The horror manga series The Summer Hikaru Died has gotten an anime adaptation of the same name, which is soon coming to Netflix globally. Japan-based advertising agency CyberAgent announced the anime adaptation with a new teaser.
Written and illustrated by Mokumokuren, the manga series tells the story of ordinary high school boy, Yoshiki, who experiences various mysterious incidents in his life with Hikaru, a mysterious being who imitates his best friend Hikaru Indou. Consisting of five volumes, the ongoing manga is published by Tokyo’s Kadokawa (Gamera Rebirth, Code Geass, Dog Days).
The anime film will be produced by CygamesPictures (subsidiary of video game developer Cygames), with animation direction by Ryohei Takeshita (Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night, Jujutsu Kaisen and Pokémon: Paldean Winds). Takeshita shared, “When I first read the original work, I remember reading the pages with excitement, wondering what kind of expression I should use to express the frames of the original story in the animation. The entire staff has been working earnestly on the original work in order to skillfully animate not only the delicate emotions of Yoshiki and Hikaru, two young boys struggling to understand each other, but also the beautiful and innovative manga structure, so please look forward to the release.”
The chief animation director and character designer of the anime is Yuichi Takahashi (Blue Giant and Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time), with Masanobu Hiraoka as the Dorodoro animator.
Shuichiro Umeda, the voice of Hikaru Indou shared, “I will be playing the role of Hikaru in the anime The Summer Hikaru Died. It was a new experience for me to play the role of Hikaru, and at the same time, it was like looking into the darkness. I am uncertain about many things in my mind and body, but I am certain that I want to stay with Yoshiki, so I will play his role with a strong sense of that feeling. I went into the audition with that in mind. I will do my best to play the role.”
Chiaki Kobayashi, the voice of Yoshiki Tsujinaka expressed, “I am pleased to take on the role of Yoshiki. From the time of the audition, I was swept up in a jumble of emotions: I shouldn’t be with him, but I want him to be with me; I’m scared, but comfortable with him; and I’m not sure what to do. I will do my best to pull out all Yoshiki’s feelings and melancholy by mobilizing all my blood, flesh, and bones. Since various values are intermingled in today’s society, I hope that many people will watch this anime. Please look forward to its release.”
The Summer Hikaru Died will be released sometime in summer 2025 globally on Netflix.