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. 11 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!
Ren is having difficulty acting the part of a love-struck suitor since he's never really been in love before. But as Ren sees his friend Kyoko getting close with his manager, he realizes he knows more about love than he thought. (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.
Kyoko to the rescue yet again! It's Ren's turn to struggle in acting. We discovered briefly in Volume 9 that Ren has never fallen for a girl. Therefore, he's unable to emotionally connect to the role of a starcrossed lover, a guy who shouldn't fall for a girl but can't help himself. Ren is paralyzed and walks off the set in defeat.
This theme does make me role my eyes a bit. It's such an overplayed role - unbelievably handsome, perfect guy has never fallen for anyone until he meets this plain, normal girl. Granted, Skip Beat is not realistic in any sense, but it still bugs me. Then again, I drool over Ren (especially when we get to see him shirtless in this volume!) and fall for the stereotype every time.
Back to the story. Kyoko is beside herself that Ren is having difficulties. It's hilarious how protective she is over him. She practically skewers Ren's manager when she discovers that he hasn't been eating properly. Kyoko decides to dress up in her Bo (chicken) costume to see if Ren will once again confide in the chicken. And he does. Kyoko encourages him to stretch and to remember even the inkling of love. In doing so, Kyoko unknowingly wakes up Ren's interest in her - the girl that initially struck his eye, the girl who can't stop looking at.
Sho is again mostly absent in Volume 11. There are a few pages of classic Sho. At the end of Volume 10, Sho saw a promo poster for Tsukimori and realized that Kyoko had a starring role alongside Ren. Sho is going out of his mind imagining Kyoko romancing Ren - making him a bento box with "love" written on it and hand feeding him. Kyoko is only supposed to serve him! Sho's selfishness is comically evident.
The volume ends just as Ren truly realizes how sunk he is. He's become his role: he shouldn't have Kyoko yet she fascinates him. Excited to see where this goes.
Hahaha I fall for that stereotype every time as well Alison! Obviously it works:) I'm half in love with Ren already just knowing he's never fallen for anyone before, it just makes me want to be that person you know? It's ridiculous, but I can't help it:)
ReplyDeleteYeah, that is such an overused theme but, for some reason, I still love it. Guess it's because I always imagined myself as the plain girl...with my handsome prince charming right around the corner, willing to ditch all those beauty queens for little ole me! Heh.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely understand why you must hate the fact that the gorgeous boy falls in love with the normal girl. I read a book the other day with that theme in it and thought it was SO unbelievably cheesy. I don't really read manga either, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
ReplyDeleteEileen @ ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***
I know that's an overdone stereotype but as a plain girl myself, I find that endearing. ;) Curious as to Ren approaches this new "discovery".
ReplyDeletep.s. I know you asked about Nana being realistic and in some ways I guess it is in that it discusses slices of adult life. I'm curious where the relationships go.
p.p.s. Just got Volume 14 of Vampire Knight! So excited to read it. :)
I saw this meme on another person's blog and got really excited.I'm a huge manga fan.In fact,I've started my own meme on mangas as well!It's called "Manga Crush!".Feel free too check it out here: http://perrytheplatypus1102-3daydreamer3.blogspot.com/2012/07/manga-crush-3-tamaki-suoh.html
ReplyDelete