The anime adaptation of coming-of-age horror manga The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren was announced last year in May of 2024. Studio Cygames Pictures is handling the animation, and Netflix will be streaming the anime worldwide from July 5, 2025.
The Summer Hikaru Died had a big presence at AnimeJapan 2025 at the KADOKAWA booth, and the main trailer was revealed during the weekend.
The official English synopsis of The Summer Hikaru Died:
In a certain village
Since their childhood, they have grown up together.
Yoshiki and Hikaru, childhood friends.
The sun shining down on them
The chirping sound of a crypto tympana facialis
Ice cream on the way home
Laughing over trivial things
One day in summer, no different from any other day
…… You’re not Hikaru after all, are you?
Half a year ago, Hikaru went missing in the mountains.
A week later, he came back on a whim.
The voice, the figure, the thing that looked like Hikaru
What was stirring inside…
“Hikaru is no longer with us. …… if that’s the case.”
Starting the days with “something” in the form of a friend,
The “same as usual” everyday life.
But at the same time…
Strange incidents begin to plague the village.
Falling into the unknown “something”
The curtain rises on a coming-of-age horror story.
Anime Corner had the honor of connecting with the production company for The Summer Hikaru Died, CyberAgent, at AnimeJapan 2025 (KADOKAWA is also the production company for this anime). CyberAgent allowed us to talk with Manami Kabashima (producer for Project Sekai the Movie: The Broken World and The Miku Who Can’t Sing) on The Summer Hikaru Died about her role in the work, voice actor auditions, and how the show uniquely approaches the coming-of-age horror genre.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. We thank CyberAgent for setting us up with an English translator.
Q: Can you introduce yourself and your role in bringing The Summer Hikaru Died anime to life?
Kabashima-san: I’m the producer of The Summer Hikaru Died, and I oversee both the anime production and the overall business side of the project. I personally signed Cygames Pictures as the animation studio, and they’re handling the production.
Q: What initially drew you and the studio to Mokumokuren’s manga and made you want to adapt this work into an anime?
Kabashima-san: I was reading the original manga on KADOKAWA’s YOUNG ACE UP website. The Summer Hikaru Died immediately pulled me in—it felt like the story just seeped into me. The horror and the delicate emotional subtleties of the characters are depicted with overwhelming artistic power, and I had a desire to see this work as an anime.
Q: How long has the adaptation been in development, and what were some of the key milestones in production?
Kabashima-san: In May 2022, Volume 1 of the manga was released in Japan. That’s when I began talking with the team at KADOKAWA about adapting it into an anime. After those initial conversations, I brought the project to Cygames Pictures. Once Director Ryohei Takeshita had the time to fully focus on it, he began working on the production around October 2023.
Q: The Summer Hikaru Died blends psychological horror and deep emotional storytelling, so how did the team approach striking that balance?
Kabashima-san: The story is fundamentally rooted in character drama. The original manga doesn’t rely on jump scares; its horror is quiet, unsettling, and gradually creeps in. When adapting it into anime, we didn’t want to lean too heavily into traditional horror. Instead, we focused on preserving the storytelling at its core. We also restructured certain elements, such as the timeline and delving into the characters’ stories, so the mystery would unfold in a clear and engaging way for viewers, while staying true to the spirit of the original and also adding an original spice to the anime.
Q: What makes The Summer Hikaru Died stand out from other horror anime?
Kabashima-san: We describe it as a coming-of-age horror, a genre that feels quite unique to Japan. What sets The Summer Hikaru Died apart is how it doesn’t portray supernatural or terrifying elements as things to be feared or rejected. Instead, the characters grow by confronting and coexisting with them. That emotional and psychological approach is what makes the story feel so original.
Q: How closely did you work with the original creator, Mokumokuren?
Kabashima-san: Mokumokuren-sensei joined every single script meeting from the very beginning. Mokumokuren-sensei also gave us very precise opinions and ideas. Early on, Mokumokuren-sensei told us, the director and the production team that it didn’t have to follow the manga exactly—that it was okay to change things if it made the anime more engaging. That flexibility allowed us to have really open, creative discussions throughout the production process
Q: Chiaki Kobayashi and Shuichiro Umeda Kobayashi are both very talented voice actors. What made them the perfect choices for Yoshiki and Hikaru?
Kabashima-san: Yoshiki is a character who carries deep emotional conflict and hidden pain. During the audition, Kobayashi-san demonstrated a remarkable understanding of the character. He had clearly read the manga thoroughly beforehand, and he was able to express Yoshiki’s quiet struggle with such subtlety that he felt like the character himself. We knew right away he was the perfect fit.
As for Hikaru, the character needed to portray two distinct sides—one being the familiar, friendly Hikaru Indo, and the other something… different, something no longer quite human. We discussed with Umeda-san how to approach both aspects without drawing a hard line between them. He performed both with such subtlety that it just felt right. The audition process for Hikaru took a considerable amount of time. It was one of the most challenging roles to cast. But when we saw Umeda-san’s performance, the entire team felt it immediately: “You’re the one.”
Q: Were there any specific directions given to the cast to enhance the psychological horror
aspects of their performances?
Kabashima-san: We didn’t give the cast any specific direction to heighten the horror. They just acted naturally, and it was precisely that normalcy that made their performances all the more unsettling.
Q: How do you hope the anime will be received, and is there a particular message or emotion you hope viewers take away with them after watching The Summer Hikaru Died?
Kabashima-san: The team believes that The Summer Hikaru Died will be unlike anything viewers have seen before. It’s not just a horror story, we think of it as a coming-of-age horror. While it does have unsettling elements, Yoshiki’s struggle is one element of adolescence that everyone goes through, and it might be giving persuasive power to adults who have experienced it and to boys and girls who are likely in the midst of it. Even if you’re not usually comfortable with horror, we believe you’ll still be able to enjoy The Summer Hikaru Died.
Q: Finally, since The Summer Hikaru Died will be internationally released on Netflix, is there anything you’d like to say to the international fans looking forward to the anime?
Kabashima-san: We hope The Summer Hikaru Died can become a work that represents the very best of Japanese animation. The whole team is working incredibly hard on it right now, so please look forward to it!
Anime Corner once again thanks CyberAgent for their time at AnimeJapan! We wish them well with the release of The Summer Hikaru Died, and we look forward to watching the anime.
The Summer Hikaru Died will premiere this summer from July 5 on Netflix, and Anime Corner will continue to report on news related to the work. The first stop is Anime Expo 2025, where The Summer Hikaru Died will appear with an early screening, creator panel, and themed booth exhibit right before its worldwide premiere!
©Mokumokuren/KADOKAWA/The Summer Hikaru Died Partners
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