I love this one! Haven't finished it yet but I'm like 3/4 of the way through. Do you like Hunter/Gate series? Do you like idol/showbiz novels? Well guess what! This novel is both!

To be more specific, it's divided into two parts: part one focuses on showbiz and is what I like to call a "pre-apocalyptic"; part two brings in the Hunter/Gate/Incoming Apocalypse setting. It might sound like a jarring genre change, but the transition between the two halves of the story is smoothed out by the storytelling style, in which... more>> the primary focus is on the characters, their inner thoughts and emotions, their relationships with each other, and their character growth. The character drama ties the two halves together.

The synopsis is vague so I'll explain some things here so you can actually know what this story is about:

The Gates that connect to Earth and release monsters in this Hunter/Gate setting are actually connected to many different worlds. The MC's home-world was invaded after humans figured out how to bring tanks and missiles and such through a Gate, which they originally couldn't, because of a certain person's unique ability. The Earth has already been decimated by invaders from other worlds at this point and humans are being aggressive for a reason. However, the MC's world had never invaded Earth, yet these humans charge in guns blazing and become the invading force from the Gate that cause their apocalypse.

The MC is a powerful Archmage. He comes to the conclusion that going back in time, transmigrating himself into a human on Earth, and stopping human forces preemptively by destroying the world/hindering them and letting the Earth be destroyed when the Gates appear is the best option to save his world. He starts out by finding the person whose ability allowed humans to bring weapons of mass destruction through the Gate. That person is an idol trainee, so it seems the MC needs to become a trainee too to in order to keep an eye on him and determine the best course of action. Showbiz, with periodic, increasingly ominous reminders that the apocalypse is coming, ensues. Later, Hunter/Gate, with periodic reminders that this is still a Showbiz story, ensues.

The MC has a lot of unique traits for a protagonist. He's smart about stuff and honest with himself, but at the same time isn't perfectly emotionally mature and undergoes subtle but poignant character growth. He's apathetic but not heartless, and actually sticks to the "don't interfere or go out of your way to help out unless it involves someone I care about" attitude. Interestingly, it's an attitude that he later realizes might not be the right way to go about things, if for no other reason than he shouldn't be letting problems fester and affect him later when he could have easily solved the problem long before then.

The MC transmigrates into an infant and grows up on Earth, so he has no problem fitting into society and doesn't have the ethical conundrum about replacing someone else and lying to their family about his identity. The MC likes living as a human and appreciates things about Earth, but unlike most other transmigration/transported to another world protags he still retains a sense of disconnect - he's still more than willing to let the Earth be destroyed even after acknowledging his growing affection for the people and the world around him.

He's unique for an idol protagonist because he's from a wealthy family (no rags-to-riches, no qualms about spending absurd amounts of money to solve problems). He also never really vibes with his fans. While other idol protags have strong feelings about their fans, being cheered up by and greatly honored from their support and often feeling indebted to them, this MC is appreciative but mostly baffled about why idol fans would be so passionate. He doesn't have that emotional connection to his fandom that most idol protags do. He also eventually comes to enjoy being an idol but starts out without the enthusiasm and desperation (or "enthusiasm" and desperation from being forced into the job by a system) other idol protags have.

As a Hunter protag, because the first half of the story is a different genre, the MC already has a detailed backstory, established relationships, and sense of existence beyond being a Hunter person, aspects which are often left shallow in regular Hunter series. He's also from the rare POV that is the force from the Gates invading the Earth. He also, again, has no qualms about letting the Earth get destroyed, and though his exact thoughts and feelings about the situation do change over time, the MC retains his "non-interference" policy.

Other things: There are many developed side characters. The MC's groupmates are all unique characters with character growth, as are other idols from other groups. There are female characters that have developed personalities and motivations, and even the ones who have a crush on the MC are more than just "female character who exists to be infatuated with the MC". The story also avoids a lot of little, irritating things I see a lot in more cliche webnovels. There's other stuff but I've written too much oops

It's kind of an odd one, tbh, but a great one. As a person who obsessively reads both idol and Hunter novels, this story scratches an itch that no other novel could. 5/5. <<less