Series Review: The Summer Hikaru Died

The Summer Hikaru Died
Director: Ryōhei Takeshita
CygamesPictures, Netflix
Streaming on Netflix: 07.06.2025

True horror anime can be pretty hard to come by. Sure, you have your more psychological ones like Perfect Blue and Paranoia Agent or campy, yet effective ones like Shiki or Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. Others are more surreal and artistic like Mononoke, and you can’t forget your gore-fests like Elfen Lied and Another. That is without even going into the plethora of animes that brand themselves as action-horror like Berserk, Gantz and Devilman: Crybaby. My point is that for a lot of these shows, the horror element is not the main draw. However, The Summer Hikaru Died thrives off its horror-mystery premise.

In a small town, two boys, Yoshiki Tsujinaka (Chiaki Kobayashi, Great Pretender), and Hikaru Indou (Shûichiro Umeda, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead) are enjoying a frozen treat in the summer heat. Yoshiki, in a listless manner, turns to Hikaru and says, “You’re not Hikaru, are you?” That is where the mystery begins. As more and more supernatural activity envelopes their small town, Yoshiki and the Hikaru imposter try to figure out what this entity is and the dreaded, disturbing past of their remote village.

This series knows how to create an ever-present sense of dread. It is thick and palpable. Mix that with the stunning animation from CygamesPictures, the same company responsible for Umamusume and some top-notch sound design, and you end up with some truly haunting imagery that lingers in your memory. The supernatural elements are surreal and capture the essence of what makes J-horror great. It can be slow and shocking, swallowing you up in a foreboding atmosphere.

In terms of sound, I find it necessary to highlight the amazing performances given by all the seiyuus. Kobayashi’s soft-spoken and reserved delivery plays perfectly off of Umeda’s more curious and excitable performance. While I wouldn’t call the voice acting completely naturalistic, I do commend the choice to go for a more subdued approach for the voices, rather than the overly cutesy, high-pitched vocals that is all too common in anime. It helps with immersing you into the world and feeling the terror even more.

Also, I can’t talk about this show without diving into the themes. To call this series a queer story shouldn’t be a stretch, but having traversed through the hellscape of anime fan bros, I know there will be a loud minority insistent on the fact that Yoshiki and Hikaru are just friends. I’m sorry, but last I checked “friends” don’t go sticking their hands inside the other’s chest and saying “it feels good.” Also, the story would not bring up the village’s intolerance of homosexuality for no reason.

Despite that categorization, I’m hesitant to label it as a boys’ love, mainly because, while the story does put a heavy emphasis on Yoshiki and “Hikaru’s” relationship, it is much less focused on the romantic tension, but more the toxicity and codependency of it all. It’s confronting the ideas of attachment and letting go, especially when it comes to grief. That is where the true horror lies – Yoshiki needing to accept that the most important person in his life is gone, but finding himself unable to. Not only because an entity is wearing Hikaru’s face and mimicking his mannerisms and behavior perfectly, but because there is still a part of himself he hasn’t fully come to terms with. The visual motif of Yoshiki’s bangs obscuring the scene whenever we see things through his POV clues us into this shame he feels. Meanwhile, “Hikaru’s” parasitic devotion to Yoshiki causes his more murderous tendencies to emerge in an effort to “stay with him.”

As far as criticisms go, it is important to remember that this is just one season of a still-ongoing story, so some of the side characters may not be fully fleshed out. Also, as someone who enjoys a good anime opening here and there, the visuals are great and have a lot to dig into, I’m just not a fan of the song they chose for the opening theme. Good thing Netflix has a skip intro button.

Momokuren has truly written a modern classic with The Summer Hikaru Died. The characters are unique and nuanced, the art is beautiful and the story pulls you in with each reveal. The mystery is intriguing, while fully utilizing the supernatural aspects of the story. I can’t wait to watch the second season. —Angela Garcia

Read more reviews from Angela Garcia:
Film Review: The Long Walk
SLUG Magazine Presents: 31 Nights of Secondhand Screenings