Azuma Yuu is a high schooler with big dreams of becoming an idol--by any means necessary! Chasing fame is no easy task, but she's not afraid to put in the work and starts befriending girls from every corner of the prefecture to create her ideal group. It's not long before people start taking notice of the newfound idols, and suddenly, opportunities seem to just fall into their laps.

While her friends celebrate their good fortune, the truth is Yuu is working hard behind the scenes to get them on every stage possible. Researching locations, timing each appearance just right, and hustling hard to keep her dream alive--while also performing and practicing! As the stages grow bigger and the pressure mounts, Yuu has to face the harsh reality that carrying the group's success on her own has a toll. One misstep could cost her everything if she can't figure out the secret to success. But can she face the darker realities of idol life, or will she fall just short of fame?

Trapezium has a story by Kazumi Takayama and art by tae. English translation is done by Emily Hemphill. Adapted by Jorie Wickham. Interior Design by Jorie Wickham. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (November 24, 2026).

Erica Friedman
Rating:

It is so wonderful to come across a light novel that is entirely quirky. Trapezium subverts the “pop idol” narrative, focusing not on the hard work, sweat, and tears by team members, but on the lopsided obsession that brings them together in the first place. Immediately, as we look over the color illustrations at the front of this light novel, we can see that this is not going to be a run-of-the-mill story. Tae's art is quite good and very evocative.

Yuu is charmingly obsessed. Convinced that her plan to create an idol group is impeccable, she works with monomaniacal determination to make her vision happen. And, almost inexplicably, it does. However, an idea is not a story, a vision is not a plan, and people are not tools to be plugged into their slots. Cracks start appearing almost immediately in her blueprint, but Yuu, with her eye on the future, never really looks at the present.

That said, Yuu is not an unpleasant lead character. She's often amusing in her blunt conversation. The students Yuu chooses for her grand plot are an interesting mix of characters who, even after they know they are being used, will go along with the narrative to see where it takes them. Each character is a separate person; there's only very little use of stereotypical character building…and even then, it's set aside as the story progresses. Despite the fact that their act is doomed from the beginning (and indeed, we quickly skim over their history as an act, as it is not the point of the story at all), the people involved all grow and change throughout the novel. We even get an epilogue that satisfied my need to learn what became of everyone.

I genuinely enjoyed Trapezium, for many reasons, but mostly because it was well written. Given that it was written by a former pop idol, a member of Nogizaka46, I expected far more of the “Look how hard they work to make fans happy” type of story. It was incredibly refreshing to get this crackpot tale of the creation of a dream. The afterword is also worth reading, as we are told about author Kazumi Takayama's debut and career as a writer, which is perhaps more interesting to me than her career as an idol. Trapezium stands out as an expected, and therefore unique, story among the many current tales of pop idol culture