Recap / Skip Beat Volume 18

It's like looking in a mirror! Well, not really...

Meanwhile Kuu has his own designs: with Lory's help, he plans on getting Ren's attention by making Kyoko miserable. But Kyoko's stubborn determination wins him over, and he ends up taking her under his wing. His first job for her is to take on the role of his son Kuon, with whom he is estranged. Kyoko decides to model her portrayal of Kuon on her mysterious childhood friend Corn, unaware of the connection between Corn, Kuon, and Kuu.

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 103. "Bad News" ^note There's more to Kyoko's assignment to Kuu than meets the eye. Kuu and Lory are deliberately trying to provoke her as part of a larger plan to get to Ren. Kyoko learns that Sho is making good on his promise to become an even more successful musician.
• Act 104. "She's Given a Mask" ^note Shaken by Sho's current success, Kyoko begins to fear her own growth as an actress is stagnating, which leads to her gaining a new mentor in Kuu. And his first challenge? Kyoko must take on the role of Kuu's son.
• Act 105. "Tomorrow She's Corn" ^note Kyoko initially balks at playing a male role, but Kuu piques her interest when he mentions his son's name is Kuon. To Kyoko this sounds like "Corn", her mysterious childhood friend. After some coaching from Kuu and with a bit of help from her imagination, she decide she'll draw her inspiration for Kuon from Corn.
• Act 106. "A Bewildering Situation" ^note Kyoko begins the day acting as Kuon with Kuu, which includes speaking in English and preparing breakfast while in character. Kuu is astounded by the accuracy of her portrayal, not knowing that her reference is Corn. Ren and Lory are both suspicious about what's going on, both having met Kyoko under odd circumstances the day before..
• Act 107. "A Mischievous Situation" ^note Kuu attempts to break Kyoko out of the bad memories of her mother and back into her role of Kuon by initiating a game of pranks between father and son. Yashiro and Ren reflect on their childhoods with their fathers, but what will they make of Kyoko's transformation into Kuon?
• Act 108. "A Dream Cast" ^note Ren and Yashiro encounter Kyoko acting like a young son to Kuu Hizuri. Ren and Kuu make eyes at each other, but are reluctant to speak. It's up to Kyoko-as-Kuon to break the tension, but can she stay in character?

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Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Big Eater: Kuu Hizuri - he regularly consumes meals of gigantic proportions. Lory's cover story that Kyoko was assigned to be his personal chef is almost plausible.
• Dating Sim: Lory's playing one when Ren calls to ask why he assigned Kyoko to be Kuu's assistant, and later on he's revealed to have stayed up all night trying to complete one of the routes.
• Doting Parent: Despite their estrangement, Kuu loves his son and thinks the world of him. When he tells Kyoko he'll give her one character trait to help her build a profile of him, he ends up gushing praise for his son:
  Kuu: He's smart. He's hard-working, diligent, a man of his word and a man of action. He's modest, lovely, manly, considerate. ...He's an outstanding athlete, just like me. And even I'm jealous of his agility and his talent in martial arts. His looks are like my darling wife's, who's a living jewel. In one word... he's beautiful and elegant! He sparkles like diamonds and radiates grace just standing there— a miracle! The beauty of my wife and son are beyond human! ...So... my son is that beautiful.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo managa after all. Most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• Noodle People: Most characters in the series are drawn with excessively long arms and legs, but especially the prettyboys like Ren and Kuu, who are actors/ models. Even the clothing Kyoko wears while dressed as Kuon make her arms and legs look gangy.
• Show Within a Show: Dark Moon is a type 1 example, with "characters are involved in the production of the show."
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Invoked when Kyoko's assignment is to take on the role of Kuon. Kuu has to give her a few pointers at first, but Kyoko ends up doing a pretty good job of acting out the part, even referring to herself with masculine pronouns (something that's a bit clearer in Japanese than in the English translation) in front of a very confused Ren and Yashiro.
• Typecast: Overlaps with I Am Not Spock - Kyoko's still hung up about whether she should accept or decline the offers for roles that are "just like Mio." Convinced she can't top Mio's bullying in any future performances, Kyoko has just finished telling Sawara to turn the roles down when Kuu grabs the phone out of her hands and orders Sawara to ignore what she just said. Kuu then proceeds to chastise Kyoko for turning down these roles when she could be using them to expand her acting skills by playing different types of bullying girls, instead of trying to create a more intense version of Mio.

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