スキップ・ビート! 51 [Skip Beat! 51]

スキップ・ビート! [Skip Beat!] #51

by Yoshiki Nakamura, 仲村佳樹

日米合作映画の撮影に向けてハリウッドに降り立ったキョ―コたち一行。
しかし、着くや否やセドリックたちによる嫌がらせを目の当たりにする。
その「洗礼」が徐々に過激さを増していく中、ついに蓮がハリウッドに合流して…!?

Chapters: 319-326

Genres: Manga, Romance, Contemporary, Drama, Comics Manga, Graphic Novels

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2024

About the author

Yoshiki Nakamura (仲村佳樹) is a Japanese mangaka. She was born June 17. Nakamura made her manga debut with "Yume de Auyori Suteki" in the manga magazine Hana to Yume in 1993.

Reviews

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm interested, but I feel like Nakamura-sensei is getting tired herself. And there's some info that she wants to make it to volume 60 and that's it. Let's hope the end is in sight!
Kyoko and Ren are still adorable. His "would you like me to blow-dry your hair?" killed me.

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

bro i just wanna see kyoko act and not them dealing with racists 🥲

[Rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this manga for over a decade now and it’s still my favorite, but sometimes it feels like it’s moving so slowly, and lately there have been some plot lines that I either don’t care about or don’t make sense to me. I mentioned this in my review of the last volume, but it’s really difficult to remember who all the characters are when there are six months or more between each volume. The current storyline involves a movie production in the US that has cast some American and some Japanese actors, and there’s also a lot of secrecy about who Ren is and who Prince Cedric, who leads the US actors, is to him.

My favorite parts of Skip Beat involve Kyoko and her journey of self-discovery, and this volume had almost none of that. She basically trailed Moko around, and then going to see Ren earlier than she expected and flirt (in her own awkward way) a little. But the main storyline is basically racism, which is really the first I’ve seen in this manga. The American actors, especially one named Big B, keep talking about how the Japanese actors haven’t earned their roles and don’t deserve their respect, and so a big divide between the two groups has occurred. Meanwhile, pranks have begun against the Japanese actors, and the director seemed to know something would happen? And now a fight has broken out with Murasame calling out this Big B guy and Ren also stepping in?

I will definitely continue reading this series (I’m invested at this point lol) but this is not one I would re-read, because not enough happens. Also, I thought we’d be getting to see Sho Fuwa soon when we glimpsed him last time but no??? Such a bummer! He had better be in the next one — I want him to see Kyoko and Ren together, being cute, even though they might not be officially dating yet (still).

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

I have to admit, I am tired of all the show biz aspects here and the lack of development between Ren and Kyoko. The series has just gone on too long. Nakamura's earlier work, Tokyo Crazy Paradise, straddled a great line between length, comedy, and romance. Skip Beat feels like a rubber band that has been stretched too far and with no where to go.

Story: Kyoko is in Hollywood acting as a personal assistant for Love Me. What she encounters in Los Angeles is an intense rivalry between the American actors and the Japanese actors. Can she and Ren show the Americans what the Japanese are made of when it comes to professional acting?

The illustration work is pretty effortless here and there are the usual endless SD characters and over-the-top Kyoko moments. But none are very new and I'm not finding anything interesting in any of the new characters. The endless "Take acting seriously ganbatte!" is almost trite at this point. Even more frustrating, Ren and Kyoko have admitted to having feelings for each other but absolutely nothing has changed volumes later. It all feels so pointless - and endless groundhog day of the same plot with minor changes. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Mariána K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I totally have some stuff I want to say about this volume, because it was so freaking awesome that I'm so hype with the cliffhanger... Damn cliffhangers!

This volume flies by before you even realize it's over... Despite the fact it has a good amount of chapters! But the content here is delightful and has a wonderful payoff that the setup was from the previous volume. My favorite part of the previous volume was the word play between Ren and Kyoto, and the payoff from their reunion in this volume was beyond delightful. There's a part of me that feels like I've been waiting over 10 years just to see this one segment! (I recently was checking dates and apparently they started writing this series in 2002, I personally didn't start reading it till 2008 so I haven't quite hit 20 years of dedicated reading yet... I'm close though lol!)

In this volume the anticipated conflict that was being hinted at in volume 50, the last volume, has definitely hit the fan here. It's not getting resolved until next volume though... There are a number of really good moments for the readers to enjoy along the way and even watching the bullying and frustration going on still gets those side one liners that crack you up for team Japan.

Honestly it's hard to talk about this volume without spoilers, I'm still trying my best to keep the minimal but my favorite bits... It's just too hard to not talk about them!

[L. J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repeated review.

I am so uninterested in this series, but I want to see it through (at least to the last translated volume; not sure I’ll pick it up again when more comes out). I won’t be making proper reviews for it anymore since my thoughts are just generally the same all the time anyway (lots of annoyance/anger); my rating will tell you if I liked or disliked it. You can safely assume, however, that I still despise Sho and Ren, and everyone else, but Kyo and her bestie (who sometimes isn’t around and sometimes is, much like Sho).

[FER · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a flicker of goodness when Kyoko called Ren to chat casually, and the interlude outside his hotel room. So cute! But that was probably 10 pages. The rest ... happened. The American actors full on shunning of the Japanese cast. Compelling if tightened up and went somewhere. Tho, was that a hint the prince like dude is involved in Ren's past? And while I'm still here, Lotus in the Mud when?

[鯊 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son of a bitch那邊我真的笑出來。不過有時候會覺得日本人是不是有點過於自卑囧 十年前我都覺得沒有這樣了，但感覺很多對美國的刻板印象都還是二三十年前沒更新了？之前看黑子的籃球劇場版也是有這種突兀感，美國人給別人印象如此差真的很悲哀。是不知道美國也是很多人超哈日的嗎？（但這部漫畫確實超拖，所以時間線確實嚴格來說不是現在當下😅 但再怎麼樣應該也不會是設定在2、30年前吧😝 是的話我沒話說🤣）

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

(⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+♡ Utter Bastard <--(perfect pronunciation)

(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

I love it so much. Ren's laughing face at the end of 324 is adorably priceless.

The non-linear aspect of the storytelling was a bit odd.

Bring on 52!

[CG_READS]

I kept getting thrown off by the timeskips but truly the worst aspect of this volume is how short it is. The books are half the size they used to be and the story just keeps dragging on with no end in sight. It's just not worth the money.
So disappointing when this used to be my favorite series.

[Khari · Rating 3 out of 5]

感想を書くこと忘れた。

[Natalie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, so, so good. Great moments for Kyoko and Ren. Learned some interesting facts of western actors vs Japanese actors. Also, a cliff hanger!?!

[May LeadStone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh...

I'm starting to get disenchanted with the series. Not much is going on in the books as before,and this is one of the few manga I still read.

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I physically threw this book SEVERAL times away from me, because oh my god, it’s stressful/heartwarming/secondhand embarrassing/nerve wracking.

[Keri Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galblastit! It ended on such an exciting cliffhanger!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shooting is off to a rocky start as the American cast refuses to treat the Japanese as real actors!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. I read this in English but couldn't find it in Goodreads' catalog to rate. I enjoyed this book and look for forward to this arc.