Print Review: Skip Beat volumes 1-6

Review Skip Beat volumes 1-6Written by WarpshadowRating excellent

Some people might ask me why a man like me would read shojo manga. There are several reason but one of the most important reasons is that every so often I might get to read a manga as good as Skip Beat.

Working odd jobs in Tokyo rather than going to high school wasn’t the life that Kyoko Mogami wanted but for her it was all worth it to live with her boyfriend Sho. All of that changed the day that Sho became famous enough that he no longer had to depend on Kyoko and so he left her without a second thought. As furious as Kyoko was at Sho’s betrayal he was famous while she was a nobody with no way to get back at him That is unless Kyoko somehow becomes famous as he is. She strives to do so but how far can a wish for celebrity based on revenge take her?

Skip Beat is a shoujo manga but it is one unlike most of it’s brethren it is not foremost a manga about romance. The unusual plot is a good one especially given that the heroine is more a self driven person than your average shrinking violet protagonist that populate most of the genre. This is not to say that Kyoko is only her vengeance against Sho because is in Reality one of the more complex main characters in manga. Several of the other characters are likewise charming and complex. Also if you think that there isn’t any romance in this manga from my previous statement then you are sorely mistaken it is just that the romantic parts of the story don’t overwhelm the entire manga and give the character room to grow (which makes for a better romance anyways). The story structure resembles many more skill based manga (mostly shonen) in a way but does it in a way that is as inventive as the best of them. This is a manga that I would recommend to anybody male or female.