Skip Beat! Mini Review (manga)
September 19th, 2007 by Nothayama
PG-13 for some sexuality and seething, bottomless rage; official series website
It’s so great to read a shoujo with a heroine who isn’t motivated by the usual combination of niceness, work ethic, and malleability in the face of some really hot asshole. Skip Beat is the story of Kyoko, a girl who wants to be a celebrity for the sole purpose of getting (extremely justified) revenge on her pop star ex. It’s not without its flaws, but there’s a ton of humor and weirdness on every page which makes the whole thing really entertaining to read. Anyone who’s ever been forced to smilingly take abuse from some jerk or who’s been stepped on for being too nice or too forgiving might find it cathartic–Kyoko lives out the revenge fantasies those of us who aren’t completely insane can only imagine. By the mangaka of the even-better Tokyo Crazy Paradise.
Educated impression: Definitely worth a try. (NotHayama)
Additional educated impression: This manga starts off a little strange, but only for a volume or two–at which point it slips into new, untapped regions of BRILLIANTAWESOME. It’s not only funny and strangely inspiring, come Volume 7 or so, it starts becoming one of the most romantic shoujo titles you’ll ever read. I kid you not. If you’re not reading this series yet, get on that. (Lianne)
It definitely starts out a bit out there (Kyoko’s sudden position in a powerful agency anyways), however, as the series progresses, it gets deeper and deeper into the minds of the characters. Kyoko begins her quest to fame with only revenge on her side, but as she connects to each character and progresses, the story becomes completely fleshed out. And by the time vol. 7 or 8 rolls around, Ren and Sho aren’t just rivals in the acting biz anymore. *wink wink* This series is most likely the funniest, zaniest and most romantic manga series I have ever read. I am simply obssesed. I got to say, *spoiler* I feel so sorry for Kyoko with the Demon Lord gunnin for her. *wink*
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! i love it how Ren acks when he finds out who she is and if you looking for a website to read 1-18 in engish go to http://www.thespectrum.net/manga_scans/?preview=manga_skip-beat
i love it and go there all the time>^^
I’ve seen many reviews that give Skip Beat! high and excellent marks. However, I’ve read volumes 1-12, and I feel that series is only worth a B+ at most. Does it get way better beyond volume 12? Or are my expectations too high?
what? of course not! Skip Beat it’s simple awesome i used to hate manga because it was just read and readdd..but i started to read SB and i just got obsessed there’s no other word to name it! it’s too god, too romantic..to funny..too everything! i love it!
i looove skip beat!! I’ve just read 5 vols in 2 days and I’m addicted to it! it’s really funny! nothing serious has happened yet but I’m really looking forward to it!!
Okay, here’s an update to my previous post above. In addition to reading 1-12, I continued on with volumes 13 and 14. Skip Beat just doesn’t have the BA-BAM that everyone goes on about, at least to me. But Ren watching the Prisoner video in volume 14 is a great moment.
Ash,
I can see how not everyone will like Skip Beat. As NotHayama always says, “You have to meet it halfway on the believability.” Not unlike the mangaka’s other long work, the fantastic Tokyo Crazy Paradise, her premises and worlds are really bizarre, and her storytelling is long-winded and kind of insane. It’s for this reason that I never recommend Skip Beat to someone new to manga, and I also don’t expect everyone to get into it.
However, for those who adapt to the style, it’s unique and funny and much, much more constructive than the average shoujo. Despite being 19+ volumes in Japan and distinctly LACKING IN KISSING, it’s slowly building up a cast of small characters who are trying to improve themselves as people and find working relationships with others. The message of “being in love is a positive thing, but being in a relationship because of it isn’t necessarily positive” is something only about 1 in 10 shoujo actually deal with. “Love conquers all” is much easier to represent, thus that’s what most shoujo titles tackle. LAME.
Yoshiki Nakamura is a revolutionary in her corner of the industry. She straddles genres by adding shounen-esque goals for her heroines and giving them pride and self-esteem. Her boys are just as well-rounded as her girls, which is decidedly feminist. And her art has gotten amazing, pushing her to the top of the Hana to Yume clan (flip through the magazine - most of the other series pale in comparison to Skip Beat, art-wise). The anime starts in a few weeks and I can’t f’ing wait.
And yeah, Ren watching the Prisoner video was great. If you liked that, volumes 15+ have a lot more of Ren freaking out. But if you’re still pretty blah after 14 volumes, the series isn’t going to change significantly. I usually recommend someone stop reading Skip Beat if they don’t like it after, say, Volume 2 or 3.
Thank you for your follow up comment, Lianne. It definitely improved my opinion of the manga. I’m also looking forward to the Skip Beat anime. And I think it would also make a pretty good live-action drama.
In a way, I wish I read your recommendation about reading up to volumes 2 or 3 before hand, but I just had to see what all the hype is about. I felt a need to voice my opinion of the manga especially since I invested in the first 14+ volumes (15 & 16 on preorder). I felt that need even more due to the high reviews for Skip Beat.
But looking back on my experience of this series so far, Skip Beat is revolutionary as it bursts through the teenage girl status quo and builds upon friendships rather than jumping into relationships. And I’m still interested to see how Kyoko fairs on her journey, along with Ren and Sho, and everyone else.
Skip Beat, to me, doesn’t have the emotional gut punch, deeply interconnected bonds, or mysterious past events that take up as much current events. But it does have a lot of heart, laughs, and friendship.
I might keep commenting on what I think of the future volumes. The art is really improving and my favorite cover so far is the upcoming volume 16, along with volume 12. (I guess I just realized which couple I’m rooting for…)
Thanks again for replying to my comments.
I just read volume 15 two days ago. I can safely say that volume deserves an A-. It was really good. And I’m glad everything is picking up. Lol, it took me 15 volumes, but I think I’m now hooked on Skip Beat…:)
I agree that Skip Beat should be given a couple first volumes to spare since I didn’t really get “into” the series until volume 4. After that, I fell in love with the manga.
I love the developing relationships of the characters too yet I find it funny when many people are confused onwhere the “romance” is suppose to be xD I just tell them it’s there but expressed in a different way.
:]
Nice review you got there. I agree that Skip Beat! lacks the kissing and sweet stuff compared to other shojo mangas, but I think it’s rather a good point. I don’t like overly romantic stories. That’s too traditional, ne? Well, simply put, I’m SICK of those. teehee.
Currently, I’m going crazy thinking over how Kyoko will develop feelings for Ren as a man, and not as a sempai. And I love how Ren will become the emperor of the night, then suddenly holds back his emotions!
I just can’t wait for chap 134!