Back in 2023, the folks at Yen Press made the pickup of the manga series The Summer Hikaru Died from creator Mokumokuren. We then learned, back on April 23rd, 2024, that an “important announcement” is due regarding the title on June 4th, 2024. We then got that confirmation in late May 2024 that it was indeed an anime. The adaptation has Ryohei Takeshita directing it from the series composition they worked on with Yuichi Takahashi serving as both character design and chief animation director at CygamesPictures.
With the show set for Netflix worldwide streaming, excluding Japan, on July 5th, 2025, the production has now brought out a new key visual in relation to the newly released seventh episode this weekend.
The Japanese cast includes:
* Chiaki Kobayashi as Yoshiki Tsujinaka
* Shūichirō Umeda as Hikaru
* Chikahiro Kobayashi as Tanaka
* Shion Wakayama as Yūki Tadokoro
* Wakana Kowaka as Rie Kurebayashi
* Yoshiki Nakajima as Yūta Maki
* Yumiri Hanamori as Asako Yamagishi
* Ikuna Kowaka as Rie Kurebayashi
Known originally as Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu, it began in 2021 as serialized in Young Ace Up for Kadokawa and has four volumes out so far with the fifth volume solicited in Japan. Yen Press releases it in English while Pika brings it out in French.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: Two boys lived in a village: Yoshiki and Hikaru. The two did everything together…until the day Hikaru was encompassed by a mysterious light. That was when everything changed — Hikaru most of all. Yoshiki still wishes from the bottom of his heart to always stay by his side…but is there even a Hikaru left to be with?
In a short span of time, The Summer Hikaru Died has captured the attention and acclaim of the manga world due to its beautiful yet grotesque art style and its depiction of a complicated love between a boy and his deceased friend whose body now houses a mysterious entity. Due to its critical acclaim in Japan and the immense popularity of horror manga in the West, The Summer Hikaru Died has become one of the most highly anticipated and frequently requested series of the past year.
