Very interesting conversation between the friends at the start of the episode as the paper outlines a situation very similar to what happened to Hikaru. Of course Maki's comments & Yoshiki's observations are very on point to what you think. Though Asako's comments of we can only judge with our eyes tell us. Though for Yoshiki he knows the two Hikarus are different.
I really liked seeing the friends hanging out, and at that instance you can really see that the new Hikaru feels like a baby of sorts. Which you can see as he looks at the fireworks. Though it looks like Yoshiki found something important.
Good to learn a good deal more about Asako. Her hunch that we saw a few episodes back is elaborated on more, and it is something that runs in the family. Basically she can sense the dead with the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
Although for her approaching Hikaru was a close call because she could have died if Yoshiki wasn't there. This Hikaru is not human by any means. Where it really shows is how he views life & death. Life is precious to a human, but for whatever reason, to this Hikaru, life & death mean the same thing. You can tell him saying that really struck a chord with Yoshiki. Though this Hikaru isn't wrong with what happens after your death as your soul remains, but he mostly lacks empathy from how humans view. It does make his attachment towards Yoshiki more interesting.