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光が死んだ夏 [Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu] (Light Novel) #1
The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1
The bond between Yoshiki and Hikaru is a welcome escape from their isolated village. But one fateful day when the two boys meet up, Yoshiki can immediately tell something is off. Though the person standing before him wears Hikaru's face, Yoshiki knows that his friend is...gone. It is then that Yoshiki makes a decision. Although things will never be as they once were, he would prefer this Hikaru to no Hikaru at all.
162 pages, Paperback
First published December 4, 2023
80 people are currently reading
596 people want to read
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April 21, 2025As a fan of the manga, I enjoyed this! Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press for the ARC.
There are a few new insights into the characters, but nothing extreme, so recommending this to existing fans of the manga, or for anyone who would prefer a novel to read before the anime adaptation comes out. I will say that the language used in this light novel is fairly simple I found it a bit clunky, so if someone is choosing between the novel and manga, I think they should go with the latter. But I did enjoy the story and additions to the character dynamics/relationships, so overall recommending this!
There are a few new insights into the characters, but nothing extreme, so recommending this to existing fans of the manga, or for anyone who would prefer a novel to read before the anime adaptation comes out. I will say that the language used in this light novel is fairly simple I found it a bit clunky, so if someone is choosing between the novel and manga, I think they should go with the latter. But I did enjoy the story and additions to the character dynamics/relationships, so overall recommending this!
April 24, 2025
The novelization of “The Summer Hikaru Died” offers more insight into the characters that I’ve grown to know and love over the course of 5 installments of the manga. Inner monologues and additional conversations fit seemingly into the source material. It’s subtle… but it’s there and it’s excellent. The cicadas… the stifling heat… the raw chicken of it all. This is a faithful adaptation that absolutely adds to my enjoyment of the lore presented up to this point. It’s got me wanting to reread the manga. It’s also got me extra hyped for the anime series to debut on Netflix.
April 26, 2025
this is a nice novelisation of the manga. it definitely does the source material justice, and the creepy atmosphere carries through super well. i love the mentions of the incessant cicada buzzing and Yoshiki's inner monologue actually makes this a whole lot deeper.
Tanaka has made his appearance. looking forward to the next volume!
Tanaka has made his appearance. looking forward to the next volume!
August 30, 2025
The story itself 1000% gets a 5 stars, the comic and show are such a haunting and amazing depiction of the grief that comes from losing a friend that's been with you since you were small children. The themes of internalized and small town homophobia and judgement are so well done and there's not a moment I'm not invested and haunted by what will come next. I only bumped off a star for the novelization because it felt a little like reading a script rather than a novel in its own right, but I already knew it was probably going to be like that going in since it was written as a novelization instead of being the original piece of work, and for the fact that translations don't always carry the same weight the original language's wording had! :D
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April 29, 2025It was strictly okay! If you know the manga, then you know this. I was hoping for more, like further insights that would be lacking in a more visual medium like a manga, but there really wasn't anything extra I could sink my teeth into. I also had trouble finding it creepy (starting where it did, for example, kinda ruins the record scratch moment at the very beginning which was done really well before and here, not so much) and the writing was so simple, it didn't really bring much to the imagination nor did it draw me in. But honestly, that's okay! I still have the manga. The novelization just isn't for me.
August 23, 2025
Cualquiera que me conozca sabe que El verano en que Hikaru murió es de mis historias favoritas, que la sigo desde que el manga comenzó a publicarse hace unos años. Como el anime está en emisión ahora mismo, hay mucha más gente de lo normal hablando sobre ella, y creando un montón de fanart, edits, etc. Esto solo ha hecho crecer mi obsesión y, cuando vi que existía la novela ligera y que el primer volumen ya estaba traducido al inglés, solo pude comprarlo y leerlo de inmediato. Siendo completamente objetiva, no estoy segura de que me haya gustado mucho cómo está narrada la novela. Creo que el estilo es muy simple, y no sé si es cosa de la traducción o del original. Por eso, no es la versión con la que recomendaría a nadie empezar. A quien sí se la recomiendo es a todos esos fans que quieren disfrutar de esta historia en todas sus versiones y sacar distintos detalles de cada una.
July 20, 2025
'Hikaru' my beloved 🥺💖
June 1, 2025
4.5 stars!!
I'm obviously biased, as I adore the manga, but as a novelization, I feel like this light novel adapted the original work well.
It gave me some insights into Yoshiki's mind, which I really enjoyed. I think the writing was very matter-of-fact in some aspects, but it really shined through emotional descriptions, as well as the way it painted the sceneries.
It made me emotional, too, like woow! Chapter 4 was out to get me! Yoshiki's grief and feelings of alienation were terribly well depicted.
While the manga is stronger on the horror aspects, the novel medium managed to clarify some plot elements for me, so that was pretty great. It made it feel like it was adding to my experience of the series, so it wasn't a waste of time at all!
I'll be tuning in when the next volume is out, for sure!
I'm obviously biased, as I adore the manga, but as a novelization, I feel like this light novel adapted the original work well.
It gave me some insights into Yoshiki's mind, which I really enjoyed. I think the writing was very matter-of-fact in some aspects, but it really shined through emotional descriptions, as well as the way it painted the sceneries.
It made me emotional, too, like woow! Chapter 4 was out to get me! Yoshiki's grief and feelings of alienation were terribly well depicted.
While the manga is stronger on the horror aspects, the novel medium managed to clarify some plot elements for me, so that was pretty great. It made it feel like it was adding to my experience of the series, so it wasn't a waste of time at all!
I'll be tuning in when the next volume is out, for sure!
October 25, 2025
kinda shit ngl. rounding up from 2.5 stars
April 30, 2025
Yoshiki's best friend went missing in January five days later he reappeared from what felt like thin air. But the Hikaru that came back was nothing like the Hikaru that left, and when Yoshiki confronts him, he's not shocked to find out that something is wearing his best friend's body.
This is nothing like what I expected, and honestly, I'm okay with that. The mystery of just what Hikaru *is* and whether or not he is this evil thing is genuinely going to keep me reading, not just the light novel series but start the manga as well. And the thing that really gets me is the story is kind of eluding the fact that there was something not good on the mountain so for Hikaru to just willy nilly invite any old thing to take care of his bestie seems wrong. And yeah, I could be way off the mark there, but it's only volume 1.
Yoshiki's reliance on both Hikaru's is interesting as well, and it almost justifies Hikaru's asking *anything* to stay by his side. Yoshiki doesn't want to be alone but it's not just that he doesn't want to be alone he only wants one person and thats Hikaru so as long as it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck he's pretty much able to accept any version of a duck. That's unhealthy, to say the least. Although with all of the talk about his family being just a tad bit dysfunctional, it makes sense. But what I think Yoshiki really needs is a counselor.
Finally, what the heck is up with his sister? Even without the undead bestie and the unhealthy almost obsession Yoshiki has with him, all of the stuff with her not going to school would be enough to keep reading. Is she sick? Just spoiled like the villagers keep saying? Like wth?
Overall, this isn't necessarily even creepy, yup even with Hikaru's weird insides, or at least this volume wasn't it's more like a mystery that just happens to have an undead guy in it and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
As always, thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for the eArc!
This is nothing like what I expected, and honestly, I'm okay with that. The mystery of just what Hikaru *is* and whether or not he is this evil thing is genuinely going to keep me reading, not just the light novel series but start the manga as well. And the thing that really gets me is the story is kind of eluding the fact that there was something not good on the mountain so for Hikaru to just willy nilly invite any old thing to take care of his bestie seems wrong. And yeah, I could be way off the mark there, but it's only volume 1.
Yoshiki's reliance on both Hikaru's is interesting as well, and it almost justifies Hikaru's asking *anything* to stay by his side. Yoshiki doesn't want to be alone but it's not just that he doesn't want to be alone he only wants one person and thats Hikaru so as long as it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck he's pretty much able to accept any version of a duck. That's unhealthy, to say the least. Although with all of the talk about his family being just a tad bit dysfunctional, it makes sense. But what I think Yoshiki really needs is a counselor.
Finally, what the heck is up with his sister? Even without the undead bestie and the unhealthy almost obsession Yoshiki has with him, all of the stuff with her not going to school would be enough to keep reading. Is she sick? Just spoiled like the villagers keep saying? Like wth?
Overall, this isn't necessarily even creepy, yup even with Hikaru's weird insides, or at least this volume wasn't it's more like a mystery that just happens to have an undead guy in it and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
As always, thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for the eArc!
June 26, 2025
3.75
I decided to start with the novel instead of the manga for some reason so this was an entire new world for me I was entering into after watching the anime trailer.
As someone who doesn't read a lot of horror I have to say I am kind of obsessed.
I really am the worst, and it’s ’cause I’ve been avoiding the things about me that are weird—the parts I don’t want to see, the inconvenient truths. I tried to not think about them. I ignored them. And it feels like, by doing that, I’ve let myself drift through life pretending that everything’s normal and calm—wishing for it to be that way.
Yoshiki's inner monologues give a certain amount of intensity to his character and his inner turmoil.
And Hikaru in the prologue, If I die, he’ll be alone.
I don’t wanna leave you alone…
Anyone’ll do. As long as they’ll take my place and stay by his side, anyone will do.
next up the manga before we get the anime. 💌
I decided to start with the novel instead of the manga for some reason so this was an entire new world for me I was entering into after watching the anime trailer.
As someone who doesn't read a lot of horror I have to say I am kind of obsessed.
I really am the worst, and it’s ’cause I’ve been avoiding the things about me that are weird—the parts I don’t want to see, the inconvenient truths. I tried to not think about them. I ignored them. And it feels like, by doing that, I’ve let myself drift through life pretending that everything’s normal and calm—wishing for it to be that way.
Yoshiki's inner monologues give a certain amount of intensity to his character and his inner turmoil.
And Hikaru in the prologue, If I die, he’ll be alone.
I don’t wanna leave you alone…
Anyone’ll do. As long as they’ll take my place and stay by his side, anyone will do.
next up the manga before we get the anime. 💌
May 23, 2025
I am slightly obsessed with The Summer Hikaru Died and I was so excited when I found out it was getting novellisations.
Volume one so far is very true to the manga, a direct retelling rather than a spin off story as many light novels of existing manga can be.
Ajani Oloye has done a wonderful job with the translation, it reads beautifully.
Mio Nukaga has done a fantastic job of staying true to Mokumokuren's original work while also managing to make it feel like its own work.
We get a deeper exploration of Yoshiki's thoughts and experiences and it has added extra depth to his character. The LGBTQ+ elements feel more clear in this adaptation.
Overall this novellisation has done a fantastic job at adding more depth to an already fantastically gripping story.
Volume one so far is very true to the manga, a direct retelling rather than a spin off story as many light novels of existing manga can be.
Ajani Oloye has done a wonderful job with the translation, it reads beautifully.
Mio Nukaga has done a fantastic job of staying true to Mokumokuren's original work while also managing to make it feel like its own work.
We get a deeper exploration of Yoshiki's thoughts and experiences and it has added extra depth to his character. The LGBTQ+ elements feel more clear in this adaptation.
Overall this novellisation has done a fantastic job at adding more depth to an already fantastically gripping story.
August 13, 2025
Esto es en palabras simples una narración del manga. No explora en mayor profundidad la historias, los personajes o sus monologos internos. Es bastante directo en interpretar el manga, no se toma libertades creativas. Lo cuál es esperable considerando que quien escribió la novela ligera no es la misma persona que creó el manga.
Hay unas pequeñas frases nuevas, pero nada waos. De todas formas fue entretenido releer la historia en este formato.
Hay unas pequeñas frases nuevas, pero nada waos. De todas formas fue entretenido releer la historia en este formato.
November 30, 2025
bought this entirely by accident (didn't even know there WAS a light novel) but i found it to be so incredibly well-written!!! it expanded so much on what i'd seen in the anime adaptation (i still have yet to read the manga) in a very satisfactory way. i will definitely continue reading these as they come out!!
December 28, 2025
my doomed babies😔
this novel is indeed very light, I finished it in one sitting and I didn't even realize I was getting to the end. I've watched the show so I totally know what's going on but the excitement is somehow still there every time I flipped the pages and let's appreciate the beautiful gorgeous magnificent illustrations omg (yes I'm going to consume every media of tshd)
this novel is indeed very light, I finished it in one sitting and I didn't even realize I was getting to the end. I've watched the show so I totally know what's going on but the excitement is somehow still there every time I flipped the pages and let's appreciate the beautiful gorgeous magnificent illustrations omg (yes I'm going to consume every media of tshd)
January 9, 2026
I am a huge fan of the The Summer Hikaru Died series, and reading this light novel was an enjoyable experience even if it didn’t live up to the manga and anime adaptation. The prose was often very repetitive, and was a bit awkward in its simplicity. Still, it gave some inner-dialogue and smaller details that readers do not get in the manga/anime, and so (in my opinion) was worth the short read :)
May 7, 2025
“anyone’ll do. as long as they’ll take my place and stay by his side, anyone will do.”
hikaru, you hurt me too much.. truly, this was a perfect adaptation to the manga. can’t wait for more
hikaru, you hurt me too much.. truly, this was a perfect adaptation to the manga. can’t wait for more
November 23, 2025
i support my sad gay son<3
January 13, 2026
i wanted all the mangas to be novelized
January 17, 2026
По суті та ж історія, тільки від обличчя Йошікі разом з його тривогами, страхами та бажаннями. Ідеально 🥹
April 16, 2025
I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review!
I am a MASSIVE fan of The Summer Hikaru Died manga, first read the first volume back in 2023 and have honestly thought about it every day since. I just wrote my final in my last English class on it, as well.
To start off, the novel starts with a chapter from the real Hikaru’s perspective as he is dying. I can’t remember if there is one in the manga, but I know that wasn’t how it started and I really liked that refreshing beginning. Not only to it add some background to Hikaru and “Hikaru,” but it gives the reader more insight on how much Yoshiki and Hikaru’s relationship is reciprocated. We don’t see many scenes between the real Hikaru and Yoshiki, and none from Hikaru’s POV. This certainly adds to the part of the story that is around Yoshiki and Hikaru’s relationship, and made “Hikaru’s” existence a bit more sweet than bitter, in some ways.
I don’t know if I just don’t remember as much as I thought I did, but this novel definitely felt like it leaned into the romantic aspects of this story more than the manga does. Which isn’t a bad thing! It was definitely a side I’m interested in, my previously mentioned essay was about devotion shown through the selfishness Yoshiki feels in being unable to kill “Hikaru” because fake Hikaru is better than no Hikaru.
It was incredibly interesting to read with descriptions of surroundings and especially that of the scene in the storage room. I felt like that was really able to grow in regards to the reader understanding how both Yoshiki and “Hikaru” felt during it. The manga is obviously incredible, and the artwork is to die for, this was just a new and unique perspective we hadn’t gotten before!
This is incredible novel adaptation of Mokumokuren’s manga and am anxiously awaiting the next volume translated to novel form! Super excited for the anime coming out this summer on Netflix as well. This is one of those can’t miss one-in-a-million series I can never recommend enough, no matter what media it’s in.
I am a MASSIVE fan of The Summer Hikaru Died manga, first read the first volume back in 2023 and have honestly thought about it every day since. I just wrote my final in my last English class on it, as well.
To start off, the novel starts with a chapter from the real Hikaru’s perspective as he is dying. I can’t remember if there is one in the manga, but I know that wasn’t how it started and I really liked that refreshing beginning. Not only to it add some background to Hikaru and “Hikaru,” but it gives the reader more insight on how much Yoshiki and Hikaru’s relationship is reciprocated. We don’t see many scenes between the real Hikaru and Yoshiki, and none from Hikaru’s POV. This certainly adds to the part of the story that is around Yoshiki and Hikaru’s relationship, and made “Hikaru’s” existence a bit more sweet than bitter, in some ways.
I don’t know if I just don’t remember as much as I thought I did, but this novel definitely felt like it leaned into the romantic aspects of this story more than the manga does. Which isn’t a bad thing! It was definitely a side I’m interested in, my previously mentioned essay was about devotion shown through the selfishness Yoshiki feels in being unable to kill “Hikaru” because fake Hikaru is better than no Hikaru.
It was incredibly interesting to read with descriptions of surroundings and especially that of the scene in the storage room. I felt like that was really able to grow in regards to the reader understanding how both Yoshiki and “Hikaru” felt during it. The manga is obviously incredible, and the artwork is to die for, this was just a new and unique perspective we hadn’t gotten before!
This is incredible novel adaptation of Mokumokuren’s manga and am anxiously awaiting the next volume translated to novel form! Super excited for the anime coming out this summer on Netflix as well. This is one of those can’t miss one-in-a-million series I can never recommend enough, no matter what media it’s in.
January 2, 2026
Goodness, I love queer horror.
The manga or anime are probably the best way to consume this story. Unfortunately I'm not a manga or anime person. However, this came so highly recommended to me by someone I trust that I decided to try it. I started with the manga but gave up. I tried the anime too, but I just can't focus on television shows. Finally I managed to get my hands on a copy of the light novel, and I'm thankful I did, because wow.
The premise is that a boy named Hikaru dies and his body is then possessed by an eldritch monster who takes Hikaru's place, acting as a perfect copy. Only one person figures out that the real Hikaru is dead, Hikaru's best friend Yoshiki. And Yoshiki is sworn to secrecy about it.
As I understand it, the manga was originally tagged as BL, though I would describe the relationship between Hikaru and Yoshiki as more queerplatonic/homoerotic than what I normally associate with BL. They're not, like, in love or in lust. On the surface, they're just really really close friends, whereas BL usually has explicit romance. Mind you, I'm not an expert on BL. I only know about it from fanfiction, not from original BL manga/anime.
Regardless of just how gay Yoshiki and Hikaru are or aren't, there's no denying that their relationship has enough gay dimensions to it for this story to be considered queer horror. When Yoshiki realizes his best friend is dead, he's caught between grieving and wanting to keep what little of Hikaru is left in the monster (who has preserved the real Hikaru's memories). Yoshiki must grieve alone. He must navigate confusing feelings in secret. He must try to figure out what the ethics are of feeling so attached to a monster. It's about being othered and isolated and experiencing emotions you don't think you should have. The premise beautifully allows so many queer themes around grief and love to elegantly cohere into one rather straightforward story.
Characters and plot are strong too. Prose was on the weaker side, but it is an adaptation of a manga in translation, so I can be forgiving of that.
The manga or anime are probably the best way to consume this story. Unfortunately I'm not a manga or anime person. However, this came so highly recommended to me by someone I trust that I decided to try it. I started with the manga but gave up. I tried the anime too, but I just can't focus on television shows. Finally I managed to get my hands on a copy of the light novel, and I'm thankful I did, because wow.
The premise is that a boy named Hikaru dies and his body is then possessed by an eldritch monster who takes Hikaru's place, acting as a perfect copy. Only one person figures out that the real Hikaru is dead, Hikaru's best friend Yoshiki. And Yoshiki is sworn to secrecy about it.
As I understand it, the manga was originally tagged as BL, though I would describe the relationship between Hikaru and Yoshiki as more queerplatonic/homoerotic than what I normally associate with BL. They're not, like, in love or in lust. On the surface, they're just really really close friends, whereas BL usually has explicit romance. Mind you, I'm not an expert on BL. I only know about it from fanfiction, not from original BL manga/anime.
Regardless of just how gay Yoshiki and Hikaru are or aren't, there's no denying that their relationship has enough gay dimensions to it for this story to be considered queer horror. When Yoshiki realizes his best friend is dead, he's caught between grieving and wanting to keep what little of Hikaru is left in the monster (who has preserved the real Hikaru's memories). Yoshiki must grieve alone. He must navigate confusing feelings in secret. He must try to figure out what the ethics are of feeling so attached to a monster. It's about being othered and isolated and experiencing emotions you don't think you should have. The premise beautifully allows so many queer themes around grief and love to elegantly cohere into one rather straightforward story.
Characters and plot are strong too. Prose was on the weaker side, but it is an adaptation of a manga in translation, so I can be forgiving of that.
June 4, 2025
I'd been looking forward to the novelization adaptation of The Summer Hikaru Died since I first heard about it and I wasn't disappointed! While the manga is good (and the upcoming anime looks like it's going to also be good), there's a whole different feeling about slipping into text-only (although this volume does have a few illustrations) descriptions, or rather, the feelings that can only really be slid into via text and the imagination in a way that illustrated comics can't as easily convey. (There's a note from the original author at the end too about how some scenes in the novel were things they couldn't include in the manga!)
The Summer Hikaru Died is a great queer horror, claustrophobic in a way only a small town horror can be. Hikaru and Yoshiki have known each other forever, and as such they're basically the only boys their age in their dying mountain town. So when Hikaru disappears, and Hikaru comes back, only Yoshiki can tell that there's something very different about him. I've always liked that Hikaru is never cagey about not being the boy that Yoshiki knew and although the mystery of what he really is is seemingly slowly revealed (I'm behind on the manga, but also this is only volume 1 of the novelizations), it really feels like Hikaru wants to be known as his own thing even outside of the body he wears, and is desperate for Yoshiki to recognize that... and to return his feelings-slash-keep the same feelings that he had for the old Hikaru.
There's a dread that's as thick as the island humidity, and even knowing that Hikaru is wrong... we (or at least I) kinda want to root for him anyway?
Looking forward to volume 2 (and I gotta catch up on the manga in the meanwhile!)
Thank you to Yen Press/Yen On for the eARC in exchange for review!
The Summer Hikaru Died is a great queer horror, claustrophobic in a way only a small town horror can be. Hikaru and Yoshiki have known each other forever, and as such they're basically the only boys their age in their dying mountain town. So when Hikaru disappears, and Hikaru comes back, only Yoshiki can tell that there's something very different about him. I've always liked that Hikaru is never cagey about not being the boy that Yoshiki knew and although the mystery of what he really is is seemingly slowly revealed (I'm behind on the manga, but also this is only volume 1 of the novelizations), it really feels like Hikaru wants to be known as his own thing even outside of the body he wears, and is desperate for Yoshiki to recognize that... and to return his feelings-slash-keep the same feelings that he had for the old Hikaru.
There's a dread that's as thick as the island humidity, and even knowing that Hikaru is wrong... we (or at least I) kinda want to root for him anyway?
Looking forward to volume 2 (and I gotta catch up on the manga in the meanwhile!)
Thank you to Yen Press/Yen On for the eARC in exchange for review!
January 19, 2026
As someone who REALLY LOVES the entire The Summer Hikaru Died series, I do not recommend reading this light novel immediately after finishing a marathon reading of volumes 1-6.
Why? Because it feels repetitive and boring due to the very simple writing style.
My expectation for this light novel was that its content would be similar to other light novels inspired by manga series. I thought it would consist of stories about the characters' lives outside of the main storyline. Like moments when they go to school, summer vacations, or even just what the characters think about before going to sleep. Imagine my disappointment when I first found out that this was just a version where the speech bubbles had been turned into complete sentences, repeating what we already knew from reading the manga itself.
But once again, I liked The Summer Hikaru Died, so I gave it a chance. I lowered my expectations and hoped that at least the writing style would be beautiful and poetic, like how the manga perfectly depicts each character's emotions without needing to explain them through speech bubbles. And again, imagine my disappointment when I finished reading and got nothing. It was literally a translation from images to words. There was no deeper way to at least broaden our understanding of the characters and the plot, beyond what we already knew from the beginning. The overly simplistic writing style makes it even more boring because the storyline was still fresh in my head since I just finished reading the whole manga volume.
So, yeah. Just read it if you're a die-hard collector like me who feels the need to own all media produced by this series. But if you're looking for something else that's still canon but doesn't interfere the main storyline? You know the answer.
I gave it 3/5 because I really do love The Summer Hikaru Died. Actually, it is a 1/5.
Why? Because it feels repetitive and boring due to the very simple writing style.
My expectation for this light novel was that its content would be similar to other light novels inspired by manga series. I thought it would consist of stories about the characters' lives outside of the main storyline. Like moments when they go to school, summer vacations, or even just what the characters think about before going to sleep. Imagine my disappointment when I first found out that this was just a version where the speech bubbles had been turned into complete sentences, repeating what we already knew from reading the manga itself.
But once again, I liked The Summer Hikaru Died, so I gave it a chance. I lowered my expectations and hoped that at least the writing style would be beautiful and poetic, like how the manga perfectly depicts each character's emotions without needing to explain them through speech bubbles. And again, imagine my disappointment when I finished reading and got nothing. It was literally a translation from images to words. There was no deeper way to at least broaden our understanding of the characters and the plot, beyond what we already knew from the beginning. The overly simplistic writing style makes it even more boring because the storyline was still fresh in my head since I just finished reading the whole manga volume.
So, yeah. Just read it if you're a die-hard collector like me who feels the need to own all media produced by this series. But if you're looking for something else that's still canon but doesn't interfere the main storyline? You know the answer.
I gave it 3/5 because I really do love The Summer Hikaru Died. Actually, it is a 1/5.
May 1, 2025
I've been a fan of the manga series this book is based off of for awhile, I adore the characters and tone of the manga so much. That being said, while I do appreciate having more explanation and exploration on how the characters think and feel, I feel that the light novel adaptation loses some of the horror that the manga is so good at. One of the aspects I loved about the manga was the suspense and building tension that I feel the light novel adaptation did not do quite as well. Maybe if my first exposure to the series was the light novel, I may have had a different opinion, but the facial expressions of the characters and pure otherness of Hikaru in the manga just don't translate well into a light novel form.
This light novel covers the first two manga volumes, and some of volume three content wise, and is beat for beat the same story being told in the manga. The illustrations in the light novel are taken directly from the manga, either specific panels or full pages. I wasn't really expecting much "new" content when going into this reading experience, but I was disappointed that the illustrations had not been made specifically for the light novel.
If you absolutely love this series, I recommend reading this book. Having the text focus so much on how the characters think and feel about the situation really well illustrated why Yoshiki sticks by Hikaru and the emotional turmoil of this decision. I'll most likely continue reading the light novels as they release, but I don't anticipate this being a release day read for me.
This light novel covers the first two manga volumes, and some of volume three content wise, and is beat for beat the same story being told in the manga. The illustrations in the light novel are taken directly from the manga, either specific panels or full pages. I wasn't really expecting much "new" content when going into this reading experience, but I was disappointed that the illustrations had not been made specifically for the light novel.
If you absolutely love this series, I recommend reading this book. Having the text focus so much on how the characters think and feel about the situation really well illustrated why Yoshiki sticks by Hikaru and the emotional turmoil of this decision. I'll most likely continue reading the light novels as they release, but I don't anticipate this being a release day read for me.
May 16, 2025
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱—𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱?
The Summer Hikaru Died is a haunting, quiet and tenderly unsettling story that is set in a rural village where the mountain is thick with an eerie vibe that quietly seeps in and feels like it's isolated from the rest of the world. The story is about two boys, Yoshiki and Hikaru the inseparable childhood friends. But one day, something changes. Hikaru is no longer himself. The moment Yoshiki sees him, he knows that his best friend isn’t missing or dead but he’s been replaced. The being in front of him wears Hikaru’s face, speaks with his voice, and remembers the life they shared—but he’s not Hikaru.
The story is rich in its atmosphere; you can almost feel the deep forests and narrow roads and the kind of place where it kept a lot of secrets and strange things could happen that no one would ever really talk about. While the first volumes left so many questions unanswered, they also hint at a potentially more complex storyline. It is not just a supernatural thriller on the surface, but the author uses the concept to explore grief, memory, love, and the terrifying unfamiliar entity.
Of course the setting and the horror elements are compelling, but the way the author handles grief is totally unforgettable and devastating. Yoshiki and Hikaru friendship is intimate, especially when we see Yoshiki’s refusal to let go of Hikaru and how he is willing to live in denial just for Hikaru to stay beside him. He's just trying to hold on to the remaining pieces of Hikaru. This is why it’s heartbreaking to watch him living this new reality while clinging to the shell of someone he once knew. I love how his inner conflict is portrayed with heartbreaking restraint and beautifully written.
Overall, I love that the first volume does not rush to everything and explain about the 'creature' right away. But instead it takes a slow, careful approach to the story, which makes me look forward to reading the next volumes! 3.75 ⭐️ Thank you Yen On and Edelweiss for the review copy.
The Summer Hikaru Died is a haunting, quiet and tenderly unsettling story that is set in a rural village where the mountain is thick with an eerie vibe that quietly seeps in and feels like it's isolated from the rest of the world. The story is about two boys, Yoshiki and Hikaru the inseparable childhood friends. But one day, something changes. Hikaru is no longer himself. The moment Yoshiki sees him, he knows that his best friend isn’t missing or dead but he’s been replaced. The being in front of him wears Hikaru’s face, speaks with his voice, and remembers the life they shared—but he’s not Hikaru.
The story is rich in its atmosphere; you can almost feel the deep forests and narrow roads and the kind of place where it kept a lot of secrets and strange things could happen that no one would ever really talk about. While the first volumes left so many questions unanswered, they also hint at a potentially more complex storyline. It is not just a supernatural thriller on the surface, but the author uses the concept to explore grief, memory, love, and the terrifying unfamiliar entity.
Of course the setting and the horror elements are compelling, but the way the author handles grief is totally unforgettable and devastating. Yoshiki and Hikaru friendship is intimate, especially when we see Yoshiki’s refusal to let go of Hikaru and how he is willing to live in denial just for Hikaru to stay beside him. He's just trying to hold on to the remaining pieces of Hikaru. This is why it’s heartbreaking to watch him living this new reality while clinging to the shell of someone he once knew. I love how his inner conflict is portrayed with heartbreaking restraint and beautifully written.
Overall, I love that the first volume does not rush to everything and explain about the 'creature' right away. But instead it takes a slow, careful approach to the story, which makes me look forward to reading the next volumes! 3.75 ⭐️ Thank you Yen On and Edelweiss for the review copy.
May 22, 2025
[NetGalley provided an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review~]
full review on blog~
ok ok… so I know this one’s a pretty popular manga and anime (is the anime out yet?idk), but I somehow managed to avoid spoilers and OMG, this was better than I imagined!
The translation/localization was really goood! I mean some of the parts read a bit awkwardly—but I think mostly because certain things just don’t translate well into English. I can only imagine the stress the poor translator/editors were under, especially with lines about purposeful mispronunciations and accurately translating accents.
The Story:
Don’t look at anything but me
It’s kind of weird and gross, but the relationship dynamic between Yoshiki and Hikaru/Hikaru is soo good. Yoskiki can’t let go of Hikaru even though Hikaru is not really Hikaru anymore. This was way more angsty than I expected and for such a short book (I finished it in a day), I was surprised by how much I got into it. I will definitely be buying a copy next time I decide to bulk order English books.
Is it BL?
I would say so, I mean the whole reason Yoshiki can’t give up on Hikaru is because he had such strong feelings for Hikaru. I think the book was quite clear about Yoshiki’s feelings. This is mainly a horror light novel but the queer undertones are very much present and essential to the story.
full review on blog~
ok ok… so I know this one’s a pretty popular manga and anime (is the anime out yet?idk), but I somehow managed to avoid spoilers and OMG, this was better than I imagined!
The translation/localization was really goood! I mean some of the parts read a bit awkwardly—but I think mostly because certain things just don’t translate well into English. I can only imagine the stress the poor translator/editors were under, especially with lines about purposeful mispronunciations and accurately translating accents.
The Story:
Don’t look at anything but me
It’s kind of weird and gross, but the relationship dynamic between Yoshiki and Hikaru/Hikaru is soo good. Yoskiki can’t let go of Hikaru even though Hikaru is not really Hikaru anymore. This was way more angsty than I expected and for such a short book (I finished it in a day), I was surprised by how much I got into it. I will definitely be buying a copy next time I decide to bulk order English books.
Is it BL?
I would say so, I mean the whole reason Yoshiki can’t give up on Hikaru is because he had such strong feelings for Hikaru. I think the book was quite clear about Yoshiki’s feelings. This is mainly a horror light novel but the queer undertones are very much present and essential to the story.
August 21, 2025
Novel Hikaru ga shinda natsu ini benar-benar... light. Meski bagus untuk yang ingin mengetahui alur cerita HikaNatsu, dan memungkinkan kita melihat isi pikiran karakter-karakter seperti Yoshiki, rasa menggelisahkan, jijik, dan membuat merinding yang ditimbulkan secara visual oleh manga (dan kemudian anime) terbabat ketika cerita dijadikan bentuk novel. Horor dalam novel ini jadinya tipis-tipis saja, membuat novel terasa agak datar. Ilustrasi buatan sang mangaka asli, Mokumokuren, meski enak dilihat juga pada akhirnya tidak banyak membantu menimbulkan efek yang sama dengan visualisasi dalam manga.
Terlepas dari hal di atas, saya harus angkat jempol untuk terjemahannya. Enak diikuti, dan tidak ragu menggunakan bahasa tidak formal untuk bagian percakapan. (Ini juga lebih pas untuk HikaNatsu yang karakter-karakternya aslinya bercakap-cakap dalam logat daerah.) Meskipun ada beberapa yang terlewat lupa dicetak miring, penulisan untuk membedakan Hikaru yang asli dan yang tidak dengan memanfaatkan cetak tegak dan cetak miring sungguh sangat membantu pembacaan. Hanya saja, yang saya bingung, mengapa nama sejumlah tempat disertai penulisan kanji nama yang diulang-ulangi terus, ya, tidak cukup sekali saja atau manakala perlu saja? Jadinya malah agak mengganggu.
Terlepas dari hal di atas, saya harus angkat jempol untuk terjemahannya. Enak diikuti, dan tidak ragu menggunakan bahasa tidak formal untuk bagian percakapan. (Ini juga lebih pas untuk HikaNatsu yang karakter-karakternya aslinya bercakap-cakap dalam logat daerah.) Meskipun ada beberapa yang terlewat lupa dicetak miring, penulisan untuk membedakan Hikaru yang asli dan yang tidak dengan memanfaatkan cetak tegak dan cetak miring sungguh sangat membantu pembacaan. Hanya saja, yang saya bingung, mengapa nama sejumlah tempat disertai penulisan kanji nama yang diulang-ulangi terus, ya, tidak cukup sekali saja atau manakala perlu saja? Jadinya malah agak mengganggu.
August 21, 2025
GOD this was good. I was told by a friend that I'd love The Summer Hikaru Died, and that friend was so, so correct. I feel like it was written just for me.
So there's this thing about stories where the story's content is also a metaphor for queerness (or another marginalization, but with horror and the monstrous there's often a particular queer bent, more on that in a second). There are two ways to do it. The first is that the metaphor is a direct 1:1, and in these cases it often doesn't work satisfactorily because the thing that is happening is also the thing that is being said and so it often, hm, accidentally undercuts its own message. X-Men is an example of this type. Don't get me wrong, I love the X-Men, but it is very blatantly "Being a mutant is the same as [other marginalization -- queerness, or civil rights, etc]. You're born to be this way and then everyone is cruel to you as you struggle to find a place." The reason it often doesn't work is that this is speaking to people outside the community in question, trying to convince them, and, as mentioned, the 1:1-ness of it undercuts its message: if a mutant is the same as a Black person then the fact that person sucks your entire lifeforce out if she touches you is, uh, implying something. If a child is repeatedly exploding and killing people and is also an explicit 1:1 metaphor for being gay you are implying that queer children are inherently dangerous to those around them (this was a Northstar storyline btw, not making that one up).
The other way this is done is that the events that are happening in the story are the straightforward events, but the feelings they evoke and how people react to them is a metaphor for the marginalized person's lived experience. In this case, they're speaking to the people who share that experience, not trying to convince those outside it. So, like, for example, maybe your friend died and you found the body and didn't tell anyone and then later that friend came back and you know something else is puppetting your friend's body and you can't tell anyone else, obviously, but if you address it with him then it's a secret between the two of you and you're a little afraid as the two of you experiment in locked rooms with touching the monster inside your best friend's body, and you're also excited, and it feels terrifying but it also feels good, and nobody can know that your friend is different than he's supposed to be and nobody can know you're indulging in this difference and you miss how simple things used to be but you can't stop this and you want it so much. You're so afraid what would happen if anyone knew. Same as you saw how people talked when someone else in your village turned out to be gay.
You know, exactly what The Summer Hikaru Died is about.
Horror stories often appeal to queer folks like myself for this reason -- the things horror wants to talk about are usually about metaphors for marginalization. If you've been told over and over again in various places in your life, active or passive, casual or aggressive, that what you are and how you live is abhorrent, unnatural, some kind of abomination, then you either have to make it so you hear less of this (hiding, denial), or embrace it knowing you will hear more of it actively, and even reclaim it. (Think slogans you've probably seen around like "Not gay as in happy but queer as in fuck you"). Horror often speaks to this sense of reclamation of abhorrence. A lot of it is about sympathy for the monster. (Sadako, intersex woman, thrown down a well to die, furious and desperate for revenge) or recognition of how that horror icon reflects a societal situation (Pinhead, genderqueer leather bdsm icon, reflecting lust and pain and fear in the gay community of the 1980s, etc). There's some great reading folks can do on queer horror; do a quick search for queer horror and begin following the links. But it's a known thing. "It's not uncommon for a future queer, brown boy to feel like an outcast in rural Georgia, so naturally I was enveloped by the genre. In my later life, it came to be that I found a community with these like-minded individuals who also widely shared queer identities." - Kenneth Figueroa (Haunted: The intersections of queer culture and horror movies)
Anyway, the thing is, The Summer Hikaru Died gets this and embraces it fully, as you could probably have guessed from the above summary. The events are what are happening, but what it's about is the sticky-hot summer tension, the screaming cicadas, the sense of small-town scrutiny, secrets shared together that the protagonist Yoshiki is as scared of as anyone, but that he needs, not just because he was in love with his best friend who died and this is all that was left of him, but because the creature that's now wearing his skin returns his feelings in a way the real Hikaru never could and because that thing understands him in a way the real Hikaru never could.
The horror writing in this is top notch. It's scary. It's erotic -- not as in sex but as in the longing and tension and unresolved sense of that physical fear and want. It's tense and unblinking and at the same time a soft, slow, sticky summer. This is an adaptation of the manga, but it's so clear the author loved the book and I wasn't surprised that the afterwords showed a real mutual admiration between the adaptation's author and the original mangaka's reading of the adaptation.
This is probably the first book I've ever read that feels like it was written exactly for me, with exactly my fictional tastes in mind, full of the things that I want to both write and read. I feel like I could have written this (not in terms of like quality, but in terms of the content I want to tell stories about), and it makes me want to revive some of my older stories that I wrote that had similar content that I shelved because I wasn't sure they could find an audience.
Five stars. Thank you to Yen Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
So there's this thing about stories where the story's content is also a metaphor for queerness (or another marginalization, but with horror and the monstrous there's often a particular queer bent, more on that in a second). There are two ways to do it. The first is that the metaphor is a direct 1:1, and in these cases it often doesn't work satisfactorily because the thing that is happening is also the thing that is being said and so it often, hm, accidentally undercuts its own message. X-Men is an example of this type. Don't get me wrong, I love the X-Men, but it is very blatantly "Being a mutant is the same as [other marginalization -- queerness, or civil rights, etc]. You're born to be this way and then everyone is cruel to you as you struggle to find a place." The reason it often doesn't work is that this is speaking to people outside the community in question, trying to convince them, and, as mentioned, the 1:1-ness of it undercuts its message: if a mutant is the same as a Black person then the fact that person sucks your entire lifeforce out if she touches you is, uh, implying something. If a child is repeatedly exploding and killing people and is also an explicit 1:1 metaphor for being gay you are implying that queer children are inherently dangerous to those around them (this was a Northstar storyline btw, not making that one up).
The other way this is done is that the events that are happening in the story are the straightforward events, but the feelings they evoke and how people react to them is a metaphor for the marginalized person's lived experience. In this case, they're speaking to the people who share that experience, not trying to convince those outside it. So, like, for example, maybe your friend died and you found the body and didn't tell anyone and then later that friend came back and you know something else is puppetting your friend's body and you can't tell anyone else, obviously, but if you address it with him then it's a secret between the two of you and you're a little afraid as the two of you experiment in locked rooms with touching the monster inside your best friend's body, and you're also excited, and it feels terrifying but it also feels good, and nobody can know that your friend is different than he's supposed to be and nobody can know you're indulging in this difference and you miss how simple things used to be but you can't stop this and you want it so much. You're so afraid what would happen if anyone knew. Same as you saw how people talked when someone else in your village turned out to be gay.
You know, exactly what The Summer Hikaru Died is about.
Horror stories often appeal to queer folks like myself for this reason -- the things horror wants to talk about are usually about metaphors for marginalization. If you've been told over and over again in various places in your life, active or passive, casual or aggressive, that what you are and how you live is abhorrent, unnatural, some kind of abomination, then you either have to make it so you hear less of this (hiding, denial), or embrace it knowing you will hear more of it actively, and even reclaim it. (Think slogans you've probably seen around like "Not gay as in happy but queer as in fuck you"). Horror often speaks to this sense of reclamation of abhorrence. A lot of it is about sympathy for the monster. (Sadako, intersex woman, thrown down a well to die, furious and desperate for revenge) or recognition of how that horror icon reflects a societal situation (Pinhead, genderqueer leather bdsm icon, reflecting lust and pain and fear in the gay community of the 1980s, etc). There's some great reading folks can do on queer horror; do a quick search for queer horror and begin following the links. But it's a known thing. "It's not uncommon for a future queer, brown boy to feel like an outcast in rural Georgia, so naturally I was enveloped by the genre. In my later life, it came to be that I found a community with these like-minded individuals who also widely shared queer identities." - Kenneth Figueroa (Haunted: The intersections of queer culture and horror movies)
Anyway, the thing is, The Summer Hikaru Died gets this and embraces it fully, as you could probably have guessed from the above summary. The events are what are happening, but what it's about is the sticky-hot summer tension, the screaming cicadas, the sense of small-town scrutiny, secrets shared together that the protagonist Yoshiki is as scared of as anyone, but that he needs, not just because he was in love with his best friend who died and this is all that was left of him, but because the creature that's now wearing his skin returns his feelings in a way the real Hikaru never could and because that thing understands him in a way the real Hikaru never could.
The horror writing in this is top notch. It's scary. It's erotic -- not as in sex but as in the longing and tension and unresolved sense of that physical fear and want. It's tense and unblinking and at the same time a soft, slow, sticky summer. This is an adaptation of the manga, but it's so clear the author loved the book and I wasn't surprised that the afterwords showed a real mutual admiration between the adaptation's author and the original mangaka's reading of the adaptation.
This is probably the first book I've ever read that feels like it was written exactly for me, with exactly my fictional tastes in mind, full of the things that I want to both write and read. I feel like I could have written this (not in terms of like quality, but in terms of the content I want to tell stories about), and it makes me want to revive some of my older stories that I wrote that had similar content that I shelved because I wasn't sure they could find an audience.
Five stars. Thank you to Yen Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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