Skip Beat!

Genre: Shoujo, Romance, Show Biz, Love n War, Shinnies, Anime

Episodes: 25

Summary: Mogami Kyoko is a pure, kind-hearted traditionally raised Japanese girl. She has been in love with her childhood friend Fuwa Sho forever, even skipping high school to go with him to Tokyo to help him chase his dream of being a rock star/super idol/something shinny. She is the most selfless and self-sacrificing, supporting Sho by working two jobs and doing nothing for herself, everything for his sake .

Until she happens to overhear Sho flirting with his manager and talking about her saying she is just like his maid, that he brought her along just because he needed someone to do stuff for him, no other reason. Because she is plain and boring with no sex appeal.

Something inside her snaps, unleashing a hoard of demons, who attempts to choke Sho until security throws her out. But not before she confronts him and he rather cruelly dumps her, saying he intended to 'throw her away' anyway. She struggles, saying that she will make him pay for this, and he mockingly tells her that he's somewhere she can't reach now. If she wants revenge, she is going to have to beat him after entering the show business, and over taking him; an impossible task for someone as plain as her.

Kyoko, determined and spurred on by her desire for revenge, manages to get into the agency rival to Sho's : LME, through her persistence and willpower (and bugging the managers continuously) How ever she is put in the newly created 'Love Me' section. Because the president says she is missing the most important thing for an entertainer. The desire to make people love her (which she had in access before but lost when she snapped after Sho's betrayal.)

Although it's literally the bottom of the food chain, it's a start, and she starts discovering that maybe she can do something for herself, that she has talents. She also meets various interesting people which help her change herself, from the one who lives for revenge, to something better, including the top idol Tsuruga Ren. (*fhu fhu fhuu~*)

Review: I ADORE this to bits. I seem to have a weakness for any things concerning Japanese idols, even if it's an anime. Of course I loved this long ago too, when I read the manga while knowing nothing of the Japanese Shinnies world. Now, watching it, it's double the fun somehow.

This series is light-hearted and charming and funny. First off, I like the concept of this, it's definitely something I haven't seen before, especially a take on it like this. The characters are also completely and utterly awesome.

Kyoko is not your typical shojo manga heroine. She isn't the perfectly-pretty type, neither is she the always-overlooked-until-transformation type. She is just herself, possessing a variety of housekeeping oriented talents (Sho's fault, since his parents owned an inn and Kyoko learned to do all these to earn his parents approval), to the point that she exhibits her ability to make a rose out of a radish as her 'special talent' in her audition into the agency. She is also particularly mood-swingy, emitting a malicious aura when ever she thinks of Sho, but turning all sparkly sparkly when she sees pretty things, which she adores and yearns for (never having indulged herself with it before), like make up. I love love love her inner Kyoko demons which make their appearance whenever she is feeling particularly murderous (mostly in reaction to Sho), capable of turning the air cold and affect the atmosphere. Her reactions inside her head are so adorably amusing too.

Tsuruga Ren is just *________* [No words *INSTANT DEATH~* Be still, my heart (♥/////♥) ] He is utterly perfectly awesome, and kacchoii sugiru, to the point I didn't even compare and match characteristics of his to various JE Idols like I normally do. He is utterly shinny in his own right. He is mature and charming and professional. [and childish and adorable occasionally, specially in interacting with Kyoko, where he bullies her because he found out about her not-so-pure reasons for entering the business. And he (typically) totally has a crush on her, although he doesn't realize it. XD]

Even Sho is not hatable. He is likable as he is a bit of a brat, used to getting his way, and there is something about him that just makes him not hatable. Just amusing. And he does love her in some [in-denial-deeep-down-ridiculously-possessive-to-the-extent-he-considers-her-his-plaything-because-he-is-childish] level.

Ren's manager Yashiro-san, the Shachou of LME, Maria-chan, they all just add to the awesomeness of the series. I particularly adore how Yashiro-san always goes sparkly-eyed trying to get Ren to admit his feelings, and then scoffs later when he realizes how much of an idiot Ren is/possible ways that it might not work out due to Ren and Kyoko's stupidity. I can totally sympathize with how he is somehow totally hated by technology that he has to wear gloves when he touches anything electronic, because if he touches anything for ten seconds, it is destined to break. It doesn't happen to me, but I sure come close to it. -___-' The Shachou is all kinds of amusing, forever dressing up in some out-landish costume and doing outrageous random things. XD

Basically I love this to bits and given the chance, I'll happily randomly ramble about it forever, so I'll shut up now. ^__^

If I had to pick something I didn't like about this, I would say it's too short. But it's understandable since its not something super popular (and profitable) among the masses like One Piece or Inu Yasha which stretches on for hundreds of episodes (sometimes quite pointlessly -_-'). Since it's short, it skipped over quite a bit of the manga, but that's to be expected as you cannot fit all that happened into only 25 episodes. Needless to say, definitely worth watching! ^__~

Music:

Dream Star by the generous (1st Opening)

Namida by 2BACKKA (1st Ending)

Renaissance by the generous (2nd Opening)

Eien by Yūsaku Kiyama (2nd Ending)

Rating: 10/10

Quotes:

*blank* There are quite a few amusing ones, but I failed at noting down any. T___T 

I'll add em later, if I can. Have to go to school now.

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~ More Quotes? ~

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Note: I am definitely reading the manga again. I think quite a bit more has been scanlated from where I left off too~ *goes to hunt down and download*

Come to think of it, I liked another manga, Tokyo Crazy Paradise, by the same mangaka muchly too.
This is also possibly (that I remember) the first anime I've watched after starting Japanese. Therefore I spent a whole lot of time being idiotically happy over the fact I could read titles and the sfx-like things scrolling all over the screen. XD