Skip Beat! Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links   g6j32

When I first heard about Skip Beat, I (sadly) wasn't one of the first people who loved it from its summary. In fact, after reading the brief summary I went "Psshhh, what's so great about this? No originality at all! The art isn't even that great either!" and walked away.
The reason I first started to read it was because
1) I had finished my favorite manga at the time
2) I was extremely bored and it was ranked quite high
Horrible reasons I know, and I really didn't think I would enjoy Skip Beat at all. In fact I don't know why there were so many ... people that love this series.

After the first chapter, I was hooked. The main girl at first was just like any other but the comedy and sarcasm and carefully drawn out eyes got my attention. Plus, the originally "not so original" plot began to seem much more interesting. After that, I read every single chapter up to 139 in about 3 days.

Story: It's not that high on the originality style because I can probably name a couple of stories that revolve around revenge and etc. However, the plot after the beginning, although a bit cliche, is still quite different and makes you crave more. That's the important thing, sure plot is necessary but even if the plot isn't "original" so long as the characters are good, then the story will automatically be good. Which is why this is 9.

Art: Okay, so the bodies are a bit exaggerated and elongated to show how "beautiful" they really are. Even though this a bit of a turnoff for me at first before I read the manga, I grew to be able to ignore the bodies and focus more on the facial expressions and eyes. Her eyes are amazing, it shows you all of the emotions and feelings. Since you can grow to ignore or later like me now, enjoy the exaggeration then art goes to 10. If you can't, it's more 9 since you cannot deny that most shoujo manga art is quite beautiful.

Character: No matter what anyone says, characters are JUST AS or even MORE important than the plot. No matter how unique or original your plot is, if your characters don't match up to it, the book or manga is not going to fare well. What Skip Beat lacks in it's originality department, it shows up in the characters. I won't go into great detail at the people because it would border on spoilers but as you read you can greatly identify each of the character's inner thoughts. Since this is told in Kyoko's perspective, you get to see how crazy she gets and laugh your head off at her "misfortune"! Truly an interesting main character.

Enjoyment: It's great. That's all I can really say. You laugh, you sympathize, you cry and you get angry along with Kyoko. It's amazing when a manga can get you going that much. This manga really is great and I'm sure even the worst critics (like me) can enjoy this.

Overall: 10. Simply (almost) perfect. A great read!

(Man that really was long! But I hoped this helped at least someone!)

Skip Beat isn’t your classic Shoujo, The cover is deceiving, on the outside it looks cute and fluffy, you open it up expecting a pleasing little love story with the usual clichés of a cute protagonist and her knight in shining armour.
But Skip Beats protagonist is not a mere Mary sue… Not at all, she’s dark, vengeful lacking in essential emotions such as love and her knight in shining armour Shoutaro, is an egotistical .

Story: I first started reading this manga after being dumped in a foreign country for a local Thai girl, so for me this was like medicine… I could really relate ... to the character, and laugh with the story as it puts light on a dark subject.
It isn’t fun being used by the person you love, but instead of Kyoko rolling up in a hole she deside’s to get her revenge on Sho by entering his scene, the entertainment world.
The only possible down side to the story line could be the length, if you like the couple to be together within the first five chapters, Skip Beat might not be for you. But I found in this Shoujo I didn’t need them to be together for this to be one of my fav’s. Factors such as the humour, the characters personalities, and the story arcs all make up for this.

Characters: it’s a pleasure to read about these Char’s, Kyoko may be on a mission for revenge but her char grows throughout the story, she’s abit of a dork and lovable, you’ll be laughing during every chapter.
All the chars do advance during the story, at first you see Sho as the bastard he is… But later on he starts to grow on you… and the reader starts to forgive what he had done.. Its an emotional journey when you start to feel bad for the villain.

Art: To be honest, I did not like the art so much at the start.. (This proves how good the story line must be.) But I find now… I really like it… Why…. Well… I think her drawing is flawless in that style. It isn’t exactly a style I see a lot, but she can express things so well in the story. Hand actions, facial expressions, I even find the main man Ren quite attractive. This is Strange seeing as I didn’t like the art style to be gin with… I deduce that It must grow on you. But something I loved right from the start was her chibi’s! They are so very cute!

Is this the One Piece of shoujo manga?

It's been a minute since I last wrote a review, but it's been many more minutes since Skip Beat! began. In the simple words of a fellow reader of this series:

"Either we will die or the author will die before this manga is completed"

Honestly I've faithfully followed Skip Beat! for several years now, with the intent of postponing my review until its completion. But what is this? "This pacing is rather slow," thought I. "The clothing and hairstyles are a bit outdated as well, I noticed. Just when did this begin? ...I'm sorry, does that say 2002?!? We're ... coming up on 20 years now?!"

Before we get into actual series content/quality, my preliminary advice is to put off starting this series for as long as you can so that you aren't left waiting for monthly updates of chapters that are unfailingly short. There it is, I can't do more for you on that front, let's get to critique.

Skip Beat! is sublime, despite its mediocre artwork. A long-running series ought to boast of (1) an expansive storyline and (2) notable character development; Skip Beat! succeeds in both.

We achieve the former through the realm of entertainment. As an actress, Kyoko's ongoing improvement in her acting range translates directly to the environmental expansion viewed by the reader. It's historical drama, it's an action flick, it's shoujo within shoujo (so meta!). I most likely would have dropped the series upon reaching the latest chapters, except one of these subplots hooked my interest and I remain hopeful for more content like it.

The latter benefit, character development, is the author's particular--and possibly indirect--skill. Without this, the series would be truly unbearable. Truthfully, characters' big "realization" moments are somewhat overblown and fairly trite. However, the underlying pace of the story actually results in subtle shifts for the story's leads that are very satisfying to consider at large. I wonder how much this effect is derived from the author's own maturing over 2 decades of work.

To conclude, Skip Beat! holds a unique place in the ranks of shoujo manga for a reason. I think you'll find something to enjoy in its many pages, but if you like conclusions (like me), then hold off for "another minute."