Skip Beat! Love and War

Skip Beat!
directed by Kiyoko Sayama
based on the manga of the same name by Yoshiki Nakamura
Released March 2009

 

A girl, who devoted her life to serve a young man she had loved dearly and sincerely, takes revenge as she discovers how she was only used as a mere servant and not given the appreciation she deserves. How she plans on taking revenge? By entering the world of showbiz and making herself beautiful and popular.

Her name is Kyoko Mogami and she had wasted the whole of her childhood and teenage life being a loyal servant and companion to Sho Fuwa, now a famous singer in Japan. Every girl in the city is crazy about Sho and Kyoko was just so proud being Sho’s constant companion and friend since childhood. She had worked all day and all night just to earn money so she and Sho will have enough to spend while in the city as Sho, who though famous is still a newbie, climbs his way up to the top of showbusiness. Kyoko even forgot how to take good care of herself because of spending all her time for Sho and therefore her appearance isn’t anything near to pretty nor elegant.

However, one night, just when she tried to give a surprise visit to Sho in the studio to bring him dinner, she discovered how she was only taken advantage of. Everything she learned came from Sho’s mouth, how he was only using her to make everything easier for him, and how Kyoko looks so plain. And that made Kyoko burst out in anger. Her deadly promise is to get revenge to Fuwa Sho by entering showbiz and becoming beautiful and even more popular than he is.

What happens next gets more and more interesting. It might be dramatic at first but this anime series is so full of hilarity. I like this series because unlike all other shoujo anime, the heroine here is a woman who thinks and uses her brain, and not the type who’s so irritatingly dumb and stupid.

Well anyway, another character will come in the picture, Tsuruga Ren, a bachelor and a very popular actor who Sho deem as his rival in the showbusiness. Kyoko hated this man in the beginning only for the reason that Sho hated him but that changes for Kyoko later in the series. The dynamic between these three characters are so full of tension and crazy interesting. Kyoko’s adventure as she acquires her place in the world of acting had brought me so much laughter. She met other people who taught her so much about love and friendship. And her interactions with Sho Fuwa everytime after her promised revenge are all so intense and ugh I just love those two! How they express their hatred and anger (and concern) towards each other are so anticipating. But don’t get me wrong here, who I want Kyoko to be with is no one but Tsuruga Ren.

Also, they already made a live action drama for the anime! It’s a Taiwanese drama starring Ivy Chen and Super Junior’s Dong Hae and Si Won.

The live action is awesome too. The dramatic parts are heart-wrenching and the romance is fangirl-squeak-inducing haha! However, the drama didn’t make me root for Sho Fuwa as much as I did in the anime or in the manga. But it made me love Tsuruga Ren so much more with Si Won playing his character. Still, the drama is really good and Ivy Chen pulled it off as Kyoko.

4.2/5