tl;dr
A genuinely funny look into the world of idol culture with high energy artwork and a fast-paced story. One of the leads can be frustrating at times.

About
Yuya is the lazier half of idol group Zings, and his extreme laziness is about to get him dropped from the group. But a chance meeting with the ghost of idol singer Asahi Mogami might give them both the solution their problems. If Asahi possesses Yuya for his performances, she can continue the dream she had in life of being an idol, and Yuya won't have to work hard at anything. Surely nothing can go wrong?

What I Liked
Yuya and Asahi are a great odd couple representing the toxic extremes of idol culture: Yuya in it only for money and attention, and Asahi's identity so tied to serving the fans that she cultivates dangerous parasocial relationships. The story treats this with a light touch (so far), allowing the leads' attitudes to play mostly as jokes rather than getting too mired in the darker side of idol culture. The back and forth between the leads is refreshing and fun, as they banter about their differing ideals without devolving into fighting. Although still budding, their friendship feels very stable, and I enjoy it. Typical drama moments about a guy and a ghost girl living together are skipped altogether, with a 4koma in the back of the book even poking fun of the expectation. Yoshino is a great supporting character, and I do hope that he gets his time to shine as well. The best portion of the stories is the fans themselves: sometimes passionate, sometimes despairing, always relatable. Artwork is very high energy and dynamic with a lot of great expressions, and Asahi's design is my favorite. A scene in the middle where Asahi and Yuya attempt to remake Yuya's image is genuinely hilarious.

What Wasn't For Me
The front half of the story moved at a breakneck speed. I wouldn't have minded giving our leads a little more time to figure each other and themselves out through their first few performances before introducing in other characters or plot points. Yuya's attitude can be grating, especially when it comes to how he treats Yoshino. If he were a real idol, his label would've dropped him ages ago, no matter how good his looks. Anatomy in the artwork can sometimes be inconsistent.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Phantom of the Idol, Volume 1 by Hijiki Isoflavone is a delightful comedy manga that will have you rolling on the floor laughing. The story revolves around Yuya, who is one of the laziest idols in Japan. He doesn't have the right expressions and looks like he wants to be anyone else. Then, he meets the ghost of a female idol who still wants to perform. Since she can take over his body, is this the perfect solution?

Overall, Phantom of the Idol, Volume 1 is an amazing comedy manga that will appeal to fans of idols or ghosts. One highlight of this book is the humor. There are gags on every page, and I was laughing so much. Another highlight of this book is how it pays tribute and also makes fun of the idol industry. I found this book so entertaining. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of manga in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!

Interesting premise, but hasn't really hit its stride yet. The characters are likable, but a little all over the place. More volumes will likely flesh them out more and have them gel together as a cast.

Cautiously recommend in hopes of future improvement.

This was a super cute manga with a very original feeling concept.

Yuya is an idol only because he thought it would be an easy paycheck for minimal effort. When it turns out to be a lot more work than he bargained for he doesn't put in any effort and doesnt care if he gets fired (though his partner/friend hates the idea of working solo and begs him to turn his act around).

He meets the ghost of a hard working idol who died young and wishes to be on the stage again one way or another.

The art for this is pleasant and the overall pacing is good, I think a lot of people will enjoy the dynamics of this one.

I really enjoyed the story and I thought it was very cute. One of the things I really liked was it was a little bit longer than usual and felt more in depth because of it. The story itself was very sweet and funny. I love the idea of the story with the ghost possessing an idol. Very creative! However, I do wish there was more redeeming qualities for Niyodo; at some points it was a bit annoying to see him constantly being rude to people.

Review

First off let me start by saying thank you to NetGalley and kodansha comics for giving me early access to this in exchange for my honest review!

Yuya is about to get fired from his pop idol group ZINGS if he doesn’t get his act together. You see Yuya is the opposite of wha you’d expect from a pop idol, he’s lazy and antisocial. All he really cares about is getting paid, if he could get paid to sleep he probably be doing that. After one lackluster concert he meets a girl backstage who says she’s an idol as well, who loves to perform. She’s basically the epitome of what an idol should be but there’s only one problem, she’s been dead for a year. The two shortly come up with a plan that will benefit them equally.

This was super funny and cute, I really liked the concept of this. I’m not a huge fan of Yuya but I’m hoping he has some good character development as this progresses.

The panels did seem a bit jumbled occasionally, there would be a lot going on and it sort of made this a pain to read at times.

About 80% through I figured I probably wouldn’t be continuing this just because it didn’t really grasp my attention the way I thought it would, but then the ending hit me in the FACE. I really want to know what’s going to happen next, but personally for me I think I’d like this better if it were adapted into an anime!

I was laughing the whole time while reading it.

The story goes a guy who becomes and Idol thinking it was going to be an easy money, and I girl who passed away without becoming as big as idol as she wanted to be. They both hatch a plan where she takes over his body when he has to perform so she can reach her dream and he can make money.

It's a pretty fun quick dream that I enjoyed a lot.

I got an arc from net galley, thank you very much Kodansha for an earc of this book.

Has an interesting premise but I am not a big fan of the lazy protagonist, Yuya. The artwork is pretty good. I doubt I will be continuing with this series.

Read this!!! Just do it!!! Tired idol who doesn't care about being an idol meeting idol-ghost who takes over his body and wants him to put an effort and become a loved idol?! I love it!

There's no nudity-centered jokes, no romance (at least not so far?), their personalities are so different it creates a wonderful dynamic, the art is adorable, and it's definitely one of the best things I read in recent times lol

This really captures the whole fan life too - there's space for them to react to Yuuya's "personality change" (aka being possessed and having energy vs being dead on stage) and show their efforts to get people interested in him, creating a bigger fanbase.

It's all high-energy despite Yuuya's laziness and I love how the characters interact and how insane and over the top things are. Can't wait for more!

This was amazing, thank you so much to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for a fair and honest review. It was fun, fresh, and I loved the characters and the concept. Yuuya is an Idol for his looks alone, and is the laziest character I think I've ever met. He just wants an easy ride, and is about to get fired...until he meets the ghost of Asahi Mogami; an idol who unfortunately passed away way before her time. Together, they fulfil her final desire...until he pulls an excuse out of his ass and convinces her to stay on this mortal earth, as surely she's not done making him into an amazing idol just yet?? Honestly, I can't recommend this manga enough - it was hilarious, and the art was adorable and dynamic. I can't wait to read more.

A fun combination of comedic and earnest, the winning combination of Niyodo, Yoshino, and Asahi propels this manga from intriguing premise to cliffhanger conclusion (yes, I said it; it ends in a cliffhanger). Personally, I love idol animes and mangas - even though this is my first with male idols - because of the very unique dynamics in an idol group of both support and competition in practice and on stage. With only two members in the group, though, that would have felt unbalanced - if not for the ghost of former super-idol Asahi. She evens out the dynamic and provides that sharp point of a strong leader (even though Yoshino can't see her and doesn't know she's there).

It was also great how, in the bonus comics, the mangaka addresses some of the more typical "fan service" things one would expect from a story like this (where a young female ghost possesses the body of a living male and they "live" together) by playing off the character quirks with some laughs. We don't have to have any awkward bath scenes or anything like that (pushing a romance here would be strange anyway).

This manga is available now, and volume 2 is coming soon...

My gratitude to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this series in exchange for an honest review.

Yuya Niyodo is a grumpy, anti-social, lackadaisical idol who's about to get fired at work. He just wasn't cut out for this and a lot of fans hate him already. It's only a matter of time before his partner goes solo and shines on his own. After all, Niyodo doesn't appear to care at all and is only on the show business, because he is scouted and told he'll earn easy money because of his looks. But everything's about to change its course when he met a sprightly ghost who's willing to switch places with him—the phantom of the mega idol Asahi Mogami. Hot 'n fresh! Phantom of the Idol takes us to the sweet , colorful days of fan culture with a ghostly twist in this hilarious series.

The cliffhanger was everything! I hate to wait for the next volume!!

This manga was absolutely bonkers and I loved it! A 5/5 star read and I definitely want to continue along!

The main character Niyodo is a lazy, uninterested idol who is on the brink of being let go from his talent agency. He just doesn’t give a crap about stage presence or fan feelings and isn’t really connecting with his audience. He just wanted easy money. After a rather disappointing live event he’s sitting on a bench and is approached by a girl named Asahi. She’s cute, energetic and an idol as well! And oh, did we mention she’s been dead for a year? She and Niyodo concoct a scheme where she inhabits his body to perform (but only sometimes!) which helps boost his popularity. The story proceeds from there.

The art style is cute and detailed. The colour artwork on the cover at the art at the beginning are bright, perky colours that really caught my eye. The font is easy to read and the translations appear to be very well done. The storyline like I said above is bonkers but definitely fun! Asahi and Niyodo work well together in a weird way, even though they’re total opposites. The cliffhanger of volume 1 is leaving me on the edge of my seat!

I’d recommend this for lovers of idol culture, cute stories and good quality manga art! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.