The Summer Hikaru Died
The Summer Hikaru Died
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The Summer Hikaru Died

8.2
Yr 2025
Rt 24m
Status Returning Series
Animation Drama Mystery Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Your Verdict
Unrated

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Series Brief

Overview

Six months ago, Hikaru vanished for a week. Now, as his best friend Yoshiki senses something amiss and confronts him, the harrowing truth emerges.

Critical Reception

What critics are saying

Score 90 /100

Critics are widely praising The Summer Hikaru Died as a standout anime release for 2025, highlighting its striking blend of supernatural horror, grief, and queer themes. Reviewers note that the series makes an immediate emotional and terrifying impression, establishing an unsettling atmosphere right from its opening episodes.

The show's visceral tension and eerie plot—following a grief-stricken boy confronting an entity wearing his friend's body—have earned high marks. While some reviewers noted minor pacing bumps in early subplots, the overall consensus frames the series as a chilling, compelling, and must-watch heavy hitter.

“one of the best anime series of 2025”

“The Summer Hikaru Died is sure to be a heavy hitter for Netflix among anime fans and can only get scarier from here.”

“makes it clear that the Netflix series is a must watch for 2025.”

Transmission Paths

Where to Watch

Netflix
US • CA • UK
Netflix Standard with Ads
CA • US • UK
Why fans love it

The Summer Hikaru Died balances the intimacy of a boys' love story against the mounting dread of psychological horror. Rooted in a supernatural disappearance, the series functions as a slow-burning mystery where the central bond between two teenagers is compromised by an unsettling replacement. The animation style emphasizes the hazy, melancholic atmosphere of a rural summer that transforms into something far more hostile.

Chiaki Kobayashi leads the voice cast in a narrative that prioritizes character instability over cheap shocks. By focusing on the tension between shared history and the reality of a friend who is no longer quite human, the show avoids falling into familiar genre tropes. It is a sharp study of grief and obsession, grounded in a setting where the past refuse to stay buried.

Featured Players

Cast

Credited 52
Regulars 11
Longest run 7 eps
Chiaki Kobayashi
Chiaki Kobayashi
as Yoshiki Tsujinaka (voice)
Shuichiro Umeda
Shuichiro Umeda
as Hikaru Indo (voice)
Chikahiro Kobayashi
Chikahiro Kobayashi
as Tanaka (voice)
Wakana Kowaka
Wakana Kowaka
as Rie Kurebayashi (voice)
Yumiri Hanamori
Yumiri Hanamori
as Asako Yamagishi (voice)
Yoshiki Nakajima
Yoshiki Nakajima
as Yuta Maki (voice)
Shion Wakayama
Shion Wakayama
as Yuki Tadokoro (voice)
Ryoko Shiraishi
Ryoko Shiraishi
as Satoko Tsujinaka (voice)
7 episodes
Show 44 more
Fuminori Komatsu as Toshinori Tsujinaka (voice) 6 episodes Seika Hirose as Kaoru Tsujinaka (voice) 7 episodes Setsuji Sato as Harasen (voice) 7 episodes Koji Ishii as Hajime Takeda (voice) 7 episodes Bin Shimada as Tetsu Mikasa (voice) 4 episodes Lynn as Satou (voice) 2 episodes Takayuki Sugo as Old Man Takeda (voice) 3 episodes Kazuko Sugiyama as Ms. Matsuura (voice) 1 episode Kousuke Goto as Matsushima (voice) 2 episodes Masatomo Nakazawa as Kohei Indo (voice) 5 episodes Yuki Urushiyama as Hikaru Indo (Childhood) (voice) 7 episodes Mika Kanda as Music Teacher (voice) 1 episode Natsumi Kawaida as Yoshiki Tsujinaka (Childhood) (voice) 5 episodes Chie Nakamura as Yuki Indo (voice) 3 episodes Akihiko Toba as TV Audio (voice) 3 episodes Sayuri Sadaoka as Middle-aged Woman (voice) 1 episode Saori Higashi as Brains (voice) 2 episodes Kouichi Souma as Mr. Kameyama (voice) 2 episodes Natsu Yorita as Store Clerk (voice) 5 episodes Ikuji Nose as Villager (voice) 1 episode Yukiko Mannaka as Matsuura's Daughter (voice) 3 episodes Yu Miyazaki as Soccer Club Senior (voice) 1 episode Chiaki Kikuta as Soccer Club Member (voice) 1 episode Takahiro Sumi as Impurity (voice) 3 episodes Mami Horikoshi as Grandma (voice) 1 episode Yui Tsukada as Ron (voice) 1 episode Takehisa Hirose as Male Student (voice) 1 episode Taihi Kimura as Male Student (voice) 1 episode Youhei Hamada as Male Student (voice) 2 episodes Rika Abe as Baby (voice) 6 episodes Yousuke Omomo as Male Student (voice) 2 episodes Yudai Mino as Trainee (voice) 1 episode Masayuki Omoro as Hikaru Indo's Grandfather (voice) 1 episode Fumito Tsuji as Male Student (voice) 1 episode Hiroki Matsumoto as Male Student (voice) 1 episode Sakira Kawakami as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Masaya Fukunishi as Impurity Monk (voice) 2 episodes Sara Matsumoto as Iori Kurebayashi (voice) 2 episodes Takatsugu Chikamatsu as Rie Kurebayashi's Husband (voice) 1 episode Wasabi Mizuta as Granny Yamahisa (voice) 2 episodes Kanako Sakuragi as Takeda's Wife (voice) 1 episode Uoken as School Principal (voice) 1 episode Yuuki Sanpei as School Vice Principal (voice) 2 episodes Yukiko Hattori as Aunt (voice) 1 episode
Signal Match

Similarity

Where The Summer Hikaru Died overlaps with other shows, and exactly what they have in common.

Keyword Cloud

Keywords

village supernatural high school slice of life disappearance summer based on manga high school student seinen anime japanese high school queer psychological boys' love (bl) psychological horror teen horror horror thriller amused lost child other worldly wishes heads multi generational
Technical Sheet

Details

First Aired
July 06, 2025
Status
Returning Series
Episode Runtime
24 minutes
Origin
JP
TMDB Votes
128