I thought this was going to turn into a doki doki literature club type situation. Instead it turned into a wholesome story about the power of friendship and music

This was cute! I'm not sure where volume 2 is going to pick up, but I do want to see it continue! It was nice to see the two girls become friends, and have a third (rival) also join the group. It's a nice, sweet, read.

Interested in seeing more of this idol manga. Shows some aspects of idol life but mostly about idol fan life. If you a fan of j-idols or k-idols it shows a fairly realistic idea of what scenarios fans have in their minds of what they would do if they were to be able to interact with their idol in an everyday setting.

Cute story about friendsManaka is a super shy and lonely student that has her world thrown upside down when her favorite idol, Chiro, moves to her school and to her class! She doesn't know how she should react around a person that's so dear to her and it's in constant battle witgh her own actions because she doesn't want to do things with a mentally expecting something out of Chiro. It's a story that shows a lot about the fandom world and what is like to be a fan of something, the good and bad parts.hip! I really want to see how

I have a full review here: https://youtu.be/Y4tSrfntfWI

OMG THIS SERIES IS SO CUTE!!! I love the MC and the idol both are amazing! I am a bit scared of the stalker-like wtf??? wshe is crazy at top! This will be one of the manga i will most likely follow to see how this is going to end!

My title: 15 yro Idol Stalkers
Fav character: Takizawa
Readability: Easy
4/5

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ High school awkwardness (if you’re a fan)
~ What it must be like to be an idol in Japan at an ordinary school
~ The ideal of cuteness reigns supreme
~ A quick and easy beginning to a story that can go either way (scary or fun)

You are OBSESSED with an idol. A girl, your age, who has transformed your life and has allowed you to see yourself in her. You want nothing more than to shower her with gifts, be present at all of her shows and support her with cute little messages of encouragement, every and anywhere you can. Yes, YOU ARE AN IDOL STALKER - LEAVE THE PERSON ALONE! Ehem, not only this, but now…as you walk into school, you notice her standing, in your uniform and later seated next to you. What do you do?! Should you play down your obsession and respect her attempt at an ordinary life? And what if there is another fan as obsessed as you who may just endanger her life and yours… what do you do then?

🤣 I went the scary route… but this is how this story can legit turn out. For now the girls are getting to know each other, but there are still many layers to unravel.

✨Give it a read.

🌱THE MEH
~ Peer pressure galore and caving into manipulators
~ I couldn’t understand the level of obsession with an idol 😬
~ Borderline behaviour that could REALLY be problematic in real life

♡🌱 But that’s just me ;)

Sakiko loves the all girl band Spring Sunshine and school has just begun. She is too shy to confess to the class on orientation day that she likes Spring Sunshine and mumbles something unimportant. When it comes to the next student she notices that it's her favorite member from the band. She is so shocked that she oversleeps the next day and has to do her introduction in front of the class and is too nervous to say anything and the teacher notices her Spring Sunshine keychain and forces her to talk about it. Great, now the idol member that is in her class knows she knows! The idol member, Chihiro, is grateful for Sakiko's confession and they become friends. Chihiro is glad that not many at school recognize her or care she's in a pop group. Turns out there is another girl in school that knows about her and she becomes very possessive. Sakiko has a hard time trying to be friendly with the other girl and figuring out if she's a danger or just overly excited about Chihiro. This is a pretty strong start to the series, not much to dislike but nothing really likable either.

Sakiko is a shy girl who isn’t very good at talking to people and her only hobby is listening to music, especially her favorite idol band, Spring Sunshine. So it is simultaneously her best and worst dream coming true when she realizes on the first day of her new school that her classmate, is her favorite idol, Chiro, from Spring Sunshine.

Based on the first part I thought the story would focus on the two girls becoming friends and becoming better thanks to their connection. Sakiko could learn to be more confident and treat everyone equally, like a regular human being even if it is a very famous person and Chiro could learn how to make friends where she can be just her regular self and get better at social interactions. However the story quickly took a 180 turn with the addition of another fan, of the obsessive stalker kind, and for a few chapters I suddenly found myself in one of those tragic magial girl stories (or just trapped in W*xoss) again where your main characters rarely have happy endings.

I could have appreciated it, if the story followed this direction through, but after a few chapters it seemed like the mood returned to what we originally started with: a wholesome story about fandom and idols. The reason this is super off putting, is because Sakiko is ignoring huge red flags (repeated stalking, bullying, obsession) and writing them off as “harmless” actions of a fellow idol fan. It makes it seems like these kind of behaviors are okay, which isn’t true.

I am not exactly sure where the story is headed now - will those red flags have a real consequence or will the story continue to play them off as pranks and quirks since it’s “harmless anyway”? I would honestly prefer if the story went in the darker direction because while it is a bit disturbing, it is realistic and it could serve as a cautionary tale. On the other hand if the obsessive fan is forever treated as a comic relief it could send the wrong message, that it’s okay to ignore red flags like this in real life situations, which shouldn’t happen.

All in all the art is absolutely wonderful and the premise is really interesting. I wish we had a bit more character depth and learn more about character motivations eg. it is unclear why Chiro thinks Saki would be a great friend to have when she acted somewhat creepy towards her? Although, I guess she could be just very naive as she doesn’t seem to have the best sense about who she becomes friends with.

I will review this on my bookstagram account @meetcuteromancebooks this month. It is such a cute slice of life manga!! I’m a huge fan of mangas and this is a gem.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for providing me with an e-ARC of My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! in exchange for an honest review!

My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! is a fairly cute manga that centers around two girls (one semi-normal & the other a superfan of idol, Chiro-Chan. There's a cute lil' heartwarming friendship that we love to see, but we also have cyberbullying & manipulation.

My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! was a fun read, but I don't think it's a series that I care to continue with.

Review to come in 15 days to my blog and Goodreads.

I received this manga from the publisher/Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I was definitely looking forward to this manga, when I saw it on Netgalley I just laughed so much at the title. I was curious how Sakiko would be, given that sometimes fans can go a bit far, I was wondering if she would be that one or just a cute fan excited to see her idol.

A manga that could have been so cute and fun. A manga about a fan and her idol. However. I wasn't happy with this one. And that is because next to these two cute girls we have a psychotic and over the top character named Maaya. Really, I just don't understand why the author felt the needed to add such a character to the story. Because without Maaya? I would have absolutely loved this story. Sakiko is just the cutest and I love how she tries to be respectful to Chiro and not go full fangirl on her, she tries to be her friend. I had a big laugh at her reactions, especially early on when she finds out it is Chiro next to her. In her school. And then later she still has reactions and I just loved how sweet they were. She is just so happy to just have Chiro happy, a smile makes her happy. I loved that later on in the story she figured out what she wanted to be and that is such a wonderful goal! Then there is Chiro, she is a bit shy but also so so sweet, and is OK with Sakiko (even after that hilarious confession). I just loved that no one recognised her except for Sakiko and another girl, haha, I guess the group is still in the beginning phase. Chiro was adorable, though I would have liked her to be a bit more aware what is going on around her, I mean, it is pretty obvious with Maaya. I loved that you can really see a friendship blossoming between these two. I would have just love a whole manga about these two figuring out how friendship works between a die-hard fan (but respectful) and an idol. See them get closer!

But Maaya. From the moment we meet her she does things that no one should do. I mean, throws a phone on someone's head because they get too close to Chiro. Spams Sakiko's Twitter and sends harmful and hurtful messages all day long. Then later when Maaya gets closer to Chiro things escalate to manipulation, threats, hurt, and more. I am sorry, but what the actual fuck? This girl is constantly pushing poor Sakiko, constantly being a bitch, constantly making Sakiko afraid of everything. Constantly doing shit that no one should do and I just wanted her out of the story. Stat. Now. It just got too much. Maybe she has a reason, but I am sorry, I am not in the mood to get some sort of sob story on how someone became a yandere for her idol. :|

The art was good, I loved the character designs from Chiro and Sakiko.

Oh, and I just wish we could have heard music along with the guerrilla concert! The group was just so vibrant and fun and I just wanted to hear the music they were singing. To be part of it.

So, I won't be continuing this story. I don't want a story featuring a yandere girl who goes WAY too far and gets WAY too creepy. Again, if it was just Sakiko and Chiro, I would have read on and on as each volume came out.

I loved reading about a story that focuses on idols, especially with an artstyle that was really cute! I definitely feel like this volume is a set up for the rest of the series, so I'm curious to see what the direction the plot heads in. The only downside for me was one character named Maaya, who really diverted away from what could have been a really wholesome story about a girl and her idol. However, I am still interested to see where this series goes, and I'll keep an eye out for future volumes!

A cute, heart-warming story about friendship and fandom!

This is the first volume of My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! The book introduces us to shy Sakiko Manaka, a big fan of the idol group Spring Sunshine, who unexpectedly became classmates and seatmate to Chihiro Yoshida, her favorite idol! Resolving misunderstandings, overcoming shyness, and solving an unexpected threat – while both navigating a school life and fandom life, respectively.

This manga is really sweet! This volume is a solid first volume, with a lot of stories developing besides introducing us to our main characters. I love the overall theme of the story, which focuses on friendship. I also like how Sakiko tries to overcome her shyness and understand someone different from her. Sakiko and Chihiro are wonderful pure characters, and I would love to know them more!

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha, for the eARC!

We follow three main characters:
1. Sakiko, who on the first day of school is seated beside her idol.
2. Chihiro, previously mentioned idol, member of a girl group called Spring Sunshine.
3. Maaya, an extreme fan of Chihiro (stalks her, has a shrine, etc), but doesn't want the latter to know that fact.

I like where this could be going, a strange friendship between the three of them. Hopefully, Maaya (which is kind of insufferable at this point) becomes less creepy in the next volumes. Also, I really liked the cute art style.

Sakiko is over the moon to discover her new classmate is not only a member of her favorite idol group but is her favorite idol in the group. As Sakiko starts to develop a friendship with her idol, Chihiro, she realizes that she cannot both idolize her and treat her as a friend. This is complicated by a classmate who is an unhealthily obsessed fan and doesn't want Chihiro to know she thinks of her as anything other than a friend. Sakiko feels obligated to help the classmate present an innocuous front as the classmate gaslights Sakiko into ignoring the troubling aspects of her behavior. Lovely artwork. This is a very sweet story about building friendships and looking past facades.

This is a cute book that was slightly ruined by one character. I thought this was going to be a manga about a shy girl becoming friends with her idol and learning some confidence. Unfortunately, the character of Maaya is introduced who is a crazy super fan of Chihiro. And she is just the worst. She stalks, threatens, cyberbullies, and otherwise harasses the main character. Her personality and involvement in the story sour the cute story of budding friendship into one that is constantly being bombarded by aggression.

The art itself is standard and nice, totally what you would expect in shojo manga. I hope this manga developed the friendship of the two main girls more and forgets Maaya, but I doubt it. I will probably not be continuing but I hope it improves!

My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over!, Volume 1 is a fun manga that examines what happens when a hardcore fan meets her favorite idol. I like the character study of Sakiko and her relationship with Chiro. The writing is solid and art is great.

Rating: 3.25 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with an e-ARC of this manga.
This manga follows, Sakiko Manaka, your average hard-core idol admirer, thinks Chiro-chan is a global idol. Sakiko's life is flipped upside down when Chiro—real name Chihiro—sits next to her at school, and all her brain cells disappear. Admittedly, how can she focus when her absolute favorite is only a few steps away? But she had to be on her game because she might not be the one who adores Chihiro.

A cute story about a girl befriending her idol. A great edition to any shelf, this story appeals to young girls who dream of befriening their biggest idols.

This was a super cute, super relatable story of you are an awkward person. This almost felt like a fanfiction in the way that the main character’s idol is not only in her class, but sits in the seat beside her. It was funny watching the main character struggle with what to do in her situation. There isn’t a ton of plot in this first volume so I am interested to see where it goes in the next volume.