Idol Dreams, Vol. 1

Idol Dreams represents a change in Arina Tanemura's work. Recognizing that her longstanding fans have grown up and become adults, she has written a series for them. Published in a tankouban targeted to women rather than girls, the same magic is here, of course, but the protagonist is now a 31 year old office worker who realizes her life has someone stagnated. It's a great idea for a story - a gift to her older readers while she also works on her other titles geared to a younger audience.Story: Chicage Deguchi had a charmed life in high school - popular, smart, and full of potential. But now, over a decade later, she's a 'Christmas cake' - an office worker who has somehow reached her 30s without ever finding a husband or fulfilling life. When younger and prettier coworkers denigrate her status and betray her for their own benefit, she's had enough and decides to take her life. She's saved by an old friend from school, now a scientist, who believes he can give her a reason to live. He's experimenting with a drug that can turn her body back to 15 temporarily. It's dangerous but she doesn't care; it's her chance to relive her best years and this time make the right decisions.Because it is Tanemura, we'll have a lively 15 year old protagonist becoming embroiled in the idol world. Cue cute boys and plenty of idol action. Perhaps where this book will differ is that her true love interest is actually in her 31 year old present - the friend she protected but never saw again after school until he saves her from drowning.

In the back of the volume, Arina talks of how she was asked to limit her signature flourishes because the market was for adults. Without the flourishes, there is just her main characters interacting. I never realized how awkward her figure drawing is. That aside, though, the story of a 31yo office woman who is lonely and regrets the mundane path her life took resonates. Through the magic of comic book science, she can turn 15 again. Her plan to recreate the lost romance of her youth takes a detour as she suddenly becomes an idol star in training. What could be a very typical manga theme becomes interesting, however, because we see her experiences through her 31yo viewpoint. These are just my first impressions, but I enjoyed the story enough to want to read the next volume.

I just finished reading it and this volume has set a personal record for most tears shed. I found 31 year old Chikage Deguchi ( A nice breath of fresh air to read about manga protagonist who isn't in their teens or early 20s) a very relate-able and sympathetic heroine. The other characters and their relation to the protagonist that appear so far are already clearly set up and have grabbed my interest. This title kind of reminds me of a couple of Arina Tanemura's works; specifically I.O.N and Full Moon, but is very clearly its own title. Outside of this miracle drug that makes Deguchi younger and the minor contrivance of her becoming an idol I can't find anything to really complain about. In fact, the pacing and handling of the plot in general allowed me to suspend my disbelief and enjoy myself. Lastly, Arina's artwork is as lovely as always. I think Deguchi's awkward facial expressions (such as her smile attempt) as an idol are especially well done.If you're looking for a new series to start I recommend this one here. I was hooked from beginning to end. I just hate that I'm going to have to wait until next year for volume 2.

If you like the anime FANCY LALA you'll like IDOL DREAMS. The story deals with a 31 year old door mat of a woman who let everyone walk all over her until the day she runs into her old high school crush. Giving some pills that has not been approved for market sales she gets a chance to start over. Becoming 15 years younger each day with a pill she fights her inner fears to try to live her dream as a idol. First a magazine appearance then a TV one in this book.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this manga. I didn't really expect much from this given the cover, as it just looked a little too syrupy sweet for my tastes, like one of those manga that tends to get picked up as part of a bundle deal with a publisher. Thankfully, this isn't the case and I ended up purchasing an electronic version fairly quickly after reading a free sample.What makes this so interesting so far is that Tanemura tends to buck some of the more conventional tropes with manga. Our heroine is a virgin in her 30s, something that isn't absolutely unheard of in manga but it's not really common either. On top of that, she's given two love interests in the first volume, along with some very realistic barriers that would keep her from actually going with either one of them. It's always frustrating to see two people dance around one another with some fairly ridiculous misunderstandings keeping them from admitting their feelings and hooking up. However with Chikage the barriers are pretty solid. With the younger one (Hibiki), Chikage can't be with him because of the age difference and the fact that he's interested in the young Chikage. Tokita obviously has feelings for her, but he has a girlfriend and neither Chikage nor Tokita are willing to cross that barrier. They're not the strongest barriers, but they're both very valid ones. Either male seems like he'd be a good partner for Chikage in their own way, so you can't really tell who is her Destined Love. Normally you can tell pretty early on in a series and while Tokita does seem to be the stronger pairing, either one could work. Tanemura does seem to favor dark haired love interests, so this might be a sign that Hibiki is the Destined Love, however.Story-wise, this isn't half bad. It's a fun read and Chikage is a likable lead, making her easy for readers to relate with. What's also fun is that while romance is certainly a large emphasis in this series, there's an equally- if not larger- emphasis on Chikage learning to step outside of her own shell. I think that's part of the reason why there's no strong leaning towards a love interest either way, as the main gist of the series is likely not to get Chikage paired up with someone, but to help her become more assertive. I can only hope that this stays true throughout the series.Now that said, this isn't a story line that would really lend itself to a very long series, so I hope that this doesn't turn into a long 10+ volume series without a bit more to go on story-wise. Still, this is early in the series and Tanemura has shown herself to be a strong manga-ka, so this isn't something that I'd overly worry about until the series is about 3-4 volumes in, when many tend to start relying more on filler and hit their slump.

Arina Tanemura's work always amazes me. After finishing 'Phantom Thief Jeanne' I decided to give her newest series a try :) I love how unique this series is since you hardly ever get 31 year old protagonists! I really enjoyed the idea of the series and I highly recommend it to all shojo manga lovers :)

I love Arina Tanemuras works, I love her drawing style and the stories she writes. This is another great manga by her

Este es el primer manga de Arina Tanemura fuera de editorial Kodansha y pertenece al género Josei (mujeres adultas) que explora las frustraciones de una mujer que no ha conseguido sus sueños (lo cuales no está segura cuales son) cuando entra al mundo de la farándula en una buscando una segunda oportunidad de disfrutar y recuperar su juventud.