History Manga / Mink

* SecretIdentityIdentity: Like ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' before it, ''Mink'' warns of the dangers of getting ''too'' obsessed with one's alter ego to the point of losing self-worth. Notably, the series uses its {{Cyberspace}} theme to focus on both the negative ''and'' positive sides of the issue by likening it to an anonymous online persona: while [[BeYourself it shouldn't be treated as a "better" replacement for oneself]] to the point of self-hatred, it can also help people do things they wouldn't be able to otherwise, and Mink is grateful that she can use her idol persona to help Motoharu. [[spoiler:In the end, contrary to her belief that her idol persona is nothing but a "lie" that covers up her real self, the final bonus chapter draws a parallel to an island that had been falsely reported as having "monsters" on it by the locals; the lie was told to protect the beautiful but vulnerable star sand on the island, and Motoharu likewise takes care to acknowledge and value the existence of civilian Mink even when she's in her idol form.]]

* SecretIdentityIdentity: Like ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' before it, ''Mink'' warns of the dangers of getting ''too'' obsessed with one's alter ego to the point of losing self-worth. Notably, the series uses its {{Cyberspace}} theme to focus on both the negative ''and'' positive sides of the issue by likening it to an anonymous online persona: while [[BeYourself it shouldn't be treated as a "better" replacement for oneself]] to the point of self-hatred, it can also help people do things they wouldn't be able to otherwise, and Mink is grateful that she can use her idol persona to help Motoharu. [[spoiler:In the end, contrary to her belief that her idol persona is nothing but a "lie" that covers up her real self, the final bonus chapter draws a parallel to an island that had been falsely reported as having "monsters" on it by the locals; the lie wasn't told maliciously, but in fact to protect the beautiful but vulnerable star sand on the island, and Motoharu likewise takes care to acknowledge and value the existence of civilian Mink even when she's in her idol form.]]

* InsecureLoveInterest: Notably, there's no evidence that Motoharu would ever actually think of civilian Mink as uninteresting or useless the way she believes he would; it's just that since he talks about idol Mink like she's an "diamond" or "angel", Mink is self-conscious about the idea that she would be ordinary and disappointing in comparison. Everything the reader is shown about Motoharu hints otherwise, with his comparative distance from civilian Mink purely being because he thinks he doesn't know her that well; notably, when Mink offers him a mangled piece of Valentine's chocolate that she compares to her "small and tiny" self, he appreciates it just fine. [[spoiler:Ultimately, him learning Mink's identity doesn't change the way he sees idol Mink at all, and in fact he would prefer it if she didn't hide things from him.]]

* SecretIdentityIdentity: Like ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' before it, ''Mink'' warns of the dangers of getting ''too'' obsessed with one's alter ego to the point of losing self-worth. Notably, the series uses its {{Cyberspace}} theme to focus on both the negative ''and'' positive sides of the issue by likening it to an anonymous online persona: while [[BeYourself it shouldn't be treated as a "better" replacement for oneself]] to the point of self-hatred, it can also help people do things they wouldn't be able to otherwise, and Mink is grateful that she can use her idol persona to help Motoharu.

* WrapItUp: While chapter 26 resolves the core plot and ends on a somewhat conclusive note, it still leaves open the elephant-in-the-room issues of [[spoiler:Mink still having a derogatory opinion of her "real" self, Motoharu still being unaware of her identity, and their relationship still being on [[WillTheyOrWontThey unresolved terms]]]]; in actuality, this was a result of Tachikawa's health issues working on the series forcing serialization to stop early, and a more proper conclusion was included as a two-part "bonus chapter" in the volume 6 release.

* MeetCute: Mink met Motoharu when he shielded her ([[MartyrWithoutACause very painfully]]) from a falling cardboard stand of Illiya, and it was LoveAtFirstSight from there.

* LovesMyAlterEgo: Mink works closely with Motoharu and forms a strong bond with him while lamenting that she'll never be able to get him to look the same way at her civilian self: on top of Mink [[SecretIdentityIdentity considering her real self to be uninteresting and unremarkable]] compared to her more confident and flashy idol persona, the fact she can't reveal her identity to him means that he only sees her as a friend of his younger sister instead of the girl he's been working with. On the flip side, his relationship with her as an idol still has its own limitations: she can't pursue her feelings for him too aggressively [[ContractualPurity due to her position as an idol]], and the fact she has to keep so many secrets about her personal life means that their relationship can never go past a superficial level. [[spoiler:Once the need for her to maintain the {{Masquerade}} is lifted, she decides that she'd rather confess to him as "Mink Shiraishi" instead of her idol self, but still worries that he might resent her for "lying" with a false version of herself if he ever finds out the truth; fortunately, when an accident results in him finding out anyway, it turns out that he was also dissatisfied with how superficial his relationship with her was and is happy to finally see her BeneathTheMask, allowing them to move onto a proper RelationshipUpgrade.]]%%Invoked%%

* SecretPublicIdentity: Mink uses the same name in both forms (with the only difference being that she writes her name in hiragana as a civilian and in Roman characters as an idol), although she manages to convince Motoharu that the shared name is [[PlausibleDeniability just a freak coincidence]]. [[spoiler:Once he does find out her identity, he makes use of this to jump straight to FirstNameBasis with her (since he was technically already calling her that anyway), and the manga text has him continue to address "Mink" in hiragana even when she's in her idol form, indicating that he's actually addressing her BeneathTheMask.]]

* ContractualPurity: In-universe. As an IdolSinger, Mink has to worry about getting involved in love life scandals, with Azumi and Johnny trying to get her in compromising positions with Illiya and later Motoharu. [[spoiler:She and Motoharu eventually get around it with a RelationshipUpgrade after he learns her identity; while both of them would get in hot water if they tried to date as "an idol and her manager", there's nothing wrong with him dating a normal girl at his school who just happens to be his younger sister's friend.]]

* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Kyo created the WANNA-BE program with genuine intentions, but his resentment over seeing his hard work be banned as "dangerous" led him to send the software back in time to try and prove its worth. Once things [[ControlFreak don't go the way he wants]], he ends up trying to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash the masses]] by sending around the upgraded version of the program via a ChainLetter, thus making it into the exact kind of dangerous program it was originally accused of. Mink eventually calls him out for this with an ArmorPiercingQuestion asking if this was ''really'' what he wanted his work to be used for.

* {{Zeerust}}: Not only is future technology from 2099 on a CD-ROM, it apparently takes up only ''650 megabytes'', a size that seems rather incredibly small for something that can create an entire MagicalGirl persona.

* WrapItUp: While chapter 26 resolves the core plot and ends on a somewhat conclusive note, it still leaves open the elephant-in-the-room issue of [[spoiler:Mink still having a derogatory opinion of her "real" self, Motoharu still being unaware of her identity, and their relationship still being on [[WillTheyOrWontThey unresolved terms]]]]; in actuality, this was a result of Tachikawa's health issues working on the series forcing serialization to stop early, and a more proper conclusion was included as a two-part "bonus chapter" in the volume 6 release.

* WrapItUp: While chapter 26 resolves the core plot and ends on a somewhat conclusive note, it still leaves open the elephant-in-the-room issue of [[spoiler:Motoharu still being unaware of Mink's identity and their relationship still being on [[WillTheyOrWontThey unresolved terms]]]]; in actuality, this was a result of Tachikawa's health issues working on the series forcing serialization to stop early, and a more proper conclusion was included as a two-part "bonus chapter" in the volume 6 release.

Thus begins Mink's new secret life as an idol, backed by the power of {{Cyberspace}} to help her navigate the entertainment world. But stardom isn't easy, and Mink soon has to find herself up against rivals, scandals, and all other kinds of trouble. Fortunately, Mink has Motoharu on her side, and he's determined to do [[SeriousBusiness whatever it takes]] to make Mink succeed... but as the two deepen their relationship, Mink is forced to confront the realization that no matter how she feels about him, she may not be able to ever show him [[SecretIdentityIdentity her real "weak" self]].

* LovesMyAlterEgo: Mink works closely with Motoharu and forms a strong bond with him while lamenting that she'll never be able to get him to look the same way at her civilian self: on top of Mink [[SecretIdentityIdentity considering her real self to be "weak"]] compared to her more confident and flashy idol persona, the fact she can't reveal her identity to him means that he only sees her as a friend of his younger sister instead of the girl he's been working with. On the flip side, his relationship with her as an idol still has its own limitations: she can't pursue her feelings for him too aggressively [[ContractualPurity due to her position as an idol]], and the fact she has to keep so many secrets about her personal life means that their relationship can never go past a superficial level. [[spoiler:Once the need for her to maintain the {{Masquerade}} is lifted, she decides that she'd rather confess to him as "Mink Shiraishi" instead of her idol self, but still worries that he might resent her for "lying" with a false version of herself if he ever finds out the truth; fortunately, when an accident results in him finding out anyway, it turns out that he was also dissatisfied with how superficial his relationship with her was and is happy to finally see her BeneathTheMask, allowing them to move onto a proper RelationshipUpgrade.]]%%Invoked%%

* ShrinkingViolet: As a civilian, Mink is so sensitive and easily flustered that she has a perpetual LuminescentBlush on her face, and the fact she becomes significantly more assertive and confident in her idol form is a big reason she considers her civilian self to be "weak" in comparison to her idol self. [[spoiler:Ironically, once Motoharu learns her identity, this is what tips him off about her feelings before she's even made her LoveConfession; her unusual behavior hadn't made sense when he only knew her as his sister's friend who shouldn't know him very well, but once he had the context that she was the idol he'd been helping the entire time, the fact she'd acted so emotionally vulnerable towards him in a way she didn't in her idol form was a dead giveaway.]]

* ShrinkingViolet: As a civilian, Mink is so sensitive and easily flustered that she has a perpetual LuminescentBlush on her face, and the fact she becomes significantly more assertive and confident in her idol form is a big reason she considers her civilian self to be "weak" in comparison to her idol self. [[spoiler:Ironically, once Motoharu learns her identity, this is what tips him off about her feelings before she's even made her LoveConfession; her unusual behavior hadn't made sense when he only knew her as his sister's friend, but once he had the context that she was the idol he'd been helping the entire time, the fact she'd acted so emotionally vulnerable towards him in a way she didn't in her idol form was a dead giveaway.]]

** There's also Yuka, an idol who joins Motoharu's agency part of the way into the story and is the main cause of the aforementioned MomentOfWeakness, since Yuka's [[ClingyJealousGirl aggressive clinginess]] gets Mink to start feeling that Motoharu is ignoring her in favor of Yuka. In fact, while Motoharu does take his role as Yuka's manager seriously, he has no intention of abandoning Mink, and Yuka ends up being used as an UnwittingPawn by Azumi and Johnny to engineer Mink's scandal with Illiya.

* {{Masquerade}}: Mink can't tell anyone about her secret identity at risk of [[RetGone facing digital death]], since [[TimePolice Cyber Security]] will come after her if they find out about illegal use of future software in the past. [[spoiler:Eventually, once the concerns about Cyber Security have been lifted, she decides to still keep her identity and use of the WANNA-BE software a secret for the most part, although she's finally able to tell Motoharu about it.]]