I previously reviewed the first chapter when it ran in Shojo Beat. Now I’ve read the first volume, and I am loving this manga in all its trashy glory. Here are some reasons why Honey Hunt is terrifically entertaining:

• I find Yura’s character very appealing. Although the downtrodden ordinary girl is a shojo staple, there’s extra tension added to her relationship with her family since her parents are so well known. She gradually comes into her own after her parents’ divorce is announced, and she isn’t afraid to show what she’s feeling, even if it results in a tearful outburst to a horde of paparazzi. Knowing that she’s essentially been abandoned, Yura seizes that chance to enter show business herself.
• Yura’s actress mother is the essence of evil. Sleeping with your daughter’s tutor knowing that she has a crush on him? Making catty comments about your daughter’s lack of ability when she decides to become an actress? I really want Yura to prove her mother wrong by becoming a great actress on her own.
• Since Yura’s father is overseas, he sends his manager Keiichi to look after her. Keiichi promptly decides to scout Yura, and places himself in charge of her acting career. What are his true motivations though? He remains intriguing and mysterious. Also, he wears glasses, and Aihara’s men with glasses always look hot.
• The rival musical idol twins! Yura “meets cute” Q-ta in an elevator when she’s fleeing from her bodyguards. He’s a huge fan of her father’s music and immediately proposes marriage to her when he finds out who she is. Yura points out that Q-ta doesn’t even know what her name is. She keeps running into him as she embarks on a failed run of auditions, and he ends up encouraging her. Q-ta’s twin brother and fellow singer Haruka initially dismisses Yura as nothing special, but he is incredibly sympathetic when he sees the way Yura’s mother treats her.