Beauty Pop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) [Paperback]

Kiyoko Arai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2006 | Series: Beauty Pop (Book 1)

In Kiri's school there are 3 boys who carry out transformations on random pretty girls; Narumi Shougo, the hairstylist, Minami Kei, the nail artist and Ochiai Kazuhiko who balances the overall look. They are adored by the girls because they are so good at making them beautiful. However, Kiri is also a master hairstylist who is willing to 'add some magic' for those who need it, but in disguise. Now Kiri is forced to face the three in a showdown with Narumi.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Machiavellian undertone turns what might have been a run-of-the-mill shojo title into an interesting and unsettling study of just how much children—and, by extension, adults—judge books by their covers. Three boys using the name the Scissors Project give highly coveted makeovers to "ugly" girls at their school: "in the hands of those three, a girl becomes beautiful... she gets the guy of her dreams...." But first-year student Kiri, herself talented with a pair of scissors, doesn't care for the way they manipulate girls into subservience. While the boys of the Project continue to rule the school, a mysterious figure begins giving "magical" makeovers in secret, threatening the Project's power; this leads to an inevitable showdown battle, with scissors replacing swords, and an even more inescapable cliffhanger. The book's visual design is appropriately elegant and pretty, with lots of open panels and atmospheric, graphical elements—and it polarizes the world of the story into sharply drawn halves, the pretty characters very pretty, the ugly ones very ugly. Young readers may have trouble discerning where the vapid shallowness ends and the satire begins—if in fact it does. The message does indeed seem to be that beauty matters above all, and the only thing left to determine is how best to acquire it. (Sept.)
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About the Author

Kiyoko Arai was born in Tokyo, and now resides in Chiba Prefecture. In 1999, she received the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for Angel Lip. The popular Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite! (Ask Dr. Rin!) was made into an animated TV show.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421505754
• ISBN-13: 978-1421505756
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silly fun, September 2, 2006

By 

animejulie "www.mangamaniaccafe.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty Pop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

Kiri Koshiba is a first year high school student. Her family owns a beauty salon, but she has no interest in it. However, whenever there's a miserable soul in need of a make-over, Kiri's there with her identity masking (No, Lois, that's not Clark Kent!) baseball cap, ready to perform a little beautifying magic.

Ok, this sounds like a really stupid story. In fact, if I had read the back of the book first, I probably wouldn't have bought it. However, due to all of the buzz on line about the title, I picked it up during the TRSI Viz studio sale, and I'm not a bit sorry!

Kiri's rivals, the Scissors Project, is a group of three male students, who are totally hung up on themselves. Narumi's only goal is to be the top beautician in Japan. He has been competing in amateur contests since he was seven, and won all of them but one. When girls start appearing at school with makeovers that rival his skills, he starts to get anxious. Who is this mysterious beautician? After Kayo Yamamoto, a girl he refused to make-over because her hair was too short, shows up at school with a new hair style featuring extensions, he challenges his would-be rival to a hair battle! Will Kiri, who couldn't care one bit about the recognition, take him up on this challenge?

So, it still sounds pretty stupid, doesn't it? Get over it! Go buy the book! This was a fun read, and it was completely different from anything else that I have read. Kiyoko Arai, who is also the author of Dr Rin, hit pay dirt with this one. I love Kiri's apathetic attitude; she has enough confidence in herself to not care what other people think of her. She says what's on her mind, to the point of being rude, but has a soft spot for people in distress. Her identity altering hat is rather silly, but so is the entire manga!

The art is clean and fun, with special emphasis placed on hair styles. The characters are diverse and funny, with conceited Narumi so focused on himself that he can't even tell that Kiri is X-san. Kiri's dad is a great side character, as he gently nudges her to use her skills to make people happy.

The hair contest left off with a dreaded cliff-hanger, and the next volume doesn't come out until December! Argh!

www.mangamaniaccafe.com

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh Face For Shoujo Heroine, October 29, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Beauty Pop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

I attended Comic Con and they handed out sample comics that were to debut this year-Beauty Pop being one of them.

Kiri is not your average typical girly, ditzy or cutesy shoujo heroine which I really appreciate. It's quite refreshing to see a new look on a heroine who has her own attitude and personality that isn't recycled.

In this volume, she gives a makeover to her childhood friend Kanako to show a trio of talented and stuck up wannabe hair stylists known as the Scissors Project what it really means to be the best. Then Kiri aids a girl who longs to regrow her hair in the short time before her crush leaves forever. The final story leaves us with Kiri helping an overweight, frizzy haired girl become beautiful for her long-time crush while competing against the leader of the Scissors Project. Which of course we won't know until Volume 2 comes out December 5. ^_<

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and Smart, December 3, 2006

By 

M. ORIAS "puccagirl73" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beauty Pop, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

Kiri is not your average manga heroine, she's slightly lazy, apathetic, but a genius in beauty makeovers. Her hands are definitely magic; her nemesis Narumi (Naru-Naru) is hot-headed, proud, and prissy. They make a hilarious pair and their rivalry will be fun to follow. I'm also intrigued by Kiri's past. This promises to be one interesting manga series.