The Summer Hikaru Died

This article is for a general series overview.*For other uses, see Disambiguation.*

## Series Information

### Demographic

Seinen

**The Summer Hikaru Died** (光が死んだ夏, *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. Mokumokuren first conceived of the series while studying for exams and later began posting drawings on Twitter, which led to the Young Ace Up editorial department approaching Mokumokuren to serialize the manga via the Young Ace Up website.

Upon release of the first volume, the series became a critical and commercial success, with the first volume selling 200,000 copies in three months, and received critical praise for story, artwork, and characters.

## Plot

*Yoshiki and Hikaru are two teenage boys living in a small town in rural Japan. Despite having opposite personalities and different hobbies, the two maintain a close friendship. However, on one summer day, Hikaru is bodysnatched by an alien force. Yoshiki still wants to stay with Hikaru, but Hikaru has changed so much that it may ruin their relationship.*
## Production

Mokumokuren first conceived the series while studying for high school entrance exams. After graduating, Mokumokuren began posting drawings on Twitter in their spare time in January 2021. Mokumokuren was later approached by the *Young Ace Up* editorial department to serialize the manga in *Young Ace Up*, which they accepted. Mokumokuren is a fan of action manga from *Weekly Shōnen Jump* and *Weekly Young Jump*, particularly *Tokyo Ghoul*.

While writing the story, Mokumokuren tries to keep the horror to a minimum by trying to appeal to people's emotions rather than just being scary. Mokumokuren also feels the theme of the story adds to the horror based on the suspension bridge effect, which states that it is easier to fall in love when feeling anxious or fearful. For the artwork, Mokumokuren tries to use onomatopoeia that are not often used, while also staying cautious to make sure it works properly in the context of the story.

## Publication

Written and illustrated by Mokumokuren, the series began serialization on Kadokawa Shoten's *Young Ace Up* website on August 31, 2021. As of December 2023, the series' individual chapters have been collected into four *tankōbon* volumes.

In September 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English publication.

## Reception

In the 2022 Next Manga Award, *The Summer Hikaru Died* ranked 11th in the web manga category. It was also the most popular choice among traditional Chinese voters. The series topped the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha's *Kono Manga ga Sugoi!* list of best manga for male readers. The first volume received three times more orders than copies available in the first print run. The volume was reprinted six times in three months, having over 200,000 copies in circulation.

Chanmei from *Real Sound* praised the story and characters as emotional. Chanmei also praised the artwork, believing it complemented the story well. Tensako Miura from *An An* praised the story, main characters, and artwork, postively noting the artwork's use of shades of black.

## External links

* Official website (in Japanese)
* Official Kadokawa promo website (in Japanese)
* *The Summer Hikaru Died* (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 話題の青春ホラー漫画『光が死んだ夏』作者が明かす、"恐怖"を表現するためのこだわり 「記号ではなく、行動で感情を描く」
2. ↑ 山で行方不明になり、戻ってきた少年に友人は違和感が…新連載「光が死んだ夏」
3. ↑ Hazra, Adriana (September 15, 2022). Yen Press Licenses Mokumokuren's The Summer Hikaru Died Manga.
4. ↑ Loveridge, Lynzee (August 31, 2022). Medalist, WITCH WATCH, Akane-banashi Win Next Manga Awards 2022 Results.
5. ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 12, 2022). Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Editors Unveil 2023 Rankings.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1  SNSで話題沸騰中のホラー漫画『光が死んだ夏』、発売後わずか3か月で20万部突破
7. ↑ 幼馴染が全く別の”ナニカ”にすり替わってしまったら……？ SNSで話題沸騰『光が死んだ夏』の不気味な切なさ
8. ↑ 行方不明の幼なじみが発見されるもその正体は…SNSでも話題の青春ホラーコミック