Skip Beat!

I fell in love with the manga and ended up watching the anime afterwards because I just couldn't get enough of it. That being said, I was highly disappointed with the anime adaptation, and felt like the overall vibe was very different than the original manga (and no, I am not someone who automatically feels that the manga version of any story is superior). It's difficult for me to pinpoint exactly why I loved the manga and hated the adaptation, but I'll try.

Plotwise, the anime more or less follows the story. Parts were shortened and some scenes eliminated, but nothing that really stood ... out at me. However, the anime ENDS right about when the manga starts to get good and the characters start to develop. Skip Beat is a long a** manga (too long some might say - I love it but the mangaka does drag it on for quite a while), and the anime just barely scratches the surface, and leaves more loose ends that it resolves (honestly, if I only saw the anime without reading the manga at first, I would be confused and frustrated since there are so many things that are never explained or reseolved). One of my favorite aspects of the manga was how Kyoko and Ren's career in acting was incorporated in the story (especially seeing how Kyoko grew as an actor and changed for each role that she played), but that was not explored nearly as much in the anime.

The anime also emphasized some of my least favorite aspects of the original story, in a way that made the story seem much more cliche and Kyoko much more annoying. Kyoko comes across as much more over-the-top in the anime, and bent on revenge with not as many characteristics to make her rounded out (a LOT of her character development is also left out since the anime ends so prematurely). The pacing of the how Kyoko's relationship with Ren develops was also a lot faster, which makes it somewhat boring to me since you don't see as much of a transition from hate to apathy to friends to romantic interest.

The art was terrible. Very plain scenes that lacked in detail, angular and unattractive character designs, way too much chibi...maybe some of the worst art that i've come across in quite a while.

Overall. I would say that this was a very dull and cliche adaptation with uninspiring artwork and annoying characters. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's not worth watching if you like the genre - it's alright, and maybe I might have liked it more if I hadn't read the manga beforehand and knew what I was missing out on. That being said, if watching this anime leaves you feeling unfulfilled, I highly recommend that you read the source material.

***mixed review manga/series***


This is a pretty funny take on a shojo. I really like the comedy, which balances out the more 'mushy' parts of a traditional shojo. The main character has traits that make her strong and diverse while maintaining realism (ie she's "basic", not overly talented without hard work, clumsy but not a vapid airhead, etc.). There are some ~questionable takes in the series (ie age differences), but they are smoothed out really well by wholesome logic that keeps it realistic and not too icky.

The only thing I didn't like was being left with a feeling of incompleteness. Whether it was part of ... a backstory, or part of a personality expression.. sometimes the writers did not explain something fully enough so your brain had to fill some things in. If you read the manga it is not a problem but if you only watch the series it leaves you wanting more.

I give the animated series a 7 - I would give it a 8 but its too incomplete and will never be completed most likely. But the manga is good so overall my experience was probably somewhere around 8 ish.

I watched this entire series in one shot. I really wish I could give it a higher score, I really do, and up until the last episode, it easily had an 8... however, the lack of any real conclusion, and dropping of certain story elements was just too disappointing.

There is no romantic conclusion, the point card system of the Love Me department just sort of disappears, she doesn't even get to make a real debut (the seeming point). There is a half conclusion with her ex-boyfriend Sho, but I would have liked to see more, seeing as they kept going back to him after his ... arc should have concluded.

It really is a pity, since there was a good range of characters and character development, and the animation wasn't shabby in the slightest. It was just really annoying to watch the first 18 episodes have very solid plot directions, and the last 7 waver about as if they didn't know what plot line to go with. Episode 25 felt like a 22 minute spot for a season two, not a finale. :(

I think the humor here and growth of the MC were pretty great. It's one of the more creative series I've seen for presenting emotions in a way that really made them pop and made me laugh on many occasions. When this series was firing on all cylinders, it went hard, and there were a few episodes that really showcased Kyoko's ability to perform under pressure and produce something that looked pretty masterful, especially considering she's a novice to all this. When she is still struggling with her motivations and her choice to pursue acting in particular, the series is very strong. And many of ... the side characters facilitated both the humor and her growth well.

There are two elements that hold this series back. The first is its romance. I think there could have been something interesting here, whether we're talking about Kyoko x Ren or the love triangle developing with Sho, but the show drags these out so far that they all barely feel like they've gotten started. Kyoko's negative associations with Ren come entirely from Sho's feelings towards a person he views as his rival, which means it makes little sense for Kyoko, who is literally doing all of this to spite Sho, to continue to reject Ren for as long as she did. Even by the ending of the series where they've softened significantly towards each other, there's almost no recognition in either of them of the other's feelings (they both seem to be under misconceptions in that department), and therefore development of any kind of romance. It's almost all individual development. And Sho does even worse, starting to connect with Kyoko through his memories of their connection and then just being jealous that she's working with Ren until the end of the series. There's nothing there, not even an apology.

The second element is that ending. 25 episodes were clearly not enough. We end off just before a pivotal point for Ren's character. This could have been any random episode in the series beyond the short snippets of other characters that rounds it out. While this series did have interesting arcs before, this one felt like it was going to be the most consequential, from a personal perspective for the characters, from an interpersonal development perspective, and also from a career perspective. Sadly, we only got to see what looks like half of it, so the opportunity just wasn't delivered upon.

Overall, while it's certainly not bad, the ending really soured my enjoyment of the series as a whole, leaving me wanting. It's still a good ride, but hard to recommend outright.