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The Summer Hikaru Died might have started as a love story between Yoshiki Tsujinaka and the entity inhabiting the body of his friend and classmate he had feelings for named Hikaru Indou, but more recent volumes touched more upon the supernatural, the history of the small town where the two live, and what “Hikaru” might be. Throughout that though, it felt like the two of them were the primary focus even as as supporting cast members came up. That changes now that the couple has a new goal of closing up the holes causing impurities to slip into Kubitachi Village. As a result, the seventh volume of The Summer Hikaru Died manga prioritizes minor characters in a way that allows us to better see their own unusual abilities.
Editor’s Note: There will be some spoilers for The Summer Hikaru Died manga up through the first half of the seventh volume below.
Now that Yoshiki and “Hikaru” are committed to protecting the innocent people living in their hometown by visiting certain spots where the barrier between worlds are weak, they aren’t the only two tackling the major feat alone. Their friend and classmate Yuta Maki’s been experiencing an unusual impurity involving disembodied legs, indicating one of the holes is near his home. Our heroes tackle that problem. While they do Rie Kurebayashi, the housewife medium who warned Yoshiki about getting too close to otherworldly beings like “Hikaru” based on her own experiences, is guarding Yuta. Meanwhile, the mysterious Tanaka’s turned from a dubious figure to a full-on ally and is approaching another one of these holes with Yoshiki, “Hikaru,” and Yuta’s classmate Asako Yamagishi assisting him with her own gifts.
This split perspective for all of the chapters in this volume of the manga really helps further define the other characters in The Summer Hikaru Died. We’re already well aware of how unusual and special “Hikaru” is due to his otherworldly nature. We’ve seen him drive off impurities, make Asako deaf in one ear, and split his own power. But because of he choices here, we see everyone else’s abilities and how effective they are against impurities when situations get really dire.
Take the situation with Yuta and Rie. He’s completely ordinary. However, as volume seven of The Summer Hikaru Died begins, he brings up how his family has a history with the supernatural too and the manga shows how he attempted to do something to help. In his case, his grandpa and others maintained a shrine to a divine serow. He started cleaning it again, and gives an inherited charm to Yoshiki to help. Meanwhile, Rie is there to protect Yuta. We see her practical knowledge and approach. She shields his eyes with a baseball hat. She swats at the impurities fighting back against the sealing process with a backscratcher to exorcise them. It’s effective!
Though the most exciting portions with the supporting characters in The Summer Hikaru Died involve Asako and Tanaka working together to seal another hole. Especially since it acts as a parallel to the Yuta and Rie situation. Tanaka has no supernatural abilities or exorcism, but his hamster is a “sensor,” his glasses act as his eyes, and his knowledge of impurities mean he knows what he’s dealing with. Meanwhile, Asako is a “hearer” who inherited the ability to hear impurities and has spiritual power, even though she’s a novice. We learn more about this mysterious man through their interactions! Since neither of them can enter the hole like “Hikaru” is doing when working with Yoshiki, they need to bargain with an impurity there to do it! There are so many examples of Tanaka’s knowledge in action, and we see Asako come into her own as a spiritually gifted individual.
Of course, there are quite a few Yoshiki and “Hikaru” segments in the seventh volume of The Summer Hikaru Died, and end of this installment hints at the focus of the manga and new problems arising in volume 8, but for now we get to know so much more about other characters. Asako, Tanaka, Rie, and Yuta all get their moments. It helps better showcase what they can do, and offer insights into how they approach these impurities. Especially since Yoshiki’s experience with “Hikaru” was the main context prior to that.
Volumes 1-7 of The Summer Hikaru Died are available now, and Yen Press will release volume 8 on October 27, 2026. The anime is streaming on Netflix.
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