10 Anime Like The Summer Hikaru Died You Must See

Based on the manga series created by Mokumokuren, ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ chronicles the bond between Yoshiki and Hikaru. Living in a small village, they have been best friends through most of their lives. However, one fateful summer, Yoshiki notices a change in Hikaru’s behavior. He senses that the person hanging out with him is not the one he is intimately familiar with, even though they look the same and retain Hikaru’s memories. When Yoshiki asks Hikru about it, the latter partially transforms into an alien being and warns that it will kill Yoshiki if he is not accepting of it while also stating that it loves him. Yoshiki struggles with the information but finally starts getting closer to the new Hikaru, while strange occurrences start taking place in the village. The mystery horror series is brought to the screen by CygamesPictures. If the premise has intrigued you, here are some more shows similar to ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ for you to consider.

10. Serial Experiments Lain (1998)

Created by Yasuyuki Ueda, ‘Serial Experiment Lain’ follows fourteen-year-old Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted girl whose father is obsessed with computers. After her classmate Chisa Yomoda takes her own life, Lain and many other girls in her school receive an email from her. Opening the mail leads Lain into the Wired, a virtual world similar to the Internet. There, she is faced with one cryptic mystery after another. Wherever Lain goes, she meets strangers called the Men in Black who seem to know a lot more about her life than she does. The boundary between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurs as Lain’s choices affect both worlds. Like Yoshiki, Lain is left pondering over the nature of reality as a result of her experiences.

9. From the New World (2012-2013)

Originally titled ‘Shinsekai yori,’ ‘From the New World’ is based on an eponymous novel by Yusuke Kishi. The story opens with a small percentage of humans unlocking psychokinetic abilities known as “Cantus” in 2011. A millennium later, when Saki Watanabe gets her powers, she joins the Sage Academy, a school for psychics, along with her friends. While all students in the institution are gifted, their extent of power is not the same. Soon after Saki enrolls, one of her classmates with weaker powers mysteriously disappears. One day, while walking home with her friends, Saki comes across two “Monster Rats.” Resembling moles, they worship Cantus as gods and show exceptional gratitude to Saki when she helps them. Soon, Saki and her friends learn of another disappearance and begin to unravel the dark past that shaped their society. Like ‘The Summer Hikaru Died,’ reality is not always what meets the eye.

8. Higurashi: When They Cry (2006)

The story of ‘Higurashi: When They Cry’ by 07th Expansion begins in the summer of 1983 when Keiichi Maebara moves to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa and becomes friends with Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, lurking beneath the surface of the idyllic life is a darkness that soon confronts him. As the village prepares for its annual festival, Keiichi learns of the local legends and is horrified when he discovers recent murders and disappearances that are seemingly connected with the event. His friends do not provide him with the answers he seeks, and as more events unfold, paranoia surrounds him like it does Yoshiki in ‘The Summer Hikaru Died.’

7. Shiki (2010)

Adapted from the novel by Fuyumi Ono, ‘Shiki’ takes place in a scenic small town where a young girl suddenly loses her life to an unnamed illness. Her death is the first of many that begin to plague the region, which leads the town doctor, Toshio Ozaki, to believe something more sinister is at play. Toshio teams up with three youngsters, Natsuno Yuuki and siblings Kaori and Akira Tanaka, to discover the real cause of the deaths. Their investigation leads them to a family that has recently moved to town. The mysterious phenomenon impacting townsfolk makes ‘Shiki’ reminiscent of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died.’

6. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2011)

Created by Super Peace Busters, ‘Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day’ centers around Jinta Yadomi, a reclusive schoolkid who enjoys playing video games. One summer day, his childhood friend Meiko “Menma” Honma appears and asks him to grant a forgotten wish. However, since Menma has been dead for years, Jinta brushes it off as a hallucination. However, after multiple such meetings, he becomes convinced that he is communicating with Menma’s ghost. Together with his childhood friends, Jinta tries to lay her spirit to rest. Like Hikaru, Menma who comes to Jinta does not belong to the mortal world.

5. Devilman: Crybaby (2018)

Based on the ‘Devilman’ manga series by Go Nagai, ‘Devilman: Crybaby’ takes place in a world where devils can only take form when possessing a living host, but if the latter’s will is strong enough, they can override the demon and have its powers for themselves and become Devilman. When kind-hearted Akira Fudou joins his childhood friend Ryou Asuka to uncover devils, they find themselves in a place crawling with monsters created as a result of demons possessing humans. To save Ryou, Akira merges with the devil Amon and becomes a Devilman, gaining the power to defeat the remaining demons. The two friends decide not to stop there and continue to work together to save humanity. Similar to ‘The Summer Hikaru Died,’ the show highlights friendship in the face of supernatural threats.

4. Uzumaki (2024)

Adapted from the work of Junji Ito, ‘Uzumaki’ centers around the town of Kurouzu-cho, where Kirie Goshima lives with her family. While walking to the train station to meet her boyfriend, Shuuichi Saito, Kirir comes across his father staring intently at a snail in the alley. When she mentions this to Shuuichi, he reveals his father’s recent obsession with spirals. Believing the town to be infected, Shuuichi wishes to move to a different place with Kirir. Soon, his fears come true as a chain of horrific and inexplicable events begins to drive the townsfolk to madness. Like ‘The Summer Hikaru Died,’ the threat in Uzumaki remains shrouded in mystery.

3. Tokyo Ghoul (2014)

Based on the manga series by Sui Ishida, ‘Tokyo Ghoul’ takes place in a world where flesh-eating “ghouls” are hiding amongst ordinary people in society. While college student Ken Kaneki manages to avoid being attacked by keeping himself buried in books, he lets his guard down upon being asked out by the beautiful Rize Kamishiro. He tragically learns that Rize is not the person she said she was, and is grievously injured in the ensuing struggle. Waking up in the hospital later, he discovers that Rize’s organs have been transplanted into him to save his life. As his appearance begins to transform, Kaneki becomes conflicted about his stance on the war against monsters even as he clings to his own humanity. The human-ghoul hybrid appearance of Kaneki is reminiscent of the changed appearance of Hikaru in ‘The Summer Hikaru Died.’

2. Parasyte: The Maxim (2014-2015)

Originally titled ‘Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu’ based on the manga ‘Parasyte’ by Hitoshi Iwaaki, the story ‘Parasyte: The Maxim’ begins with the arrival of aliens on Earth that burrow into the brains of vulnerable human targets. They take full control of their host and are able to morph into a variety of forms to trick their prey. The parasyte that attacks high school student Shinichi Izumi, however, fails to take over his brain and gets trapped in his right hand instead. Dependent on Shinichi to stay alive, the parasyte is forced into an uneasy coexistence and must defend the human against other hostile creatures of its own kind. The morphed existence of Shinichi brings to mind the seemingly similar fate of Hikaru.

1. Summer Time Rendering (2022)

Based on the work of Yasuki Tanaka, ‘Summer Time Renderin’ follows Shinpei Ajiro, who has long lived with the Kofune family and their two daughters, Mio and Ushio. When Ushio drowns tragically while rescuing a little girl, Shinpei becomes suspicious about the cause of death upon learning of the bruises found around her neck. As he begins to investigate, more strange incidents take place, and people start to disappear. Mio recalls an old folktale about “Shadow” entities that foretell people’s demise. As Usio fights to protect Mio along with everyone on Hitogashima Island against the unknown, the plotline seemingly overlaps with that of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died.’ Both shows focus on mysterious threats taking place in small towns, which leads to the abduction of its residents.