If you’re looking for lesbian representation in the form of a wholesome anime series, look no further than Whisper Me A Love Song (Japanese title: “Sasayaku You ni Koi o Utau”), a new lesbian anime that premiered in Japan in Spring 2024. Read on to learn about this anime to see if it’s for you as we discuss the anime’s story (with minimal spoilers), how it holds up in its LGBTQ+ representation, and lastly, our overall thoughts about the anime.
All about Whisper Me a Love Song’s story
What Happens During the First Half of Whisper Me a Love Song?
Adapted from a manga written by Eku Takeshima, the series follows high school students Himari Kino and Yori Asanagi as they navigate the complexities of love and relationships while being inexperienced themselves.
Their story starts on the very first day of school. Himari Kino is a bubbly first-year student who is looking forward to spending her new high school life alongside her elementary school friend, Miki Mizuguchi. They start their school year by attending the school’s opening ceremony, where Miki’s older sister, Aki Mizuguchi, is set to perform with her band called SSGIRLS.
This is where we are introduced to the other half of this series’ two main protagonists, the cool and aloof Yori Asanagi, who is temporarily joining as a substitute vocalist and guitarist for SSGIRLS during their opening ceremony. Within the first few moments of their performance, Himari feels an intense spark and thinks that she has fallen in love at first sight with Yori.
Do The Characters Fall in Love in Whisper Me a Love Song?
At the end of the school day, Himari comes across Yori and declares that she has fallen in love at first sight with her, and in that moment, Yori realizes that she feels the same way. As both girls discuss this more however, we learn that they have completely different ideas on what “love at first sight” means: Himari’s “love” came from a place of admiration as a new fan of Yori, while Yori took this to mean that Himari had romantic feelings for her.
Instead of feeling disappointed, Yori takes this as a challenge and vows to make Himari fall in love with her. Himari, who doesn’t have any idea of what romantic love entails, misunderstands this yet again, so Yori decides to confront Himari and say that she wants to go steady with her. Himari finally gets the hint and is taken aback – she now has to confront her own lack of knowledge of what love really is.
What happens next is a rollercoaster of emotions where we see both girls’ journey with figuring out what it means to love someone. You’ll have to watch the anime yourself to find out if both girls ever figure their feelings out for each other!
What Happens During the Second Half of Whisper Me a Love Song?
Whisper Me a Love Song includes a secondary cast of characters that are all also lesbians. This includes Yori and Aki’s SSGIRLS bandmates, Mari Tsutsui and Kaori Tachibana, and a member of their rival band Laureley named Shiho Izumi. Shiho is the ex-guitarist-and-vocalist who Yori was being substituted for during SSGIRLS’ opening ceremony performance.
The second half of the anime focuses on the rivalry between SSGIRLS and Laureley members. Shiho is a perfectionist who had a history of getting kicked out of other bands until Aki invited her to join SSGIRLS. They’re then able to perform as a full band and a deeper bond between Shiho and Aki is formed. The story isn’t that simple however, as one day, Shiho suddenly quits SSGIRLS without offering any explanation. She later forms her new band, Laureley, with two other members, Momoka Satomiya and Hajime Amasawa, and treats the SSGIRLS members with contempt whenever she sees them.
This section of the anime is notably more dramatic than the first. It details what happened during the huge falling out between Shiho and the other SSGIRLS members from both Shiho’s and Aki’s perspectives. We also learn more about Shiho’s tragic backstory and how the connection between the members of SSGIRLS and Laureley is deeper than it first seems. We don’t want to spoil too much of the story for you here but we can say that it’s just as emotional as the first half of the anime!
LGBTQ+ Portrayal in Whisper Me a Love Song
Whisper Me a Love Song had a good mix of things that I thought it did right in terms of its LGBTQ+ portrayal, but I also had reasons why I thought it was unrealistic in some aspects, which you can read more about below.
What was the LGBTQ+ portrayal like in Whisper Me a Love Song?
Whisper Me a Love Song has many more lesbian characters than I first anticipated. Going into the anime blind, I expected the lesbian representation to be limited to the two main protagonists so I never expected that nearly all the characters would be lesbians!
The show portrays a pure form of lesbian love rooted in the characters’ youth. It was nice seeing characters who are still young but already aware of their sexuality and feel no shame about it. It also depicts that all-too-common lesbian dilemma of “do I like her or do I like like her?” and figuring out where your attraction for another girl comes from.
How realistic was the LGBTQ+ portrayal?
Both Himari and Yori also talk about their feelings for the other girl and none of their friends are put off by or question their sexualities. Their being lesbians is never discussed and is completely normalized, so in a way, it depicts an idealized world since at least in Japan, there’s still a pervasive heteronormativity with lesbians being a relatively invisible demographic.
Before getting into the anime yourself, it’s good to remember that Whisper Me a Love Song is a lesbian anime, so you won’t find other LGBTQ+ identities represented here. So with this in mind, I thought Whisper Me a Love Song wasn’t entirely realistic and instead serves more as an escape for those who want to enter a world where lesbian love stories are the main focus.
Honest thoughts about Whisper Me a Love Song: Was it good?
As someone who’s watched a fair share of slice of life, romance anime in the past, I recognized some of the familiar tropes in this type of anime, such as one character being the shy, aloof type and the other being the open, outgoing person in the dynamic. There’s a love triangle, cute moments, conflicts, and tragic backstories – all of which are cornerstones in the slice of life, romance anime genre.
At times, the story can be a bit cliche, but that’s not necessarily a complaint. It was nice seeing these tropes I’ve gotten used to in heterosexual romance anime portrayed in a lesbian context. I think the fact that a genre we’ve seen versions of in the past can be made into a lesbian story proves the fact that LGBTQ+ stories can easily be a part of the mainstream media we consume.
How I think Whisper Me a Love Song can be improved
One thing that I did find lacking in the anime was a more fleshed out characterization of the two main characters, Himari Kino and Yori Asanagi. In the latter half of the anime, we learn much more about the backstory of a character that only got introduced halfway through the series than we ever learned about Himari and Yori. It feels like certain personality traits were assigned to the two without much thought about what made them this way.
But hey, maybe I’m looking too deep into it since in the end, I still found both main characters very adorable and was rooting for them throughout. It was easy to get invested in not only their characters, but their friends and bandmates too, so overall I really enjoyed Whisper Me A Love Song.
Should you watch Whisper Me a Love Song?
With a cast of adorable characters and emotional storylines, Whisper Me A Love Song provides a fun and heartwarming escape into a world full of lesbian high schoolers. You should watch it if you enjoy slice of life stories and getting invested in a budding lesbian relationship. At the time of this writing, there are currently 10 episodes out for you to watch. By the end, we can guarantee you’ll have felt all the feels and found yourself with your new favorite lesbian anime couple.
