J-Pop Idol Vol. #01

By Danielle Van Gorder     June 03, 2008
Release Date: March 11, 2008



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Millenni+M / Toko Yashiro
Translated by:Monica Seya Chin
Adapted by:Ysabet Reinhard MacFarlane

What They Say
Mika, Key, and Naomi are best friends and they all want to win the J-Idol Audition talent show. But when they win, only Mika is offered to debut! Will their friendship be able to withstand her solo stardom?

The Review
Packaging:

Tokyopop never seems to go all out for their releases, but this one actually doesn't look too bad. The cover, almost exclusively shades of pink, is agressively girly, making it no secret who this title is aimed at. The paper is a brighter white than I've seen in some Tokyopop releases, and the print quality is surprisingly good - lines are crisp and sharp, and even the screentone reproduction is clear and free of muddy patches. And no fewer than four color pages at the front when most books don't even rate one seems to indicate that Tokyopop has high hopes for this one. There are some nice character extras included after the story, along with a preview of Princess Ai: Rumors From The Other Side.

Art:

Sparkly shoujo eyes and flowing hair in one panel, cutesy SD characters in the next. While attractive, nothing about the art really jumps out as distinctive - the character designs are almost interchangeable, identifiable only by their hair, the backgrounds are minimal, and the page layouts aren't particularly interesting or distinctive. It's pretty, but that's really all there is to say - if you've seen one stereotypically shoujo book, you've seen this one.

Text/SFX:

While some sound effects are left untranslated, others are subtitled with the English equivalent on the page. While this is an improvement from Tokyopop's former policy of not translating effects at all, it's still not entirely ideal. The translation flows surprisingly well, also, and avoids the valley girl-isms or lame slang that some similar books have employed.

Contents (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):

Mika, Kay, and Naomi have been friends for a long time, and together have been working towards their dream of becoming professional singers. When their group No Escape took first place at the AiDA Asian Idol Audition, stardom should have been one record deal away. But of the three of them, only Mika is offered a contract.

Naomi took the news fairly well, with a determination to make her own way to the top. Kay, however, was shattered, and lashed out at Mika, vowing to destroy her some day. With her family problems and help from an unexpected source, she might even reach that goal some day...

After coming to terms with her own feelings, Mika signs the contract, and manages to nab the hot Ken as her producer, a former singer himself. But he's also a bit of a slavedriver, pushing Mika harder and harder in her training. Oh, and did I mention that he has a secret himself, a life-threatening illness that he refuses to take treatment for. Melodrama abounds!

Comments
While reading this, I couldn't help but feel that I had read it all before - it was very formulaic, from the friend-turned-rival to the secret debilitating disease that could really be treated, but only if you're willing to give up the one thing that makes life worth living. And, as mentioned, the melodrama is thick in this one, with strong emotions the only ones found between the pages - you're either BFF or worst enemies, giddy with joy or on the verge of despair - nothing in-between. Throw in not one but two serious illnesses, drama-laden misunderstandings, public declarations of love, and throw-down challenges, and you have a mix fit for a soap opera.

Don't get me wrong - this wasn't badly written. But the true target audience seems to be teenage and pre-teen fans of American Idol - where this should sell very well indeed. Older fans are less likely to be impressed, as there really isn't much to draw readers outside of that narrow scope. While Mika is no Mitsuki clone, if you loved Full Moon and want to relive it this isn't a bad choice. Otherwise, if you can legally drink, this probably isn't the title for you.