Kiri isn't your average shoujo female. She doesn't dress in the hottest, trendiest, and brightest clothes - instead, she chooses to don jeans and a jacket, complete with baseball cap. She isn't perky and popular - she's lazy, can sleep anywhere at any time, and pretty much keeps to herself, save her two close friends. She doesn't blush at the smile or touch of a cute classmate - in fact, she's not impressed. You'll never see her shopping for hair clips, or scarfing down crepes after school. She's just about as atypical as you can get.
And that's part of Beauty Pop's [ビューティーポップ] charm. This series chooses to challenge the stereotype, and address the pressure girls are under to look beautiful (especially if they want to have any chance of getting a boyfriend). It's Kiri's opinion that anyone, no matter their looks and build, can be pretty and confident with a new hairstyle, working her "magic" on poor, unfortunate souls she comes across (like a little girl being harrassed in the first volume). However, she does this anonymously. On the the other hand, The Scissors Project is a whole new matter. "The S.P.," as they are called, run by three popular boys at school (Narumi, Kei, Ochiai), select already good looking girls and give them grand makeovers - basically they'll only work with people who didn't really need the change. This is always done in a very public, bragging fashion. Eventually, Kiri and the club butt heads (or just Narumi, who is dead-set and determined to become the best beautician in Japan. The award winning "genius" displays great annoyance and frustration with Kiri's attitude, "mussy" hairdo and severe lack of feminine behavior).
Despite Kiri's incredible talent (and heritage), she doesn't want to make a career out of it, for reasons she won't share with anyone (and only her parents could guess). This adds another level of drama to the series, as pressure builds for her to get more use out of her wasted skills.
Basically, if you're looking for something that isn't starring a 12-year-old pig-tailed ball of fluff who saves the world on the weekends, this is it. If you're looking for a love story where looks aren't the deciding factor, this is for you. And if you or anyone you know has ever suffered from low self esteem or rejection because it seemed you just weren't cute enough, this is definitely for you.
Beauty Pop is currently under the release of VIZ for the US.
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