Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ is just getting better and better! I mean, I’d rate the first episode a 5 out of 5, but Episode 3 is where the show overflows with memories, confusion, frustration, and a piercing grief that spreads from Yoshiki, to Hikaru, to the viewers.
Quick recap of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 2
Yoshiki and the not-quite-Hikaru on a tense forest hike with their classmates where they encounter something spooky, while a hunter named Tanaka arrives in Kubitachi Village to investigate a strange death. Flashbacks reveal a chilling family belief about forest entities claiming loved ones, deepening the eerie atmosphere. As unsettling intimacy builds between the boys, a mysterious woman named Rie warns Yoshiki he’s getting too close to danger. Grief, longing, and supernatural dread continue to blur together, leaving Yoshiki torn between holding on and letting go.
Back to Episode 3
Titled ‘Denial’, this episode of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ opens with a sweet summer memory of best friends Yoshiki and Hikaru as little boys, eating watermelon together and hilariously crying over accidentally swallowing a seed, scared they’d turn into the fruit themselves. It reminded me of how adults used to spook us as kids, saying we’d turn into a tree if we swallowed seeds or chewing gum.
As the title suggests, this chapter focuses on Yoshiki’s conflicted feelings about the entity that has taken over Hikaru’s body. He is torn between seeking help from Rie and leaving things as they are. Set on an oppressive, sweaty summer day, the first half of the episode sees Yoshiki visit Hikaru’s house with a watermelon, triggering painful flashes of the past, when the boys were happy and carefree. What makes Yoshiki’s ordeal even more heartbreaking is the entity’s eerie ability to imitate Hikaru with haunting precision, drawing from the boy’s own memories.
In an unexpected turn of events, Hikaru displays a chilling ‘human’ side for the first time, one capable of emotional intelligence and feelings like the need for validation, love, affection, friendship, and companionship. He picks up on the subtlest changes in Yoshiki’s behavior toward him, devastated to realize that ‘his version’ of the human boy might not be enough.
Who would’ve thought a grotesque, otherworldly entity could make you tear up? Because wow, this episode of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ hit hard, and I didn’t want it to end. One standout moment is a supernatural horror sequence in the second half, where the animation shifts to gloomy, grey tones, perfectly capturing the storm of emotions brewing inside the protagonist.
While watching the episode, I couldn’t help but think that maybe I should’ve waited for the full season, because there’s no way I’m emotionally equipped to wait a whole week for the next one!
Watch ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ on Netflix.
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