With Sea Snakes Slithering and Paper Charms Plastered All Over Him, Hikaru Smiles Defiantly... Eerie New Illustration During "The Summer Hikaru Died" Hiatus Draws Responses: "Makes Me Look Forward to the Next Update Even More!"

A new illustration accompanied by a comment has been posted on the official X account of manga artist Mokumokuren, generating a massive buzz across social media.

In the post, a message to the fans reads, "Since there is no update for 'The Summer Hikaru Died' this week, I drew a picture. The next update will be next week!"

The released image depicts Hikaru, a character from the series. Innumerable red paper charm-like objects are plastered all over his face and clothes, and he wears a defiant smile while holding a necklace-like ornament around his neck in his mouth. Furthermore, a green snake with a pattern resembling a sea snake is positioned slithering behind him, making for an eerie and distinctive illustration.

"The Summer Hikaru Died" is a coming-of-age horror story centering around two boys, Yoshiki Tsujinaka (voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi) and Hikaru Indou (voiced by Shūichirō Umeda), who grew up together in a certain village. Hikaru goes missing in the mountains and returns a week later, but Yoshiki notices that he has been replaced by "something" else. Despite this, Yoshiki wishes to remain by his side, and the series depicts their daily life with this unknown entity taking the form of his friend.

In response to this post, fans have shared various theories and enthusiastic reactions, leaving comments such as: "Hikaru-kun looks so suspicious," "A snake in the background... there was a scene where he was staring at a sea snake in the ocean, wasn't there!", "Thank you for the new exclusive illustration during the hiatus! It makes me look forward to next week's update even more," and "I wonder if that sea snake? in the back is actually the other offshoot that escaped."

(C)Mokumokuren/KADOKAWA/The Summer Hikaru Died Partners