adorable art and lovable characters, seeped is mystery and violence. The relationship was sweet, rice balls and all. I really enjoyed this book.

ARC Review:

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoy manga a majority of the time, it’s stories like this where I’m extremely torn.

On one hand, the story itself and the characters are developed well and the plot is something that I’d be interested in continuing to read about. A magical school (somewhat Harry Potteresque) that is also is training orphaned children how to harness their powers to be weapons.

But on the other hand you realize that this story sexualizes children and has a magic trading system that is set up for the sole purpose of facilitating a way for an adult to kiss children. As an American reader I find this to be something common in mangas and I find it extremely unfortunate because it immediately discourages me from reading any further.

I picked up a review copy of this story due to the title and description. I was initially interested because Violet Evergarden is one of my favorite animes and this had a similar feel to it. I enjoyed the elements of magic and other abilities, but wish that there was more added to the story to show the difference it makes in the battles. This is the first installment, so introductions were needed before possible progression of the story. I feel like there could be a lot added to the world and reflecting more of the psychological aspect of the choices Mimi must make. Overall, I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others looking for a more unique approach to these topics.

*I received a review version of this and all opinions are my own.

Thank you to the author/artist and publisher for the ARC I received.

Unfortunately this manga wasn’t for me. The art style is really beautiful and I thought the world/plot was interesting, but one of the two main characters is 10 years old and they have to kiss to use healing magic and it’s just kind of a weird thing to read about as an adult. I think maybe this is just made for younger people. I wasn’t interested in getting farther into it than that so I’m not sure if the healing magic gets worse than that, but it’s not my cup of tea.

This was a strange blend of dark while trying to be cute? I wanted to enjoy this but it missed the mark for me

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's an intriguing story overall, but there are a few.... uncomfortable moments involving the school nurse. I understand manga can sometimes be a bit unconventional in those terms by nature but it was still alarming for me. Otherwise, it's got lgbtq+ themes, love that. It's an interesting story with a unique magic system. I do see myself continuing, as long as the questionable moments are few and far between lol

I won't lie, the concept for this story reminded me of parts of Gunslinger Girl and Little Witch Academia. There isn't quite enough substance to the story (yet?) to be either of those things. The main character is a girl who really doesn't want to be a magical soldier and isn't very good at combat. After her roommate dies on the field, she gets paired with another girl who shows up one day covered in blood. This story has some potential, but it feels like it doesn't know what it wants to do with itself right now. I had seen some people raise concerns about the way healing works in this world. I'll admit, I didn't realize THAT was actually how healing worked until one of the adults said it. I thought the explanation of "Oh, they're not kissing, she's just healing her with mana and that's the most effective way" was meant to be a lame cover story to excuse the two girls who got caught kissing in the stairwell. But uh, no. kissing is how you heal someone in this story's world. You hear a teacher/nurse in the background of one scene say something along the lines of "Oh she got injured so badly I'm going to have to kiss her to fix it", which is...hm. The mental image of an adult macking on a 13-year-old is NOT something I want in my brain. I honestly just don't think the author thought it through since you never SEE an adult kissing any of the minors. You only see the girls with each other. But really, that should have been thought through a little bit better and realized that making "kissing = healing" could create some hairy situations. All that aside, the art is gorgeous. I really feel that the biggest thing it has going for it is the art.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I don't know how to feel about this one. I like it... in theory? I like the premise; a mysterious school that raises orphans with magical powers to fight in a war, cool. The abilities and magic are interesting and I enjoyed the main characters, Mimi (a consistent optimistic and perky light even as she faces war) and Sheena (a sensitive and isolated girl who is questioning everything she knows). BUT... there are definitely some questionable parts of this story: the girls are young (I'm not sure, I think they're ten) and there's a character who is, perhaps, misgendered? They're referred to as a 'perverted man' but appear as a woman in the art. Also, the panels containing art of a main character (again, I'm fairly certain they are ten years old) completely naked--concealed only by their hair. It seems like this is all pretty standard fare for manga, but it's definitely not for me. And it very well might not be for you either, that's why we write reviews.

I think this really is a "know your audience" type of read. I just don't think it's meant for a western audience at all.

The concept seemed cool, and I wasn't expecting anything too serious, but it felt like the story played second fiddle to the kissing and death. The healing process through kissing felt like an excuse to include as much kissing as possible, and the frequent death of characters we didn't know was brushed over in a strange way. Mimi was a cute character, but wasn't written in a way to make you feel attached to her either, and so far Sheena isn't very likeable. Maybe this could be fixed if this volume were longer, but it felt like there were elements that didn't need to be in this volume that could've been replaced with better character introduction.

The synopsis was really interesting and drew me in however the story fell flat.
The story felt really disjointed and I found myself confused as to what was happening and the why/who/what/where/when of it all. It wasn't fleshed out enough for me to connect to any of the characters. I actually found myself feeling icky with some elements of the story, mainly the age of the characters. They are very young and the fact healing only happens by kissing to 'transfer' magic did not sit well with me at all. Especially considering it was used in a sexual manner at one point between the main character and a side character.
The art was cute and probably the only thing I really enjoyed.

3.5

The art is stunning, and its cute and sweet, but it's clear from the beginning it's going to include darker themes. It's a romance between Sheena, who isn't a great fighter and has a soft heart, and Mimi, who is more outgoing and is used as a deadly weapon.

The characters are way too young for my liking, but I was intrigued by the story and was hoping for a possible time skip.

I actually really liked the overall story and thought is was extremely well done. However, I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call it fanservice. But of course, in this world, wounds are healed with kissing magic. It stays relatively innocent—that’s maybe not the right word—but it’s not super graphic with the kissing/healing magic (thank god). The nurse was the worst part, and it still made me uncomfortable given how suuuppper young they are in this.

This is Volume 1, so there aren't many answers yet about why they're fighting or what they're fighting for. Instead, the focus is primarily on the dynamic between the two main characters in this somewhat twisted schoolgirl romance.

I’ll definitely continue reading this if there’s a timeskip where they’re older. If not, I might not keep going, which is a real shame because I truly love the plot and storytelling.

*blog post scheduled for Feb. 17th*

***My Rating: 3.5

This was definitely an interesting read. I went in blind and was not sure what to expect. But it was as cute as it was dark. I did really enjoy the art style and the characters!

It’s about a school of girls are trained in magic to be used as weapons in a war of unknown origin. The so-called best and most powerful is cheerful and oblivious of the rules, after being placed in the same class as a girl whose roommate died only days before. It’s a bit confusing, but I would have liked to see more of the world-building for a first volume.

I’m happy I was able to get this via NetGalley as an ARC, and I’m pretty sure I would want to see what happens in the next volume.

***Content Warnings: Child death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying

Unfortunately, I didn't love this one. Reading the description, I was very excited with the comparisons to Revolutionary Girl Utena, Otherside Picnic, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. While I thought the art style was quite cute and charming, I couldn't bring myself to get connected to the characters or setting- especially with the characters being so young. If the characters were older, I would probably give a second volume a shot, but with how young the characters are and how little I feel like the world was fleshed out, I will not be picking this one back up.

Rating: 2.5/5
Contains spoilers

This Manga had me hooked up until the sexualisation of a ten year old.

Basically, I want to love you till your dying day, follows Sheena Totsuki. Sheena studies sorcery at her Orphanage and School, that purely trains girls, to one day fight on the front lines of the war.

She proceeds to meet Mimi one night by pure chance. They then proceed to share some rice which leads to a small line of events after Mimi joins Sheena’s class.

However, a single point confused me:

Kissing is used as a form of Healing as people can exchange mana.
I understand why this is a thing, mainly cuz the book is a Yuri. Defo fills the attributes to call it a Yuri.
That doesn’t change the fact that when Mini kisses Sheena to regrow her arm came out of nowhere. I’m not here for that… solely cuz the fact Mimi is apparently 10…
This makes Nurse Fran a very inappropriate person.

Characters:

Sheena Totsuki
Sheena is our classic MC who can’t help herself and has no motivation to. Especially after Mimi joins her classes. But it does change near the end of the manga slightly. She struggles with her magic but doesn’t let that affect how she treats Mimi.

She’s not as fleshed out as I wanted her to be but for a first volume, Sheena is what she’s needed to be whilst being a good figure to pair up with Mimi.

However, Sheena at the start of the manga left a few straggling points.

Sheena isn’t given any time to grieve her roommate. Even though I feel as if she didn’t speak to them that much or even have a connection. And for Mimi to instantly be placed in said roommates space it doesn’t work. I understand if that’s how they’re brought up, because Sheena is the only one who seemed to care in the slightest, but no matter what age you are I feel like u can still morn.

Sheena loosing her arm to Mimi by accident, well I’m assuming it was caused by Mimi. It wasn’t entirely clear. And for Mimi to have no reaction but also be the one to heal it? I’m struggling to see why this was a plot point at all.

Sheena’s view on the war was reasonable especially for her age. No one has to go to the front lines of a war especially when you know people will die regardless of what’s going to happen. Even if she was brought up to think otherwise.

Mimi
Mimi is introduced as the orphanages most powerful weapon, one that’s potentially more powerful than the teachers.

She is quick to befriend Sheena and to jump into main character mode, that is when her faulty plot points shine through.

There’s a bizarre aspect of Mimi is how suddenly she appears at the orphanage. Yes, she’s been around to the point that the nurse knows here and students have heard stories about “the legendary Mimi.” But she suddenly joins the school after meeting Sheena and sharing some rice the night? Especially the day fact it’s the day after Sheena’s roommate was declared dead in the war. Something doesn’t make sense here.

Also Ari and Seiran inform Sheena that Mimi isn’t only one person. Instead, they tell Sheena that every privately tutored student is called Mimi. I want to know why rather than drawing up my own conclusions.

Yet despite all this, Mimi is literally a ten year old girl subjected to fighting a war. Yes, she seems inhuman at times with how little she knows in general and her lack of ability to do menial tasks (like brushing her hair). But none of this explains her constant joyful exposure. She shows no other emotion but Joy. And I can’t find it reasonable even if it draws a contrast to Sheena.

I don’t like how Ms Fran treats Mimi. Especially when she comes back from the front line. The first time when Mimi meets Sheena covered in blood, I understand how ms fran treated Mimi in that sense. However, when Mimi is dropped off at Ms Fran’s doorstep practically ripped to shreds… She did not need to treat her like that.

Ari and Seiran
Sieran is straight forward and to the point. Stands up for what is right but seems to not be able to keep her mouth shut. And is a massive contrast to her secret lover, Ari.

Ari seems like Sieran’s voice of reason who always gets her out of trouble or prevents it from happening.

Their relationship seems one sided, not sure if I’m making this up but Ari defo seems more lovey dovey than Seiran which is reasonable as it’s kept a secret.

Conclusion
This Manga had the potential to be something and it could have been if it wasn’t a commissioned Yuri. If it removed the sexualisation of a ten year old and a forced Yuri plot line, I feel as if it could have gone somewhere.

I’m not reading the second volume <3

I was very much intrigued by this story. The premise was interesting however I felt like it under delivered. The healing aspect of this story was questionable and I disliked the sexual undertones used within a story that involves young children. Some parts of the story seemed choppy and I wish certain scenarios had been fleshed out more. Unfortunately, the only redeeming quality was the art.

This first volume lays the foundations of the world, how magic works (mostly healing), that the world is at war and introduces us to the characters and their personalities.

As I was reading the author's note I realized that it will be a yuri manga and I'm really excited because I haven't read much of this genre and as long as it has an excellent dose of magic and romance, I'll be reading the volumes without fail.

Published by Kodansha and available February 18, 2025, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day is a yuri (girl's love) manga with an interesting premise -- a boarding school that trains magical girls for combat. It made me think of a bit of the controversial Elfin Lied, which was also of the Cute Girls Being Killing Machines genre. This series is just getting its start in English and this is the first volume but I wasn't particularly impressed. The worldbuilding leaves a lot to be desired (what are they fighting and why?) and the bits of the magic system that are explained are dubious at best. The big act of magic shown is transferring mana via kissing, which since this is a yuri manga is of course an excuse for girls to kiss, which wouldn't be an issue if one of the main characters wasn't said to be ten years old. This is on top of a trans or gender non-conforming character being called a "pervert teacher" multiple times, a stereotype that needs to end. Needless to say I'm not impressed, though the character design is cute.

I truly had so much hope for this manga. The plot sounded good, a Yuri about orphans being trained as magical weapons, with a rather cute artstyle and a title that definitely caught my interest with how tragic it sounded.
However my biggest issue with it is how predatory it all looks.
The characters are 10 years old, with one of them who looks and acts like she is even younger than that and the author decided to create a healing magic that works with mana transfer through kissing, with a nurse that acts predatory and is even excited at the prospect of kissing one of her students to heal her.
And while the students kissing shouldn't be a big deal since they are the same age, even that looks weird knowing they are 10 years old(just why??) and that one of them almost read like a 6 years old and while the all the others read like 13-14 years old.
We even have a nude scene of one of the girls and honestly I'm so tired of stories that sexualise children like it's normal.

Neat little yuri manga that takes place in a school for magical girls where the soldiers literally knit themselves back together using magic, and of course, magic energy is passed via kisses. Dark but still sweet.

I really wanted to love this one as I am a sucker for a good sapphic manga. However, I felt the story fell flat and so did the characters. The pacing was okay but seemed a bit off.