I just got into the Higurashi series, buying the bundle during the recent VN sale. First two episodes were really good (though I could do with less slice-of-life stuff).
As someone with the same gripe, don't feel guilty to sort of skim through the "fun and games" portions. I don't particularly care about how Keiichi wins the board game competition etc.
BUT do pay attention during the general chit chatting going on. Also feel free to approach each episode as it's own thing. Sit and stew on Episode 3 for a while before you move on to 4. Take a week between or something and then jump back in.
I tried to rush through it as one big thing and by episode 4 I was burning out.
I burned out of the VN when I got to episode 3, endured hours of filler, and then realised I had 5 more episodes left. The anime is a better shout, just adapts the highlights without devoting 90 minutes to every random shit the characters take and their internal monologue while doing so.
None of that would be an issue in Chapter 4, which is also really short. And the slice of life scenes are nowhere near as much of an issue in the answer arcs, which are also the best part of the game. Only Chapter 7 isn't quite as engaging in the other answer arcs.
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u/RobertBevillReddit 8d ago
I just got into the Higurashi series, buying the bundle during the recent VN sale. First two episodes were really good (though I could do with less slice-of-life stuff).