Haruka 17

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A mature depiction of the Japanese idol/talent industry through following the journey of a young, lost university graduate, Haruka, who struggles to find a job and is reluctantly pulled into the talent business. Despite her original dislike of the profession, Haruka is able to find her own desire and passion that drives her to pursue success through the support of all those around her.

Although there are some plot aspects which I personally did not enjoy, the overarching storytelling was incredibly interesting and I found myself unable to stop reading. It was enjoyable and satisfying to watch Haruka's rise in the entertainment world and to ... see her develop and overcome the setbacks thrown in her path. Through the perspective of the main character and through that of various side characters in different professions and roles in the business, the work was able to portray a cut-throat environment where only the strongest and most determined survive.

Initially written in 2003, Haruka 17 has an art style reminiscent of the early 2000s and reminded me particularly of that of Subaru by Soda Masahito-sensei. Especially in the early sections of the manga where Haruka has a lot of glamour/swimsuit shoots, the fan service is well-warranted and never crossed the line to becoming a gimmick.

Notwithstanding, the character development of Haruka is greatly written and well paced, in addition to the colorful cast of characters that support the story and act as foils. A quick, one chapter picture of character backgrounds allowed the reader to take their actions in perspective and built your connection to the character based on these feelings. The connections with these characters was so significant in some respects that I felt like more time could have been spent on them and that some of the actions of key characters was poorly explained in select cases. Although I felt like the end of the story was brought to an end in a way that felt slightly rushed and that a more extensive epilogue would have been more satisfying, I also appreciate the focus that was kept on the story of the main character.

tldr: 4.8/5 it's great, please give it a shot

Normally I don't review anything that i haven't completed, but I will make this as an exception because I really like it. I think it has a lower score than it deserves and I don't want anyone missing out on this manga because it's really good.

Haruka 17 is about a college student who can't get a job so she lowers her standards and applies for a manager job at s shady looking talent agency. As it turns out, she accidentally auditions as a talent and is forced to work as a talent pretending to be 17 years old.

From the premise, it doesn't sound all that ... unique. There's plenty of mangas about show business. This manga focuses more on the business side of showbiz. The main things that happen are Haruka going to shoots, and learning to become and idol both emotionally and professionally. But what really makes Haruka 17 different is the more adult tone it has about everything. The main character is 22 and almost finished university, not some teenageer. The characters are not portrayed as perfect and wacky,but with faults. Applies to all parts of the manga and set this apart from other generic shoujo/showbiz mangas.

The most obvious way this is showed is through the art. I think this is also why the score for manga is so low. Instead of super cutesy and super tall people, it's more griddy and realistic, and at first it may look ugly to you. I did to me. At one part they mention how cute the main character looks and I thought "really? This is cute? Well... okay, if you say so." But as time went on, it started to look better. I'm not sure if it's because the art style changed or because I started to get used to it, but it stopped bothering me and I actually started liking it.

Overall I found it very enjoyable. At first I was considering dropping it and thinking poorly of the manga, but 10 or so chapters in I found myself very interested in the story and wanting to see what happens next. None of the characters are annoying or whiny. Overall I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a manga about showbiz. Don't drop it immediately and give it a good chance and I'm sure you'll come to love this manga once the story really gets going.

It's rare to find a coming of age story which has a main character that's a fresh college graduate. Perhaps coming of age isn't the right word, but it's one of the best ways to describe this tale of a innocent girl in her early twenties trying to figure out how the world works. A college degree doesn't guarantee you a job, and Haruka finds this out the difficult way. She develops over the course of the story, maturing into an adult, all the while learning more about the intricacies of the entertainment world. She's a lovable character that seems to be relatively anchored in ... reality.

The art itself is well drawn, often emphasizing the face in ways that make the characters quite expressive. In turn, this helps to delve deeper into the acting that Haruka and the other characters have to do as part of their job: to sell themselves as products.

Unfortunately, this manga trips over itself once it reached the latter stages. Haruka's development, which for much of the manga takes center stage, soon becomes less and less prominent as the story focuses on alternate characters. This is fine in and of itself, but the characters that the story later focuses on are designed weakly, often seeing some development over a long period of time. A significant amount of time is spent on exposition; a volume or two toward the end is focused on background stories that could have been condensed far better than they were, and executed in a way that involved the main character more.

All in all, Haruka 17 has more merits than deficits, and was a delightful read. Though its execution and logic seem somewhat unpolished toward the end, this manga should be read by those interested in the Japanese entertainment industry and the young girls put through its trials.