Skip Beat (TV series and DVD)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This cautionary anime tale warns all Otakus that the scariest thing in the world is not zombies or Mechs, but a girl bent on revenge.

The newest anime on Japan's Tokyo TV is Skip Beat, a romantic comedy based on the manga work of Yoshiki Nakamura who also penned Tokyo Crazy Paradise and Saint Love.

Production is by Hal Film Maker whose previous credits include Macross Seven: The Movie and Saber Marionette J.

The story focuses on sweet, energetic Kyoko Mogami who works several part-time jobs so she can pay the rent on the expensive, upscale apartment she shares with her childhood friend Shotaro.

Kyoko spent a lot of time helping out at Shotaro's parents' inn learning how to clean, cook, sew and serve tea. However, Shotaro isn't prepared to serve other people all his life, so moves to Tokyo to pursue a career as a pop idol and asks Kyoko to come with him.

Shotaro makes the big time, gaining fans and work, while Kyoko is works hard to support him.

But Kyoko overhears Shotaro telling his manager he only brought her along so he would have somebody to cook and clean for him, and that he wouldn't date a plain-looking girl like her. Shocked, she leaves Shotaro, gets a makeover and decides to enter the entertainment industry and become an even bigger star to make him realise what he's lost.

The almost-Shakespearean tale warns viewers never to take their loved ones for granted. You will suffer the consequences. Look out for the series when it's released on DVD in a few months.