is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Shiwasu. It was originally a one-shot published in Hakusensha's manga magazine Hana to Yume in August 2021, before being serialized in the same magazine from October of the same year. An anime television series adaptation produced by J.C.Staff aired from January to March 2026.
Plot
Utage Kinoshita is an excitable high school student who supports Tamon Fukuhara, a wildly popular member of the idol group F/ACE. To Utage, Tamon is a flawless, radiant idol who gives her the motivation to get through daily life. Utage works as a part-time housekeeper, and is assigned a new client when a coworker gets sick. To her surprise, this new client is Tamon, and she quickly discovers that behind his perfect public image, he is deeply insecure, pessimistic, gloomy, and has no friends. As Utage becomes involved in Tamon's private life, she works to support him through his self-doubt and fear of failing his fans, while struggling to reconcile the contrast between his idol persona and his true self.
Characters
A 17-year-old high-school girl and an avid fan of Tamon, Utage works part-time as a housekeeper for her oshikatsu. She was initially assigned to Tamon's house to cover the absence of her co-worker before officially hired as his housekeeper. She would do anything to keep Tamon retaining his idol job; this includes scolding him every time Tamon says any negative remarks about himself or maintaining her distance with Tamon as a fan. One of the running gags is that she frequently drops her uchiwa and somebody else ends up picking it up for her.
Hayami commented that Utage is expressive and sometimes out of control, but deep down she has a big, straightforward heart, which makes her an adorable character.
The 18-year-old titular character, Tamon is the "wild boy" member of idol group F/ACE who portrays a confident and bold persona in public. In truth he's gloomy, negative, and has low self-esteem with his public image being a character forced upon him by his agency. Despite this, his feelings towards being an idol and his fans are genuine. Utage discovers his true personality after being sent to work for him, and decides to stick to his side to support him. She refers this side of Tamon as and his idol persona as . Tamon grows to value Utage and starts to become conscious of Utage's lifeâÂÂsometimes becoming possessive of her in a side known as . One of the running gags is when he becomes gloomy, mushrooms would grow around him; this literally turns his room muggy. Tamon has an older brother, Daiki, who was his inspiration to pursue an idol career.
F/ACE
Ouri is the "prince" member who portrays a close relationship with Tamon. He is 17 years old. Born from family of entertainers, Ouri has been active in the industry since a child and has many long-time fans. Popular for his refined and well-mannered demeanor, Ouri's true personality is that of a proud, arrogant, and violent man. He sees through Tamon's timidity and looks down on him, though both of them eventually become closer. Hostile towards Utage at first, he eventually falls in love with her and has been trying to win her over.
The leader and later center of F/ACE, he is 21 years old. To the public, Keito is friendly, gentle, and is excellent at cooking; he has his own cooking show. Behind this persona is a ruthless miser who only sees his fans as a source of income. He wears glasses in private. In order to make money, he is strict against scandals, and is wary of Utage at first, though eventually comes to accept her as Tamon's emotional support. His intense obsession with money stems from his desire to send his five younger brothers to college and to make things easier for his parents.
The "cute" member of F/ACE. He is 20 years old. Fashionable and multi-talented, he produces his own cosmetics and composes his own music. His true personality is that of a lazy downer who likes cigarettes, alcohol, and pachinko. Being from Kansai, he speaks in Kansai dialect in private. As a teenager, he indirectly caused injury to his then-girlfriend Asuka, which forced her to withdraw from an important martial arts match. Despite his growing success as an idol, he feels guilty and is unable to fully devote himself to his activities.
The rapper of F/ACE. He is 19 years old. Rintaro is the tallest and physically the strongest member of the group, and is active in sports and entertainment programs and as a model. He is quiet, cool, and mysterious, which is his charm. His true personality is that of a talkative otaku who can't help but talk nonstop about his favorite anime, "Sushi Musume" and his favorite character Kanpyo Roll. He became an idol because, like anime, he can evoke "emotions and stories that wouldn't happen in normal life." Unlike the other members, he doesn't consciously create an idol persona; he just doesn't talk much when he's nervous.
Others
The manager of F/ACE. He's under a constant state of stress having to manage the members of F/ACE who all have personality quirks that are difficult to work with. He is aware that Utage's actions in support of Tamon go outside her job for doing household chores or even what a normal idol fan would be allowed, and approves of it. He acknowledges Utage has had a positive effect on Tamon, making him come out of his shell, which by proxy makes his own managerial job easier. He is 32 years old.
The producer of F/ACE whom Tamon is scared of due to her strict personality. She does this to raise F/ACE's popularity.
Utage's best friends at school and fellow fans of Tamon who are oblivious of Utage's connection with F/ACE.
Utage's riajÃ
« younger sister who is unable to understand her older sister's obsession over an idol; she'd rather be idolized by other people instead. Nevertheless, she eventually becomes a fan of F/ACE herself and has Keito as her favorite.
Utage's younger brother and Homare's twin brother who is unable to understand his older sister's obsession over an idol; he prefers to focus on studies instead.
A new teacher at Utage's school, Asuka is a fellow F/ACE fan whose favorite is Natsuki. She is 22 years old. Asuka and Natsuki are ex-lovers; she continues to support him even after the two grew apart.
Rintaro's younger sister who is against her brother's profession. She is 17 years old. Rinka ran away from home and ended up befriending the wrong people. After Rintaro and Utage save her, she comes to understand her brother's choice and becomes a fan of F/ACE, as well as a friend to Utage.
Tamon's 28-year-old brother whom occasionally gets mistaken for his younger brother. During college, he took Tamon to Tokyo and introduced him to dancing, which inspired him to become an idol. Despite having a talent in dancing himself, he chose to pursue a steady career instead. Daiki is currently married to his longtime girlfriend Sayuri and is a father to one daughter, Momo.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Yuki Shiwasu, Tamon's B-Side was initially a one-shot published in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine on August 5, 2021. It began its serialization in the same magazine on October 20 of the same year. As of March 2026, fifteen volumes have been released.
In February 2023, Viz Media announced that they licensed the series for English publication; the first volume was released on October 3 of the same year.
A spin-off manga written and illustrated by Uzu Natsuno, titled , began serialization in Hakusensha's The Hana to Yume Numa magazine on July 26, 2025. The spin-off is centered around the activities of the boy band F/ACE. The first volume was released on March 19, 2026.
Volumes
Tamon's B-Side
Tamon's B-Side: F/ACE Off Stage!
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on June 12, 2024. It is produced by J.C.Staff and directed by , with series composition and episode scripts written by Chiaki Nagai, characters designed by YÃ
Âko ItÃ
Â, who also served as chief animation director, and music composed by and . The series aired from January 4 to March 29, 2026, on Tokyo MX and BS11. The opening theme song is "Sweet Magic", and the ending theme song is , both performed by the in-universe boy band F/ACE. Crunchyroll is streaming the series. Medialink licensed the series in South, Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.
Episodes
F/ACE discography
Digital release
Album
Stage play
A stage play adaptation was announced on March 5, 2026. It will be directed by based on a screenplay by , with Yoshihiko Aramaki serving as the producer. The play is set to open at the in Tokyo in September 2026.
Other media
A voice drama adaptation, featuring Takuya Eguchi, Toshiki Masuda, and =Love member , was included in an issue of Hana to Yume published on October 20, 2022.
Reception
By December 2025, Tamon's B-Side had over 1.75 million copies in circulation, including digital versions; by January 2026, it had over 2.6 million copies in circulation, including digital versions. In 2022, the series was nominated for the Next Manga Awards in the Print Manga category, where it placed 11th out of 50 nominees. It ranked sixth for the same award in the following year. The series ranked ninth in the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for female readers. It also ranked fourth in the "Nationwide Publishers Recommended Comics of 2023" list. The series was nominated for the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in the category.
See also
Notes
References
External links