Title: Not Your Idol Vol. 1
Author: Aoi Makino
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Digital
Pages: 171
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Drama, Romance
Publication Date: May 5, 2020
The Story
Aoi Makino (Hal, Rec: Kimi ga Naita Hi, Saishuu Loop, Sekai no Hate) is back with a new series called Not Your Idol (Sayanara Miniskirt in Japan). The series centers around a girl named Nina Kamiyama, a former idol of a group called Pure Club who quit after being assaulted with a knife by a fan. She felt that she didn’t want to be a girl anymore so she cut her hair and began going to school wearing slacks instead of a skirt. There she meets Hikaru, who is part of the judo club. From the moment Hikaru saw Nina, he had recognized her as her other persona from Pure Club.
The first volume focuses on Nina experiencing the inability to put her trust in men (or anyone for that matter and rightfully so!). When she comes in contact with Hikaru, he seemed a bit different than normal boys who only viewed women as sexual objects, fawning over things such as their chest and thighs. Slowly, Nina begins to put her trust into Hikaru but her past comes back to haunt her in a way she can’t even imagine.
Typically, when I see Idol in the title of a series, I instantly think cute girls, girly song and dance routines, and all that other stuff; however, when I originally read the synopsis, it didn’t read like a typical idol story. It resembled that of a drama and I thought that I would take a chance on it to see if the story could provide something a little different.
I’m glad I took the chance because the story here in volume one reels you in, hooks you, and makes you feel an emotional attachment to the characters. The first volume wastes no time in establishing Nina’s backstory and then ramping up the drama from there. The only complaint I have about the story is that I’ve seen this hook that they use in the third chapter way too many times. I’m wondering if Aoi Makino will pull the trigger and do the unexpected but I highly doubt it. That’s not the kind of trigger you would pull in a debut volume. I’m pretty sure that the situation they elude to in this book isn’t what it seems but I will say that it makes for a compelling story even if it’s been overused in other series.
Characters
While we do have our supporting characters, the first volume focuses on Nina and Hikaru.
Nina is really reserved, quiet most of the time, and sometimes just downright cold. She makes that apparent when she walks through the judo training area and demands that everyone move out of her way. Then she compares men with muscles like them to gorillas. Despite that outburst, Hikaru seems infatuated with her for the aforementioned reason of realized that she was “Ren-Ren” from Pure Club. Still, Nina has shunned her identity as a girl (even though everyone knows she is one) in other to not stand out. Her assault back in Pure Club made her believe that it only happened to her “because she is a girl.”
This is a simple, yet deep reason as there are a lot of women out there who feel the same way in situations such as that. Some women don’t even have to be physically attacked. It could just be a snide remark or just a simple stare. Still, many will feel victimized due to the fact that it’s “because they are a girl.” It’s a valid thought that Aoi Makino brings to the forefront and one that many female readers can relate to. This helps establish a connection to the main character. For men, it also serves as a look into the female psyche and, perhaps, serves as a way to make them understand just what goes through a girl’s mind when something like this (or similar) happens to them.
I also like how Nina progresses. You instantly start off by thinking she’s going to be a tsundere character but then she morphs into someone that is just misunderstood… someone that is carrying around a past that they wish that they could forget. Then you get to see the glimmer of hope as she begins to put her feelings into Hikaru. That, in turn, makes some of the story ploys in the back half of the series more impactful; however, as I said before… those story plots seem more like smoke and mirrors than anything else.
Hikaru, on the other hand, doesn’t really have much diversity to his character but he doesn’t need to. He joined the judo club and dedicates his time to practice to get stronger; however, unlike most boys his age, he’s a lot kinder and gentler… even if his initial introduction comes of saying otherwise. As you get to know Hikaru, you begin to understand the reasons why he’s doing judo and why he’s trying to get stronger. Those reasons also tie into his sudden interest in Nina.
Hikaru does his best to try and get close to Nina and it works. She starts saying hello to him, he seems to keep saying the right things, and everything he does kind of makes Nina’s heart flutter. On the surface, Hikaru just seems like an all-around decent guy but there those aforementioned plot developments that throw a whole monkey wrench into their developing relationship.
All around, I do enjoy Hikaru as a main character. Right out of the gate, we’re only given two real layers to his character… that being his kind-hearted personality and the other is his backstory and the reason why he’s interested in getting to know Nina. Still, there is possibly a whole multitude of layers to him that we haven’t seen yet or are just beginning to see now. That makes him extremely interesting BUT only if Aoi Makino can take series away from the predictable smoke and mirrors plot she has set up.
A small cast of supporting characters rounds things out which include Sara, a member of Pure Group who stays in constant contact with Nina even though she quit, Miku who is an energetic classmate of Nina who tries her best to get close to her, as well as the random members of the judo club which only seem to serve a purpose of coming in and saying a line or two then disappear until they are needed again.
Final Thoughts
So far, Not Your Idol is providing for some great entertainment and takes, what normally would be, a generic idol story and does something refreshing and different with it. As I said multiple times, the smoke and mirrors plot device that has been set up is a bit too overused and obvious but WHAT IF it’s it smoke and mirrors? There is always to the possibility that Aoi Makino gave you the big reveal right out of the gate! If that is the case then this could become a far more interesting series than it already is; however, I really wonder just how something like that would work? There is a certain phrase I’m thinking of here that is an actual condition but I will refrain from saying it because I don’t want to give too many hints as to what happens here in this volume. If it is what I’m thinking, this could be a much bigger drama than originally thought!
I am excited to read more and can’t wait for volume two! Hikaru and Nina are perfectly balanced characters that play off of each other nicely and the plot is engaging and a bit different than what you would expect from this genre! It gets my recommendation to give it a try!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
