A couple of my female friends (blu-chan, hagumi_honey) have been pestering me to watch this anime. I was quite reluctant as the story seemed too iffy when i read the synopsis. And then, I recommended the anime to my sister, since she is a crazy shoujo anime fan, and decided to overlook the anime myself.
I was just recently having the time of my life, with Hayate, Ippo and Spice and Wolf II all rolling week in week out, until they all ended. I was looking for a replacement but was not sure what to pick. Then I checked my HDD and thought "okay. there is skip beat! there, I copied from my sister's." I thought lets see whats so good about it, as my sis has been ruining my life wanting me to see that.
And here I am, fell in love with the anime. It actually amazed me to find out later on that the original manga started way back in 2002, and has been really popular ever since and still ongoing.
Anyways, thats me and Skip Beat! Now for the review:
Here is your synopsis. Kyoko (Marina Inoue), an energetic and devoted girl, gave up school and decided to follow her prince-charming Shoutarou 'Sho' Fuwa (Mamoru Miyano) to Tokyo as Sho has set his dream to become the next big thing of Japan. Yeap. His aim is to become the number one Idol in Japan. But there is this big problem. The current heart-throb of Japanese Entertainment line, Ren Tsuruga (Katsuyuki Konishi). Sho goes out of control whenever there is anything about Ren, and throws his frustration and whatnot to Kyoko. Kyoko, as a result has been hating Ren for ruining her love-life. And she badmouths Ren all the time to show her support for Sho. Kyoko, giving her all to Sho, decided to follow Sho through and through, until she overheard that Sho thinks lowly of her and the only reason he keeps her around is for household chores. Kyoko's world shatters. She throws her hatred to Sho and promises him vengeance, that she will take him on in the very world he wants to rule over, the world of showbiz.
Story: 10/10. One of the most lovable of shoujo stories out there I can tell you. Its right there in the ranks of the best. The story is simple but powerful, gives you the "what will happen next" and full of unpredictable outcomes that will keep you entangled and without knowing, you'll definitely get absorbed in no time.
Throughout the entire anime, you'll find the determination and dedication runs through Kyoko and how she without even knowing herself, affects the people surrounding her, the obstacles she is about to overcome to reach her goal, and add to that, doing things which are irregular, if not insane.
And of course, there is love to bloom. Kyoko, dejected through Sho, has closed her emotions of love and decides to never fall for anyone again. Ren, whom she has been badmouthing while with her days with Sho, she finds him also cold and lacking heart. But the reason behind Ren's coldness towards her, is something she doesn't know. But soon, she finds out that Ren is, deep down is not what she usually thought him to be. Will her heart finally skip a beat for the Japan's Number One? Find out yourself!
Art: Okay, I will be honest here. Most of the shoujo anime sucks in drawing when it comes to surroundings. This one isn't an exception either. I hate to tell this, but every time I saw Ren's Porsche 911, I really wanted to redraw that. So yes. 5/10 for artwork of the surroundings.
What covers up for the lack of details in the surroundings is of course the character drawings. There are lots of lots of chibi scenes, i would say every the other scene is probably drawn with chibi characters, but that goes so well with the mood and makes the anime even more lovable. But the best part about the drawing will remain the expressions when the mood is serious or needs attention. The eyes, eyebrows, the lips, the facial shadows everything is drawn so lively that you can actually not only feel the emotional state of the character but also the atmosphere around them. 10/10 for character drawings, which in whole gets an 8/10 overall.
Sound: The BGM and the OP/ED are really superb. The sounds actually help to change the mood and the sounds change often as the animation hovers between serious expressions and chibi drawings. What makes it even more enjoyable is that the sounds are nicely blended with the screenplay. There was not once I felt that the BGM didn't go with the screenplay. As for the OP/ED, I fell in love with both the ED songs and I am sure anyone will too. The second OP is also very nice. Sound gets a 9/10 from me.
Character: This is where the anime is probably reached its best. Kyoko, instead of falling apart, decides to take on Sho from the very instant her world is crushed. Her determination, dedication and ambition mixed with her softness and kindness, make her character one of the best female characters I have come across so far. Her self-declaration of not falling for anyone ever again, shows only her emotional state and although she believes her emotion of love is long dead, she does things for others which shows, deep inside, her heart is still capable skipping a beat or two. This is probably Marina's best performance as a seiyuu after Kasahara (Toshokan Sensou).
Sho, performed by Mamoru Miyano, is already a legend in seiyuu world (Light Yagami (Death Note), Setsuna F. Seiei (Gundam 00), Tamaki Suou (Ouran Host Club), Death The Kid (Soul Eater) and many more). There's nothing much to say about his performance as his character amazingly swindles when he is in the public and when is in private. His shift of voice has always been a class above regular seiyuu and thus making him arguably the best in recent times. Sho is just another addition to his illustrious seiyuu career. He performed so well, you will definitely hate Sho.
Ren Tsuruga, performed by Katsuyuki Konishi, (other major performances: Kamina (TTGL), Komui Lee (D.Gray-man), Haji (Blood+), Tooya (Ayashi no Ceres) Ozma Lee (Macross Frontier) etc.) has been amazing. Ren doesn't show his true emotion in front of everyone. His true personality remains a mystery to Kyoko as she can't compare the Ren who can be both cold and warm from time to time. Konishi performed the character as it should be, Ren, the number one Idol in Japan, who is professional to the last and always puts his works as priority one, shows the reason why he is the most successful man in the world of entertainment. As the anime progresses, Kyoko starts to understand Ren bit by bit, and without knowing herself, starts to admire him as her senpai.
And the anime character list is rounded up with other interesting characters Kyoko is set to meet as she is about the find out that 'revenge over Sho' is not the reason anymore as she takes every step to become an actress. 10/10 for characters.
Enjoyment: You bet I want moar! This anime is absolutely a masterpiece of entertainment. Seriously, I can't but have to say I will love to see they are making a 3 or 4 seasons of it. For now, I will be hoping that the anime gets a well deserved Season 2. And I will be getting the first release out online, because not having Skip Beat! in my watch list is almost hurting. 10/10 for enjoyment.
Overall: I will rate it 9/10, as a whole. This anime has given me so much entertainment that I can rewatch this anime over and over again and will never, ever get tired of it, that I can assure.
I am not sure whether my review will be enough to encourage more people into this anime, but I can guarantee one thing, you wont be able to drop this anime once you've started it ;)
