Yoshiki battles his internal conflict as new information surfaces about Hikaru, clashing between his feelings and the knowledge that he isn’t safe with the new Hikaru. Regardless of the danger however, his emotions outweigh any rational thoughts and send him surging towards HIkaru without a thought. Here is the third episode review of The Summer Hikaru Died.
Overview
Yoshiki deals with his guilt in this episode, desperately trying to convince himself that the replacement Hikaru can fill the void left behind from losing the real HIkaru. Yoshiki meets up with Rie Kurebayashi (voiced by Wakana Kowaka); an older woman who mentions the strange oddities popping up in the village. She listens to him talk about Hikaru, and comments that she believes whatever Hikaru is has something to do with the death of the older lady in the village. She warns Yoshiki to stay away from Hikaru and Yoshiki ends up distancing himself, much to Hikaru’s confusion. The pair end up arguing; Hikaru asking if Yoshiki is distant because he’s not the original Hikaru. Yoshiki confirms Hikaru’s fears; that while he may look and talk and sound like the original Hikaru, that he will never be the same Hikaru. Hikaru says that he can’t function without Yoshiki, yet apologises and begs Yoshiki not to hate him. The pair grow distant, however Yoshiki is all but sprinting to Hikaru’s house to apologize, sending both boys spiraling into a dependent cycle with one another.
Final Thoughts
This episode in particular had me in such a shock the entire way through that, by the end, I was sitting in stunned silence. The voice acting really tied everything together; from Yoshiki’s inner struggle between wanting to push Hikaru away and keeping him close, to Hikaru’s desperation to keep Yoshiki around and dealing with his own inner turmoil. It was tragic to watch them fall into this toxic addiction to one another, especially because Yoshiki knows that this new Hikaru will never fully be like the Hikaru he knew before. And Hikaru knows it too, that he can’t replace the Hikaru Yoshiki knew and grew up with. It’s very clear that the story is heading in a direction that will cause both boy’s heartbreak, and I am both excited and terrified for the next episode.
The Summer Hikaru Died anime is available to stream on Netflix and the manga is available for purchase on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.
i wanna watch that