Manga Review: Skip Beat by Yoshiki Nakamura (2nd Review)

Title: Skip Beat!

Original Title: Skip Beat!

Author: Yoshiki Nakamura

Artist: Yoshiki Nakamura

Year of Release: 2002

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life

Status: Ongoing

Chapters (Translated in English): 229

Volumes & Chapters: 

38 Volumes, Ongoing

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

Kyouko Mogami lived solely for her childhood friend Shoutaro "Shou" Fuwa. She follows Shou to Tokyo so that he may realize his dream of becoming a famous singer. When his dream is realized, Kyouko overhears the truth behind his decision to bringing her with him: he was using her as a maid.

Shocked and enraged, Kyouko swears to take revenge by outdoing him in show business. With a new look and a new attitude, she joins LME, the agency where Ren Tsuruga (Shou's rival and the #1 actor of LME) works, in the hopes of achieving her goal of destroying Shou's pride.

Along the way, she discovers her true self, makes new friends (and enemies), and finds herself at the heart of some interesting situations that will change her life, and the lives of all others involved, forever.

My Thoughts

Review covers 79 chapters 

Hello, everyone and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! I’m continuing with my Skip Beat reviews. As I’m looking right now I‘ll be making quite a lot of reviews, as I do not want to omit a lot. But let me begin, as today I will have 2 other characters that I will be discussing. But like previous time let me make a small list, so you know what this review will cover:

·      Kanae having a crisis at work?

·      A major work for Kyoko?

·      Ren Tsuruga is having difficulties?

First of all, meet Kanae Kotonami or Moko-san as Kyoko calls her. Who is she? Yes, I do not remember if she appeared in the first review; she is the second member of “Love Me” section. Also, she is the one who got cast with Kyoko for her first job on TV – a soft drink commercial. If you have already read 46 chapters, you know why Kanae refused to take part in Shou’s PV – she got a chance to act in a drama. However, nothing is as easy as it sounds. What did happen? Why is that a 11-year-old threatening her with losing her job? That’s for you to find out. The only thing that I’ll say is that we finally get to know the real Kanae. We meet her family, it’s a weird bunch, and we can finally see how hard she tries to achieve her dream. We also find the answer as to why she couldn’t stand Kyoko in the beginning. The bond between two girls deepens, and we are happy for Kyoko, as she finally made her long wished female friend! You’ll be laughing at the stunts Kanae will be doing. And her idea of playing with kids? Hilarious! And don’t forget that Kyoko will have to use her superpower at some point in her attempt to find out what Kanae likes.

But let’s move on! It’s time for Kyoko to act in a drama. She is not the main character, but her role is very interesting and hard to play. Was there an audition? No, she was recommended because of Shou’s PV, or actually because the directors were friends. As Shou’s PV didn’t air to contribute to Kyoko’s popularity. But the role has a catch and if Kyoko can’t understand her character well, she won’t be able to play her role well and won’t be able to surpass the original. I forgot to mention that this drama is a remake? Sorry, sorry. Kyoko will have a tough time coming up with her Mio, but when she finally does; it will blow your mind and you’ll be left shivering! I’ll give you a hint: her character is a young mistress, whose heart is filled with hatred. Kyoko will put this hatred to the extreme and trust me you want to be there to see when she transforms into Mio Hongo! It’s fantastic!

However, not only Kyoko will have problems with her role. Ren Tsuruga will be at a loss, as he can’t play a man in love! But before that let me tell you a bit about Ren, or actually about his and Kyoko’s relationship. They started bad, really bad, as Ren didn’t like that Kyoko was in showbiz for revenge. However, over the time their relationship was getting better, and right now they both need only one push to acknowledge their feelings. Well, Ren already did, but he locked them away, because of his secret. What is the secret, even I do not know it yet. The only person who can read Ren’s fake smile is Kyoko and their encounters are always fun and interesting to watch. Especially, if Ren is angry and has a radiant smile on his face. Devil Kyoko's are going ballistic at that times. Actually in the most chapters after Kyoko found her Mio, the story is focused on Ren. We get to know him a bit better, there’s still a lot of mystery around him, especially why he can’t love anyone at this time. But nevertheless we get to see him from different sides. When Bo aka Kyoko is giving him hints as to what love is, his expressions are just fantastic and you should really see what kind of expressions he makes, but do not forget how he actually came to understand his role! That parts when he sees his feelings for Kyoko are incredible!

I’ll be finishing now, but do not worry; more interesting moments await you when you start reading this story. Enjoy it to its fullest and don’t forget to share your thoughts below. Stay tuned for more reviews as well as promos! Don’t miss your next favourite book or manga! Happy reading!

XOXO

Katie

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