I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day has been enjoying an anime adaptation this summer, courtesy of studio Roll2. And with that now successfully drawing to a close, it’s time to return to the original manga series.
This book opens with the devastating news that Seiran is dead, as we saw unfold at the end of Volume 3. Having used her medicine to help another on the battlefield, she was left to meet an untimely end. And now her roommate and lover, Ari, is in pieces. Of course, Sheena is upset as well, having grown close to the two, and desperately wishes she could do something to help Ari.
And then there’s Mimi, who was also on the battlefield and feels a heavy guilt for not being there to save Seiran. Being immortal, Mimi is struggling to come to grips with the fact that Seiran won’t ever be coming back to them. She even begins to suggest that Ari use a taboo spell to bring her back, but thankfully Sheena manages to put a stop to Mimi before anything forbidden can come to pass.
And in the midst of grief, Sheena discovers that she may have a talent for healing magic. Even if she can’t be of any use on the battlefield, this potentially means she can still save people’s lives and heal their weary hearts as long as they can make it back for medical treatment. Our protagonist begins pouring herself into training, but Mimi begins to feel resentful of losing Sheena’s time and focus.
The loss of Seiran and the grief the cast are dealing with continue into Volumes 5 and 6. Due to her immortality, Mimi has become incredibly reckless on the battlefield in an attempt to protect everyone else. And while it’s true that injuries and casualties have decreased, Sheena has been under the illusion that Mimi has simply been returning unharmed herself. Which she soon discovers is not true. And that builds a rift between them, as they struggle to see one another’s point of view. Mimi thinks it’s fine to sacrifice herself to protect everyone, while Sheena wants everyone to be okay, including Mimi, whom she’s been falling in love with.
And of course, all three of these books spend a substantial amount of time with Ari. Mangaka Nachi Aono does a wonderful job of depicting the weight that comes from losing a loved one, especially in the circumstance of war. In a war we still don’t fully understand the origin of or why these young girls are being forced to fight, but we do get a few more answers in Volume 6. This has been a character-driven story first and foremost, which I think has worked in its favour long-term.
Like Sheena, we readers are shielded from the harshness of war, only seeing small snippets of the battlefield. And that’s why Seiran’s death hits all the harder. Up until now none of the main cast have been lost, and this isn’t a series that’s likely to do it again without just cause, which is smart writing on Aono’s part. Waiting just long enough to ensure we were suitably attached to Seiran, but also that we cared enough to see how this impacts Sheena and the others. It’s well written and very compelling because of it. Especially as Aono has taken the time to spread this arc across three volumes, which feels like the right amount of time to properly explore it.
Volumes 4, 5 and 6 of I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day come to the West thanks to Kodansha and continue to be translated by Irene Nakano (piyo) with lettering by Dietrich Premier; both do an excellent job. All three books have colour pages to open, which are fantastic additions.
Since I last reviewed the series, Kodansha has gotten almost caught up! The Japanese releases are at Volume 9, whereas here in English we’re up to Volume 8. Japan has also had a side story collection release, but neither that nor #9 is currently in the English schedule, so we have a wait on our hands for more.
Also, for those of you wondering about the anime adaptation I mentioned earlier, I would highly recommend giving that a try. It has brought the manga to life wonderfully, while adding in new material or moving around existing content to better fit the medium. It’s available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Overall, these three volumes ofI Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day prove an engaging read, as they deal with some difficult subjects and dedicate the time to fleshing them out properly. As was the case with the earlier book, I find myself eager to see where the story goes from here.
Our review copies from Kodansha were supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
Demelza
When she’s not watching anime, reading manga or reviewing, Demelza can generally be found exploring some kind of fantasy world and chasing her dreams of being a hero.
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