"I can't believe that tree was foreshadowing..." The shocking ending involving best friend Hikaru leaves the internet in uproar. Episode 4 of Anime "The Summer Hikaru Died"

The horror anime "The Summer Hikaru Died" began sequential broadcasts of its fourth episode on July 26. The “unexpected circumstances” under which Yoshiki Tsujinaka's (voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi) best friend, Hikaru (voiced by Shūichirō Umeda), lost his life were revealed, shocking viewers who exclaimed, “I can’t believe that tree from Episode 1 was foreshadowing...” and “I had to watch it twice.”

After Hikaru went missing on the forbidden mountain, he was replaced by a “Something” that was not him. In Episode 4, “Summer Festival,” the events that transpired to Hikaru in the mountains are finally revealed. As Hikaru walked along the rainy mountain path, he discovered a tree that looked uncannily like a woman’s body. Distracted by the sight, he slipped and fell in the mud. Unable to move due to bleeding from his head, he grew weak as he regretted, “Otōyan, I’m sorry. I might not have fulfilled the family duty of the Indou. I didn’t want to make Okāyan suffer again…” as he faded away.

In fact, this “woman-shaped tree” was briefly depicted at the start of Episode 1, in the scene where Yoshiki was searching for Hikaru. Once it was disclosed that this tree was connected to Hikaru’s last moments, the internet exploded with comments like “I can’t believe that tree in Episode 1 was actually foreshadowing…” and “Seriously, I had to go back and watch it again,” and “If only the woman-shaped tree hadn’t been there…”