Skip Beat volume 1

Skip Beat! 1 by Yoshiki Nakamura, 2004. 184 pages. Published by Viz Media. Source: Library. 

Kyoko always thought that Sho, whose family took her in when she was small, was her prince charming. However, when Sho heads for Tokyo to make it big as a musician, Kyoko goes with him and has to quit high school to support his dream. But soon, being in the big city makes Kyoko realize that she has show business ambitions of her own!

Skip Beat is just one of the mangas that I had heard about and wanted to read, but had never had the opportunity to.

Story:
My first impression of Skip Beat wasn't all to favorable because the MC was a pushover who let her scumy friend (who she was in love with) just walk all over her. While that nearly made me throw it in disgust (just kidding, I would NEVER ever throw a book...maybe bop someone over the head with one, but never throw one) I'm glad that I didn't because otherwise I would have missed out on a great read.

Skip Beat! was a unique manga read for me because in all the ones I've read I have never come across a character quite like Kiyoko. The transformation that she went through in just a matter of pages was so dramatic that it was almost hard to believe that they same character you started the book out with was the same one in the end. She also puts new meaning into the phrase "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
I loved how easily the author made the transition for Kiyoko's character, it was brilliant.

Character(s):
Kiyoko starts off as one of those characters were you would like nothing better than to knock some sense into them because they are being complete idiots. Luckily,
While Kiyoko starts off as a pushover, and not a character I would like, I found her to be QUITE interesting when she snapped. I loved seeing the lengths in which she would go to exact her revenge upon Sho, it had me laughing so hard.

You so don't want to get me started on what a piece of work Sho was, grr, I just wanted to cause him some pain for the way that he treated Kiyoko. He was such a scummy, untalented spoiled rich brat (as you can  probably tell, he was the perfect unlikable character that the book needed).

Artwork:
For the first bit of the book I wasn't too impressed with the artwork, especially with the depiction of Kyoko (although it did fit in with how timid she was). But I did enjoy how everything looked after Kiyoko decided to spend her hard earned money on herself (much better than before).

I think that the artwork in Skip Beat! definitely improved about half-way through the first volume, especially for the characters.
Final Verdict: Skip Beat! will definitely keep you on your toes as you try to guess what Kiyoko will do next in her quest for vengeance.

I want NEED the rest of this series (so wishing I had the entire series) so I can know what will happen next! :)

Skip Beat! volume 1 earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.