Think about this example for a second: you’re again in highschool together with your greatest good friend and wish to hang around with him over the weekend. Although he oddly rejects your supply by saying he has to hike up a mountain, for no matter cause, you are taking all of it in stride because you don’t need to invade their privateness. These days turn into extra terrifying than you ever imagined, as he doesn’t return when he’s presupposed to and finally ends up lacking for a complete week. Miraculously, your greatest good friend is discovered alive, however one thing is off. He’s not performing like himself. Not solely does he appear to be enthusiastic about each little factor, however there’s additionally one thing very completely different in his eyes. You lastly muster up the braveness to confront him. Your suspicions had been appropriate. Your greatest good friend is lifeless. However one way or the other, his physique has been taken over by one thing very, very unusual.
That is what occurs in Netflix’s latest anime, The Summer time Hikaru Died. Initially launched on-line 4 years in the past and subsequently revealed as a manga in 2022, writer Mokumokuren has crafted a tiny, idyllic world that slowly unravels via the views of two teenage boys, Yoshiki Tsujinaka and Hikaru. They’ve been greatest associates for a really very long time, residing via good occasions and dangerous collectively. Yoshiki has even developed secret emotions for Hikaru. This premise units up an intriguing story. However as famous above, issues get unusual (and nicely, scary) when Hikaru returns after lacking for every week. All he informed Yoshiki relating to this journey was, “I acquired plans that day. I’m heading to the mountains.” We don’t but know why he deliberate to go there, however primarily based on what occurred within the first episode and a few on-line info, we will summarize what this body-snatcher-esque, mysterious entity is perhaps.
‘The Summer time Hikaru Died’ Presents a Complicated Monster
The Summer time Hikaru Died
- Launch Date
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July 6, 2025
- Community
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Nippon TV
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Chiaki Kobayashi
Yoshiki Tsujinaka (voice)
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Shuichiro Umeda
Hikaru Indo (voice)
The Summer time Hikaru Died takes place six months after Hikaru’s bodily abduction, so Yoshiki had a while to type his accusatory response. As you’ll be able to see, this new model of Hikaru immediately dropped the facade and admitted proper then and there that Yoshiki was appropriate. They’re each sitting in entrance of a small market throughout this scene and, utilizing the kaleidoscope-like impact of the shop window, the monster’s true type slowly slithers out of Hikaru’s physique, pleading at first, however then outright threatening Yoshiki to not do something with this info or else he’ll kill him.
That is the primary time we see the true bodily type of this otherworldly creature: slimy, slithering, grotesque, and able to distorting Hikaru’s physique in any contorted method it chooses. A purple, inexperienced, and black tentacle oozes out of Hikaru’s eyes, revealing some, however not all, of this mysterious being.
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From only one episode alone, the viewers can see that Yoshiki is consumed by guilt, despair, and a large number of different sorrowful feelings for his beloved one. This model of Hikaru even tells Yoshiki that he likes him lots, unaware that Yoshiki has emotions for the boy whose physique he now inhabits. Given Yoshiki’s quite a few and tearful reactions to the actions of this Hikaru, this Netflix-exclusive adaptation is losing no time pulling on the heartstrings of each viewer on the market.
Nonetheless, we can’t neglect the homicide of Outdated Woman Matsuura on the finish of the episode, which serves as a reminder that this isn’t all about love. The Summer time Hikaru Died just isn’t coping with a ghost or an alien, however a cosmic horror. These seven volumes (to this point) of the manga assist with discovering out what’s really taken maintain of Hikaru. Spoilers forward.
What Actually Took Over Hikaru’s Physique in ‘The Summer time Hikaru Died’?
The entity that has taken over Hikaru is an immortal creature that got here out of a paranormal-type gateway gap hidden in Kubitachi’s mountains. This gap results in the opposite facet, a airplane the place non-living issues reside — impurities, illegitimate entities, and all types of different nasty issues. The entity that inhabits Hikaru’s individual can talk with different spirits, put a trance on impurities, and heal itself, in addition to invade an individual’s thoughts. Hikaru’s insides spill out when the entity turns into too emotional or when it desires to devour a soul.
Earlier than inhabiting a dying Hikaru, this factor described life as urge-free, solely centered on doing its job of balancing this world with the opposite facet, which meant containing the impurities that sneak via the varied holes. However this “spawn” actually needed to expertise life, and commenced to take action by inhabiting Hikaru’s dying physique.
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Sure, there are three different openings — in Ashidori, Udekari, and Kibogayame — and all of those act as a type of freeway for the impurities. Together with two extra inactive holes and the folklore surrounding a god of needs known as Nounuki-sama (who the city used to sacrifice human heads to), there may be definitely lots occurring in Yoshiki and Hikaru’s story. The villagers even imagine that Nounuki-sama is perhaps the one possessing Hikaru! Regardless of the case could also be, definitive solutions can be revealed extra as The Summer time Hikaru Died continues, premiering new episodes each Saturday on Netflix.