Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu / The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumoku Rei

Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu / The Summer Hikaru Died is a poignant, deeply sublimated, barely acknowledged (but definitely queer) love story between a boy and… the monster that returned in the body of his dead friend. A new genre, perhaps? Horror Romance or Romance Horror?

SPOILERS

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Yoshiki has a problem. His best friend (and unrequited love) Hikaru went missing in the mountains. In desperation, Yoshiki went looking for him and found a body, but before he could tell anyone, he collapsed with a fever. When Yoshiki woke up, who should have miraculously returned but Hikaru?

Yoshiki knows that what came back isn’t Hikaru.

But he can’t decide if that matters. The thing that is wearing his friend’s body has many of Hikaru’s memories and Hikaru was such a precious friend that it’s important to know that in Japanese, the title of this manga can be read two ways. It can be as published with Hikaru’s name, or it can be read: The Summer the Light Died.

There’s no question that Yoshiki is gay. Mokumoku-sensei teases around the edges saying it explicitly, out loud, but all the signs say “yes.” In their first scene together, Hikaru teases Yoshiki that he’s so awkward and serious about the question he’s about to ask that it seems like the build-up to a love confession. At another point, Yoshiki says he’ll never have a girlfriend. When he has a feeling of being suffocated by their small, rural town, several of the pressures seem to be in expectation of marriage. Moreover like many of us who grew up in a small town, Yoshiki is looking for others like him–in the scene above, knows that the fight that one of the village’s families is having isn’t about the fact that their heir is sick, but that he’s gay.

The Hikaru of the past–whom we see a lot in flashback–is completely clueless–or at least plays that way, because the Hikaru who is inhabited by something else, however, seems to be aware that Yoshiki was important to the Real HIkaru.

I feel safe calling it gay.

Especially since everything else Mokumoku-sensei has drawn is yaoi. Nandemo Shite kureru Doukyuusei / A Classmate Who Will Do Anything For You is straight-up smut, whereas Period is a bit more subtle in the romance department. You only get the “gay” in the final panel. (Note: Period is a well-written, if disturbing one-shot about the kind of love that has you helping bury the body… literally.)

Plus, as someone who also spent my high school years closeted this reads very real. Yoshiki will say something like “he’s not sick, he’s gay,” but when Hikaru asks if that’s some GLBT thing, possibly opening up an opportunity for Yoshiki to say more about it, Yoshiki will just shrug it off and go gloomy. <–High school me feels seen. When you’re deeply closeted sometimes you just try out saying the thing, but then back the hell off. These two do that dance constantly throughout.

The Summer Hikaru Died was published as seinen according to Wikipedia, though Baka-Updates has it as both seinen and Boys’ Love. I will say that I tend to trust Baka-Updates, as they seemed to be more aware of the kinds of things the original publisher tend to publish. But, this sort of thing is very seinen, especially with all the horror elements and the deep, deep sadness of the whole thing.

I found this whole thing INTENSELY compelling. I’m always interested in supernatural stories that ask the question “What does it mean to be human? To have a Soul?” Especially, when the mangaka doesn’t pull any punches and let’s Hikaru be scary, strange, and… murderous. There are a lot of scary monsters throughout, don’t go in expecting something strange and wonderful. It’s strange and wonderful, but also SCARY and horrible.

And I love it.

Plus, the art is fantastic.

I even love the art of Mokumoku-sensei’s smut!

So, if you think you can stand a heavy dose of tragedy and horror, I highly recommend this one. (If not, the smut is cute.)