Himari’s use of the word love is stuck back in her childhood, but Yori’s is firmly in the here and now. After their non-date date, Yori asked Himari to go out with her and made her intentions quite plain. She told Himari to think it over, but Himari has NEVER thought that way before. There’s a lot of soul searching on the way...
Whisper Me A Love Song hit all the right beats (it wasn’t any better if I said notes, trust me, I tried it both ways) in its first volume, setting up two different leads who were both easy to root for and a central premise about the word ‘love’ and what it means to people and how that meaning can change (shades of Bloom Into You!).
Things are certainly slower this volume, but to the credit of the writing, no less interesting. Himari and Yori are both refusing to stagnate and, while trying to figure themselves out, both are off trying new things (once they realize that they are trying these things for one another as much as themselves we’ll probably see some momentum here).
Yori figures out a way to try and reach Himari with her feelings that sees her back in orbit with the band from the first volume. Himari, left at slightly looser ends, tries to find a club that inadvertently ends up channeling her fondness for Yori.
There’s a strong jealous streak running through this one - Yori gets her first taste of it when Himari joins her club (knowing she’s being ridiculous doesn’t help her accept it any better, which many of us can sympathize with).
Himari does not get jealous, but somebody is certainly jealous of her, which leads to the emotional cliffhanger we close out on. This one is more interesting than it typically would be just because Himari hasn’t even figured herself out yet and the dilemma she’s presented with is pretty unfair to her.
If there’s a knock against this book, it’s probably how crazy accepting and, well, gay everybody is (the gay part is fine, but it’s prevalence is going to throw off statistical surveys in that area for years). This is definitely in the mould of many ‘yuri paradise’ style stories where men barely exist and the girls are all pairing off. I don’t think the one new character introduced in this volume is terribly interesting yet either.
Honestly though, the writing makes it very hard to care about the little problems. It’s not like it’s lacking for drama or strong storytelling. I also like how this book uses its bonus manga to presage story developments for the next volume (although, again, everybody also appears to know everybody else?).
4 stars. This volume is just as strong as the first. It’s definitely one of the best yuri titles that’s come out lately and just a wonderful romance in general. Super strong recommendation.