光が死んだ夏

HIKARU GA SHINDA NATSU

MANGA

STATUS
RELEASING
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
Invalid Date
CHAPTERS
Not Available

DESCRIPTION

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?

(Source: Yen Press)

CAST

Hikaru Indou
Yoshiki Tsujinaka

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO HIKARU GA SHINDA NATSU

ANIME HorrorHikaru ga Shinda Natsu

NOVEL HorrorHikaru ga Shinda Natsu

REVIEWS

mywigisonfire
82/100
A perfect depiction of what it's like to overthink. One for all of the psychological horror fans.
Why you should be reading “The summer that Hikaru died”

I am not one to usually read a large amount of manga but recently I have been getting into the art form. I always liked to keep my anime and reading separate, if I was going to read it would have to be a book as I saw manga as a waste of time. Quickly, I have come to realize there is a lot that I'm missing out on.
I came across this manga when looking for psychological horror recommendations and quickly fell in love with the artstyle and interesting premise. The terrifying idea that your friend died and is taken over by something that isn't them but resembles them in almost every way captured me as soon as I read the synopsys.
It won first place in the “Kono Manga ga Sugoi!” (This Manga is Amazing!) 2023 annual magazine and this reward is deserved. The mind behind this manga is the new rising mangaka Mokmok Len and from the quality of this story you would think that they are incredibly prolific. However, this their second manga, their first being period which is a one shot bl. I can't wait to see what they create in the future as “The Summer that Hikaru died” is slowly becoming one of my favorite mangas.

The story:
If you're someone who likes a story that is obvious and lays the facts out for you to see, you will most lightly not enjoy this manga. However, if you are like me and love it when the writer keeps things from you, the plot may be more to your taste. The constant wonder that this manga elicits brings me immense joy as I try to figure out what Hikaru is. The only problem I have is with the recent chapters. The introduction of a new character has confused me but hopefully all will be revealed soon.

Another element of the plot is the beginnings of a romance between Hikaru and Yoshiki. I won't delve too deeply into this element of the story as it will spoil the plot. Just be aware that it's not something that has been explored in extreme detail as of yet. If you saw the tag of “boys love” and you expect a romance this manga will probably not be for you. I hope that the manga goes into this more in the future as elements of Hikaru and Yoshikis past get revealed. What I like about this relationship is that you rarely see LGBT themes being explored in manga (or in any media) that is plot heavy. For example, recently heart stopper has gained great success. While it is good representation, I feel like if it was about a straight couple people would just see it as another boring romance that follows tropes. This manga however, is a great example of how LGBT themes can be used to enhance a plot in creative ways. Not just to give the CEO of a company brownie points.
Overall, I think the plot definitely has its flaws and some untapped potential but with the way things are going I assume everything that I'm pondering will be revealed.
No matter what, the ending cannot be pleasant. It is a tragedy after all.
Characters:
Yoshiki:
Yoshiki is the straight man out of him and Hikaru. He is incredibly insecure and over thinks all of the time. The prospect that this new Hikaru could be a replacement constantly plays on his mind. The manga does an excellent job of conveying his emotions through art (I will go into this later on) as he spirals and questions his morals. I think Momok Len definitely used this character as a device to showcase the psychological elements of the story because as a reader I can deeply relate to the feeling of having a thought that won't stop spiraling out of control.
Despite the Sci Fi elements of this story I think the real horror is the way in which the events of the story play on the human mind.
There is nothing more terrifying than the way in which your mind plays tricks on you.

Hikaru:
Hikaru is a playful character who acts as a foil to Yoshiki's serious demeanor. Despite him often adding light hearted moments to the story, everything that he does is tainted by the fact we don't know what he is.
He could be viewed as being a leech who has become attached to Yoshiki's leg. However, Yoshiki refuses to remove him because he is a replacement for the old Hikaru.
I'm intrigued to find out if the new Hikaru is actually an evil being or just a lonely spirit who needed a vessel to occupy. Will he be misunderstood or rotten at his core?
Hikaru is another well written character and I would say that him and Hikaru's relationship is definitely a highlight of the manga for me.

Side characters: The group of friends add some more light hearted moments to the manga but I think they need more development. I can't wait to see more of them as the story goes on.

Art:
By far my favorite thing about this manga is the art. Mokmok Len does not rely on gore to show horror but instead uses patterns and swirls. This leads to some amazing visuals that are reminiscent of Junji ito's work.

The characters themselves are drawn beautifully and the artist perfectly captures their emotions and personality through the vibrant drawings. I think the slightly rounder, innocent faces of the characters add to the tragedy of it all as i'm constantly reminded that they are only in high school.
Yoshiki's emotions are conveyed masterfully. The art itself speaks louder than words as metaphorical representations of his overthinking almost jump out at you.

Conclusion:
If you are a fan of psychological horror or are looking for something with LGBT themes that isn't the normal story you would come across I would recommend this manga to you. Since it isn't incredibly long it doesn't take too long to read and it would be a shame if you were to miss out on a manga that I believe will soon become incredibly popular.

For now, I rate this an 8/10 but I believe this score may get bigger as the story continues.
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Girl0Gun
90/100
The Summer When Hikaru Died
« The summer when Hikaru Died » une lecture sans aucune attente particulière, assise dans le train avec une page de scan sur deux qui se gênerais : je m’attendais à un bl classique » et j’ai été surprise de retrouver un écot « d’Éclat d’Âme » qui a défaut de la subtilité possédait déjà ce joli dessin expressif et ce côté onirique ; onirisme qui relève du cauchemardesque dans cette œuvre car j'ai lu ce charabia très rapidement comme une allégorie de l'homosexualité dans l'interprétation d'un désir infantile. Ne connaissant pas plus que ça le mangaka, je n'ai pas d'intention à décerner à celui ou celle-ci mais que ce soit directe ou non le sous-texte de l’œuvre est un pure délice à analyser.

Débutons par le fait qu'Hikaru est celui qui porte le parasite, souvent dépeint dans une hétérosexualité quasi-maladive, ironiquement, il en ai obnubilé dès son jeune âge et en mourra de manière parfaitement absurde. Si ce n'est pas explicité par des scènes de frustration ou de refoulement ça en a déjà au moins quelques codes en face de son ami d'enfance. Les moments des souvenirs d’un Hikaru « normal » sont souvent liés à des passages où il parle de son attirance pour les femmes. Cette chose visqueuse, terrifiante et plaisante à la fois à l’intérieur de lui qui se répand et qui le rend amoureux, c’est typiquement la façon dont est perçu l’homosexualité « une anomalie interne », une contamination, un parasite, un virus, qu’il ne faut pas ressortir, qui n’apparaît et n’explose que dans l’intime sous l’intensité émotionnelle partagé avec une personne et même dans cette intimité elle reste profondément honteuse. Hikaru cesse d'être normal lors qu'il cesse de penser au femme et pense plutôt à son meilleur ami.

D’ailleurs je pense que c’est une différence importante de base entre le personnage principal et Hikaru, le personnage principal bien qu’il ne le dit pas démontre qu’il sais avoir toujours aimé Hikaru, et ça s'illustre un peu plus sur leur discussion sur un cousin « malade », Hikaru n’a pas de notion d’homosexualité et le décrète comme malade tout comme les autres ; le personnage lui affirme « il n’est pas malade, il est gay », sa notion de la chose est claire, ce qui rend le choix du personnage infecté tout particulièrement propice à cette abstraite allégorie d'une vision de l'homosexualité.

Très honnêtement j’adore les planches offertes par le manga, et je ne vais pas mentir les allégories offertes par ci et là sont follement agréable, je ne dirais pas que c’est rafraîchissant ou exceptionnel mais en tant que personne ayant de l’anxiété généralisée et des crises d’angoisses récurrentes, je trouve que ces dessins explicites très bien ces états, en plus de « l’overthinking » en général. Si l’histoire ne serait vous convaincre, que dire des cases qui accompagne le trait de le ou bien la mangaka ? Du placement des bulles de texte faisant intégralement parti de la planche ? De la scène ? De la vie des personnages. Je suis une personne atteinte d’une sévère anxiété sociale et si pour vous, ce virus et ce placement de bulle peut ressembler à un brouillon "edgy", pour moi il s’agit de mon quotidien, les gens de tous les jours sont des Hikaru mort à mes yeux, toutes ses bulles sont leurs voix qui m’oppressent, c’est comme ça que j’ai réalisé la beauté de ce manga : le show don’t tell y est parfait, au point de permettre à quiconque ayant déjà expérimenté cette pression silencieuse de la voir illustré une première fois. J’aime beaucoup comme leur agencement participe à la planche et ne ressemble pas juste à une image insérer sur un côté qui ne cache pas trop le dessin.
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