Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Taz7fy
At first, this anime seemed really interesting. It had a certain atmosphere, and the "horror" tag was definitely appropriate. Over time, however, whatever horror elements were present quickly devolved into a run-of-the-mill, pseudo-romantic plot. I wouldn’t have minded if I’d been looking for a complicated "situationship," but I was expecting horror—and the last time I actually felt any sense of dread was when a creepy figure in the woods moved its head in the distance.
Początkowo to anime wydawało się naprawdę interesujące. Miało klimat i horror w tagach był jak najbardziej na miejscu. Z czasem jednak cokolwiek, co tam miało być z horroru, bardzo szybko przemieniło się w zwyczajny pseudo romans. Nie miałbym problemu gdybym oczekiwał skomplikowanego situationshipa, ale oczekiwałem horroru…
Read at the sourcesoulinski
I think this series has great potential, even though the story as is this is somehow confusing, it slowly explains everything but you it leaves you lost at times. For me personally it left me a bit frustrated cause I didn't understand what was going on most of the time rather than leaving me without curiosity for the next episode.
However the colors, the way the characters are drawn and their personalities are amazing. A critique I would like to make is the cgi for some scenes is unnecessary and kind of ugly (for examples when the class in doing the "concert" or when the classmates entering the school)
As I said earlier I think this has a great potential and I will wait for the second season to know more about the characters and the story.
Read at the sourcestrqwbrrygirl
if it werent for homophobia, the summer hikaru died wouldve been a much more popular anime. the ratings make it pretty clear that people who actually went into it with an open mind found it incredible, but the fact that the story is heavily centered around an analogy for repressed homosexuality and the pressure to conform to societal norms clearly turned a lot of people off.
i also really loved the horror aspect of it. you dont usually see horror in anime being done this well. TSHD genuinely had me hooked. i loved the characters and how well written they are, especially the way their emotions are portrayed. even the cute scenes were something i really enjoyed. the anime just grips you from the beginning and keeps you interested the entire time, and i just felt like watching the next episo…
Read at the sourcesharkzzx
masterpiece of an anime, it was such a beautiful watch in one sitting and ill never forget it, it genuinely changed something in me.
the relationship between hikaru and yoshiki was insane. im close to tears as i right this because of how beautiful the ending was. i recommend this to anyone looking for a heartbreaking thriller with a terribly complex relationship between the two mcs. it shows so much anime you never see and i love how it shows all the ugly crying of the characters. hikaru and yoshiki are such complex characters and it takes a lot to understand them individually and their relationship. the art style is chefs kiss and the storyline itself pulls you in. overall, perfect. 10/10 for a reason.
Read at the source--x_x--
i finished this in one sitting.
usually i dont mind stopping in between episodes of animes, but for this one i NEEDED to know what happened next. this was an amazing watch, i kicked my feet like a high school girl watching this,,
the artstyle is AMAZING. im quite picky about art styles most of the time. 10/10 easily, its soso cute
for the story, jaw dropping. wonderful and marvellous. im a huge horror fan (i think this is horror??) so ofcourse this is amazing if you enjoy horror n such. also a 10/10 (⁎ᴗ͈ ⩊ ᴗ͈⁎) they also end on cliffhangers, which really gets you to think about the possibilities of what happened next, or well create theories.
overall, 10/10, beautiful. i could rewatch it everyday
(ive also created multiple kandi for it aswell teehee))
Read at the sourceMisoony
What is love? Is it something a monster can feel? Does a monster even have the right to feel such a thing?
Oh my gosh, one of my favorite manga got an amazing adaptation, and I couldn't be happier. This anime perfectly mixes the emotion and horror of the original manga to the point of making the story even stronger. I'd say this is the best anime in the Summer 2025 season. Yes, Takopi's Original Sin was amazing, but I think The Summer Hikaru Died is even better.
Forbidden love is already a tragedy unto itself, but when the person you love is no longer the same soul you fell in love with, instead a monster who now reciprocates your feelings, what are you to do? That's the situation Yoshiki now finds himself facing.
It's a really interesting premise. Usually, I don't expect much from horr…
Read at the sourceKawaii_Sino
Im kinda positively surprised. People kept telling me this was just Yaoi romance but at the end of the day its not really, i like to think of it as a swapped „This monster wants to eat me“ and that was a nice surprise.
I wouldn’t call it perfect but thinks rarely are. Animation is great, ost is good and story is enjoyable and keeps you hooked. Not much more you can ask for.
I really can’t say a lot more other than comparing it to other works. Higurashi and Another jump to my mind because of the obvious village setting that always works well in those horror settings in my opinion. The characters are pretty cool but simply written, I feel like a little more depth would’ve done them well.
It is a concept that has been tried before, so if you get what I meant with the paragraph above you wi…
Read at the sourceHoToKe_E
The story is about two boys, and it is definitely boys love, the character named Hikaru has to do the family ritual and goes into the mountains.
He dies there and a monster comes back.
The show is set in Japan's suburbs and it feels perfectly relaxing at times because of it.
Hikaru's best friend is the first to notice the change but doesn't rat on him because he is glad his only friend is back.
It's mostly a drama where they talk about their emotions and you have characters growths, you do get some spooky Youkai ( Japan's Folklore ) sprinkled here and there, but it's only spooky, I don't think you can pass it down as horror.
The romantic part goes from I can fix him to wait a minute, I don't need to fix him, maybe I'm the monster as well, which is so true and I love it.
It is also mys…
Read at the sourcemailboxspiders
If you're looking for a visually stunning anime, "Hikaru" really pushes the limits of what we've seen in anime.
But if you're looking for horror--and don't get me wrong, there are plenty of horror elements here--it's more of a spiritual, psychological, and emotional horror anime.
It's also pretty funny, especially Hikaru himself.
Hikaru's just a pretty likable character in general.
It's no wonder he and his best friend Yoshiki struggle so deeply with who or what Hikaru is now, and what it means for each of them. And the ending of this season leaves a lot of questions.
But sadly, though there will almost definitely be a second season, it will probably be a while since they're waiting for more material from the manga adaptation to adapt into future anime episodes.
Read at the sourceJohnyDeadlifts
I try to keep this spoiler free:
I tend to think that horror anime are usually very underwhelming and are worse than their manga counterparts. Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu is definitely not bad and I would argue that it´s better than most of the horror anime i´ve seen, but at the end of the day I felt like it was underwhelming at times. I think part of that is that anime in general struggles to deliver the same kind of subtle, creeping horror that manga does. In manga, the stillness and paneling can really build tension, but in anime that feeling can kind of flatten out unless the direction is really strong. That´s a medium/translation thing tho, and I think Hikaru ga shinda natsu did an alright job.
One person argued that homophobia held back this series from being more praised, and although…
Read at the sourceRosiefromthesea
This was such a mind bending watch and I am so happy that I was able to watch this when I did. This is such a densely complicated series that there could be so many different interpretations of what this show represents and they would all be correct in their analysis. In my viewing of this series I picked out two main themes in this show, grief and rebirth.
Yoshiki represents all of the grief in this show. Specifically the grief of losing someone very close to you and having difficulties moving on while the rest of the world does. Yoshiki feels separated from everyone else in town because he alone is grieving his friend and he feels weird about it, like he shouldn't be grieving since Hikaru isn't dead. It becomes very clear that Yoshiki is an outsider in a lot of different social situati…
Read at the sourceVer_se_s
Anime with an amazing and unique story, along with great friendship. These are the words that come to my mind when I reflect on this anime. The animation is excellent, and the storyline is truly one of a kind. I won’t give any spoilers, but I can confidently say it's worth watching. However, it is best suited for open-minded viewers, as it initially appears to depict a great friendship, but, in some instances, it delves into deeper territory.
Aside from that, I believe the overall story is fantastic. Those who can appreciate the depth of the friendship portrayed may really enjoy this anime. I would give it an 8.5 out of 10, and in my anime tier list, it would fall either in the |A| or |A+| category.
Read at the sourcemorgnapple
The summer Hikaru died, a horror anime with queer elements had a lot going for it, some of the executions played out better than others did.
For one thing, the soundtrack, visuals and vibe were incredible. The feel that the manga gave was captured so serenely in every episode, never once did the scenery feel skimmed or cheapened to focus on other things.
I did, however, take issue with how some of the themes were presented. After watching the full twelve episodes, I didn’t feel moved by the horror or the subtle romance aspect, the two things I came to see. It felt that neither the chemistry nor the scariness were thrust into their full effect.
Nearly the entire time I felt as if the anime was teetering on the edge of each theme it was trying to convey, unable to fully commit.
With…
Read at the sourceBEOMGYUSTOE
The summer hikaru died is an absolute banger. It is one of those shows that gets even better the second watch. It does have some slow movements but the payoff is absolutely crazy. Also the intro and outro are AMAZING!! At first I was kind of confused on how the relationship with Hikaru and Yoshiki would develop. But it’s good to see a horror anime with not being BL but with queer characters.
The premise is also very unique unlike most horror anime’s out there. It’s not particularly scary horror, but the type that gives that uneasy feeling after. One thing I will state about the characters, is I wish they were a little more memorable. Yoshiki and Hikaru are very memorable, where as the other characters not so much.
Overall very good show definitely recommend.
Read at the sourceZonna
With how the title goes I honestly I expected more from this story. To be honest I think the story should've went a completely different direction but it ended up too much on the romance side and not enough on the horror side towards the end. With how Hiraku is supposed to be this demonic eldritch horror being, I expected there to be much more tension and less human feelings comming from the character. There was too much info dump and the horror elements were underwhelming as I expected for the consequences of Hiraku's presence to cause much bigger consequences and more often. We only really got like two scary instances really... I also really hoped to see Hiraku act unhuman and strange whenever people were not around him to highlight how unnatural he was but I did not get that either from…
Read at the sourceReikonm
When I started The Summer Hikaru Died, I was super hyped and excited. The premise was interesting right away, and the mysterious atmosphere really gave me chills. The show does a great job at pulling you in at the beginning with its unsettling tone and intriguing setup.
That said, while the story is still good, it starts to feel a bit inconsistent as it goes on. There are a lot of unanswered questions and plot holes that make parts of the story feel unfinished. The pacing is also very slow, and sometimes it feels like the story keeps circling around the same ideas without moving forward, which became frustrating at times.
Visually and audibly, the anime is fantastic. The sound design and the overall atmosphere are mesmerizing and really help build the eerie feeling the show is going for.…
Read at the sourceblackbunshin
This is so good, seriously!
It has everything you'd expect to see on a typical summer shoujo anime (festivals, beach trips, the sound of cicadas), but the atmosphere is insanelly dark... and it's two dudes, of course. I'm a scaredy-cat but no anime has ever made me feel so scared like this one. At the same time, everything ends up being so bittersweet, because the protagonist (Yoshiki) is facing a tough dilemma: his best friend is gone and in his place there's a monster who looks and talks just like him. He doesn't want to be alone, but he soon realizes it won't be that easy to live with that new reality. Their relationship goes back and forth and back again and you get to experience the same fear and relief as Yoshiki, one after the other, as the story progresses. Just like him, there ar…
Read at the sourceAvengers007
I watched this anime between November 30 and December 4, 2025. It’s a psychological horror and mystery series, mainly aimed at a seinen (adult male) audience. I should also mention—it’s a BL (Boys’ Love) anime.
And before anyone jumps to conclusions—relax. I’m straight. When I first started watching it, I didn’t even know it had BL elements.
That said, now that I’ve finished it, I can honestly say the story is strong enough for anyone to watch. Yes, there are moments where the relationship goes slightly beyond friendship, and that might feel a bit awkward depending on your comfort level. Personally, I’m not into watching gay romance. But if you focus on the core story, it’s manageable.
While watching, I kept getting reminded of Summer Time Rendering. I won’t spoil anything, but the basi…
Read at the sourceoPikWojtik
This review is mainly subjective and contains no major spoilers.
Before starting I want to address the most controversial feature of this show being the boys love/relationship dynamics.
I personally have absolutely no issue with homosexuality in anime as long as it feels natural and makes the story better rather than being forced or existing purely as fanservice. In many cases, homosexuality can actually make the entire work much better, and for me, that is exactly what this show does.
The Summer Hikaru Died is not typical boys love. The main relationship is extremely complex, emotionally mature and layered. It doesnt feel like the show is trying to force it on the viewers, it feels like the story genuinely needs this kind of relationship to work and fully explore the themes it wants to.…
Read at the sourceemberreviews
The Summer Hikaru Died is a surprisingly stressful thriller/drama that, if not for Takopi, would easily take the prize for most emotionally torturous anime of the season. The immense conflict within Yoshiki regarding how he feels towards the entity that now inhabits Hikaru’s body manifests in nearly every action he takes towards it, with his very obvious but not directly stated romantic feelings towards Hikaru being a primary chain shackling him to this monstrous deity despite the ever-present danger it presents. It creates a vicious cycle that, while narratively a tiny bit repetitive, consistently explodes with palpably painful emotions. Meanwhile, New Hikaru’s attempts to become human and evade the loneliness brought on by hundreds of years being trapped on a mountain was, while fairly p…
Read at the source
