The Summer Hikaru Died comes to an end: the horror manga wraps up with chapter 51

The Summer Hikaru Died (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu) comes to an end on Tuesday, October 20, with chapter 51. The date was set by the series' official X account, which posted the schedule for the last two chapters in September: chapter 50 ran on October 13, and chapter 51 closes the story on Young Ace UP, the Kadokawa website where Mokumokuren's manga has run since August 2021.

To mark the home stretch, Kadokawa made volumes 1 to 9 free to read on its Kadocomi portal between September 8 and October 13, according to Japanese site Denfaminicogamer. The series is expected to finish at ten volumes, with chapters 47 to 51 collected in the last one, according to Siliconera.

What it's about

The story is set in a rural Japanese village steeped in old legends. Yoshiki realizes his best friend Hikaru has been replaced by “something” wearing his face and voice, and chooses to stay by its side anyway. The manga blends horror, mystery and the drama of that bond, and it topped the male readers' list in the 2023 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guide.

Where to read and watch

In English, the manga is published by Yen Press, which releases new chapters the same day as Japan. The anime, produced by CyberAgent and Kadokawa with animation by CygamesPictures, premiered in July 2025 and streams on Netflix.

The first season reached number one on Netflix Japan's daily ranking and on ABEMA's anime chart, according to CyberAgent, which announced season 2 right after the finale. There is no premiere date or episode count yet. With the manga complete, the adaptation now has all of its source material available.