The Summer Hikaru Died horror TV anime revealed a main trailer, additional cast, and ending theme song following yesterday’s key & character visuals. Yumiri Hanamori, Wakana Kowaka, and Chikahiro Kobayashi are joining the cast. The ending theme “Anata wa Kaibutsu (You are a Monster)” is performed by TOOBOE. Studio CygamesPictures (Princess Connect! Re:Dive) is handling the animation, while Netflix will exclusively stream the anime worldwide in 2025.
We will update the article as soon as the trailer is made available.
Also check out our full AnimeJapan 2025 Announcements coverage
The main voice cast for the anime includes:
- Shuichiro Umeda as Hikaru Indo
- Chiaki Kobayashi as Yoshiki Tsujinaka
An ominous figure known as “DORODORO” was teased alongside the two in the recent visual, which you can see below.
The Summer Hikaru Died appeared at a special booth at the AnimeJapan 2025, which will be taking place through March 22-23 and feature the latest information on a lot of differentanime. The booth will be held at the KADOKAWA booth titled “KADOKAWA ANIME CARNIVAL,” where visitors were also able to buy original goods.
The anime will also appear on the GREEN STAGE on March 23, which will feature the main voice cast of Chiaki Kobayashi (Yoshiki Tsujinaka) and Shuichiro Umeda (Hikaru Indo).
The Summer Hikaru Died anime staff:
- Director and Series Composition: Ryohei Takeshita
- Character Design and Chief Animation Director: Yuichi Takahashi
- DORODORO Animator: Masanobu Hiraoka
- Studio: CygamesPictures
Official synopsis:
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.
The Summer Hikaru Died (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mokumokuren. It began serialization on Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace Up website in August 2021 and has been compiled into 6 volumes as of December 4, 2024. The manga topped the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers, and it was also nominated for the 16th Manga Taisho. Yen Press licensed the manga in English, and they describe the story:
Source: The Summer Hikaru Died Official Website and Official X, AnimeJapan 2025
©Mokumokuren/KADOKAWA/The Summer Hikaru Died Partners
