Whisper Me a Love Song

Whisper Me a Love Song (ささやくように恋を唄う) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eku Takeshima. It was first serialized in Ichijinsha's Comic Yuri Hime April 2019 issue and is licensed in English by Kodansha Comics. An anime television series adaptation produced by Cloud Hearts and Yokohama Animation Laboratory premiered in April 2024.

Synopsis
On the first day of entering high school, Himari Kino "falls" for her senior, Yori Asanagi, whom she watched singing with a band at the welcome party for new students. When Himari confesses her admiration to Yori, Yori misinterprets Himari's feelings as romantic love. However, before Yori realizes, she comes to fall for Himari anyway, and promises to win her affections for real.

Characters

 * Himari Kino (木野 ひまり)
 * A fifteen-year-old high school student, an energetic girl who falls in love with Yori's singing on her first day of school. She confesses her admiration to Yori, who misinterprets her feelings as romantic. However, she agrees to spend time together to see if she can come to feel the same way as Yori. She has a cat named Marota and is also a member of the cooking club.
 * A fifteen-year-old high school student, an energetic girl who falls in love with Yori's singing on her first day of school. She confesses her admiration to Yori, who misinterprets her feelings as romantic. However, she agrees to spend time together to see if she can come to feel the same way as Yori. She has a cat named Marota and is also a member of the cooking club.
 * A fifteen-year-old high school student, an energetic girl who falls in love with Yori's singing on her first day of school. She confesses her admiration to Yori, who misinterprets her feelings as romantic. However, she agrees to spend time together to see if she can come to feel the same way as Yori. She has a cat named Marota and is also a member of the cooking club.


 * Yori Asanagi (朝凪 依)
 * A seventeen-year-old high school student, who serves as the vocalist and lead guitarist for the band SSGIRLS after their previous vocalist quit. Often seen as stoic by those around her, Yori enjoys singing while playing the guitar on the school's rooftop alone and collecting cute cat merchandise. Yori falls for Himari after her "confession", only to realize later that Himari was actually confessing admiration for her singing. However, she resolves to get Himari to reciprocate her feelings in time.
 * A seventeen-year-old high school student, who serves as the vocalist and lead guitarist for the band SSGIRLS after their previous vocalist quit. Often seen as stoic by those around her, Yori enjoys singing while playing the guitar on the school's rooftop alone and collecting cute cat merchandise. Yori falls for Himari after her "confession", only to realize later that Himari was actually confessing admiration for her singing. However, she resolves to get Himari to reciprocate her feelings in time.
 * A seventeen-year-old high school student, who serves as the vocalist and lead guitarist for the band SSGIRLS after their previous vocalist quit. Often seen as stoic by those around her, Yori enjoys singing while playing the guitar on the school's rooftop alone and collecting cute cat merchandise. Yori falls for Himari after her "confession", only to realize later that Himari was actually confessing admiration for her singing. However, she resolves to get Himari to reciprocate her feelings in time.


 * Aki Mizuguchi (水口 亜季)
 * A cheerful third-year student and the bassist for SSGIRLS. She is Yori's best friend and tries to support her in winning over Himari while hiding the fact she has romantic feelings for Yori herself.
 * A cheerful third-year student and the bassist for SSGIRLS. She is Yori's best friend and tries to support her in winning over Himari while hiding the fact she has romantic feelings for Yori herself.


 * Mari Tsutsui (筒井 真理)
 * A stoic third-year student and the drummer for SSGIRLS. She comes from a rich background and is childhood friends with Kaori.
 * A stoic third-year student and the drummer for SSGIRLS. She comes from a rich background and is childhood friends with Kaori.
 * A stoic third-year student and the drummer for SSGIRLS. She comes from a rich background and is childhood friends with Kaori.


 * Kaori Tachibana (橘 香織)
 * An easygoing third-year student and the keyboardist for SSGIRLS. She has been friends with Mari since childhood.
 * An easygoing third-year student and the keyboardist for SSGIRLS. She has been friends with Mari since childhood.
 * An easygoing third-year student and the keyboardist for SSGIRLS. She has been friends with Mari since childhood.


 * Miki Mizuguchi (水口 未希)
 * Aki's younger sister and Himari's best friend since elementary school. She is part of the brass band club and tries to support Himari any way she can.
 * Aki's younger sister and Himari's best friend since elementary school. She is part of the brass band club and tries to support Himari any way she can.
 * Aki's younger sister and Himari's best friend since elementary school. She is part of the brass band club and tries to support Himari any way she can.


 * Shiho Izumi (泉 志帆)
 * A second-year and former vocalist and guitarist of SSGIRLS, which she left following a feud with Aki. She now fronts a rival band, Laureley, while also acting as a ghost member for the Culinary Research Club.
 * A second-year and former vocalist and guitarist of SSGIRLS, which she left following a feud with Aki. She now fronts a rival band, Laureley, while also acting as a ghost member for the Culinary Research Club.
 * A second-year and former vocalist and guitarist of SSGIRLS, which she left following a feud with Aki. She now fronts a rival band, Laureley, while also acting as a ghost member for the Culinary Research Club.


 * Momoka Satomiya (里宮 百々花)
 * A kind-hearted second-year who is president of the Culinary Research Club and guitarist for Laureley. Gentle and supportive, she quickly befriends Himari, who joins her club.
 * A kind-hearted second-year who is president of the Culinary Research Club and guitarist for Laureley. Gentle and supportive, she quickly befriends Himari, who joins her club.
 * A kind-hearted second-year who is president of the Culinary Research Club and guitarist for Laureley. Gentle and supportive, she quickly befriends Himari, who joins her club.


 * Hajime Amasawa (天沢 始)
 * A third-year student who is the drummer for Laureley. She is often seen with Momoka.
 * A third-year student who is the drummer for Laureley. She is often seen with Momoka.
 * A third-year student who is the drummer for Laureley. She is often seen with Momoka.


 * Kyou Amasawa (矢沢 キョウ)
 * A violinist who was originally friends with Shiho until she became jealous of her talent. It is later revealed that she was Hajime's older sister and Momoka's girlfriend who died in an accident, leading Shiho and the others to form Laureley.
 * A violinist who was originally friends with Shiho until she became jealous of her talent. It is later revealed that she was Hajime's older sister and Momoka's girlfriend who died in an accident, leading Shiho and the others to form Laureley.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Eku Takeshima, Whisper Me a Love Song began serialization in Japan in the April 2019 issue of Ichijinsha's Comic Yuri Hime magazine, released on February 18, 2019. It has been compiled into nine tankōbon volumes as of March 18, 2024. Kodansha USA licensed the series in English and began releasing volumes in North America from October 2020.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on January 13, 2023. The series is produced by Cloud Hearts and Yokohama Animation Laboratory. Initially, it would have been directed by Cai Xinya; however, Cai stepped down due to health issues, and was replaced by Akira Mano. Hiroki Uchida is overseeing series' scripts, Minami Yoshida is designing the characters, and Hiroshi Sasaki and Wataru Maeguchi are composing the music. The series, initially scheduled for January 2024 but delayed due to "various circumstances", the first ten episodes aired from April 14 to June 30, 2024, on TV Asahi's NUMAnimation programming block,  with the remaining two episodes to be aired at a later date due to production delays. The opening theme song is "Follow your arrows", performed by the anime's band SSGIRLS with vocals by Kana Sasakura. The ending theme song for episodes 2-6 is "Giftee" (ギフティー), performed by Hana Shimano, while the ending theme for episode 8 onwards is "Meritocracy" (メリトクラシー), performed by Laureley with vocals by Sui Mizukami. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, Australia and British Isles for streaming on Hidive.

Stage play
In May 2024, it was announced that a stage play adaptation titled Butai: Sasayaku yō ni Koi o Utau (舞台『ささやくように恋を唄う』) would run from the following July 26 to August 2 at the Theater1010 in Tokyo. It is directed by Tomoyuki Ueno, written by Yuniko Ayana, and stars Yui Watanabe and Momoka Ishii.

Reception
Erica Friedman of Yuricon noted in her review that while the story is not groundbreaking it is "so pleasant and full of such pleasant characters, that it's a joy to read." In contrast, The OASG criticizes its ability to keep the series interesting, "Eku Takeshima is betting the success of this entire story on the strength of the relationship between Himari and Yori and while that may have worked if this story was a short one-shot, it's not nearly enough for an entire series."

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the characters and called it "a yuri series you don't want to miss." Nicki Bauman likewise praised the characters, calling them "delightfully passionate and excited by each other" but criticized the series's pacing.

In 2020, Whisper Me a Love Song was nominated for Niconico and Da Vinci's Next Manga Awards, and placed eighteenth out of 50 nominees.