Original.Tough.Adaptable.Keen.Unique

***SPOILERS FOR HOT GIMMICK AHEAD!!

I wish my posts weren't so irregular. Maybe it would teach me discipline.... Nah. Well, this week I've decided to review Hot Gimmick S. For fans of the original series, Hot Gimmick, I'm pretty sure you've debated whether or not to get the novel/alternate ending Hot Gimmick S. For starters, it's just a recap of everything in the manga series. Then it goes into the alternate ending, which instead of picking Ryoki, she ends up going with -ahem, one of the other two... Take your guess (I wonder what the S in Hot Gimmick S stands for?). So for those of you who didn't like Hatsumi ending up with inconsiderate, mental terrorist Ryoki, this book is for you.

The recap part (we'll call it part 1) is subpar to say the least. They're not even completed sentences. Some of the lines are straight from the book. Which is good, but you know how a picture makes a thousand words? Well, I guess that was too hard for Megumi Nishizaki. She basically has the broken conversation in there, expecting any normal, self-respecting human to read it... and understand it. Props to her for making it basically unintelligible. It also bluntly states who she was beat around and who she was almost raped. Seriously... at that point you have to wonder how the hell did series 1 end the way it did? In part 2, we go into alternate-ending land, and experience how it was supposed to be written... without our favorite mental terrorist. Part 2 mainly focuses on Shinogu, his past, and his relationship with Hatsumi. The book is a bit rushed (kind of written for a middle-schooler, despite the obvious adult themes) so you don't really get Shinogu/Hatsumi relationship. You doubt the credibility. The artwork at the end does the work justice, though. For those of you who don't like the simplistic style of Miki Aihara (come on, who doesn't, it doesn't distract from the story!!) this book probably isn't for, Hell, the whole series isn't for you. The story is touching. The way it's told is not.

In a nutshell, this book is hardly worth the 30 minutes it takes to read (seriously, you'll zoom through part 1). If you are a big fan of the original 12-volume Hot Gimmick series, go ahead and buy this just to put yourself at peace, but this... isn't as good as it could have been.

Skip Beat- Yoshiki Nakamura
-Viz, $8.99

Ok, I know I've written about Skip Beat before, but... this time it's different (OK, I really haven't... ). I'm gonna review the entire series today. So you guys are in for a treat. Hopefully. As of last Friday, I own all 11 volumes currently out. I'll start out with a quick overview of the series. Kyoko Mogami is a woman on a mission. A mission for REVENGE! [/eerie sounds] Okay, it's not that serious. But don't doubt the undertones. Kyoko was at one time dating Sho Fuwa (when they were middle schoolers). She was head-over-heels in love with him. But he used her up like a battery. And then just tossed her away when he got his big break (he's an idol). Even though she supported him throughout the time when he was a no one, he still "casted her away when he became famous" [/back of volume 1]. Also stated on the back cover, "Kyoko won't suffer in silence-- She's going to get her sweet revenge by beat Sho in show biz!" Basically put, Kyoko's gonna beat Sho at his own game. She's gonna be a better actor, at a rival agency, than him.

And that's the plot (her extracting her revenge). For the first 2 volumes, at least. She obsesses over getting her revenge so much so, that her "inner demons" (literally) come out. The story is never really about that lame girl, you know, the ones you always see in Shoujo manga. This is a story about a girl who gets past all that he-dumped-me shizz-whiz. And goes on to getting her just rewards by bringing him down. Very quickly, she learns that she can't be very successful if she only works up to bring Sho down.

Throughout Skip Beat, Yoshiki Nakamura wastes no time, getting to a good story. Right after we get past all the Sho-dumps-Kyoko drama, this story gets real good. One of the first dilemmas we see very quickly are problems between the agency and Kyoko's attitude (which is vengeful). After she gets cast and all that, I guess Nakamura goes into auto-drive and writes a bunch of really great short stories about Kyoko while she works as a low-level talento doing some real nitty-gritty jobs (as nitty-gritty as an acting job gets). Then we get to a real story arc. I won't really spoil it for you guys, but all I can say is that, when I read Skip Beat, I forget I'm reading a Shoujo manga. It's so serious, yet, very light-hearted and extremely funny. You'll totally laugh right out of your chair when reading this series.

On a quick note, the artwork is pretty decent. Nothing really extravagant, but Nakamura can really draw, when it comes to those emotional scenes. And she also does this really cute chibi thing, where she just draws this big head and... yeah, you get it. Whatever the art lacks (which isn't much), story definitely makes up for it. This isn't any marginal shoujo, it's completely unique and takes the position of a girl who sees past all the angst and truly blossoms. This series is definitely worth a try. Drop by your local bookstore, and pick up all the volumes. And I'm not asking. I'm telling.

After being MIA for a month or so, I've returned from the castle to which I was whisked away (or as you call it, kidnapped) Anyways, The last week was really crazy, because we had exchange students at our school, so... yeah. I would do another review for you but, I really don't have the time this monday morning. So I'll just update you on my newest manga:

Candidate for Goddess- v.1-5 (Complete)
A Perfect Day for Love Letters- v.1-2 (Complete)
Pastel v.9
Tsubasa Chronicle v. 16
Negima v.17
translucent v.2-3
Skip Beat v.11
and... gahhh, a bunch of other stuff. Since my last video, I got 27 more books. You can keep track of my collection at my VMB (linkage!) Remember to add 27 for my Naruto books!!

~Happy Spring Break guys, I'll update later this week!!