"I SCREAMED" This Jujutsu Kaisen parallel in The Summer Hikaru Died has broken fans' hearts all over again

Jujutsu Kaisen's influence remains strong even after the manga's conclusion in the September of 2024. 271 chapters published and 2 seasons of the anime on air with a third en route has seen the series become a global phenomenon. So much so, that newer title releases seem to reference Gege Akutami's work as a tribute to his genius, the latest one being Cygames Pictures' The Summer Hikaru Died.

A relatively new anime with just 3 episodes on air (at the time of writing this feature), the studio's penchant for creating something stunning is on full display. The animation quality, style, use of contrast and colors and the storyline in general have wowed audiences. Upon looking closely, The Summer Hikaru Died parallels Jujutsu Kaisen and fans cannot get enough.

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The Summer Hikaru Died references Jujutsu Kaisen in a heartbreaking manner

The Jujutsu Kaisen parallel in The Summer Hikaru Died seems to be the crux of the story. To elaborate, the latter series is a tale featuring a pair of best friends in Hikaru and Yoshiki. One summer, Hikaru goes missing and returns a month later, but not quite, i.e., something else returns looking exactly like Hikaru. Yoshiki realizes that his friend is not truly back, but tussles within himself to accept it.

This entire setup is quite similar to what happened in Akutami's series. Gojo and Geto were the best of pals, together earning the tag of "Strongest" during their Jujutsu High Days. But a change in ideals saw them walk different paths and Geto's choice ultimately leads to his demise. A while later, during the Shibuya Incident, Suguru Geto makes a return.

Even Gojo is thrown off for a moment (which is the kind of slip up that gets him sealed). However, he knew his friend all too well and understood that it wasn't really Geto. His suspicions were immediately confirmed when the individual lifted his head and revealed a brain, thus announcing himself as Kenjaku. Hence, the concept behind a character's uncanny comeback remains the same.

So in essence, each character (Geto and Hikaru) suffered a similiar fate - their bodies being taken over another entity and used to masquerade/blend in to that character's life.

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Fans gush over Jujutsu Kaisen reference in Cygames Pictures' The Summer Hikaru Died

Hikaru Indou (Image via Cygames Pictures)

Needless to mention, the animanga fandom has proven themselves to be sharp tools in the shed and spotted the parallel. In most cases, one series references another usually turns out to be a joyous/nostalgic moment. But in this case, the parallel made is quite the unfortunate one.

In the first case, Gojo experiences a rollercoaster of emotion flood through him as he hears a familiar voice. His very being feels a second of joy at seeing his best friend, but those feelings immediately flip when he realizes the truth. Elsewhere, Yoshiki is quick to catch on, but finds himself deeply conflicted about how to react and what to do.

"The summer Hikaru died again is GoGe coded" - a user exclaimed. "my thirteenth reason actually" - a fan admitted. "It's so similar that it happened again" - a netizen wrote. "I SCREAMED" - an X user posted.

Kenjaku (Image via MAPPA)

One of the many who posted on social media expressing their opinion on the matter put forth that Cygames Pictures' anime was "GoGe" coded. This is likely a short form for Gojo-Geto, referring to the parallel made. Another placed the parallel as their 13th reason, a figure of speech that was birth after the popular American series 13 Reasons Why.

Others were left reliving that heartbreaking moment in Shibuya when Kenjaku first revealed himself. Truly, that was one of the more sadder encounters in Jujutsu Kaisen with Geto's own body fighting back adding to the scene's already heavy emotional weight. To conclude, such a parallel is just another instance of the kind of influence Jujutsu Kaisen has had on modern animanga.

Characters like Gojo Satoru, Ryomen Sukuna, Kenjaku, Yuji Itadori and others have become icons and household names. It is one of the series that has contributed to ushering in a new era of anime and manga and the future looks very promising.

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Also read:

• The Summer Hikaru Died complete release schedule
• Did Jujutsu Kaisen have a happy ending? Ending explained
• Would endgame Yuji overpower Yuta in Jujutsu Kaisen? Explored

Edited by Casey Mendez