Whoever You Are, I Love You Volume 1 Review

Keiku Hagiwara is one of those mangaka who is lucky enough to have had almost all her work translated into English so far. So, it comes as no surprise that Kodansha is now bringing us her latest completed series: Whoever You Are, I Love You. But does it prove a thrilling read? Let’s take a closer look!

Yuki Sato is a 32-year-old who is a temp worker currently in a receptionist role. Two years ago after her father had a stroke, Yuki signed up to a dating app with the goal of finding someone to wed and fulfilling her dream of her father getting to see her in a wedding dress. And now, in the present, she’s engaged to the handsome Yoji Goto, whom she’s very smitten with.

However, despite their engagement, Yoji has been avoiding meeting Yuki’s father. He claims to be in debt and doesn’t feel like it’s the right time to be getting married, which Yuki believes. To speed up paying back his debt, Yoji encourages our protagonist to continue using the dating apps and to find rich men to introduce him to. Surely they would be willing to help him out of the hole he’s in and give Yuki the happy ending she dreams of.

We readers realise immediately that Yoji is highly suspicious and likely using Yuki because she’s so blindly in love with him. It’s not until Yuki meets Shun Majima that she begins to face reality. Shun is investigating the death of his older brother Kosuke, a man that Yuki had previously matched with and introduced to Yoji. To make matters worse, Kosuke’s wife, Hiromi, has disappeared, and now Shun is beginning to wonder if his brother was killed for the insurance money.

Since Kosuke started acting strangely after meeting Yoji a year ago, Shun believes he’s involved but needs proof. And Yuki having seemingly been a part of the scheme is his best lead yet. Of course, Yuki doesn’t believe anything Shun says at first, but slowly but surely he begins to crack the perfect delusion that Yoji has her believing. Will they be able to uncover the truth before anyone else comes to harm? And what’s really waiting for Yuki at the end of it all?

Keiku Hagiwara’s (Do You Still Take Me for Better or for Worse?, Show It To Me, Baby!) latest series is a romantic drama that’s leading into the seedy underbelly of Tokyo. Yoji is manipulative, but he might be the least of Yuki’s problems when all is said and done. It’s an ambitious storyline that has plenty of room to become overly silly or unbelievable depending on how it develops, but I think this first release will hook readers effectively.

This is especially true as Hagiwara makes it clear that she doesn’t expect us to buy into Yuki’s perfect image of Yoji. Right from the beginning it’s clear from the framing of their interactions that something’s not right. And really, Yuki knows that too, but she’s desperate to cling onto the fantasy she’s built. Hagiwara draws within quite small panels, and they can at times feel cramped due to the amount of text, but I really do like how deliberate the art is in conveying the emotion of a scene.

Hagiwara writes in the afterword that they created this story with the goal of taking on a new challenge and wanted to do the most difficult thing they could think of. I admire that determination and hope it pays off in the long run. There’s no harm in sticking to what you know, but I have a lot of respect for creators that push their limits and try something new.

Whoever You Are, I Love You Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha under the Vertical imprint and has been translated by Annelise Ogaard with lettering by Lorina Mapa. As far as extras go, there’s a colour page at the beginning showing the three main cast together but nothing else of note.

The series is complete in Japan with just four volumes. Here in English, Volume 2 is scheduled for a release in September, with #3 following in January. A nice steady pace, which is always reassuring to see.

Overall Whoever You Are, I Love You, Volume 1 proves an interesting debut if you’re looking for a new thriller to pick up. I think there’s a high chance it gets in over its head, given what it’s building up so far, but I’m more than willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and carry on for now.

A free preview can be read on the Kodansha website
Our review copy from Kodansha (Vertical) was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).
©Keiku Hagiwara / KODANSHA LTD.