Cry is a sound novel later adapted into various anime series, manga, light novels and films. Each characters mostly appear in every arc, including Keiichi Maebara, along with his female friends, Rena Ryugu, Mion and Shion Sonozaki, Satoko Hojo and Rika Furude. The supporting characters also appear in some arcs, including the soon-to-be-retired detective Kuraudo Ooishi, freelance photographer Jiro Tomitake, female nurse and counter-intelligence force leader Miyo Takano, and the clinic's head doctor Kyosuke Irie. The manga characters also appear in the first adaptation. In Onisarashi-hen, Natsumi Kimiyoshi is the visitor of Okinomiya. In Yoigoshi-hen, Akira Otobe appears around in the forest near the deserted village.
Kizuna
Characters first introduced in Higurashi When They Cry Kizuna (ひぐらしのなく頃に絆, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna) (Nintendo DS).
Kagebōshi-hen
- Tomoe Minai (南井 巴, Minai Tomoe)
- Voiced by: Nana Inoue
- A new chief inspector and Madoka's older sister based in the fictional city of Kakiuchi, Aichi Prefecture investigating the strange occurrences involving former residents of Hinamizawa killing anyone even their own families and committing suicides in Japan. She became a detective to find their parent's murderer who was an arsonist who burnt down the Minai household in 1971, killing only their parents except Tomoe and Madoka who were the only survivors back then. Her deceased father, Yusuke was also a dedicated police officer and close friend with her superior, Yamaoki.
- Madoka Minai (南井 まどか, Minai Madoka)
- Voiced by: Asami Shimoda
- Tomoe's younger sister and also a police officer like her. Unlike Tomoe who projects a serious and no-nonsense attitude, Madoka is cheerful and easygoing. She developed pyrophobia after a traumatic incident in 1971 where their parents died in their household fire by an unknown arsonist with Tomoe and Madoka, the only survivors which stills exists now as shown in Tokihogushi-hen as they are leaving a restaurant after dining there to get back to Madoka's car, they both nearly died when the car suddenly explodes in front of them which upon seeing the flames, she screams in terror. She's also Yamaoki's fiancee despite Tomoe's fury over their relationship but eventually respects them.
- Shingo Fujita (藤田 慎吾, Fujita Shingo)
- Voiced by: Susumu Chiba
- The member of Kakiuchi Police Department as a detective and Tomoe's colleague and close friend.
- Kaoru Yamaoki (山沖 薫, Yamaoki Kaoru)
- Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto
- A 57-year-old police chief, whom Tomoe, Shingo, and Madoka work for as their superior. He and Madoka are in a romantic relationship and engaged to each other as fiances despite their thirty-years age gap which infuriates Tomoe who's opposed to this unnatural relationship but eventually relents and accepts them. Yamaoki knew the Minai siblings since their childhood as one of his fellow colleague, the sibling's deceased father, Yusuke was his close friend and stills miss him.
Yoigoshi-hen
- Miyuki Sorimachi (反町 美雪, Sorimachi Miyuki)
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro
- A freelance writer set on unraveling the mysteries of Hinamizawa with Ryūnosuke. It turns out that she's actually Miyuki Akasaka, Mamoru's daughter as an adult (Sorimachi is her married name.) and is actually an undercover police officer who was assigned to hunt down Mifune, the renegade member of the Sonozaki family and his underlings to arrest them after the failed assassination of Akane Sonozaki who later died in hospital.
Kotohogushi-hen
- Riku Furude (古手 陸, Furude Riku)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki
- One of Rika's ancestors and the heir and the Shinto Priest of the Furude House. He was found as a baby by Hanyū in a house fire after a battle with demons in his deceased mother's arms and was given to the villagers to raise him and met him once again as an adult twenty years later. Riku marries Hanyū, and have a daughter, Ōka. He was the reason that he nicknamed "Hainiryuun" because he had a hard time trying to remember and pronounce her name that he shorten it Hanyu.
- Ōka Furude (古手 桜花, Furude Ōka)
- Hanyu and Riku's daughter resembling Rika. Hanyu requests to be killed by her in order to atone for the villager's sins, which she does.
- Shino Kimiyoshi (公由 志乃, Kimiyoshi Shino)
- Voiced by: Ai Maeda
- The head of the Kimiyoshi Family, and Natsumi and Kiichiro's ancestor. She becomes Hanyū's friend, despite that Shino have seen her horns, though she is not alarmed at it.
- Mao Sonozaki (園崎 魔央, Sonozaoki Mao)
- Voiced by: Marina Inoue
- The head of the Sonozaki family and the ancestor of Oryō, Akane, Mion and Shion. She and Shino apparently did not get along with each other.
Miotsukushi-hen
- Shirō Hanada (花田 史郎, Hanada Shirō)
- Shirō was mentioned in Kagebōshi-hen, but appeared in DS render of Tokihogushi-hen Miotsukushi-hen. He happens to be a former colleague of Shingo.
- Kazuma Hatakeyama (畠山 一馬, Hatakeyama Kazuma)
- The elderly patient of the retirement center of Saeki General Hospital, where Natsumi works part-time. A non-talkative person, Natsumi develops a bond with him when he mentions Hinamizawa, a town where her grandmother also once lived before she joins Natsumi's family to live together in Kakiuchi city, however, he and his family were mysteriously killed; In Someutsushi-hen, when the Great Hinamizawa Disaster occurred, he develops Level 5 of Hinamizawa Syndrome and murdered Yamase, Natsumi's mentor and employer by bludgeoning her to death with a fire extinguisher before committing suicide by stabbing his own neck with a knife. In Kageboushi-hen, he was stabbed to death by his good friend, Kiyoshi Obata who also once lived in Okinomiya like Hatekayama, Obata also commits suicide by stabbing his own throat with a knife he used to kill Hatakeyama.
- Aoi Hatakeyama (畠山 あおい, Hatakeyama Aoi)
- Kazuma's ten-year-old granddaughter who is mentioned in Someutushi-hen and made a major role in Kageboushi-hen. In Someutsushi-hen, she was murdered by her father, Masao who also killed his wife, Yoshiko and his youngest son, Kentarou by he attempted to kill himself but was found by police and was implied to be taken to hospital for treatment and recovery. In Kageboushi-hen, she's the only surviving member of the Hatakeyama family when Masao also commits murder-suicide just like he did with his wife and son except for Aoi with a hunting rifle and she's kept under police monitoring at the Saeki General Hospital. But when Tomoe investigates more into the crime scene, she discovers that Aoi was actually the true murderer of her entire family as she was capable of arming the hunting rifle because Masao had already taught her how to operate it on several hunting trips, when she had the mental breakdown, she murders them in cold blood. When Natsumi was also admitted to the same hospital as the former after murdering all of her family members which also cause her traumatic amnesia, Aoi encounters her by chance and tells her that the latter was the one who murdered her parents just like Aoi did. This cause Natsumi's memories to come back and also her other personality to resurface who suggests to hunt Chisato down for attempting to take Akira away from her.
Hō
Characters first introduced in Higurashi When They Cry Hō (ひぐらしのなく頃に奉, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Hō) (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4).
Kamikashimashi-hen
- Une (采)
- Voiced by: Aya Suzaki
- She is first introduced trying to rescue Keichi and the other club members from a deranged mob in Okinomiya in the midst of an outbreak of the Hinamizawa Syndrome following the events of Higurashi Outbreak. She first presents herself as a normal human girl; however, it is later revealed that she is a godly entity similar to Hanyū.
- Tamura Hime no Mikoto (田村媛命)
- Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō
- Another godly entity like Hanyū, she has certain type of paranormal connection with Miyo Takano, which is similar to Hanyū's relationship with Rika.
Gou
Characters first introduced in Higurashi When They Cry Gou (ひぐらしのなく頃に業, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou)
- Eua (エウア)
- Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (Japanese); Emily Fajardo (English)
- A mysterious woman introduced in Satokowashi-hen who grants Satoko the power to travel between fragments. She wears a shrine maiden's outfit similar to Hanyū, carries a khakkhara, and has a crescent-shaped device resembling horns floating around her head. Condescending and sardonic, Eua gives Satoko her powers on the condition that Satoko will keep her entertained. After claiming that she does not have a name, she is given the name "Eua" by Satoko. She bears a strong resemblance to Featherine Augustus Aurora from Umineko When They Cry.
Meguri
Characters first introduced in P Higurashi When They Cry Meguri (Pひぐらしのなく頃に ~廻~, P Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meguri) (Pachinko).
- Miyabi Saionji (西園寺 雅, Saionji Miyabi)
- Voiced by: Juri Kimura
- In an alternate reality, she is a new transfer student to Hinamizawa, where her grandparents live, and befriends Keiichi and the rest of the school club. Prior to the Watanagashi Festival, she is invited by Takano and Tomitake to enter the Saiguden or Ritual Storehouse, where she becomes particularly interested in a naginata; this subsequently becomes her signature weapon.[5]
- In 2022, Miyabi was also introduced as a character in Higurashi Mei.[6]
Mei
Characters first introduced in Higurashi When They Cry Mei (ひぐらしのなく頃に命, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei) (iOS, Android).
- Kazuho Kimiyoshi (公由 一穂, Kimiyoshi Kazuho)
- Voiced by: Mayu Sagara[7]
- The main protagonist of Mei, she is the granddaughter of Kiichiro Kimiyoshi. She is the only member in her family who survived the 1983 Great Hinamizawa Disaster, and lives in a dormitory supported by distant relatives. In 1993 she visits Hinamizawa after the lockdown is lifted, where she meets Tamura Hime no Mikoto, who grants her the ability to time travel to 1983.
- Nao Hōtani (鳳谷 菜央, Hōtani Nao)
- Voiced by: Rie Takahashi[7]
- Nao is a Tokyo native who visits Hinamizawa initially for undisclosed reasons. It is later revealed that she is in fact Rena Ryugu's half-sister.[8] After Rena's parents divorced, Rena's mother married a man named Akihito Hotani and had Nao with him shortly after the Great Hinamizawa Disaster.
- Midori Kawata (川田 碧, Kawata Midori)
- Kawata is a freelance journalist who came to Hinamizawa to do research and write a book.
- Chisame Kurosawa (黒沢 千雨, Kurosawa Chisame)
- Voiced by: M・A・O[9]
- Miyuki Akasaka's friend, whom she knows because her father was a police officer who worked with Mamoru Akasaka.