Came for the pretty cover and description and stayed to find out what'll happen! Misato's life is full of tragedy and mystery but at the end of volume 1 we're on the precipice of maybe, some of those mysteries... well, either increasing or starting to be solved? A terrible, lying foster family, an inert natural acting skill, and long lost friends I'm assuming will come back to in later volumes, there was a lot of interesting things going on here that has me looking up the release date of volume 2 for my ongoing manga spreadsheet!

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing the e-ARC of this manga for an honest review.

Misato, after the tragic loss of her parents in a fire, is taken in by a woman who claims to be her real mother. However, this seemingly happy ending to a terrible tragedy soon turns into a living nightmare the moment she steps foot into the house. Her stepsister bullies her from the start. Her stepfather ignores her and, as the stepmother, joins in the bullying and the abuse, avoids stepping in. Misato does make a friend in her stepbrother, but just as she thought she had someone to hold on to, her stepsister and stepmother take it away and Misato, now 16teen, runs away.

I won't delve into specific spoilers, but I can say that the theme of revenge is not one-sided. We are following Misato on her own path to claim back the years lost, but we are also given hints and clues as to the secrets of her stepfamily. In particular, her stepmother, who's also on her own path to revenge, and her stepfather, who's hiding something.

I really liked this first volume; its pacing, as other reviewers pointed out, is quite fast, and it does feel a bit overcrowded with characters, but I will ask readers to give it a try. There is more that I left out in this review for a reason and that is to, I hope, pick your interest like it did for me.

This story has some secrets, and I will be looking forward to learning them. Some characters are sympathetic, but the villains are very villain-y and I am here for it.

Sometimes you just get lucky and stumble upon a truly phenomenal manga, and thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy, I hit the jackpot with Roar: A Star in the Abyss 1. And let me tell you, it is damn good.

This volume masterfully weaves together all the elements I absolutely adore in a story. We meet a little girl living a charmed life, only for it to be brutally shattered when her parents perish in a mysterious fire. Ripped away from her only friends and thrust into a nightmare scenario with a wicked stepsister and an awful new mother, she's fighting tooth and nail just to survive.

What truly elevates this series is its brilliant use of multiple timelines. The narrative deftly jumps between pivotal moments: before she was born, when she's a tender five years old, and as a sixteen-year-old. Each timeline is incredibly effective, pulling you deeper into the mystery and building a palpable sense of anticipation. I'm already on the edge of my seat, eager to see where this gripping thriller takes us next!

Roar volume 1 sets up the plot for what is sure to be a show business story full of ups and downs and betrayal. This josei manga has similar vibes to Skip Beat and Oshi no Ko, but without the comedy and with heaps more tragedy instead. I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

Okay, wow—what a whirlwind! Roar: A Star in the Abyss Vol. 1 throws you straight into a tangled web of secrets and emotional intensity. It’s hard to describe the premise without dipping into spoiler territory, but trust me: if you enjoy layered dramas with complex stakes and a touch of chaos, this one’s worth checking out.

This volume is absolutely packed. So much happens so fast that I occasionally found myself a little lost, but never disengaged—I inhaled the whole thing in one sitting. The storytelling style leans into the dramatic, and while that might not work for everyone, I found it gripping. It feels very much like this is the groundwork for an even bigger arc to come, and I’m eager to see where it goes.

The art complements the intensity of the narrative, and the characters—though introduced quickly—left strong enough impressions that I’m curious to learn more in future volumes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 4.75 ⭐️

I haven’t read manga in a veryyyy long time and I’m happy that this was my first one in a while. First of all the art is beautiful it reminds me of artwork from the early 2000’s sort of like 20th Century Boys (great series btw). The story was even more beautiful and I connected to the fmc so easily.

I truly CANNOT wait for volume 2 to come out so I can what happens next!! I really recommend this to anyone who likes a good revenge plot! I def need to see karma bite that lady nd her daughter in the ass LMAOO.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha comics for allowing me to arc read this!! I can’t wait to read more!

This first volume hit the ground running when it came the drama and tragedy! I'm really excited to see how the main character grows and evolves! Most of all, I can't wait for her to get her lick back on those slimy characters who wronged her! 😤

Roar: A Star in the Abyss has an interesting premise which made me think I’ll absolutely adore the manga. Sadly, it has huge pacing issues, there a tragic thing after a tragic thing happen non stop all in a span of a single volume. Not to mention the “villains” are so extremely evil in a comical way it’s kind of hard to take it seriously. I think Roar needs to realise for a tragedy to hit, it has to slow down and build things up first.

Thank to do Kodansha Comics for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The start of a vengeance-driven rising star, Roar: A Star in the Abyss shows us the humble beginnings of Misato, a girl who grows up in the rural areas dreaming to become an actress. Honestly the twist on her origins was very shocking and refreshing to read!

The prologue-ish part promises the reader for a drama-filled storyline but we don't get to see much of that in this volume. But it makes sense though since we're starting at her childhood years. Misato in this volume is almost reminiscent to Cinderella: she has a happy life before everything changes for the worse after tragedy strikes, she gets "taken care of" by her so-called family, and she becomes this passive character that just lets bad stuff happen to her. That is, until she breaks.

My only peeve in this volume is that there's a little bit too much characters involved, so much so that I occasionally got confused with who did what in this part of the story, etc.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, disturbing manga. I felt so uneasy reading this one, and it left me with soooo many questions! Why did a woman appear out of the blue, claiming to be her mother? What does the woman have to gain from this?

I have more, but I don’t want to spoil anything for future readers. According to the publisher’s blurb, Roar is perfect for fans of The Glory and Burn Down the House; it hasn’t gotten that dark yet, but I can’t wait to see where this goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the digital ARC.

Wow, that was a fast-paced first volume! Roar is a revenge thriller series following orphaned Misato who is taken from her close-knit life with her family on an island to the stifling and cruel home she's adopted into after her parents die in a fire. Her dreams of stardom keep her going despite how bleak her current reality is.

This first volume has brief glimpses of connection and warmth as the guiding light that keeps Misato going despite her ongoing mistreatment and despair- which makes me wonder how she becomes preoccupied on revenge over all else by the end. I think that the story is at its weakest in how just plain nasty its antagonists are. We get little hints that something deeper is going on, but my overall impression is that they just feel like shallow, cruel people which doesn't make the most engaging reading experience.

Still, I'm interested in seeing where the story takes its characters and I'd definitely recommend this series for fans of intense, dramatic thrillers.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for my ARC provided through Netgalley.

A quick, fast paced read. I needed to know what happened and couldn’t stop turning the pages.

We follow Misato after a horrible accident forces her to leave her home and go live somewhere else. The way my heart ached for her! This manga made me so sad, and I hated the way everyone treated her. I can’t wait for Volume 2 to see what happens next and get more backstory on what’s really going on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC.

I'm still a little confused with who half the characters are, but that's probably because it's just the first volume of the manga.

I was floored by Misato. I honestly don't even know how to articulate this well, but she is an outstandingly pure and honest person. There's no point where she's selfish at all even when she deserves to ask a little. To avoid others getting hurt, she does in their stead - whether emotionally or physically. Her acting is phenomenonal, and the author's made her such a gorgeous person inside and out that I genuinely felt my heart squeeze during the last few panels.

I can't wait to see what's next. I need to read the second volume ASAP! 4.25 Stars rounded down to 4.

This was a truly chaotic start to this series, however one I enjoyed. I was hooked from the first page but there was constantly a lot going on. This first volume sets the stage for the rest of the series but had a new revealation coming to light just about every 20 or so pages which took me out of the story quite often. The pacing was a bit too fast at every stage and this takes away from the mystery aspect of the story.

I truly did love the art style. This was my first time being exposed to something of this nature and I can honeslty say I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more like it in the future. I can't wait to see how the next volume holds up.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this Advanced Reader Copy for my honest review.

I loved this! As the start of a series this was absolutely amazing. If you've ever read Oshi No Ko and wished it would go harder than this is for you. This is a similar concept but a lot darker and more thrilling. I definitely can't wait to see more of this series!

Looking for a Cinderella story with all the family drama and showbiz heartbreak of Oshi no Ko? Look no further than Roar: A Star in the Abyss! Kodansha releases volume 1 of the thriller next month, setting the stage for one girl’s revenge. But the first few chapters will be more than enough to get you hooked. Read on to meet Misato and find out what drives her revenge in this series from the creator of Guilty.



A Tragic Tale

Roar: A Star in the Abyss starts its story early in the life of Misato, a young rural girl with an innate talent for acting. A bit part on a TV drama turns her world upside-down—but not in the fun and exciting way. Not long after her episode airs, her family home burns down. Rather than getting to move in with her neighbors, she’s scooped up by a stranger who claims to be her real mother and whisked off to the mainland.

What follows is hell on earth for Misato, interspersed with backstory for the reader. What Misato doesn’t know is that her birth and childhood are fraught with mystery and deceit. But instead of answers, she gets abuse at the hands of her new “Family,” especially her adoptive mother and her sister Ayane. Only in the final pages of the first volume does she effect an escape.



Secrets Abound

While Roar: A Star in the Abyss doesn’t show its hand in the first volume, the stage-setting alone is compelling. This manga is utterly heartbreaking and devastatingly tragic, ranking alongside the heaviest moments of Candy Candy and Idol Densetsu Eriko. Oshi no Ko is another no-brainer comparison, though the showbusiness angle is only barely sown in this first volume.

In spite of everything, Misato keeps hope alive by clinging aggressively to what she can of her childhood. Her rural dialect remains even after ten years far from home. And she brings herself and her invalid “brother” moments of joy by reciting books from her childhood from memory. As the first volume ends, it’s one of these recitations that draws attention to her—positively for a change.



What’s Next

Roar: A Star in the Abyss launched in May 2023 and is still running. To that end, we don’t actually know where it will end. We know at least some of Misato’s tragic backstory, though elements of it are still in shadow. There’s clearly something bigger at work than even we as the readers know. And Misato knows less than us. So the sky is the limit as Misato uncovers secrets and, eventually, begins to take action.

Ai Okaue’s artwork starts cute in the early chapters, but it conveys both Misato’s heartbreak and the coldness of her tormentors vividly. Lovely and chilling both to look at and to read, this is one for the drama-lovers.

Thank you Netgalley, Kodansha Comics and Ai Okaue for this e-arc in exchange for a honest review!

This story follows Misato, a young girl who’s life is turned upside down when her parents mysteriously die/disappear and a woman swoops in to claim her as her biological daughter. At her new home, her mother’s disguises her cruelty as kindness, her new sister is flat out needlessly cruel, and her father ignores her. Her only solace is her disabled brother who the family keeps hidden away and rarely speaks to.

This was a very interesting set up and since reading I’ve learned this is a revenge thriller so I’m very excited to see how she goes about getting revenge, as well as finding out what happened to her true biological mother and adoptive parents. I will definitely be reading this series as it progresses!

3.5 stars
After the death of Misato's parents, a woman claiming to be her real mother takes her away to live with her new family. There she is tormented by her sister and mother, however, she does befriend the son of this family who is also mistreated by them. The plot was interesting but some moments felt a bit over the top which ruined the immersion. I would like to see where the story is heading and how this revenge will go. Also the art style is gorgeous

3.75 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was expecting a glittery story about a rise to fame, and perhaps that is to come later in the story. Instead, this first volume tracks the early life of Misato, who loses everything and is forced to live in a home with no love or affection, and constant bullying and isolation.

It was surprisingly dark at times, considering for the vast majority of the narrative Misato is about six years old. The reader gets to see her life before and after the tragedy that changes her life forever, and I could not help but feel for this precocious, confident girl.

The artwork is great, the perfect style for this kind of story.

This was not the strongest opening volume of a series I've ever read, but it was intriguing enough that I will happily read on.