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Smile Down the Runway Manga Creator Writes Gakuen Idolm@ster Game's Manga

The staff of the Gakuen Idolm@ster (Academy Idolm@ster) game app revealed in a live stream on Wednesday that Smile Down the Runway manga author Kotoba Inoya will write and compose the game's manga adaptation, which will debut in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine sometime this year. Although Inoya is only credited for writing and composition, he drew a special illustration for the manga featuring the manga's protagonist Kotone Fujita (seen below).

The game will launch in Japan on May 16. In the game, the player is a producer who hones and produces idol talents from the Hatsuboshi Gakuen idol training school. The game has nine idols that players can produce, including Kotone Fujita (voiced in-game by Hikaru Iida), an idol who is confident in her looks and works hard to earn her keep, despite having low grades in singing and dancing, and a low evaluation of herself.

Inoya launched the Smile Down the Runway (Runway de Waratte) manga as his debut serialization in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in May 2017. The manga ended with its 22nd volume in August 2021. The manga inspired a 12-episode television anime adaptation that premiered in January 2020. Funimation streamed the series as it aired.

Sources: The IDOLM@STER franchise's YouTube channel (announcement at timestamp 54:00 in video), Kotoba Inoya's Twitter account, Weekly Shōnen Champion issue 23