Updated Review... This manga was OK in the beginning. However, it quickly became boring and long winded. The Arcs are flat out dumb and really drag on. I have given up on this title a while ago. Also, for those of you who keep calling this shoujo, you guys don't know much about manga at all. For starters, the art is pure Shounen. The style and the themes are every bit Shounen. And on top of that, it's basically like any other battle manga in the sense that the group has to overcome challenges and get to the next level. They even power up at each level in a sense.

The only thing I don't get though. even though they always overcome their obstacles and complete the challenge right at the last moment in the nick of time, they don't really seem to be moving up the ladder in terms of fame and popularity. It's like everything it reset when each new arc starts.

It's really hard to believe that this crummy manga is up to 21 volumes. In other words, there are a lot of people in Japan buying this. That's really hard to believe.

... Last updated on July 22nd, 2015, 1:19am

I specifically registered to comment on this series.
Member iloveakb48 said in his comment that this manga can be enjoyed by non fans of AKB48. Very presumptuous conclusion. I have read all comments on this manga by other members, and decided to give this manga a try.
This manga is TTW - total time waste. I'm giving it 4 points.
1 - Because there is gender bender, and this series is tagged as such.
But there is too much of crossdressing in this manga. Moreover main character's crossdressing went so far, that now he is more like full time transvestite. One of most interesting aspects of gender bender genre is risk factor. Risk of being unmasked. In this manga author is totally ignoring this factor. Some of main members of AKB already knows that he is a guy, but they don't care + he himself still thinks that nobody knows that he's a guy.
2 - Art is on decent level. Not the best, but enough to deserve one point.
3 - Reading this manga, fans of AKB48 can learn more about all that AKB kitchen.
4 - Series is regularly updated.
And that's all good points of this manga. Now about its drawbacks.
It seems that all what characters of this manga are doing is trying hard, and being cute. Or maybe trying hard to be cute?
All characters (exept crossdressing boy) are insignificant. Non fans of AKB48, wouldn't differ one of them from another.
Main character has gone so far in all of that AKB mess, that he isn't behaving like a man, even when he isn't crossdressing. This manga is a typical shoujo. The fact that its main character is a boy, isn't enough to classify this manga as shounen genre.
Also it is tagged as comedy, but so far (5 volumes) there wasn't not a single moment when I laught (and usually it isn't hard to make me laugh). Extremely boring.
I'm not saying that this manga won't be liked by anyone at all, but you better not to have high expectations if you're going to read it. But if you want to read good gender bender, then you better go for something like Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, Penguin Kakumei or Seiyuu Ka-!
About hardships of showbiz and becoming a star, more interesting series would be Beck, The One, or Skip Beat!
But if you will decide to read AKB49 and in the process of reading, will be dissapointed by it, don't keep reading, hoping that it will improve. Because it won't.

Yeah, OCCASIONALLY there'll be stuff like girls scantily dressed up while they're in "house clothes", but otherwise that's it. I suppose it's a good thing that the art style isn't something borderline ecchi, which is usually what other shounen have going for them. The main protag isn't a total pervert either-- aside from the plotline crossdressing of course-- which is a GREAT thing.

It's gotten a bit boring. Same old same old kind of flow that I got from other manga like Skip Beat where the protag just has pages and pages of monologue and spends majority of their time trying to be a cheerleader for everyone which eventually helps them overcome a certain hardship. However essentially the same problem's being thrown at them fifty times so that the series can be stretched out longer. It's sort of shallow, I guess? Here's a challenge for them trying to get over a mountain and reach their goal, but in reality majority of their hardships is comparable to jumping over pebbles. They got over this problem? Bam, recruiter guy just gives them another random task to do that came to him out of thin air. What the hell, man.

What keeps me going? Idk, man. I just want to know how his cover's blown, the repercussions (even though he'll most likely be idolized and be called sugoi and shit), and if he gets the girl.

Frankly apart from a few laughs here and there this sadly boring. The characters are so one sided its out right boring. Nothing in this manga makes sense, and I dont just mean the plot I mean even the story flow. Were there some pages missing? Or was the translation messed up? Gawd, wasted my time, one of the lowest ratings I have given so far.

Lastly, about the AKB48 itself I prefer the real people over this manga.

... Last updated on May 8th, 2012, 1:26pm

Well, I really enjoyed this! it's surprinsingly enjoyable and I quite liked the idea of the boy going undercover in a girl world. It's a bit cliché and there are too many girls characters, only a few of them really make an impact on the story. Probably that someone who really like AKB48 would remember the name of the girls in the first group, but for the rest of us it's difficult. And yes, the boy's disguise is pretty obvious, but that make it more funny. I started to read it out of bored, but I enjoyed it!

It's nice seeing the MC learning and making new friends, but the romance is way to slow. Besides his relationship to the heroine when he's posing as a girl, his relationship with her as a man does not exist -.-

Personally, I only got interested in this manga because I'm a fangirl of the real life super popular group AKB48 who's selling millions in 2 days in Japan right now as well as became the first group to win Japan prestigious Record award and became the first group to win 4 Billboard award in the same night.

After reading the manga, I like how it have a really good storyline. Not only it gave insights into AKB48's history like how they started out with no one caring about them and had only 8 people at their performance. Even thought the manga is about AKB48, I like that it focus more on the protagonist and the things he go through as an idol in disguise rather making the main members of AKB48 as the main focus. Some of the members' personalities were exaggerated like Acchan being a diva or Mayuyu being obsess with 2D (tho she is an anime nerd), it was fun to read and I think non fans can enjoy it.

As the description says, its about a guy crossdressing into the AKB. However, the whole gender-bender aspect really drops off later in the manga. Though there are some instances where his real gender plays a role, the majority of the manga is about how someone deals with pressure, stress, anxiety, and their own ambition, along with interacting with other members. It's a bit psychological in that aspect, but it is a shounen, so it doesn't go further than the surface ("do your best!") for the most part. Still, it is quite an enjoyable read and offers a look into what it REALLY means to be an idol.

... Last updated on March 11th, 2012, 11:55am

Despite the premise, the manga is a very good read, since it deals with the impossibility of having a female idol group getting infiltrated by a boy. Also gives a glimpse into the competitive world of Japan's idol scene.

Great Stuff!

It's unexpectedly a good read! Aside from the description, it also tackles on how a man handles the pressure of female competition and companionship. The flaws of the main character complements the progress of the story, which doesn't make him your always wimpy, always indecisive protagonist.