u/GhostLight17

MY POST CALLING SHIHO A RACIST WAS REMOOOOOOOOOOOOVED! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!

I just finished reading Volume 11 (late, I know) and I’m mostly satisfied by how the manga has handled this delicate matter. First of all, Miki’s feelings for Aki are reasonably guessable from Volume 1, while at the same time not fetishizing it or making it the focus-really, not calling attention to it at all. A fair amount of subtlety that I wouldn’t necessarily expect from this manga otherwise.

When Volume 11 comes around, it addresses what I think is the most important part of an incestuous arc-the shame and self-loathing Miki feels for feeling this way. It’s explicit, but not so until the tail end of the volume. Again, Whisper Me a Love Song is generally not the most subtle manga, so I appreciate this. And I like how Ayaka is used to give Miki grace, to show her that her feelings don’t make her a horrible person and that she’s still deserving of love. I also like how, earlier, the manga, through Momoka, gives Miki some frankly terrible advice for her situation, and then the manga, through Miki, calls bullshit. I’m impressed the manga is willing to portray a character well-meaning and perceptive as Momoka as fallible.

And I really like that Eku Takeshima really tried to do justice to this plot point-as she says, she really racked her brains trying to write and draw this. Such effort is appropriate when tackling topics like this. My one small complaint is that I don’t necessarily approve of the way Ayaka seems willing to fully humor Miki’s feelings. Without really being prompted, she supports Miki continuing to pursue Aki, even though that’s a terrible idea. It’s something that Miki quickly rejects, so I can forgive it. And if anything, I hope that this is simply characterization of Ayaka and her flaws that will be fleshed out later. After the arc with Shiho (who is the best character by a mile) and this following one, the manga has earned my grace.

So what do you think of this arc? Did you like it? Were there some parts you think were handled poorly? Whatever your thoughts were, I’d love to hear them.