Girl Crush, Vol. 3

Girl Crush (ガールクラッシュ) #3

by Midori Tayama

Tenka, Erian, and Ji-woo have all been accepted as trainees for LJH’s special new project. But getting that coveted spot at an agency is only the beginning—now Tenka and her friendly rivals need to earn the right to stay in the program. Can Tenka’s hard-won confidence survive the overwhelming skill of the senior trainees and the stress of choosing the perfect song for her first big evaluation?

Genres: Manga, Contemporary, Comics

160 pages, Paperback

Published October 21, 2025

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as dramatic as previous volumes, I continue to love seeing how hard Tenka works. She's not naturally good at everything and it's refreshing to see, especially in a character who in other mangas (and early in volume one in this one) is seen as flawless.

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Four-star volume, five-star ending because WOW! Seeing everything come together by the end was AWESOME!

It's honestly interesting seeing Tenka in a place where she is not overly positive and sure of exactly what she wants to do and/or how to handle things! Seeing her insecure at times and almost flounder was a fascinating reading experience because that is not the Tenka we've seen in the past few volumes. Having her thrust into a leadership role made everything all the more intriguing!

I found the third girl in their group SO different from anything I expected! I honestly worried alongside Tenka if this new group could really make it because everyone seemed so mismatched, but when Tenka really united these girls, it was absolutely incredible! I was completely "entranced" as someone said when throwing some shade Tenka's way!

Seriously, though, the dance scenes are the absolute best in this series! I enjoyed seeing the build-up and how, despite the harshness around her, Tenka isn't afraid to accept criticism around her so she can improve. She's a really cool heroine to follow, and I am very excited to see what's to come next with this group of girls!

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenka starts her first week as a kpop trainee and meets the two other newbies she is paired with: Jiwoo, the talented dancer with a bad attitude she met previously and tiny, cute, shy Minchae who has a gorgeous voice but no dancing skills. Tenka is the oldest of the three and while she is a proficient dancer and singer, she doesn't especially shine in either. What she can do is study hard and learn fast, which is good, because their new manager makes Tenka the leader of their team of three and tells them to prepare a song performance for the next monthly evaluation. Of course Jiwoo wants to pick a very difficult high-energy song from the company's star boy group... Tenka isn't sure that's the right choice for the three of them, but goes along with it. This was a exciting installment, I am already invested in the developing secondary characters, and the author does such a good job showing the teen's relative dance skills with contrast of their body language during choreography scenes. I'm hooked!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and VIZ media for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Once again I’m really enjoying this series, it’s the perfect amounts of cheesy and fun and I’m loving watching Tenka train to become an idol.

#IndigoEmployee

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Thanks to Viz and Edelweiss for an ARC of this volume in exchange for an unbiased review.]

Now that she’s with an agency, Tenka’s idol experience can truly begin, provided she can survive that long in the hyper-competitive market that is this particular industry.

Naturally, the odds begin to stack against them faster than pizza boxes in a college dorm on a Friday night. The ‘them’ in question involves the sharp-tongued Jiwoo and the newest member of their group, Minchae.

This first part of the volume worried me because I don’t especially love Minchae as a character. She has her strengths, and a showbiz pedigree, that come across as the story goes on, but she’s way more innocent than I think is realistic for a story like this.

That does make her into an interesting puzzle for Tenka to solve, however, and the real draw of this series is Tenka and her burning desire to be as perfect as humanly possible at whatever she’s doing.

Trying to juggle both Jiwoo’s attitude and Minchae’s awkward shyness makes the ideal challenge when Tenka is named as leader of the group and then sees what she has to compete against to get into the agency’s top tier.

Tenka owns this story and in a way that makes her as arresting as she should be. Even when she’s struggling, she just doubles her efforts to move forward. She is one of the best leads I’ve seen in a while.

She’s also incredibly adaptable and quickly learns to pivot when she can’t get her way, plus she soon realizes how she should be wrangling her teammates to get the best out of them.

Another great touch is, now that I’m more used to it, the way the story conveys Tenka’s middling Korean and sprinkles her understanding with words she has to look up later is really well done. She hasn’t become fluent, but she’s trying.

My other minor complaint is that the dancing here is not as dynamic as previous volumes. I mean, it’d be nice if this had the crackling energy of Wandance, but it’s good enough. It has been a bit better though (except one part, where a boy band member schools Tenka in a way that shows he knows what he’s talking about).

I feel like I could go on and on about this. It’s not perfect, but it is a darn good read with an excellent lead character that keeps the narrative flowing even amidst a couple of minor missteps.

4 stars - this has been so consistently good since it started and I hope it stays as strong as it’s been. It doesn’t reach the height of last volume’s drama, but the pull of Tenka’s story keeps it an easy recommend.

[Ami 乁⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠o⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠ㄏ (written by Jane Austen) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I binge read all the following volumes...

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s satisfying to see Tenka struggle and eventually claw her way out. Minchae is adorable!!

[marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol. 1 ★★☆☆☆
Vol. 2 ★★★☆☆

We follow Tenka as she prepares for her first group evaluation. It was fun seeing her step out of her comfort zone and try to lead the group. This is the first volume of the series that makes me understand the hype: I couldn't put it down and am so excited for the next volume.

Also, I don't know why it took me so long to realize LJH is the stand-in for JYP. It took me until chapter 29, in which the dance teacher talks about their CEO's dark past and there's a panel showing him in a flamboyant stage outfit, for it to finally click.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenka meets an established boy band member by chance at her agency. He grips audiences with very little effort, and is content to nimbly follow trends rather than develop a strong individual style. Tenka wants to perform from her heart, but hasn't quite figured out how to make it happen. She, Jiwoo, and new character Minchae are called on to choreograph their own song and dance routine as a trio, and it's a struggle to reconcile their personal styles with each other, and with their chosen song.

Minchae feels somewhat like a more extreme version of Erian when it comes to her overall vibe. I'm not sure if the ability to get an emotional response through her singing would compensate for what I perceive as a clunky way of dancing, so I'm interested in seeing if she makes some progress there.

The storytelling in Girl Crush maybe isn't all that, but the vibrant depiction of the characters through their dancing is very cool. I don't know the first thing about K-pop, though I can easily imagine it's at least a much of a high-churn dystopia as Japan's idol scene is. This manga's version of that culture is candy-coated and fun, emphasizing the girls' power and keeping the production company in the background.

[♡ zuly ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun volume of this series. I especially appreciated the end of the volume where the author took some time to share their experience shadowing some trainees in the idol industry. It helped solidify what I had already felt about the manga, which was that the author had done a lot of research on the current K-Pop industry to make their manga, which makes for a fun peek behind the curtain for the reader to a very popular world. The story took a lot of really fun turns in this volume, I especially loved the seeing the three trainees interact and bond with one another. I'm super interested in continuing this, this volume definitely made me hooked on the series.
Thank you to Viz and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Jourdain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, this volume was not nearly as good as 1 and 2 were. That being said, I did still enjoy it and look forward to reading volume 4. The topic of weight comes up, which I know is a true thing in K-Pop, but it is always something I hate when it is brought up in mangas. I also felt like the addition of the new trainee was a little boring and relied on too heavily. Overall, I am glad I read it. Thanks NetGalley for the Arc!

[Kait W · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're still going strong! I missed Erian in this one, but it felt natural that at this point in the story Tenka would be focused on her practicing and group, not interacting with her. I'm intrigued by the couple of new characters we got this time around and am looking forward to learning more about them. Also really enjoying seeing Tenka learn how to be a better leader. This is another of my current favorite manga series, and I'm looking forward to the next volume.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenka, her rival Jinwoo, and new character Minchae are grouped together during their trainee course to try and become K-pop idols.

I'm very happy with how this series is being shown. Normally Tenka would be the snooty perfect girl but in this case she's the girl-who's-worked-her-butt-off character and I'm rooting for her. Jinwoo, while bitchy, is very upfront about being that way. And little Minchae, who has an idol voice but isn't a dancing natural, is a nice addition. Go team!

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love this series! If you enjoy characters learning about themselves in the cutthroat K-pop world with beautiful drawings, you will love this series. You can't help but root for the main character and the team that starts to gather around her in this volume. I am highly anticipating the next book in the series!

[Helena Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

the way i miss harumi. he's not even like...... that fleshed out of a character i just think he's cute. also the director guy is sooo slay what the hell

[Mathilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's getting so much better than the first one, i'm glad i kept reading !!

[Nicole Montesdeoca 04 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What's inside of us will come out in our dance" . Adore the development of Tenka and Jiwoo (even though Jiwoo's is just beginning). Hope to see the guy K-pop idol again soon

[scarlettraces · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read quite a few idol-themed manga and manwha so far and this is shaping up to be my favourite (Imitation aside, that's kind of outside any normal quality measures).

[Hannah Gearhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

boy band boy band boy band

read time: 29 minutes

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is giving me the k-pop vibes I’m craving

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, another amazing volume and I can't wait to read volume 4! I need more!

[Niche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this more than the previous volumes. It focused more on Tenka being a character rather than all her whole personality being externally driven by romance or rivalry.

[Courtney Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume almost as much as the previous two. While I did miss my favorite idol wannabe, the introduction of a new girl in their group made up for it. The characters continue to evolve, and readers are privy to more inside information about the idol industry as the series continues.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this title.