MANGA REVIEW | "Tune In to the Midnight Heart" - Volume One
Arisu Yamabuki has two things to go by: a voice and a name. At night, he would listen to the voice of Apollo, a mysterious woman with whom he felt a massive connection. But the voice went silent, and Arisu was left wondering where the girl had gone. As Tune In to the Midnight Heart shows, the boy would do anything to find his Apollo.
It’s why he finds himself at Furin High School, which switched to co-ed after being an all-girls academy. Going by the tiny tidbits Apollo mentioned about herself, Arisu knows that she has to be in this establishment. And then, with the morning announcements coming over the PA system, he believes he has finally found her. Rushing to the Broadcasting Room, Arisu swings the door open and finally comes face-to-face with Apollo.
Of course, if Apollo’s reveal were here, that’d be the end of Tune In to the Midnight Heart. No, sitting around a microphone are four girls, all of whom have similar voices. Shinobu wants to be an announcer, Nene a voice actress, Iko a VTuber, and Rikka a singer. All of them have great voices, but Arisu — who likes to think of himself as a perfectionist — already hears plenty of flaws, and not just because of the bad broadcast equipment. With a promise to bring them up to their potential, Arisu joins the Broadcast Club, all the while trying to find his Apollo.
There’s a good balance of humor and sweetness regarding both the story and the characters. Arisu makes what many would be the worst first impression, going so far as to make even the other new boys suspicious. Never one to hold back, Arisu fills the girls’ ears with complete bluntness over the ways they need to improve. Naturally, the members of the Broadcast Club can throw back the insults as well as they can take them, leaving Arisu emotionally and spiritually scarred.
However, it’s when everyone — even Arisu — works on their flaws where Tune In to the Midnight Heart shows its playing hand. In ways similar to both Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister and We Never Learn, Arisu and the Broadcast Club push to be better versions of themselves. In the first volume, we get glimpses of three of the members doing just that. Shinobu practicing her annunciation, Rikka performing in front of a crowd, and Nene going for a voice acting audition show that these characters are committed to bettering their vocal and confidence skills.
The same can be said about Arisu, who often needs to walk as much as he talks. A great example of this is when he’s listening to Rikka sing and perform. He does this not only to see what level her skills are, but also what he himself needs to do in order to reach that same level. It’s why his act of picking up a guitar and singing his heart out (badly, mind you!) in front of students shows that he’s no pushover when a Broadcast Club member throws his criticisms back at his face.
As for the story involving Nene, pretending to act like a couple to better her acting skills is something we’ve seen done in the past. Granted, it’s presented in a cute and funny fashion, a style that author Masakuni Igarashi perfected with his other works Senryu Girl and Detectives These Days Are Crazy! Regarding the outcome of the audition, it’s a situation that occurs almost daily in the voice acting scene, which is pretty much a “shoganai yo” scenario. Nevertheless, it doesn’t push Nene off her road towards voice acting stardom; it merely gives her a gentle push forward in the right direction.
How the first volume of Tune In to the Midnight Heart ends is something of a teaser. It’s apparent that Arisu will find his Apollo. The question is, who is it, and how long will it be before that reveal? A flash forward towards a scenario between Apollo and Arisu is a fine hint for who it will be, but until that situation happens, we are still left in the dark over the true identity of Apollo.
Volume One does a wonderful job setting up the premise, the characters, and their goals. It also helps that the story is very entertaining, as it’s easy to see why Tune In to the Midnight Heart has a good following in Japan. (An anime was announced to be aired for 2026.) Simply put, this is one manga series that’s worth listening in to when broadcast time hits!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Kodansha Manga. In stores May 6th!
