Replacement (
Synopsis[]
On a sweltering summer day, Yoshiki realizes that his best friend Hikaru—who had smiled beside him throughout their childhood—is no longer the same. Though this "Hikaru" looks and talks just like him, it's something else entirely.[2]
Plot[]
In January 2020, Tsujinaka Yoshiki runs through the Kubitachi Mountains (Nisayama) in the heavy rain in search of his best friend, Indou Hikaru, who had gone missing. There is also a search team of older villagers searching for Hikaru. When Hikaru is slowly dying on the mountain, he notices Unuki-sama appearing and calls out to it. Hikaru's body then becomes host to "Something."
Six months later in July 2020, Yoshiki and Hikaru go to Yamahisa after school to buy ice cream. Then after talking about things, Yoshiki asks "Hikaru" if he is not the real Hikaru. After a long silence, a shocked-looking Hikaru asks how Yoshiki knew despite him mimicking Hikaru perfectly.
"Something"'s insides burst out from his left eye and he hugs Yoshiki. He begs him not to tell anyone as he doesn't want to kill him. Yoshiki then starts crying and accepts him, believing that it's better to have this "Hikaru" instead of not having anyone by his side at all. Yoshiki hugs him back and says that it's nice to meet him.
Afterwards, Yoshiki has a dream of the last moments he talked to Hikaru at Kibogayama High. He asked Hikaru about why he was going to the mountain that weekend. Hikaru didn't give him the reason, saying it was a secret while jokingly imitating their teacher, Hara. The dream ends and Yoshiki wakes up, leaving him crying in his bed while his mother calls him down for breakfast. When Yoshiki arrives for breakfast, his father is already there reading the newspaper. He asks Yoshiki if his little sister Kaoru is awake yet, to which Yoshiki doesn't reply. "Hikaru" soon arrives at their doorstep and they both go to school together, and Yoshiki once again affirms to himself that it's better having "Hikaru" by his side than not having Hikaru at all.
A man holding a hamster in a carrier knocks on an apartment door. He introduces himself as Tanaka and says his Company sent him. He kicks the door down and waves the hamster carrier around, searching for something that he finds in the closet. A mouth and pair of eyes are embedded in the closet's back wall, and it calls out for its mommy. Tanaka then takes a crowbar and uses it to destroy the closet wall. After the job, he calls a coworker and says that it wasn't relevant to "that thing." He remarks that after hundreds of years searching, the Company should have a better clue by now, and his coworker tells him to be careful badmouthing them in case they hear.
Meanwhile at Kibogayama High, the students perform a song in a choir. During study hall, the class watches a movie. Even though they've seen the movie 5 times before, "Hikaru" is moved to the point that he's crying. Even though he has the memory of watching it, this is his first time experiencing it.
After school, they buy something to eat on their walk home. While they're talking, "Hikaru" denies being a ghost, although he doesn't seem entirely sure what he actually is. They run into Mince-aniki, the neighborhood cat, who hisses and runs away from "Hikaru" as soon as he gets close. When they bike the rest of the way home, they pass an Unnamed Woman buying taiyaki. She is quietly shocked by "Hikaru"'s presence and stares after him with a look of fear.
They get back to their home village Kubitachi in the early evening. A dragonfly lands on "Hikaru"'s handlebars, and Yoshiki points out to him that summer darters and autumn darters look the same but are actually different species. The topic makes him think about what "Hikaru" really is – he looks like Hikaru but isn't. It makes him realize that the situation is messed up, and he's also messed up for just going along with it. In his thoughts, he admits to himself that he's afraid, but he still wants to be by "Hikaru"'s side even if he's fake.
He snaps out of it when "Hikaru" asks to come to his house to read Master x Master, and Yoshiki agrees. They keep walking their bikes home but get stopped by Old Lady Matsuura, who cries out in fear that Nounuki-sama has come down from the mountain. Yoshiki feels uncomfortable and hurries them to leave, but as soon as "Hikaru" takes another step, the old lady shrieks and runs away into her house, shouting for "Hikaru" to stay away from her. Once she's gone, they keep walking home.
Yoshiki asks "Hikaru" if Hikaru is really dead. "Hikaru" confirms that he is, but denies killing him. He says that he was roaming the mountain like a machine on autopilot when he discovered Hikaru on the verge of death, and somehow he ended up like this. When they get to Yoshiki's house, he asks if "Hikaru" likes him. "Hikaru" says that he likes him a lot. Yoshiki thinks to himself that the real Hikaru never said that to him, not even once. A tear slips out of his eye as he opens the door and goes inside. He tells "Hikaru" not to leave him ever again.
That night, "Hikaru" knocks on Old Lady Matsuura's door and asks to be let inside. She refuses multiple times, but he enters on his own and appears behind her. The next day, Old Lady Matsuura is found dead in her home. Two men, one unnamed and the other named Takeda, talk about how the Indou's ritual failed. Tanaka later answers a phone call from Takeda and agrees to come to the village and do everything in his power to help.
Character Appearances[]
- Tsujinaka Yoshiki
- Indou Hikaru
- "Hikaru"
- Yamahisa
- Tsujinaka Satoko
- Tsujinaka Toshinori
- Tsujinaka Kaoru
- Indou Yuki (mentioned)
- Tanaka
- Hara
- Tadokoro Yuuki
- Yamagishi Asako
- Maki Yuuta
- Unnamed Woman (phone call with Tanaka)
- Mince-aniki
- Unnamed Woman (near taiyaki shop)
- Old Lady Matsuura
- Matsuura's Daughter
- Unnamed Old Man
- Takeda Hajime
- Unnamed Man (next to Hajime)
Adaptation Notes[]
- In this episode, several characters are introduced earlier than they were introduced in the manga: Toshinori, Kaoru, Tanaka, Asako, Maki, Yuuki, the three Unnamed Women, Matsuura's Daughter, the two Unnamed Men, and Takeda. Their anime introductions include additional scenes that were not in the manga.
Gallery[]
References
- ↑ Hikanatsu-anime: Story 01
- ↑ Twitter @hikaru_anime_en (July 1, 2025). Episode 1: Replacement. Retrieved on August 8, 2025.
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