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. 23 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!
Chiori's rage threatens the whole production when she lashes out and hurts Kyoko. Kyoko is used to overcoming obstacles, and she uses her injury as an excuse to push Chiori into exploring her acting. But Chiori has a traumatic past. Will focusing on the dark side of her character bring it all rushing back?(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.
At the end of the last volume, Chiori pushed Kyoko down a flight of stairs in a jealous rage. When Kyoko lands, Chiori panics. Her primary concern was not whether Kyoko was hurt but whether Kyoko would tell the director. Gotta love Chiori's selfishness. Such a good example of the poor side of human nature.
Kyoko is still in her Natsu frame of mind. She doesn't pass blame onto Chiori. Instead, she uses the opportunity to turn Chiori into her personal gopher. If Natsu the bully needs something done, Chiori is the one who will do it. In essence, Chiori is the hitman and Natsu is the girl in the background ordering the hit. Chiori plays her role with gusto. She goes on a rampage against the girl who is supposed to be bullied in rehearsals. She's so cruel that it's hard to look at the pages.
Natsu/Kyoko is thrilled with Chiori's performance. Natsu is happy that Chiori is sufficiently doing her bidding as a bully. Kyoko is happy that Chiori is able to overcome her personal demons and do an incredible acting job. I continue to be amazed at how forgiving Kyoko is. I suppose she's getting her version of revenge against Chiori, but she's also genuinely happy to be helping this girl who potentially could have killed her. Meanwhile, Chiori is devastated about her performance. She knows she didn't really act. Rather, she just lost it and went crazy. Still, with Kyoko's reviews, she's able to grow and feel a little better about herself By the end of the volume, Chiori is named the newest member of the Love Me section. It should be interesting to see how Kyoko, Moko, and Chiori clash in upcoming volumes.
Nice review! I love this series.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm assuming Kyoko is okay after the stair incident? Chiori sounds like a truly upstanding individual with all her priorities well in line ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis volume reminded me of a quote by Oscar Wilde. I'm not exactly sure of the precise wording but it goes something like apologizing to your enemy is the best gift but it's something that they'd least expect and don't know what to do with t. I really like how Kyoko is the bigger person and doesn't do something petty just to get back at Chiori.
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