How well do you really know your best friend? One fateful summer, Yoshiki suspects something sinister has replaced his best friend Hikaru and is now pretending to be him. The Summer Hikaru Died is officially receiving an anime adaptation that’s set to premiere during this summer.
- Release Window
- Official Teaser Trailer
- Official Trailer
- Confirmed Voice Cast
- Key Visual
- Anime Plot
- Teaser Art
- Manga
- Commemorative Illustration
Release Window
The Summer Hikaru Died will premiere on Netflix during the summer of 2025. No exact date has been announced yet.
Official Teaser Trailer
Watch the official teaser trailer for The Summer Hikaru Died below!
(Via: Netflix Anime on Youtube)
The anime adaptation of The Summer Hikaru Died will stream only on Netflix in 2025.
Here’s the list of staff members for the anime adaptation:
Director/Series Composition – Ryohei Takeshita
Character Designer/Chief Animation Director – Yuichi Takahashi
DORODORO Animator – Masanobu Hiraoka
Animation Production – CygamesPictures
Official Trailer
Watch the official Netflix trailer for The Summer Hikaru Died below!
Netflix Anime wrote this in the description of the official trailer for The Summer Hikaru Died:
Yoshiki and Hikaru live in a rural village and have been close friends since they were young.
The blazing sun…
The constant buzzing of cicadas…
Ice cream on the way home…
On a perfectly summer day, as they laugh over trivial things, Yoshiki turns to Hikaru and says: “You’re not Hikaru, are you?”
Six months earlier, Hikaru went missing in the mountains and returned unexpectedly a week later. The new Hikaru looks and sounds just like the original, but something else is stirring within him.
“Hikaru is gone…If that’s the case, then…”
Yoshiki continues spending his days with the “something” imitating Hikaru, while pretending as if nothing has changed. Meanwhile, strange incidents begin to plague the village.
Falling into the unknown “something” –
The curtains soon rise on this coming-of-age horror story.
–The Summer Hikaru Died, Netflix Anime on Youtube
Key Visual
The official X accounts for the anime, The Summer Hikaru Died, have released both Japanese and English versions of a key visual promoting the upcoming adaptation.
Anime Plot
Netflix describes the anime adaptation plot of The Summer Hikaru Died as:
Two best friends living in a rural Japanese village: Yoshiki and Hikaru. Growing up together, they were inseparable… until the day Hikaru came back from the mountains, and was no longer himself. “Something” has taken over Hikaru’s body, memories, feelings… and everything they know begins to unravel.
-The Summer Hikaru Died, Netflix
Teaser Art
Confirmed Voice Cast
The confirmed voice cast members includes:
Yoshiki Tsujinaka voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi
Hikaru Indou voiced by Shuichiro Umeda
Asako Tamagishi voiced by Yumiri Hanamori
Rie Kurebayashi voiced by Wakana Kowaka
Tanaka voiced by Chikahiro Kobayashi
Credit: @hikarugashinda on X
Credit: @hikarugashinda on X
Shuichiro Umeda who voices Hikaru Indou released an official comment regarding their role in The Summer Hikaru Died anime adaptation:
Chiaki Kobayashi who voices Yoshiki Tsujinaka released an official comment regarding their role in The Summer Hikaru Died anime adaptation:
Manga
The Summer Hikaru Died manga was created by Mokumokuren. The manga series was originally serialized in the Kadokawa Shoten’s YOUNG ACE UP in Japan in August 2021.
The series has since been published in English by Yen Press with the first volume releasing on July 18, 2023. Currently, there are six published manga volumes.
Yen Press describes the manga plot of The Summer Hikaru Died as:
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 very like Hikaru…and acts so very like Hikaru…
–The Summer Hikaru Died, Yen Press
Commemorative Illustration
Closing Thoughts…
Upon learning about this anime, I was immediately intrigued by the story. The mystery and supernatural elements pull me right in and leave me feeling curious and filled with many questions! I’ve always been drawn to supernatural stories; I love the eeriness and the suspense!
The Summer Hikaru Died will stream on Netflix during summer 2025.
Thanks as always for reading my blog,
Jessica Mohan
Works Cited:
https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/5/24/the-summer-hikaru-died-anime-announced
https://twitter.com/hikarugashinda/media
https://twitter.com/NetflixAnime/status/1861575682092081487/photo/1
https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-summer-hikaru-died-coming-soon-to-netflix
https://yenpress.com/titles/9781975360542-the-summer-hikaru-died-vol-1
https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2025/3/20/the-summer-hikaru-died-anime-key-character-visuals
The Emerald Butterfly 
Leave a comment