Recap / Skip Beat Volume 3

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 12. "Princess Coup d'Etat-The Battle Ball" ^note Ruriko and Kyoko quarrel on the set over Ruri's spoiled attitude. Meanwhile, the next scene they're going to do is the tea ceremony scene- can Kyoko sit in seiza with her injurred ankle? Off to the side, Ren is impressed with Kyoko's determination.
• Act 13. "Princess Coup d'Etat-Light My Fire" ^note Kyoko attempts to stop Ren from leading her on her acting, but Ren refuses to go easy on her - her ankle isn't making matters any easier. Ruriko realizes something important about herself.
• Act 14. "Princess Coup d'Etat-12:00 AM" ^note The director is quite impressed with Kyoko's personality. Kyoko, Yashiro, and Ren run into each other after the filming.
• Act 15. "Sink or Swim Together" ^note Kyoko bumps into the raven-haired girl she met at the audition, Kanae Kotonami, but this isn't the last time they'll see each other- the president of LME has deemed that Kanae is to join Kyoko in the cursed Love-Me Section. Their first job together involves another familiar face from the audition...
• Act 16. "The Miraculous Language of Angels, part 1" ^note Kyoko meets the little girl from the audition, who turns out to be Lory's grandaughter Maria Takarada. The Love-Me Section has been charged with stopping her rampages through rehearsals of "The Miraculous Language of Angels," but Kyoko's unorthodox attitude leaves everyone wondering if she's cut out for the job.
• Act 17. "The Miraculous Language of Angels, part 2" ^note Kyoko is challenged by the students in the LME's acting class! She disparaged the script they're working from, and the challenge they give her forces her to put her money where her mouth is.

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Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo manga after all - the cover has Maria wearing roses in her hair, and most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• Girlish Pigtails: Maria's hairstyle on the cover.
• Hollywood Voodoo: Kyoko makes her own voodoo dolls, and seems to be knowledgeable about other methods of inflicting curses on people - Maria even comes to her for advice on making Ren fall in love with her, as Maria's straw effigies and spell candles have failed to get the job done.
• Method Acting: Kyoko draws on her experience working for the Fuwa family's inn when she competes against Ruri in the role of a ryokan worker. Even with an injured ankle, Kyoko can move gracefully, make tea like a pro, and sit in seiza with a pleasant smile on her face for the "customer," her sort-of-nemesis Ren Tsuruga. Despite being in tremendous pain while putting weight on the ankle, she doesn't slip up once... until the director realize she's pale, sweating and yet still remains in character, stating she will 'not leave her place until the customer leaves.' The director orders Ren off the set and Kyoko promptly faints.
• The Power of Acting: Ren's acting is so skillful that he completely distracts both Ruri and Kyoko during the tea ceremony scene dialogue - and Kyoko had time to prepare herself.
• Precocious Crush: Maria has one on Ren Tsuruga. She even hopes he'll "wait nine years" for her to grow up so they can get married.
• Princess for a Day: How Kyoko feels about getting to put on a beautiful kimono and have her makeup professionally done for the acting challenge against Ruri. She even gets her picture taken while in full costume, so she'll be able to remember the ocassion forever. When it's all over, she's so distraught at the though of having to take off the professional makeup that she nearly refuses to let the makeup artists do their work — at least until Ren reminds her that if she doesn't take care of her skin, she can't defeat Sho.
• Seiza Squirm: In competing against Ruri during the tea ceremony scene, Kyoko must sit in seiza on a fractured ankle. She draws on all her experience working in Sho's parents' inn (especially Mrs. Fuwa's reminders to smile through the pain and keep the customer happy) to make it through the scene without without revealing how much pain she's in. Kyoko's dedication forces Ruri to consider how she would have acted if she were the injured one - Ruri admits that she would've thrown a fit and forced the director to change the scene.
• Voodoo Doll:
  • Kyoko makes her own of Sho and Ren, though a casual observer like Kanae assumes that the attention to detail Kyoko puts into the dolls is because she's a superfan.
  • Maria instantly recognizes Kyoko's creations as voodoo dolls, but as Maria herself has an interest in the occult (cursed dolls, spell candles, etc...) she latches onto Kyoko as a cooler big sister.

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