The first Volume of the Manga series Not Your Idol was released by VIZ Media a few months ago and as I mentioned in the previous review the first Volume was not as good as expected. In this article I will be reviewing the latest installment of the series and see if it’s better than the previous one.
By the end of the previous Volume, things started to become to quite tense. The person who had attacked Nina was allegedly revealed to be Nina’s classmate, Hikaru. As Nina cannot bring herself to believe that Hikaru would do something like, they both get away in a taxi to avoid those who believe the accusations.
They both run away and reached a club where the idol group Pure Club, that was once the idol group of Nina, presented their first performance. Nina feels comfortable in the place as it all started from that place. She also explains to Hikaru, why she doesn’t accuse him. Meanwhile, Nina’s friend, Sara discovers that Hikaru’s friend has ironclad evidence when the attack occurred.
When things calm down a little, they all come to understand that the culprit has to be someone from Nina’s school even if Hikaru was not the one who attacked Nina. Sara insists and tries to convince Nina to transfer in other school, but Nina doesn’t want to leave that school. She is determined to solve this mystery and catch her attacker. Hikaru vows to keep her safe and stay by her side most of the time which leads them to get closer.
This Volume is better than the previous one in terms of story development. Things are not all over the place like in the previous installment and rather focuses on one subject which is the bond between Hikaru and Nina.
One of the biggest flaw that I mentioned about in the previous review was personality of the protagonist which seems to have gotten better in this Volume. It shows how she is adapting in to her new life after leaving behind her days of being an idol, while reconsidering her opinion about femininity. She embrace her own feminine side as she come to realize that a boy like Hikaru can be attracted to her.
The most unsatisfying aspect about his volume are the unanswered questions till the end of the Volume. The culprit has still not been revealed and on top of that, a new attack has taken place in the same school. The girl who has been attacked choose to stay silent about the attack so there is no way that culprit will be revealed sooner. The things are moving quite slow not just in terms of the main plot but the romantic aspect is also slow paced where the relationship of Nina and Hikaru has just moved a little further.
It’s too bad that Volume 1 was not good enough for Volume 2 to pick up the pace and reached to a satisfying conclusion. The plot and story of the manga series is very interesting and engaging but there are many aspects that are becoming a hurdle for the series to be compelling. We expected some indications about the culprit but by the end of this Volume, it was quite disappointing to see that we are nowhere near to find that out.
All in all Volume 2 of Not Your Idol is way better than the previous one in terms of tone and character development but there are still many questions that should have been answered by the end of this Volume. Considering the fact that the series is on hiatus in Japan, these unanswered questions are even more frustrating leaving the series at a point where no development has been made after the release of 2 Volumes. For those who have been waiting for Volume 2 after reading the first one, should consider reading it but if you haven’t read the first Volume and thinking about starting the Manga series from Volume 1 then it is suggested to drop it for now.
