I received an e-copy of Star-Crossed from Kodansha through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I was pleasantly surprised by this volume. I had heard mixed things but I really enjoyed this first volume. I look forward to see where this series goes from here.

Star-Crossed is about Azusa who is a huge fan girl for the idol group P4U, especially from Chika-kun. During one of the groups performance a stage light starts to fall on Chika so Azusa who was in the audience run on stage in an attempt to save him but fails. The stage light falls and kill them both. After they died they meet God who said he messed up and killed them by mistake. So God brings them back to life but he messes up and put them in the wrong bodies.

I recommend this series to anyone looking for a funny Shojo series.

We follow the two main characters, Azusa - a high school student who is crazy for Chikashi - a member of a popular boy idol group. Due to some interesting circumstances they end up switching bodies and the story takes off from there.

Reading this was honestly such a weird, fun and funny experience. The potential for the rest of the volumes with these characters is so exciting and I can’t wait to get to know all the band members more. The potential romance between Chikashi and Azusa seems like it’ll be a really cute slow burn romance, and I am here for it.

The only downside that I had was that I honestly felt like it was too short to really get emotionally attached to anyone. I am so excited by the ending of this volume and the potential for the rest of this series, so I will definitely be picking up the second volume!

This was a lot of fun but I did find the switching bodies to be a bit confusing at times. The story was cute and I'm glad its getting a physical release.

I enjoyed it to the extent of the beautiful character art and the silly, cute moments because of the gender-swapping but for the most part, it's just your average body swap plot but with an obsessed fangirl ending up in her favorite idol's body and causing potential trouble for this idol's career. The cause of the switch is outrageous but not too important, the main point is that now she's ended up in close contact with her favorite idol through this shared unfortunate situation and now you get to see them fumble through it together in some cute and funny scenes. However, there's not much else to it that really makes it stand out. It's a shame since I was looking forward to this and although it did become more engaging as it went on, I just didn't feel that attached to the story or characters (even though they were both decent people who were pretty respectful to each other).
Overall, It's good for what it is and I wasn't expecting something exactly grand from this kind of storyline but I did hope for something that could just give me a bit more of that good shojo feeling. However, I will say this first volume's ending does lead to what the author herself admits is a big hodgepodge of ideas that looks like it could make for more interesting and engaging hijinks in the second volume. Furthermore, it's a light read and something you could take or leave depending on how much you like this kind of story or just want something fun enough to read. Also, if the characters were to be developed a bit more like the end of this first volume sort of hints at, we might get something a little more worthwhile.
A 3.8 for me.

I found this quite charming and hilarious. I've always loved body swap movies, so this is right in my interest level. But I love the addition of a somewhat spacey God ('My bad, God"-hilarious).

For Libraries: This is inexplicably catalogued as General Adult, but with the exception of innuendo and some partial guy butt, there's no real reason that I would hesitate to put this in my teen collection.

I’m normally not the biggest fan of comedic romance manga, but the body switch concept had me interested enough to check out Star-Crossed!! Vol. 1. In retrospect, I feel like I’ve been robbing myself of a genre by not diving into these stories. This is easily one of the funniest manga I’ve read all year, even as it juggles so many different themes.

Star-Crossed!! Vol. 1 introduces us to idol group Prince 4 U’s Chika-kun super fan, Azusa, as she prepares for one of their concerts. This is where all of her dreams will come true as she has front-row seats where she can cheer on Chika for the entire night. However, a stage light ends up falling towards Chika, and Azusa jumps into action. Sadly, they both end up dying. However, God says it was an accident, and they are sent back to Earth, but their bodies are switched.

As panic ensues, they attempt to try and figure things out quickly, but that’s really tough given that Chika is one of the most popular idols in the country. The best moments of the story take place during their brief interactions where it hard to tell who’s who, and you’re just left to laugh at their reactions. The author really doesn’t hold back here either as they tackle baths and restroom usage like a couple of champs.

Each character plays a specific role, but I feel like the story highlights Azusa, whether she’s in her body or not. In this first volume, we get to know a lot about her and her daily life, along with her neighbor’s childhood friend and family. However, the most significant understanding of Chika that we get is where he lives. To be honest, I can’t say I like Chika too much. Sure, he’s an idol, but he’s kind of pushy. I only hope the following chapters highlight his personality more because, at this point, he’s kind of dull.

The panels are exceptionally well illustrated as we see all of the hysterical facial interactions from the characters. Whenever someone tries to bad mouth Chika, Azusa switches to a demon without warning. Further, the comedic timing works even with speedy transitions and strange time gaps between scenes. Characters are kind of just where they need to be at all times, which is a bit convenient, but it does move the plot along at a steady pace.

Star-Crossed!! Vol. 1 takes a chance by telling a story the incorporates fan girls, idols, gender switches, school, family life, romance, childhood friends, and business management all in one package. Surprisingly, it did a great job handling all of these themes, thanks to its quick pacing and focused plot. However, it doesn’t level much room to learn more about the characters outside their core traits: this girl is a fan, and this boy is an idol. So, I’m looking forward to the following volumes to explore more about these characters, which I’m sure is coming.

Thank you netgally for letting me review the book.

3.5 ⭐

This was pretty much a solid romcom with a touch of fantasy manga book. I thought this would be just a regular fan and Idol romance but was not so was pretty surprised by the events in the story.

I really can relate to the heroine (flashback fangirl me 5 years ago with all my EXO and Bigbang memories), yep, was pretty much like her lol. And with that, I can really say that there are pretty much lots for second hand embarrassment for me and it was all very funny to me tbh, still can't stop laughing at it.

Despite enjoying all those funny scenes and relating to the heroine, I wasn't that much attached to what's going on (this might be another IT'S JUST ME NOT YOU series to me).

However, I am really curious on what's going to happen next, so I think I will be continuing and giving this manga series another shot.

Azusa is a fanatical fangirl student who is over the top funny-creepy when around her idol. Her room walls and ceiling are plastered with pictures of his face, but outside her home, she plays the role of a Good Samaritan student who goes out of her way to help people in need.

When Chika is about to be crushed by a falling stage light at his idol group’s concert, Azusa jumps the stage to save him. The result is they both end up dead. But God’s helpers seem to have made a mistake and they’re returned to the living world– in each other’s bodies.

They switch back quickly, but when the switch happens again, it’s unclear what the cause of the switch is that time around. And their method of switching back the first time doesn’t work. Hilarity ensues as they struggle to figure out how to switch back again and, in the meantime, navigate each other’s lives and relationships.

This could be considered your typical body-switch manga but the humour is really great and makes it worth the read. The stakes are higher with Chika being an idol and Azusa having to perform on-stage in his body. With absolutely no idea how they switch bodies or how to switch back, things get a little crazy.

The art style is really eye-grabbing and pleasing to look at. At times, it’s elegant, while at others, the comical over-the-top facial expressions had me in stitches. With their character designs, the two of them stand out among their peers without being so wild that the reader could pick them out as the protagonist in a character line-up. Their personalities are very different, and their interactions while in each other’s bodies play a big part in the humour of the book/series.

There wasn’t a lot of backstory for why Chika addressing his close friend and one of his group-mates in a familiar manner. This is only the first book, but by the end of it, the only thing compelling me to read the next volume is the comedy. There’s hints at background, but I think it could’ve benefited from a bit more backstory for Chika and a little less focus on Azusa. I’m sure that will come later, though.

Azusa Asahina is a major fangirl of Chika from the boy band P4U, so much so that she shows up hours early to secure merch with her childhood friend, Fumi. Fumi is a guy and clearly has a thing for Azusa, as evidenced by his willingness to wake up early with her and lug her merchandise back home while she enjoys the P4U concert.

During the concert, when Chika is about to begin a solo, a beam from the stage setup begins to fall. Azusa sees that Chika is in the direct line of the beam and leaps onstage to cover him. They both die and wake up in heaven presumably. God says it's not their time to die and sends them back. But they end up in each other's bodies instead of their own. Random occurrences seem to cause them to switch back to their own bodies, but they continue to switch back and forth continuously.

Azusa fans a little heavy for me personally, but I think this is a humorous take on a body swap, and the art is lovely. I think if the premise sounds like your thing you'll really enjoy this manga!

Adored the first volume of this manga! The story is so funny and refreshing in a way that I kinda see Chika and Azuma as more friends than potential love interests, I need to say that I will be a little dissapointed if they get together later on because I feel sort of a brotherly vibe between them. I sort of wish Azuma will end up with her childhood friends that in my opinion is so freaking cute and adores her, and at this point I just want happiness to Chika because he seemed a little down before all the madness happened.
Funny, sweet and I`m definetely will read the rest!

This manga was fun! It's different from the manga I usually read, but I loved the premise and think I've found a new series to follow.

Star-Crossed is hilarious. It follows Azusa and Chika who end up switching bodies after an accident. You just keep laughing at each others misery when they try to impersonate each other. I will definitely follow up the manga and can't wait for the one!

I absolutely ADORED this!
The reason I wanted to pick it up was because I absolutely loved Kiss Him, Not Me and so far, this series is next level good!
The story is adorably funny (I legit couldn't stop laughing panel after panel), the art is absolutely stunning and the faces they pull are hilarious. All in all, an absolutely amazing read.
I wasn't expecting the body switch but it's added such a fun and hilarious impact to the story. I can't wait to read the next volume and see what other hijinks the pair can get into (plus I'm so so curious about the personalities of the other band members).

If you're after a hilarious body swap manga, centred around an idol group, then this is the read for you!

it was good to read for passing time
thank you for the arc it was nice
but not ok for me since i read only selected mangas
illustrations were good

Freaky Friday but J-Pop! This story features two characters; a popular idol, and his biggest fan. One day, during one of this shows, an accident happens which eventually results in the two switching bodies.

This manga is as ridiculous as it sounds. It is funny, cute and incredibly dorky. I really enjoyed what I read, it was really light (as is most manga) and I read through it really quickly. Although I enjoyed it, it was over too quickly (as is always the case with manga) and I felt as if I only got a taste of the story.

I am interested to see where it is going, and I would read more of it, but I don't feel compelled to.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Azusa lives and breathes for her idol, Chika, from Prince 4 U. Now that she has front row tickets to see him, she’s about to have the best day of her life. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen. When a freak accident results in both of their deaths, they meet each other in heaven as God informs them that they weren’t meant to die. It was all a mistake and He’s returning their souls to their bodies. Unfortunately for them, there’s a bit mix up and they wake up in each other’s bodies.

We follow Azusa, who believes all her good deeds has earned those front row tickets to see her idol. She aims to be the perfect student, peer, friend, and family member. When she swaps places with her idol, Chika, she enters a whole new world. Not only is she internally fangirling hard, but she’s now tasked with pulling off interviews and performances whenever they swap places at a bad time. It all goes well until it doesn’t, which is absolutely hilarious.

I’ve seen a few body swap movies growing up and thought they were hilarious, so of course I was all over this. I usually see body swaps presented with family members switching places and such, so having a fan and her idol switch places is an excellent and hilarious twist on this age-old comedy plot. I was not in any way disappointed and found myself laughing from beginning to end.

I’m interested in learning more about Azusa and Chika as the series continues. We don’t learn a lot about Chika in this volume, but there was a lot going on and we primarily follow Azusa. What we know about Chika is mainly through her eyes as a fan, so I am interested in learning more about him while seeing what kind of character development is in store for Azusa. I am definitely picking up the next volume because this was a fun and hilarious read.

Azusa is a massive fan-girl who gets body swapped with her idol: this is funny, a bit relatable, and totally over the top. The humour was mostly good, and definitely geared towards a younger audience, I can see teens really loving this type of story as fanbases for idols are so big now. I wasn’t a fan of some of the humour, it was a bit immature (ex. Female molester wasn’t funny to me). But I liked the quirky portrayal of God and how the characters just keep chugging along despite this insane situation.

I think the author did a good job of portraying each character’s emotions and personalities quickly. The art was good too, but I can’t help but feel this is so predictable and tropey. It wasn’t amazing to me, but I think younger people might love this storyline and the characters. Personally it didn’t connect with me and sometimes Azusa was a bit cringey but I also don’t fully understand fandom at that level either. I also foresee Azusa’s childhood best friend being in love with her and creating a love triangle situation or handling jealousy, which often happens in romantic manga.

Overall, a cute, fun, story about a girl and her idol.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC.

The cover just looked so cute that I had to take a chance and pick this book up and I'm so glad I did. It was so cute! I loved the characters and how this manga turned out. I loved how quirky the god was in this book and how he played a part in things that are happening to these two. It was interesting seeing how these characters were navigate the strangeness of what was going on because when they switched anything could happen and anything could be triggering it. I loved that I couldn't help but bust out laughing at times and I look forward to seeing more in what's next.

2/5 stars

🛍Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this e-arc!

✨It was......fine? I don't feel like this trope contributes to that much in the story

Alright, the series is a classic body switch comedy... it's been done a thousand times. What does it bring new to the table? Well, for one thing it follows a fangirl who switches with her favorite idol... that's a pretty clever spin. Not only are we dealing with very different lives, we've got someone literally becoming their idol.

This is a series has so much potential; it's already funny, the art is good and the creator's previous work was solid enough that I expect this to improve. As things stand it is an entertaining effort, and that's a great start for a series like this, though I completely understand if people would be turned off by it being filled with a lot of classic tropes.

If you're wanting something completely new and original, this is probably not the manga for you. If you enjoy classic tropes and just want a few good laughs, this is the book for you. 4/5 stars

Book provided by Kodansha Comics and Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.