‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 10 review: “Truth”

What a chaotic episode of The Summer Hikaru Died to keep the good times rolling. Or maybe we should say the bad times, since things are starting to go off the rails. Following up on Episode 9 is a tall order. Unfortunately, Episode 10 does fall a little short in certain aspects. Fret not, though, because even with its faults, it’s a solid episode that keeps building on those that came before it.

Now that the first season is nearing its end, the lore drops are coming with each episode. At long last, the audience is given not one, but two names for Hikaru’s (Shūichirō Umeda) true identity. Additionally, the town’s history is revealed, and it’s as grim as one might have expected. Sacrifices made to Nounuki-sama were split up into different parts of the original village that corresponded with each body part. Torsos were buried in the middle, legs were buried toward the bottom, with the arms landing on the outside. The only body parts not buried and later found were heads, all thanks to the Indou family.

The mystery surrounding Hikaru’s family begins to unravel in The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 10. The Indou family temple unlocks a long-lost memory for Hikaru. The Indou’s are the ones who offer the heads to Nounuki-sama, making a wood carving of it to honor them. This memory, despite its off-putting nature, serves as a stepping stone for the current Hikaru to build his own identity upon. It sets him and Yoshiki in the right direction to learn more about who Hikaru was in the past and who he might become in the future.

Tanaka offers the smallest hint of his background.

At long last, watchers finally learn some more about Tanaka. While he’s the current antagonist, it’s hard not to feel for him when he reveals that this entire time, he’s been blind for a spiritual reason and can only see with the help of sunglasses from The Company. It’s also clear that even though they employ him, he doesn’t particularly like The Company. It’s an interesting dynamic to say the least.

As for his dynamic with the people in town, it’s clear that Tanaka isn’t well-liked. Yoshiki (Chiaki Kobayashi) was the only person in town who thought he was a nice guy — and that was all thanks to the hamster Tanaka carries around with him. But now that he hurt Hikaru, it’s obvious that he has no allies in town. His reaction to cutting off Hikaru’s head was horrifying to witness up close for Yoshiki. For someone already dealing with so much, this only sends Yoshiki deeper into the spiral he’s already spinning down.

While the aforementioned lore drops are integral, the way they’re integrated also hinders The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 10. With everything going on, it’s easy to get lost if you’re not paying close attention. Lore drops are essential for supernatural shows, but when there’s too much happening at once, it leads to confusion.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 10 goes heavy on exposition.

The name differences mentioned in the episode are the biggest example of this. Unuki-san changing to Nounuki-sama might not seem confusing, but some people watching might think they’re two different characters . This is especially true when the show glosses over it rather quickly.

The Indou history is still shrouded in some mystery despite the glimpse audiences got in Episode 10. Because the show refuses to show their whole hand regarding the history of the Indou family to anime-only watchers. If it feels like a huge chunk of important information is missing that’s because it is. What little information revealed through a flashback isn’t incomplete. We still don’t know what their “original sin” is, nor why they need to make up for it. With the end of the season looming, it seems the audience will be kept in the dark, which could be a divisive moment.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 10 is proof yet again that we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s actually happening in this town. While the plot in this episode can get a little lost with how much lore is mentioned, it’s still a solid and well-executed installment. Being human is hard, but Hikaru is trying his best to be the human Yoshiki so desperately wants him to be — even when they slowly begin to learn the sick and twisted history that surrounds him.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 10 is available now on Netflix.

Images courtesy of CygamesPictures and Netflix.

Kayla Chu

Made up of feminism, sports, and cheap wine.
Questions, comments, inquries please be sent to kaylamchu@gmail.com