The official website for the upcoming TV anime adaptation of The Summer Hikaru Died, a psychological horror manga by Mokukokuren, has released a new key visual. The image features the two main characters, Yoshiki Tsujinaka and Hikaru Indo, standing under a blue sky in Kubitachi Village, the central setting of the story.
The manga, serialized on Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace Up web imprint since August 2021, has released six tankobon volumes in Japan. It topped Kono Manga ga Sugoi!’s list for male readers in 2023 and has been ranked for several prestigious awards, including the Manga Taisho Award, Tsutaya Comic Awards, Eisner Award, and Next Manga Award.
Ryohei Takeshita, known for Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night, directs the anime adaptation at CygamesPictures, where he also serves as series composer. The character design and chief animation direction are handled by Yuichi Takahashi (Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-), with Masanobu Hiraoka, an animator for Chainsaw Man, contributing as the “Dorodoro” animator. The anime is set to premiere in summer 2025, with Netflix slated to stream the series.
Yen Press publishes the official English version of the manga and provides this synopsis:
It has Hikaru’s face. It has Hikaru’s voice. It even has Hikaru’s memories. But whatever came down from the mountains six months ago isn’t Yoshiki’s best friend. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous. Carrying on at school and hanging out as if nothing has changed—as if Hikaru isn’t gone—would be crazy…but when it looks so much like Hikaru…and acts so much like Hikaru…
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