If you haven’t come across The Summer Hikaru Died yet, it’s likely you’ll soon be intrigued enough to hit that ‘add to watchlist’ button on Netflix once you check out its first trailer. This intriguing mix of slice-of-life and horror might not be what you typically expect from either genre, yet here it combines to create something hauntingly captivating. Originally serialized in 2021 and still releasing new chapters today, this manga delves into the lives of Yoshiki and Hikaru in a quaint Japanese town. Life seems to flow quietly until a fateful day when Hikaru meets an untimely end, only to be replaced by a mysterious, otherworldly entity, leaving Yoshiki grappling with the unsettling truth about his friend’s reality. After much anticipation, the trailer for the anime adaptation has finally dropped, and it embodies every bit of the eerie atmosphere fans hoped for.
Dive into the trailer above. It doesn’t reveal a whole lot, but it certainly sets the right mood. Ryohei Takeshita is at the helm as director, a name you might recognize from his directorial work on Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night. The cast includes Chiaki Kobayashi, whose voice you may remember from Hell’s Paradise and Reynatis, taking on the role of Yoshiki. Opposite him, Shuichiro Umeda, known for his roles in Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, voices the enigmatic Hikaru.
Takeshita shared some insights, expressing, “Reading the original work was a thrilling experience, and I spent time thinking about how to translate its imagery into animation. Our team put in great effort to portray the nuanced emotions of Yoshiki and Hikaru and stay true to the manga’s unique and stunning narrative style. We’re eager for you to see what we’ve created.”
While we don’t have a specific release date just yet, you can expect it to hit screens in the second half of 2025. So, the wait won’t be too long before you can dive into this hauntingly beautiful series.
