MANGA REVIEW | "I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day" - Vol. 1
I really wasn’t all too sure what to expect from I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day. My knowledge only came from the recently announced anime adaptation, which will star Rie Takahashi and Rina Hidaka as the main two leads. But wow, for a yuri series, this wasn’t what I was imagining. Dare I say, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day has truly taken me by surprise!
For starters, the world isn’t something you’d normally come across in this genre. It’s a war-torn country, where orphans are used for magical combat. There’s no guarantee of return for any who are set out, as students almost daily hear news of classmates dying in battle. Most recently, student Sheena Totsuki has had to deal with losing her roommate, feeling crushed while her classmates take the tragedy in stride.
Enter Mimi Kagari, whose first impression isn’t the best. Covered in blood, Sheena kind of freaks out over both her appearance and attitude. Despite being trained for war, Mimi is the cheerful type, with an empty stomach the only trouble she deals with. That’s when rumors spread about Mimi, who may be the school’s secret, immortal weapon. Sheena will find out firsthand about Mimi, as the mystery girl becomes her roommate.
The war aspect of I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day is hidden throughout the first half of the premiere volume. Yet author Nachi Aono does a surprisingly good job with giving readers a feel of what’s going on. From the dark tension of the classroom to Sheena’s personality, it becomes very apparent that this world the orphans live in is not safe in the slightest. Only when Mimi appears does there seem to be a beacon of hope for both Sheena and the violent world they’re in.
And yet, even when showing a practice battle, this manga doesn’t hold anything back. The fight itself is pretty fast-moving, but watching as Sheena sustains a grave injury goes to show how no one — even the main characters — are safe from pain. There’s blood, amputations, and rough lacerations that these young teens are having to take and lose. However, the most brutal of injuries comes from Mimi, with a sight that’d make anyone sick to their stomach.
With it being a yuri, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day does hint of romantic interests between the students. Sheena’s friends Ari and Seiran are already linked as a couple, and the narrative will certainly push Sheena and Mimi down that path. The fact that people can heal wounds with kisses also emphasizes the LGBTQ+ aspects of the world everyone resides in. However, I was kind of surprised by how students unfairly treat the nurse Fran, who is hinted as being either a drag queen or transgender, an attitude that might raise some eyebrows within and outside the community.
Despite that little issue, the first volume of I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day has me craving for more. Not since 2016’s Izetta: The Last Witch have I seen a mixture of yuri and fantasy work as strongly as this has. After reading these first few chapters, I totally get the hype behind it. However, since I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day will no doubt continue to whittle down the playing field, it’s going to be hard to get attached to any of these characters, as they might bite the dust in a future battle. A small price to pay for embarking on a grim fantasy that’ll surely fill your need for both love and blood.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Kodansha Manga.
