Recap / Skip Beat Volume 19

An explosion of energy! Actress Kyoko is on the scene!

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 109. "And Then Someone Stirs" ^note Kyoko and Kuu have a long discussion about her acting abilities, which is interrupted by a phone call from Lory. It seems Lory and Kuu's plan to force a certain someone's hand has finally come to fruition, though Lory chastises Kuu for risking their plan by giving Kyoko acting lessons. Kyoko has a heavy heart after finishing her conversation with Kuu, realizing that her time in the role of Kuon is over. Lory and Kuu wait for their certain someone to arrive.
• Act 110. "Clearing Up the Matter ^note Ren officially re-unites with Kuu. Kuu assures Ren that he still loves his son, no matter what. Lory watches the father and son interact awkwardly. Around the family drama, all three discuss Kyoko's potential.
• Act 111. "Unfading Feelings ^note As Kuu, Lory, and Ren talk amongst themselves. More information about Ren's departure from his parents and his time in Japan comes to light. Ren agrees to do a favor his parents. Later he and Yashiro meet with Kyoko, who apologizes to them about her in-character behavior as Kuon.
• Act 112. "Parent and Child Memorial Day ^note Kuu tells Kyoko that he's bumped up his departure date, and that he's leaving Japan tomorrow. In light of their impending separation, both Kyoko and Kuu open up to each other and discuss their past regrets and traumas: for Kyoko it's her relationship with her mother, and for Kuu it's sadness over the fact that he was unable to help his son Kuon. Kyoko tells Kuu that if she could have a father, she would want one just like him. Kuu asks tells her though she's no longer playing the role of Kuon, he never severed their bond as Father and child so she may call him Dad. An overwhelmed Kyoko is brought to tears.
• Act 113. "The Depth of the 5th Year ^note Ren reminisces on his past: arriving in Japan with Lory, and creating the persona of Ren Tsuruga. After Jelly Woods (his personal stylist and one of the few people who are in on Ren's secret) returns him to his original appearance and he records a quick message for his parents, he goes back to being Ren Tsuruga and goes to say goodbye to Kuu with Kyoko. Ren encourages her to call out to him as a father before he leaves, which she does.
• Act 114. "Kuon's Oath ^note In America, Kuu and his wife Juliena watch Kuon's video. Kuu tells Juli about Kyoko, whom he thinks of as his second "son." Ren and Kyoko sign on for roles that will challenge their skills.

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Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Becoming the Mask: Lory tells Ren that he needn't refer to Kuon as if he isn't in the room, but Ren would prefer to remain in his persona as Ren Tsuruga. Even around his father and Lory, who both know the truth about who he is. Ren does however agree to film a video for his mother as Kuon, to prove to her that he's alive and well in Japan.
• Big Eater: Kuu Hizuri again. Kyoko bakes him an entire cake, which she knows he will be able to eat in one sitting.
• Cut a Slice, Take the Rest: Inverted hilariously - Kyoko knows by now that Kuu is a Big Eater, so when she bakes him a cake she takes a single slice for herself and presents him with the remaining 90% of the cake as his portion.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo managa after all. Most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• Food Porn: The cake Kyoko bakes for Kuu is a gorgeous sponge cake with ladyfingers all around the exterior and perfectly sculpted swirls of frosting on top.
• Happily Adopted: Sort of - Kuu tells Kyoko that she can call him "father," and that he'll consider her his child. Then he jets back off to America and disappears from her life, but it's made clear that both Kyoko and Kuu think the world of each other. Kuu even tells his wife Juliena that they have another "son" now, and he's invited her to visit him and Juliena in America any time.
• Like a Son to Me: Overlaps with Happily Adopted — although Kuu already has a son who he loves very much (despite their estrangement), he calls Kyoko his "son" and tells her she can call him "father." He was won over by the combination of Kyoko's impossibly adorable (and accidentally accurate) take on "Kuon," and her own Parental Issues that bled through into her portrayal. Kyoko's lack of positive interaction with her own mother complimented the anxiety Kuu felt about not being there for his son when he needed support, and the whole situation appealed to the part of his identity that's tied up in being a parent.
• Noodle People: Most characters in the series are drawn with excessively long arms and legs, but especially the prettyboys like Ren and Kuu who is are models/ actors.
• Show Within a Show: Dark Moon is a type 1 example, where "characters are involved in the production of the show."
• Third-Person Person: Whenever Ren Tsuruga talks about Kuon, it's almost always in third person, as if Kuon is a separate person from him. From Lory and Kuu's point of view, this makes Ren a Third-Person Person.

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