GraPara!

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[Plot/Synopsis - mild spoilers of chapter 1]
The story follows a college drop-out and freeter named Shinobu Sumida who is an avid fan of Japanese "gravure" pin-up models. While working a part-time shift at a convenience store, a young woman around his age rushes in and asks for help as she is being stalked. Shinobu recognizes her as Sakura Katsuragi (a gravure model whose meet-and-greet event he attended just prior), but when he goes outside to confront her parasocial stalker, he is stabbed. Luckily, his belt prevented the knife from doing much damage, so he is quickly discharged from the hospital. Not long after, Shinobu and ... Sakura go out on a picnic at a park, where Sakura reveals her dreams of becoming a star model but is struggling as her talent agency prohibits her from working any other job, which has resulted in her being broke and unable to pay her rent. Shinobu pledges to help support Sakura and invites her to live with him (and his roommate, Masaki Yano), which she accepts.

Thus begins Shinobu's journey to help push Sakura to stardom while protecting her from the malicious side of the gravure industry.

[Thoughts]
So I bought this manga on a whim without reading the preview as it was ranked in the top 10 on Shonen Magazine's website for romance manga, and I generally trust the quality of the works that they publish. I skim-read the official description which called this a "NTR rom-com" set in the gravure industry, so I was expecting something like "Oshi no Ko" that provides an insider's perspective into the entertainment industry while being a light-hearted rom-com with some fan service with the "NTR" bit.

Instead, this manga is really just an absolute gut-wrenching view into the gravure industry. This includes the intimidation, exploitation, manipulation, and sexual harassment/assault of gravure models, as well as the industry's ties with the adult entertainment industry and criminal organizations. Obviously, it's good for someone to shed light on this topic (even if it may be slightly exaggerated for fiction) because something objectively has to be done with the modeling and adult entertainment industries (not just in Japan) that falsely put on a facade that they are ethical and legitimate.

Granted, this is just volume 1, so volume 2 onwards might perhaps be the funniest thing on earth. But my point is that this manga has disturbing and dark themes. And yes, there is fan service and that may be why you're interested in reading this manga, but it's like getting patted on the head after being sucker-punched (ie. there's nothing gratifying about it and rather just adds to the disturbing element).

Otherwise, the art, characters, and pacing of the story are alright. Nothing necessarily of note either in a positive or negative way.

[Recommend?]
I'm going to rate this a 5 and give it a "Mixed Feelings" because I get it's partially my fault for not doing further research before reading the manga. Overall, I don't really think it's that bad, it's just that it's borderline false advertising by Shonen Magazine that really threw me off-guard, and I read manga for entertainment, not to be depressed. So, I wouldn't recommend this manga as of this one volume if you're like me.

Now on the other hand, if you're fine with NTR and disturbing elements, then go right on ahead.

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{Review based on volume 1 (of 1 as of Jan 2024) of the original Japanese version, so I can't vouch for the quality of the English translations/localizations}