TV
‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Trailer – Coming-of-Age Horror Anime Drops on Netflix Next Month
Netflix has released the trailer for The Summer Hikaru Died, based on Mokumokuren‘s hit manga of the same name.
The Japanese coming-of-age horror anime series premieres July 5.
Yoshiki and Hikaru live in a rural village and have been close friends since they were young. On a perfectly ordinary summer day, as they laugh over trivial things, Yoshiki turns to Hikaru and says, “…You’re not Hikaru, are you?”
Six months earlier, Hikaru went missing in the mountains and returned unexpectedly a week later. The new Hikaru looks and sounds just like the original, but something else is stirring within him.
Yoshiki continues spending his days with the “something” imitating Hikaru, while pretending as if nothing has changed. Meanwhile, strange incidents begin to plague the village.
Directed by Ryohei Takeshita (“Jujutsu Kaisen”), the animation is produced by CygamesPictures (Blade Runner: Black Out 2022).
“Reading the original work was exciting, and I pondered how to express its frames in animation,” said Takeshita. “Our team was very dedicated to capturing the delicate emotions of Yoshiki and Hikaru, as well as the manga’s beautiful and innovative structure. We look forward to sharing it with you.”
The series stars Chiaki Kobayashi as Yoshiki Tsujinaka, Shuichiro Umeda as Hikaru,Yumiri Hanamori as Asako Yamagishi, Wakana Kowaka as Rie Kurebayashi, Chikahiro Kobayashi as Tanaka, Yoshiki Nakajima as Yuta Maki, and Shion Wakayama as Yuki Tadokoro.
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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