Skip Beat

Skip Beat! is NAKAMURA Yoshiki’s current manga serial and started its run in issue #3’2002 of the shoujo manga magazine Hana to Yume (Hakusensha). Though NAKAMURA is well known for her previous series, Tokyo Crazy Paradise, which was set in a future Tokyo and full of drama and action with some comedy, Skip Beat! seems to aim for more comedy and drama and less action. Hopefully, it will deliver plenty! ;)

Unlike other heroines in the same situation, Kyouko doesn’t shed many tears when she discovers that her adored Shou (idol to boot) thinks her a poor lame looser, and instead her true character is awaken! Kyouko will no more be the innocent and piling girl she used to be, revenge is there waiting for her! evil maniac laugh Kyouko MOGAMI Kyouko

Kyouko was a really nice and quiet 15 year old girl who fell in love with one of her classmates, Shoutarou. Because of her parents situation, she used to spend all her time at Shoutarou’s parent’s Inn, where she learnt a lot about the business of catering to client’s needs (in the good sense). But Shoutarou was bored of Kyoto and decided to move to Tokyo to become an idol, and to Kyouko’s happiness, he invited her to go with him. In Tokyo, Kyouko used to have several part-time jobs so she could mantain Shoutarou (now Shou) while he turned into a famous idol and didn’t mind not being able to buy things for herself… H O W E V E R ….

After discovering that Shou in fact thinks her boring, unattractive and just his maid (he’s too good for having to bother with mundane daily details, you see), Kyouko’s inner “pandora” box is opened and hell breaks loose! Kyouko vows to have her revenge, bleaches and cuts her hair and tries to become an idol.

Kyouko is has been really hurt and because of that has discovered that she can do anything she wants if she really puts her mind on it. Even though she entered the business as a means to get her revenge against Shou, she ends up doing things for herself. In her new company, she meets Ren, who is a really famous idol that doesn’t seem to like her because he senses she is not in the business because she really wants to but just as a way to achieve other things. Kyouko uses her skills in the Inn business to her advantage in the acting world, since in both cases, one always has to show certain emotions and go through certain actions no matter what one is really feeling inside. While in Tokyo, Kyouko lives with a married couple that opperates a traditional restaurant. Ren TSURUGA Ren

Ren is a really famous idol who really likes his job. He seems to dislike Kyouko at first because he knows she is not in the idol business from the heart, but can’t help end up surprised at her skills and personality. Ren is a little cynical and very “cool,” but still… human.

Shou / Shoutarou FUWA Shou

Shou / Shoutarou didn’t really like Kyouko, but used her as a house-keeper/bread-earning… thing… while he wormed his way into idol-hood. He is not ashamed of having used her in this way and is not ashamed to tell her so. With a heavy ego problem, Shou sees Ren as his biggest rival, even though Ren tends to ignore him. Shou thinks himself one (several? ^^;) step over lowly mortals such as Kyouko and thinks she will never be able to fullfill her promise for revenge. Of course, Shou can be perfectly nice to his fans when he wants to. TSURUGA