This manga at first seems like any other shojo manga. At first glance, I definitely thought that within 5 books she'd get her revenge, find this amazing guy, and live happily ever after, blah, blah, etc.
I was so wrong! I started to read this at first because a friend of mine kept pushing me, but once I got on the ride I didn't want to get off!
This series is unique. Instead of focusing on the stereotyped romantic interest, this focuses on all relationships. Skip Beat! isn't just another romantic comedy, it's about real life and the challenges and people in it.
Kyoko, our heroine, isn't perfect, she and the rest of the characters have their flaws, but that makes it more relatable. Each character isn't a complete villian either, they have goals and dreams just like the protagonist. Kyoko works extremely hard for everything.
Romance is in the back seat for this one but even I don't mind it. Like I said earlier, it's more than just getting the guy, it's about finding yourself in the end. That's all Kyoko is trying to do since she's lost her will to love anybody. You watch her grow and pass her obstacles (sometimes, she fails, but always gets right back and tries again) as well as those of other characters. Each arc has a certain meaning, even if it's little progress, it's a giant leap in another way. Throughout the story, she gains friends and support. She develops new views of the world and people around her.
I truly love this story because it feels like the life of an everyday teen. We all want to find ourselves in the end of it but what also matters is how you get there.

... Last updated on June 13th, 2009, 3:27pm

I agree with some of the people who rated the manga less than 8, this manga does have its flaws. But as a person who has given up on a lot of shojo manga (though I was a huge shojo fan before but got sick of all the cliches) this is one of the few that really stuck with me (unlike ouran, special a, vk, etc) so I gave it a 10.

I don't mind the story's emphasis on her career (though I would to see more romance) because I find it pretty interesting and what irked me about a lot of shojo mangas is that it was like the only purpose to the girl's life is her boyfriend/getting the guy. I mean, I want to say: please girl, is your boyfriend the only thing in your life , find something else to do with it!! So, I don't mind this part of skip beat.

Plus, I also like Ren as the main bishie. Too many main bishie characters are immature boys that swoop in as the prince charming and THAT'S ALL. Well, yes, Ren does have some of the "ordinary prince charming" thing going for him, as he IS a bishie, but of all the bishies I have seen, Ren is the most like the perfect MR. DARCY (and I love P&P) - mature, honest, loving, works hard, caring, etc etc. So Ren is like at the top of my list for best bishies.

The main flaw that I find with this manga is Kyoko. Dont get me wrong, shes kickass, has cool demons, and infinitely better than many heroines but she is so DENSE (which is what I hate about many shojo characters, like in special a, ouran, vk). But I still love her because she makes up for it with her clear work ethic - as opposed to hikari in special a: like ok, shes "works hard" to get good grades, become infinitely strong, and beat kei. but please, in most of the manga you see her playing with a carefree personality. yes i know its a manga, but that SERIOUSLY annoyed me. at least with Kyoko you could see that she really works hard and enjoys what she does.

Despite its flaws, I still manage to read it and enjoy it, so to a girl who has become tired of a lot of shojo, this deserves a 10.

... Last updated on May 9th, 2009, 9:50am

For me, it's a mystery as to why this manga is rated so highly. I don't think it's bad, but it hardly merits such a high score. At times it's funny and, to be fair, the heroine has some spunk about her, unlike a lot of shojo heroines. However, it's not subtle, it's not sophisticated. Basically, it's just nothing very special. The premise itself is shaky (what kind of talent company has a Love Me department?!) and it's difficult for me to sympathise with Kyoko when I see her whole motivation as extremely superficial and, dare I say it, pathetic. Anyway, I would have been willing to overlook these flaws had the manga itself been worth reading. I found that it wasn't. It doesn't break any new ground or really stand out much at all, which is what I would expect from a series that's rated so highly. The quirks that initially made this a little different (Kyoko's demons, the wacky humour) became tiresome after a while. My score is quite high because it is an enjoyable read - it is bursting with energy. It's also a lot better than other rubbish shojo out there. Having said that, I can think of loads more series that are miles better than this. I might be interested in reading a few chapters every once in a while, but this is not a series I will be following.

I also agree with Lillian's comments about the anime being better. The animation brings Kyoko's evil spirits to life and makes it even funnier. It also doesn't take itself as seriously or dwell on things as much as the manga. Oh, and the art is better. Hopefully they make more seasons.

... Last updated on May 22nd, 2009, 7:20am

this manga has the BEST character choice of all. Strong and high-spirited women is just something to deserve a really cool guy!! that's what we call justice!

in fact, aside from the love story of protagonists... i really don't know where to side... sometimes i would prefer shou then ren then shou then i'd end up having them both for me! ahahaha. anyway, the way that the story introduces showbiz life... i'm starting to like it. instead of romance, i could also not bore myself by looking after the successess of kyoko. that's what makes it a sure HOOKER.

... Last updated on May 4th, 2009, 11:22pm

a good manga that drags a lot... i can give this a higher rating if only the mangaka drops unnecessary chapters (about 70% of them). some chapters may be interesting but some are not (boring as a matter of fact). I love kyoko's personality... wish that she isn't that dense though.

This mangaka is sure talented.Really amazing job!Great characters,really great character development,done with mastery and a very interesting plot.Oh,and one more thing:It's HILARIOUS!The manga at this point is as great as ever;not dragging at all.It never did.It's developed with mastery.It's just that readers have to wait for a quite long time for a chapter to come out and because Skip Beat isn't a super fast-paced manga,it seems to be dragging.But that's not the case at all.People would realize it if they were to read a bunch of the latest volumes altogether.
This manga's only disadvantage is that it has a weak start.This discourages people from reading further and discovering how awesome it gets.
@kiron216,from your comments i get the feeling that you didn't get too far into the manga.If you give it a second chance you'll see that things change and the heroine grows in many aspects.And btw,Sho isn't exactly a main character.
I strongly suggest that you give it a second shoot and read further than at least chapter 20.Things are not as they seem.The start of Skip Beat! is hardly comparable with the really amazing rest of it.
PS:You may say i sound incredibly biased but i'm not.I was most reluctant to keep reading from the first chapters but i decided to continue and i was brought before a pleasant surprise!

... Last updated on April 26th, 2009, 6:37pm

At the moment its starting to drag. But its really good. The hero and heroine are awesome. I love Kyoko's focus on what she has to do, its rather refreshing compared to typical idiotic shoujo girls. The best part is her deep-set hatred of Shotaro. I hope he breaks down and cries for her.

Reaction to comment by kiron216:

I don't think it's naive to want to be an actress because of revenge. People always have diverse reasons for choosing a career. To you it might be petty but please don't think everyone think the same way as you. Besides, the revenge plot was a mandatory part of the story to. It was to show how Kyoko's character evolved. Her initial reason may be revenge but as she matures that reason will change.

Comment on Skip Beat:

I have read Tokyo Crazy Paradise by the same mangaka and I totally enjoyed it, so I decided to read Skip Beat as well. What I love the most about Nakamura Yoshiki's mangas is her creation of strong female characters. For example, in Skip Beat, Kyoko is not the type of character who immediately gives up because of bullying or other difficulties. She's a character who turns dramatic scenes into humorous scenes. She's the type of character who grows stronger the more you push her into the abyss of despair.

Another reason I liked Skip Beat was because of character transformation. I liked how Kyoko submerges herself into a role to totally transform into a different person. It's like she's an evil character whose actions bring good change to others.

Also, there's a lot of character development in the manga. You don't just see an instant change in a character. You also see the process of transformation and the gradual change of a character.

... Last updated on April 14th, 2009, 2:31pm

Opinion up to chapter 138 (and coming from the anime):

The story development can become so stagnating at times that I had to force myself to really read the blabla and not just flip through the images. Esp. after volume 15 up to volume 22.

Additional the quality of the scanlations is from rarely good to awful (ugly scans, tiny pages, extra-large pages, bad grammar [and I'm not picky about grammar], bad cleaning, worst way to save a page I've ever seen [some 2 bit crap which rendered a lot of text unreadable], untranslated text,...).

The character development is slow... generic as someone else already mentioned but not totally tiresome. It has its ups but also downs (some don't develop at all, some are totally not-from-this-world, some develop in one moment and in the next it's as if nothing ever happened).

22 volumes and nothing big happened yet - no success in any direction of the two stories everyone wants to read about (Sho and Ren) and her career is also still just at the beginning. That's painful, esp. since in the middle Ren's character becomes very interesting (after it was so dull before), just to go back to the dullness again *sigh* (what happened with his affection and inner turmoil towards her? was almost heart wrenching in the beginning of the Dark Moon arc and then later on almost completely dropped ;_; )

So why my rating and why did I bother till the current end?
The answer is Kyoko and her evil spirits.

Apart from the totally dense side of her when it comes towards love (even directly pointing out... into her face doesn't work -.-) that I think is tiresome and annoying, I do love her freaky side.
When she snaps and her evil thoughts already form spirits that come out of her body and even manage to paralyze people or scare the lights out of them - I would always rofl (only she can see them). They even mob up to groups (the spirits) to take turns and tasks and deliberate on a way to attack. They're the best (esp. in the anime).


Her monologues with the puppets she creates and perfects and the mean and evil faces she can do, that look quite cool, are more things I liked.

So of course when those things were missing +a lame Ren and a missing Sho I got totally bored.

And since there's long no cool male lead Kyoko was all that entertained me. Later Sho becomes entertaining too - hehe (but that was to expect from the beginning) and a guy named Reino is my ray of hope too (esp. after the lame vol 22).

Coming from the anime, reading the manga to continue (since the anime stops around vol 10/11 [but I read it from the beginning]), I must say that the anime is better. It dropped some content. Imo it could drop more content to make a faster pace but comparing to the manga it was already an improvement.
And creepy Kyoko animated is pure entertainment. ^^

... Last updated on April 10th, 2009, 2:40pm

The artwork is mediocre and the main characters are generic (I've seen the overconfident pretty boy in nearly every romance manga you can name). Kyoko hates to give up which is an indispensible quality every protagonist should have but she doesn't have a reliable source of motivation.

Its so unbearably petty. Devoting your life to show biz (or anything for that matter) is justifiable if its a lifelong dream or if it will bring happyness to you or the people around you but making a career choice based on something as baneful and cancerous as revenge is as naive and shortsighted as following shou in the first place. My real score is 6-7 but I'll lower it to a five since the score on bakaupdates is totally inaccurate. I've read romance mangas that are 100 times better than this. Cmon. This kind of bias is just unacceptable.