December 5, 2016

Review: Skip Beat [Chapter 242]

Free talk: I decided to stick to writing a commentary for this series again. ^^; The Chinese scanlation is always delayed before but now, it is oddly not release yet. So, for those waiting for summaries, sorry about this and thanks for reading the summaries before. ^-^

So, one of Erika’s three bodyguards wanted to watch Kimiko failing to get the role the second time around. I think if videotaping was allowed, he won’t just burn it in his mind but tape it for Erika to see. Lol, perhaps watch it over and over again =P Of course, based on Erika’s twitching, she’ll be ‘revived’ somehow or perhaps, she’ll want to personally see it, too.

Given her original demeanor, she won’t let this happen while she is at that state. Actually, about that, I’m wondering if somehow Erika recovered, won’t she get the Momiji role back? Iirc, what ails her was something mental and it is up to her if she can walk again or not. Somehow, I can surmise that something dramatic related to that or her will happen at the end of the audition.

Well, they are in a huge film set which got Kyouko all perky with the idea of getting to be together with Kanae day and night. Kyouko cannot help it since she hasn’t experienced it before. Kanae cannot help it since she is allergic to overly affectionate people like how her family was with her.

Still, Kyouko seems to be able to hide her uneasiness when the two are not looking at her. It seems that she is using those swords as some sort of charm that she can pull through this since she tends to look and hold them during such times.

I think Yashiro’s real reason in going upstairs with Kyouko is to help her with her role aside from just checking the competition or going to the manager’s room. I would assume that it will now come to play why Yashiro decided to help Kyouko with this one. Helping her with the audition is definitely one reason.

I’m not too sure if he was hoping of a slight chance that Ren can still get the role or what he’s doing might enable Ren to get the role again. He did feel really guilty about declining the offer though I’m not sure if he’ll do it up to this extent. Nevertheless, he is the major supporter of Ren x Kyouko.

From how the others are talking, I wonder if they are hinting that Kimiko is into the theater since she isn’t that into television. Before talking with Yashiro, she does seem to be the gloomy type. She seems to be two-faced which isn’t surprising because of what happened with Erika. But then, that serious demeanor is similar with Jouji’s. So, the cutey-cute is fake, or it was real but now suppressed? Unless, it is real only if it is with Ren or someone related to him like Yashiro.

Yashiro is obviously acting dumb about why Kimiko dyed her hair. Hopefully, Kyouko’s reactions won’t give him away. ^^; It is interesting that the ‘world’ is mentioned here as her reason for the image change. I would think that this drama can really make the people part of it become known internationally. She would know because her relative is the producer.

I’m getting ahead of myself into thinking that Ren should be in this drama so that there will be some international promotion and they can both go to the US to finally close some loose ends regarding Ren’s past =P But then, ah, I don’t think Asian dramas are internationally released in the US, though possible in other countries with local dubs. Still, going ‘international/world’ might be Kimiko’s goal here that she’s desperate for the role.

One of the actresses is sharp to notice Kyouko being familiar. Everyone knows LME and has found out about her name but they still have zero knowledge of her works. That might be Kyouko’s advantage. Jouji confirms Kyouko’s fears that he holds the strongest influence on who’ll get chosen. The basis here is the hair color.

For a super manager, it is really suspicious that Yashiro didn’t mention about dyeing Kyouko’s hair black. So, perhaps, this is a way of making her stand out or at least, change the ‘ideal look’ of what Momiji should look like? Perhaps, it is also to ‘humiliate’ Jouji for using mere physical appearance as a reason to disqualify people.

Actually, I don’t think Erika dyed her hair either. It would be strange that they’ll dye it back to the original color after the accident which I assume is after the audition. I’m not sure if she cut her hair as part of her disguise or it is because of the accident.

Kanae didn’t mention to Kyouko about the hair color either. I would assume a lot more made a similar mistake when they are auditioning for Chidori. So, I’ll guess Jouji is just making it an excuse to get rid of the competition so that it will be easier for Kimiko to get the role.

Kyouko and the others are already told to leave so I’m not too sure how Yashiro can change that decision. Will he just say something to Jouji or hint something to Kyouko. They would have to impress the other people since Jouji is already biased against them. We’ll have to wait and see what his plan is.

On a side note, I wonder if Yashiro helped Ren with this kind of issue before. He seems experienced on what to expect and how to deal with the competition. Also, on how to deal with biased producers or anyone related to the casting who is already favoring someone in an audition.

Unless, Yashiro is the very talented manager type who can immediately adapt to this kind of disadvantage which would be kind of unrealistic. Hm, if the mangaka wanted to ‘show’ Ren again, I would think that perhaps, Yashiro’s plan has something to do with how Ren dealt with such a situation. I mean, that might make Kyouko think that senpai has indirectly helped her again. =P

19 comments:

  1. There is some speculation that Yashiro knew about the selection based on black hair and has a black wig in his bag for Kyouko

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    1. Is that so, landofhekwt. Though, I wonder what is the purpose of doing it later on rather than beforehand? She already got a bad first impression from the producer.

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  2. I am glad you are doing the commentary for Skip Beat again. I was missing it! :-D

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  3. I'm wondering if it's some sort of test of character or something to see how the actresses respond. Maybe Kyouko will go into character as how Momiji would react. The other actress just objected right away. As someone mentioned, I also read speculation that Yashiro might have a wig in his bag, but that seems a little anti-climatic to me. But we'll see!

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    1. Possible, squeaker. A test for non-black haired girls?

      True. That would seem to be an easy way out of this predicament. I would like something clever and different than that.

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  4. Maybe it has nothing to do with hair colour but that they are all standing? They came later than others or they are lowering themselves by not sitting, something like that. Hair colour doesn't seem that big deal in show business. And we aren't even sure if this person is a producer, Kyoko is just speculating based on how this person acts and speaks.

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    1. Nope, SakuraDreamer. Kimiko and the inquisitive one are also standing.

      I'm not sure about sitting = lowering themselves. I would think standing is more polite/inferior since sitting would be usually for the big shots. Yashiro did offer Kyouko a seat but before she can sit, Kimiko came to talk with them. <- just checked that there are enough seats around/there are folding chairs at the side.

      Thinking about it, you do have a point about the hair color. The inquisitive one wasn't patted on the shoulder and that is obviously not black hair. I would think that the basis would be Kyouko is 'unknown'. 'Unknown actresses' = why bother, bye-bye.

      Even if he isn't, he definitely seems to act and have the power to decide on the casting and crew.

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    2. Ah, thinking about it...she looks older so the inquisitive one might be Kimiko's manager ^^;;

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  5. Thanks for taking the time to talk about it, Kat.

    I was just reading everything here and I wanted to talk about it, lol. I missed the posts about Skip Beat. Anyways, there is one little misunderstanding, the "inquisitive" one is actually Kimiko's manager. Since the producer met them beforehand and if he was only aiming at the people who don't have black hair, he would know not to pat her shoulder. Moving on, I like your theory of the theater acting with Kimiko. That would explain why no one really heard of her, who are like Kyoko, but I'm still trying to figure out if she gets the roles through nepotism in her family's works. Also with Erika, I'm also curious if she did theater acting as well and maybe met Kimiko before this audition? Though if she did then the three servants with her would know that too and tell Kyoko beforehand, so that theory might be out. Also I agree with you on the black wig, I mentioned before when I was talking about it with someone else, if the problem was the hair color Yashiro would have told her, it would be weird for her to walk in unprepared. So I vote for that the test has already began and the producer only tapped the shoulders of the new auditionees. The ones who came here before probably already know and went through it... the ones without black maybe. He might be testing their professionalism and plus he said before that if they don't know the reason that they didn't pass they already failed as an actress, so maybe they need to know the reason he said what he did. Then there's the theory of because they are the new ones that arrived. The producer might be tired of going through the second round and is only entertaining Erika's father by doing the auditions again, but isn't taking it seriously and already decided it will be Kimiko who got second place in the last audition. What do you think, Kat?

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    1. Thanks for reading, Brittany ^-^

      Oh, I thought so...realized it a bit later on ^^;; Noticing that she looked older.

      That's right. Hm...it makes me wonder if the ones patted are also the ones not given fillers to join. Kyouko didn't know about it until she specifically asked about it.

      I would think that there is a high possibility that it does. Yashiro did look at the computer that Kyouko was researching on which had a picture of Kimiko. I would think that is one factor why he volunteered to help her out. To get the role, something more is needed rather than just Kyouko's acting abilities.

      Of course, regarding roles for theater, it would depend if her family is into theater too or it is something that she prefers to do. Perhaps, to get the roles without depending on her family. I recall someone telling me that Erika did during high school.

      That's right. Most likely, the newcomers to the audition or the 'unknowns' in the industry. Possible though I interpreted it as the guy being cocky and belittling them. ^^;

      Not sure about professionalism...it can be interpreted in a different way. Like, how eager are you for the role? If you don't protest and just accept = not eager = bye-bye. Lol, that would fit Kimiko.

      I would think it is the latter based on what was hinted so far. If it is that, it would be interesting how Kyouko, with Yashiro's help, can change their mind about it.

      Based on Kyouko's prior experiences, she can easily impress people with her performance even from those who don't think she fits the role. So, here, what if they don't even want to see her act.

      If the role is decided, that would be the preferred way of doing things for newcomer means unknown possibility of doing a better portrayal. Kimiko might lose the role.

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  6. Kat! Thank you for the Skip Beat summaries, again! I appreciate your time and work.

    After re-reading the last chapter, Yashiro surely has something in the works; aside from potentially having a black wig in his suitcase. hahaha! He is, after all, a man who is perceptive, calculating, and has connections. Oh! He also possesses a great electrical discharge; one might mistake him for a robot or an alien. Typing this out makes me realize he and Kyouko have so much in common.

    Yashiro to our girl Kyouko "If I recognize any of them, then you'll be able to prepare a strategy and get ready, right?" This is Yashiro already in battle mode, prepping Kyouko. Gosh! He is quite the actor himself, ignoring the thing with the hair color (his suspicions were confirmed at the end of the chapter) and feigning ignorance to Kimiko’s presence when she approaches him.

    When he tries to get Kyouko to sit and calm down he says about her reluctance to take a seat “Don’t worry, no one will mind. If there were a highly influential top actress here, then things would be different. But here we don’t have to worry.” Emphasis added.

    In the end, it is a battlefield of the mind along with who you know in the industry and current status (influence). Yashiro is known for being Tsuruga Ren's manager and he thus uses this status to support Kyouko. Not to mention, the actresses perked up with ears like an African elephant’s at Kyouko’s mention of being with LME. Yashiro then compounds the situation he states he is, indeed, holding two positions. Though, in reality, he is doing volunteer work for his position with Kyouko while Ren is away. He is framing things wonderfully. Excited to see how he handles the disqualification the gentleman issued.

    The title, "Rope of Hope" seems to signify Kyouko and Erika's fate intertwined and the diminishing hope that they cling to. Yashiro’s smile at the end implies not all is lost – there is hope. Isn’t there always…

    Thanks for reading my mullings. I like reading yours along with your thoughtful quotes of the day.

    A happy Merry Christmas to you. Be blessed.

    ~may

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    1. Thanks for reading, may ^-^

      Hehe, is that so.

      Indeed and hopefully, Kyouko quickly catches on ^^

      Yup ^^ Nicely put.

      Merry Christmas to you, too and same to you ^-^

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  7. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!! <3

    -a silent reader

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  8. Ahh it's been two days since it's release! I can't wait for the next chapter! AAAAAAAAH!Honestly I can't begin to think what Yashiro has planned. I used to think that Yashiro might speak up to counter what Jouji is doing. But seeing all this talk, it makes me think Yashiro might have a bit of a smarter plan going on. Aaah can't wait.

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