Read Yoshiki Nakamura-san's notes on Skip Beat!

"To readers I haven't seen in a while, and to first-time readers, hello! I'm Nakamura. Whether you're browsing this at the bookstore, or sitting down and reading it thoroughly, thank you for reading my new series, Skip Beat! I would like to give this series a different story and character from my previous series, Kurepara(Tokyo Crazy Paradise). The way I want to develop the story is still a "secret". But because of that, readers who liked Kurepara might not like this so much... Starting with the main character- she's not a 'hero of justice'...nor a 'heroine' nor a 'soothing character'.

'soothing character'-> i think this is a condition that must be present as the main characteristic of shojo manga...But I felt that type is an ordinary girl...and even if I don't do it, somebody else would draw it. The main character I draw must be a little like a wild beast, or even if I draw a traditional shojo manga main character, the readers won't enjoy it...I'm always obsessed by thoughts like that somewhere in my heart... (But main characters that don't appeal to the General public.)

...But regarding Kyoko's character, it was completed a long time ago, actually. Yes, when I was young, 19-21 years old..."

"At my first job, a very depressing Kyoko was created, who reflected my gray life (she could see spirits, and was good at witchcraft and making straw dolls for cursing people, so she was always a vengeful-spirit Kyoko). But although she could curse people, the curses usually failed. A silly character... Then I quit my first job and before I went on to my second job, Kyoko's appearance changed a little (the changed Kyoko is on page 88), and after I made my debut as a mangaka, I drew a 30-paged storyboard for a one-shot story with that Kyoko appearing as a lide character.( The antagonist's younger sister, an extremely evil personality.)

...But before I could show it to my editor, I found out that my debut work would be a series. So I didn't show it to anybody, and it was put to sleep. But because I didn't use it then, I think I was able to use it now...Well, she has been changed for the series to be a little more cheerful than before. But the dark side is part of Kyoko's individuality, so she always has to be dark here and there. Because I have the image of the original Kyoko inside me, I have to be careful about showing the amount of darkness... It has to be in the range that is acceptable for a shojo manga heroine. By the way, when I was asked by my editor about ideas for the new series, I had in mind a simple school-based story... The main character was a beautiful, angel-like girl hiding Kyoko inside...so there was a wide gap between her looks and her real personality, a character with poison. But, at that time I was doing a school-based story in Hana to Yume..."

in the first chapter, Kyoko comes home from work and sees a light at her apartment, and comes to the sudden conclusion that Sho came home!
Sidebar 1
Oh no!
Something came up that could have been a problem. Well, there was a manga with a very similar poignant story... I thought, “Oh no!! Someone did it first!!” How about a rough school-based story that I had written down as an idea for a one-shot when I was still doing Kurepara? There weren’t any other ideas I could do as a series... (Actually, there were, but they weren’t suited for Hana to Yume... and there were even ideas that the editor-in-chief told me were “not in style, so wait 5 more years”... So, the school-based story was the one that looked as if it would work for Hana to Yume... But I didn’t have the courage or spirit to do that story at the time. I was stuck, so I consulted the editor-in-chief, and received the advice `Why don`t you change the setting?" When I took the school-based story's good parts (a school with a performance arts course and the settings for each character), and thought of an interesting "setting", I could only think up a showbiz-based story... I don't have that much interest in showbiz, and don't become a passionate fan of celebrities..."

2

"I have no desire to keep up with the latest trends, thus I don't have any taste in fashion. A show-biz story... I was very worried whether I would be all right going boldly in that direction? But if I was going to draw it, I didn't want to draw a Cinderella-type story where "One day, due to some chance, someone debuts as a celebrity." I do believe that those types of stories grab the heart of girls more easily, though...

...So I'm writing as if I'm a know-it-all. Although I made up my mind to write a show-biz based story, I'm having a very hard time drawing. The storyboards take even more time than Kurepara did. (Although it definitely doesn't look that way... ) I'd assumed that the new series would be easier to do, both the storyboards and drawing the series itself... I'm a real fool, so I'm struggling to have people enjoy reading Skip Beat! each time. Please enjoy it!"

This note is where Kyoko is trying to get Sho to stay after he's seen Ren on t.v..

This note is where Kyoko is trying to attract a talent scout after vowing her revenge on Sho. But her face is looking scary when she thinks of Sho, as she walks outside with her bike..