Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu

It has been six months since Yoshiki Tsujinaka's best friend, Hikaru Indou, went missing in the mountains and returned a week later with no recollection of what had transpired. Certain that it is not the Hikaru he knows who came back, Yoshiki finally asks Hikaru about it. Suddenly, "Hikaru" reveals his true monstrous form and begs Yoshiki to keep it a secret, as he does not want to kill him.

Despite his paranormal nature, "Hikaru" seems almost innocent, full of childlike wonder and eager to experience the summer heat, the countryside, and all kinds of other things in a human body for the first time. And for Yoshiki, it matters little if "Hikaru" is a fake relying on stolen memories—as long as he never leaves again. As Yoshiki desperately clings to "Hikaru" in his intense grief, it becomes increasingly clear that something dangerous and supernatural may have descended from the mountains into their village.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Indou, Hikaru Main

Umeda, Shuuichirou Japanese

Tsujinaka, Yoshiki Main

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Yamagishi, Asako Supporting

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

Tanaka Supporting

Kobayashi, Chikahiro Japanese

Tadokoro, Yuuki Supporting

Wakayama, Shion Japanese

Kurebayashi, Rie Supporting

Kowaka, Wakana Japanese

Maki, Yuuta Supporting

Nakajima, Yoshiki Japanese

Matsuura no Baasan Supporting

Sugiyama, Kazuko Japanese

Kurebayashi, Iori Supporting

Matsumoto, Sara Japanese

Satou Supporting

Lynn Japanese

Kurakane, Chiaki Producer

Fujiwara, Toshinori Producer

Ueuchi, Kenta Producer

Kabashima, Manami Producer

Reviews

Feb 21, 2026

blackbunshin

Recommended

This is so good, seriously!

It has everything you'd expect to see on a typical summer shoujo anime (festivals, beach trips, the sound of cicadas), but the atmosphere is insanelly dark... and it's two dudes, of course. I'm a scaredy-cat but no anime has ever made me feel so scared like this one. At the same time, everything ends up being so bittersweet, because the protagonist (Yoshiki) is facing a tough dilemma: his best friend is gone and in his place there's a monster who looks and talks just like him. He doesn't want to be alone, but he soon realizes it won't be that easy ... to live with that new reality. Their relationship goes back and forth and back again and you get to experience the same fear and relief as Yoshiki, one after the other, as the story progresses. Just like him, there are times will feel like the whole situation is unsalvageable and then you'll be happy it isn't over. Like, OMG HOW CAN YOU NOT GO INSANE JUST THINKING ABOUT IT? JUST WATCH IT AND COME FREAK OUT ABOUT IT WITH THE REST OF US!!! And yes, there's a deeper lore behind the whole story that gets more and more intriguing the more they look at it. It's an anime for all tastes!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 14, 2026

Zonna

Mixed Feelings

With how the title goes I honestly I expected more from this story. To be honest I think the story should've went a completely different direction but it ended up too much on the romance side and not enough on the horror side towards the end. With how Hiraku is supposed to be this demonic eldritch horror being, I expected there to be much more tension and less human feelings comming from the character. There was too much info dump and the horror elements were underwhelming as I expected for the consequences of Hiraku's presence to cause much bigger consequences and more often. We only ... really got like two scary instances really... I also really hoped to see Hiraku act unhuman and strange whenever people were not around him to highlight how unnatural he was but I did not get that either from this anime. I wasn't a fan of how the people just easily accepted that a demon, which they acknowledge can massacre the town, is living among them now and tried to protect him.

I liked the potrayal of psychological torment Yoshiki was going thorugh in the beginning, but like I said, I don't think he should have ever accepted the demon Hiraku. I think the story would have been much more eerie both on the horror and romance side if we got to see Yoshiki try and protect Hiraku from the town BECAUSE he couldn't accept the fact this wasn't him and in his head it was still Hiraku, the mixing part would make way more sense then too.

The cinematography carried most of my overall rating honestly, because the animation, sound and angles are really immersive. But the story itself I think is a bit disappointing which hurts to say as a hard BL fan.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 12, 2026

Reikonm

Not Recommended

When I started The Summer Hikaru Died, I was super hyped and excited. The premise was interesting right away, and the mysterious atmosphere really gave me chills. The show does a great job at pulling you in at the beginning with its unsettling tone and intriguing setup.

That said, while the story is still good, it starts to feel a bit inconsistent as it goes on. There are a lot of unanswered questions and plot holes that make parts of the story feel unfinished. The pacing is also very slow, and sometimes it feels like the story keeps circling around the same ideas without moving forward, ... which became frustrating at times.

Visually and audibly, the anime is fantastic. The sound design and the overall atmosphere are mesmerizing and really help build the eerie feeling the show is going for. Unfortunately, the strong presentation can’t fully make up for the narrative issues.

What started as a very interesting and chilling story gradually became boring for me. It also feels like the creators weren’t always sure what direction they wanted to take with the characters or the plot.

Overall, while The Summer Hikaru Died has a great atmosphere and strong audiovisual presentation, the slow pacing and unresolved story elements made it hard for me to fully enjoy. Because of that, I personally wouldn’t recommend it, even though it had a lot of potential.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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a memorable experience

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Personalised recommendations

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The 12th and final episode of Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu (The Summer Hikaru Died) ended with an announcement on Sunday that a second season is in production. The officia...read more

Sep 27, 2025 10:37 AM by Syureria | Discuss (9 comments)

Summer 2025 Simulcast List [Update 8/7]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Summer 2025 season. Anime series licensed for hom...read more

Jun 27, 2025 2:20 PM by Snow | Discuss (17 comments)

	Poll: Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jul 5, 2025	262 replies	by _risakoizumi »» Mar 25, 2:01 PM
	Poll: Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Sep 27, 2025	194 replies	by erin92 »» Mar 19, 3:14 AM
	Poll: Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - Jul 12, 2025	221 replies	by xliyz3664 »» Mar 14, 12:14 AM
	Poll: Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jul 26, 2025	130 replies	by RKASHYAP621 »» Mar 12, 2:07 AM
	Poll: Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jul 19, 2025	168 replies	by Nachoalpe »» Mar 3, 12:03 PM