This book started with much potential, but having kissing as how people are healed and having it heavily implied that the school nurse, an adult, kissed the underage girls to heal them often and really enjoyed doing it deeply rubbed me the wrong way and made me uncomfortable. The characters also felt really infantile at times. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well haaa not for me. I recognize it's not poorly written and it's a different and strong plot, that I don't usually go for. Probably people that like The Promised Neverland would enjoy it. I just didn't vibe with it.

"I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day" nos sumerge en un fascinante mundo de fantasía oscuro donde niños huérfanos son entrenados desde temprana edad para convertirse en implacables máquinas de matar. La historia tiene lugar en una academia en la que estos jóvenes reciben una educación rigurosa que no solo incluye materias académicas, sino también un entrenamiento físico para su futuro como guerreros. Este contexto único y algo perturbador es solo la base para lo que promete ser una trama mucho más profunda.

El primer tomo de esta serie de yuuri se presenta como una introducción emocionante, pero también se dedica a construir lentamente el universo en el que se desarrolla la historia. A pesar de la acción intensa y las interacciones intrigantes entre los personajes, hay muchas preguntas sin respuesta que parecen ser deliberadamente dejadas en el aire, lo que deja abierta la posibilidad de explorar más sobre este mundo en los próximos tomos. A medida que avance la historia, se revelarán más detalles acerca de la academia, el origen de estos huérfanos y la razón detrás de su entrenamiento tan brutal.

Me ha gustado en especial los dibujos y los diseños de personajes. Los personajes están diseñados con gran atención al detalle, lo que hace que cada uno se sienta único, a la vez que se mantiene una coherencia visual que refleja sus personalidades y roles dentro de la trama.

Uno de los personajes que más me ha cautivado es Mimi. Aunque a primera vista podría parecer una chica frágil e infantil, lo que realmente resalta de ella es su capacidad para transformarse completamente cuando llega el momento de luchar. En los momentos de acción, Mimi revela una faceta completamente diferente de su personalidad, mostrando una fuerza y determinación inesperadas. Este contraste entre su apariencia y su verdadera naturaleza es uno de los aspectos más intrigantes del personaje y una de las razones por las cuales me interesa ver cómo se desarrolla en los próximos tomos

“It’s an orphanage and training ground with one goal: to cultivate weapons of sorcery for use by the military?”

I had a lot of expectations about “I Want to Love You Till our Dying Day” but I have to say it made me uncomfortable above all else. If I liked the idea of this Magic School in which children (orphans) are sent to become “good little soldiers” for an adults’ war –and all the revolution and empowerment that could be expected when the story would progress– the “healing kiss” became the only thing I could remember about the story. Should it have been on the wound (or forehead, or cheek), it could have been a cute idea to make this comfort for kid having a true healing power. But it appears to be on the lips, and practiced on a child by an adult, sometimes even when the kid is unconscious. Add to that that the over happy and exuberant Mimi feels dissociated and having symptoms of an abused child… It was enough for me to feel very uncomfortable. So yes, maybe it will be denounced in later tomes, as much as the other adults’ problematic behaviors (like conditioning and using children for war). But I’m not sure I want to read that, especially should that NOT happen, even if the art is beautiful.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for the eARC on NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

I was initially drawn to this manga by the cover, and the art style remained my favourite part this whole book. Even though there were aspects of this book I did like, the kissing between adults and children was enough to make me dislike this story. I will not be continuing the next volume unfortunately. I really do love the art though, so I would be open to reading different works by this mangaka in the future.

Okay manga overall. I didn't like the plot to this one at all. I will not continue. Just overall not for me.

I felt like I was picking up a story in the middle. I don't quite understand what was going on, and it ended before there was any resolution. And I'm not sure why the nurse seemed so pervy.

Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I normally like to start with the good things/what I liked, but there's not much of that in this manga, unfortunately. Sooo.... I think I'll start with why I decided to read it and then how it disappointed me.

I found out about this manga through Kodansha's IG page, and it caught my eye, both with the cover and the story description. And I thought that I'd probably read it once it was out. This led me to finding it on Netgalley and being able to get an ARC of it. Which ultimately led to this review.
I thought I would like the manga, I like war stories that also make some type of social commentary, in the case of this manga: the exploitation of kids and teens at the hands of institutions with the power to do so, treating them (children) as weapon and the effect all this has on both the people, but also in the society it takes place. And yet, I couldn't have been farther from the truth.

I know that, when is a series, the first volume tends to be introductory, and it was also the case here, so if some things have been done differently, I would have liked it more and would probably feel incline to wanting to read the second one. But i can't bother after it all. And it comes down to the magic system, how it is presented to us.
Context: some people can do magic and, for that, they use mana. So, in this world, they go around kissing each other to exchange mana and get healed. I would have seen it with better eyes if it had happened between consenting adults, not ten year olds being trained to be living weapons that are sexualized all through the pages (in my opinion).

There's two situations here:
Mimi kissing Sheena to heal her, which wouldn't be bad if Mimi, who is supposed to be a 10 year old child just like Sheena, knew what a kiss was or wasn't portrait in an infantilized way, making her appear even younger than she is (a fact that even Sheena comments about on the page).
And then, the situation with the school nurse, a full grown adult, that is said to go around kissing the students (children and teens, all underage) to heal them when needed. If that doesn't spell predator... What is even worse, is that, from comments from the students and, more specifically, Mimi, is implied that she's either a transwoman or a crossdresser, two groups that have been accused of exactly that for ages. Harmful stereotypes will always be harmful, even if they're done with "humor", even thought is not humor, is straight up disrespect for real life people. If I have read some reviews mentioning this, I would have most probably avoided this manga.

If I had to point out some good points, it'd be the art and the potential of the story, which I would have enjoyed if executed other wise. I won't be reading the second volume, that for sure. And I hope we can leave these deplorable depictions behind us.

Disappointed, but at least it was a short read and I didn't have to suffer much

Orphaned children are trained to become magical weapons of war. Sheena meets Mimi, an immortal child soldier, whose fighting skills terrify and intrigue her.

Art work is stunning. Everything else was not. I genuinely do not feel comfortable with scenes featuring nudity of underage characters.

I chose to read this manga based on the cover and the gorgeous art style. I liked the premise but really did not enjoy the story. The whole concept of an adult woman kissing small children feels weird to me and made me feel very uncomfortable. I couldn‘t finish this book.

There’ll be a more detailed later on my blog but wow! What a striking first volume.

Magical girls with dark elements have always existed (and yes, even before Madoka Magica) and there were side queer couples or hints of them in some. So it’s a pleasure to read one that is actually focused on a wlw relationship. The fight scenes are so dynamic and the plot hits hard from the first chapter. There’s body horror too, andI loved how the creator handled those scenes. They are neither jarring nor undermined.

I only wished the creator handled the nurse better. Maybe it’s a cultural thing that I don’t understand but I can never wrap my head around the school nurses in anime and manga in general. Why are they always portrayed as perverts in super unhinged ways? This isn’t even the ‘mad scientist’ trope anymore. They are always highly sexualised for some reason.

Again, it’s possible that I don’t get it. But what really fel unfortunate was that the nurse was either a trans woman, non-binary or a cross-dresser. I don’t expect characters with these identities to be angels who have done nothing wrong in their lives before, but when you barely see them as anything but as someone ‘who gets too excited over having to kiss a much younger student to heal them’ is… well.

It doesn’t deter me from continuing the series because the characters and the series’ approach to war, love and longing are very compelling! Now that there’s an anime adaptation as well, I hope the series sells well!

This is a fantasy manga about two orphaned girls who are child soldiers fighting in a war with magic. In this orphanage and military school, it's normal for classmates to die and never come back. The protagonist, Sheena, struggles with the loss of her roommate when she gets a new roommate, powerful but childish Mimi. Sheena does not like fighting, and initially dislikes Mimi for her involvement in the war, but once she finds out Mimi also dislikes war, the two begins to get closer.

Je suis très mitigée quant à cette lecture...

Utiliser les baisers de façon innocente et de transfert de mana me gène à chaque fois. Cependant, en prenant ça au second degré j'ai trouvé cette série légèrement drôle ! Je ne sais pas trop quoi en penser, je ne continuerai pas, mais je ne déconseille pas non plus.

This was such a cute graphic novel!! I loved the art style and the characters themselves. I only wish that we learned more about the magic system as I never fully understood it even as I finished the novel.
I liked that this was more on the sweet side, and it was also a little bit of a slow burn. I loved how the two went from strangers to somewhat of lovers. Their personalities were very individualized but matched perfectly with one another. I thought the secondary characters were also very sweet and I liked how they were given attention as well.
I would be excited to see how the story progresses in the next edition!

Can we not sexualize children, please? You can write a first love without making it creepy.

I honestly wish this wasn't as creepy and disturbing as it is.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I finished volume 1 and my main thought was that the story had great potential and depending on how the story develops in future volumes I could really like or dislike it. With all stories of this nature, the first volume only touches the surface of the world building and I personally think it needs a lot more fleshing out and could do with a lot of work. I did not like the 'kissing for healing' aspect especially as it is implied to happen between adults and minors.

I did like the main character and following her struggles with her life as a trainee killer. The best parts were when it leaned into the horror and tragedy aspects.

I will say - I went into this completely blind and only found myself gravitated by the art style. The premise itself sets up what one would assume is such a capturing story BUT - it does lose me. It feels as though the kissing was just so out of place! I mean, it just feels weird that an adult is going around kissing all of these younger kids to heal them. It just didn't do it for me!! It sucks because it's so pretty but the content inside is too weird for me.

This was so good!! Love the storyline and premise and the art! And the characters of course! Excited to read more of this series! And finding about Mimi's origins (?)

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha for providing me with this eARC.

This is the first manga book I have ever read and, oh boy was it a disappointment. I will definitely not be continuing with this series.

All I could think about while reading this is how disgusting the fact that the nurse (She's an adult and way over 18+) KISSES her underage students in order to heal them. There is also more questionable content that does not sit right with me at all.

To be honest this book gets 1⭐️ SOLELY because I like the art style.

The plot is interesting and the drawing style is very nice, however is not quite my cup of tea.
I didn't like that the characters are 10 years old, the drawings don't look 10 y/o, also the plot seems a bit older.

I understand the plot of kissing someone to heal them, but then again, they are 10 and I feel like it lacked explanation and you would have to address the consent and age issue.

I know its a genre but its not for me, I enjoyed the story but couldn't get pass the age of the kids.

(I will not be adding this to my good reads)