Skip Beat! Ep. 05 - First Day on the Job

Lory explains to Kyoko that a real actor has to want to be loved. Kyoko seems to be missing the desire and ability to love, which is why she's in the Love Me section. Once she can get people to love her, she'll be ready for her debut. Kyoko agrees to do her best and is give a horrendous hot pink jumpsuit as her uniform. She tries out different poses, but can't figure out how on earth she can get people to love her. Meanwhile, Shou is enjoying some fangirling whispers, when he hears the girls turn their attention to Ren. He decides to take the opportunity to face Ren, and he kicks an ashtray stand into Ren's path, claiming his legs are so long sometimes he just bumps things on accident. Ren kicks the stand back up and tells Shou to be more careful and that he should pick up the ash. The girls think Ren is so cool and Shou is completely defeated in the coolness showdown. HA.

Meanwhile, Kyoko is given her first duty: to clean gum off the floor of one of the hallways at LME. She takes to her task with exuberance and winds up cleaning and polishing the entire hallway. Unfortunately, it becomes so smooth that everyone who walks through winds up slipping and falling. She only earns ten points, bringing her up to zero points (she lost ten points in the previous episode). She decides to consider the zero a new beginning and a famous idol singer, Ruriko rudely bumps into her. Ruriko says she needs some help, and Kyoko is glad to jump to her aid. Ruriko takes Kyoko to a photoshoot, and along the way explains that she can't be in contact with sunlight because it would be fatal. Kyoko imagines she's allergic to the sun and sees Ruriko as a beautiful princess who needs a knight. Ever the romantic, Kyoko decides to be Ruriko's knight and protect her. The van they're in breaks down, so Ruriko and Kyoko walk to the movie set, Kyoko carrying Ruriko's heavy anti-UV umbrella the entire way. A few steps in, Ruriko says she can't possibly go any further, so Kyoko carries her piggyback along with the umbrella. Kyoko twists her ankle not too far away from the site, so Ruriko says she'll go ahead and send someone back to pick up Kyoko. Of course, she has no intention to do anything and she makes herself at home on the set, claiming she walked all the way on her own. Kyoko begins to realize that no one is coming for her, and she feels as if it's like her old self who was always left behind. As she's remembering that, Ren appears. He's the (second to) last person she wants to see, so she tries to run away, but the pain in her ankle is too great. Ever the gentleman, Ren picks her up (princess style~).


Yayayayayay! Princess carry! XD Ren is such a nice guy. So another episode with some great acting from the cast. Marina remains solid, especially with all the demon Kyoko's talking with Kyoko. Katsu's rendition of chibi Ren in Shou's imagination was priceless, and Mamoru's freaking out for Shou's character is hilarious (if not strangely similar sounding to Death the Kid). Kyoko is rudely thrust into her first day on the job, but she manages to go through it with a cheerful disposition. Ruriko is so so annoying, but I guess that's the point. The animation kinda took a dive with Ruriko's van driving taking a lot of the heat. Also, the OST is strangely limited, with the same action-esque techno song being used three times. Once again, the plot remains faithful to the manga save for a few hints towards Kyoko's past that aren't as well-defined in the manga. It seems like they story introduces the blue stone and the boy from the OP a lot faster than the manga does. It makes me wonder if they intend to introduce his story a lot sooner and possibly wrap it up with an anime-only ending. I kinda hope not, but it's much too early to say. Next week looks like Kyoko will take her first steps into acting, which will be great to watch. Plus, it means more RenxKyo time. Very yes.

--Ou-bento