I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day Volumes 2 and 3 Review

Volume 1 of I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day introduced us to Sheena and Mimi, two orphans at an orphanage that specialises in raising kids to be weapons used in war. And Mimi has a reputation for being a ruthless killer, but is that really who she is? With another two volumes in hand, let’s see what more we learn about these girls.

Having become roommates with Mimi, our protagonist Sheena has vowed to protect her new friend, but to do that, she needs to learn more about her. Mimi has a lot of secrets, especially when it comes to the origins of her ability to recover from any wound and her strength on the battlefield. She’s ordinarily not allowed to spend time with the other children, her newfound situation with Sheena proving an exception.

But as the two girls spend more time together, Mimi lets slip the secret behind her immortality. Her mother used a taboo spell to bring her back from the dead, and now she simply can’t die or age, no matter what happens to her on the battlefield. Because of this, she’s considered a classified weapon, and that’s why she’s always been sheltered from everyone else.

As we saw in Volume 1, Sheena has a lot of complicated feelings when it comes to the war. She’s never been to the battlefield herself, but she hates this unending fight that results in loved ones not coming home. Even knowing Mimi is immortal does little to ease her mind, as she begins to realise that her friend has no real understanding of the gravity of her missions. She might make it home okay, but what about everyone she killed on the battlefield and the loved ones waiting for their return? To Sheena, it’s all senseless, and she dreams of being able to somehow make peace with the enemy. An enemy that they still know nothing about.

Much of Volume 2 is spent building the relationship between Mimi and Sheena, with the reveal of her immortality being the big story beat. Moving into #3, the spotlight moves onto two of the side characters, Seiran and Ari. It has been decided that Seiran is going to take the Combat Competency Exam to see if she’s ready for the battlefield. For the exam, she’ll face off against Mimi, which excites their classmates as it’s so rare to see Mimi in action.

Of course, the exam comes with the risk of someone being severely wounded or even killed. Sheena worries that Mimi will accidentally go too far, but Seiran wants to prove her strength so she can fight and protect her roommate and girlfriend, Ari.

Ultimately, Seiran manages to pass the exam, and we get our first glimpse of what happens out there on the battlefield. This proves a more action-packed instalment of the series compared to #2, and I think that makes for a good reprieve after how lore-heavy the last volume was. It’s also refreshing to spend some more time developing the side cast, as it shows more variety in why these young girls feel they have to take part in the war and what it all means to them.

As time goes on, I think mangaka Nachi Aono has done a good job of giving us a hook. Especially compared to Volume 1, where there were a few too many questions without answers. Although I’m also hoping, as time goes on, that Sheena’s situation changes, as right now all she can do is wait for Mimi to return home and try to teach her how to be a little more human on her days off. And that’s important, of course, but Sheena spends so much time wishing to end the war that she can’t stay in this position long-term. Spending more time with the side cast does at least alleviate any feeling of repetitiveness before it can set in. And the end of Volume 3, I think, will prove a turning point, given what happens (which I won’t spoil for you).

On the whole, this remains a beautifully drawn series. The action scenes are easy to follow and draw you in, but more than that, it’s the gentle atmosphere of the everyday moments that truly shine. Aono does a good job of ensuring there’s always a feeling of unease in these peaceful pages, which makes sense since these girls are at war and could die during any battle. It can’t be ignored, but at the same time, life has to go on. And Sheena is aware of that more than most, since she can’t fight, and she’s seeing first-hand the impact the war is having on those around her. I’m definitely intrigued to see where the story is going in the long run and where Aono intends to take the characters’ individual stories.

These two volumes of I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day come to the West thanks to Kodansha and continue to be translated by Irene Nakano (piyo) with lettering by Dietrich Premier. Both releases read well and come with colour pages to open, which look fabulous.

Volumes 4 and 5 have already been released in English, with the next release being #6 in early December. This one is currently up to 8 volumes in Japan, so we’re making fast work of catching up! There has also been a short story collection announced for a Japanese release next year, so hopefully that will also make it over.

Overall, these two volumes significantly develop the world and cast in a way that will successfully draw readers in. There’s surely still plenty of secrets for us to discover as Sheena gets more and more drawn into the life Mimi lives in, and I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds over future instalments.

Our review copies from Kodansha were supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.