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. 8 by Yoshiki Nakamura
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!
Kyoko's big chance is finally here Her performance in Sho's promo clip impressed some important people, and now she's been asked to act in the year's most anticipated drama But Ren is the leading man and the character Kyoko is supposed to play is damaged and scary Can Kyoko overcome her fear of Ren and her shame about her demons, or will this chance of a lifetime slip through her fingers? (courtesy of the back cover and Goodreads)
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 cover and the synopsis of this volume features Ren, but much of the plot is about Kyoko and Moko. Moko begins this volume clearly troubled. She thinks her acting career has been ruined. By a little boy. A superstar little boy from a prominent family who has decided that he hates her. Kyoko to the rescue! She's able to tease out the heart of the misunderstanding between Moko and the little boy and save her friend's career.
In so doing, we learn a lot more about Moko's past. She comes from a very large, poor family. Kyoko ends up spending the night with some of Moko's siblings and niece/nephews. The family is boisterous and chaotic, but there's a lot of love there. Moko is quite ashamed of her family's messiness and poverty. Hence, she's been hard at work since she was twelve years old, doing various acting jobs to give her family the lifestyle she thinks they ought to have.
We also learn a little more about Ren in this volume. For being such a star, he is very young - only 20 years old. And he is far from the stereotypical sex-crazed teen sensation. Ren has never gone for any of the girls who throw themselves at him. He's never been in love. As a result, his agency worries that he can't adequately act in a romantic film. When an opportunity comes to star in a film with Kyoko arises, he almost loses it.
The volume ends with Ren and Kyoko being assigned to star in a romance together. Both have issues to work through on why they think their respective roles might be bad for them, but it opens up a lot of plot opportunities. I'm excited to see what happens next.
I'm on volume 2 for the manga, but I'm almost finished the anime, I loved the episodes where Kyoko was working with Sho, it was funny, especially when she almost killed him by strangling him.
ReplyDeleteOoooo I want to know what happens with their romantic roles next too! I like the sound of Ren, I'm a sucker for boys like him in fiction - the ones that should be a certain way but in actuality are the exact opposite. Love it:)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a recipe for funny and awkward moments to come xD.
ReplyDeleteOoh, things ALWAYS happen when people star in romantic movies/shows/etc. together! These characters sound adorable and quite realistic with their fears and such. Good luck with the meme (I'd totally participate if I was a Manga gal!).
ReplyDeleteOh, Skip Beat! how much I love you, you'll probably never know. Ren and Shou and Kyouko get into a pretty epic tangle later on in the series~
ReplyDeleteVivian @ Vivaciously, Vivian
I can only imagine the awkward and funny moments of those two being in romantic roles. Can't wait to see what happens next!
ReplyDelete