Recap / Skip Beat Volume 17

Can these two get on the same footing when it comes to their relationship?

Meanwhile, Ren is getting ready for the end of Dark Moon by auditioning for something that's outside his wheelhouse: the role of supernatural serial killer BJ, or "Black Jack." He's using all the skills he perfected acting as Katsuki, but the part comes with an unusual stipulation: the movie producers don't want to reveal the name of the actor playing the part of BJ.

Finally Kuu Hizuri, the actor who originated the role of Katsuki in Tsukigomori, is returning to Japan on a press tour. Kyoko gets a Love-Me Section assignment that means she'll be taking care of him for the duration of his stay. But just what sort of man is Kuu Hizuri?

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 97. "Suddenly, a Love Story- Ending, Part 4" ^note Ren tries to get a footing in his relationship with Kyoko. Reino isn't giving up yet.
• Act 98. "Suddenly, a Love Story- Ending, Part 5" ^note It's Kyoko's last day on Karuizawa, and she has the misfortune to encounter Reino once again. Kyoko tries to use her "Corn" stone to deflect him, but Reino's spiritual powers allow him to sense something disturbing about the previous owner of the stone. For what reason would Reino be terrified of Ren?
• Act 99 "Suddenly, a Love Story- The End" ^note Reino backs down after seeing a glimpse of Ren's history, wondering what's happening between him and Kyoko, and hoping to never again cross paths with someone so dangerous. Ren comforts Kyoko when she becomes distraught at Reino's suggestion that her friend Corn was in pain when he gave her the stone, and could possibly be hurting now.
• Act 100. "Off to a Good Start!" ^note Dark Moon ratings are up, and Kyoko and Director Ogata are celebrating the possibility of Dark Moon becoming more successful than the original Tsukigomori. Kyoko is also excited to be starting a new role, Natsu, but she soon realizes that separating herself from Mio's dark image might be harder than she first thought. Ren is also starting a new role (as the serial killer BJ (Black Jack)) while utilizing the skills he learnt whilst acting as Katsuki. The Director tells Ren that in order to drum up interest in the character, the production team will not announce that Ren is playing BJ.
• Act 101. "Encounter!! A Dynamite Star" ^note Lory schemes while Kyoko worries about expanding her acting skills. Ren's Tsukigomori predecessor — the Hollywood star who's the pride of Japan — is coming to town, and Kyoko's been assigned the Love-Me task to work his assistant when he arrives.
• Act 102. "Fireballs Between the ☆ T-w-o" ^note Kuu Hizuri, the actor who originated the role of Katsuki in Tsukigomori is visiting Japan from Hollywood. Kyoko is assigned to take care of him while he's in town. But could there be another connection between him and Ren?

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Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Chastity Dagger: Kyoko has managed to hide a hammer and an alarm clock under the skirt of her Mio costume in case Reino corners her again.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo managa after all:
  • In the cover illustration, Ren is wearing a single white calla lily on his lapel - the same flower Kyoko is holding on the cover of volume 16. Calla lilies are associated with youth and rebirth, and white calla lilies in particular represent holiness, faith and purity. Kyoko has a wreath of red roses woven into her bun, while pink and purple roses adorn her dress. Red roses, of course, represent passionate love. Pink roses are associated with elegance, gratitude, and admiration. Purple roses are associated with creativity, openness, enchantment, and love at first sight.
  • Most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• I Am Not Spock: Kyoko was excited to score the role of Natsu, but the director requests that she play Natsu "just like Mio." On top of that, she gets another three job offers for characters who are all bullies. Kyoko is worried that if she accepts the roles she'll be Typecast as an actress who can only play cruel characters; but if she turns them down, she might never get the chance to advance her carreer.
• Not Named in Opening Credits: Director Konoe wants to keep an air of mystery around the character of "Killer BJ" ^note Black Jack, so he proposes keeping the name of the actor a secret. Ren accepts, more than happy to take on the challenge of trying to create a character so different from his regular acting jobs that he won't be recognized in the role.
• Psychic Powers: Reino seems to have all sorts of vaguely psychic abilities. In addition to the the power to interact with spirits and a limited form of Psychic Radar he displayed in the last volume, he also seems to have:
  • Psychometry: Reino's psychic powers allow him to discern that Kyoko's "Corn" stone was a gift to her. He also tells her that the person who gave her the stone had imbued it with an immense quantity of "negative emotions" and "violent energy."
  • Touch Telepathy: Reino is able to determine a lot about Ren's past from a few seconds of contact - including the fact that he is the previous owner of Kyoko's "Corn" stone, and the one responsible for the massive amount of "violent" and "negative" energy that the stone has absorbed.
• Security Blanket: Kyoko's "Corn" stone, a gift from her mysterious childhood friend Corn. She even likens it to a "holy amulet," and believes it will have the power to exorcise a "demon" like Reino.
• Show Within a Show: Dark Moon, Box R, and Tragic Marker are all type 1 examples, with "characters involved in the production of the show."

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