Skip Beat!

Story:
Based around a character that wants to become an idol I really didn't expect much from this series. Starting out with that prejudice I was surprised to see new approaches in this business and was instantly drawn by this anime. Unlike other storys full of clichéd stuff, our protagonist (Kyoko) isn't driven by the wish of fame, money or power as it is common. No, all she wants is revenge on her former ... well ... "boyfriend"... kind of... not.

With this the anime's story thrives very much from character developement and I mean REAL character developement. Additionally it is well rounded up with a lot of good comedic events.
But in the end it turns into an all to common basic plot: the protagonist has to overcome obstacles with hard work, just with a nice twist. Don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a solid story, just not an all to originally one. Still the added surprising elements are what makes this very good.

9 points for a story with a relly nice change


Character:
With Kyoko, for once, we have a female lead that is independent and isn't waiting for a prince in shining armor to save her. It's pretty much the opposite, since she is already disappointed of her prince, that took her out into the big town so she could do his chores... actually that's not quite right... she came to hate the prince and wants revenge for using and playing her.

Having that said, Kyoko is a rather fresh and surprising character. With her hate and her own spirits fighting each other we see a lot of her inner conflict of trying to become loved by the public and at the same time being full of hate for Shotaro. We can expect a lot more character developement.

The other two male characters influencing Kyoko's new life certainly seem interesting as well.
Shotaro is pretty much the guy who thinks too highly of himself and is for now the perfect guy for Kyoko's hate manifestation, but then there are times where it seems like all that Kyoko want is to be acknowledged by him.
Ren on the other hand is a perfectionist, who takes his job seriously and expects others to do so as well. Since Kyoko is want to be an idol only out of revenge he certainly has a little problem with her. But judging him now wouldn't be right, since there wasn't much screentime focused on him up till now.

9 points for Characters Development to look forward too


Sound:
The background music/sound often go by unnoticed, which actually might be a good thing. That is not because the music is bad, but rather because this way the watcher can focus a lot more on the story. Which in turn means it's simply not necessary to pep up the story with catchy music, because it can stand on it's own. But you gotta admit the music isn't too impressive either.

I won't rate the opening and ending, since that often depends on personal flavor. (okay... I do prefer the ending song ^_^)

7 points for a well used and solid music


Art:
The art quality certainly is a very good one. Definetly above todays average. The characters are overall very well drawn, and the backgrounds are always fitting the context perfectly.
Sadly animation quality is at very few points not at it's peak, but even then still a good one. Also sometimes the background seems a bit empty, but that's not to big of a deal since it's usually enough to carry the athmosphere.

8 points for nice work from the graphics department


Enjoyment:
The story just makes me want to cheer Kyoko on. Damn, this girls deserves her revenge. *waves a Kyoko flag with waterfall eyes and starts shouting "KYOKO! KYOKO!"*
It's not only the really interesting story, but also all the little bits which make laugh that make this anime such a great show.
This anime goes even with a perfectly balanced pace, blended out of story advancement and humour.

10 points for Kyoko and all the hilarious moments


I for myself find me really enchanted to Kyoko and this anime. So give it a try as well. ;)

9 points overall
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Lovers of comedy, dynamic characters, and stories with the realistic backdrop of a dog-eat-dog show biz world, rejoice! There is a perfectly enjoyable and ultimately very satisfying anime in store for you called Skip Beat!.

Skip Beat! follows the endearing young Kyoko Mogami as she travels 200-something miles across Japan to support her childhood friend Sho in his debut as a pop singer. She continues to bail him out until she finds out he's only been using her for her delicious cooking and wife-like, hardworking traits. And he's allowed to because he is THE Fuwa Sho? Kyoko doesn't think so.

Here's where the anime gets a little interesting.

Unlike other female leads who might cry over numerous tubs of ice cream while re-watching their favorite soap operas, Kyoko takes this pain and suffering she's gone through and turns it into something beautiful. She uses her new-found hatred for Sho as an endless supply of fuel for her journey into the mysterious and somewhat scary world of show business.

Like Kyoko, all of the characters in this anime have a reason to do what they are doing. They all have a single purpose they are trying to achieve through professions such as acting, singing or debuting in big-budget films.

Because not all of the characters were there for the same reason, we as viewers are able to see some great ideology clashes and disputes that break out among this wide variety of characters.

Thinking back, the sole reason why this anime was so enjoyable was the cast of wacky, memorable characters who brought a sense of purpose and bursts of life to what could have been a very stereotypical, bland and fabricated holywood-glamorized portrayal of the world of show business. This cast includes the enigmatic Tsuruga Ren, the selfishly obnoxious Fuwa Sho, the tsundere-dere "Mouko" and the all-knowingly eccentric LME president. While their characters may seem generic and cardboard-like at first, the story's excellent pacing and wonderful use of character interactions gives depth and meaning to each character....

even the most unlikable character becomes slightly tolerable as you learn to appreciate his existence in the anime.

That being said, the characters' designs were not exactly up-to-par or great. I am an artist myself and it's probably the reason why I am so particular about the aspect of art in an anime. The colors were generally very bright and one-sided, while the character designs themselves didn't stand out much. I did like the emphasis on the expressions of the characters that changed when they were acting but other than that, there was nothing much to look for.

It was truly the characters themselves and the cast of seiyuu who did a fantastic job portraying their animated-counterparts that made me like this anime.

The same goes for sound. Nothing was very special about the upbeat, very forgettable pop-song opening but the ending did a very nice job of capturing any left over angst and anxiety from being a victim of horrible circumstances. OST's turned out to be fine as well, mostly in the department of dramatizing an event or adding extra suspense.

Lastly, I appreciated the anime's ability to create an engaging atmosphere with the audience as it tackled the tricky topic of what really goes on behind the camera. How much are we seeing of these underpaid actors who go through sleepless nights and bottles of gin to try and perfect their role?

Nothing, really.

We only see their perfectly chiseled faces covered in pounds of make-up and we think, "man that's the life."

This anime reveals all of the ugly that actually goes on behind that makeup and perfectly lit photos while remaining professional, non-cliche and upbeat. There's no unnecessary drama, no stupid tabloid induced scandals, no fake love relationships. It could have easily gone down the reality-tv-show path of "look, stars are real humans too! they eat lunch just like we do!", but it didn't, thank goodness.

We empathize with these characters and their struggles and triumphs because we actually SEE what they're going through.

The anime is able to give us viewers insights on their world in a very down-to-earth and realistic manner.

All in all, this anime was fun and very easy to get lost in. I remember seeing it as a middle schooler thinking "wow this is pretty good" and now, as a more-grown-up-but-still-kinda-childish viewer, I'm still thinking the same thing. If you're looking for a nice way to spend your Saturday afternoon, go ahead and watch it. I encourage you to.
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Been quite a while since I last found a shoujo title that I genuinely enjoyed. Skip Beat focuses on the challenges faced by our lead Kyoko in trying to become a successful actress as she learns that she wants to get more out of it besides being a tool to get revenge on her jerk of an ex-boyfriend and popular musician, Sho Fuwa. Some have called the series as something of a Cinderella story and the description seems mostly accurate as we learn of Kyoko's tragic and impoverished back story and dealing with the ramifications of being abandoned by those close to her. The emotional scars do affect her at the start of the series as she lacks the passion for wanting to enjoy acting at first as she only seen the profession as a means of seeking revenge on Sho. But as episodes progress, she does develop a genuine love for acting, sees it as something she feels motivated to excel in beyond her original goal of revenge and a number of episodes revolve around how Kyoko approaches a role she would be performing in.

Beyond Kyoko, some other characters get focused on within the world of stardom as they come to connect with Kyoko and we learn of their own personal challenges they struggled through to get to the point where they were at within their careers. Tsuruga's character is given the more prominent focus in his interactions with Kyoko as he seemingly hates Kyoko's motivations for persuing an acting career at first, before the changes in her motivations lead him to start supporting her and developing feelings for her. The series does drop hints that Tsuruga may have a more tragic past than Kyoko and he may have known her for far longer than she thinks, but the series abruptly ends before more of these aspects to the storyline could be explored. This weakness appears to be due to the title's manga source material still being ongoing as of this review.

Another issue I did find with the series at points came with its comedy. Scenes with it tend to pop up throughout a good part of the series, serving to either exaggerate on a conflict or emotional state affecting one of the characters or to lighten the mood following a rather serious development in the show's storyline. The title's comedic style was hit-or-miss for me as I had some moments where the humor focused on the former got me laughing, but others left me indifferent and usually had me feeling that they got in the way of the mood of serious scenes for the latter mentioned moments. Fortunately, the comedy does tone itself down as Kyoko's emotional state improves from adjusting positively to her new life as an actress and doesn't intrude too heavily upon later developments with her character and others.

The visuals to the series are rather standard for a late 2000s anime in terms of detail and design for characters and scenery. Details are clean and bright color is used to go along with the show's upbeat mood, but this and the animation for Skip Beat don't particularly stick out. The same thing applies to the show's soundtrack as it does its part to complement scenes in the series that fit for their intended purpose, but have nothing too memorable with them.

Gripes aside, Skip Beat is still one of the better shoujo titles I've seen recently as there hasn't been anything from the demographic that has seriously hooked me beyond a number of titles that came out during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The focus on Kyoko's growth as an actress is a compelling and enjoyable story worth seeing throughout Skip Beat's 25-episode run, alongside other characters in stardom who interact with her. If you're a shoujo anime fan, this is worth a definite look. read more

We know the story of the plucky girl making it big in the glitzy world of showbiz. It's the story of Bridget Jones, Josie, the Pussycats, and even Hanna Montana. Skip Beat! puts a welcome spin on it, and it's not just the (fascinating) insight into the Japanese entertainment industry. The story is consistently compelling throughout, and the surreal imagery is inventive and keeps the tone light and humorous, even as its emotions are scathingly deep.

While it's not beneath the show to humiliate the characters or make them look foolish, they are complex and principled, and the show has enough compassion to give them their dignity. The way it allows even its most prickly characters to learn and change feels natural, authentic and worthwhile. It's rare to see any show about anything from anywhere as concerned with human dignity as Skip Beat! is.

Let's have a second season, already. read more