‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 7 review: “Determination”

Mourning takes many different, desperate, and despondent forms in the haunting The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7. There’s no longer any question of whether or not the series, based on the manga from Mokumokuren, is the highlight of the summer anime season – if not, ultimately, the year. Yet the series continues to surprise with how it manifests and reimagines, yet honors the source material for its adaptation. Each episode has at least one moment of startling emotional vitality or visual intrigue that burrows further into the gaping well of grief festering and propelling the story forward.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that, once again, Yoshiki (Chiaki Kobayashi)  is really going through it. His depression and persistent fatigue are a mainstay of the character, and yet, despite all that he’s witnessed, it reaches its peak in “Determination.” Because it’s not just that he’s trying to grapple with unresolved emotions and the isolation that comes with being the one person with the whole truth, it’s that he knows what Hikaru (Shūichirō Umeda) is capable of – what he or it is willing to do. And with that comes next-level self-loathing as he must contend with what it means to be cognizant of such vile potential and do nothing about it.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7 takes an interesting narrative standpoint. On the one hand, it’s a definitive ending. Yoshiki throws a going-away party for his version of Hikaru. They skip school and go to the movies to see their favorite series on the big screen (a hilarious, rebranding of HunterxHunter.) Yoshiki treats him to desserts at the convenience store and wins him a gacha of their favorite characters. The sequence, despite their laughter, is punctuated by the somber music of their school choir. It’s a contrast of tone and elements. The indoor, shadowy lighting of the school auditorium contrasted with the wide open spaces of the countryside—the everyday antics of teenage boys with the heaviness of Hikaru’s existence. The choral music illuminates these fissures as Yoshiki seemingly wades into the tentative acceptance pool of grief.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7 is a turning point for the series.

He even promises Hikaru another tomorrow. All before he stabs him in the stomach to stop Hikaru from harming another person. Only for him to learn that Hikaru can’t seemingly be killed. The expected twist of the moment – the reaction – doesn’t come. Hikaru is sad that Yoshiki tried to kill him. Especially since it was due to Yoshiki wanting to give him a good last memory. But he’s sadder still at Yoshiki asking Hikaru to kill him if the reverse isn’t possible. And it’s here where we see the full extent of Yoshiki’s mental state, something that becomes clear to Hikaru too.

Here is another ending. The ending of this “Hikaru’s” naivete. To a degree, at least. This Hikaru realizes that humans may not be able to comprehend death the way he does. To him, death is just another new form to take, rather than something to mourn or fear. But he does realize that if he kills Yoshiki, they won’t get to eat ice cream together again. And it’s that simplistic, childlike realization that has him reconsidering his actions. So, instead, he physically looks inward, squashes up part of his insides, and, in one of the most bleak proposals, offers it to Yoshiki as a sign of understanding. He’s made himself smaller, and now it will be much harder for him to hurt anyone.

Yoshiki, by stabbing Hikaru, severs his desire for things to return to normal and want of easy acceptance. And by accepting this new form of him, a new journey starts. A journey where the two will begin to look into what Hikaru is. It’s cyclical and vague, muddied by good intentions and harmful decisions. The series maintains its coming-of-age narrative despite the horrific elements that persist.

The bridge between acceptance, regret, and, to a degree, hope, expands through the lyrics of the song the students sing. A song which, over the credits, is sung by just the two lead actors. In it, they sing to dear friends about joy, woe, and bliss. The pleasure of seeing the “gleaming shadow of our days and chase after it,” the woe of “imagining that wandering soul” and chasing after it. The bliss of opening the wandering soul, to “never forget” and keep “chasing onward.”

This show is just so good. Because it takes this minute element of a choir performance and builds the thesis statement of the series into the lyricism of this fictional song. Meanwhile, the animation remains stunning, especially as the world around them grows brighter and more expansive despite the darkening of Yoshiki’s soul. There’s something so poignant about the imposing mountains that stole Hikaru, and how sparkling and enticing the ocean appears. The former offers death, the latter, life, and the divided ways in which Yoshiki can accept Hikaru. The one who left and the one who’s here – the one who’d like to go to the beach with him again.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7 hits every right note. This is sublime, emotional storytelling. And, like DanDaDan, continues to understand that the purpose of anime adaptations is to elevate and amplify the strengths of the source material while conjuring up some sort of sense through music or the specificities of visual language that the manga on its own can’t manifest. The series pushes the limits of animation and, in doing so, delivers an impactful story of grief and a stunning display of the groundbreaking effects of an animation team firing on all cylinders.

The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7 is available now on Netflix. 

Allyson Johnson

Based in New England, Allyson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.