✨🌟 7.5 out of 10 🌟✨
Classic and tropey but quite funny.

Keywords: manga, romance, young adult, contemporary, body swap

Star Crossed is a manga about a girl crushing on a famous singer. Her chance at love with him seems impossible until one day she found herself swapped to his body. It's a hillarious story about the girl and the singer trying to control the situation in this chaotic madness.

The story of this manga is fun, lighthearted and leans more into comedy. The art is pretty ok too. Alas love story between fans and artist isn't really my cup of tea so I don't really vibes with it. But I'm sure many would find this enjoyable and entertaining read to fill the time.

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for lending me e-arc of this manga in exchange of honest review.

An adorable first volume that gave me a few laughs!

(Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars)

Here we have a Freaky Friday moment with an idol Chika and his mega-fan Azusa. The two switch bodies and volume one is a light-hearted story of the chaos that ensues.
Azusa's obsession with Chika is a superficial one so the sparks don't really fly when I see them interact and have intimate moments. The art style is beautiful and clean yet the story feels simple.

I enjoyed this story and wouldn't mind donning a physical copy just to relish in the clean lines of the art. But the story left a bit to be desired as I turned the pages hoping to find something that intrigued me further.

If you're looking for a light-hearted story with clean art that doesn't take itself too serious, then this story might be for you.

I’m not sure how I feel about this story. The art is beautiful and the humor is there but I don’t care for stories about idols all that much. This volume ended with Chika joining her class in high school. Ugh, I don’t like the whole famous idol goes to public school thing...

If you like stories about teen idols/celebrities and like the whole body switching trope, then this story will be for you but unfortunately, I probably won’t read any more of this story.

Thank you, NetGalley for letting me read this!

#StarCrossed1 #NetGalley

This one is closer to a forward-leaning 3.5 stars because it has craziness potential as a first volume, but I'm worried the hijinks might get tired pretty quickly in future volumes of the series.
A body-swap story between an idol's mega-fan and the idol gives many opportunities for fun situations and Junko takes advantage of every single one. I get a feeling that there's a lot more to Chika than we first learn. Just that would be enough to earn this series a second volume chance.


Many happy thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha comics for the early read.

The series has potential. Super fan and boy band member keep switching bodies and kissing seems to be one way for them to switch back. All is well until he shows up to enroll in her school. Excited to see what volume 2 brings

I was honestly a little disappointed in this volume. I don't think I will continue on with this series. For more details about this particular volume, please check out this video, where I go into detail about it, and some other volumes I read recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etfX4yuShBQ

Does anyone else see the name Junko and just think of Dangranronpa? It can’t just be me, surely. But this is a newly translated series by the manga-ka of Kiss Him, Not Me a series that the very idea of makes me cringe. But this one just sounded so fun that I had to check it out. I recieved a free copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Azusa is a massive fan of idol group Prince 4 U, especially Chika-kun. When she goes to their latest concert, she manages to get front row seats. But an accident happens, and without thinking, she tries to save her idol. Unfortunately, they both end up dead. Cue God coming up to them and telling them this was a mistake so they can return to life. Only, something else goes wrong and they wound up in each other’s bodies.

Doesn’t that just sound so much fun? The blurb says they can switch bodies by kissing which just sounds like a recipe for hilarity.

Only…it didn’t really work that way for me. For one thing, the kissing thing only seems to have worked the one time. So whilst I was picturing them kissing and switching bodies. The possibilities of the rumours that this could spread and the trouble it would cause was wild. Instead, it’s just, oh no, we’ve switched bodies again! And them running around like headless chickens.

A lot of the humour was so very cringy, which I should have expected considering the manga-ka’s last series. But I had hope, I really did. An idol and a fan switching bodies could have been so good. And it did have its moments. Azusa being able to mimic his movements perfectly because she watches him so often? Great. Her accidentally fangirling over his hair and knowing exactly what he’d had done to it- whilst still in his body an in an interview – was also great. And his and her family’s reactions at home to that had me giggling. I love that Azusa isn’t afraid to be a fangirl.

But you also have her not wanting to go to the toilet in his body as she didn’t want to touch his dick… You have her perving and getting nose-bleeds over the guy way too often. I get that you’re in his body and you’re a teenager. And like, a little peeking would have been fine. But she’s refusing to touch him and yet being creepy all at the same time? How does that even work?!

I was curious about Chika’s bandmate Haru. I love his character design and it’s obvious he’s either gonna develop feelings for Chika or Azusa. And there’s gonna be a lot of mix-ups there. I’m a little unsure about that as it could be a little bit queer-baity? But no worse than Hani-Kimi I guess and I love that series so I’ll let that go.

I do like the art mostly. The general style was very pretty and I appreciated a lot of the designs. God is a tiny cartoon old guy and that was hilarious. Wasn’t a huge fan of the scribble drawings when Azusa get’s really angry though. I know the face is supposed to be creepy but it really was weird to look at.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this series….part of me wants to continue on as there are only like 4 volumes and it seems like it could be fun? It was definitely easy to read at least. But I also was cringing a lot so maybe it just isn’t for me.

i had a lot of fun reading this. i thought the story was cute and entertaining, i laughed out loud a few times. i really wanna read the next volumes now

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Junko for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Star-Crossed!! features P4U fan Azusa, who admires Chika-kun more than the other idol members. When she finally gets the chance to attend one of their concerts, she has a front-row spot. A terrible accident is about to befall Chika-kun and Azusa puts her life on the line to save his. They both die and meet God, who sends them back...but in the wrong bodies!

Further, they are able to switch back, but continue to switch bodies without knowing the means of how they can change back to themselves. This is quite the dilemma for a high school fan girl and a famous idol.

I enjoyed the art and thought this was a rather cute story.

One of my biggest pet peeves about the author and artist by the alias Junko is that she makes her protagonists always the same type of a toxic fangirl archetype – and this book is no different. Azusa was a very selfish and self centered protagonist, which wouldn't be as bad if she didn't harass people (sometimes even sexually when it comes to her favorite idol, Chika-kun).
And yes, sexual harassment is a joke in this manga, which is a huge no for me when it comes to a romance series. If you liked Junko's other series Kiss Him Not Me!, you might enjoy this one because the humor is similar but with less queer-baiting.

This was so fun! I was originally worried about what I would think and whether I'd enjoy it as I saw some mixed reviews, but honestly its so intriguing and I can't wait for volume 2!! I think you simply need to not take it too seriously; it's supposed to be lighthearted and cute, not a fully fleshed out manga on the science of switching bodies and maybe that is what some people had problems with. I'm not usually much of a romance manga fan but I definitely recommend this one!

4.5 stars

When’s the last time I had this much fun with a manga? Way too long ago!

Lately it’s been very difficult for me to find a shoujo manga series I really care about, where I turn pages without looking at how many I have left. I usually try a couple more volumes before giving up. This manga though! It was a breath of fresh air and I finally don’t feel like I’ve already read this story a million times. Plus it was hilarious!! I literally laughed every other page. In comparison to other shoujos I’ve read, this one doesn’t censor stuff as much, and you can understand how that plays out in the story with a girl and a boy exchanging bodies lol. I can’t believe what my eyes have seen but honestly I was just dying with laughter the entire time. I love how this volume was silly and didn’t take itself too seriously.

I can’t wait to read the next volume! I’m especially looking forward to seeing what God will mess up next and what effect fangirl Azu will have on Chika’s boy group 😆

This manga was SO CUTE! I was a fan girl back when I was at school so I can totally relate.
What I would've given to switch bodies with my teen idol.
I cannot wait for the second volume in this series. I can't believe it ended the way it did!
I hope I don't have long to wait for volume 2.

Shout out to NetGalley for giving me an ARC!

I read "Kiss Him, Not Me" by Junko so I was looking forward to reading her newest manga and honestly I liked volume one more than I liked "Kiss Him, Not Me."

It's your classic body-switching trope, but with a fan and her idol. It's really funny and I found myself chuckling to myself a few times while reading. I really enjoy Junko's way of drawing/writing fans; they're over the top and make for hilarious, awkward situations.

Overall this first volume just sets up the rest of the series. There's not much more than that. We get an introduction of the characters, learn what happens to cause the body-switch, and see a couple situations it puts them in. Once we learn a bit more about the characters I think the story will shine a bit more!

As a first volume Star⇄Crossed!! doesn’t provide much beyond what you already learn in the blurb. Azusa idolises Chika-kun, her “room” is a shrine, she can quote magazine interviews and knows by how much got his hair cut. So maybe idolise is underselling it.

While Azusa is rather full-on, she still comes across as kind. Of everyone she is the most rounded character in this volume but given that nobody else really has much beyond a basic overview I don’t think that says much at this stage.

Star⇄Crossed!! has a lot of potential and the first volume is ok, I don’t there could have been more to entice the reader but I do want to try the next book to see how this develops.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story might be the dream of many fangirls in the world. It is about this girl Azusa who is a big fan of the boys band Prince 4 U and precisely of Chika- kun one of the members of the group. She lives for being his fan. During their concert an accident happens and both Azusa and Chika-kun go to heaven but they are sent back to their lives except there is a big problem, their souls had switched bodies. This story is about their misadventure while trying to protect their secret and finding a solution.
It was so funny and I'm sure there will be a Drama based on this story in the future. this was so enjoyable to read. I'm interested in finding out what will happen to Azusa and Chika-kun next.

Ding-Ding! It’s time for another rambunctious round of Manga Review Roulette! Same rules as last time, with the MWR writing team picking a volume one to read and review each. Then one volume picked at random to take the spotlight. On the reviewing roster this round was Age of Boredom with BL Metamorphosis volume 1, newcomer Joe Pascullo with Primitive Boyfriend volume 1, Antonio V with Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear volume 1 and myself with Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1.

Body swap - Star Crossed volume 1 review
I’m the lucky winner this time, so for this round of Manga Review Roulette, we’ll be diving into Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1. This freaky Friday-flavored Shojo series recently debuted with Kodansha Comics. It’s time for the four of us to crack open the first volume of this Superstar Shojo series and find out if it’s the next Your Name or if it’s time for the curtain call! Is Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1 worth reading?



Luke Hollywood
Characters
In Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1 we’re introduced to the small core cast. The book focuses on (idol group) Prince 4 U member, Chikashi Chida and his #1 superfan, Azusa Asahina. In reality, it’s just the Azusa show, and hapless Chika is along for the ride! Azusa’s obsession with Chika and P4U is the core of her identity to both a positive and negative extent. Azusa does good deeds to maintain her perfect P4U fan image, but this effort causes her to overlook her smitten childhood friend Fumi. Still, it certainly provides a lot of humour throughout the volume, especially once the body swap shenanigans kick-off!

I love him - Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1 review
Much of the how’s and the why’s behind the body swap are left unsaid (beyond a couple of hilarious God cameos!). With it presumably slowly revealed as the story progresses. But, honestly, I’m in no big rush to find out, as the switching scenarios are so hilarious! Azusa’s supreme fan knowledge shines through in these moments, as she can pull through on a lot of Chika’s performances, but it’s also her Achilles heel as she gets flustered next to her obsessions!

Chika himself mostly plays the straight man for the majority of the duo’s interactions. Although he comes across as quite cold and distant when not running damage control on Azusa adventures. However, the surprise twist towards the volume end promises that perhaps soon Azusa’s warm heart just might melt Chika’s icy exterior!

Art
Mangaka JUNKO is no stranger to Shojo (being the mangaka of Kiss Him, Not Me), and their art satisfies once again here. Both Chika and Azusa have a cute and dreamy side to them. While Junko is sure to turn up the charm when things get romantic between them, for however brief that is! The comedy is also superbly conveyed in Azusa’s excited and emotional expressions. Her infatuated crying face as she blurts out “Chiga-guuuun” (Chika-Kun) never failed to crack me up!

Chiga-guuuun - Star Crossed volume 1 review
Luke’s final thoughts for Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1
A fun and breezy read! The shorter page count may also account for it, but it felt like I really flew through this one, and with a smile on my face throughout! Azusa’s obsessive nature may be a deal-breaker for some. Still, I found her fanatic antics to be extremely entertaining, and there’s enough intrigue going on behind Chika and even Fumi that I’m curious and content to check out volume 2!



Joe Pascullo
Characters
The characters of Star⇄Crossed are a bit of a mixed bag. Our lead female Azusa happens to be the lead source of my consternation. She simply isn’t that strong of a female character. Her entire purpose in life seems to be just to worship (and no, that is not an exaggeration!) idols and idol groups, particularly P4U’s Chika (more on him momentarily). I don’t see any goals or drive to become something at all from Azusa so far. Her bedroom is a shrine to Chika. She sacrifices her life for Chika. When she’s dead and in heaven with Chika, she chastises God for killing him and depriving Japan of him, with no regard or regret over her own lost life. Case in point, she’s passionate sure, but not really in an admirable way.

god - Star Crossed volume 1 review
And as for Chika, he’s rather gloomy for an idol. We are not quite sure why, as of yet. But, it seems he doesn’t care for his fortuitous place in the world and is just going through the motions. One panel, in particular, shows his bandmates comically teaching Chika how to smile, using their fingers, mouths, and faces to demonstrate.

Honestly, the God character steals the show in this one as far as I’m concerned! His dialogue is funny, and his nonchalance at the conflict in the story makes it entertaining.

Art
Junko, best known for her 2010s hits Kimi Note & Kiss Him Not Me, is back at it with solid and serviceable artwork. Character designs have a cute, light air about them, which fits the tone of the story well. Other-the-top emotional displays swarm the pages of this title. All of it fits for sure, for this is not a story that takes itself seriously at all!

Joe’s final thoughts for Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1
While the characters aren’t my cup of tea (I certainly as a young adult librarian would never point at Azusa and say “Be like this!” to one of my teen patrons). I do think there is enough here to make me want to continue reading Star⇄Crossed. The God character and his blunders are legitimately funny. He treats life as if he’s in charge of a company with a futile customer service department and not like he’s an almighty power! In addition, the story does plant enough intriguing seeds to make me wonder why the body swaps are happening and how our two leads will survive these unpredictable occurrences. It’s no Your Name, but this sugary story has enough to keep readers turning the pages.



Age of Boredom
Characters
OK, so honesty time. I’ve read a few Josei manga titles (Tokyo Tarareba Girls is one of my favourite series). However, I’m not well versed in Shojo. It’s not to say there have been a few series that have caught my eye. But, other than The Dorm of Love & Secrets, I’ve just not got round to them. So when Star⇄Crossed!! was drawn to be this month’s Manga Roulette, I was quietly excited to expand my horizons a little more.

While looking at the contents page, I noticed that the tankōbon only contained only three chapters which clocked in under 160 pages. After 50 pages, I was pleased about the short length as the book was already grating on me. I read this book in three sessions, and I have to say that going back to it was something I had to force myself to do.

From the offset, I found the main character Azusa rather annoying. She’s a super fan of P4U, and the depths of her obsession could have made this story quite interesting. However, it’s left very surface level and comes off quite childish. Obviously, she is overjoyed to switch places with the object of her affection.

jii-gah - Star⇄Crossed!!
Then there is Chika, Azusa’s favourite member of P4U. He lacks any personality at this point other than being mildly annoyed at the situation. Usually, it’s the protagonist that is the blank canvas for the reader to imprint themselves on. So it seems alien to me that the love interest is so lifeless. I feel the concept lacks any tension whereas the mother and daughter dynamic in the film Freaky Friday delivers more solidly. It seems that Azusa could be on the verge of ruining Chika’s life. Chika, on the other hand, only has not to give the game away to Azusa’s family, hardly high stakes.

Art
The art for Star⇄Crossed!! is decent. The characters look pretty good both in their normal view and while having “comedy faces”. The boys are “hawt” like they should be in a boy band. Maybe the book would have been more interesting if Azusa was less conventionally attractive?

huh - Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1 review
Age of Boredom’s final thoughts for Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1
So it seems I’m at a 50% success rate with Shojo manga. I’m not sure if I need to adjust my expectations or maybe being entirely removed from the demographic is causing my issues with the book. I honestly would not recommend this book to anyone as it stands.

Star⇄Crossed!!‘s story seemed so weak to me that the ingredients listed on the back of a shampoo bottle would be more gripping. Maybe Star⇄Crossed!! could improve in its second volume, but I won’t be taking the gamble.



Antonio V
Characters
Now, the premise is something you’ve likely heard dozens of times before, body-swapping, romance blooming blah blah blah. I won’t lie when I say that this is one of the cheesiest books I have read, but that doesn’t mean that the cheese isn’t tasty. Star⇄Crossed!! can only be described as a charcuterie board of genres. You have your sharp cut romance, your smelly humour, creamy body swap with enough fine aged Shojo to tie it all together. I had a blast with Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1. So while it may seem familiar, everything blends in together just perfectly to provide something fresh.

abandon yourself to me - Star Crossed
The characters also enhance this flavour palette. Finally, the time has come where I can fully see myself reflected in a manga character. Who better for that to have been than our female protagonist Azusa. The moment I read the first couple of pages, I related instantly to her. She is OBSESSED with her favourite idol, much like some people say I obsess over my favourite pop star. I may not be on her level, but all I’m saying is, I understand.

On the other side, you have the object of her obsession, Chika-kun. He is your more average cool-headed type, and this contrast really works when you pair him up with Azusa. Add the element of the body-swapping to their personalities, and you have some pretty good humour come out of it. After finishing, I have to say that I’m now invested in the story. There’s a lot of intrigue with the body-swapping aspect as to what causes the swap and what the eventual fix will be that I’m in it for the long haul.

Art
The art is nothing too special, but it is still decent. It has those little shojo flourishes and blushes that add to the cuteness factor. Some of the facial expressions that Azusa makes are also great, so it deserves some points there too. Overall it’s a good style that works perfectly for this type of story.

Antonio‘s final thoughts for Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1
thank you god and buddah - Star⇄Crossed!!
Absolutely. Star⇄Crossed!! is a series that knows what it’s going for and doesn’t hesitate for a second. It may feel like you’ve seen some of the same tropes in other manga, but there is enough spice to make it stand out among those. It also helps that our two leads are charismatic and bounce well off each other. I can’t wait to see what situations they find themselves because of the body swaps and discover what exactly causes them. Volume 2 is already loaded up onto my tablet, and I can’t wait to crack it open.

Is Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1 worth reading?
The body-swapping Shojo sappiness was to some of our tastes more than others! The Review Roulette format allows for us to compare and contrast our thoughts on the same volume, so hopefully, you got an idea of our different feelings for this Freaky Friday fantasy!

It’s clear Azusa is a controversial character, with some of us enjoying her fanatic antics more than others. Chika left us a little cold, but the chemistry between the pair was enough to keep a hold of our attention, or at the very least the comedic God cameos cracked us up!

The art also impressed all around, with Mangaka’s Junko’s experienced Shojo background packing the perfect mix of humour and romance within the panels. To sum it up, some of us loved it, some were satisfied, and some aren’t even considering volume 2! But what about you? Let us know if Star⇄Crossed!! volume 1 was your cup of tea below!

Star Crossed

Is my first book by this manga author. Frist of all what drew me to thia was the drawing style and the context of the story. Azuza is a happy girl, a bit of an obsessive fan but what young girl doesn't love a bit of fandom right. While watching her favorite idol perform, an incident occurred. Is a new series with body-swapping, rom-com hit which follows Idol-Otaku Azu-Chan and her Stan, Chika-kun as they navigate the test the mistake as well aslearning how to live in the other’s body after a near-death accident left them “Star Crossed” in the other’s body. This is a hilarious read. I can't wait how this story is going to develop later on. I'm definitely going to read the 2nd book.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley + in exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

IT'S SIMPLY GOOD and breathtaking and I finished this in one sitting obviously.
This is just a typically romance story between Idol and his fan (a girl). I can finish this volume in merely 20 minutes or so BUT IT'S SO GOOD AND LOVELY. The artwork is gorgeous and I can't wait how this story is going to continue later on. I'm definitely going to read the 2nd book if I have a chance. Thank you Netgalley for the chance.

When I heard that one of my all-time favorite authors, Junko, author of Kiss Him, Not Me!, was releasing a new series in English, I jumped on the opportunity to read it and was not disappointed! This new series is a body-swapping, rom-com hit that follows Idol-Otaku Azu-Chan and her Stan, Chika-kun as they navigate the trials and errors of learning how to live in the other’s body after a near-death accident left them “Star Crossed” in the other’s body.

Star Crossed!! Volume 1 left me so excited for the next volume! I highly recommend it for any BL-loving fans of Junko’s last series.

#StarCrossed1 #NetGalley