A review by irl_bookworms
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 1 by Nachi Aono

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Sapphic orphan mages being trained for war? The promise caught my attention immediately but the set up in this first volume was a bit weak. We have a mix of a girl school feel, exchanging mana via kissing (convenient), but what was really interesting was Sheena our MC trying to unpack her trauma of losing her roommate to the battlefield while the world around her goes on as if her roommate’s lift had not truly mattered. Then all of a sudden we are introduced to Mimi, who promises much darker storylines to come, even with the budding attraction between her and Sheena. However I was honestly much more interested in the already established romantic relationship between Ari and Seiran. I wanted to see more of that but based on the amount we saw in volume one, I think we can reasonably hope to see more of them in upcoming volumes.

I’m intrigued, but not enough to continue right away. I might return to this series once more volumes are out.

Of note, there is one potentially trans character and there is some transphobic language used against her, but she is a solid character on her own though unfortunately is given the title “pervert teacher” so this could have been removed. Pervert teacher is tired and done, we don’t need it anymore.

*I received an eARC from Kodansha Comics & NetGalley. All opinions are my own*