Skip Beat used to be one of the funniest mangas around while still managing to have serious moments, and interesting perspective on acting, mastering a craft and so on. At one point, I would have easily rated it a 9 or a 10.

This is all in the past, though, and pretty much a LONG time in the past, at this point. I firmly believe the worst part in the manga is actually the romance, no joke. The manga opened with our overly naive protagonist (Kyoko) realizing the betrayal she is going through, and swearing off romantic feelings... So obviously the main arc becomes her falling in love, eventually. Now, if only this was a tender love story, with a partner gently getting her to open up after what left her traumatized by love, it would be one thing, but instead the entire relationship is built upon coincidences, misunderstandings and ultimately feels no better than a mediocre high-school romance story, when you get down to it. What happens should in no way help her get over her mental blocks, but it does by author fiat (and maybe by the power of the ML's handsomeness).

The comedy, which used to be the highlight of the manga (in my opinion) gets less time and is less brilliant as the story goes on. The background stories of the characters have become "trash soap-opera" tier (I still can't get over the reveals surrounding the protagonist's mother and the protagonist's childhood that directly derives from it), and the drama is an all-consuming poison that seeps from most pages, instead of something used with balance to steer the story when necessary.

This is all the more disappointing, because the start of the story IS silly (why would becoming a star allow you to have your revenge on the moron who betrayed you? He even brought it up himself, so that should be the exact thing to NOT do), and there are various other silly moments in it, so you would expect the plot to embrace it more, rather than run from it as time goes on.

The story also becomes very wishy-washy. If someone ever states a principle or ideal, you can expect them to eventually go back on what they said at least 50% of the time. The protagonist being so dumbly in love is also a bit disappointing (given how it all started) and turns into one of the main sources of comedy.

I eventually stopped reading, so I am not up to the date with the most recent developments, but it doesn't sound like the story is doing anything interesting anyway.

Years and years ago this used to be one of my fave series but then the story started going weird places? I'm not really sure what to even expect from the story now, if anything. I would really like to see some proper wrap-up or ending but starting to think that's not possible.

My initial rating was 9.9/10 and my patience (albeit weakening over time) lasted about until Vol.46
The chapters after that however... 7/10 at best and that's still affected by my lingering attachment. The progress was always slow in this one but last few years it just feels like dragging a dead body. Especially the Route Project is like what am I even reading?

... Last updated on September 8th, 2023, 1:19pm

I'm now in my freaking 30s. Let that sink in.

I went away for a decade and came back to check if it's finished. Noooooope. I'll be back when I'm 40.

I had this rated 10 back in the day. Changed it for the plot getting on steroids.

... Last updated on September 5th, 2023, 2:59am

I was a child when I started reading Skip Beat - I’m an adult now - and I will probably be a grandma when this manga is finally completed…

Don’t get my wrong, I love Skip Beat and it honestly pains me to give it a seven, but honestly what is going on?! I hate how much the mangaka has drawn out the entire story, because she’s honestly robbed herself of the ending her work deserves.

I love each character she’s created; they’re fully fleshed out and compelling (especially the FMC)
but I have honestly given up reading until this work is finished (and I don’t anticipate that happening anytime soon).

I’ve loved this manga for ages, but it has gone so off the rails. End it, for the love of heaven. The love arc is ended in a reasonable way. Why are we ending the acting arc so bizarrely? The “route project” stuff is insane and doesn’t feel even remotely grounded. The protagonist was on a commercial, then a music video, then a prime time soap opera, then a CW style teen drama, and then a big budget period movie. Amazing! Stunning career arc. She’s famous now! Why is she suddenly a PA/understudy on the most absolutely batshit project imaginable? What is the budget for this nonsense? It’s like someone made Apocalypse Now but with more production delays and on a green screen and also all of the cocaine and Kyoko goes to Disney World Tokyo with her mother in law… it’s jumped all the sharks

A lot has happened since chapter 1 till 300. The characters have evolved over time. It's rollercoaster of events with drama. There are definitely strong transitions and moments of reflections (it's not one thing after another non-stop. Remember it is in the slice of life category as well). At this point in the material that has been released, you will really get to know Kyoko, Ren, Shou, and many main/supporting characters. What makes this story so wonderful are the characters. Also, the dynamics between characters and way it's illustrated in the manga. The drawing style has changed, but that's to be expected for manga continuing for over 20 years.

I started reading this manga mainly because of Kyoko and the potential romance. For anyone interested in romance, there is romance in this manga. When you get to these points, it's on-the-edge-of-your-seat good. The anticipation the author creates keeps you engaged when it does happen. It's been very interesting and rewarding, but I feel like the story is still developing. I am not going to stop reading.

... Last updated on December 21st, 2022, 1:36pm

There are some moments in the manga that I adore (Kyoko getting in character for Mio and Natsu), but I realized those were in or before chapter 200. I feel like these last 100 or so chapters have really dragged without much interesting stuff happening, and we still aren't seeing Kyoko becoming a really big name, which - along with the romance - was kind of the "point" of the story. It feels like there's been a lot of fluff without much to actually advance the story.

I just got reminded of this manga out of the blue today after a decade. In a fit of wishful thinking, I came here hoping to see the word 'complete' under status so that I can binge on the remaining chapters. Alas.. it's still going. I'll come back in another decade.

I started this when I was a teenager. I didnt Luke the character design, but luckyly I read it anyway. So enjoyable, funny.
I stopped reading when the last volumen was the number 25, and things got sloow. Before, it felt like a millon things and jokes happend in every chapter, but around v25 the arc got a bit boring.

I Will definetely re read it someday!

I started reading Skip Beat around 2008 after reading Tokyo Crazy Paradise, and then ended up put Skip Beat down for a couple years. I am still collecting the physical mangas and everything. But, last month I just haaaad to reread the whole thing and catch up on what I missed (there were over 100 chapters updated after all) I might be 15 years older than when I first started reading this series, but it has me squeezing and rolling on my bed like I was 15 again. <3x100