A tragic tale of loss and love that encompasses some horror elements and heartwrenching loneliness!!

At its heart, “The Summer Hikaru Died” can be described as a teenage romance. The main lead, Yoshiki, has unexplained feelings for his best friend, Hikaru. They almost spend most of their time together and Yoshiki likes him. But living in a closeted village isn’t the ideal condition to confess those feelings. So, Yoshiki keeps those emotions safely tucked away in his heart and acts like Hikaru’s presence doesn’t affect him much. That is, until Hikaru goes missing while hiking on a nearby mountain. The villagers arrange a search party and Hikaru is found injured, barely conscious. Everything returns to normal when Hikaru regains his consciousness. But Yoshiki senses subtle changes in his friend that make him question his identity. It is hard to explain the folklore attached to this story, it is quite comprehensible. But what keeps you invested in this anime is the dynamics between Yoshiki and the so- called duplicate who is masquerading as Hikaru.

The Storyline

Tsujinaka Yoshiki & Hikaru Indo are childhood friends. Yoshiki is extremely reserved and shy, while Hikaru is outgoing and funny. They attend the same school & the same set of friends. Yoshiki has feelings for Hikaru that extend beyond the normal barrier of friendship. One day, while hiking in the nearby mountain, Hikaru goes missing. When he is found, Hikaru is injured and lifeless. However, suddenly he recovers and returns to his overtly energetic self. No one suspects his overnight recovery and Hikaru behaves perfectly normal. But Yoshiki begins to suspect his friend’s behavior and confronts him. The current “Hikaru” ends up having a breakdown and accepts that he was a mystical creature living in the mountains. While Hikaru died on the mountain trail, he entered Hikaru’s body and took over it. Since he possesses Hikaru’s memories, it was easy for him to impersonate Hikaru.

The Chemistry

The crux of the story remains the inexplicable relationship between Yoshiki and Hikaru. Yoshiki never confesses his true feelings to Hikaru and misses the chance when Hikaru suddenly dies. Even after discovering that the current Hikaru is an impersonator, Yoshiki decides to defend him. Despite being devastated over his friend’s death, he accepts the fake Hikaru. He realizes that the only way he could remain beside Hikaru is, by accepting this alternate reality where Hikaru’s body has been occupied by an alien. The alien likes Yoshiki and wants to stay close to him, but there are no romantic inclinations.

Final Impressions

“The Summer Hikaru Died” has a complex landscape and is unpredictable, but the storytelling keeps you going!

The storyline is quite complex to explain. The new Hikaru acts and behaves in exactly the same fashion as the original one. But beneath that veneer, he is still an unknown entity who has no comprehension of feelings or emotions. He doesn’t understand humanity and, apart from Yoshiki, his presence is dangerous to everyone in the village. Even when Yoshiki discovers that the alien is actually an odd deity who was eventually abandoned, his powers and present identity still remain unexplained. I’m wondering what Season Two will bring forth!!

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- Netflix