Review by Ian Keogh

Cover star Takara remains somewhat the man of mystery. He’s supposedly working for a company whose intentions he intends to subvert, and during a meeting with Hikaru and Yoshiki in Vol. 6 explained much of what creator Mokumokuren has led people to believe is actually false speculation. The information he passed on referred to four holes in the local mountainside villages from which spirits seeped. To prevent disaster they need to be closed, which is actually a relatively simple procedure, but one that has to be carried out from within the hole, after which there’s no escape. As this volume begins Hikaru and Takara have separately come up with plans to close the holes.

There’s still not a definitive definition of what it is that seeps through from the holes, and this is smartly addressed by Mokumokuren in the second chapter via quite the speech from Takara, mixing philosophy and a little quantum physics. It’s convincing gobbledygook, which is what matters. Hikaru on the other hand is going for the more instinctively direct route.

All previous volumes have prioritised people figuring things out, and the tone that supplies. Here, though, while some figuring out is still necessary, we’re given more action than usual, even if most of it is just people standing in front of a doorway or other entrance. The danger is dozens of arms or legs, and makes for an interesting visual threat.

Clever cross-cutting between two locations maintains the tension, while Mokomokuren has another great cliffhanger ending up his sleeve for when everything’s settled. Well, two actually.

A brief note closing the book states Mokumokuren intends to end The Summer Hikaru Died “around” the tenth volume. It gives a reason for the fast pace of discoveries and events throughout the series and promises more.