You might not have heard of The Summer Hikaru Died just yet, but I think the first trailer will have you adding it to your Netflix watchlist.
I’m not sure that slice of life and horror are two genres you’d typically find mixed together, and yet that’s exactly what The Summer Hikaru Died is. Starting serialisation back in 2021, and still releasing new chapters up to the present, this particular manga follows Yoshiki and Hikaru who live in a small town in Japan as they go about their days – except one day, Hikaru dies and is replaced by some eldritch being, leaving Yoshiki unsure what to do with the knowledge that his real best friend is dead. It’s an eerie concept, and after a long wait, the first trailer for the anime adaptation is here, and it’s just as ominous as you’d hope it would be.
You can check out the trailer above, which doesn’t show off all that much, but the vibes are there at the very least. Ryohei Takeshita is on directing duties for this anime adaptation, best known for his work on Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night as director there too. Chiaki Kobayashi, who you’ll have heard as the lead in both Hell’s Paradise and Reynatis, is playing Yoshiki, with Shuichiro Umeda (Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth) as his opposite in Hikaru.
Takeshita said in a statement, “Reading the original work was exciting, and I pondered how to express its frames in animation. Our team was very dedicated to capturing the delicate emotions of Yoshiki and Hikaru, as well as the manga’s beautiful and innovative structure. We look forward to sharing it with you.”
Unfortunately, there’s no release date for this one just yet, though it is set to air in the latter half of 2025, so at least you won’t be waiting all that long for it.