El verano en que Hikaru murió, vol. 3

光が死んだ夏 [Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu] #3

by Mokumokuren, Natalia Mintegui Arrieta (Translator)

Yoshiki y Hikaru han crecido juntos en un pueblo. Un día, Yoshiki se da cuenta de que algo ha ocupado el lugar de su amigo. Se trata de un “Hikaru” de apariencia completamente igual al original. Sin embargo, aunque siente que hay algo claramente no humano en su interior, Yoshiki continúa acompañando a “Hikaru” y sigue con su vida como de costumbre. Mostrando comprensión consigue acercarse más a él, hasta que un día ocurre algo que le hace darse cuenta de la insalvable diferencia de valores que hay entre los humanos y los que no lo son.

El final del volumen incluye una historia corta en la que podremos echar un vistazo a su día a día en clase.

Genres: Manga, Horror, LGBT, Queer, Comics, Mystery, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2023

About the author

モクモクれん

Reviews

[james]

fellas, is it gay to give your best friend a part of your “soul”?


read as part of 202-Queer 🌈✨

[Ricarda]

It's a slow story and not much is happening, but honestly: this series is such a vibe. And by vibe I mean gay, summertime Junji Ito. (It's impossible to convince me that they are not gay. They were literally inside each other in the very first volume.)

[Gabby]

2.5 stars
This volume is kind of losing me. I’m losing interest in the story, and some of it is hard to follow what’s even happening. This volume had less romance than the other two and that’s easily my favorite part about this whole series 😭

[rory (jess' version)]

the way this has some scenes where it feels youthful but then it drops village lore about some curse, sacrifice, or tradition, whatever might lie in the history of their town, rendered me speechless

[toast]

that one panel of hikaru that has ‘how does she know?’ written all over it may be one of my favorite manga panels of all time

[tig :3]

“take this. it’s half of my insides, i just ripped it out.”
“for whatever reason, the place i belonged to became you… and that…meant so incredibly much… to me.”

*gunshots*

[Xandra]

The constant fear that something has replaced a loved one, the claustrophobia of living in a small rural town, the urge to kiss an eldritch monster you have a crush on; all of the tension in the story works well and builds such a dreary, suspenseful atmosphere. The glimmers of hope through relationships and community get snuffed out as the tension rips them to pieces before your very eyes.
With a story this engaging, the biggest crime would be to let down the intense atmosphere before it really gets going, and thankfully the story continues drudging through the mire it created. I love horror stories with messy queer relationships/undertones, and The Summer Hikaru Died is easily my new favorite. The end of this volume could easily serve as an ending to the series, but I'm incredibly grateful to see this story continue.

[Saranya [uni- s.ia.]]

TW: LGBTQ+/horror

This is sooo spooky! I got so scared that I almost through away my laptop...

Where do I even begin with this delightful descent into the rural uncanny? It's like a warm, comforting blanket woven from dread, with just enough lingering questions to keep me up tonight.

The author isn't just turning up the dial on the is my best friend a shapeshifting entity? meter, they're practically smashing it with a sledgehammer made of ancient curses and lingering grief!!! Yoshiki, continues his unwavering devotion to Hikaru (or whatever it is that wears Hikaru's skin)... a devotion that swings wildly between heartwarming loyalty and deeply concerning codependency.

This volume excels at the slow burn. It's about the insidious creep of the unknown, the subtle shift in the familiar and the chilling realization that some things are far better left undisturbed.

The artwork is exquisitely detailed, capturing the idyllic yet somehow sinister, beauty of the Japanese countryside. Every shadow seems to hold a secret, every wide-eyed stare from the villagers suggests a shared, unspoken dread.

And the plot? Well, it unravels just enough to give you a sliver of understanding, only to snatch it away and replace it with more chilling implications...

My favourite comic series!

[Sarah (menace mode)]

Is it gay to reach inside your soul and give your bro a piece of it?

[Krysta ꕤ]

3.5 ★

[lane]

+ 1⭐️ for the yuri subplot that i caught a whiff of 💗

#winnerslovewinning

[L Ann]

This story just keeps getting darker and darker. With the introduction of Tanaka and the village leaders' determination to find out what has entered the village from the mountain, it's hard to envision anything other than trauma and disappointment in Hikaru and Yoshiki's future. The art style remains exquisite and definitely gives Junjo Ito vibes; very atmospheric and dark. That final scene almost killed me. It could've taken the story into an even darker level, but the love these boys have for each other kept the insanity in check...cause for a moment there, I really thought Yoshiki was gonna lose it. 5 stars

"For whatever reason you became the place where I belong. And for me that's incredibly important."

"I'll be with you no matter where you go. Even if something in me breaks."

[ana]

why is nobody ever talking about my king tanaka🥀

[Brigi]

Immaculate gay horror vibes!!!

[Bookishrealm]

Naw because that last little bit was wild. There's layers to this story and I feel like with each volume, readers are given just a little more access to the wild lore behind this community.

[achilles]

this is exactly what i mean when i say "gay boy summer" and now if you'll excuse me i am going to rip out a piece of my insides and hand 'em to my partner cause i too didn't know what feelings really were and got to understand it with them

[sarah سارة ꫂ᭪]

❝ for whatever reason... you became the place where i belong.❞

I love tanaka 😛
also this seemed like such a filler volume but thats perfectly fine

5/5 🌟

[❀boa]

oh boy she knows

[cia ₊˚⊹♡]

fellas is it gay to rip out half of your insides and give it to someone to prove that you care about them and want to do better

[alex :)]

wait things are really feeling depressing now 😭

[˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚Hatool - Semi-Hiatus˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚]

Peak??? peak??? did somebody say peak???

I said peak.

[⋆˚°✩*˖ Gohnar23 (•˕ •マ.ᐟ ˚⟡˖ ࣪(inactive)]

#️⃣5️⃣7️⃣8️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🍩🧁
Date : 🗓️ Saturday, October 18, 2025 🎁💐🍝
Word Count📃: (Graphic novel, no word count) 🎉🍬✨

— !! 𖦹「 ✦ 🍪 Happy Birthday🎂 ✦ 」✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

My 53th read in "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! :DDDD 👏🍭🍨" October.

4️⃣🌟, not as good as the last two books in this series but good nonetheless.
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Read for a goodreads group BOTM :DDD

Now in this book, we now talk about Hikaru & Yoshiki less and eow focuses on the ither characters. I mean its not bad but like.....can we just get more Hikaru & Yoshiki??? :(((((((((((( Maki is cool and all, Asako is sooooo fun, Yuuko is forgettable but like where'd Hikaru & Yoshiki go? The two of them are still there but the book now focuses in other's lives and the external thengs happening outside Hikaru & Yoshiki's 'relationship' hehe

[jay]

amazing as always. SO excited to see where the story goes

[Salem ☥]

Lesbians... I've won!

[Peppa]

It gets sadder with every volume🥹💔

[fatema !]

"he is half my soul, as the poets say" tsoa daughter or "take this. it's half of my insides" tshd son?

[Eric Novello]

Nesse terceiro volume de "O verão em que Hikaru morreu" a monstruosidade como metáfora para a identidade queer é colocada em segundo plano e Mokumokuren investe mais em expandir o universo que criou. A personagem Asako ganha mais destaque e sua sensibilidade mediúnica de "escutar" o mundo dos espíritos coloca ela numa situação de risco. A Yuuki também ganha mais espaço por tabela, já que as duas são amigas desde pequenas e ambas são amigas de classe de Yoshiki. Tanaka, um caçador de coisas sobrenaturais, chega na cidade atrás do "Hikaru", embora não saiba ainda a atual forma da entidade sobrenatural que estão caçando.

Romance à parte, Yoshiki e Hikaru passam por situações intensas e violentas, com o Yoshiki percebendo que não pode deixar uma criatura que não entende o valor da vida solta por aí no corpo do seu falecido melhor amigo. A tensão que sai desse dilema prepara o terreno para os próximos volumes. Além de lidar com o caçador, também fica plantado que Yoshiki e Hikaru começarão a pesquisar para entender o que, afinal, é o Hikaru.

Sei de gente que parou de ler nesse volume porque o romance fica em segundo plano e é realmente um volume que parece mais fraco que os anteriores, apesar de toda a tensão. Mas, curiosamente, no anime é esse o volume que rende algumas das melhores cenas, porque quando Yoshiki e Hikaru confrontam um ao outro o bicho sempre pega.

[jj (chainsaw) 🐾]

was it casual when “hikaru” gave yoshiki half of his insides so he couldn’t kill anyone else

[fulcrum]

really liked this one, a little bittersweet and very gay

[Steph ✨]

3.5 stars