Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu
The Summer Hikaru Died

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Bumped into this and at first I just wanted to read a horror manga with 2 boys as MC hoping to ship them but it turns out this has BL/Yaoi genre mixed into this.
The horror and uncertainness genre is widely present. the exaggeration of the effects and BG noise adds the feels to it.
I am in still in the early chapters but I already like everything there is to it - Art, Story, Pacing, Telling of the everyday life, the scene.
Even when I look at each panel it feels clean. Idk but there is something in each page/panel.

The feeling of mystery and uncertainness makes ... me want to keep on going iin the story.
I can feel each of the characters emotions.
It feels that the entirety of the manga is seeping through me thru each panel and each chapter I read.

Art is very well made, the details on each character and panel. I can see it coming alive while I read.

The constant fear that something has replaced a loved one, the claustrophobia of living in a small rural town, the urge to kiss an eldritch monster you have a crush on; all of the tension in the story works well and builds such a dreary, suspenseful atmosphere. The glimmers of hope through relationships and community get snuffed out as the tension rips them to pieces before your very eyes.

With a story this engaging, the biggest crime would be to let down the intense atmosphere before it really gets going, and thankfully the story continues drudging through the mire it created. I love horror stories with ... messy queer relationships/undertones, and The Summer Hikaru Died is easily my new favorite. The combination of a slow country life and constant moral dilemmas and reveals creates the illusion of a long, drawn out struggle while still getting to read a fast-paced and concise story.

The 4 volumes that are currently out are absolutely fantastic and I could honestly recommend them to any horror fan. I'll update this review when the series is finished or if something goes horribly wrong, but for now this is my most anticipated series.

Preliminary review

I don't understand what's so nice about this manga that it got into the rankings for top manga or something. Firstly, the 'horror elements' aren't even that scary. One part of it is super cliche. Or maybe it's because i only read the first few chapters.

Secondly, the characters are boring, i can't even tell that there is romance. Even the 'horror element' character is boring. ALSO, the suspense is boring. Again, maybe it's because i only read the first few chapters. perhaps it gets really good later on.

The art is not bad though.

I don't recommend this but neither do i discourage people ... from reading this. (Mixed feelings)

edit: a reader told me that it "really starts to get good" at chapter 6, but I even tried to continue to 7 and it is so boring i'm sorry i can't like it at all..

edit 2: LMAOOOO THEY REMOVED THE ROMANCE TAG I TOLD Y'ALL I TOLD Y'ALLLLLLLLL