Reviving a Classic: A look behind the thrilling return of Skip Beat!
By: Mithrandiel
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
16-year old Kyoko Mogami thought she had it all figured out: she would help her childhood crush Shotaro Fuwa make his way to the top of the show business pyramid, and then together they would enjoy its splendor. Everything's going according to plan, that is Kyoko is working tirelessly to support Sho as he flirts with fans and makes connections. Ultimately, he's successful in making his mark, but rather than express gratitude, Sho throws Kyoko under the bus and dismisses her as a boring girl that makes a good doormat.
Of course, Kyoko doesn't see herself as a doormat, and declares war on Sho then and there - she would become bigger than he was in show business and have her revenge! Thus begins the tale of the romance classic Skip Beat!
The series, while promising and extremely popular among those who have seen it, has never seen an American release. That is, until now. Ann Yamamoto of Pied Piper Inc. made a proposal to TV Tokyo to attempt a round of crowdfunding so that the show could get its day in the sun.
The production staff behind the project includes some notable industry insiders and veterans: voice actors Christina Vee and Mela Lee have given their voices to dozens of memorable characters over the years, and Jason Miller has done production work on series such as GunXSword and Hellsing Ultimate.
Even more notable in this project is the A-list cast of voice actors they've added to the dub roster. Erica Lindbeck (who recently voiced Kaori in Your Lie in April), the legendary Vic Mignogna (Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist) and Caitlin Glass (Haruhi from Ouran High School) round out a star-studded cast that is sure to please any fan of anime dubs. How did they do it? Why hasn't Skip Beat been brought to the states before?
These questions and more are answered in my interview! Take a listen as we chat about the life of this project, how it came to be, and some of the unique challenges they still face:
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Ready to support this awesome project? Check it out here, and help them push to $185,000 so the series can get a Blu-ray release!
While you wait for the release, here are some more shots from the series:
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Images courtesy of: ©YOSHIKI NAKAMURA-Hakusensha / Skip Beat! Production Committee
