The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7 Review: A Suffocating Day Of Hooky

By Elijah Gonzalez | August 19, 2025 | 2:30pm

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The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7 Review: A Suffocating Day Of Hooky

From the first moments of The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 7, “Determination,” it’s clear that something is very wrong. Last episode, Yoshiki understandably freaked out after Hikaru 2.0 almost killed their friend Asako, as a fish-eye lens shot captured his panic and disorientation. Yoshiki wasn’t just stunned because of Hikaru’s perceived breach of trust, but also because his somewhat naïve faith in the latter had potentially put his friends and family in mortal danger.

In this context, it doesn’t make sense why Yoshiki seems to have forgotten the whole debacle when he shows up the next morning to pick up Hikaru for school as per usual. Hikaru is confused as well, but goes along with it when Yoshiki proposes that the two play hooky.

What follows is a masterclass in tension, as CygamesPictures keep us on the hook for an unrelenting 20 minutes of breathless anxiety. As the show always does, there’s a contrast between the mundane and something horrible lurking just beneath the surface. Outwardly, Yoshiki and Hikaru’s date is very cute—Yoshiki brings Hikaru to a movie he really wanted to see and then plays the crane game until he wins his BF a prize. But underneath it all, something doesn’t add up; Yoshiki’s usual internal monologues are completely absent in a way that keeps us in the dark like Hikaru about what prompted this sudden discursion.

These scenes emphasize the natural beauty of this rural community and the brightness of this summer day, and we see kids and parents happily going about their lives in the background, all while Yoshiki’s bangs hide his sulking eyes and true intentions. A perfect example of the contrast between carefree adolescence and a sense of doom comes as we cut to Yoshiki and Hikaru’s classmates. They’re experiencing some pre-show jitters while preparing for their upcoming choir performance, and Yoshiki and Hikaru’s absence creates a surprisingly poignant sense of missed opportunity as their friends go about a day without the pair. And then, when their classmates unexpectedly nail the recital, their outwardly beautiful song comes across as haunting as it plays over our protagonist’s unnerving rendition of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

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Finally, after Yoshiki makes a phone call to his mom that sounds a bit too much like a permanent goodbye, we finally arrive at the heavily awaited punchline. The two boys find themselves back in Yoshiki’s room as always, but with a very different ending: Yoshiki pulls out a kitchen knife and stabs Hikaru in the chest. Even with us waiting for the hammer to drop, the moment still manages to shock. Of course, Hikaru doesn’t die, but that doesn’t dampen the sense of betrayal.

Then Yoshiki explains himself and everything clicks into place. He tried to kill Hikaru because his intensely non-human-centric view of life and death means that he might eventually murder those that Yoshiki cares about to keep his existence a secret. Still, despite this homicidal intention, Yoshiki spent the day with Hikaru because he wanted his last memory to be a happy one—if he really could be killed, that is. In light of this knife not doing the trick, Yoshiki offers himself up instead, presumably because if Hikaru doesn’t have a reason to remain human, he will leave the mortal realm behind and no longer pose a threat.

While Yoshiki’s decision could have felt like a big leap in logic, it’s fully sold through the frequent cutaways to his family throughout the episode—in other words, we see what he thinks he’ll lose if he doesn’t go through with this. We see a sequence of Yoshiki’s sister, Kaoru, with her mom at work; it’s very cute and shows how close the two are. Even Yoshiki’s absentee father, whom we hadn’t seen directly until now, is framed somewhat sympathetically, as he alludes to his guilt over not being closer with his son. These cutaways only add to the anxiety, giving us a glimpse into Yoshiki’s thoughts but without the context of his intentions. And of course, it’s all backed by the ethereal children’s choir for a bit more ominous foreshadowing.

When Yoshiki suddenly brandishes the knife, the same one we’ve seen every week in the show’s opening, the perspective of both the attacker and victim feels well-explored; it’s quite a testament to the series’ character writing that we can “see both sides” even as one boy stabs the other.

As for Hikaru, he argues that he’s slowly coming to understand the way that humans think, particularly around mortality. It’s genuinely difficult to watch when he mentions how Yoshiki’s initial trust in him is the exact thing that’s been inching him towards comprehension. Further endearing sympathy (and a bit of queasiness), Hikaru reaches into his own chest and violently tears off a piece of his ribcage— as a side note, it’s a bone that seems to have the unsexy name the “Xiphoid Process.” Apparently, removing the part will dampen Hikaru’s powers, making it harder for him to absorb others even if he wanted to. He gives the bloody piece of himself to Yoshiki, potentially setting up some future moment where our protagonist may find himself with a choice around whether to trust Hikaru with this power once again.

Meanwhile, although Yoshiki’s attempted sacrifice was noble, his foreboding call to his mom drew attention to his existing depression: while Yoshiki’s actions come from a desire to protect his loved ones, it’s hard not to tie what’s happening to the visual hallmarks of suicidal ideation. Between lying to those he’s close to about his true feelings and his troubled looks throughout the episode, there’s a sense our protagonist is about to do something awful; it’s no mistake that the episode’s bright summer visuals contrast against this internal darkness to highlight everything Yoshiki has to lose.

In the end, though, none of these extreme measures proved necessary. Instead, it all came back to the very complicated relationship between Yoshiki and Hikaru, with Yoshiki seemingly trusting his counterpart once again: in all honesty, it’s not like he has much choice since he can’t kill Hikaru. Regardless, Yoshiki sets the pair’s next goal of looking more into Hikaru’s true nature so they can have a better idea of what they’re dealing with. Frankly, one of the best implications of this new focus is that this town’s backstory and mythology likely won’t exclusively be conveyed through the dull discussions between the town elders anymore, which sounds like a notable improvement. Wherever things go from here, “Determination” was a piercing reminder of this series’ deep tension, keeping us in suspense before stabbing us in the heart.

Elijah Gonzalez is an associate editor for Endless Mode. In addition to playing the latest, he also loves anime, movies, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.