News

The Summer Hikaru Died Manga Exceeds 3 Million Copies, Series Planned for 10 Volumes

Mokumokuren revealed on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday that The Summer Hikaru Died manga will exceed 3 million copies in circulation with the release of the sixth compiled book volume on December 4. The author also announced that the series is currently planned for 10 volumes in total.

Yen Press licensed the manga for English publication, and describes the manga:

Two boys lived in a village: Yoshiki and Hikaru. The two did everything together...until the day Hikaru was encompassed by a mysterious light. That was when everything changed—Hikaru most of all. Yoshiki still wishes from the bottom of his heart to always stay by his side...but is there even a Hikaru left to be with?

Mokumokuren launched the manga on Kadokawa's Young Ace Up website in August 2021. Kadokawa published the manga's fifth compiled book volume on June 4. Yen Press published the fourth volume on August 20. The manga inspired a light novel adaptation by Mio Nukaga in December 2023.

The manga is receiving an anime adaptation.

The manga was nominated for the 16th Manga Taisho Awards. (The official English name of the awards is the "Cartoon Grand Prize.") The New York Public Library listed the manga as part of its Best Books list for teens in 2023. The manga also made The American Library Association's (ALA's) Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) 2024 list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

Both the manga and its author Mokumokuren are nominated for this year's Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. The manga is nominated for the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia category, while Mokumokuren is nominated for the Best Writer/Artist category.

Source: Mokumokuren's X/Twitter account (link 2)