Netflix picks up global rights to Nippon TV anime The Summer Hikaru Died

The Summer Hikaru Died

Netflix has acquired global rights to Nippon TV’s forthcoming anime adaptation of award-winning author Mokumokuren’s hit manga The Summer Hikaru Died.

Described as “a chilling blend of slice-of-life and the supernatural,” it follows events after a teenage boy’s life is thrown upside down when his best friend is replaced by ‘something’ that looks and acts just like him.

The Summer Hikaru Died was first published by Kadokawa in 2021. Produced by CygamesPictures and directed by Ryohei Takeshita (Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night), it features the voices of Chiaki Kobayashi and Shuichiro Umeda. Nippon TV will debut the series in Japan next year.

Takeshita said: “Reading the original work was exciting, and I pondered how to express its frames in animation. Our team was very dedicated to capturing the delicate emotions of Yoshiki and Hikaru as well as the manga’s beautiful and innovative structure.”