Recap / Skip Beat Volume 10

He's just gonna float there for a while...

Kyoko's been scouted for a role in this year's most anticipated drama, a remake of the classic Tsukigomori. But shades of the past threaten to stifle the production. Director Ogata, the driving force behind the remake, turns out to be the son of the director of Tsukigomori. He's got some serious baggage about distinguishing himself from his father's achievements, and all that anxiety is threatening to boil over.

For her part, Kyoko is struggling to get into the character of Mio Hongo, a troubled young woman with a severely scarred face. Hiroko Iizuka, the actress who played the original Mio, has returned to play Mio's mother, and she's got grave doubts about Kyoko's ability to do justice to the role. She demands that Kyoko pass an acting test, and quit the production if she fails!

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 55. "Tsukigomori" ^note A press conference given for Dark Moon, the remake of Tsukigomori that Kyoko has scored a role in. But Director Ogata faints when the topic of his father, who made the original series, is brought up. Kyoko waits with him at the hospital where Haruki Asami picks them up, having seen Ogata faint on TV. She and Ogata treat Kyoko to dinner for waiting with him, and Kyoko reports his condition and the reason for his ill health to Ren.
• Act 56. "Qualified People" ^note Kyoko is put under pressure about how she'll portray Mio Hongo - Ren gives her some advice on the matter, but Kyoko's conflicted. Hiroko Iizuka (the woman who played Mio in the original Tsukigomori and who has returned to play the role of Mio's mother in Dark Moon) demands the right to veto Kyoko's hiring if Kyoko's acting isn't up to her standards.
• Act 57. "Memory of the Heart" ^note Kyoko struggles with how to portray Mio in a way that Ms. Iizuka will accept, but she realizes something about Mio's motivation that doesn't quite make sense. Ms. Iizuka is unhappy with Kyoko's performance so far, but Ren intercedes with her on Kyoko's behalf. Kyoko and Yashiro discuss the role, and Kyoko comes to a conclusion about how she can revitalize the role of Mio.
• Act 58. "Unexpected Wind" ^note Kyoko knows how she is going to portray Mio, but first she leaves the set to do something drastic - a makeover. Can she convince everyone that her Mio will be just as powerful as the original?
• Act 59. "The Day the World Broke" ^note Kyoko shocks everyone with a Mio which is completely different from the original. But Director Ogata is enchanted with her re-imagining, and reminded that he wants to break away from the mold of the original Tsukigomori.
• Act 60. "Each Person's Shadow" ^note Director Ogata feels he's finally found the Dark Moon world he wants to create, thanks to Kyoko's portrayal of Mio Hongo. With no trace of the weak-willed director from before, he challenges the actors to rise to the occasion so as to create a Dark Moon that is better than its previous incarnation.

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Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Adaptational Villainy: Kyoko does an In-Universe example when she figures out how she wants to update the role of "Mio." At her core, Mio is a Rich Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who harbors some major resentment towards her sister Misaso, their mother Mrs. Hongo, and their cousin Mizuki. Mio uses the facial scar from an incident where Misao pushed her into a pile of glass to emotionally blackmail both Misao and their Mrs. Hongo, who has always looked down on her youngest daughter. Hiroko Iizuka interpreted the character as an apparently timid girl who was not ashamed to make use of the Wounded Gazelle Gambit, using bangs to conceal her Evil Scars. Kyoko's version of Mio is a bitter, resentful teen in perpetual Passive-Aggressive Kombat mode, openly showing her scar and having a more defiant attitude. Kyoko's justification is that while the original interpretation was valid twenty years ago, she couldn't see the daughter of a rich family sporting such a large facial scar in the present day. If Mio had gotten such a scar twenty years ago, she would have had to live with it, but nowadays she could have easily found a plastic surgeon to erase or minimize it. Since the scar is fundamental to the blackmailing subplot, and the blackmailing subplot is fundamental to Mio's character and the overarching plot of the series, Kyoko decided to play Mio as the kind of person that would have kept the scar on purpose.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo managa after all - most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• Important Haircut: In order to get into character for the role of Mio, Kyoko runs out on the filming to dye her hair and get it cut to show off the scar makeup she's wearing. She wanted to differentiate herself from Ms. Iizuka's portrayal of Mio, who kept her scar covered with long hair.
• The Remake: Dark Moon is a remake of Tsukigomori, a highly acclaimed romance/ drama from two decades ago. The director of the remake, Hiroaki Ogata (originally "Date"), is the son of the director of the original, Hirotaka Date. And Ren Tsuruga, who stars in Dark Moon as Katsuki, is the son of the actor who played Katsuki in Tsukigomori.
• Remake Cameo: Hiroko Iizuka played Mio Hongo in the original Tsukigomori. Twenty years later, she's playing the role of Mio's mother. "Mio" is the role that launched her career, so Ms. Iizuka wants to make sure that Kyoko can do the role justice - she even demanded the right to veto Director Ogata's choice of actress if Kyoko's portrayal of Mio isn't up to her standards.
• Shed the Family Name: Hiroaki, the director of the remake of Tsukigomori, had used his family name "Date" on all other projects, but changed it to "Ogata" before he started work on Dark Moon. His father Hirotaka Date directed the original, but Hiroaki was tired of always having his work compared to his father's and tried to distance himself from his father's legacy.
• Show Within a Show: Dark Moon is a type 1 variety, where "characters are involved in the production of the show." Kyoko and Ren are actors after all.
• Star-Making Role: "Mio" was the first big role for actress Hiroko Iizuka. She's fiercely protective of the character, and refuses to accept Kyoko in the role unless Kyoko can perform to her standards.
  Hiroko Iizuka: Mio is always mentioned first in my profile. Mio is mine!

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