Beauty Pop, Vol. 1, 1

by Kiyoko Arai

Book Overview

Beauty at any cost - extreme manga make-over

Although a truly gifted hairstylist, Kiri Koshiba has no interest in using her talent to pursue fame and fortune, unlike the three popular boys in the "Scissors Project" at school. Determined to become the best makeover team in Japan, they give showy makeovers to handpicked girls. As much as Kiri tries to shy away from the Scissors Project spotlight, she finds herself responding to beauty's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421505754
• ISBN13: 9781421505756
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Beauty Pop....

I like the series , its cute and funny. It makes a good read when you haven't got anything to do. I would recommand this manga to anyone who is looking for a manga that is calm and realistic. It is also very clean, which I was happy about, I didn't have to worry about an unnesscary "fan services" or F-bombs. Be on the look out for the word "NAPPY". It could make a few readers "frizz". :)

Hilarious and Smart

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.

A Fresh Face For Shoujo Heroine

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. ^_<

Silly fun

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

Good but not as good as I expected

Okay I might be stupid but I really hoped there was a little more to this story than hair cutting. I mean there is and I don't know what I was expected but anyway I was expecting something else along with the who's the best hair stylist. This was really good but not up to my standards. I don't think this book should be rated Teen there is nothing wrong with it. I believe thos book is appropiate for all ages. Good for young girls.