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Japanese Language Book Clubs
4189

【推しの子】

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Author: 赤坂アカ (Drawing: 横槍メンゴ)
Page count: 223
Natively: 30

Summary

Japanese

「この芸能界（せかい）において嘘は武器だ」 地方都市で、産婦人科医として働くゴロー。芸能界とは無縁の日々。一方、彼の“推し”のアイドル・星野アイは、スターダムを上り始めていた。そんな二人が“最悪”の出会いを果たし、運命が動き出す…!? “赤坂アカ×横槍メンゴ”の豪華タッグが全く新しい切り口で“芸能界”を描く衝撃作開幕!!

English

“In the world of showbiz, lies are weapons.” Goro works as an OB-GYN in the countryside, a life far removed from the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, his favorite idol, Ai Hoshino, has begun her climb to stardom. The two meet in the “worst possible way,” setting the gears of fate in motion! The amazing Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari team up to depict the world of showbiz from a completely new perspective in this shocking series! (Taken from Manga Plus)

Availability

Physical: Amazon | CD Japan
Digital: Kindle | Bookwalker

Personal Opinion

This book is very hard to talk about, because it takes a very long time to set up the premise and subverts expectations multiple times. That is part of the fun of reading this manga so I want to keep it vague. I would suggest not looking at the wikipedia summary since it spoils part of the setup.

Onto the work itself. It is a rather dark and more realistic look at the entertainment industry in Japan and some of its shortfalls. I have to be honest it took me 2 tries and a very insistent friend for me to really get into it, but once I was hooked there was no letting go and it is probably my favorite currently serializing manga. The story is by the author of Kaguyasama and the art by the author of Scum’s wish and has practically exploded onto the scene.

Pros and Cons for the Book Club

Pros

  • Very popular (anime was recently announced)
  • A gripping story with a few surprises
  • Great to look at if a bit busy at times
  • A seemingly more realistic look at the entertainment industry in Japan

Cons

  • A lot of entertainment specific vocabulary
  • Takes a while to get going
  • The subject is not for everyone

Pictures

First Three Pages of Chapter One

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Additional Pages

Bookwalker preview

Difficulty Poll

How much effort would you need to read this book?

  • No effort at all
  • Minimal effort
  • Moderate effort
  • Significant effort
  • So much effort my head might explode
  • I don’t know

0 voters

@NicoleIsEnough As to not monopolize the nominations I think it is probably a good idea to remove my Just Because! nominations. Judging from the last poll results the chances of that book being selected are slim at best anyways

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