The Summer Hikaru Died Volumes 2-7 Manga Review

Last summer, teenager Hikaru Indō went up into the mountains of his rural village and disappeared. A few days later, he reemerged, but his best friend Yoshiki knows there's something different about him. This "Hikaru" isn't Hikaru at all, but a dangerous, inhuman creature possessing his body. Ever since "Hikaru" returned, eerie incidents have increased in the area. How are they connected to "Hikaru," and will Yoshiki have to grieve him twice?

Ajani Olowe translated The Summer Hikaru Died volumes 2-7, with lettering by Abigail Blackman.

Last summer, teenager Hikaru Indō went up into the mountains of his rural village and disappeared. A few days later, he reemerged, but his best friend Yoshiki knows there's something different about him. This "Hikaru" isn't Hikaru at all, but a dangerous, inhuman creature possessing his body. Ever since "Hikaru" returned, eerie incidents have increased in the area. How are they connected to "Hikaru," and will Yoshiki have to grieve him twice?

Ajani Olowe translated The Summer Hikaru Died volumes 2-7, with lettering by Abigail Blackman.

The Summer Hikaru Died is one of Yen Press' best-selling manga series for a reason. The journey through these six volumes takes readers from one side of existence into the next as "Hikaru" and Yoshiki attempt to reconcile what "Hikaru" is with how Yoshiki feels about his relationships with both versions, how "Hikaru" affects Yoshiki's other relationships, and whether the boy is damning himself to cling to a monster. Slowly, the narrative then shifts away from the central relationship to a village-wide mystery rife with old wounds and a race to prevent a mass-death event.

The story moves from the "Daily Life" and "Mystery-Solving" arcs that comprise the first season of the anime into "The Hole-Closing Arc," so if you want to avoid spoilers for the upcoming anime season, read this later!

It's best to look at these three arcs as the "Who/What," the "Why," and the "How" of the overarching story. The earlier arcs are concerned with what "Hikaru" is: a dangerous creature, a being outside social morality, or a human facsimile worthy of love (if not all of these simultaneously). Yoshiki and "Hikaru" grapple with these unknowns throughout the early volumes. However, both are reluctant to truly face the mutually abusive nature of their relationship, even when it culminates in attempted murder. There are blatant signs, of course. Yoshiki is marked with permanent bruising in the shape of "Hikaru's" hand, similar to marks common in a domestic abuse situation. "Hikaru" also displays unhealthy attachment styles that, in earlier volumes, are classic characteristics of a possessive partner. Meanwhile, Yoshiki decides to follow "Hikaru" even after discovering he has instigated a murder, permanently spiritually-affected a classmate, and committed sexual assault.

This is a dark love story, in the same vein as other "toxic love" fiction where the danger within the relationship is part of the appeal. Mokumokuren does an excellent job of keeping readers on a knife's edge, where each terrifying moment is coupled with its tragedy. It's difficult to judge "Hikaru", whose actions are more in line with a wild animal than a thoughtless abuser. For a brief time, Yoshiki thinks he can domesticate "Hikaru" to protect him from himself, but that endeavor is quickly proven foolish until "Hikaru" willingly disarms himself.

There's also Yoshiki, whose poor choices are understandable when he's looked at as a whole person. This is a teenage boy who hasn't been set up to navigate the emotional quagmire of his daily life. He's withdrawn, uncomfortable with himself, and evasive. He's subjected to judgment of his community, whether it's about his parents' marriage problems, his sister's truancy, or his hair. His best friend is dead, and his parents might as well be absent. I thought his dad had walked out until he makes a full debut in later volumes; the man holes up in his room and seems to have checked out of his family obligations. It's still unexplained why his sister doesn't attend school, or whether it's because his parents simply don't have the resources to get her the help she needs.

While there has yet to be a denouement, the queer elements of the story are ever-present and feed into much of the supernatural aspects. Much has been said about the "chicken cutlet" moment, but it's important to note that "Hikaru's" status as a being beyond social morality gives him a freedom that Yoshiki lacks and a way for Yoshiki to test his sexual feelings without being judged. We see that Yoshiki knows about homosexuality when he discusses how a member of the village isn't actually "sick"; he's just gay, thus also illustrating that he knows what happens when someone comes out: the villagers treat it as an illness that can jeopardize familial inheritance. When "Hikaru" point-blank asks Yoshiki if he loved Hikaru, he declines to answer the question. Several bonus chapters also show Yoshiki toying with different looks, including using hair accessories, which likely relates to Mokumokuren's statement that he's "concerned about his gender."

It's all of these character elements in conjunction with each other that make The Summer Hikaru Died more than just a toxic love story. There are questions about what defines humanity, what draws people into unhealthy ride-or-die relationships, and hope against hope that somehow these two kids, one a monster and one a boy, can find happiness somehow.

There is a sense of intimacy that gets lost in favor of the larger plot shift, but it gives creator Mokumokuren a chance to flex their monster-design skills and use the story's ever-present tension differently. The "Daily Life" and "Mystery-Solving" arcs are the blood-pumping heart of the story, while "The Hole-Closing Arc" in volumes 6-7 is the start of the larger resolution. The story shifts to finding a way for "Hikaru," Yoshiki, the medium Rie, classmate Asako Yamagishi, and hired spiritual fixer Tanaka to work together to close the "holes" that allow so many entities to descend on the village. The Summer Hikaru Died had featured evil entities before, but they are more grotesque and threatening now.

If early volumes are a creeping sense of dread, volumes six and seven are a full-sprint into horror. Mokumokuren had already shown their ability to fill pages with overwhelming text, shocking page spreads, and eerie details. The later volumes also show they can expertly craft action scenes as characters are thrown, dodge, and run while horrific monsters pursue them. I can't overstate how skilled Mokumokuren is. Even outside the work as a genre piece, the panel and perspective drafting is top-notch. There are plenty of comics satisfied with a straightforward, middle shot regardless of whether a character is talking, jumping, fighting foes, or delivering an emotional declaration. In comparison, The Summer Hikaru Died is cinematic, and I can see how it directly inspired its anime team.

I want to close out this review with a special mention for translator Ajani Olowe for deftly representing a casual, rural speech pattern for the characters without ever taking on a mocking tone. People around the world speak in similar dialects, and plenty of stereotypes already exist when small-town folks appear in media. It was a pleasure to read these volumes and hear characters who remind me of family members, with nary a comment about their supposed intelligence.

As The Summer Hikaru Died approaches its conclusion, who can say where it will take "Hikaru" and Yoshiki? The monster already ripped his heart out; will Yoshiki be next?