The drama and suspense continue to build in the second volume of Not Your Idol.

Nina Kamiyama's past continues to unravel in the second volume. We pick up at the end of volume 1 with Nina escaping with Hikaru. Their friendship is tested and Hikaru's shame over is the inability to help his sister is further explained. Sara, a member of Pure Club, reveals more of Karen/Nina's past and the group's intentions. Miku plays more of a role in the volume and continues to make Nina's life difficult.

This volume dives deeper into the challenges and pressure put on women and girls to be sweet and cute but not too sexy and outspoken. The characters display conflicting traits that explore how well (or not so well) their decisions play out. This volume is packed with several plots and shocking reveals. It tells the story of experience and fears shared by girls around the world.

I cannot wait for the next volume!

OMG the sheer drama! This series is really getting good!
So Nina/Karen has realized that Hikaru is a really good guy and even has come to terms with the fact that she likes him as more than a friend... BUT Nagasu, the school's resident mean girl disguised as a sweet and loveable cutie will not have it. She wants Hikaru for herself.... BUUUUUUUUUUUT the man who attacked Nina is not going to have that either and decides to take matters into his own hands. SO MUCH DRAMA!!!!!

Not Your Idol vol. 2 ups the drama from the previous volume.
Nina, previous idol star Karen, has been hiding in a high school after a traumatic event with a violent fan/stalker and events are beginning to unfold as the stalker has narrowed on her location and starts to toy with her and those around her.
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You know what I like about this series? For all the drama going on in it, it has incredibly important discussions. It talks about bodily autonomy, how girls/women tend to be disregarded when they come forward about their experiences and how even when their experience is accepted the responsibility and weight of what happened to them is put on them and not the perpetrator of the acts. Their is a lot going on, and while I was worried about that disappearing after vol. 1 I feel hopeful that these incredibly important things continue to be a salient point in the series and doesn’t go away and just gets further explored and broken down. It talks about trauma and trauma recovery, and just, the things it talks about are so important. But, this series is full of things that people need to be aware of for their own mental health. Your mileage may vary and you know yourself best.
TW: assault (possibly implied rape depending on how you view the scene), sexual harassment, injury, stalker, women’s bodies and general existence being used against them, high school boys being gross and girls being unsupportive of their fellow beings, trauma and trauma recovery

When you think you know who the bad guy is but it turns out you actually don't!

Man, this series knocks it out of the park when it comes to being suspenseful and leaving you hanging. You will be wanting more after every page turn. Since reading the first volume, I've been hooked.

Although this is a very dramatic read, there are important messages included. One of those is how the world see girls and sexualizes them/uses them. It's a topic that gets talked about more but it's nice to see it in mangas.

Nina is still dealing with her troubled past but her friendship (maybe more eventually?) with Horiuchi is like a breath of fresh air for her. He is kind and wants to protect her when he couldn't even protect his own sister. He tries to be there for her and takes things slow. He is learning just as much as she is. Although that ending is definitely going to be a hurdle in their relationship! Ugh. 😢

Overall, I am really enjoying this series. It's not the easiest of reads at times because there is talk of sexual assault but it's such an important topic.