It has been announced that the TV anime "The Summer Hikaru Died," based on the popular manga by Mokumoku Ren, which was also chosen as the No. 1 manga for men in "This Manga is Amazing! 2023" (Takarajimasha), will be broadcast in the summer of 2025. The main cast has also been announced, with Chiaki Kobayashi as Yoshiki and Shuichiro Umeda as Hikaru. It was also announced that Takeshita Ryohei, who worked on "Night Jellyfish Can't Swim," will be the director, and that Cygames Pictures will be producing the work. Kobayashi said, "From the audition, I was tossed around by all sorts of mixed emotions, like I shouldn't be with him, but I want him to be with me, it's scary, but it's comfortable. I will mobilize all my blood, flesh, and bones and do my best with all my heart and soul to bring out all of Yoshiki's feelings and sorrow. This is a work that we want many people to see, especially in today's society where various values coexist, so please look forward to the broadcast. Thank you very much." Umeda commented, "It was a new experience for me to play the role of Hikaru, and at the same time, it felt like peering into the darkness. His mind and body are often uncertain, but his desire to be with Yoshiki is one thing, so I wanted to play him while fully feeling that feeling. With that in mind, I went to the audition. I will do my best to play the role."
Director Takeuchi said, "When I first read the original work, I remember reading the pages with excitement, wondering how to express this frame of the original in animation. In order to skillfully animate not only the delicate emotions of the characters, but also the beautiful and innovative manga composition, all of our staff are seriously facing the original work. We are working hard to beautifully animate the two young people, Yoshiki and Hikaru, as they struggle to understand each other, so please look forward to the broadcast."
A teaser visual featuring Hikaru with the tagline, "Stay with me even if we're fake," and a teaser PV featuring Yoshiki and Hikaru have also been released.
The series is currently being serialized on the manga site Young Ace UP (KADOKAWA). It is a youth horror story that depicts the madness of a boy and something that appears to be his best friend. Yoshiki and Hikaru, two boys who live in a certain village, have grown up together, but one day, what Yoshiki thought was Hikaru turns out to be replaced by something else...
◇Staff (titles omitted)
Director and series composition: Takeshita Ryohei▽Character design and chief animation director: Takahashi Yuichi▽Droro animator: Hiraoka Masanobu▽Animation production: Cygames Pictures
◇Cast (titles omitted)
Yoshinobu Tsujinaka: Kobayashi Chiaki▽Hikaru: Umeda Shuichiro
