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FALSE IDOL The uneasy trio of Kotoko, Kurô, and Saki are facing a seemingly impossible challenge in trying to stop the terror of "Steel Lady Nanase," the ghost of a dead idol. How can you kill something that won’t die even if its neck is broken? The mystery is further complicated when internet rumors appear to be linked to the ghost’s origin. Now, Kotoko and Kurô must figure out how to defeat a figment of the imagination! To fight a story with another story, they’ll have to pool their resources and Saki’s connections to create something convincing. And is there a mastermind behind this phenomenon, or will some questions remain unanswered?

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2016

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135 people want to read

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Chashiba Katase

30 books13 followers

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5 stars
177 (33%)
4 stars
209 (39%)
3 stars
119 (22%)
2 stars
22 (4%)
1 star
4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for Elena Rodríguez.
1,192 reviews491 followers
August 20, 2021
4.5

"There's isn't just one future that's set in stone. If you look forward from this point in time, the future branches out and changes, constantly spreading out into different paths."

He tardado mucho en leerlo. Lo admito. Sin embargo ocurrió que me vine arriba y me di cuenta que el manga se tomaba con calma o no lo disfrutabas. Tras eso, me di un descanso y lo retomé cuando me lo pidió el cuerpo, esta vez con bastante paciencia por mi parte. Tengo que decir que me ha sorprendido para bien. Se los recomiendo mucho.

Creo que el autor se lo ha trabajado muchísimo para crear esta historia. El arco que está desarollando puede ser considerado desde un punto externo la típica historia de thriller paranormal, pero para mí profundiza mucho en los dialógos y en la investigacion haciendolo incluso más real. Asimismo, aunque ya lo haya dicho en anterior reseñas, se te muestra ​bastante informacion sobre la formación de los yokai-leyendas-mitos. La verdad es que me encanta esa parte del Japón "mágico"

"There's a path to any future you could want .Every future ure is possible and when you choose a path and move down it... all the branches behind you fall away, and the past becomes a single road"
Profile Image for Beth.
1,433 reviews199 followers
February 16, 2020
Definitely a mixed bag.

Good: I love some of the concepts in this story, like the connections between the supernatural, the internet, and the power of crowd consciousness.

Okay: The art's fine, but it's definitely in the style that I've come to associate with adaptations, and doesn't distinguish itself in any way.

Bleah: it's a known fact that women can't possibly work together amicably if there's an attractive male in the room. (eyeroll) And said male is such a bland cipher that it's a complete mystery why these two women are so hung up on him.

From what I've seen of Katase's bonus stories, I have my doubts about what this manga will be like beyond what was provided by Shirodaira's novel. We'll see, I guess.
Profile Image for Nicolo.
3,464 reviews204 followers
July 28, 2020
The investigation into the mysterious death of an idol and the haunting of Steel Lady Nanase moving along in an unhurried pace. Then worst case scenario happens as this volume ends in a cliffhanger.

The artist really draw Kotoko in a charming way, and Kuro remains to be mysterious. This has been a really talky story. I could only hope the conclusion to this arc is worth the plodding pace.
Profile Image for ♡ Alisa Doe ♡.
101 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2025
If was good I love how the characters interact and I wanna get to know them better although it was a lot of explaining stuff. All definitely things that needed to be explained but atleast half the book they were sitting in the same room...
Profile Image for Riya Bhatia.
724 reviews17 followers
May 9, 2023
2.75 ⭐️
I am enjoying the anime more, however… the manga has some moments. The story is interesting but the execution is AWKWARD. Side note: all the yokai are SO CUTE.
Profile Image for Rereader.
1,440 reviews207 followers
July 7, 2022
Reread on 7/7/22:
Bumped up from 3 to 4 stars.

Okay, I'm blaming my first, ranty review on 2020 being the worst year ever and putting me in a foul mood because this volume is not nearly as bad as I thought it was.

The pacing was a bit slower than the last volume, I will absolutely agree with that, but it still flowed really well. I think it was clever to break up the police investigation talk with explaining imaginary monsters, yokai lore in general, and explaining how false information can spread to quickly. Also, as someone who is rereading this and thus knows where the investigation is headed/how this ends, its great to see the mangaka lay the groundwork for what will eventually be Steel Lady Nanase's demise. Also, and I will keep addressing this as much as I have to, the fact that this is a mystery series more than anything makes the lack of action and constant exposition dumps are easier to swallow.

Slower paced, but not too bad. Still enjoying this.

Original review on 5/11/2020
I JUST complimented the last volume on picking up the pace, and what happens? This volume is UNBEARABLY SLOW!!!

Look, I loved learning more about imaginary monsters, I loved learning more about yokai legends, hell I LOVED seeing more of Kotoko and Kuro's relationship, but HOLY SHIT, the pacing was just SO DAMN SLOW! And the exposition dumps were long and went on for entire chapters, to the point where I could barely focus on what was being said because I kept zoning out. I really do love this series and it's lore, but the info dumps and the pacing are actively killing my enjoyment.

Funnily enough, when I first started reading this series in 2016, I distinctly remember LOVING the info dumps and endless exposition because I was so curious about the case and the lore. Now, after reading so many yokai/supernatural series, it's becoming clear that while this is a really good series, it's not for people who want more action or don't want to sit through endless pages of dialogue. Which is a shame because I still love these characters and the lore, it's just this pacing that killing me (pun intended).

Anyway, hopefully we'll get some action to break up this snail pacing otherwise this is going to be a tough arc to finish...
Profile Image for Nikkie.
103 reviews6 followers
March 20, 2017
This volume of the series was good, but lost a lot of points for me in being just overly explanatory. We get the explanation of why the spectre of SteelBeam Nanase is so powerful and troublesome and don't get me wrong, it's a good explanation, however, the reader is beaten over the head with it, it's so verbose and as a result, the action and plot development really suffers for it. The next volume should be better now that it's out of the way and it continues to be an interesting story, but this one was a real slog to get through.
Profile Image for Moriah Venable.
1,369 reviews32 followers
April 19, 2022
The ongoing investigation was a bit wordy but I still love the mystery and how it all goes together.

The ending with Steel Lady had me so shocked. I need the next volume.

I wonder if Kotoko is right. That fact that Kuro can not deal, is that why he does not get close to people. "He does say “For you I’ll die as many times as it takes”. So I am starting to think that he does care for Kotoko.
1 review
February 7, 2020
Too slow pace

The first two volumes were good but the first case should be solved already in this volume. However, the story was caught up in explanation and speculation and progressed very slowly. Too bored to buy the fourth volume. Bye bye In/Spectre. You could have been a good manga.
Profile Image for Untimely Gamer.
89 reviews2 followers
February 12, 2020
I am absolutely adoring this series. The story can be a tad slow paced and dialogue heavy, but it builds up to an interesting subversion of detective genre. Instead of finding out the truth behind the murder, the detective instead acts as a storyteller, creating a fictional, yet more compelling, explanation for the killing. And this manga also manages to deal with topics such as the Internet and disinformation in a nuanced and compelling way.
Profile Image for Emmanuel Nevers.
403 reviews8 followers
May 3, 2020
The investigation into Steel Lady Nanase continues!
The only way to defeat her is to discredit her. The explanation of what to do moving forward is amazing. Also a pretty shocking ending to this volume. This series continues to be the most dialogue-heavy manga I've ever read...and that's a good thing! I love all the exposition that's given and makes In/Spectre that more compelling.
Profile Image for Meakuel.
735 reviews3 followers
July 28, 2020
Es gibt Punkte, die mir an diesem Band gefallen haben und solche, bei denen es nicht der Fall ist. Die Beziehung der Protagonisten gehört zu letzterem. Auch das Saki zum Schluss alle Fakten noch mal aufzählt ist ein solcher Punkt. Gefallen hat mir die Geschichte um die Entstehung und den Wandel von Yokais und die Andeutungen auf die unbekannte Person.
Author 2 books4 followers
August 13, 2021
Low on action, big on explanation. With this volume, we get to see just what the original subtitle: 'Invented Inference' really means. Full of fun character expressions and silly moments, this volume is still entertaining.
Profile Image for Jewels.
132 reviews23 followers
November 11, 2019
I liked the explanation behind the phenomenon of our main villain, and anticipating what is in store for the next book!
Profile Image for Hana Eka.
1,387 reviews5 followers
December 31, 2019
Senang dengan kedatangan cewek tangguh tapi ternyata...
Profile Image for Iris Nevers.
546 reviews11 followers
February 18, 2020
Why is he so withdrawn?! He obviously likes her a little bit to keep her around for 2 years!?
Profile Image for Jack Syron.
164 reviews
October 18, 2021
This volume is 3 or 4 college courses fighting each other: Forensics, Philosophy, Internet Analytics and Japanese Mysticism. I love it so
Profile Image for Sarah.
414 reviews
October 29, 2017
**Note: Series review can be found on Volume One, these notes are specific to Volume Three.

In/Spectre volume three continues the Steel Lady Nanase story arc. This volume is extremely information heavy, and it drags a bit for this reader.
Profile Image for _SakuraBooks_.
710 reviews5 followers
January 29, 2023
🌸6th August 2021🌸

Although I do really like this story and the characters, volume three is almost entirely explanation. And because of this, I was debating whether this instalment should get a three or four star rating. I ultimately settled on four stars purely because I really love the concept. I think the story is riveting; it’s a supernatural murder mystery currently circulating around a moderately well known idol would dies unexpectedly and is seemingly back as a vengeful and violent spectre. The plot thickens in this volume as the matter of what Steel Lady Nanase is is explored. It’s a fascinating concept and this volume does end in a cliffhanger. I hope that in the following volumes, there’s not going to be such a heavy element of explanation and more action and visual interesting content.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews

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