Main Characters

SHIZUKU HOSHIKAWA

"I want to believe that, in the end, the summer you were there was a happy story."

Just 15 years old, Shizuku counts her days. Severely depressed, self-isolating and guilt ridden due to her behavior as a child, she plans to complete her first and final novel, Girl Lover's Suicide, and dispose of the draft before killing herself. Through the story, Shizuku slowly learns self-forgiveness and by the end begins to break out of her shell in an attempt to carry on Kaori's legacy.

KAORI ASAKA

"That means
Summer's almost over"

Ill with an unnamed lung disease for much of her life, Kaori knows she's in her final summer. Resultingly, she makes her motives quite mysterious and acts as a sort of 'mastermind' when helping Shizuku, lining things up behind the scenes. Fooling Shizuku into thinking nothing is wrong, she visits the other girl every day and slowly works her way into her heart. Underneath her bright and optimistic facade, she grieves being unable to help others as her condition progresses - well, that's what she believes.

RURI ICHINOSE

"Shi-Shizuku... What do you want me to do? Do you want me to say, 'it's okay'...?"

Timid and often sick in her youth, Ruri was subjected to rather brutal bullying by Shizuku. This came to a head one day when Shizuku shoved her while she carried the school lunch, spilling it across the floor. She attempts for years to forget the effect Shizuku's bullying had on her, not even wanting to hear Shizuku out; the only reason she obliges is for Kaori, who she and Seri became good friends with during Ruri's many hospital stays. While the initial apology is rocky, Ruri soon sees the way Shizuku has grown and how Kaori speaks about her, and near the end asks Shizuku if they can start over.

SERI ICHIHARA

"... None of the adults around explain anything to you because you're a kid."

Fiercely protective of Ruri, Seri isn't afraid to put Shizuku in her place, feeling as if the short letter she handed over wasn't near enough for the torment she'd caused Ruri all these years. Still, when Kaori collapses and Shizuku discovers her condition, she seems to soften; Seri knows how terrifying it is to watch a friend collapse, to not know what's going on.