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The Summer Hikaru Died Horror Manga Gets Anime

Manga creator Mokumokuren announced on their X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday that The Summer Hikaru Died manga will have an anime adaptation. The announcement did not mention any other information on the anime, including its format. Mokumokuren drew the below illustration to celebrate the announcement.

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 fourth compiled book volume in December 2023. Yen Press published the third volume on April 16. The manga inspired a light novel adaptation by Mio Nukaga in December 2023.

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.

Sources: Press release, Mokumokuren's X/Twitter account