Written by Melly Merida
Minors Spoilers Ahead
The Summer Hiakru Died is the latest, thrilling, coming-of-age horror anime series on Netflix. The series is an exciting watch that first appears as a coming-of-age series, but quickly delves into areas of pure terror.
The series revolves around a boy named Indou Hikaru, who ventures into the mountains near his hometown, Kubitachi, and then goes missing for an entire week. When the village search party finds Hikaru, but what comes back isn’t Hikaru. It is an imposter who looks, acts, and sounds just like him, and the only one who knows the imposter’s true identity is the main protagonist, Tsujinaka Yoshiki.
The series does a fantastic job of shifting from a horror/body horror to a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story, carrying a message about handling the loss of a dear friend. Yoshiki and the real Hikaru used to share a loving bond, but when the imposter arrives, it twists this bond into something more parasitic
“Hikaru” or Unuki-sama (as some villagers call it) attaches itself to Yoshiki like a parasite, dragging the protagonist into a codependent relationship. Unuki-sama constantly sticks to Yoshiki’s side because it needs him to feel like a human, as much as Yoshiki needs it to fill the space Hikaru left behind. This is a powerful, ancient creature that will do whatever it can to keep the life that it stole and protect the person who will keep its secret safe. Whether by consuming an evil spirit or murdering someone who knows too much, while still carrying an upbeat and naive attitude that almost makes it look sympathetic.
Yoshiki has dreams of going to the city. After discovering Hikaru’s dead body and getting involved with Unuki-Sama, he closes himself off from family and friends. Going through an arc similar to the five stages of grief: he denies and bargains, trying to deny that Hikaru is gone and that he’s okay with this creature replacing his childhood best friend. He experiences depression throughout these four episodes, missing the days when Hikaru used to be normal. Still, his emotions explode into anger when he tells Unuki-Sama that he will never be Hikaru. Then he accepts that things will never be the same again and, out of sympathy, chooses to teach this new “Hikaru” how to be human.
When the first episode starts, the viewer gets immediately hooked into the story, with amazing animation of Yoshiki running through the mountains to Hikaru, on the verge of death, reaching out from this ever-flowing web of horrifying bacteria (this can be mildly triggering to those with trypophobia). Even when “Hikaru” is first introduced, half of his face melts into that web, its gross texture reaching closer to Yoshiki. Along with multiple disgusting images of microscopic bacteria wriggling across the screen and of creepy-crawling bugs constantly appearing within scenes regarding “Hikaru,” it grants a skin-crawling feeling that adds to the level of horror.
The first two episodes portray a daily life in Kubitachi, with Yoshiki regularly going to school, meeting up with friends, and hanging out with “Hikaru.” Every scene fills with a warm light, almost like an average slice of life anime. It’s that slice of life/coming of age energy that may have moments of hilarity; however, there’s a consistent foreboding weight that hangs over Yoshiki every moment he remembers that “Hikaru” isn’t the Hikaru. The real Hikaru haunts the story’s narrative, plaguing Yoshiki’s mind now and then by appearing in flashbacks of their happiest times together before he went into the mountains.
The Summer Hikaru Died< also has a bit of mystery mixed in the mesh of the other two genres. After the end of episode one, a group of villagers is aware of Unuki-Sama arriving at their village, and of what Hikaru was doing up in those mountains. Each episode slowly unravels into a much bigger story as the show reveals this odd connection Hikaru’s family has with Unuki-Sama, and a ritual they must perform to protect the person they’re closest to from this creature. As the story expands, it raises questions that later episodes will, hopefully, soon answer.
This writer is excited to see how The Summer Hikaru Died will unfold, as it continues to excite my taste in horror. If you’re a horror anime fan who likes a dash of coming of age and mystery mixed in, this is certainly your cup of tea. Through August and September, episodes of this series will be released on Netflix.
