So, after binging this entire (till date) manga series in *ahems* *checks calendar*, let's be really really kind to me and say a really really short while, I have sat me down to review all that I *ahems part 2* swiftly covered.
I'll start off by saying that I really really enjoyed it. The setting is really plain and simple, and the art style had me drooling Niagara Falls is absolutely stunning.
The story follows Utage Kinoshita, your regular old fangirl, who may or may not be COMPLETELY AND ABSOLUTELY obsessed with her favorite idol, Tamon Fukuhara, and then the story does a total Wattpad and sends her to his house as his housekeeper *lols* , but I was here for it. And the reason I was here for it was cuz- her hot and sexy idol is a total weepy chump at home.
And I like to think that the manga really explored something really different from other "I am the maid/housemaid/worker of my favorite idol/actor" ladida. It explored the complexities of the media world, how not everything you see on tv is actually real, kids. And it's absolutely true. Not everyone portrayed on TV with a certain persona is actually that way at home. ✨Cuz that's all showbiz baby✨
Under the facade of a simple giggly romcom with with extremely drool-worthy art style , a beautiful art style, I was transported into this topsy-turvy world where nothing is at it seems. And this theme, particularly of "K-pop/idol" world culture, resonated with me on a deeper level. Having had an extremely teenage-hormone-fueled idol fangirl phase myself *let's not speak about that phase again though, let those skeletons decay in my closet for eternity, gahhh the flashbacks are killing me* , I was able to shine a very different light and compare my experiences to the ones Utage has. Her utter devotion to her idol and even the mother-ly sort-of protective love she feels for him is something that spoke to me more than I expected from a simple manga to do.
Another aspect of the novel was the backstory of Tamon, which helped me realize and understand his devotion to becoming an idol, given his personality. It was sooo sad Taaaamonnnn my poor chiiiiild 😭😭
Moreover, it explored these themes, while being EXTREMELY hilarious, I was giggling BUCKETS (mostly *throw Tamon backstory flashback*). The dichotomy of character from the A-side to B-side for all the characters were extremely entertaining, not to mention the giggle-worthy situations.
Now that isn't to say that this book has NO faults. The parts where she keeps treating Tamon as a God and not even as an actual human being despite being familiar with his at-home personality for quite a while was kinda pmo. And Tamon tends to get a tiny tad too possessive of Utage without confessing anything sometimes... But that's about it, and maybe that gets better in the forthcoming volumes??? I do hope so.