History YMMV / ActAge

* FriendlyFandoms: There's quite the overlap between fans of this series and Manga/OshiNoKo, especially after it's cancellation, which caused many to jump ship to the series due to its overlapping themes.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls: The female protagonist and the focus on acting and emotional range/stability don't sound too out of place for a shoujo manga, which is why it draws so many comparisons to the aforementioned ''Manga/GlassMask'' and ''Manga/SkipBeat''. But to many's surprise, it became quite notable in ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' instead.

* FriendlyFandoms: There's quite the overlap between fans of this series and OshiNoKo, especially after it's cancellation, which caused many to jump ship to the series due to its overlapping themes.

* OlderThanTheyThink: This isn't the first shounen manga to cover the acting industry. Further back, ''Magazine/ShonenMagazine'''s ''The Star'' also had this as a plot, but focused on a male actor instead of a female actor.

* CrossoverShip: True to her LauncherOfAThousandShips reputation, Yonagi is even shipped with fellow ''WSJ'' protagonists [[Manga/ChainsawMan Denji]] and [[Manga/JujutsuKaisen Yuuji Itadori]] (as they were often positioned next to each other in ''Jump'' covers and illustrations), forming some kind of LoveTriangle between the three.

*** Double Cast: [[spoiler:In order to have Kei fully utilize the PowerOfHate, Hanako tells her that she was with Kei's father during the funeral of Kei's mother. This one in particular stands out due to Hanako directly pushing Yonagi's specific buttons to get said response rather than just using generic-yet-effective empathy tricks. What's more, her trick falters midway through the climax; Yonagi gets so wrapped up in her rage that she forgets the trajectory the play's supposed to take. In the end, the first day of their play is considered to be inconsistent, since her co-stars had to react against Kei's performance on the spot and save Kei over playing along with Hanako's vision.]]

* OvershadowedByControversy: If you weren't following the series during its run, you'd best know it for the fact that writer Tatsuya Matsuki was arrested in August 2020 for groping two middle school girls, leading the series to be immediately cancelled, scrubbed off of ''Weekly Shonen Jump''[='s=] records, and banished to KeepCirculatingTheTapes purgatory.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls: The female protagonist and the focus on acting and emotional range/stability don't sound too out of place for a shoujo manga, which is why it draws so many comparisons to the aforementioned ''Manga/GlassMask'' and ''Manga/SkipBeat''. But to many's surprise, it became quite notable in ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' instead.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In one of the author's notes sections, writer Tatsuya Matsuki writes, "I just need a bicycle I can socially distance on and all my hobby needs will be met." While initially taken as a lighthearted reference to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, it took on a much darker light after Matsuki was arrested for groping middle school girls that August, with him having used a bicycle to quickly approach them and run off.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Kei is quite popular in-universe, to say the least − [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship Chiyoko]], [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Akira]], Araya and Riku have all shown hints of attraction towards her, and she's had one-to-one interactions with all of them. The author and artist definitely had a field day with it in [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/421632319380783106/525851756308070400/unknown.png their]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6-GB5wUcAAVtVp.jpg illustrations]].

* ToughActToFollow: After the Night on the Galactic Railroad arc, some viewers considered the Double Cast arc as this mainly due to the latter's supporting characters not being as engaging as those of the former (especially with Riku Ogami who relied a lot on InformedAbility before he could be seen in action, whereas Araya got an entire chapter to showcase his acting skills). This then got averted when the play started due to the WhamLine that came out of left field.

* CrossoverShip: True to her LauncherOfAThousandShips reputation, Yonagi is even shipped with fellow ''WSJ'' protagonists [[Manga/ChainsawMan Denji]] and [[Manga/JujutsuKaisen Itadori]], forming some kind of LoveTriangle between the three.

* HarsherInHindsight: The very last panel of the final published chapter is that of a woman standing in front of a grave. Considering how heart-wrenching it was for the artist Usazaki Shiro to have to cancel the series, the panel is probably a good indication of her state of mind at that moment.

* ToughActToFollow: After the "Night on the Galactic Railroad" arc, some viewers considered the "Double Cast" arc as this mainly due to the latter's supporting characters not being as engaging as those of the former (especially with Riku Ogami who relied a lot on InformedAbility before he could be seen in action, whereas Araya got an entire chapter to showcase his acting skills). This then got averted when the play started due to the WhamLine that came out of left field.

* {{Adorkable}}: Despite her "cool beauty" appearance, Kei is quite naive, easily impressed, socially clumsy and prone to spew out weird things out of nowhere, which gives her a quirky and cute side you wouldn't suspect at first glance.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Despite managing Yonagi in a different agency and wanting to create a masterpiece that might change the entertainment industry, Sumiji is rather open with Yonagi's progress and sometimes act under Arisa during their discussions. As much as he looks down on the entertainment industry and jokes around Arisa, he's would rather work within Arisa's guidelines due to the power she wields and the fact that Arisa is willing to provide the space for Sumiji keep working with her.

* DesignatedVillain: Amachi, despite many people including his boss Arisa seeing him as shady, is this during the "Double Cast" arc, as after roping in Ogami, Chiyoko and Yonagi for his next project, he does nothing directly harmful towards either teams after that. [[spoiler: In fact, he actually helps Team A by not streaming their shaky 1st day performance to save Ogami's reputation and even the odds of them winning, much to the displeasure of Sumiji]].
* GrowingTheBeard: During the Death Island arc, the artist and author improved their art and narrative style [[note]]Primarily changing Kei from a cool beauty to a dork[[/note]] respectively and found a niche for the manga to survive in its initially rocky start. Then the series' popularity really shot up with the Galactic Railroad arc, which introduced a more fleshed out supporting cast to bounce off Kei. This, sadly, didn't last as the manga got cancelled over a RoleEndingMisdemeanor.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In one of the author's notes sections, writer Tatsuya Matsuki writes "I just need a bicycle I can socially distance on and all my hobby needs will be met." While initially taken as a lighthearted reference to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, it took on a much darker light after Matsuki was arrested for groping middle school girls that August, with Matsuki having used a bicycle to quickly approach them and run off.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Kei is quite popular in-universe, to say the least − [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship Chiyoko]], [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Akira]], Araya and Riku have all shown hints of attraction towards her, and she's had one-to-one interactions with all of them. The authors are definitely having a field day with it [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/421632319380783106/525851756308070400/unknown.png in their illustrations]] like [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6-GB5wUcAAVtVp.jpg this]].

* MemeticLoser: Akira, who was already considered InUniverse a decent but unremarkable actor, constantly [[OvershadowedByAwesome overshadowed by the other characters]] before being PutOnABus (for training purposes), is jokingly even more disrespected by the fans who often act like if they didn't even notice/don't remember him (even before he left the series). Despite this he's a rather popular character, scoring fourth overall on the official poll (long after his absence) and the second most popular guy after Araya.

** Yonagi is a [[ConsummateProfessional pro]].[[labelnote: Explanation]]Based on [[https://image.myanimelist.net/ui/NMhxKjGdQ21NnPG4rzwnywiiTjqxoEN1ljcfn5gRvfmyj6HvHwyXvURnt971QY0W a panel from Scene 56]] in which Kei proudly accepts this title, it is used by fans to "analyze" and explain her actions and attitude in every circumstance, and congratulate her for her success, both InUniverse and for the manga as a whole.[[/labelnote]]
* MoralEventHorizon: During the "Double Cast" arc Hanako crossed this [[spoiler: when she reveals to Kei that she was with Kei's father during Kei's mother's funeral just to heighten Kei's emotions before the play started]]. Everybody who's in the room are as horrified and shocked as the readers due to how unexpected and cruel it was.

** Chapter 35, a chapter ago when [[spoiler: Iwao reveals to Yonagi that he has pancreatic cancer and he will be dead after 3 months,]] some viewers assume he is acting to make Yonagi empathize with Campella's situation. [[spoiler: He is not, and it is way shorter than he assume]].
** Chapter 63, it's hard for viewers to expect that after the School Club arc, [[spoiler:Chiyoko & Araya are back again and join Amachi's proposal for another stage play, roping in Yonagi in the arc. Despite the initial focus on film acting]].
** Chapter 66, [[spoiler: Kuromaya joining in the fray… against Kei's team]].
** In chapter 82, after Kei has decided to rely on ThePowerOfHate against her disappeared father to play Princess Iron Fan, the play's director Hanako decides to give her an extra-push [[spoiler:by revealing that she was her father's lover ''and'' that she was with him on the day of Kei's mother's funeral. Kei looks downright ready to tear Hanako apart and burn the pieces at that moment.]]
* SpiritualAntithesis: To ''Manga/GlassMask'' − while both mangas deal with the acting theme, the mental treatment towards the actors are dealt differently. For example, Glass Mask uses TrainingFromHell regularly regardless of the mental state of the main characters while Act-age at least try to maintain the mental state of the actors during training, because setting out a nasty one will create serious repercussions.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The biggest reason why Arisa initially doesn't think Kei should be an actress is because Kei's method and mentality will eventually destroy herself in the acting world, partially coming from Arisa's own experience which led to her retirement from acting. Yuki also agrees with the statement when Kei retains her feelings long after her performance as an extra seeing a child murdered in front of her eyes, and warns Sumiji from doing something similar that will affect her mental state.
** Another point Arisa makes is when seeing Kei's talent, the directors in the industry will disregard Kei in order to perfect their project. The major arcs ended up confirming how far the directors can go.
*** Death Island: With the permission of Kei and Chiyoko, Tezuka decides to disregard the producers' suggestion to cut a climatic scene (that is optional in the source material), and instead decides to shoot Kei & Chiyoko during a typhoon in order to complete his story and finish before their deadline hits.
*** Night of the Galactic Railroad: [[spoiler:Even when Iwao finds out his pancreatic cancer is worse than he realizes, he's still willing to hide his illness from everybody in order to make his last play a success, even using himself as an example to make Kei empathize with Campella. His extreme tactics ended up causing discord for everybody when the play started as he finally succumbed to illness.]]
*** Double Cast: [[spoiler:In order to have Kei fully utilize the PowerOfHate, Hanako tells her that she was with her father during Kei's mother's funeral. This one in particular stood out due to Hanako directly pushing Yonagi's specific buttons to get said response rather than just using generic-yet-effective empathy tricks. What's more, her trick falters midway through the climax, since Yonagi gets so wrapped up in her rage that she forgets the trajectory the play's supposed to take. In the end, the first day of their play is considered to be inconsistent, since her co-stars had to react against Kei's performance on the spot and save Yonagi over playing along with Hanako's vision.]]
* ToughActToFollow: After the Night of the Galactic Railroad arc, part of the viewers consider the "Double Cast" arc this due to mainly the supporting characters in the arc not being as engaging as the last (especially with Riku Ogami who relied a lot on InformedAbility before he could be seen in action, whereas Araya got an entire chapter showcasing his acting ability). This then got averted when the play started due to the WhamLine that came out of left field.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: During the Death Island auditions for Kei's group, Tezuka noted that when Kei lost control in playing her role and forced her co-stars to react, Masaki showed promise with his smarts and ability to adapt & control the scene. However, during Death Island's production, the focus on Kei & Chiyoko causes everybody else's progress in acting to be ignored, with only Akane able to show her skills to the readers.

** [[spoiler:The first-day performance of Team B in the Double Cast arc. Granted, Team A's performance is already long enough, but the cutting of some major snippets (which includes Araya's performance of the Monkey King impersonating the Ox King, the two other co-stars, and Tenkyu's fate) makes their victory against Team A hard to swallow for some viewers.]]
** Asano is classmates with Yuki, both of whom were taught under Sumiji in the prequel. The Double Cast Arc has neither of them interacting with the other due to being in different teams until the end of the arc.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls: The female protagonist and focus on acting and emotional range/stability don't sound too out of place for a shoujo manga, which is why it draws so many comparisons to the aforementioned ''Glass Mask'' and ''Skip Beat!''. But to many's surprise, it became quite notable in ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' instead.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** The title of the most recent chapter of the manga is "Poison". Then the author's arrest "tainted" the series itself and led to its cancellation, making that chapter the ''last'' one.
** The fact that writer Matsuki approached artist Usazaki first seemed innocuous enough — talent recognizing talent to join forces and conquer the industry! — but his arrest calls his motives for approaching Usazaki into question, as the artist is (assumed to be) female and was very much underage when they started working together. Usazaki’s own statement on the series’ cancellation takes Matsuki’s guilt as an established fact and words its sympathy for his victims in a way that ''suggests'' (without outright admitting) experiencing a similar trauma,[[note]]her note talks of the victims experience and their courage in coming forward in a declarative sense, without any typical Japanese hedging or speculation[[/note]] brings more levels of ick.

* OddballInTheSeries: Even though ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' did have some offbeat hits during UsefulNotes/TheNewTens [[note]]''Manga/FoodWars'', ''Manga/WorldTrigger'', ''Manga/ThePromisedNeverland'', and ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' for example[[/note]] ''Act-Age'' particularly stands out for being a manga that didn't particularly fit in with the usual ''Jump'' formula as noted in WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls below. Nonetheless, this is part of why it became one of the few series of its batch that survived in its debut... Until its cancellation.

** The fact that writer Matsuki first approached artist Usazaki first seemed innocuous enough — talent recognizing talent to join forces and conquer the industry! — but his arrest calls his motives for approaching Usazaki into question, as the artist is (assumed to be) female and was very much underage when they started working together. Usazaki’s own statement on the series’ cancellation takes Matsuki’s guilt as an established fact and words its sympathy for his victims in a way that ''suggests'' (without outright admitting) experiencing a similar trauma,[[note]]her note talks of the victims experience and their courage in coming forward in a declarative sense, without any typical Japanese hedging or speculation[[/note]] brings more levels of ick.

* HarsherInHindsight: The title of the most recent chapter of the manga is "Poison". Then the author's arrest "tainted" the series itself and led to its cancellation, making that chapter the ''last'' one.

* HarsherInHindsight: The title of the final released chapter of the manga is "Poison". Then the author's arrest "tainted" the series itself and led to its cancellation.

* HarsherInHindsight: The title of the final released chapter of the manga is "Poison"... much like how the series itself was considered "tainted" by the author's arrest and subsequently cancelled.

* HarsherInHindsight: The title of the final released chapter of the manga is "Poison"... much like how the series itself was "tainted" by the author's arrest.

* GrowingTheBeard: During the Death Island arc, the artist and author improved their art and narrative style [[note]]Primarily changing Kei from a cool beauty to a dork[[/note]] respectively and found a niche for the manga to survive in its initially rocky start. Then the series' popularity really shot up with the Galactic Railroad arc, which introduced a more fleshed out supporting cast to bounce off Kei.

* OddballInTheSeries: Even though ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' did have some offbeat hits during UsefulNotes/TheNewTens [[note]]''Manga/FoodWars'', ''Manga/WorldTrigger'', ''Manga/ThePromisedNeverland'', and ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' for example[[/note]] ''Act-Age'' particularly stands out for being a manga that didn't particularly fit in with the usual ''Jump'' formula as noted in WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls below. Nonetheless, this is part of why it became one of the few series of its batch that survived in its debut.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls: The female protagonist and focus on acting and emotional range/stability don't sound too out of place for a shoujo manga, which is why it draws so many comparisons to the aforementioned ''Glass Mask'' and ''Skip Beat!''. But to many's surprise, it became quite notable in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shonen Jump]]'' instead.