The August
issue of Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret magazine,
published on July 11, announced the upcoming release of a new manga
titled Tonari no Seki no Fukami-kun ga Idol ni Naru Kamo Shirenai (Fukami-kun,
the boy sitting next to me, could become an idol). This work will debut in
the October issue of the magazine, which will hit stores in September.
The project
brings together two prominent names in manga: Haruno Aoyama, who
will be in charge of the original story, and Haruka Chizu, in
charge of the art. Chizu also shared the news through her official account
on X (formerly Twitter).
From
otaku to idol producer?
The plot
will focus on a high school girl, passionate about idol audition shows, who
decides to become an improvised producer and transform her classmate into an
entertainment star.
Authors'
careers
Haruno
Aoyama debuted
the manga Boku wa Chiisana Shotenin (I Am a Little
Bookstore Clerk) in Shueisha's now-defunct magazine The Margaret in
2019. The work concluded with its sixth compilation volume in 2023.
Meanwhile, Haruka
Chizu launched the manga Snow Angel (original
title: Kimi ga Waratte Irareru yō ni's Kono Setsugen, which
translates to "So you can keep smiling on this snowy plain") in
Shogakukan's Cheese! magazine in May 2023. The series ended
with its fourth volume, released on December 25 of the same
year.
The Snow
Angel manga also captured international attention, being licensed
by VIZ Media, which published its first volume in English on May
13.
With this
new collaboration, Aoyama and Chizu promise a story full of school excitement,
comedy and the always fascinating world of Japanese show business.