Whisper me a Love Song Vol. 1

Author: Eku Takeshima
Illustrator: Eku Takeshima
Publishers: Kodansha Comics
Age Group: Teen
Genre: Girl Love, Romance, Drama
Type: Manga

Content Warnings: Cuteness Overload

Spoilers ahead

Plot

Bubbly, energetic first-year high school student Himari falls head over heels for her senpai Yori after hearing her band perform on the first day of school. Himari tells Yori she’s fallen in love at first sight, and, to Himari’s surprise, Yori confesses that she has as well! But when Himari realizes that she and Yori are feeling two different kinds of love, she begins to ask herself what “love” really means…

Character Development

Himari is your standard sun-shine character. She’s really sweet and innocent but this isn’t portrayed overly or annoying. Her character balance is done well. I think this is in part due to being paired off with more serious characters such as her best friend, Miki-chan. Miki-chan is more serious, witty, and a bit sarcastic. She pairs well with Himari. Honestly, I love Miki-chan’s dialogue. She brings Himari back to Earth. It’s a great friendship dynamic that I think we all wish we had. 

Yori is the classic cool older senpai who’s an introvert. She likes to sing but hates being the center of attention unless it’s Himari. Her friends are all people in the band. We have the wallflower, the rich girl, and Miki-chan’s sister. That’s how I remember them. Their personalities kind of mesh together. Yori is a great counter to Himari as well. It shows the difference in personalities while also creating a great relationship dynamic that’s open and honest. 

World-building

High school life is the main world-building we get. It’s a contemporary world so the audience doesn’t have to think about it often. It makes it easy to focus more on the characters and story. 

Themes

Love comes in many forms so misunderstandings are bound to happen. 

This theme reminds us that love is different for every person. It has many definitions that affect relationships. What kind of love do you have for someone? Is it enough to start a relationship on the next level or not? These are things we, the audience, also understand. It makes the plight of Himari and Yori relatable and makes it easy to root for them to become a couple. 

Observations & Predictions

We will see Yori come more out of her shell and go after what she wants. Himari may try new things on days she can’t see Yori. Character growth in different areas that makes them grow as a person will be a must. 

Yori will also fight to get Himari to love her in the same way that Yori love Himari. I also think Himari will come out of her innocent and it’ll scare her a little bit of how much she’s fallen in love with Yori without realizing that’s what she’s been doing the whole time. 

Hindsight is 20/20. 

This series is cute and complex in an easy-to-read and enjoy format. I’ll be looking forward to future volumes. 

Recommendations

For a BL version

Given By: Natsuki Kizu

Similar GL

Bloom into You By:  Nio Nakatani