Edit to Skip Beat chapter 171

[shirayuri_hazu]

 Just in case some of you might have missed the changes I made to the translation :) I realized some of the mistakes I made when I reread the magazine :p

So I'll list what I had edited basically (can't remember everything I changed though :p)

1. #PG03

The part about the last lock. It was opened by Ren in the end of last

Comments

[golden_meliades]

Ugh. That saying makes me feel violent. (And a bit nauseated.) Any guy who expressed that thought to me would be sorry for it.

Certainly looking like that in public (and they're in front of the media right now, too) will get Kyoko some attention, but the whole thing still gives me the creeps. I'd be fine if Kijima weren't involved but now it all feels unnatural and creepy.

Plus with Kyoko saying she thinks maybe she hates him (Ren) I can't imagine there are going to be developments we LIKE in the next few chapters. But then, I think anyone who has been with Skip Beat a while realized that even if Kyoko's heart managed to be touched, she'd fight tooth and nail.

It's progress, for sure, but we've still got the final, big boss battle to go, I think. Plus we still have a lot of unresolved story...why does Kuon feel responsible for Rick's death? When will Kyoko find out who Ren really is? How will she react when she does? And what is going to happen to Kyoko's career and her revenge scheme?

I've heard people speculating that Skip Beat is coming to an end but I can't see all of that being wrapped up quickly.

[shirayuri_hazu]

XD I think I can imagine you strangling that poor(?) guy with the dress XXD

Yes, actually I also feel the same way about Kijima. He really is making the whole problem bigger. I don't want Ren to hate Kyouko. I feel dreadful when I think that Ren might turn his anger on Kyouko like the time at Karuizawa. He was angry at himself but he couldn't do anything about it, and Kyouko looked so pitiful back then. Not that I think Kyouko isn't to blame for this situation (For lying to Kijima. And not listening to what others are saying is dangerous *takes note*. Imagine if she was brought into some hotel room at that time Oo She can't say she was forced or anything as she said OK to Kijima ☆ ><; )

I guess you might be right that we might not like what's going to happen next but.. well, we can dream at least XD All the guys at 2ch. were saying let's bet Ren is going to confess his love in the next chapters (though we all know it's not going to happen). But I think it's a huge step forward that Kyouko realizes she's fallen (or is falling, if we are to quote what she's saying) in love with Ren. What will happen I don't know but let's just pray it's not too bad.

And the battle is with Kyouko herself? Oh, I just have this thought hit my head: Shou discovering her feelings and said again what he said to her when he thought she was in love with Reino. Kyouko doesn't like Shou thinking of her a weak and foolish woman (her impression on women in love, or at least herself when she was in love with Sho). Hmm.. this is a scary thought. He'll cause more scars on Kyouko if he's not careful with his words *hopes sensei will bind him in bandages and put him to sleep next to Tutankamen*

Yep, it's also my belief that SB is far from ending. It's just getting more interesting.

[golden_meliades]

Ha ha, it's funny how easily my personality is picked up :) I'm not one of those sweet, defenceless girls who believes she's obliged to be 'nice'...to be polite to a guy who is making her feel threatened...because she's female and good girls are nice and polite. Quite the contrary...women have to be guarded, and if that means being cold or even violent, I totally approve that. As some people have found out first hand :D

Kyoko is not a defenceless girl, though. Reino was able to victimize her because his 'powers' overtook hers, but a normal guy like Kijima isn't going to be able to do anything even if he wants to. (I don't like him but I'm not sure he's actually BAD. A bit of a jerk, but probably not a criminal.)

Yes, I think the big boss is Kyoko. There may be little bosses to conquer even after Kyoko has given in, but it's her anti-love feelings that are the largest obstacle in the romance of the story. And since the story isn't even BASED on the romance, precisely, I think there is a lot left to go. Having them fall in love and then THE END would be a bit cheap and turn Skip Beat into a shallow romance, in my opinion. It's also about Kyoko's effort to discover herself and make a place for herself in the world where she is valued. Ren, too. The romance is just a step in their development, not the end game, or even the POINT of the game. So I don't think it's that close to ending. I think we're over half way done, now, but that's about all I'm willing to guess. (So as long as it ends within 340 chapters I guess I'm right. We'll see!)

I'm a bit dreading the developments of the next few chapters as I think they'll be kind of torturous, but I still think it'll be very interesting.

[golden_meliades]

Oh, PS. I also think that some VERY interesting story could be had after Ren and Kyoko both realize their feelings for each other together and form a relationship. It's not like they can fall in love and have it automatically be happily-ever-after. Ren has his past, as does Kyoko, and more than that, anyone Ren dates would probably be hated by a large portion of Japanese women and in mangaverse, that seems like it would cause a lot of persecution.

It'll be a bit disappointing if we only get to see them get together with no clue of how they STAY together.

[shirayuri_hazu]

OHH! I agree!! Sensei will definitely won't end the story prematurely. Just look at TCP! Tsukasa and .. whatever-his-name-is had lots of troubles waiting for them even after they both know they are in love with each other. New enemies, or existing problems.

I think Kyouko's fans and the other guys might not like it too. ..I wonder if the agency will consent to their love. I know Lory is a servant of love or something, but normally the agencies will intervene in this kind of things. They don't want their artistes losing fans.

[golden_meliades]

PS: I hate Ren's suit. Really hate it. And Kyoko's dress makes her look like a layer cake that was dropped sideways onto the floor. So the faces look good but in this chapter the clothing is just the pits :)

I just want a nice, FULL ending. I'd be really unhappy if things were wrapped up just because Ren and Kyoko got together. That's like saying that romantic love is all that life is about. For someone like me (an asexual who has no interest in ever being in a romantic relationship) that's an offensive thought.

I want Ren and Kyoko to get together as much as anybody, but not at the expense of the rest of the story. But Nakamura-sensei has proven her ability to the point where I don't bother to doubt her even when things look bad...I know they'll come around.

[shirayuri_hazu]

:D Ren's suit does draw eyes to the buttons. And Kyouko's dress.. looks like the type of clothes people call "dasai".. But I think it might actually look good in the real picture, just that as sensei did say she's not very good with fashion so.. hmm.. Anyway, her hairstyle is definitely what they call mature here. Long and straight sleek hair is in. Yes. I've seen some sophisticated female celebrities having that hairstyle. Not that short hair is bad or anything, but long hair does exude a kind of pheromone that only mature or.. adult women possess (I think). Well, teenagers love being told they look grown-up :p

Yes, I think we don't have to worry about that. Sometimes I feel like peeking in Sensei's mind, I want to know how she's able to spin the tale so good. I'm sure the ending will be good, with all matters resolved.

[golden_meliades]

My hair is certainly sleek...but VERY short. Short like a man's cut, though the bangs are longer. Though being 32, I don't care if anyone thinks my look is 'mature' or not :) (Once you're clearly past the stage of maturation, it doesn't hold that much allure any more. Or not for me, anyway...though I never cared since I always looked much older than I was, as a teen. Now I'm happy to look YOUNGER than I am.) I guess everyone has different taste; to me long straight hair that has no shape like that is very dull. (But then, who should trust me? I am literally in the middle of dying my hair a black-blue. 17 minutes left to go!)

Kyoko's dress looks to me to be just a lot of weird long frills.

'Dasai' is slang for uncool/nerdy/plain/boring? (Can't trust internet information...)

Ren just looks really weird and awkward in that suit. Cloddish. Which so isn't 'Ren'. :) She's given him some very cool outfits before, though, so I'll assume she just had an odd week or two while doing this chapter :)

[shirayuri_hazu]

XD Black-blue? Wow. But black-blue is beautiful I think (We have people who have black-red hair, natural though :p Lack of nutrients? Or just the natural color I don't know). I kind of want to see how you look with that hair color.

Oh, yes. It means uncool. Not necessarily plain and boring. Sometimes it means "old". Or just doesn't suit the wearer thus making her or him look weird :p

Maybe sensei is down with sickness or something (which I pray isn't really happening). Some mangakas do have terrible lifestyles. Or she's just overworked.

[golden_meliades]

I can probably get a picture of it tomorrow. It hasn't fully dried yet but it actually looks pretty natural. The dye went on navy...really quite blueberry coloured...but I'm not noticing the blue that much as it's drying. Maybe out in the sun... (Hmm...yellow sunshine, blue hair...green hair?)

I had been pretty faithful to purple-black before, thought I'd try blue. (I've had a blue halo before...a literal deep electric blue in a wide streak all around my head, but it was just too much maintenance. I had to redye it every week to keep the colour intense.)

Japanese folks mostly have warm skin-tones though, right? So probably red-black looks better than blue-black.

Say, have you heard of Momiji dolls? I know they're not actually Japanese (they're British) but the way they're presented, with the name and being styled like kokeshi dolls, they give the impression of being Japanese. I was just kind of wondering if that would make them popular in Japan. Or unpopular.

[shirayuri_hazu]

Yes. I guess red-black looks kind of natural on the Japanese (even though it's supposed to naturally black!). If you go to department stores here, or even convenience stores, you can find a lot of hair-dyes with that color, but with different brands and hues. But I do think blue-black won't be that bad on a Japanese. I don't know, maybe because I'm used to seeing even stronger colors on on the guys here XXD Like just red or silver. Or maybe blond :p .. Or should I say yellow?

Momiji dolls? Well, I have heard of it but.. I'm not sure if it's really popular. Things that are popular with foreigners are not always popular. You know those t-shirts with kanji characters on them? I know they are popular outside but.. XD Sorry to say, people here kind of think it's ... dasai XD So momiji dolls.. um.. hm. You don't see that around much so, I guess it's not really popular then :p Plus it's not even traditional. Well, they are popular with otakus or gothic and lolita fans though. They have their fans, sure. But not something you can find sold out here in the country XD. Take anime for example. They don't usually watch what foreigners watch (with the exception of major anime). Difference in taste I guess.

[golden_meliades]

I haven't seen kanji T-shirts. (I have seen kanji tattoos, though. Though I do know that people may think they've gotten a tattoo that says 'fierce' when in fact it says 'sandwich' or something.)

I guess it's the same everywhere. :) There seem to be T-shirts with English words worn by some people in Japan (usually young people). One girl had one that said 'I love beaver' on it...which of course is slang. Dirty slang at that, which would imply that she's a lesbian. She was probably happier with the T-shirt before she found out what it meant. (It looked cute on her, but over here if you wear a shirt with a saying like that it's either going to get gaped at in distaste, or people will burst out laughing. Just like I'd imagine that we would if we went to Japan sporting a kanji T-shirt that we thought said 'crouching tiger' when it actually says 'pork bun'. I don't know what these t-shirts actually say so I can't come up with a good example.)

Momiji dolls are very cute (well, most of them) but though upon first glance you assume they're Japanese, they're from the UK. But they're not very expensive and they have hollow bottoms for little messages, as they're intended to be given as gifts. Anyway, I was wondering what would be thought of Momiji dolls in Japan, given that they're intended to look Japanese yet are not. If it were me, I think I'd probably feel it was kind of goofy.

I don't have any but I've purchased one for a friend. I like that they're hand-painted :)

The women don't dye their hair strong colours, only the men/boys? Boy, I wouldn't fit in :) (Not that I ever thought I would. I'm very stuck in my own culture...if you can call it a culture. I guess you can, though it's a kind of boring ordinary one.) I'm sure any tone of black would look good on most Japanese people, I just figured that red would look like a more natural tone. (Naturally blue-black hair seems to occur only in, what would it be? I think Native Americans.) Though they have warm skin-tones, too, mostly. (Sort of golden?)

Some blonde hair really is yellow :)

[shirayuri_hazu]

Heehee, I get what you mean. They have many clothes with ridiculous English words or phrases here. I burst out laughing (I really did) when I was looking through the clothes sold at the department stores. Even branded names here have those kind of weird messages printed on the clothes :p Aah. I shouldn't.. be.. laughing... ROFL.

Well, the momiji dolls are cute but, I won't be purchasing any in the future I think. In fact, I never really like dolls much. Don't you kind of feel scared looking at those huge eyes with long fake lashes looking at you? They give me goosebumps.

Umm.. I guess so. I mean, Japanese women really take care of their appearances. Hmm. I've only seen cosplayers with strong hair ocolors actually. But the people in the countryside aren't really into fashion like out in the cities like Tokyo, so the clothes and hairstyles they have are a bit .. reserved. I'm sure you'll find women with even pink or silver hair if you go to Shibuya or Shinjuku.

[golden_meliades]

Momiji dolls don't have eyes of that nature. They're painted on, so they're always shut in just a crescent of painted eyelashes.

I actually don't like knickknacks of any kind very much. *looks around to see if that is true* Yep...my place is actually fairly ... well, not SPARE, because it's decorated, but it's not cluttered. If I find a few little things that I like enough to make a permanent display of, I'll buy it, but otherwise I have no interest in tchotchkes.

So even though I think they're cute, I wouldn't collect the Momiji dolls for myself. I bought one ("Giggles") for a friend who recently had her very valuable antique Japanese dolls damaged by rain leaking through the roof. (The dolls were wearing silk, so you can imagine.) Since Momiji are resin, they're waterproof. She likes little display things and she'll probably think the gesture (and the doll) is cute, so I got it for her :)

Well, I've had my hair blue, brilliant red ('paprika'), blonde-streaked, black, purple, copper, normal brunette with BRILLIANT orange tips that made my hair look like fire...

I get bored really easily. And when you have really short hair, you can afford to do drastic treatments to it because it is always new, undamaged hair, since you're constantly cutting it off. (I also have never been able to figure out how to style hair so it's a necessity...short hair always looks good even just rolling out of bed, and longer hair must be styled to not just hang there unattractively. Japanese hair is so lovely and heavy and glossy, you guys can afford to just let it flow, and it's so perfectly straight that you can take those amazing shattered cuts and have the shape 'keep', but Caucasian hair is a little more peculiar/unpredictable...my own is wavy if I let it grow out and it will kink and flatten and go into horns and frizz and...well I just don't like long hair, on me. Especially since I won't put product in my hair. I actually like my hair to be razored into shape.)

How do you dye hair silver, btw? I mean...how can the metallic tone be added? (I'd love to have metallic hair, at least in parts.)

Have a nice day :) (Actually the day is just starting for me...it's before 7AM...but it must be mostly done, for you. Late evening?) Anyway, I have to do some stuff and then get ready to head off to the city (Ottawa) after lunch. See you in a while! :)

[shirayuri_hazu]

Yes, Kijima is not the one to blame here *nods, nods* And probably not dangerous. He just likes flirting, I guess (however, that line "I make it a point to stay true to my desires" is very.. well, it makes me imagine things XXD)

I forgot that the reason I still continue reading this manga is because I want to see Kyouko's development as an actress and how she copes with her traumas. ..Hmm, but love is also one of that, come to think of it.

Oh, I just can't wait for the next chapter. The suspense is killing me. I really can't predict things, I never get them right.

[golden_meliades]

The romance in Skip Beat is actually unusually important (in many mangas it's just fluff and thus kind of dull), because if she is able to fall in love it is a sign that she has healed and gone beyond the stunting events of her past. She'll have to be able to believe that she CAN be loved in order for the romance to happen, so it IS important...it's just not the whole point, to me. For me the point, the theme of the story, is Kyoko's journey...her attempt to find her own value and believe in it.