**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Phantom of the Idol 1 by Hijiki Isoflavone was a fun, mostly lighthearted manga volume following a pop idol who wants nothing more than an easy job making lots of money and his encounter with a deceased former idol that wants nothing more than to perform again. Follow their hijinks as he asks her to possess him in his idol work, so he can relax.

This was a pretty entertaining volume, although I wasn't a fan of the ghost idol possessing him a couple times without permission and for lame reasons. Nevertheless, I want to see this duo do well and learn from each other. I would probably give the next volume a try.

As a K-Pop Fan I really liked the aspect of seeing the life of an Idol. Of course I know it´s not exactly the same and is different from the life real idols have but it didn´t make me not like it. It´s nice to see it focus on already being an idol with a twist. One not wanting to be one and the other wanting to live for it. The friendship moments we can get from it are going to be awesome.
It´s not really groundbreaking but it was still a nice story, which is worth a read. 3,5 Stars

I was so entertained by this manga from the first page! It is a fascinating subversion of the idol genre, but definitely a welcome one!

This is so cute! I loved the way the characters interacted with each other and the art is pretty. Definitely going to look for a physical copy! Thank you for the arc!

This is quite the dynamic duo--grumpy idol and sunshine poltergeist! Fun story--I look forward to seeing how this continues.

Thank you Kodansha and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

This manga was fun and different for me that I haven't read manga in years so I was here for it!! Quite predictable but so funny!! Really enjoyed it!

I have to read more. This was delightful. Where's the sequel?

You have the Zings idol duo which is comprised of Yoshino-kun, a happy-go-lucky guy, and then Niyodo, dead-eyed and unenthusiastic. Niyodo, who is on the cusp on being fired, comes into contact with Asahi Mogami, a ghost who used to be a top idol. Hilarious hijinks ensue.

Niyodo's fans are also very funny. I love that his whole idol persona is "hot mess." Truly an original idea for an idol manga. This manga doesn't just rely on being funny either, there's a plot that's being introduced, and I want to see where it goes. I really can't wait to read more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I did not expect to like "Phantom of the Idol" as much as I did! I was originally drawn to it, because I saw the title, and laughed because of the obvious "Phantom of the Opera" joke. After reading the plot blurb for this manga, I knew I had to read it. I instantly felt drawn to our main characters and their colorful personalities. They're written in a way that makes it very easy to connect to both of them. Yuya's personality made me giggle, cause he is so relatable. Only taking an Idol job because he thought he could get paid well with minimal effort? That's an entire mood. Also, the way that he's just a bit oblivious to certain social cues for idols is played in a way that's legitimately funny. I also adore our female main lead, Asahi! I'm always a sucker for determined and peppy female characters, and Asahi is no exception. I also like that this story focuses on male idols, instead of the usual focus on female idols. Stories about female idols are fun, but I feel like stories about male idols are just a bit more rare. I don't want to stay more about the plot, because I don't want to spoil the story of this manga. The art style is really well done, and has great panel flow! I love that even panels are drawn in a comedic way still look great. The first volume ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, and I want to know what happens! I will totally be looking for the second volume when it comes out!

This is the first volume of a supernatural J-pop inspired manga series. In this volume, we meet Yuuya (Yu) who is one half of a pop-duo called ZINGS. Yu lacks motivation and expected this J-pop gig to be passive income with his duo partner doing all the work. However, when his boss has had enough and threatens to fire him, suddenly the answer to all his problems appears! Literally, in the form of an apparition is the spirit of a beloved singer Asahi who agrees to help Yu make it to the top…as long as she can possess him every now and again.

This was a such a cute and fun read! I really liked the characters in this, although I feel like I need more development of Yu to really understand why he is so incredibly unmotivated. Asahi was amazing and I loved how well-rounded she felt as a character. I also really appreciated how in the Translator’s note there were definitions for some of the J-pop fan terms and that the storyline itself includes specifics to J-pop and fan culture. It felt informative without being too overdone - still lighthearted and fun to read.

However, I did have some issues with the overall cohesiveness of the story. There are a lot of different stories in this one volume and things felt a bit disjointed at times. I understand this is the first volume, so we may see some further development of these storylines and themes in later volumes. Yet, many of them felt more like filler content that was half-developed for a quick side scene. I think this became especially noticeable in the second half of the story where there’s significant a significant jump to a fan service storyline that felt out of place during what was such a pivotal point in the story. The story still made sense, but I just needed a bit more foundation laid in some parts. I think more of a focus was needed on bringing these stories together a bit more cohesively so it felt like a more natural progression from scene to scene.

For the majority of this story, I felt like it might be a 3 star read for me; meaning I enjoyed it, but it didn’t especially stick with me. However, that ending - WOW! That was a plot twist that has definitely made me want to continue on with this series because now there’s an entirely new layer to this story. Therefore, my final rating is rounded up to 4 stars because it was such a fun and enjoyable reading experience where I can see myself continuing on with the series after that surprise ending!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for giving me volume 1 to review. First of all, I really thought the plot was unique with having two polar opposite idols who bodyswap, especially the FL being a ghost. However I felt the plot was over the top and rather too predictable. I’d still recommend it though as I did enjoy some scenes that were actually funny..,

No one said anything about making an effort!! Hilarious!

I really enjoy manga and I am a huge IDOL fan. So Phantom of the Idol #1 was right up my ally!!
Mix in an Idol ghost and….what a page turner. I couldn’t get enough. Thank goodness this is a series. The copy is pretty funny and really fast paced. It was also right in-line with IDOL fans and IDOLS so the story line made idol fans feel right at home.

I love the detailed illustrations. Honestly couldn’t read this manga fast enough!!


Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Kodansha

3.25 stars
This is a fun, sarcastic manga. I like how it mentions that idols are pressured to be this sort of dream fantasy for their fans. It talks about fan mentality and how their obsession leads them to devote themselves to their idols.
Yuya and Asahi are polar opposites. Her enthusiasm and his idleness provide a funny dynamic. I really like Yoshino. He’s very sweet and hardworking. His face lights up when Yuya speaks to him with even an once of interest. He’s a gray supporting character and it would be nice to see his character more explored in future volumes.
This manga did run long. It’s very predictable and the second half felt like a lot of filler. I wished for in-depth discussions of fan mentality and toll idols experience from being in the spotlight.

Phantom of the Idol has an incredible premise and absolutely nails it with this phenomenal first volume.

I really love this idol book. It reminds me of anime where they incorporate dead idols into idols who are alive, but I really love the dynamic between the two characters. I find her motivation and his reliability to be heartwarming and hilarious. When reading this, I found myself to be really engrossed with the story and loving the art style.

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha for allowing me to preview this new release! Knowing that this story was about idols, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it since I'm not familiar with the idol scene. However, I am familiar with and enjoy body-swapping which is the main plot point of this series. The main character being this cynical and lazy idol star is the perfect foil to his ghost counterpart, a famous idol who died tragically. I think the author did a good job balancing the cast of side characters and giving the audience a wide perspective of the idol scene. Overall, I really enjoyed this volume and look forward to volume two being released. Readers who are into k-pop and other bands will enjoy this fun and comedic series about a reluctant idol and a ghost who will push him into stardom.

Kazuki Yoshino and Yuya Niyodo form a boyband named Zings. Yoshino is idolised by the fans while Niyodo doesn't care. He doesn't want to be an idol.
Enter Asahi Mogani, the ghost of a female idol who is desperate to be on stage again.
She possesses Niyodo's body (with his agreement) and his popularity skyrockets and funny situations ensue.
Loved this! Cannot wait for the next one

So, I'm a K-pop fan. And while this is happening in Japan with J-pop, I was really expecting a funny and interesting read within the idol's world with a fun twist. But while there's indeed the funny side in this volume, I wasn't that interested in the development of the story.

It somehow took a while for me to read it and I have no idea why? I didn't really liked any characters whom were on both extreme, so it felt like everything was "too much"? I know it's supposed to be the funny part of this manga but perhaps it was just too much that everything felt wrong. I really liked the idea of an dead idol's ghost possessing a very lazy idol to give him a better stage persona while going back on stage. It felt overwhelming.

I liked the art though, but sometimes the writing was too tiny I had to get so close on my screen to read it and it was a 24" screen, not a paper manga... :(

The artwork is really nice however the plot was a bit of a miss for me and I couldn't really get into it. The male main character is not likeable and the female main character is a tad annoying.

This manga was cute. Very different from other idol things I've seen/read, but I'm here for it. I think this manga would do better as an anime, but that's neither here nor there.

The style of manga is nice, I like it a lot. The story seems like it's going to get interesting, but the middle part of this volume specifically was a little slow. I think that this could evolve into something cool. For not, it's cute enough!

What a fun first volume! If I’m being honest, I picked this manga mainly because it seemed like Phantom of the Opera and I’m obsessed with that at the moment. I’m quite surprised to have enjoyed it. The premise is silly, the characters great, and the ending made me want to read the next volume. The main character Yuuya doesn’t want to put any effort into anything and just wants to get paid for doing nothing while the phantom Asahi unfortunately passed away before her idol career could really take off. Both of them working together to make both their lives better is so cute to see. I’m really excited to read the next volume!