Anime
Skip Beat is Crap
Lately I’ve been wondering, is Skip Beat really that awesome? Bloggers might not have given it much attention, but it’s certainly getting the spotlight elsewhere, be it in forums, chat rooms, or yahoo groups, with fans raving about it, praising it to the high heavens as though it’s a total Obra Maestra. But is it really? Is it not just another overrated series, probably the shoujo counterpart of long-running mainstream shounen series? For once, I decided to take off my rose-tinted glasses and look at Skip Beat from a totally unbiased point of view.
In Skip Beat, we have the heroine Kyoko, the whole series basically runs around the theme of “Kyoko and her Great Adventures in the World of Showbiz!” See her trample on her enemies! See them cower in fear! See the Almighty Kyoko and her Amazing Feats! And, that’s basically it. Every arc runs around the same theme, rinse and repeat. One moment you see Kyoko stumble and fall, and the next thing you know, she’s already got an Amazing Solution ready, like some Deus ex Machina or a mahou shoujo Chara-nari / Eureka moment. She has all these senpais and friends in showbiz who helps her out and makes it possible for her to surpass even the Toughest Challenges, and they’re always there to turn the tables each time! How convenient.
Now if they need a bizarre plot device, there’s always the LME President Lory Takarada and his eccentricities, ready to give the most over-the-top solution to Life’s problems.
There’s this “Love Me Section” gig that Lory came up with at the start of the series, to give chance to someone like Kyoko who has a potential to be a Great Star, but lacks a quality said to be essential to actors and actresses, the “desire to be loved”, since Kyoko was filled with nothing else but hate when she stepped into showbiz. But really now, do actors and actresses even need to be filled with “love” before they can do well in showbiz? Talk about sappy cheese, I think it was but a nonsensical excuse to make way for Kyoko’s tragic past. I mean, how else can we transform the said hatred and thirst for revenge but to be “filled with love~”, amirite?
And of course, given the shounen-esque nature of Skip Beat, we all know that Kyoko’s going to win at the end of every showbiz challenge she encounters. Hence the similar never-ending, “continue fighting your way into showbiz, continue reaching for your dreams! ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH” cliché you see in shounen series. Her ultimate goal: to become a better actress and person than she was yesterday. Ugh, totally boring and predictable. Not to mention fans would have to wait a month or sometimes more for each chapter to come out, where basically nothing much really happens! It’s definitely dragginggggg.
Every hero in shounen series have their fair share of crying moments, and of course, Kyoko has them too. Kyoko kicks ass alright, but she cries and whines a lot too. She’s a whiny dense stupid naïve crybaby! She cowers in fear when she incurs Ren’s wrath, unable to understand the reason why he gets mad at her. It’s plain as daylight, stupid Kyoko! He gets mad when you’re not being honest with him, when you’re too afraid of telling the truth for fear of losing his trust with whatever you’re about to divulge [addressed to Kyoko segue] It’s a stupid irony. Kyoko should just figure out the simple fact that Ren would be more than happy to know her DARK SEKKRETS, because it’s her! The more Kyoko gets to confide in Ren, the more he’ll realize just how much she trusts him, how comfortable she is with divulging bits about her personal life. Sigh.
And after all those years, you think Kyoko would’ve gotten over her painful past, but no. She gets ‘haunted’ by her past every now and then, she cries when she thinks about her BAWWWWFUL past: “BAWWW I’m not nothing else but a hollow shell ;A;” Now that she’s in showbiz, her empty life gets miraculously filled up the more she acts, the more characters she create, all for the sake of becoming the “new Mogami Kyoko”, to find her true self, her Hontou no Jibun, once and for all.
Shugo Chara runs along the similar vein of Finding your Hontou no Jibun, only in Shugo Chara’s case the lead girl Amu is such a boring Mary Sue you’d wonder how the heck she ever ended up as the heroine of that series. Kyoko is better than her, but that still doesn’t change the fact that she’s a whiny crybaby.
Oh, and the more I think about it, the more I realize how unoriginal Skip Beat is. There’s this obligatory “I met the lead girl way back when I was a kid, and she played a MAJOR role in my life since then… and woah, she magically appears right before me after XX years, in the same showbiz league as I do!” plot device used in the series, or the “He’s a guy I met way back when I was a kid, my source of comfort, my oasis, but he had to leave… I still hold him dear to my heart, a precious part of my memories, and who would’ve thought that I would meet him because of my revenge plans! But obviously, I’m completely oblivious about it”, if we were to say things from Kyoko’s POV. What better way to make the fates of our characters intertwined amirite?
And Ren… I find him too unrealistic of a character. He looks and acts like a Casanova, and yet, he is said to have “never experienced falling in love”. Woah, is that even possible?? People will argue that he’s a complicated character etc etc. and well, I guess I kinda agree. I mean, who else do you know has X variety of smiles? His ‘smile of liesss’ has about 5 or more variety, then there’s his genuine smile, the smile of joy, smile of love, LOL expression, etc. Oh boy, talk about being complicated. If not for his inner thought monologues, I would be scratching my head the whole time figuring out just what the heck he’s thinking, and even with the said monologues you’d still be lost in his character from time to time.
As for Kyoko and Ren, oh boy. Talk about one of the slowest-progressing romance in the history of anime/manga. I mean, come on, after more than a hundred chapters the hottie Ren still hasn’t mentioned about his connection with Kyoko’s savior. Is this the same guy who vowed to go against the gods for the sake of love? One confession is all it would take for her to be yours, Ren! And what the heck is the guy doing, he continues to become her mentor, her senpai, afraid that she’ll be afraid of him (or at least be even less comfortable with him) when he finally confesses about his BURNING LOVE. How will you know that unless you actually confess?! Sigh, I’m so frustrated with you Ren.
Then there’s also Shou, who, for whatever reason, undergoes Character Development, from being the bastard who threw away Kyoko like some used-up rag, to a guy who turns out to be ‘just too stupid and egotistic to be aware of what he was doing’. Now that Kyoko changed for the better, he realizes his True Feelings, and what, are we supposed to sympathize with him now? With this… JERK?! Why didn’t he just stay as ‘typical villain’-ish as he was supposed to have, why??? No, you shouldn’t have feelings for Kyoko dammit, not after you treated her like trash! Not after you dumped her! So now Shou is like a character you love to hate, but that you can’t really hate either. I hate hate Skip Beat for complicating just about everything!
The best character in the series would have to be Yashiro, no doubt about it. He’s SUPER AWESOME, like one of the greatest side-kicks / device-to-move-the-KyokoxRen-related-plot-forward.
He’s like the wisest character, the most perceptive, the most BRILLIANT of them all! He’s so awesome he deserves to be in the limelight, far more than Kyoko, Ren, or Shou. He should be the HERO of this series. Too bad that will never happen, because, as we all know, it’s been set that Kyoko is the heroine, and we can’t do anything about it~
That, and much much more, is what I would say, if this were opposite day. What have you got to say? 
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37 comments for “Skip Beat is Crap”
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It’s a fantasy pandering to those who enjoy it. As such I think it’s quite successful. If I wanted something feel-good and I really didn’t want to think, and was particularly not in the mood for fighting ninjas or sports, then Skip Beat gives me what I want.
If it’s crap, then definitely many people including myself have a taste for crap – which is very different from saying most people have crap taste.
I’m not interested in a discourse on ‘guilty pleasures’ and I won’t indulge one. Skip Beat is very good at providing feel good triumphal yet internal moments. Sometimes that’s just the best thing ever.
If I wanted well-done drama I’d read Nana. If I wanted complex plotting I’d read 20th Century Boys. If I wanted reasonable progress in a skills-based growth arc, I’d read Slam Dunk. But if I wanted to read about a heap of contradictions that manages to remain winsome despite the ridiculous trials as well as the breaks that negate them I’d read Skip Beat.
But Prince of Tennis, now that’s crap.
I think crap is too strong of a word to use for Skip Beat.. I’ll admit right off the bat that I’m a fan but I’m not a delusional one to not notice its weaknesses. It has many flaws… one of which you mention quite well (the same “rinse and repeat”) but which manga/anime doesn’t have flaws am I right?
You may have been too tough on Skip Beat. Maybe not. Who knows? You make a pretty solid argument, even though I think most of them is more opinionated than actual facts (which is quite fine). The reason why I think so is because some of us might like the slow romance, the bad-turn-good characters, the complicated male lead, etc. It’s a matter of taste in my opinion so it’s unfair to call Skip Beat ‘crap’. It should be more like ‘not my cup of tea’. ^^;;
In summary, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I semi-agree with your entry, just not your title.
I find it too offensive. 
And besides, just out of curiosity, if you think Skip Beat is ‘crap’, why do you still follow it? You are pretty far into the manga, if not to the latest chapter. I wonder…
I love it to pieces, and comrade this is tantamount to heresy…REPENT OR TOMORROW YOU DIE, at least that’s what I would say if I were a gigantic Space Marine. Still If one doesn’t like Skip Beat! well sucks to be them and I don’t care if they get blown up.
Realism pretty much got beheaded when the Grudge Kyokos started doing physical damage and people started seeing them…
Still where is my hi res scan of the Kyoko in Natsu-mode with Ren Furoku?! I demand you repent for your faux heresy…
Well, I for one have never understood what was so great about Skip Beat. People keep raving about it and calling it “anti-shoujo” (usually those who think that shoujo manga = sugary romances, which is of course ridiculous) but when I read the manga I just saw the typical shoujo romance fantasy (complete with an art style that makes me go “urgh”). IMO there’s nothing particularly original or clever about it. I wouldn’t say it’s crap but it’s certainly not the Best Shoujo Manga Ever.
Then again, I fail to see why this matters as long as you enjoy it. Something doesn’t need to be exceptionally great to be enjoyable, and other people’s opinions shouldn’t influence what you like.
Interesting post. But since you are a self proclaimed fan, I guess this is just a thought.
Well, I didnt’r really get into Skip Beat until 60 chapters into the manga as the opening bits were a bit slow going. Like minnie said, I think crap would be too strong a word, although its really to subjective taste.
It’s true Skip Beat does have it’s flaws, such as the slow pacing in the beginning, slow romance, unrealistic characters and situations, but hey it is fictional! Since I naturally prefer more shounen over shoujo, Skip Beat suits me since its style is akin to shounen but with the shoujo touch of romance. The slow romance is perfect as the Kyoko solutions to unsolvable problems. It gives the reader a very positive feeling. Many times I couldnt stand the indecision in shoujo heroines (shall I choose suitor number 1, 2, 3, *cries*). Not to say that Shounen storylines are also typical and super unrealistic, like One Piece but I can’t help but love that series, but that’s the style.
And I guess it’s also the mangaka’s unique style. I love the little pointy bits she does.
And like you I hated Shou and think he is beyond redemption, the anime manages to make him cute and more likable though. But in the manga, its less noticable so to me still irredeemable.
Everybody has different opinions and tastes. Nana is very popular and different because of its realism, and although I still read it I don’t get the hype about it. All the main characters annoy me (besides from Yasu and Miu)and it’s definately dragging. Nothin happens in the chapters (now at least) until Show ▼
[/spoiler]and after that its come to a standstill again. I’m not trying to bash Nana but the same can be said of Nana and its popularity: Nana is crap. What is so good about Nana? I’m sure I’ll get quite a few replies defending it.
So it’s all to taste.
Nana is realistic and full of drama. Skip Beat is predictable, with an inconsistantly unbelievable heroine and can be excruitiatingly slow with a too perfect hero. But all to personal taste, I still love it in the end because to me it IS different.
lolness. Good job!
I almost thought you really hated Skip Beat, until I read the last line.
This is a belated April Fools’ Day post right? RIGHT?
I also like Yashiro AND Kotonami a lot compared to Ren. Well, Kyoko isn’t that cute at all but she is just awesome whenever I see those burning eyes from hell. Other than that, I still think she’s got a cheezy acting style and I really don’t like moments wherein she is somewhat possessed by her character like with Mio and Natsu’s case earlier than expected/ not in the filming scene.
Still, I like the antics of the show which makes it sooo enjoyable even though you’ll know what’s going to happen. You still won’t know how the author’s approach going to be.
Well,yes. Shugo Chara is a whole alot of crap. Skip beat is definately better.
I always knew most people don’t really read bloggers’ posts closely, but I’m still surprised that some of these people managed to miss a bolded line right at the end of this post. Good job, idiots!
Skip Beat is the bestest-best shoujo manga EVAR. I’m a fanboy and I’m PROUD of it.
I just wish Nakamura would learn some perspective and proportions (or just get some better assisstants)… The sometimes absolutely abhorrent backgrounds are pretty much the only thing keeping Skip Beat from being absolutely perfect.
Wow, I’ve never looked that closely at Skip Beat and how it is actually filled with typical shoujo plotlines. Now I can see how some people just don’t get all the hype. I think it’s also true that there are no new plots/characters/etc, and what impresses me is how Nakamura takes all these cliches and makes me care about them anyway.
Awww, way to ruin all the fun D: Sure it has it’s flaws, but in all honesty, I know I and most other people read (or view, whatever) manga or any book for that matter because it’s interesting who cares if the plot isn’t realistic, or the heroine always wins, who cares if it’s cliched, or there’s unrealistic porportions or circumstances. If you have fun reading it, and enjoy it, it’s not crap…it’s good reading. It’s meant to be enjoyed, and if you enjoy it, it’s served it’s purpose.
Now how you enjoy a book and what that means, is entirely up to you. Why do people still watch American Idol? (well I obviously don’t know) because it’s entertaining to them. Same thing with Spongebob, honestly, when you look at it objectively, it’s crap, it really is. But does that mean the series shouldn’t be enjoyed or thrown overboard? Hell no, if you want proof, it’s in it’s what, 9th season?
Also the whole ‘objective’ view seemed like it was more I’m going to try to find all of it’s flaws, it’s very hard to be a fan and look objectively on something.
Why bother to stop yourself from enjoying what otherwise would be a good read just because you try to use the whole “well it really isn’t that original…” Nothing, to a select few is anymore, I highly doubt you will now try to devote yourself to Medicinal Journals for your light reading, so I would try to think less of the content, and whether or not you still enjoy it
Luppy, I bolded it because they missed it when I didn’t. Apparently, people still missed it even after I did LOL. It’s opposite day, people!!
Hahahahhahaa Skip Beat is really unoriginal when you break it down like that. I especially rolled my eyes when we find out Corn and Ren are the same person. COME. ON! Problem is, it’s very hard to find something very original nowadays. Everything pretty much is based on everything before, so it’s a lot easier to find the unoriginal parts.
What I do think sets Skip Beat apart from other generic shojo titles is the narration. Sure, it’s full of cliche elements, but it’s told in such a way you can get really involved with the characters it’s scary.
So yeah, I agree with you that it has its flaws (how CONVENIENT that the director likes the main character and makes a section just for her, giving her all kinds of opportunities to rise) but it still drags me in and I will keep on reading it.
Maybe you should change the font size to something
huge
so they won’t have a choice but to read it! hahahaha
for an aesthetics whore such as myself, skipbeat is crap.
, but its not enough to compel me to see it through its end. 
everything about it from animation to music to it’s asshat plot and slooow character development. the only redeeming factor about it is mogami kyoko for being so gar
Jen, you should have not increased the font. Attract more comments and make this post more fun! You are giving the game away!
Thanks for writing the “Skip Beat is really a shounen series trapped in a shoujo one” (”Watch Kyoko as she beats the rival of the week with her acting powers and wins them over to her side in her fight against the evil Fuwa Shou – and picks up a love interest, albeit SLOOOWWWly but surely, along the way!”) post that I wanted to but so don’t have the time to do right now
Hahaa I didn’t catch the text in bold at first but anyways…
Popular as as well-loved the series is, unfortunately everything pointed out up there has its truths even though that’s not really what you meant to say
My main beef with this is….it’s going on for a little too long. Pacing is slow and for someone my age. I really enjoy the humor in the story but the “serious” stuff is very idealistic and while I follow the series closely..I tend to skip reading those “Kyoko character development” moments.
I said the same on a chinese forum, but this story makes me think of Cat Street, also about showbiz etc but that was alot shorter and character/love development was no less…I prefer that pacing much more.
and the #1 truth in that post is…..YASHIRO IS THE REAL SHOW-STEALER!
hmm…well..am I supposed to kick someone?
I know that you didn’t mean to call it ‘crap’:x and all but the first moment I saw it, my blood was boiling and a nerve popped on my head.
Che! so typical right? I’m acting like those crazy fan-girls who don’t like it when their fav celeb is being dead-panned(i have no idea what that means):twisted:
okay. Maybe Skip beat has its flaws and its not like I didn’t notice them. I did but I just ignored them because the story truly is lovely.
And by the way, I love the art. thank you very much.
I think it’s AMAZING! and kyoko does cry and stuff but its kinda…igh! I don’t know what i was going to say. You see I’m watching a movie and writing a comment at the same time so..yea..
Oh and whatever karin said, I agree and stuff.
Have you guys seen bleach and Naruto? Well, if you still watch it then you already would be getting tired of it in a way(like a little pissed at the fighting and stuff) but you never stop watching it! that’s ridiculous! nobody can stop watching a manga you loved and just cuzz you notice some ‘flaws’ in it
Skip beat is one of my favorite mangas which I found myself and have recommended it to everyone of my friend. I had watched it b4 it became famous so I feel offended when ppl call it ‘crap’ so yeah…(i’m saying yea a lot and I’ve gotta stop)
so I’m a fan and I like it even though it might be cliche.
I still love it and I hope my inner fan-girl stays
Yeah, I got completely fooled until I went down the comments. Grar.
Skip Beat might have some cliche, but it’s got charm. WHAT NOW
One thing I do agree with the post, though, is Shou’s character. That is too inconsistent with what he was in the beginning.
Bleh. The anime kicks the manga’s ass hard (if one disregards the anime’s absolutely appalling end). Kyoko’s voice is just too cute for words, and…I don’t know, I just feel like the character designs in the manga are too “square” for my taste. Not even to mention that some of the scanlations are awfully sub-standard. For now I’m gonna read Chap 69+, and if I like what I’m reading (disregarding the bad translation) then I’ll order volumes 12 and 13 online. Should have it in the next 2 weeks.
As for all of your comments, all I’ve seen so far is the anime, but I must say, the best part in my opinion was when Kyoko went all Mio on us. My heart almost stopped at that point. I reckon they could even create another anime based on Dark Moon. Damn, it was frickin awesome, the way her personality became suddenly dark and evil. The producers really hit the spot in the Mio arc.
Well, it’s still a “crap” I want to read (>.>’) It’s a light series, not really so complicated as you said. Kyouko is being an idiot. Ren’s being an idiot. Sho’s being an idiot. Moko-chan’s being an idiot. Everyone’s being an idiot (besides Yashiro, I agree with you here :D). Simple. Plain. Easy.
Looking at the plot from a distance, it’s indeed rather simple and predictable. But for such simple, predictable series to catch attention so much and for people around the world to say it’s “interresting” and “awsome” and to make them wait for another chapter for a month (and for the second season of anime too, no one knows when it’ll be released) there must be “something” in it.
Maybe it’s Kyouko “dark side”? Maybe it’s Ren’s eternal stupidity followed by his “package of smiles” (I like Demon Lord better, though)? Maybe its Boo… There is still this “something” that catches attention and makes you roll with laughter.
Is predictability such a wrong thing? Sometimes I want to read the series such sweat and happy, when I know for sure that nothing bad would ever happen. Not entirely idiotic, though, and you must admit there IS some plot in here (a lot of shoujo series lack it…). You may predict the outcome of integral “part” (the so-called happy ending) but single things are not so easy. You may always count on Kyouko and her fellow characters to do something strange or stupid. Laughter is a good thing. For health, for example
You mentioned that this manga seems to have some shounen characteristics. Aspiration for perfection, seeking for someone’s true self, becoming stronger, more powerful, better. I don’t think it’s that conventional, to base a shoujo manga on shounen foundations. Maybe there are a few mangas like that, but is there really so many of them? And I personally like the fact that something labelled as “shoujo” isn’t focussing only at the romance of two main characters. Feels strangely refreshing.
Thats all I wanted to say. I tried to be objective. Still “Skip Beat” remains one of my favorite mangas.
BTW: Please don’t mind gramatical or spelling mistakes and that somethimes I may sound weird. I’m not that good at English but I still try.
Yes, that’s the way people! Defend Skip Beat against haters like me! And don’t forget to read what’s written in bold, and hope you get what it means! :3
No doubt this post is an eye opener. I never really thought about how cliche the whole manga was. Perhaps its Kyoko’s character that has captured my heart since the start that I never bothered about her stupidity because her innocence seems to cover it up.
The reason why Skip Beat is such an awesome manga to me is mainly because of Kyoko. Every time she’s able to do a 180 degrees change when in character excites me. Her ability to become a total different persons maybe some what impossible but its the impossible that grasps my attention. However its actually possible for Kyoko to be so insanely strong when challenged because she’s suffered a lot in the past, that suffering is her strength. Many of the actors today have had pasts which are less ordinary or fortunate.
By the end of the day, no matter how cliche it gets, I’m still eager to see The Great Adventures of Kyoko In Showbiz because I’m hook.
Kyoko rockz.
As they say, originality is overrated. Skip Beat is awesome despite its cliches yes ^^
It’s true originality can be’overated’. Even if something’s original, it doesn’t mean folks will love it (well, some formulas just DON’T work) – I think it can sometimes be harder to like something which is cliche, cheesy.. and yet, utterly charming.
I’m sure there’re many otakus out there, and we’ve come cross many repeated formulas in the hundreds of anime series we’ve watched. Still, Skip Beat doesn’t bore me, because it never fails to make me laugh out loud and I’m looking forward to Season 2.
i agree with rosalind…the way skip beat potrayed the ‘repeated formulas’ is refreshing..
Maybe i’m a hopeless romantic, maybe i just aspire for dreams grater than I, but beside the REAL LIFE, were rose are not beautifull, and it rains more that the sun shines, i fell happy to see a serie were at least someone acomplishes is dreams, besides her fantasies of a faerie world, here she and she only can go in, she in her real world is doing it. Maybe not to you, but for me skip beat is a serie, were we can learn a lot, like never let someone get us down, always fight for our dreams, and the most, and what i think the serie is about, we all have a talent hiden in side of us. Is a animated serie, that shows, that even the most unusual people, can be great.
I have always found myself more attracted to excellence of execution than excellence of content. In other words: It is not so much what you do but how well you do it that drags me in (which is probably why I ‘worship’ Adachi).
No heroic love story (hero defeats the odds winning love along the way) is ever going to be original. Lets face it: Love is not all that original. Its strength (for pushing merchandise anyway) lies in the fact that it is supposedly attainable to all and the hope that YOU will attain this wondrous thing too is what keeps us all reading, but I digress. Skip Beat does what it does extraordinarily well.
The fact that the mangaka can take a story that is generic and repetitive at best and polish it to the point that we CARE about it showcases her genius. Skip Beat may not be art but Yoshiki Nakamura is definitively an artist.
it maybe unoriginal but it never cease to amaze me.
1.its funny.
2.its light
3.she’s a crybaby yes but she actually fights back.(not the annoying damsel-in-distress type)
4.it’s well executed.
5.reverse harem!!!
thats enough to keep me rooting for skip beat.
I love how hilarious this show is. And I actually like the predictability of her always coming up with something to win over the competition. Because you know she’s gonna do it but you don’t really know how. And…lol…your review makes me think that you can’t get enough of this predictable-as-crap show too.
Time to take apart your review, piece by piece:
Firstly the violent part of Kyoko’s personality works real well as it is always comical, if not exaggerated. Don’t tell me you want yet another weak, pathetic shoujo girl that is blindly nice to everyone. Also Kyoko worked hard to create the relationships she has in showbiz with the other characters. None of them liked her straight away and very often many still despise her or have her as their rival.
There haven’t been that many ‘Toughest Challenges’ either. As any person who does drama (like I do) you very often have quite the same problems that Kyoko had with her characters. E.g.: Not being empathetic enough (Mia), type casting (Natsu), working with other people in the soda commercial, etc.
With Lorry well I see your point, but don’t you think it would be incredibly boring with a normal boss? It’s nice to have someone to move the story along and come on it’s a comedy manga, it’s supposed to be bizarre!
The ‘Love Me Section’ is corny and defendly is there to make Kyoko regain love again. But I know if I like the audience, I am always more inclined to do my absolute best and feel inspired to do my best for them.
Um sorry but unless we are reading a tragedy doesn’t the main character always win? It would be horrible if they didn’t. All that effort for nothing! What does that teacher kids for gods sake?
Yes defendly agree with there though about how the author likes to drag it out, but I never find Skip Beat boring.
She’s a whiny dense stupid naïve crybaby! I will show you what faults this statement has:
1. Whiny: she was taught by Sho’s parents to never show pain no matter how great it is to the customers of the Inn and so applies it to acting. Busy schedule, weird chicken suit, obnoxious actors – I didn’t hear her complain? True she comes to Ren when she doesn’t get something, but that is because she is a newbie, not whining.
2. Dense: yeah best word to describe her as… Grrr, come on notice the fricken obvious!
3. Stupid: Hello? Top marks in school, quick to pick up new drama techniques, etc. Dense? Defendly. Stupid? Not so much.
4. Naïve: she’s way less naïve then she used be when she was together with Sho. Plus nearly all shoujo manga characters are far more naïve than the average westerner. Or are you perhaps talking about the fact that she still believes in fairies? That part’s just cute!
5. Crybaby: she cries out of anger most of the time not because she’s constantly depressed or looking for ‘prince charming’ to come along and cheer her.
Yeah I know the whole ‘I used to know you when we were children’ is done in about every second manga. This does not mean that the story itself can’t be original. The whole thing where he tells her stories of fairies and disappears after giving her a stone to soak up all her unhappiness is not an uninteresting story.
Um her past with her mother has never affected her enough to make her cry at all, now you’re telling lies. She always gets a look of anger/sadness on her face when she thinks of her; won’t you if your mum treated you like that?
Also acting does help quite a lot. I’ll take myself as an example: When I was 13 I was an incredibly shy, introverted person. So when I started acting I had a way of letting out all my pent up emotions into something positive, so that made me feel like I had a lot less to worry about (family issues, don’t ask). The more my teacher praised me the more my confidence went up. By now 4 years on I’m proud to say I’m way more social, happy person because of it. =D
Um the fact that Ren has ‘never experienced falling in love’ and can keep up such a facade is perfectly reasonable. As long as the guy has dated enough girls and gained enough experience he could easily pull it off. You don’t need to have fallen in love to be able to flirt, be charming, etc. I’m not to sure what you mean by how ‘complicated’ his character is either. He’s a character from a manga, far easier to understand then someone from a real book. Try reading, Pride and Prejudice or Wurthing Heights for example and then come back to me with a thorough understanding of Darcy or Heathcliff.
Skip Beat is one of the slowest-progressing romance in is the history! Just get over it and tell her you love her Ren! Got to admit though there’s a heap of other manga I’d love to add to the pile including Fruits basket, Oran High School Host Club to just name a few. This is quite normal in the shoujo, though extremely annoying.
Sho’s change in character, well it is kind of gradual and as Kyoko’s growing up he probably would become more attracted to her physically. Hm but yeah I would of liked him to stay the villain too, but I think sensei wanted a love rival for Kyoko other than the beagle.
And to finish of yes Yashiro is SUPER AWESOME!
Note: Sorry I ended up writing so much but I just felt like showing that Skip Beat is not crap and that this review hasn’t been backed up probably. ‘The most harm you can do to a cause is to support it with poor arguments.’ :p
Please don’t be offended I’m not attacking you personally!
Sources: I’ve read altogether 198 manga fully and have been a fan of Skip Beat for 2 years now. Oh and did I also mention I love acting?
Thank you for taking the time to even analyze this post of mine, I have only one thing to say though: the last part of my post is what really matters.
Yes, Skip Beat is very much crap. Lovable crap. Don’t get me wrong; I’m currently anticipating chapter 149 of the manga.
But let’s not have illusions about the series. The plot is predictable and often frustratingly dragged out. The characters are all stock (even the super-awesome Yashiro-san), and the drawing is often less than proportionate.
All of that doesn’t mean that Skip Beat can’t be a fun series, however, which is I think the point you’re trying to make at the end of your post. Despite its numerous flaws, we can all still love the series for its vibrancy and high squeal-factor.
Thanks for your fun and thoughtful review. I agree whole-heartedly!
Skip Beat! is bad????? I’ve been hoodwinked!
Haha, just kidding. It’s definitely something that would fall under my category of “trashy shoujo”. Mostly because it is not terrible and partly because I hesitate to call anything I enjoyed bad. Trashy shoujos follow the line of predictability and cliché, with things we’ve seen a million times but keep getting brought back because they are tried and true. (And we’re at fault for enjoying them when they are!)
At first I thought Kyouko would be different what with she actually gets ANGRY and even BITTER (whoaaa), something that doesn’t happen much. But she turned out to be your typical naive happy-go-lucky shoujo lead at heart, even when she has her dark moments.
AAAAANYWAY I personally like Mou- I mean, Kanae, for being so unfortunately won over as Kyouko’s friend, despite her resistance.
@Sarah: hurray for lovable crap
Actually I was simply mimicking the naysayers with this post, which is a fun anti-trolling, but hey if people are able to see how Skip Beat can be AWESOME despite its cliches and flaws through this post, then hurray~ 
@Misu: I like how this post enraged some Skip Beat fans to the point of defending their favorite manga with their BURNING PASSION AND LOVE! haha.
Kyoko has her typical-ity and non-typical-ity. I think her latest reaction has been… somewhat out-of-character, but hey she’s but a naive little girl at heart. Always good to see her KICK ASS nonetheless :3
And yes, Mokooooo~ I’ve been so focused on Kyoko back when I read the manga that her awesomeness alluded me. Yashiro is still hands down the best character in the series for me