New rock band Romance uses music to focus on overlooked strengths of the genre

Warning: The following contains spoilers for episode 8 of “Whisper Me A Love Song”!!

Those who are not so familiar with romance Anime series or are only aware of the stereotypes associated with it, will be surprised to learn that the genre actually explores differentiated friendships just as well or sometimes even better as an action shonen, and a new series called Whisper me a love song shines a light on this overlooked strength through music. Viewers who pay close attention will also notice how it completely overshadows a romantic storyline when the two intersect.

One of the more tragic love triangles in Whisper me a love song is about Aki, who is a victim of the series’ main couple, Yori and Himari, and Aki’s character is directly confronted with her unfortunate situation when Aki’s former girlfriend Shiho reveals that she knows Aki has feelings for Yori based on their performance during a live show in episode no. 9.

Later in the same episode, Aki’s bandmates reflect on her past relationship with Shiho and similarly incorporate music into their analysis to understand how she felt about them at the time. One of the more profound examples is when Yori reflects on Shiho’s musical expressions when she was on stage with the band to prove that when Shiho left the band, there was probably something other than their dynamic as friends at play.

So it is true that the episode later supported Yori’s theory by revealing that another Musical friendship that Shiho had with someone who was more musically inclined as it probably served as the basis for why she later hurt her former bandmates.

Whisper Me A Love Song uses music as an analogy to explore romance

Produced by Cloud Hearts & Yokohama Animation Laboratory

Although this is not the first time the series has explored friendships through music, the topic has usually been drowned out by How Whisper me a love song used the power of song to express the romantic feelings the characters have for each otherIn fact, Himari first fell in love with Yori after seeing her perform at a live show, and although their form of love was more platonic at the time, it initially developed into something much more romantic.

Meanwhile, the series also used music as an analogy to show how Yori’s love for Himari changed her for the better, with her own personal relationship and attitude towards music evolving based on what would make Himari happy. Previously, Yori was against playing with other people, but since Himari wanted to see her sing live, Yori was not only willing to try it for her, but soon found herself enjoying playing in a group, improving and expanding the ways she could express herself through singing.

It is not even mentioned that Yori once hoped to make Himari fall in love with her romantically through music, although ironically anything but music would achieve this. Although different, it is remarkable how much more nuanced and even less tangible The series featured music to convey friendships in relation to romantic partnerships when Whisper me a love song is first and foremost a romance.

Whisper Me A Love Song uses an artistic transition to shift the focus

The series placed equal emphasis on platonic love

Despite all of these examples, episode #8 does place more emphasis on friendship than romance in a more subtle way, through how Aki reacts to Shiho’s accusations afterward, both alone and with her friends. When she’s alone, Aki initially worries about how Shiho found out, as she likes to keep her feelings for Yori a secret, and wonders if everyone else will find out the truth. However, this attitude only lasts a few seconds before Aki starts whining about what went wrong between her and Shiho.

The way the episode goes from Shiho knowing that Aki likes Yori and Aki being worried about it to completely focusing on Aki’s anger over Shiho’s breakup is a subtle way the episode prioritizes the theme of friendship over romantic feelings.

The fact that The scene in which Aki is alone ends after this change, giving finality to this dichotomy between romance and friendshipespecially since the rest of the episode revolves around Aki’s bandmates discussing Shiho’s relationship with her band before diving into Shiho’s backstory with another friend.

Another love series also focused on friendship

Modern love animes break with classic trends and focus on more complex relationships

Although friendships are an obvious trend in romantic anime, despite being relatively unknown, there is another series called Hokkaido girls are incredibly cute! recently highlighted that the genre explores this kind of relationship more thoroughly than some might think. Much like artistic Whisper me a love story put this dynamic in the spotlight through its subtle transition in Episode #8, Hokkaido girls are adorable! used one of the most romantic and love-centered storylines in the romance anime world to prioritize friendships over romantic relationships.

The incredible Valentine’s Day episode may have started out fairly conventionally, but it quickly showed how one of the show’s lovers became obsessed with making chocolates for her boyfriends and later became emotionally hurt when she couldn’t give them the chocolates she wanted, before giving some to her close friend instead of her lover in a dramatic scene. So, although Whisper me a love song is understandably known for its romance, but explores the theme of friendship as flawlessly and artfully as the other best examples of this misunderstood genre.