...Anyway. We came up with #AniWednesday, so those of you who tweet, be sure to stamp a post with #AniWednesday and then recommend something to watch! My plan is to post my recommendation in detail here, and then post it to Twitter immediately after. (Don't worry, I'm not replacing WTF Wednesday!)
Skip Beat is the story of a young woman who devotes herself entirely to her boyfriend, moving with him to Tokyo when he tries to become a musician and paying his rent, cooking, cleaning, and just generally being a doormat-- only to discover after he's reached significant success that he cheats on her and thinks she's boring. She, of course, dumps him and decides that she wants to get revenge on him...by joining the entertainment industry and eventually outshining him.
But this is the kind of series where the setup becomes less and less important as the main character grows-- and grow she does. While she occasionally has Mary Sue moments of wide-eyed and innocent perfection, she is for the most part incredibly human: she makes mistakes, misinterprets others, misjudges, etc. And like most humans, she learns from her mistakes and moves on with her life, and even finds something that she loves.
It's a solid shoujo series, but it's not a trashy romance like Vampire Knight or a multi-tiered romantic melodrama like Marmalade Boy. In fact, for the most part neither the show nor its main character is particularly girly (though she DOES have that mild obsession with the cosmetics that she never permits herself to spend money on).
So, if you haven't given Skip Beat a shot because it looks like typical shoujo fare, or because you just haven't had a good chance, here's one just waiting for you. Got 25 minutes? Try an ep and tell us what you think! (And if you've already watched it, go ahead and offer up your thoughts too.)
Seriously, this is a good idea. I'll started tweeting my picks every week. Gotta think about what to choose today..
The anime adaptation overall is wonderful (it's a 9.3 on the 1 to 10 scale, in my honest opinion). The animation quality is rather nice and quirky (extremely quirky given the cast). The voice cast is great and just further enhances the show (Marina Inoue steals the show). The intros and outros are catchy as well (my only beef with them is the second intro and the outfits they give certain characters.... Kanae in a bunny suit? Really? She would murder whoever drew that. And yes, it's fanservice, but none-the-less). If remember correctly the anime adaptation stays true to the manga, save for a few scenes or two (which if you didn't know any better were apart of the manga). The only thing that bums me out about the show is that it's not being renewed for a second season (and stops right in the middle of the Dark Moon arc, right when it was getting to the good part!). Hopefully FUNimation will acquire it, but I wouldn't be shocked if Viz picked it up because it already has the US rights for the manga.
Anyone watching or reading this series for the first time, either way to view the series is fine (manga first, anime second and vice versa). Just do both. Especially if anyone watches the anime first (because the Dark Moon arc is longer with lots of character development and even more quirky characters).
...I mean, she's awesome. Ahem.
That said, I expect we'll eventually see a second season since it seems to be doing well (Crunchyroll actually used it as an example of a show they're giving good royalties on at $3k/episode, which says to me it's one of their most successful shows). But I want it NOW! *stomps feet*
$3k per episode? Holy crap. Awesome. I hope the second season will see the light of day. I remember back when it was first announced I heard rumbling that it was a two season deal - 26 episodes a season. .. Then.. episode 25. Arg. Maybe when the economy is better for animation it will be revisited?
If so, then I have a great recommendation. ^^
I haven't got around to ever watching any episodes of the Skip Beat anime actually. I have been collecting the manga though.
Zeo: STOP STEALING NEXT WEEK'S REC. >O