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IDOL×IDOL STORY! #4
IDOL x IDOL STORY! Vol. 4
FIRST ONE OUTMimi and Ibuki are two friends determined to survive a rigorous reality TV show and become idols. After the first real challenge of the show, one of the girls is being eliminated and sent home. How will Aria, the creator of the show and an idol herself, pick the loser? And will Mimi and Ibuki make it through to the next round?
- GenresManga
196 pages, Paperback
Published January 13, 2026
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 31, 2026
I’m noticing the method of how I consume manga for review a lot more lately in terms of how I appraise it. I could just do re-reads, but I genuinely don’t have the time with my schedule.
Which is to say, the break between the competition ending last time and the judging portion this time is rather unfortunate and really throws off the pace of this particular volume.
It’s funny because I praised the character chart for previous volumes, yet this time it was no help as we wait for the outcome of the competition, which takes an agonizingly long time, or feels like it at any rate. Divested from the memory of the last volume it becomes interminable.
By the time it has wrapped I felt I had a better recall on who was who doing what, but still didn’t feel especially great about it. I will say that I appreciated the manga sticking to its guns and booting somebody out, despite sort-of offering an out.
Once this is dealt with, things start to pick back up again. Mostly because of the shake-up in the teams and who’s rooming with who. Mimi winds up bouncing up against the leader of Bright Star, the top group in the competition, and I really liked their dynamic.
The next big competition/challenge is a little out there, but that’s just makes it believable in the current TV era anyway. More importantly, it throws the girls against one another both as team vs team and, crucially, within the teams as well. That’s where the spice really is this volume.
Mimi gets a lot more attention this volume versus Ibuki, even if their bond remains clearly quite tight. The way that Mimi’s good deed from the previous challenge ends up being a massive albatross this time because it turns out somebody else is completely bonkers is one of those little twists that I love.
The dead eyes on said rival are something else as well. There’s a lot of similarly juicy stuff this volume, from unwanted producer relations showing up to a really funny beer party. The little touches adding some reality to the not-quite-believable of the competition are appreciated.
I could probably do without the corruption subplot that we’re getting, but since reality television is not-so-unscripted as a rule, it doesn’t make zero sense that it rears its head here.
As usual: Girl Crush is better, but if you have room for two similar manga in your life, I think this is a good addition. This volume is a little dull at times, but it definitely begins to recapture its spark towards the end once the complications start coming into it all.
3.5 stars - little bump for the character moments, but not enough to round it up entirely. There are always good parts to this, but I just didn’t feel the whole this time.
Which is to say, the break between the competition ending last time and the judging portion this time is rather unfortunate and really throws off the pace of this particular volume.
It’s funny because I praised the character chart for previous volumes, yet this time it was no help as we wait for the outcome of the competition, which takes an agonizingly long time, or feels like it at any rate. Divested from the memory of the last volume it becomes interminable.
By the time it has wrapped I felt I had a better recall on who was who doing what, but still didn’t feel especially great about it. I will say that I appreciated the manga sticking to its guns and booting somebody out, despite sort-of offering an out.
Once this is dealt with, things start to pick back up again. Mostly because of the shake-up in the teams and who’s rooming with who. Mimi winds up bouncing up against the leader of Bright Star, the top group in the competition, and I really liked their dynamic.
The next big competition/challenge is a little out there, but that’s just makes it believable in the current TV era anyway. More importantly, it throws the girls against one another both as team vs team and, crucially, within the teams as well. That’s where the spice really is this volume.
Mimi gets a lot more attention this volume versus Ibuki, even if their bond remains clearly quite tight. The way that Mimi’s good deed from the previous challenge ends up being a massive albatross this time because it turns out somebody else is completely bonkers is one of those little twists that I love.
The dead eyes on said rival are something else as well. There’s a lot of similarly juicy stuff this volume, from unwanted producer relations showing up to a really funny beer party. The little touches adding some reality to the not-quite-believable of the competition are appreciated.
I could probably do without the corruption subplot that we’re getting, but since reality television is not-so-unscripted as a rule, it doesn’t make zero sense that it rears its head here.
As usual: Girl Crush is better, but if you have room for two similar manga in your life, I think this is a good addition. This volume is a little dull at times, but it definitely begins to recapture its spark towards the end once the complications start coming into it all.
3.5 stars - little bump for the character moments, but not enough to round it up entirely. There are always good parts to this, but I just didn’t feel the whole this time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review