My first reaction after a premiere like this is always a telling one. There are a severely limited number of series which premiere with the potential to be AotY. When they don’t have a known elite director or come from someplace like Bones or Wit, the uncertainty factor shoots up. Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu is such a series. I know based on the manga that the upside is stratospheric. But CygamesPictures is a studio with a wildly inconsistent track record, and Takeshita Ryohei – while he has a good resume – has never directed a great show.

When that first reaction is “relief”, that’s a good sign. And that’s where I am – that potential is absolutely still on the table. This staff clearly has the chops to pull this off, and understand the material they’re working with. The direction is on-point, but what really stands out to me is the work of another man – sound director Kasamatsu Kouji. He’s a heavyweight with much experience in live-action film as well as animation, and he delivers big-time here. Hikaru is a show that should only ever air in summer – not just because of the title, but because “oppressive” is such a key to its vibe.

No question, world-building is huge with this series. This rural setting of Kubitachi village is a character in its own right, and it’s at the heart of everything that happens. Between the various sound effects, the blood-red color schemes, and Umebayashi Taro’s excellent soundtrack pushing down on you, one feels trapped watching this premiere. As if this place is inescapable. “Something weird happening in the mountain village” is a staple of animanga horror, but few series do it as well as The Summer Hikaru Died.

In addition to my own reaction I’m always keen to see the general zeitgeist both from manga readers and newbies – though not till after I’ve watched the episode myself. What I’m seeing from the latter is the usual “Is this BL? If it is I’m out, cooties!” nonsense, and complaints about the pacing. I’m not going to tackle the former, because the answer reveals itself organically and that’s how it should be experienced. As or the latter, it’s interesting to me because this ep adapted, in fact, two chapters. The manga is at 7 volumes and already announced to run for a total of ten, and it’s widely expected that the anime will eventually be two seasons each adapting five volumes. And that’s the pace we’re on after one episode.

That said, while it doesn’t strike me that way I do sort of get it. The huge story twist is revealed exactly four minutes into the series, and a lot happens in those first two chapters. There are two boys, roughly 15 or 16, at the heart of the story. Tsujinaka Yoshiki (Kobayashi Chiaki) is dark-haired and quiet, a bit morose. His blonde best friend is Indou Hikaru (Umeda Shuuichirou), small and outgoing. And dead, as it happens. Hikaru went off into the mountains – for a “secret” reason, he told Yoshiki – and disappeared for a week. And the boy they found is not Hikaru despite having his appearance and memories, though most of the village doesn’t seem to notice.

Yoshiki, however, knows Hikaru better than anyone. And he realizes something is off, though it takes him months before he confesses that he knows. Whatever Hikaru is pleads with him not tell (the implication is obvious), and Yoshiki wrestles with the reality that if Hikaru is indeed dead, whatever this is, it’s as close as he’s ever going to get to having him around. He eventually addresses the elephant in the room and not-Hikaru (I came to refer to him as “Hikar2” when reading the manga) swears the original was already near death when he found him.

Just what Hikar2 is remains unclear to the point that even he seems not to know. Not a ghost, he says. Some see something “other” when they look at him – Mince the cat, a woman buying taiyaki at the shoutengai, and the crazy old lady in her ramshackle house. There’s mention of something called “Nonuki-sama”, and the village elders are clearly panicked that something is amiss in Kubitachi. There’s also an outsider with a hamster (the elders call him in eventually) whose job seems to be going around and dealing with paranormal disturbances (and destroying houses in the process).

There are a bunch of really fantastic individual moments in this premiere, like when all the background noises run together in a terrifying embrace. I also loved the montage of village life set to the band club’s performance, a truly brilliant way to usher us deeper into this world and remind us that every person here is the protagonist of their own story. And the instant when Yoshiki realizes just how strange all this is, just what he’s keeping to himself, and is swept up in terror (which he can only suppress until he starts to dream). It’s all the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a great beginning.

I won’t pretend Mokumkuren’s (that choice of pen name may be a hint as to where the series is going) Taishou-nominated and multiple award-winning manga is perfect. We don’t know much about them (including their gender), but we do know they were studying for college entrance exams when they began working on Hikaru. And there are times when the mangaka’s youth does shine through in the writing, but that’s also part of its charm. Whatever “it” is, Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu has it. It’s special. The right adaptation had the potential to elevate the story even higher, and so far, this looks like it has every chance to be the right adaptation.