Manga Maniac Cafe For the Geek in all of us

Title: Skip Beat! Vol 17

Author:  Yoshiki Nakamura

Publisher: Viz

ISBN:  978142523521

May Contain Spoilers

The more I read this series, the more I like Ren.  He is a complicated hero, with a dark past and intense, hidden feelings.  His emotions were so out of control when he was a youth that Reino could sense them from Kyoko’s precious stone, Corn.  When Ren comes across Reino and Kyoko tussling over the stone, Reino feels a surge of barely contained violence emanating from Ren. Sometimes being able to sense people’s auras is not such a good thing.  Reino’s unflappable, cool exterior crumbles away, and he is downright terrified of the other man.  Lucky for Kyoko, because now hopefully he’ll leave the poor girl alone and pick on Sho like he originally set out to do.  Kyoko just has terrible luck and can’t seem to stop drawing animosity to her.

Ren is confused about what he should do about his feelings for Kyoko.  He doesn’t want to chase her away by coming on too strong, but he is becoming increasingly frustrated that she hasn’t caught a clue about how he feels about her.  Kyoko’s ignorance is understandable – she’s found nothing but heartbreak after being used by Sho, and she’s so focused on him and getting back at him that she can’t see anything, or anyone, else.  No wonder Ren is experiencing some self-confidence issues where Kyoko and Sho are concerned,.  Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Kyoko harbors some very powerful emotions for Sho.  Will Ren ever be able to get her to see him, and only him?

Kyoko is riding a wave of success with her role on Dark Moon, but there’s a catch to it.  She’s in demand for other productions, but she’s being cast as the villain in every one.  Concerned that she’ll never be allowed to spread her creative wings and learn to fly, she worries about being typecast and considers turning them down.  To add to her troubles, she’s been asked by Lory to babysit Koo, a Japanese actor who’s made it big in Hollywood.  He’s back in Japan to promote his new movie, and he’s coming to town without an entourage.  Maybe because he’s so difficult to get along with?  Whatever the reason, Kyoko is appalled to don the pink LME jumpsuit again and play Miss Nice for the arrogant actor.  Judging from Ren’s unenthusiastic reaction upon learning of Koo’s visit, he’s going to cause some trouble for both Ren and Kyoko.  Will he drive them together or pull them apart?

Grade: B