Review for The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol.1
I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
I am so so excited that I could read this one! I was already curious about it and now I can read it! And this one would be absolutely perfect for the Halloween season~ That is also why I am posting this review in October, and not earlier.
What happens when your best friend (and I kind of think something more) disappears… and then returns… but it is not them? Will you stay with them? Will you let them go? Will you die? What is in the body of your friend? It was an exciting read and I loved it every page. I loved that Hikaru seemed so human at times and seemed to be a great person.. but then things would happen or said and you would know that this is NOT Hikaru at all. That this is something else. Something terrifying that may just bring doom and horror to the small town. Because while this being (let’s call it that) has been around for years (if we have to believe the woman who Yoshiki meets), it has been stuck on the mountain. But now it is here.
I loved that Yoshiki stayed close to Hikaru (then again, did he have any options) but also tried to figure out things.
We also get backstories, photographs of Hikaru, flashbacks, and more. I loved that those were added so we could see the real Hikaru.
I really loved the whole small town setting, that always works so well with horror. I love seeing the little roads the kids have to take to get home/to school. And see the scary paths through tunnels and forests to get anywhere. And believe me, you don’t want to go through the forests. Oh heck no. I really loved how the author drew the town and also showed that there is something dark lurking there.
Plus, I do love the sound effects that were on a lot of the pages. From the cicadas buzzing like mad to other sounds. We do get those in other manga and comics at time, but in here they really felt like part of the story, part of something bigger.
And I loved the art! I loved how spooky it was. I loved that the mangaka was able to really capture that spooky feeling and make it terrifying at times. Like with how Hikaru was drawn at times, or that scene near the end of the volume. With swirls and such.
All in all, this is one book I would HIGHLY recommend. I cannot wait for the next volume because Yoshiki has some big decisions to make and with that ending, oh boy oh boy.