Whisper Me a Love Song (anime)

"*In the season of dancing cherry blossoms, we fall in love—*"
―Tagline
***Whisper Me a Love Song*** (ささやくように恋を唄う, *Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau*) is the anime adaptation based on the manga series of the same name produced by Yokohama Animation Laboratory and CLOUDHEARTS and it will premiere in April 2024, originally scheduled to premiere in January 2024 from delayed.

## Introduction

On her first day at high school, a new student, Himari Kino, sees the band "SSGIRLS" perform at a welcome party for new students

and falls in love at first sight with the guitarist and vocalist, Yori Asanagi.

When Yori is told of her feelings, she develops a love affair with Himari, which she calls "love at first sight."

Longing and love. The same "like" but different feelings.

The band members' feelings are also intertwined with their conflicting relationships...

Their "love at first sight" eventually begins to play out their vivid adolescence—

## Promotion and release

Prior to the announcement, the anime created a Twitter account in October 2022 and it was officially announced on January 13, 2023, with staff and cast revealed.

On February 1, 2023, a special stage from AnimeJapan 2023 was announced at NBCUniversal Booth via Tokyo Big Sight. On March 1, 2023, the cast performer was held on March 26, 2023, and it is available for free live streaming on YouTube and ABEMA. On March 17, 2023, additional performances (except Mikako Komatsu) will participate as well.

On March 17, 2023, after the release in the May 2023 issue of *Comic Yuri Hime*, a teaser visual and additional cast for SSGIRLS and Shiho Izumi were announced, with January 2024 premiere. On March 25, 2023, a teaser PV was released before the AnimeJapan 2023 event and it has shown when coming to NBCUniversal Booth.

On March 26, 2023, the vocal artists for SSGIRLS and Lorelei, Kana Sasakura and Sui Mizukami were revealed during the AnimeJapan 2023 event, and reveals the image song titled "Humming Love" and "Meritocracy." On the same day, a TikTok account has been created, but it was mentioned the previous day for the teaser PV.

On August 18, 2023, after the release in the October 2023 issue of *Comic Yuri Hime*, the first key visual was released. On November 10, 2023, the anime was delayed from January to April 2024 premiere due to various circumstances, also, the director Cai Xinya was replaced to Akira Mano due to health reasons, and the additional staff and the first PV were released.

## Characters and cast

Himari Kino (木野 ひまり, *Kino Himari*)
CV: Hana Shimano
An incoming first-year high school. Her innocent and straightforward personality makes everyone around her smile. She falls in "love at first sight" with Yori, but...
Yori Asanagi (朝凪 依, *Asanagi Yori*)
CV: Asami Seto
A third-year high school and a homecoming student. She has a cool personality, prefers to be alone, and loves to sing. She is the vocalist and guitarist of the band "SSGIRLS." She falls in "love at first sight" with Himari, but...
Aki Mizuguchi (水口 亜季, *Mizuguchi Aki*)
CV: Mikako Komatsu
She is the leader of "SSGIRLS" and is in charge of the bass. She is a good friend who teases Yori but also gives her sound advice. It seems that she had a "love at first sight" for someone before...
Mari Tsutsui (筒井 真理, *Tsutsui Mari*)
CV: Konomi Kohara
She is the drummer of "SSGIRLS." She was a high school student when she ate junk food for the first time. She often calls people by their full names.
Kaori Tachibana (橘 香織, *Tachibana Kaori*)
CV: Ai Kakuma
She is the keyboardist of "SSGIRLS." She is tall, always smiling, and has a friendly personality. She likes small things and adores truth.
Shiho Izumi (泉 志帆, *Izumi Shiho*)
CV: Yuna Nemoto
She is the guitarist and vocalist of the band "Lorelei." They used to belong to "SSGIRLS" and there seems to be some kind of a connection...
## Staff

Formerly, Yokohama Animation Laboratory was an animation supervisor, but it changed to a production studio after the teaser PV release. The director Cai Xinya will be replaced by Akira Mano due to health reasons, thus the anime was delayed until April 2024.

* **Original Story**: Eku Takeshima (*Comic Yuri Hime*/Published by Ichijinsha)
* **Director**: Akira Mano
* **Series Composition**: Hiroki Uchida
* **Character Design**: Minami Yoshida
* **Sub-Character & Costume Design**: Ryunosuke Ouji
* **Prop Designs**: Ayumi Nagaki, Misae Kawakubo
* **Color Design**: Yuichi Furuichi
* **Background Design**: Lisa Iraha
* **Art Board**: Zhang Hengshuo
* **Art Director**: Soshi Kuwashima
* **CG Director**: Keiichi Eda
* **Photography Director**: Takahiro Kita
* **Offline Editor**: Yumi Jinguji
* **Sound Directors**: Fumiyuki Goh, Nozomi Nakatani
* **Music**: Hiroshi Sasaki, Wataru Maeguchi
* **Animation Production**: Yokohama Animation Laboratory & CLOUDHEARTS

## Music

"Humming Love"
SSGIRLS performed an image song. Lyrics by Shoko Fujibayashi, composed by Tako Yamaguchi, arranged by Katsuhiko Kurosu, and vocals by Kana Sasakura.
"Meritocracy"
Lorelei performed an image song. Lyrics & composed by Sho Watanabe, arranged by Takuya Watanabe, and vocals by Sui Mizukami.
## Comments

### Hana Shimano

I am very happy to be able to participate in this work, which is filled with the thoughts and feelings of Eku Takeshima-sensei. I hope I can do my best to bring the charm of Himari Kino to you all. I will express with all my might the clumsy but growing romance between Yori-senpai and Himari, and I hope that you will watch over them with a sense of excitement!

### Asami Seto

I am pleased to announce that I will be the voice of Yori Asanagi. I am very happy to be able to be involved in the story of *Whisper Me a Love Song* through my role! I was reading the original manga and felt a lot of attraction between Himari and Yori. My heart was so tight. As a reader, I hope to enjoy their love story objectively, and as a post-recording artist, I hope to carefully sense their pure and cute love and put it into my voice performance.

### Mikako Komatsu

What pure and innocent love. It's refreshing, sweet, and sour, and every love is so lovely and sad... I can't get enough. The characters from *Sasakoi* are all so lively and their expressions are so detailed and beautiful! I hope I can leave such greatness of these works in your voice and bring them to you!

### Konomi Kohara

I am Konomi Kohara, playing the role of Mari Tsutsui. Love at first sight, do you have it? I am sure there is a feeling in your heart that you can't put into words, like a "pounding heart" or something. I am very much looking forward to being involved in this love story centered on these two. Best regards.

### Ai Kakuma

I had a chance to read the manga, Himari-chan is cute... oh, I see... yeah, ah... cu—! Oh! Huh? Yori is so cool! Ah... Yori-san... Yori-chan... Yoriii! I was drawn in and read the book in one sitting. Kaori, who I will be in charge of, is a friend of Yori's. It's impressive how she clings to her friend's truth, and I'm really looking forward to how it will be drawn in the anime. Please wait for an environment where it is safe for everyone to be smiling too.

### Yuna Nemoto

I am so honored to be a part of this work as one of the cast members. When it was decided that I would be the voice of Shiho Izumi, I was so happy that my face lit up... (lol). I think Shiho has a lot of "feelings" and I want to play the role with care. We will do our best to deliver *Whisper Me a Love Song* full of charm to everyone!!

### Cai Xinya

My name is Cai, and I will be directing the *Sasakoi* anime. When I received the offer, I was surprised and nervous at first, thinking, "I never thought I would be the director," but at the same time, I felt very honored to be involved in such a well-loved work. We will continue to do our best to bring you Himari and Yori's straightforward adolescence, and we hope you will look forward to it. Thank you very much!

### Kana Sasakura

When I had nowhere to go and wanted to disappear, it was always anime and anime songs that provided me with emotional support. I started my music career from scratch, with the goal of "singing anime songs" without knowing what I was doing. About "Anime Ongaku no Koto! Matching Audition 2021," I was selected to sing the role of Yori Asanagi in *Whisper Me a Love Song*, and I am very happy and humbled to be involved in such a wonderful work. I am still inexperienced, but since I will be involved in the project as a singer, I will put everything I have into my singing and do my best to make the work more exciting. Thank you all for your cooperation!

### Sui Mizukami

I started learning to sing when I joined a choir because I wanted to share my songs with someone. I learned about the singing culture from the VOCALOID culture and formed a unit called "Sui mo amaimo.", which mainly plays VOCALOID songs and anime songs, and also started posting songs on YouTube. I have been working continuously to get involved in anime, which I have loved since I was a child, and I am very happy to be able to participate in the work through the "Anime Ongaku no Koto! Matching Audition 2021." I fell in love with Shiho Izumi in Whisper Me a Love Song, so I was really surprised and happy to be able to sing about one of my favorite characters. I will do my best to sing a song that will accompany the work and captivate anyone who hears it, just like Shiho Izumi!

## Gallery

Commemorative illustration by Minami YoshidaCommemorative illustration by Eku TakeshimaTeaser visualKey visual 1Initial anime logo (used from the manga logo)Anime logo
## Videos

TVアニメ「ささやくように恋を唄う」ティザーPV（2024年1月放送決定！）Teaser PVTVアニメ「ささやくように恋を唄う」PV第1弾（2024年4月放送開始！）First PV featuring the image song "Humming Love"
## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1613823165037219840
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1613823792966508544
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1613823541618556928
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1620708670995562496
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1630840300666249218
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1636654858135654400
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1636653599768846338
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1636653851573878784
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1639420581513949184
10. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1639419322937511939
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1639899994512822272
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 https://sasakoi-anime.com/news/index00150000.html
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1639900745527902208
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_info/status/1692377502793216111
15. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1722902264829157399
16. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1722902969493205221
17. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1722902757425000581
18. ↑ https://twitter.com/sasakoi\_anime/status/1722903672592482611
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 https://sasakoi-anime.com/news/index00080000.html
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 https://sasakoi-anime.com/news/index00020000.html
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 https://sasakoi-anime.com/news/index00080000.html
22. ↑ https://sasakoi-anime.com/news/index00100000.html

## External Links

* Official website (Japanese)
* Official Twitter account (Japanese)
* Official TikTok account (Japanese)