The Next Big Deal: ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’

With its relentless melancholy and understated tragedy, The Summer Hikaru Died finds solace in the macabre. Written and illustrated by Mokumokuren, the series recently announced its anime adaptation, arriving in 2025. For manga fans, there’s a high bar to live up to. Mokumokuren’s artwork is defiantly strange and tantalizing, as it invites readers in only to subsequently break their hearts and unnerve them. 

Appealing to the story’s emotional core, the manga manages to combine a coming-of-age story with an atypical twist. 

What is The Summer Hikaru Died?

A haunting and sometimes gruesome coming-of-age story, The Summer Hikaru Died is not a misleading title. One night, Hikaru goes missing in the mountains that line his and his best friend, Yoshiki’s, rural town. A week later, Hikaru returns, at least in terms of appearances. At first glance, there’s nothing wrong about this Hikaru despite his near-death experience. He talks the same and has the same interests, and he and Yoshiki are still attached at the hip. 

However, one of the best moves of the manga, and one of the first, is the revelation that this Hikaru isn’t Hikaru, and only Yoshiki can tell. Hikaru did die that day in the mountains, but before he passed a mysterious eldritch consumed him; taking over his body and personality. Maintaining Hikaru’s memories, appearance, and demeanor creates an uncanny valley experience for Yoshiki. He misses his best friend and must be content with the morality of loving someone who is both gone and standing before him. 

The series darkens further with the arrival of other spirits and hunters, their small town terrorized by unlikely figures. But at its core, the series contends with the heart and what it means to want to stay by the side of someone who is seen as monstrous. Created by mangaka Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died began serialization on Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace Up website in 2021. Mokumokuren, before being approached for serialization, started the story by posting drawings on Twitter. Now five tankōbon volumes deep, the series is reaching the apex of its popularity through the recent announcement of an anime series in development. 

Friendship or something more? 

The relationship between the reserved, pessimistic Yoshiki and the sunny, outgoing Hikaru is the heart and soul of The Summer Hikaru Died. Despite only meeting Hikaru past his actual death, their relationship is the buoy that keeps them afloat. This Hikaru imprints himself on Yoshiki, and it’s Yoshiki who manages to suggest that there’s more to life than simple black-and-white beliefs. This new Hikaru doesn’t initially believe that life is worth cherishing. But through Yoshiki’s desperate pleas and belief, he changes his perspective as his world tilts on its axis. 

But their camaraderie reaches more profound than just friendship. As Yoshiki makes contact with Hikaru’s inner substance (or is it his soul?), the relationship redefines itself. Yoshiki is both disgusted by this new Hikaru and also drawn to and protective of him. They’re both each other’s saviors and paths to destruction. They’re in love, but not really. The queer undertones of the story are apparent even if not textually stated. 

Here are two boys who find one another in a town where old, traditional ideals are paramount. A town that wards off evil spirits and invites traveling mediums in to disperse any interlopers. Of course, they’d gravitate towards one another while both alive — and of course, in death, they’d still huddle close. For all of the horror that creeps around the corners of the pages, the story of two teenagers facing the othering of being seen as a monster is the most vital and emotionally potent. 

A distinctive style. 

The artwork by Mokumokuren is immediately arresting. The character design of Yoshiki and Hikaru is particularly strong. As the story darkens, so too do the circles under Yoshiki’s eyes. Hikaru is imbued with an impish, boyish style that relays his youth and the nefarious undercurrent of the spirit possessing his body. Through the design and the clumsy movement conveyed in the manga, they’re believable teenagers, too young to carry such burdens. 

You only need to flip through the opening pages to understand Mokumokuren’s art style. When Yoshiki first confronts Hikaru, and his facade melts away, we’re struck by the sheer inventiveness as his face warps and contorts. One half weeping and begging Yoshiki to keep his secret, the other unleashing its full power and inhuman nature. 

A different type of scary.

The horror of the story conveys itself more through tone than abrupt visuals. There are no obvious jump scares but instead a focus on the frights that happen in the corner of your eye. Capturing an unsettling unease that anxiously works its way under our skin, the horror induces the feeling of being home late at night and worried about seeing a reflection through a window. 

It’s the threat of fear that makes the story so impactful. The horror is minimalism and used sparingly. We spend as much time learning about these characters as we do investigating the monsters and paranormal, which makes any threat to them more impactful. Mokumokuren’s utilization of darkness creates an oppressive environment. The world is slowly unfolding, and we can only see as much as they allow. 

But throughout the body horror, shocking reveals, and Yoshiki’s increasingly deteriorating mental space, it’s the heartache that remains. Aching like a tender bruise we can’t help but press on, The Summer Hikaru Died is a startling exploration of grief and the trials of adolescence. Despite the otherworldly aspects that pepper the story and the looming threat of encroaching dark forces, what is most striking is the fear of losing a friend, even if he’s just an echo of who he used to be. 

The Summer Hikaru Died Volumes 1–3 are available now.

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Images courtesy of Yen Press/©KADOKAWA