Anime Lovers

It isn’t often that manga venture into the world of band and orchestra, and even less often that they combine it with romance in the way Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? Vol. 1 does. This GL manga, despite its severe sounding name, is a rather gentle examination of the intersections of passion and obligation, a look at what makes someone worth admiring, and a continuous allegory in the language of music. The story isn’t an ultra complicated one, but this isn’t a bad thing. This is one of those manga where its relative simplicity works well alongside characters that get developed throughout the early chapters through a healthy blend of exposition, dialogue, and the alternating perspectives that are common in GL and BL manga. Author and illustrator Yomogimochi takes all of these things and elevates them in this work.

Rival Trumpets, Dual Characterization

The basic story and premise is as follows: Hibiki Aikawa and Chihaya Katagiri are both trumpet players, with the former transferring to the latter’s school and joining the brass band. The two initially have a bit of friction, but quickly come to mutually appreciate each other’s talent and work ethic for music, sharing practice space as the sole band members who practice in the mornings and competing for the position of 1st trumpet. Within the first volume, what complicates this otherwise peaceful and competitive dynamic is a change in Aikawa; she suddenly begins to seemingly shirk her band responsibilities in favor of a new boyfriend, something which deeply disturbs Katagiri and strains their relationship.

Katagiri is an interesting character. From her general stoic disposition and single-minded focus on trumpet and music, you would expect that she would have no sort of kinship with other people, even people she was competing against as a fellow trumpet. In Aikawa though she finds someone who can display a pure passion for music and performance in the same way that she does. Aikawa, to Katagiri, is the only person who truly sees her, treating her as a performer that tries and giving it her all while competing against her. This is the reason why Aikawa changing bothers Katagiri so deeply; she admires Aikawa via her passionate performance and effort in music, something which is challenged in volume one.

While Katagiri’s characterization in volume one is well done, Aikawa’s in my opinion takes things a step further. This is partially because even some of Katagiri’s characterization is best exposed from the perspective of Aikawa. Aikawa comes from a family of musicians and spends much of volume 1 confronting her position in her family and whether she truly enjoys music or is just doing it because it’s what she’s been told to do or expected to do. Her bubbly personality, which is most of what we see in the earlier parts of the volume, get quickly contrasted in later sections told from her perspective with pernicious doubts and a lack of confidence in her own autonomy. She’s truly someone who’s learned to hide parts of herself, though she has a genuine happiness alongside Katagiri that’s really heartwarming to see. The kinds of things that Aikawa worries about will feel relatable to anyone who has ever struggled to find their passion or ended up pursuing some activity only because of external factors. Her relationship with her new boyfriend is an odd one, but even that is an important part of her character and her arc of trying to find autonomy and passion.

Art is a major aspect of these moments of characterization, with the emotions of sadness, regret, and longing being ones that come through particularly strong. Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? has a recurring habit of small, conversational panels followed by a large panel with little to no background details, fully immersing the reader in the expressions and countenance of whichever character(s) happen to be in focus.

A Solid Performance from Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!?

Overall, I left Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? wanting to read more and feeling that the first volume did its job. This is definitely a story that has a lot of romantic pairings and love polygons, both of which require time to set up, something volume one definitely does. At least so far, the story isn’t a very sexual one, with most of the budding romance coming from blush-worthy moments and warm interactions rather than overtly physical or lewd ones. Future volumes may get there, but this portion of the story doesn’t go beyond a few scenes featuring characters kissing.

I would recommend this manga to anyone who can appreciate stories with multiple simultaneous romantic interests, former band kids, and people who aren’t into music at all. I definitely should note that knowledge or experience regarding music / band isn’t any sort of prerequisite for enjoying the story. Trumpet is a shared passion for our two main characters and a fitting vehicle for their story, but there aren’t technical details related to music anything. All there is is a warm budding romance, plenty of interesting characters, pleasant art, and a variety of themes to hold your attention. The is licensed in English in North America by Tokyopop.

Anime Corner was provided with a copy of Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? for review
© Yomogimochi GENTOSHA COMICS INC. 2023