Netflix is bringing the scares this Summer anime season with the premiere of The Summer Hikaru Died. The first episode drops on July 5th, and manga readers cannot wait for the relatively new, but already impressive manga to terrify even more people through its anime. Every fan of a beloved manga wants their favorite series to receive a worthy anime adaptation – just ask Berserk fans – but the director of The Summer Hikaru Died isn’t content with being as good as the manga… he wants the anime to be even more haunting.
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Mokumokuren’s manga first began publication in Kadokawa’s Young Ace Up digital publication in 2021, and quickly became a fan favorite among horror readers. The series isn’t jump-out-of-your-seat terrifying; instead, it uses a constant sense of eerie dread to exhaust the reader into a state of persistent fear about what’s going to happen next. It’s a unique approach to horror, one that few storytellers can pull off successfully, but the director of The Summer Hikaru Died‘s anime is cluing viewers in to how he’s pulling it off.
The Summer Hikaru Died Will Be More Haunting Than the Manga
Ryohei Takeshita, who writes and directs The Summer Hikaru Died‘s anime adaptation, recently sat down with Anime News Network to discuss the forthcoming series, and how it compares to Mokumokuren’s manga. “Even when I first read the manga, I was struck by a strong sense of ‘eeriness.’” Takeshita said of his first impressions of Hikaru‘s horror elements.
Even during its more emotional and reflective moments, there is still a pervasive sense of fear, like a looming shadow, over the entire story, caused by the strange entity that controls the new Hikaru. “It’s not the type of horror that relies on jump scares—it’s more about the feeling that something might be there, an eerie stillness, or a strange heaviness in the atmosphere. That’s the kind of fear it evokes.”
The manga uses the usually relaxing elements of the Summer season, like the chirp of cicadas, and dials them up to an oppressive level to emphasise this atmosphere, but anime has more sensual elements to toy with, and Takeshita wanted to make the most of those during the adaptation process. “I felt that this atmosphere absolutely had to be recreated in the animation,” he continued. “Of course, the original manga is already incredible, but I was constantly aware of the need to go beyond that through the unique possibilities of animation.”
The Summer Hikaru Died Releases This July
The Summer Hikaru Died is one of this Summer anime season’s most anticipated shows, alongside heavy hitters including Kaiju No. 8, My Dress-Up Darling, and Dandadan. The series releases exclusively on Netflix on July 5th.
New episodes will be released weekly, although it still hasn’t been revealed how many episodes the first season will consist of. Providing Season 1 is popular, expect The Summer Hikaru Died to have a long life on the streamer. Although, there may be some wait between Seasons 1 and 2 as the manga is still relatively new.
H/T: Anime News Network
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