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| Beauty Pop | |
 Cover of first manga volume featuring Kiri | |
| ビューティー ポップ (Byūtī Poppu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy,romance[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kiyoko Arai |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Ciao |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Original run | 2003 –2008 |
| Volumes | 10 |
Beauty Pop (Japanese:ビューティーポップ,Hepburn:Byūtī Poppu) is ashōjomanga series written and illustrated byKiyoko Arai. It originally ran in the Japanese manga magazineCiao.Beauty Pop is published in English byVIZ Media under theShojo Beat label and in French by Soleil Manga. The manga focuses on the life of a naturally talentedhairstylist named Kiri Koshiba and her problems with the "Scissors Project," a group of boys determined to become the best makeover team in Japan.Beauty Pop went on a short hiatus fromCiao, but it came back under the titleBeauty Pop Stage 2. The series has also been adapted into aDrama CD, which was released on 25 November 2004.[2][3]
High school student Kiri Koshiba uses her hairstyling talents to help brighten up the lives of girls often deemed as “ugly,” but she does so anonymously. Due to her skill, Kiri unintentionally becomes rival to the Scissors Project (also known as the SP), an infamous club consisting of self-proclaimed genius hairstylist Shougo Narumi, cosmetic expert Kazuhiko Ochiai, and nail artist Kei Minami. The Scissors Project is known for their showy performances where they give public makeovers to members of the student body, specifically already “beautiful” girls, and as a result attract an often-times overwhelming amount of attention.
After the rejection of Kiri’s friend Kanako Aoyama when she professes her love to Ochiai, Kiri gives her a makeover in order to help boost her self-esteem. Interpreting this as a challenge to the supremacy of the SP, Narumi issues a formal challenge to the offender, whom he refers to as “X” due to their anonymity to ensure that his club remains on top. After “X” defeats Narumi and is revealed to be Kiri Koshiba, Kiri eventually becomes a reluctant member of the SP, whether or not Narumi approves.
Throughout the series, the SP continues to grow and meet the challenges of becoming the top team of beauticians in Japan, unless their interpersonal issues get in the way.
Beauty Pop ran inCiao magazine for a total of 51 chapters, later bound into 10volumes by publisherShogakukan.Viz Media licensed the manga for an English release under theirShojo Beat line.The series underwent a short hiatus from Ciao, but came back in the October 2006, under the new titleBeauty Pop Stage 2, though the volumes themselves stayed under the nameBeauty Pop.[4] The manga was also published in Vietnam byTVM Comics[5] and France bySoleil Productions.[6]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | North America release date | North America ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 26, 2004[7] | 4091383823[7] | September 5, 2006[8] | 1-4215-0575-4[8] |
| 2 | July 7, 2004[9] | 4091383831[9] | December 5, 2006[10] | 1-4215-0576-2[10] |
| 3 | November 30, 2004[11] | 4091383882[11] | March 6, 2007[12] | 1-4215-1009-X[12] |
| 4 | June 1, 2005[13] | 4091383904[13] | June 5, 2007[14] | 1-4215-1010-3[14] |
| 5 | December 26, 2005[15] | 4091302955[15] | Sep. 4, 2007[16] | 1-4215-1011-1[16] |
| 6 | June 1, 2006[17] | 4091304087[17] | December 4, 2007[18] | 1-4215-1323-4[18] |
| 7 | November 29, 2006[19] | 4091306667[19] | March 4, 2008[20] | 1-4215-1784-1[20] |
| 8 | April 27, 2007[21] | 9784091310965[21] | June 3, 2008[22] | 1-4215-1927-5[22] |
| 9 | October 1, 2007[23] | 9784091312587[23] | October 7, 2008[24] | 1-4215-2310-8[24] |
| 10 | February 29, 2008[25] | 9784091315007[25] | April 7, 2009[26] | 1421525941[26] |
The series has also been adapted into a drama CD, which was released on November 25, 2004. The drama featuresJunko Minagawa as Kiri Koshiba,Tomokazu Seki as Shogo Narumi,Aoki Makoto as Kazuhiko Ochiai,Hiro Shimono as Kei Minami,Masayo Kurata as Kanako Aoyama,Hiroshi Shimozaki as Taro Komatsu, andMitsuaki Hoshino as Seiji Koshiba.[2]