Skip Beat! vol. 6 by Yoshiki Nakamura

New Manga Mondays Meme!

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Skip Beat! vol. 6 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Summary

Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Superstar Ren's manager Yashiro comes down with a nasty cold, but Ren is in the middle of an important shoot and needs someone to look after him. In a feverish fit, Yashiro dares Kyoko to take over his job. (courtesy of the back cover)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

The last two volumes of Skip Beat have had similar formats. Both have six acts. The first act is kind of a story on its own. The remaining five acts comprise the main plot of the volume.

I loved the first act of Volume 6. Kyoko and Moko finally transform from enemies to compatriots with a common goal to close friends. They have a relationship built on trust and mutual interests. This is handled through comic relief in the first act. Erika is trying to sabotage Moko so she won't be able to perform the commercial. But each time she or her lackeys try to attack her, Kyoko moves her out of the way in the nick of time. Not on purpose - she just happens to pull Moko in a different direction when she gets excited and wants to show her something.

The main part of this volume involves Kyoko's attempt to serve as Ren's manager. Ren and Kyoko are starting to like and trust one another. That's not quite true yet. I suppose it's more accurate to say that the walls between them are starting to crumble. Ren has a grudge against Kyoko, because he thinks she's only trying to become a celebrity to show up Sho. That may have been Kyoko's initial reason, but she's advanced beyond that. She really wants to be a good actress.

Both Ren and Kyoko are incredibly hard workers, stubborn, and persistent. When Ren falls ill with a bad cold, he insists on working through it. Kyoko similarly goes to extreme lengths to make sure that Ren's cold is treated quickly and his symptoms are decreased. Ren can't help but notice Kyoko's kindness and indefatigable spirit. Similarly, he's realizing that Kyoko is actually talented. He's starting to respect her both as an actress and a person.

Now that Ren and Kyoko are thawing and we're discovering Kyoko's talents, I am super excited to see where the next volumes takes us.

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