Name: Not Your Idol, Vol. 1
ISBN: 9781974715169

Aoi Makino

A psychological suspense series about a girl who has given up her life as an idol after being assaulted by a fan. After that day, she stopped being a girl. In the wake of an assault, Nina Kamiyama, a former idol in the group Pure Club, shuns her femininity and starts dressing as a boy. At high school she keeps to herself, but fellow student Hikaru Horiuchi realizes who she is. What secrets is she keeping? The shocking drama starts.

Not Your Idol, Vol. 1

Ley Stanton

That was way more intense than I was expecting. I really liked how both characters deal with each other, each trying to careful because of the trauma she has suffered. I am also really nervous to find out who really is the person who attacked her previously, it still feels like there's something we don't know. I really liked Nina, she was still trying to be strong for others even though she was suffering herself.
Thank you to Netgalley and Viz Media for providing me with an ARC of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Pam Sartain

Not Your Idol by Aoi Makino is a Japanese Manga (like a graphic novel), about a teenage girl who has been part of a girl pop group in Japan (so an idol), who was attacked by a fan.

If you've not encountered Japanese or Korean pop music, go ahead and have a look at a group like AKB48. In the west, we're used to groups having 5-7 members, with 7 feels like a lot.  AKB48 has 22 members in 1 team, and the teams rotate.  

There are various rules that a member of groups have to obey, such as no dating, no bad behaviour.  They are expected to perform and to carry out 'handshake events' where they meet their fans.

Nina was one of the lead singers of her group, and was attacked at one of these handshake events.  She drops out of the group to recover, and to be normal.  She cuts off her hair, and starts dressing like a boy (yes, that's her on the cover of the book), and we see the trauma that this event caused her mentally, as she has the scar to show what it caused her physically.

 Not Your Idol  will be published on 11th June 2020, and is available on  Amazon  and  Waterstones .   I’ve found a  link  to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Viz Media  (the publishers) for this book.

Belle Ellrich

I'm completely blown away by this manga. Makino Aoi truly has to be one of my new favorite mangaka.

Not Your Idol brings up something a lot of women fear when they leave their house every day: assault by men. In an article by Mother Jones, it was reported that 41% of women would be physically harassed and 23% of women would be touched sexually. Not Your Idol, while not banking on statistics, brings up this important topic. The main character in this manga was physically assaulted by a fan at a handshake event. This led her to take on the "boy" look and distrust all men around her. I have to say, while I can't relate on this level, this manga makes sure that it grabs your attention and forces you to understand the fear that all girls can face while being in public.

Along with that, I personally love the art style presented to us readers. I felt my eyes locking onto each page to take all of the details in, and I really loved how clear and evident it is that Makino put a lot of effort and love into making this story.

The plot of this manga was fantastic, and I loved how the pacing was not too fast and not too slow. I also really appreciated how each character had a bit of development. 

Honestly, if I could rate this manga higher than 5/5 stars, I would without hesitation. I highly suggest you pick up this one if you haven't yet already.

A psychological suspense series about a girl who has given up her life as an idol after being assaulted by a fan. After that day, she stopped being a girl. In the wake of an assault, Nina Kamiyama, a former idol in the group Pure Club, shuns her femininity and starts dressing as a boy. At high school she keeps to herself, but fellow student Hikaru Horiuchi realizes who she is. What secrets is she keeping? The shocking drama starts. "This is exactly why she got herself stabbed by a fan." Heartbroken Nina Kamiyama is a former idol. She’s decided to live her life by keeping her past identity a secret, but her situation intensifies when another discovers who she really is. Who can she trust?

Not Your Idol, Vol. 1

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