Whisper Me a Love Song

Whisper Me a Love Song (ささやくように恋を唄う) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eku Takeshima. It was first serialized in Ichijinsha's Comic Yuri Hime April 2019 issue and is licensed in English by Kodansha Comics. An anime television series adaptation produced by Cloud Hearts and Yokohama Animation Laboratory aired from April to December 2024.

Synopsis

On her first day of high school, Himari Kino watches her senior Yori Asanagi perform with a band, and instantly falls in love with her singing. When Himari confesses her admiration to Yori, she misinterprets Himari's feelings as romantic love. However, she falls for Himari anyway, and promises to win her affections for real after finding out the truth.

Characters

• Himari Kino (木野 ひまり)
• A fifteen-year-old high school student and energetic girl who falls in love with Yori's singing on her first day of school. She confesses her admiration to Yori, who misinterprets her feelings as romantic. Upon learning of Yori's true feelings for her, however, she eventually comes to realise that she loves Yori too and they become lovers.
• Yori Asanagi (朝凪 依)
• A seventeen-year-old high school student who serves as the vocalist and lead guitarist for the band SSGIRLS after their previous vocalist quit. Often seen as stoic by those around her, Yori enjoys singing while playing the guitar on the school's rooftop alone and collecting cute cat merchandise. Yori falls for Himari after her "confession", only to realize later that Himari was actually confessing admiration for her singing. However, she resolves to get Himari to reciprocate her feelings in time and they eventually become lovers.
• Aki Mizuguchi (水口 亜季)
• A cheerful third-year student and the bassist for SSGIRLS. She is Yori's best friend and tries to support her in winning over Himari while hiding the fact she has romantic feelings for Yori herself. She had a falling out with the band's previous singer Shiho, who left the band on bad terms. After eventually learning that Shiho had romantic feelings for her realising her feelings for Yori had changed, however, she makes up with Shiho and later agrees to become her girlfriend.
• Mari Tsutsui (筒井 真理)
• A stoic third-year student and the drummer for SSGIRLS. She comes from a rich background and is childhood friends with Kaori. She tends to refer to people by their full names.
• Kaori Tachibana (橘 香織)
• An easygoing third-year student and the keyboardist for SSGIRLS. She has been friends with Mari since childhood.
• Miki Mizuguchi (水口 未希)
• Aki's younger sister and Himari's best friend since elementary school. She is part of the brass band club and tries to support Himari and Aki any way she can.
• Shiho Izumi (泉 志帆)
• A third-year student, and former vocalist and guitarist of SSGIRLS, which she left following a feud with Aki. She now fronts a rival band, Laureley, while also acting as a ghost member for the Culinary Research Club. It was later revealed that she had romantic feelings for Aki, becoming heartbroken upon discovering Aki had feelings for Yori and leaving the band as a result. Thanks to the efforts of Himari and others, however, she eventually manages to make up with Aki, who becomes her girlfriend.
• Momoka Satomiya (里宮 百々花)
• A kind-hearted second-year student who is the president of the Culinary Research Club and the guitarist for Laureley. Gentle and supportive, she quickly befriends Himari, who joins her club.
• Hajime Amasawa (天沢 始)
• A third-year student who is the drummer for Laureley. She is often seen with Momoka and is the younger sister of Momoka's late girlfriend Kyou.
• Kyou Amasawa (矢沢 キョウ)
• A violinist who was Hajime's older sister and Momoka's girlfriend. She was originally friends with Shiho until Shiho became jealous of her talent. She died in an accident, leading Shiho and the others to form Laureley.

Production

Media

Reception

Erica Friedman of Yuricon noted in her review that while the story is not groundbreaking it is "so pleasant and full of such pleasant characters, that it's a joy to read."[51] In contrast, The OASG criticizes its ability to keep the series interesting: "Eku Takeshima is betting the success of this entire story on the strength of the relationship between Himari and Yori and while that may have worked if this story was a short one-shot, it's not nearly enough for an entire series."[52]

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the characters and called it "a yuri series you don't want to miss."[53] Nicki Bauman likewise praised the characters, calling them "delightfully passionate and excited by each other" but criticized the series's pacing.[54]

In 2020, Whisper Me a Love Song was nominated for Niconico and Da Vinci's Next Manga Awards, and placed eighteenth out of 50 nominees.[55]

See also

• There's No Freaking Way I'll be Your Lover! Unless..., a light novel series illustrated by Eku Takeshima

External links

• Official Japanese manga website
• Official English manga website
• Official anime website