Manhua / Star Dream Idol Project

Star Dream Idol Project (星梦偶像计划, Xīng mèng ǒu xiàng jì huá) is a 2015 manhua written by Yan Tou (烟头hstone) and Bai Xiong (白熊, meaning "Polar Bear"), and published by Dajiao Chong Manhua (大角虫漫画). The Chinese manhua is completed and can be found here.

Gu Siha is a young musical prodigy, daughter of a famous singer and CEO of an entertainment company. But everything changes when her mother gets accused of cheating and injuring an actress. Her parents divorce, and she must leaves her best friend Yulissa and their promise behind to move to another city.Years later, after her mother's death, Siha meets a strange man who reveals the truth about the incident that ruined her mother's life. Burning with revenge, she vows to enter the entertainment world, restore her mother's reputation and punish the wrongdoers. She changes her name and appearance to join a competition named Supernova, but the path to success is filled with hardship. Now, she must win the competition, gain enough influence to stand against the culprit, all while protecting her own identity.

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Star Dream Idol Project contains the following tropes:

• A Day in the Limelight: Side characters often get the focus in their performances. Some even have a mini-arc in their brief screen time.
• Ambiguously Absent Parent: Jade's father has never appeared or even mentioned in the manhua, despite his wife and daughter being both important characters with high appearance frequency. The only thing we know about him is his family name, Duanmu.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl:
  • Vivian is a strangely aloof girl who doesn't seem to care about winning or losing. She has long black hair, fair skin and is a classic beauty. Her emotional distance is so extreme that it becomes a running gag.
  • Simona was a very popular singer with long dark purple hair and a remarkable beauty. She's also very indifferent towards those who don't pique her interest, like how she only accepted Ivan's confession after 6 years of pursuit from him, or how she completely ignored Cynthia and the movies, only wanting to focus on music.
• Always Second Best: Much to Jackeline's dismay. Lampshaded by Jackeline herself at the end, though she doesn't really seem upset at the result.
• Always Someone Better:
  • Yulissa and Jackeline are often compared to each other, and even though the latter is more experienced, having debuted in a girl group before, she admits that Yulissa is more of an idol than she is.
  • Even with all her talents, Suzy still feels inferior to her much less skillful sister, Chelsea. She admires her sister's passionate attitude, and even stated that Chelsea probably would be able to go further if she's in her position in the 10-to-5 round.
• Ambiguously Gay:
  • Sophy is very flirty and beautiful. She seems to have no interest in men, as her flirting targets are either female or a big disambiguous crowd. She also has a strange chemistry with everyone she's ever competed with - to the point that even the audience ship her with the other girl.
  • Some female characters also display a strange interest in other girls, getting flustered by Sophy's suavity or other contestants' sexiness. It's unclear whether or not the latter is a moment of Stupid Sexy Flanders.
• Ambiguously Bi: Beside of their intimate bond, Yulissa and Siha also show some vagues signs of interest in girls, like when Yulissa swoon over Ivy's cuteness or Siha's borderline romantic interaction with Daisy.
• Back for the Finale: The final round of Supernova has most (if not all) of the previously-eliminated characters appear, even if only for one or two panels. Invoked by the competition itself to ease the furious crowd for having the strongest contestants eliminated so soon.
• Beautiful Singing Voice: An essential for a comic featuring an idol survival show.
• The Bet: Siha makes a bet with her father Ivan to learn about the truth behind her mother's scandal.
• Bifauxnen: Sophy is an undeniably handsome girl, so handsome that multiple female characters have fallen for her despite knowing her real gender. She, of course, weaponizes this for her performance.
• Big Brother Worship: Yulissa idolizes her brother so much she imitates his dancing style. This becomes a major source of her problem later on, when she has to separate her image from her brother's.
• Big Damn Reunion: The first duet round between Siha and Yulissa. Although they actually reunited since the beginning of the competition, only until then did Siha reveal her true self to Yulissa.
• Big Fancy House: Considering most of the main casts are rich, it's inevitable we'll see some luxurious mansions.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
  • Ludmilla looks like a sweet friendly angel who'll help everyone in need, but she's actually a huge liar, using her looks to deceive and sabotage her targets.
  • Cynthia looked very pitiful in her interview with Keldan, which lead him to believe her lies hook, line and sinker. Later on, in Supernova, she acts like a friendly coach but actually guides good girls down the corruption path, making them become selfish, cunning and willing to do anything to achieve their dream.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead:
  • The main trio, with Yulissa (blonde), Siha (dark purple) and Ivy (pink).
  • Interestingly, the main antagonist trio played this trope straighter, with Jade's mother (blonde), Ivan (navy blue) and Cynthia (redhead).
• Bookends: In more than one way.
  • Yulissa and Siha made a promise while playing piano together, marking the beginning of their story. The manhua ends with the two young girls falling asleep on the piano side by side, with queen-of-the-night flowers blooming around them, the same with when they first met.
  • The manhua's first scene features Yulissa and Siha winning a competition together. Supernova ends the same, with Yulissa as the champion and Siha as her support singer, who she pulls to the stage to share the crown.
  • Siha intends to use Cinderella in the pre-elimination round before it got stolen by Meagan. She sings it in the revival instead, which marks the end of regional rounds.
• Broken Ace: Jade throughout the story. She's one of the strongest competitors with a big attitude, has a powerful mother, strong backing and a lot of fans (as well as anti-fans), but her confidence slowly crumbles as the story goes on, to the point of breaking down while begging for her mother to stop because she no longer believes in her own abilities to win Supernova.
• The Bus Came Back: An interesting case where the protagonist herself is the one being put on a bus In-Universe. Played straight with Sophy and Ivy, who also returned as a support singer.
• Cast of Snowflakes: Downplayed. The girls' overall body type is mostly the same, but there is great variety in hairstyle, hair color, eye shape and eye color.
• Chekhov's Gun: Ivy's favorite plushie, Blossom is introduced early in the manhua as a pawn for Siha's shoes. Over two hundreds chapters later, it appears again, this time as a fabricated evidence used to frame Ludmilla of bullying.
• Childhood Friends:
  • Yulissa and Siha. They knew each other since elementary school, and have an unshakeable bond until years later.
  • Also Yulissa and Rudy, who became real friends after Siha's leave.
• Cosplay Otaku Girl: Ruby. She is a master at cosplay and prop creation, which comes in handy twice in Supernova.
• Crack Defeat:
  • Sophy is one of the strongest contestant, rivaling both Yulissa, Jade and Siha, so it's a conplete shock for everyone to see her getting eliminated despite being one of the top 5 in the temporary ranking. She actually got into the official top 5, but Jade's mother tampered with the result for her daughter to win.
  • Siha also suffered from the same fate despite her performance trending all over the country, all because of what she said about her mother at the end of said performance. Cynthia insists on this result, saying who knows what would she spill next if given the chance to make a speech.
• Crush Blush: Ivy, Siha and Yulissa blushes frequently around their crushes as well as some of their friends. Funnily enough, Leo is quite a bashful guy when it comes to Siha. His blush is even more intense than the girls most of the time.
• Dancing Is Serious Business: Obvious for a manhua about idols.
• Dainty Little Ballet Dancers: Jackeline used to learn ballet and yet has no defined muscles on her body. Her public image is also that of a sweet and pure little girl. In the semifinal, she performs ballet inside a snow globe with a fairy-like setting.
• Dead Man Writing: Simona wrote two letters before death, one for Ianna and one as her will. Ianna, and later Siha, only received it after she's passed.
• Declaration of Personal Independence: After the semi-finale, Jade has a talk with Cynthia and her mother about doing things on her own. She fails to convince them, but is determined to make her final performance a big declaration before leaving to build herself up from scratch.
• Disappeared Dad:
  • Ivan, Siha's father. He never contacted her or her mom after their divorce, and only talks to her again after their encounter at a party.
  • Jade's father never showed up once in the whole manhua. We have little to no informations about him aside from his surname, not even his current status.
• Distant Finale: The ending of Star Dream Idol Project takes place several years after Supernova has ended.
• Domestic Abuse: Ivy's father is an abusive man who regularly beat up Ivy and her sick mother. He's shown with a wine bottle in a flashback, which might imply that he's an alcoholic too.
• Don't Split Us Up: Suzy and Chelsea were separated when their parents divorced. The separation appears in flashback, when Suzy did her last performance in the competition.
• Doting Parent: Jade's mom loves her daughter very much, and would do anything to make her daughter happy. Anything.
• Duet Bonding: Yulissa and Siha often play piano together. The Promise was also made when they're in the middle of a piano duet.
• Dye Hard: invoked Brian's brown hair and Sophy's white are iconic to them, but their real hair color is black and dark brown, respectively. After his past got revealed, Brian stops dying his hair.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Leo's name is mentioned on TV when Yulissa is introduced, before he made an official appearance in Supernova.
• Evil Redhead:
  • Meagan is Ivy's school's local Alpha Bitch, her long-term bully, and has coral-colored hair.
  • Cynthia, a red-haired woman, fabricated an accident and framed Simona for it, simply because she hates her and she has the chance to.
• Exotic Eye Designs:
  • Suzy and Chelsea both have clover-shaped pupils. The former's are blue, and the latter's are more purple.
  • Ivan has spiral pupils, making him look much more intimidating than other characters.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Several characters have a different hairstyle in the future sequences. Siha, Ivy, Sophy grow out their hair, Jade ties them up, Sean Ling and Sissi Lan cut theirs short, while Brian and Yonca change their dyed hair.
• False Friend: Ludmilla seems like a good friend to Suzy and Ivy at first, but in reality she's ruining their chance in the competition by badmouthing and sabotaging their performance.
• Family of Choice: Keldan, Justin and Siha started their relationship as allies, sharing the same goal to avenge Simona, but over the course of the story, they slowly become more of a real family. In chapter 292, Siha's inner monologue reveals that she genuinely thinks of them as a family.
• Female Rockers Play Bass: Sister Lin was the only girl in Leo's old band, and she played the bass.
• Financial Abuse: Ivan has total financial control over Simona, from her bank account to her income itself. This might be the reason why she left empty-handed after the divorce.
• Formerly Fat: Daisy used to be a chubby girl, but she lost most of her weight prior to the story.
• Framing the Guilty Party: Ivy frames Ludmilla for bullying her by using the lipstick Ludmilla left to write death threats and tear her favorite plush toy apart. She succeed, but not without doubts from Siha.
• Friendship Song: Yulissa and Siha duet a friendship song due to one of the round's rule.
• Girl Group: Jackeline used to belong in a girl group before joining the competition. In the prologue, Yulissa, Jackeline, Ruby, Suzy and Chelsea debuted in the same idol group Origin.
• The Glomp: Yulissa frequently does this to Siha, especially in emotional scenes.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Simona is always depicted with shades of purple, and she is the most graceful person in the story.
• Graceful Loser: Lots of the eliminated contestants are fairly accepting, some even congratulate the winners and consider them friends. Examples include Daisy, Giselle, Suzy, Ruby, and Sophy. At her elimination, Siha takes it much better than literally everyone else.
• Grave-Marking Scene: Simona's grave is visited multiple times by different people. There is at least five moments shown, both in and out of flashback.
• Group Hug: Often employed by Yulissa to her fellow contestants. Special mention goes to Ivy and Siha, who are almost always in the group hug.
• Group Picture Ending: At the end of Supernova, Siha, Yulissa and Ivy have a photo together.
• Hair-Contrast Duo: There's a lot of duo with contrasting hair colors in the manhua.
  • Yulissa and Siha. Yulissa has vibrant blond hair and a bubbly personality, while Siha has dark purple hair and is more mature.
  • Jade and Siha: Jade has light hair and is arrogant with a volatile temper, while Siha is much calmer.
  • Lucifer and Gabriel: Lucifer, the blond one, is stern, harsh and pretty scary. The dark-haired Gabriel is a huge jokester and would flirt with almost everyone he sees.
  • Leo and Brian: Leo is a loud blond with a foul mouth and would not hesitate to insult someone right to their face. Brian has brown hair and is much, much more friendly than him (in front of other people, at least).
• Holding Hands: Happens every once a few dozen chapters, mostly between the main trio (especially Yulissa and Siha). At the end of the final chapter, there is a shot of Yulissa and Siha holding hands on an all white background, walking towards a bright future.
• Homoerotic Subtext: A lot. Mostly between Yulissa and Siha, but also between Jade and Siha, Ivy and Ludmilla, Sophy and... pretty much every female characters she's interacted with.
• Hopeless Suitor:
  • Jade has a long and intense crush on Leo, but he only ever sees her as a junior. She seems to know this as well as seen in the quarterfinal, and at the end, she has given up everything of her past, including her feelings for Leo, to rebuild herself.
  • Henry Yin loves Simona even after she got married, but she never returned it. It ended up being used by Ivan.
• Idealist vs. Pragmatist: The main source of conflict throughout the whole series. Some notable Idealists include Leo, Simona, Siha and Yulissa. Some of the Pragmatists include Ivan, Cynthia, Jade's mother, Brian and Ludmilla.
• Idol Singer: Every competitors in the story can be considered this. Special mention to Yulissa and Jackeline, those with the most idol-like attitude. In the end, they did become idols, along with Suzy, Chelsea and Ruby.
• Implied Love Interest: Leo and Siha share a lot of classic romance tropes, and near the end Leo is explicitly depicted to have a crush on Siha, but they never actually get together or even say their feelings out loud. In the side stories, Siha and Leo jump straight to engagement, skipping the dating part. They get married shortly after, making the ship officially canon.
• Improbable Hairstyle: It's not that the hairstyles themselves are improbable, it's the continuous styling they went through that doesn't make sense. Your hair isn't long enough? Don't worry, the stylist will find you hair extensions the same color as yours in a World of Technicolor Hair. Cut your bang for the performance? No problem, they'll grow back after you change clothes. The Ke Luna wig on its own has raised a lot of eyebrows, even for those who has never used a wig.
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Invoked by Lissa in her photoshoot, having only a shawl and loose hair to cover her body.
• Intertwined Fingers: Most exclusively between Yulissa and Siha, occasionally with Ivy throwing in.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
  • Leo is famous with his foul mouth, always ready to throw insults at random people. He's so rough with others that many hates him for being such a jerk. He does hold good intention behind all the snark though (well, most of the time), and his softer side is repeatedly shown - mostly towards Siha.
  • Jade is a very, very prideful girl who never pull a punch - even at her own teammates. However, she's a fair and honest person, and would not shy from admitting defeat if she lost. She's also capable of recognizing one's talent, seeing as how Leo's band was raised to popularity thanks to her.
• Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar: Both Leo and Jade play lead guitar and lead singer in their band.
• Libation for the Dead: Henry and Keldan are briefly shown to be visiting Simona's grave together, pouring a glass on the ground.
• Love Bubbles: Unavoidable for a girl's manhua. Some are Justified as they're effects made for performances. While they do appear in romantic moments (such as between Siha and Leo), most of them are unrelated to romance or love interests (unless you count the chemistry between the girlsinvoked).
• Manipulative Bastard:
  • Ludmilla is a very cunning girl, who makes friends with people she deems as "roadblocks" then isolates and tears them down. She makes good use of her cute and innocent look to manipulate others into following her schemes. In the end, it all backfires, and she ends up being hated by everyone instead.
  • Ivan seems to be an overly cheerful man at first glance, but he's actually a completely bastard. He has manipulated many people, including Simona, Henry, Brian for his company's sake. If it wasn't for Simona and Siha's stubbornness, his plans could've worked and further ruin their lives.
• Meaningful Echo: Siha comforts Yulissa when she's harassed online, saying just like how durians' taste wouldn't change because someone dislikes it, the anti-fans' opinions shouldn't be paid attention to. Yulissa later refers to this line in her apology video, but adds that she's not a durian but a human, too, and words can indeed hurt her.
  Yulissa: A friend once comforted me by saying that durians won't change its taste just because you hate it. However, I am not a durian. I have a heart, words can hurt me, but I will also work harder and become better because of it.
• Meaningful Name: In their original Chinese.
  • Siha's name in Chinese means "star and sea". Simona abbreviated it as SS to use as her Pen Name, and later Siha uses the same English translation as her album name.
  • Ivy's Chinese name means "warbler", a type of small songbirds, fitting the petite girl with her angelic voice.
  • Yulissa's name sounds close to "tulip" in Chinese, which is why her fandom is named Tulips.
  • In Chinese, the first three letters in Gisella's name, "Gesangla" is also the name of a traditional Tibetan dance. She is of Tibetan origin, and is very skilled at folk arts.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Invoked by Ivan. A peculiar case, where the husband actually planned all of the cheating evidences to control his wife.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Lucifer is very protective of his sister, and would not hesitate to chase every possible suitor of her away with a broom, even if it's his own team leader Gabriel.
• Nepotism:
  • Yulissa gets accused with this after her relationship with Lucifer, her brother, is revealed. She spends more than half of the series to fight against these accusations by showing everyone her capabilities.
  • Defied by Sophy. She was a pre-chosen competitor, scripted to have the most winning chance by "Boss". As rebellious as she is, Sophy instead runs across the country to join another division and refuses to obey the script. Ironically enough, nepotism is the very reason why she gets eliminated.
  • Played With in Siha's case. Ivan wants to recruit her into his company and make her the second Simona, but she refuses to listen to his proposals. They end up with a bet, and he then proceed to do everything possible to get her eliminated - so that she loses said bet and sign with him.
  • This is the reason why Jade can go so far despite not being as outstanding as some other opponents. Of course, it backfires, damaging her reputation and ruining her own self-esteem.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: When learned of Simona's impending death, Ianna rushed to visit her, only to find out she has already passed away.
• Next Sunday A.D.: Despite being published in 2015 for the first time, the actual events take place 7 years later, spanning from 2022 to 2024.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Gisella and Lilian both bear resemblance to Real Life celebrities Ding Zhen and Lelush, respectively.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Ivan says this to Siha when she tells him off. She dodges this and cut the conversation down after mocking him one final time.
• Oblivious to Love: Leo is very, very blind when it comes to romantic relationships, despite having a sharp eye for everything else. This makes him a regular target of mocking both In-Universe and in Real Life.
• Only in It for the Money: Ivy admits that she only joined the competition for the big money reward. Justified because her father is a complete bastard, and she needs the money to have a better life with her mom.
• Only One Name: Lilian is a Russian competitor, and she's introduced with no surname name. Gisella is another exception as an Tibetan girl, known as "Gesang Lamu" or "Kelsang Lhamo" (格桑拉姆, gé sāng lā mǔ).
• Only Sane Man:
  • The Eastern Division has two: Sissi Lan and Sophy Ling. They might act goofy, but their realistic mind usually contributes a lot of valuable insights.
  • Ianna Xing is possibly the only judge who takes her job seriously in the national rounds. She rarely fools around like Leo and Brian do, and is really serious when it comes to work.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: When someone talks bad about another character, there's a very high chance they're gonna appear right the next moment. Some notable examples:
  • Chapter 211: The Eastern division competitors talk about Ludmilla's suspicious actions when Ivy and Ludmilla approach the room, leading to Ivy's doubt about her friends.
  • Chapter 296: Ludmilla mocks Siha for not showing up right at the moment Siha opening the door.
• Otaku: Ruby is obsessed with Japanese culture, from cosplay to J-Pop.
• Parental Substitute: Keldan raised Siha for over half a year, from Simona's death until the selection round of Supernova. In chapter 323, when Keldan welcomes her back, Siha says that Keldan is like family to her despite their initial intention to use each other.
• Parents Know Their Children: Ivan recognizes Siha under her disguise after 8 year of separation just by a glance. It might have something to do with her similarities with her mother.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Ivy wears one as her stage costume in the semi-finals. Siha's wedding dress is a white, glamorous, fairytale-like dress too.
• Pining After Protagonist's Parent: Henry used to (and probably still does) love Simona, Siha's mother. He accidentally fell into Ivan's trap and had to admit to accusations of Simona's adultery, which ruined her whole life and career. He deeply regretted everything he's done, especially after learning about her death.
• Pinky Swear: After being eliminated in the semifinal, Siha raises her pinky finger at Yulissa and ask her to win in her stead. Yulissa answers by raising her own finger with teary eyes. The pinky finger is repeatedly shown throughout the finale and eventually fulfilled.
• Playing the Family Card: Ivan's typical move. He's pulled this on both Simona and Siha, but it never works.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Simona's, of course.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Soft spoken Suzy and energetic Chelsea are twins.
• Posthumous Character: Simona. She's dead in the first ten chapters of the manhua, but her presence weights on everyone in the main cast.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Yulissa and Siha. Meet Cute? Check. The Promise? Check. Race for Your Love? Double check, coupled with Romantic Rain. The two girls' bond is so intimate that most people feel like a thirdwheel when they're around. Even Leo, the real Love Interest laments this fact.
• The Promise: Yulissa and Siha made a promise to stand side by side on a stage. They both remember the promise and fullfil it after 8 years.
• Reunion Vow: When Siha left, Yulissa ran after the car and yelled out their promise with teary eyes - under the rain, no less.
• Resign in Protest: As soon as he learned about Siha's unfair elimination, Leo declares his resignation, refuses to take part in the injustice anymore.
  Director Xia: Can't you see? You can't change this cycle.
  Leo: Ah, you're right. Then I can only try my best to not be changed by this cycle.
• Shrinking Violet: Ivy. She's very meek and hesitant, especially when facing Meagan, her long-term bully. Downplayed after standing up against Ludmilla and coming to term with her self-esteem issues.
• Sibling Team: In the epilogue, it is shown that Suzy and Chelsea have both became members of the same idol group, along with Yulissa, Jackeline and Ruby.
• Singer-Songwriter: Simona, Leo and Siha.
• Snow Globe of Innocence: Jackeline dances inside a giant snow globe while her precious moments of youth are shown on the screen.
• Snow Means Death: Simona's funeral happens on a snowy day. Justified since she died in winter.
• Spoiled Brat:
  • Played Straight with Yaya Xu. She's rich, haughty and overall a very unpleasant person. She plays dirty to eliminate another participant, which ends up backfired and got her eliminated instead.
  • Downplayed with Jade. Her family is well-off, she has a rather sour attitude, and her mother certainly spoils her, but she's actually not so much of a brat once you get to know her. At the end, she leaves to forge her own path, completely defying this trope.
  • Deconstructed with Rudy. He's the son of a very rich and famous CEO, and was a really annoying brat when he was young. He grows up a bit less bratty, but still tends to use his father's name to threaten people into doing what he wants. His behavior is called out by other people, such as his own father and Yulissa, his best friend. At the end of the story, he has humbled down a lot and tries his best to become a better person, even acknowledging his selfishness when it comes to Yulissa.
• Stepford Smiler: Brian. He's a famous and friendly young actor, but his past is highly problematic. Ivan took advantage of this to control him, making him a puppet. He eventually snaps and bites back, pulling Ivan down with him.
• Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: Subverted. Fiona sees a scary ghost with stringy hair and white robe, but it's actually Vivian, who just finished a shower.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Siha is similar to her mother, Simona, not just her appearance but also talent and personality. This has been lampshaded by multiples characters, notably Ianna, Cynthia and Ivan - three people who have the most involvements with Simona until her death.
• Surprisingly Gentle Song:
  • Leo's "Deep Sea Echo" is a rare ballad song in his intense albums. The reason that song has a different style than the rest is because it was written to mourn a dead member of his band.
  • A Real Life example: Simona's "Diverging Path" is much more gentle than what's shown In-Universe. It might have something to do with the fact it's an adaptation.
• Talented, but Trained: Most participants are talented in one way or another, and they all have professional training before or during the competition.
• Third Wheel: A humorously non-romantic example. Siha and Yulissa are all over each other constantly (with Love Bubbles and all) that most people feel like the third wheel around them. They got teased a lot for it.
  Sophy: (dragging Ivy out of the room) You two go be happy together, I'm out.
• This Is a Competition: Every single round, at least one contestant would say this. Special mention to Yulissa and Siha, who declare they would win together.
• Those Two Guys:
  • Leo and Brian often bicker, constantly making jabs at each other during the competition. Most of their screen time as judges include their hilarious feud.
  • Jules (Lucifer) and Joshua (Gabriel) are often seen together, and rarely does their screen time pass without a comedic punch to Joshua's head. Despite all the slapstick moments, they are like family to each other, according to Jules. Joshua even helps looking out to Jules's younger sister Yulissa, treating her as his own sister.
• Twirl of Love: A variant. After winning championship, Yulissa pulls Siha into a spinning hug.
• Wall Pin of Love: Jade does this to Leo when they're practicing a love song as an attempt to convey her feelings. He, of course, doesn't even think about the possibility.
• What You Are in the Dark: Invoked by Supernova. The staffs have hidden camera on them, and contestants' behaviors will be broadcasted for the audience to see.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: There is a series of easter eggs featuring the characters' life after ten years.
• World of Technicolor Hair: Most of the characters have strange hair colors. Siha has mauve hair, Ivy has pink, Summer has green, Ruby has teal, and that's just a small amount of examples.
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • 5AINTS, especially Lucifer (Yulissa's brother) and Gabriel. Despite fighting and sassing each other all the time, they're still very close, described as "family" by Lucifer himself.
  • Jade and Sophy. The first time they greet in-series was with a collar grab, and rarely do they talk without taking jabs at the other. They're not the bestest of friends (not compared to Yulissa and Siha), but they certainly understand the other well. In the epilogue, they're revealed to still be in touch and go out together quite regularly.
• Yellow/Purple Contrast: Yulissa and Siha. Yulissa has blonde hair and is a warm, passionate. Siha has purple hair and a noticeably colder attitude.
• Yaoi Fangirl: Ruby is a huge fan of RPS (real people slash). She strongly ships Brian and Leo and even once mocked Siha for being in the way, much to the latter's dismay.
• With a Friend and a Stranger: The Siha-Yulissa-Ivy trio. Siha and Yulissa are Childhood Friends, and Ivy is a stranger they just met in the beginning round of Supernova.