people who don't like the original sprites of higurashi/umineko are weak in my opinion. but i must confess that that used to be me. i too read the novels with the updated sprites first. that is something i will never be able to do undo regardless of how much i paint over the truth. but i saw the light, eventually. i found the earnest love that i had previously tossed aside so carelessly in favor of what i used to consider prettier! all it took was to open my mind just a little bit and consider things from different angles. and soon i was able to appreciate all the little things in the original sprites that the updated ones lack!!
what i wanted to say is, growth is possible. change is okay. read ryukishis novels with his sprites.