Title: Not Your Idol, Vol. 2
Author: Aoi Makino
Genre: Manga
Publisher: Viz Media
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
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?
Review:
Nina Kamiyama is a former pop idol, who left the group Pure Club after she was attacked by a fan. She disguised herself as a boy and started attending a regular high school. At the end of the last volume, someone threatened to reveal her identity. Her friend Hikaru had some photos of her in his bag, so Nina’s friends think he can’t be trusted. Another student at their school, Miku, is also threatened with someone sending her secret photos of her walking down the street. Miku doesn’t feel safe walking by herself, so she gets Hikaru to walk her home. However, he can’t protect her all the time.
This was an intense story. The themes of sexual assault were introduced in the first volume, but they became much more prominent in this volume. Nina is still recovering from the post traumatic stress of being attacked by a fan. Hikaru’s sister was sexually harassed by her teacher, but when she spoke up, she wasn’t taken seriously. Other students were randomly attacked as well, but they were shamed into keeping it a secret. This is a disturbing reality for many girls.
The sexual exploitation of girls was also an important part of the story. When Nina was in the pop group, Pure Club, they had to pose for lingerie photos to give out the male fans. They were young girls and it was extremely inappropriate to put them in these revealing outfits and positions. This has happened to many young female performers, and still happens today. These kinds of photos also make men think they have permission to do whatever they want to the young women. This story showed the aftermath of putting girls in these kinds of situations.
This is a great story!
Thank you Viz Media for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Idol Dreams, Vol. 1 by Arina Tanemura
Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 1 by Tomohito Oda
Other books in the series:
Have you read Not Your Idol, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?
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