Oh my gosh, one of my favorite manga got an amazing adaptation, and I couldn't be happier. This anime perfectly mixes the emotion and horror of the original manga to the point of making the story even stronger. I'd say this is the best anime in the Summer 2025 season. Yes, Takopi's Original Sin was amazing, but I think The Summer Hikaru Died is even better.
Forbidden love is already a tragedy unto itself, but when the person you love is no longer the same soul you fell in love with, instead a monster who now reciprocates your feelings, what are you to do? That's the situation Yoshiki now finds himself facing.
It's a really interesting premise. Usually, I don't expect much from horror anime, but this anime has done an incredible job. Seriously, this is probably the best horror anime I've ever watched and one of the best emotionally as well.
Usually I'd make these two separate categories, but it's a very character-driven story, so it'd be difficult to do that. This story really revolves around the human experience. Whether that be experiencing genuine emotions, valuing human life or facing grief and acceptance. Yoshiki must face his feelings toward the new "Hikaru," while "Hikaru" must face the new human emotions he's experiencing. Oh my gosh, it's done so well. While they're facing these emotional and relationship conflicts, there are also people hunting down the mysterious, evil entity (Hikaru) that's come from the mountain.
Yoshiki deeply cared for his friend, Hikaru. So when he comes back, but not as he once was, now a monster, a completely different being just wearing his friend's face, Yoshiki has to decide whether or not to accept him. He desperately wants to accept him, be by his side, and pretend everything is okay, and sometimes it seems as if that'll work well. Hikaru is a really cute character after all. But once in a while, his monstrous side does show. The human emotions vanish, and he'll easily take a person's life without any sort of hesitation. All the while stating he cares for Yoshiki. It puts Yoshiki in an interesting yet tragic position. It makes the viewer, well, me at least, want to root for Hikaru; he can be so cute at times, but for Yoshiki, that's easier said than done since his friend is a monster.
I can't quite describe how well-done this conflict is. The anime really portrays the tension and sadness between the two really, really well.
AMAZING. Seriously, as I said earlier in the review, they were able to make such a good horror anime, which is so so rare to see! It really builds up tension, not with gore but with the emotional value of everything and the consequences those emotions could have. At the same time, the anime throws in creepy creatures that actually look creepy so that helps with the horror a lot. As for the animation in general, it looks really good. I have no complaints. It really helps carry out the uneasy vibes the story already gives. The setting should feel warm, but it doesn't; there's almost an empty feeling to it all. So the animation doing the setting so well worked wonders for the story. The music is fantastic too. I'm especially a fan of the ending song. I've liked all the OSTs as well. Hopefully, they'll be out on Spotify soon because I will absolutely be adding them to my playlists.
There's a scene in episode four where Hikaru mistakenly calls someone who's queer, diseased. He's quickly corrected by Yoshiki, clarifying that he's homosexual, not diseased. And I feel like this moment really captures the anime well. While it's not a romance, it does have undertones of the struggle queer people face for acceptance. In the small, rural village the two characters reside in, such love is seen as diseased, monstrous -- and in a way, I think that's a reference to Yoshiki's current love for Hikaru. It's so sad, but it's written really well. I'm really glad to see LGBTQ+ characters represented more in anime and in such a well-written story as well.
I don't want to spoil anything, but the last episode was absolutely phenomenal. Seriously one of the best episodes, in general, that I've ever watched. It's heart-wrenching yet so beautiful at once. It truly shows the heartache in accepting others and yourself, and oh my gosh, the dialogue was written so beautifully. Seriously, what an amazing episode.
It's not just a simple forbidden love story. It's one that's genuinely sad and hurts to watch. It's not even necessarily a romance, yet it's still so well-written that you can feel the care they hold for each other and how much it hurts. The character's feelings really do feel genuine, and that really makes an impact. I'd absolutely recommend watching this, it's by far my favorite anime from this season.