Phantom of the Idol Volume 8 Review

“I think Niyodo-kun… is doing the best he can… even if we can’t see it.” One of the Niyodoids, Yuya’s devoted fan club.

Reluctant half of duo ZINGS, Yuya Niyodo, has lost the ability to see or hear phantom Asahi, his muse (and recently deceased idol). Exhausted and demoralized after the sudden intrusion of his pushy mother into his performing life, insisting that he quit ZINGS and join her in one of her many business projects, he’s lost the will to do anything. Asahi has gone to her Number 1 Fan (and member of rival group Cgrass) Hikaru Setouchi, desperate to find out if he can help her reconnect with Niyodo (she just happens to borrow his body to alert Yoshino, the other half of ZINGS). Soon the much put-upon but good-hearted Yoshino is trying to revive and motivate Niyodo as well. All looks like a lost cause… until ZINGS’s agent Hitomi Shinano – who has never recovered from her rivalry at school with over-competitive ‘Omogo’ – insists that, “Omogo might be your mother… but we’re going to show her she can’t have you back!”

So now the battle is on to somehow keep Yuya from relapsing and, enlisting help from all sides, all work hard to get him to increase his stamina and energy levels. This goes… mostly as you’d expect, except he seems more motivated than before. Also, the mini-drama he acted in is screened which excites some interest and then ZINGS are booked to appear at a radio station festival. So, all seems to be going in a positive direction until crunch-time arrives: Yuya’s mother announces she’s coming to see the concert for the first time and Yuya admits,” It feels like Parents’ Day at school…” But when Yuya’s mother bursts in, she’s dragging an older man with her who turns out to be none other than Tomohisa Niyodo, Yuya’s father!

Over the past volumes, Phantom of the Idol has shown itself to be as much about Yuya Niyodo, the idol singer who is the least motivated performer in the world, as the titular Phantom Idol herself. Yes, his muse/mentor Asahi has enabled him to stay in the biz as long as he has – but when he can no longer see or hear her, let alone be taken over by her to go on stage, he begins to realize just how much she’s brought to his life. Or something like that, because he’s Niyodo and not used to having or expressing feelings one way or the other.

It’s been over a year since Kodansha published Volume 7 of this likable idol series, which has the poignant theme at its heart of the idol who loved her role so much that even though she’s dead, she still wants to sing and dance – even if it means sharing Yuya’s body to do so. However, it’s still written by Hijiki Isoflavone as a light-hearted comedy which is enjoyable to read and which makes affectionate fun of the world of idols and their dedicated fans. Why does it work? Because it’s not relentlessly played for laughs and the main characters have quite a lot of depth, especially Niyodo, as this is the volume in which we eventually meet his novelist father as well as his mother and understand which parent he most resembles.

Also, a plus-point is that Phantom of the Idol is josei and published in that classiest of josei magazines, Monthly Comic Zero-Sum. However, all good things must come to an end and after a decent run of volumes (and an anime series) the mangaka seems to be currently working on the final chapter (Volume 9 came out in July in Japan, although no date yet for the US). I’m a firm believer in knowing when to stop in fiction and not dragging things out when all the plot and character issues have been explored and dealt with, so well done to Hijiki Isoflavone for bringing things to an end at the ‘right’ time.

The translation for Kodansha is, as before, by Max Greenway and works well, including two pages of useful translation notes – and the whole volume is ably lettered by Michael Martin. It’s been great to see the mangaka’s drawing style mature since the early volumes; the pacing of the storytelling and the layout of panels flow very effectively now (it’s their first published series). Isoflavone is good at showing us when Niyodo is ‘possessed’ by Asahi, especially the way his expressions change, even in conversation, let alone on-stage. There are also several amusing 4-panel extra bonus manga, and a generously illustrated afterword ‘Afterflavone’. Fans of the special relationship between Niyodo and Asahi won’t want to miss this latest volume, especially as there are some very cherishable visual moments (not least the ‘touching’ mother/son encounters?!).

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.