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REVIEW: Skip Beat! GN 32




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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2014 12:35 pm Reply with quote
Eh? I can't really speak for the manga, but the Skip Beat anime is easily one of the most entertaining and my personal favorite shoujo anime in the past 10 years.
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2261
PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2014 12:47 pm Reply with quote
Skip Beat the anime was pretty darn good and I wish we could have gotten more of it. I've always been on the fence about picking up the manga though, as 32 volumes starts to feel a little daunting. Plus I'm not sure my shelf space can handle it at this time.
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Msag



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2014 1:22 pm Reply with quote
Things are definitely starting to heat up! I've been waiting for this review for a while now. Great job describing the plot in cloaked anti-spoilerific terms, but I was kind of hoping for a more explicit detailed analysis of this turn of events as well. Anyway, maybe that can start in this talkback section instead...?
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2606
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2014 2:16 pm Reply with quote
It is so hard to avoid spoilers in long-running series like these!

I'm up for an analytical discussion! What are your thoughts on recent developments? I admit I'm kind of stuck in the fairy tale realm - I was so impressed with how Nakamura used Little Red Riding Hood in the Vie Ghoul arc that I can't help but think that now we're seeing either Pandora's Box or the Grimms' tale The Golden Key. Ren is also really beginning to worry me...what will happen when he finally can't repress any longer?
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Ultimatum



Joined: 03 Mar 2013
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2014 2:28 pm Reply with quote
Hmm...honestly, I've been losing faith in Skip Beat recently. I loved it when it was about Kyoko and her job, with Ren sometimes coming in for some cute love mayhem, but now....

spoiler[Kyoko has been getting flanderized lately. The scene with Sho was painful to watch--I hated how easily she fell for the trick just to drag the love triangle nonsense out. In general, the way Sho had such control over her reactions was irritating. Why can't we get back to Kyoko's career?

Then Ren...did he really need Shojo Hero Dark Past Syndrome? Why couldn't the story have focused on him growing as an actor along with Kyoko? Eh, this is just wishful thinking, but it could have been nicer than this dumb "Kuon" fiasco. Also, Kuon freaks me out and I'm starting to dislike Ren because of it. I hate how the story tries to excuse it with "This...isn't Mr. Tsuruga." Unless he has disassociative personality disorder, it's him doing it, Kuon or no. Sigh.]


Basically, this wasn't what I signed up for, but maybe that's my fault for expecting it.
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unitmikey



Joined: 15 Feb 2013
Posts: 286
PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2014 2:53 pm Reply with quote
Ahhh a reminder that I love this series but stopped at volume seventeen because of money reasons. I've thought about just renting it from the library, but at this point I just want a complete collection (even though I am only halfway through). However, those three-in-one books may be my answer.

It's also good to know that SB is keeping its momentum!
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Joseph Brenner



Joined: 25 May 2014
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 8:20 am Reply with quote
First of all, if you liked the anime you really should start reading the manga-- the anime is faithful enough, but the story keeps going past the abrupt ending of the anime.

Secondly though: I'm afraid Ultimatum has called it right. "Skip Beat" originally seemed to be about a girl who was getting over the idea of living for a man, who had gotten out on her own and was developing a carreer of her own-- instead, now we see her plunged back into the same state she escaped from, she's stuck doing support work for some guy. In the most recent stuff (not yet in the bound volumes) she seems to be getting even stupidier than she was at the outset-- this is not a good progression for a fictional heroine.

I continue reading the series though, because it's possible that what I'm complaining about is actually an intentional element, and this apparent backsliding is a set-up for the next phase...
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Msag



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 9:52 am Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
I'm up for an analytical discussion! What are your thoughts on recent developments? I admit I'm kind of stuck in the fairy tale realm - I was so impressed with how Nakamura used Little Red Riding Hood in the Vie Ghoul arc that I can't help but think that now we're seeing either Pandora's Box or the Grimms' tale The Golden Key. Ren is also really beginning to worry me...what will happen when he finally can't repress any longer?


Haha my thoughts... well, frankly this was the game-changing volume for me. I agree with the post above me, I was also getting sick of all the focus on Ren and his dark past. But this is where it reached a pitch and seeing Ren act out like that, while shocking, was also really fascinating. Whatever happens now, there's no going back, so it really leaves the reader at the edge of their seats. Who knows how it'll end... More fascinating yet was Kyoko's reaction. Considering she's been putting the pieces together behind Ren's mysterious behaviour on set in the previous volume, you can tell that she's figured out what she has to do now and she's got something up her sleeve. But what I really like is how she's using going to be using acting spoiler[(as Natsu) to reign Ren in ] (at least, that's what it looks like), considering spoiler[it should address his issues while keeping the threat that is Kuon at bay]. Its a great meta-commentary on acting and its effects on the human personality itself.

Lol I always get confused about the boxes. On another skip beat discussion forum I've joined, people say that spoiler[Ren has a box within him, and that Kyouko has two boxes within her, one which keeps in her demons and the other her emotions.] But yes, the fairytale imagery is interesting here. Just goes to show that fairytales were initially conceived as a way to understand the world and its peoples, and the mangaka has really demonstrated that to superb effect.

One thing I will say, I think the art could have been graded a bit better. Elongated limbs and noses notwithstanding, the paneling and lines, in this volume particularly, are genius. I absolutely adore, for example, the end of 190 where spoiler[Ren finds Kyouko and Sho together in the car at TBM]. Best. Moment. Ever. (but then again, art appreciation is subjective so I guess its ok Razz).

Also (sorry for the long post, I just love this manga so much!), I agree with the above post. I'd like the focus to shift to Kyouko's own acting career again. Its been far too long since we've seen Kyouko tackle a new role which would further her career (unlike Setsu).
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MalindaTheDifficult



Joined: 08 Jan 2015
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 5:18 pm Reply with quote
I loved this anime but I didn't like the ending. It felt like it left me hanging in the sky and I had to get down by reading the manga. Im not really a fan of reading manga I like to just lazy back and read subtitles. But everyone is different. You can lazy back and read but I can never be comfortable with it.
Ren/Youn I found interest to the point of I wish he was real.
Kyouko is also one of those people especially how she can bring out peoples self's and help them fix there mistakes. She is also a funny girl that can pull people in.spoiler[ I also loved the part where Heel family role came in to play. Where Ren and Kyouko played a family role of brother and little sister.]I'd love to see this part in the anime and along with all the other parts. I haven't finish reading the manga but I hope that they will make more episode for Skip Beat!
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