From the synopsis I thought this would be a fun, low-stakes BL with lots of adorable blushing and geeking out over shared (secret) interests, but alas this was a total let down from start to finish. This title appears to be part of the current trend of "brutally teasing the love interest" style romances, so if you don't like that in your romcoms this definitely isn't for you, but as it isn't actual bullying like most fans of that genre seem to enjoy I don't think they'd get much out of it either.

Sadly I felt no chemistry whatsoever from the two leads, and their romance felt incredibly rushed - if the characters had actually had the time to get to know each other, rather than go from virtual strangers to lovers within what seemed like a single week, I could understand how they might form a relationship, but it was just too quick to be properly meaningful. The single sexual panel at the end was also a shock, not just because it literally came out of nowhere (and after a chaste, mostly hidden first kiss!) but the entire bedroom scene made no sense, either taking place right after the confession or an unspecified amount of time later, seemingly using sex as an indicator that the relationship is now "real", which put me right off.

The art was also extremely muddled and confusing, with identical background characters, leads that often blended into that background, and many times no clear indication from the badly placed speech bubbles who was talking. It's been a while since I've seen a licensed manga formatted so messily.

On a positive note it does capture the awkwardness of crushes well, and again if there had been more time to flesh out these characters I could see it being an enjoyable story. As it is however, there just isn't anything here for me to recommend.

I'm a sucker for a sweet low-angst BL story. This was a fun romp all around. Kaito is a quiet student, and his classmate learns that instead of the rumors and what he was thinking about Kaido he's... actually an actor in a Sentai show!?

This is a quick read and I had a great time with it. Kaido and Honda are cute characters and I love the development that happens in their relationship as they become better friends. Kaido needed someone like Honda to help him feel more comfortable off of the Stage too!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review 😊

Overall good story with an interesting premise. I like that the main love interest is an aspiring professional hero suit actor. The dense main character is a a bit frustrating in that enjoyable way. I will continue to read as its released very enjoyable story.

This manga is sweet and cute, but I don't think it was something I was I'm the mood for.

I loved the art. I found the story hard to follow. I just don't know if i would pick up the rest of then to keep reading the series since I found it just alright to read.

I guess this is cute, but overall it just feels...juvenile?

None of the two main characters seem like they're older teens. Every other panel, they're blushing and trembling and stuttering in shyness. It's wild. Honda was hard to keep liking after a while. Even the art felt kind of rushed and juvenile - character proportions seemed awkward, and not in a purposeful way. It all felt like someone's first attempt at drawing a BL manga. Just not for me, unfortunately.

I picked this book up, even though I don't read much manga, because it was blurbed as "for fans of Sasaki and Miyano" and I am desperately trying to fill the Sasamiya-shaped hole in my heart. Super Morning Star didn't quite live up to my expectations. The premise is sweet and fun—a double life as an actor! the classmate who finds out!—but the romance develops so fast that I never get to know any of the characters. Also, one of our two main leads is, like, extremely mean to the other, and that deeply bothers me. If the story had more time to breathe, then his character might have had more time to develop, and the romance wouldn't have felt like such a "yikes".

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC!

This was an adorable BL Manga romance.

I wished this was in colour, but enjoyed in nonetheless.

The plot was interesting and the characters fairly well fleshed out.

Absolutely recommend

It’s been a minute since I picked up a new manga, but I was feeling the need for something quick and fun before diving into my next big read. Thankfully, Super Morning Star seemed to check a lot of my favourite boxes.
Plot-wise, it is a teenage romcom between a popular highschooler, Honda, and his classmate, Kaido, who moonlights as a suit actor in a children’s superhero sentai show. For reference, “superhero sentai” is a genre of live-action children’s show in Japan. The Power Rangers and Kamen Rider are some of the most universally well known ones. Basically “suit actors” are the people inside of the costumes that do all of the stunts and fight scenes.
Overall, Super Morning Star was very cute, but the story had a pretty big time skip in the last chapter and with that came a few panels of sexually explicit content, when previously even the kissing between the two characters had been mostly obscured. It came off as if this volume was initially meant to be a closed door romance, but then it was either edited in a really weird way to include part of the next volume, or the author decided last minute that they wanted it to include a sex scene. Either way, it didn’t feel balanced. I wished they had either kept it closed door, or had that overt spice in the story from the start.
In terms of if I would recommend this, probably. I didn’t think the final chapter fit, and some of the later miscommunication got annoying, but the rest of the story was cute. I could definitely see myself picking up the next volume once it is available.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing a copy of the Manga!

Super Morning Star 1 is a cute BL manga where perceived bad guy Kaido’s secret life as a sentai star is discovered by classmate Honda. The manga volume follows the pair through discovery of Kaido’s job and the spilling of the secret as Honda and Kaido try to untangle their feelings.

I found the storyline hard to follow in parts often turning back to check if I missed something. Kaido’s character is super cute and had me hopeful for another Sasaki and Miyano BL story, but I found Honda’s character journey a real turnoff. I’d be interested to read more but overall this one missed the mark for me with the story development rushed to a resolution that could have been saved to a later volume.

Opposites attract! Kaido has a delinquent façade, which causes people to keep their distance. Honda’s easy-going and friendly personality makes him popular at school. Then one day, Honda happens upon Kaido’s secret: that he is a sentai superhero star. This allows him to see his quiet and reserved classmate in a new way.

This was a cute and quick read. There were some parts when Honda irked me. Mostly his obsessiveness and jealousy towards Kaido. Other than that, I enjoyed the storyline and characters.

Kaido reminds me of Ryuuji Takasu from Toradora! They both have appearances that makes their classmates assume they are troublemakers when that is far from the truth. Both are gentle souls. I like Kaido’s determination. He is slowly working to achieve his dreams.

This manga is about two high school students Kaido and Honda who are complete opposites. Kaido looks like a scary delinquent but he really is not one and Honda is a more outgoing type of person. They have an encounter after school when Honda finds out that Kaido part time jobs is a live action superhero, and Kaido doesn’t want anyone to know about his outside life so Honda keeps it a secret. Throughout the whole manga you read these two falling of each other and their ups and downs. What I like about the Super Morning Star Vol One, is the way that Kaido blushes at Honda every time talks to him. Then the way that Honda always complements Kaido about his dream and how hard he works. The art style in the manga is amazing from every detail in the story. I can’t wait for the second volume in the series.

I ship them.
I love them.
I adore them.
I will love for them.

These two are everything!

They are so freaking adorable. One is so chaotic and one is so clueless. And that confession…. Damn I hate my life. They are perfect 😭

Everything is just so cute and funny and warm. Just read this manga! One of the best YA BL manga!

Thank you, Kodansha Comics, for the advance reading copy.

I just can’t wait for the next volume!

Super Morning Star, Vol. 1 by Kara Aomiya

releases 10/10/23 (English version). thanks to @netgalley & @kodanshamanga for the ARC

SYNOPSIS: When a classmate finds out he's secretly a sentai star, Kaido's precious life as a regular high schooler is in danger of being stolen, and so's his heart, in this BL rom-com for fans of Hitorijime My Hero and Sasaki and Miyano!

At high school, Kaido seems to be a scary delinquent, but he’s leading a second life as the star of a sentai superhero live show! When sentai superfan classmate Honda discovers Kaido's secret, Kaido will stop at nothing to make sure it doesn't get out, but despite himself, the charismatic performer finds himself falling for his biggest fan...

things to look forward to: cute artwork, boys blushing, high school antics, epilogue (hfn vibes)

CWs: bullying (not really but idk how else to describe it), jealousy, mildly explicit sexual content, internalized homophobia, miscommunication

>> i really enjoyed the first 90ish pages of this… however, it was hard to follow the plotline overall and i kept thinking i had missed something. i also didn’t like the “3rd act conflict,” which was one of the characters being mean to the other because he basically got jealous and panicked…. it wasn’t really resolved but i also think it was age appropriate (considering they’re in high school).


#SuperMorningStar #Netgalley #KaraAomiya #manga

Wow, this first volume was a lot.

I love stories where peoples expectations are flipped of certain characters, which was happily the case for Kaido who blushed his way through the manga. I didn't think a RBF could blush so much. I really enjoyed his character and hope for a bit more family background in the next volume. He was nicer than I would've been handling some things that occurred, but I was happy for him by the end.

I'm super curious as to where the story will go from here between Kaido and Honda. The bonus chapters gave some spoilers as to their future, so I'm excited to see if v.2 picks up from there!

i like tropes wherein one knows the other's secret, and this will bring them closer. personally, i would have preferred if the confession happened a little later because honda should have taken care of asking for forgiveness first before confessing, not doing both at the same time. also, it irked me how his possessiveness made him say harsh things towards kaido. in terms of the art style, it's not really my kind of thing. it's a bit messy in some panels, but i guess it's not really a hindrance. 

overall, this is a cute and fluffy bl manga with a deliquent-vibe-but-is-a-softie guy and possessive-friendly guy trope.

thank you, netgalley and kodansha comics for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story was very lighthearted with not much substance. The art style is cute but a little odd in some places in terms of proportions and roughness.

The relationship between the two main characters was not very compelling, and I almost gave up on reading despite it being a fast read. The plot is very simple and the conflict didn’t make much sense. The drama was unnecessary and felt like it was just shoved in there. If anything, the possessiveness that caused the main drama was a huge red flag and I don’t think they should’ve continued their relationship after that. Like girl, if that’s how your man reacts when you gain a bit of popularity and kindness from the general student population after previously being shunned, how is he going to act in the future something actually important happens?

I think something like this could’ve been developed further and more believably if they slowed the pace. Pacing was off and everything moved way too fast. I wasn’t drawn into the story so I would not read volumes beyond this. If they would’ve slowed down the story, established their friendship / blooming crush over a longer period of time, it would make the reader feel more invested in the relationship.

Bit of a 2.5⭐
The story is a classic story of the delinquent not being actually a delinquent and the nice guy being a bit of an villain with the jealous rampage.
The art was not bad, although I enjoy it more when it's more polished. Some times it does feel like sketches but this being a first serialization it gets a solid pass.

For those interested, the main story is 4 volumes, it's completed. And it has a spin-off that is 1 volume, so it's short enough to be worth the read.

Super Morning Star Volume 1
By Kara Aomiya
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC Copy for an honest review.
A cute BL story, the pacing a bit off but it was a enjoyable manga. It was a quick read. The artwork is nice. The characters were cute and likeable and very adorable.
I would recommend it to BL Lovers and I will definitely be looking into volume 2
Rating: 4 Stars

"Then why are you avoiding me?" "'Cause I thought you'd think it was a pain."

Super Morning Star, volume 1, by Kara Aomiya starts of with two classmates who seemingly do not get along: one is a normal student, with a seemingly normal personality and interests, and the other a perceived delinquent, with yakuza-style rumors and a bad personality. We quickly learn that this isn't the case: the supposed delinquent is actually a sentai star, and he's easily flustered and quickly embarrassed when confronted by others about it.

We follow the protagonist, Honda Kyousuke, as he becomes enamored with the school delinquent-turned-sentai-hero, and we receive an up close view of his feelings for Kaidou Ryou, through puppy-love and resentment, and all those twisty, tangled, and most importantly, confusing high school emotions.

The plot itself is fairly typical of a teenage, high school romcom-- they don't get along inside school simply for Kaido to hide that he's a sentai stage hero, and get along outside of it when the masks of high school rumor-mongering can come off. Moments of jealousy ensue, and with that, feelings of uncertainty and unrequited love blossom within them alongside miscommunication and bitterness.

As the two grow closer and in turn drift apart, Kaido and Honda quickly learn that they have a lot more in common than they didn't realize at first, and they slowly learn that those differences aren't as stark as first believed. Super Morning Star is quick to make a point of itself to not take itself too seriously, and to flavor the serious moments with heartwarming comedy.

Overall, volume 1 of this manga is a strong start to what feels like a budding romance that will tackle some tougher feelings while, at its core, remaining lighthearted and warm.

A fleeting, light story that is to clear your head and read something that makes you forget about everyday life, although nothing very memorable (so far).

Here we meet a young man named Kaido who seems to be the baddest of all. Many things are rumored about him, that he hangs out with many girls, that he hangs out with the Yakuza... but is it really like that? Well, no. And Honda, a high school classmate, is the first to discover the truth about Kaido.

I think it's something we've already read a lot, but it's that cliché that we love. Honda does not have one of the most mature attitudes that we can see in the manga stories, but that is his personality and that is the idea, that he shows himself like that.

I really liked when he said that if Kaido likes something, what's the problem? If you like it, that's it. It doesn't matter what others say. I really liked that and I think they should put banners everywhere with that phrase. Because it is so true but many people have a hard time really understanding it.

Thank you Kodansha Comics for the issue in exchange for an honest review.