Skip Beat! – Review

As a fan of Asian movies and longtime fan of anime, I found the perfect combination in a little anime called Skip Beat about the behind-the-scenes world of drama and movies in Japan. The story focuses on a young, naive girl name Kyoko Mogami who after being dumped by her singer boyfriend Shotaro Fuwa vow to take vengeance on him by becoming more famous than he is. The trouble is, she doesn’t have any talent to become a star let alone be brighter than the star Shotaro has already became. However, what she doesn’t know is that she does have a talent. She simply hasn’t given it a chance to grow.

Kyoko’s whimsical plan for revenge starts with her trying to become a talent for one of the biggest talent agency in Japan, L.M.E., which also happens to be Shotaro’s rival agency. As ludicrous as the plot may seem, Skip Beat tells a story of a girl who has always lived to make others happy. This time, she’s finally doing something for her own sake, though the reason is questionable. To bar Shotaro from the limelight he so lust after, Kyoko tries to become an actress. This ridiculous motive gives Ren Tsuruga, L.M.E.’s poster child, great distaste and disdain for Kyoko. As an actor who wholehearted love his work, he can not forgive someone who acts with the evil thoughts of revenge as the backbone for all her actions.

I find the entire series is immensely funny and incredibly educational. There has always been movies about…making movies. This is my first time seeing it on the 2D screen. The humor mainly comes from Kyoko and her army of ghouls that erupts form her loveless heart. After being dumped in such a humiliating manner, Kyoko vows to lock away her heart forever. Her inability to recognize love or understand it is both funny and poignantly sad. It’s also an eye-opening experience getting to see the casting process, what getting into character means, the entire filming experience from working with cast and crew, to interaction with the director. This anime is truly an in-depth view into Japan’s acting world.

The show isn’t perfect though. One, it ends a bit early and die-hard fans must read the manga to know what happens next. Rumor of a second season has been floating about but there hasn’t been anything concrete. And two, while the show has its funny moments and interesting in its attention to the background story of making a movie, the topics covered every episode might not be of interest to everyone. If you’re into flying maiden or guns a-blazing scenes, this show won’t have any of that. You will, however, get to see all the wires to make a girl fly and how fake guns work. Skip Beat shows how a movie or drama is put together and how actors create a world that can cause an audience to suspend believes for a few hours. If that’s your cup of tea, this is the show for you.