Skip Beat!

With the anime review done, it’s time for its origin, the showbiz manga hit. More info incoming:

Aka: スキップ・ビート!

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo.

Author: Nakamura Yoshiki

Illustrator: Nakamura Yoshiki

Year: 2002 (ongoing)

Serialized in: Hana to Yume

Licensed by: Viz Media

Site: Hana to Yume, @Baka-Updates

Read Online: Onemanga, Mangahelpers, Manga2u

Notes: 2008 anime adaptation

Summary: Kyouko is a cheerful and lively 16-year-old girl living in Tokyo, as proposed by her childhood love with whom she is living, Shotaro, who didn’t want to take over the family’s inn and so suggested Kyouko to move to Tokyo, in pursuit of a career in showbiz. Even though Sho is everything but kind to her, Kyouko self devotes entirely to the likes of the spoiled rising star.

But this relationship is about to change. One day, as Kyouko is bringing him lunch, she overhears him saying that she is a boring and plain girl with no sex appeal that he’d like to get rid of, considering her his maid, and then begins to flirt with his manager, which contrasts with his cold attitude towards Kyouko. Feeling used and betrayed, her “Pandora’s box” opens and the berserk Kyouko vows revenge but before she has the chance to physically punish him, she’s stopped by security. Sho mockingly says she would have to become a bigger star than him for that.
Angered, Kyouko with unstoppable fighting spirit and thirsty for revenge gets a makeover and tries to enter into the rival company L.M.E.
After some overwhelming torment by Kyouko’s amazing skills, she manages to convince the manager Sawara-san to let her enter into a casting and she discovers Ren Tsuruga, Sho’s rival who he hated, also is in L.M.E.

Will Kyouko succeed in her quest for revenge or will someone be able to make her turn her number one motive into her love for acting?

Characters

NEW 15/07/10

Note: The characters info was based on the story and Skip Beat character profiles. Highlight the blank parts to read minor spoilers.

LME

Kyoko Mogami is our fierce protagonist to whom revenge couldn’t be sweeter. Never underestimate the wrath of the betrayed.

Kyouko was despised by her crush and former childhood mate, Sho Fuwa. She was practically raised within Sho Fuwa’s family due to her mother’s coldness, passing most of the time there. She moved to Tokyo with him when he proposed it and lived a life of devotion to her charming prince’s well-being, having several jobs. However, the spoils of the prince soon are over when she overhears his talk with the manager about her, and Kyoko swears him revenge from being ditched.
To become a bigger star in showbiz, she enrolls in LME and manages to get in by using some interesting techniques. Kyoko catches the eye of the president who opens a new section to rise potential stars who are lacking something, Love Me, where she takes part with Kanae Kotonami, her new, first and claimed best girl friend. She also meets Ren Tsuruga, initially hostile but ends up by developing a profound admiration when seeing is true gentleman side, establishing a senpai-kouhai relationship…so far.

Kyouko is an old-school girl. She is modest and humble and has a polite and honest personality. Kyoko seems to have an affinity with dark arts, being able to intensely fire up and being very sharp in detecting evil auras. In spite of this, Kyoko is sorrowful and affected, possessing a very docile character with a great sense of honour, and she always holds the magic stone she was given by Corn, who she calls a fairy who was actually Ren, when in distress. Kyoko is propense to expressive monologues, inner thoughts, and fantasizing. She is enthusiastic, especially when it comes to fairytales and Sho Fuwa. A bike monster rider and, with a very traditional education, able to do all type of domestic shores. Expert in making replic dolls. Even though possessing no experience, Kyoko studies with dedication and follows Ren’s advises to get into and become the character with success, resulting in a great and intense performance.

Japan’s highly popular actor, aka Emperor of the Night.

Ren has a mysterious and enigmatic character. He holds the gentleman persona to the society, but revealed his sarcastic and merciless attitude to the unfooled Kyoko. However, later Ren show us the gentle and kind side of himself when he discovers Kyoko’s previous connection with him, gradually starting to care about her, and we start to understand more about him as we move forward.

Indeed, as the story goes, there are glimpses of the absolute mystery that is Ren’s past in America that leave us hints of something sinister happening and made Ren into a lonewolf, which is known solely by the president.

Ren’s life is dedicated to acting. Ren takes it very seriously and excused is to say he excels brilliantly. He has a very strong presence and composed figure. Ren values honesty and is very prudent, never allowing his emotions and desires to show or letting his guard down, and he only shows (a bit of) his true self to his manager Yashiro, Kyoko and the president, being the first two able to see the wrath behind his shiny smile.
Because of his controlling nature, he hates not knowing things, be it for his pride as professional or due to his hidden affection towards Kyoko, which normally makes him give another fake shiny smile, leaving Kyoko in terror when she doesn’t tell him the truth (often with good intentions). He’s very protective of her, always in alert when it comes to her and he carefully preserves his senpai-kouhai relationship. Beware, Sho Fuwa.

Akatoki Agency

Shotaro Fuwa = taboo.

Sho is a rising singer who came to Tokyo to follow his dream in pursuing a musical career and brought Kyoko with him. He acts cool, but the truth is that Sho has a very self-centered personality. In spite of this, Sho is a talented musician, whose original songs (and looks) attracted many fangirls; he is determined and gives his best at it.
Be it for vanity or for his fans, he does anything to keep his persona and boost his popularity, which includes lying about watching variety shows and hiding his true name.

His relationship with Kyouko is very close, both the previous tyrannical and to the current cat and dog one, but it’s far from being clear. Sho states they are a «perfect couple», who understand each other the best, but also states Kyoko belongs to him and he has the exclusive right to do what he pleases to her. Other evidence, such as Kyoko making him lose all senses when she cries, thinking the fortunate him had the right to console her, lead us to think that Sho is actually a sensible person, and may have feelings for Kyoko that he’s not aware of before and yet. This is supported by his immature, selfish playboy behaviour, which means Sho has truly never been in love.

However, the possessive attitude of the brat won’t go unnoticed by his top rival, Ren Tsuruga.

×××

One thing I was enlightened yet again with this manga is «never judge a book by its cover». The shoujo prejudice is one of the reasons why I don’t like to label with demographics, and even if the shoujo’s paradigm tends to attract the sceptic attitude towards the typical and common model, you mustn’t forget they are all different and exceptions exist. And guess what, you could miss a thing you truly enjoy. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Skip Beat! just might be the case. Afterall, that happened with me.

I watched the anime first, but it is 100% loyal to the manga, even though it doesn’t cover it all (just one season) and I read the summary. I’ve said it in the anime review, I wasn’t very keen on watching it from what I’ve read, so I went to watch something else. But the second time I saw it, I decided to give it a go. And it was a huge surprise, I never expected it to be such a nice watch.
Having a good impression of the anime, I decided to read the manga and it’s just as engaging as the anime. I devoured it easily and got up to date with the scanlations.

Reasons to read it:

• showbiz centered story;
• charismatic characters;
• wicked strong female lead;
• unraveling development;
• very well detailed art.

A must read shoujo without any doubt.

Previews

Links
Fanlist series – Mogami Kyoko – Tsuruga Ren – Fuwa Sho – Kotonami Kanae – Kyoko & Ren – Kyoko & vs. Sho

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Tags: Manga, Nakamura Yoshiki, skip beat

• July 29, 2010
• Manga
• 2 comments