Nakamura, Yoshiki, Skip Beat!, Vol. 1-3 (3-in-1 Edition). San Francisco: Viz Media, LLC., 2012.
ISBN: 978-1421542263 $14.99 568 pages Rated: Teen
Genre: manga, shojo, comedy, drama, romance, slice of life
Summary:
Skip Beat! is often described by its fans as the reverse Cinderella story. Kyoko Mogami followed her prince, Sho Fuwa, so he could pursue his dream of becoming a famous singer and idol. Supporting Sho both financially and emotionally, Kyoko was shocked to overhear one day that the only reason Sho brought her to Tokyo with him was so Kyoko could be his maid. The resulting confrontation created a challenge: If Kyoko wanted her revenge she would have to become a celebrity to reach him. The first volumes are about Kyoko's bumpy entrance into the entertainment world.
Pros & Cons:
A little disclaimer: This is my favorite manga series and while I will try to be objective and keep the gushing to a minimum, I can't help but enthuse over it. Kyoko was the perfect female lead in a fairy tale (which she adores). In a sense, she did everything right but for the wrong person. It takes a while for reality to hit our main character but it does so and in a believable way. Her reasons for revenge are not petty and wanting to recapture her ability to love are carefully laid out throughout the story. Some issues about the series is that it is incredible long (31 issues and counting), the artwork has weird proportions at times, and generally 3-in-1 book often break apart easily. Overall, there is so much to like in this series that I'm often recommending it!
Here's a clip to the anime and there is also a j-drama!
Some random reader comments from Mangafox and Gaia Online forums:
"Are you kidding?! this manga is a materpiece! 
okay, maybe i went over the top but seriusly, Skip Beat! is one of the best shoujo manga out there even though its genre is romantic comedy, they are only secondary to the main plotline which is Kyoko striving for what she aims.The comedy is different from stereotypical mangas and there's nothing tragically sad (IMO). -ILaD
okay, maybe i went over the top but seriusly, Skip Beat! is one of the best shoujo manga out there even though its genre is romantic comedy, they are only secondary to the main plotline which is Kyoko striving for what she aims.The comedy is different from stereotypical mangas and there's nothing tragically sad (IMO). -ILaD
"The drama is really good where Nakamura-sensei slowly develops and gets in depth each of the main characters and their relationship. Anyway, this manga will definitely exceed your expectation as it did mine (if you've read a lot of shoujo manga)i don't want to give any spoilers so, i'll just simply say that it is a must read!
PS: if you're not into excrutiatingly slow love relationships you might find it really dragging."
- kyaa
"I expect that after the popularity of Tokyo Crazy Paradise, Nakamura-sensei had enough credit to propose a really long series and that's why Ren has such a complicated personal history and an elaborate history with Kyouko. I mean, his habit of clutching his watch first showed up in ch.67, but it was explained only in ch.161. The Corn stone was introduced in ch.5, so even back then Ren and Kyouko's childhood connection was already set in stone (pun intended). That's a lot of preplanning—and the overarching story of Kyouko's rise to stardom and her emotional recovery hasn't been finished yet. She received the offer for her first meaty role (Mio) only in ch.52, so all the chapters so far don't count as "extensions" due to popular demand. Nakamura-sensei is just maintaining the same realistic, measured pace that Skip Beat has had since its start. In the free talk in ch.102, Nakamura-sensei said she still couldn't see the end to Skip Beat, unlike when she reached the 100th chapter of Tokyo Crazy Paradise, so Skip Beat was intended to be a long series from the start." -Vampirecat
"I love this series and the grudge-spirits are hilarius! Can't wait! RenxKyoko love!!"-Emmaloves
