The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1 | Light Novel Review

The bond between Yoshiki and Hikaru is a welcome escape from their isolated village. But one day when the two boys meet up, Yoshiki can immediately tell something is off. Though the person standing before him looks and acts exactly like Hikaru, Yoshiki knows that his friend is…gone. Someone―no, something has taken Hikaru’s place. And with so many eerie incidents happening in town lately, Yoshiki is becoming increasingly conflicted. Although things will never be as they once were, he would prefer this Hikaru to no Hikaru at all.

ok ok… so I know this one’s a pretty popular manga and anime (is the anime out yet?idk), but I somehow managed to avoid spoilers and OMG, this was better than I imagined!

The translation/localization was really goood! I mean some of the parts read a bit awkwardly—but I think mostly because certain things just don’t translate well into English. I can only imagine the stress the poor translator/editors were under, especially with lines about purposeful mispronunciations and accurately translating accents.

The Story:

Don’t look at anything but me

It’s kind of weird and gross, but the relationship dynamic between Yoshiki and Hikaru/Hikaru is soo good. Yoskiki can’t let go of Hikaru even though Hikaru is not really Hikaru anymore. This was way more angsty than I expected and for such a short book (I finished it in a day), I was surprised by how much I got into it. I will definitely be buying a copy next time I decide to bulk order English books.

Is it BL?

I would say so, I mean the whole reason Yoshiki can’t give up on Hikaru is because he had such strong feelings for Hikaru. I think the book was quite clear about Yoshiki’s feelings. This is mainly a horror light novel but the queer undertones are very much present and essential to the story.

random bits and bobs

pet peeves: “ill at ease.” Idk why, but this phrase is like moist to me—it just rubs me the wrong way hahaha

Also, if i read the afterword correctly, this light novel was adapted from the manga, which is cool! Usually they make the manga from the light novel (I think).

In Conclusion

I gave this 5 hearts even though it’s not a romance, mainly because I genuinely enjoyed it! That said, the writing can be a bit clunky, and there are definitely some arguable flaws that might keep it from being a “perfect” 5-star read. But it was 5 stars in my heart, so… 5 hearts it is!

The Summer Hikaru Died:

📌dealing with grief

📌body horror

📌regret/longing

📌 creepy/unsettling Japanese countryside vibes

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Check out my other light novel review:

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