Mangaka Masakuni Igarashi is still relatively new to the Western market, but readers may still recognise their name thanks to Detectives These Days Are Crazy!. One Peace Books started releasing the manga earlier in the year, and the anime adaptation is currently airing. But now it’s time to take a look at another of Igarashi’s series: Tune In to the Midnight Heart, which is also set for an anime adaptation later next year.

The story follows high school student Arisu Yamabuki, whose school has just become co-ed. He transferred into this particular school since he’s on the hunt for a female livestreamer called “Apollo” who brought him great comfort during his difficult middle school days. He knows that Apollo is the same age as him and he narrowed down her school, but beyond that, he has no idea who she is. And worse still, one day she completely disappeared and stopped streaming, so at this point, he only has vague memories to work from.

When Arisu hears an announcement from the school broadcasting club, he thinks he’s found Apollo. Unfortunately, the club is made up of four girls (Shinobu, Nene, Iko and Rikka) who are all hoping to pursue careers using their voices (as an announcer, a Vtuber, a voice actress and a singer) and to Arisu, they all sound like they could be Apollo! As much as he interrogates them, no one will come forth and admit to being the livestreamer he’s seeking.

Still, Arisu comes from a rich family and so decides to change tactics and use his money and talents to help each of the girls achieve their dreams. After all, if they grow closer in the process, then maybe they’ll eventually admit to being Apollo? Or so Arisu hopes. He doesn’t even know for sure that one of the girls is his beloved streamer, but we readers are given just enough confirmation to be assured that one of them is.

When I reviewed Detectives These Days Are Crazy! I commented on how unhinged a lot of the comedy was, and it feels like there’s a lot of similar content in Tune In to the Midnight Heart, but it’s grounded in reality a great deal more. Arisu might be helping the girls for his own sake, but he is very earnest in how he goes about it. It’s a little unbelievable that he’d have so much knowledge about four major industries (even if they are somewhat related), but Igarashi does try to justify this as Arisu having always wanted to do something for Apollo.

I could very quickly see the story becoming a harem as the girls fall for Arisu, the more he involves himself in their lives. There are a lot of similarities to series like We Never Learn, Nisekoi and others of that ilk, but thankfully, there’s enough uniqueness to the setup that Tune In to the Midnight Heart manages to avoid feeling overly similar. I think it will be interesting to learn more about these four industries as the girls follow their dreams, too.

Despite having five major characters and a fairly hectic beginning, this first volume is a great deal of fun to read. Igarashi’s experience shines through both in the storytelling and the art. All of the characters have very distinct personalities and designs, which means they’re easy to keep track of despite being hectically introduced at the same time. The art in general flows well and is quite expressive, managing to convey the silly comedic moments but also those that are more genuine and heartfelt. The mangaka has come a long way since the early days of Detectives These Days Are Crazy! and I’m glad I had the opportunity to review both titles so I could see the contrast between their work in 2016 compared to this, which started in 2023.

Tune In to the Midnight Heart comes to the West thanks to Kodansha and has been translated by Anh Kiet Ngo with lettering by Madeleine Jose (with Sue Yi Yee credited for digital, but I suspect that means the K Manga release). The release reads well and includes several translation notes at the end, which all make for interesting reading and additional context. There are colour pages at the beginning too, which is always a welcome addition!

The series is ongoing in Japan with 9 volumes currently available. Here in English, Kodansha have just released #2 and #3 is due in September. Like a lot of Kodansha releases, this appears to be on a bi-monthly schedule for the foreseeable future! That does at least ensure there will be plenty of it available in time for the anime airing. If you’re particularly eager to catch up, this is available on K Manga as one of the simulpub series.

Overall, Tune In to the Midnight Heart’s first volume is off to a strong start. A lot is happening here that we’ve seen before, but it’s presented in a polished manner and manages to subvert just enough of the tired tropes to stay engaging. It benefits from the experience of its creator, and hopefully, that means it will continue to shine as it goes on.

A free preview can be read on the Kodansha website.
Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.

©Kodansha / Masakuni Igarashi