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Chapter 1 is the debut chapter of the Japanese manga Beauty Pop, written and illustrated by Kiyoko Arai.
Chapter 1 was published in Ciao magazine's September 2003 issue, and later re-published in Beauty Pop Volume 1 by Shogakukan on February 26th, 2004. Beauty Pop Volume 1 has been officially translated into English (Viz Media), French (Soleil Manga), Chinese (Tong Li Comics) and Vietnamese (TVM Comics).
Chapter 1 features the introductions of Kiri Koshiba, Shogo Narumi, Kazuhiko Ochiai, Kei Minami, Taro Komatsu, Kanako Aoyama, and Shampoo.
Plot[]
The chapter opens with a little girl, Yuuka, being bullied by 3 boys, who call her "ugly Yuuka" and cut her hair with a pair of scissors, the run away. The girl, her hair now in short and messy tufts, sits on the floor and cries, until she approached by Kiri Koshiba, who tells the girl she will help her and "add a little magic". The next day, Kiri says good morning to her neighbours as she passes by, who comment on how tired she looks. She then puts on headphones and begins her walk to school. Without comment, Kiri passes the little girl from the day before, but now she has a cute hairstyle. As the little girl walks happy and carefree, past the bullies with her friend, the bullies are shocked and confused.
At the school, Shogo Narumi, Kazuhiko Ochiai and Kei Minami walk down the hall, where they are admired by crowds of female students. The students ask them when the boys are going to hold a Scissors Project, and Kazuhiko and Kei ask Narumi for an answer, but he gets angry and tells everyone to shut up. Kiri passes by the commotion, drinking a juice box. She asks her friend Taro Komatsu what a Scissors Project is. Taro explains that Scissors Project (abbreviated to SP) is a makeover session run by Shogo, Kazuhiko and Kei, in which the one girl they makeover becomes so beautiful that they gain a 100% chance of finding love. Kiri, however, has wandered off before Taro has finished his explanation.
Further down the hall, Kanako Aoyama watches as the Scissors Project boys walk by, while holding a sealed letter in her hands. Kanako, trembling and blushing deeply, approaches Kazuhiko and gives him her love confession letter. Kazuhiko takes the letter, but accuses Aoyoma of using it as a decoy in order to bribe them to choose her to be their next Scissors Project makeover model. Kanako denies this. Kazuhiko passes the letter back to her, telling her that her "overall beauty balance" isn't good enough. Shogo agrees, adding that Kanako should have put more effort into her appearance before confessing her love to someone, and that she's too behind with popular fashion and has no femininity.
Kiri, overhearing this whole exchange from outside, interrupts the boys picking on Kanako, calling them rude and stupid for talking to a girl that way, and accuses them of having no confidence in their ability to make Kanako prettier. Shogo scoffs when Kazuhiko identifies Kiri as a first year student, and counters that if she wants to talk big, Kiri should fix her hair style first. Kiri tells him it's none of his business and starts wandering off, but not before pointing out to Shogo that his hair is 5cm lopsided. After Kiri has gone, Kazuhiko and Kei laugh that Shogo lost his arguement with Kiri, and Kei marvels at Kiri's ability to identify that Shogo's hairlength was uneven at a glance, which makes Shogo even more furious. He snaps and announces that the next Scissors Project will be held the next day.
Later, Kiri is at home, sitting outside the Koshiba Beauty Salon with Kanako and Kiri's cat, Shampoo. Kanako reminisces that she hasn't been to Kiri's home since the 3rd grade, when Shampoo was only a kitten. While Kiri goes to change her clothing, Kanako speaks to Shampoo, telling him that she hadn't made a single friend since starting highschool, only having books for company, but one day she bumped into Kazuhiko and dropped her books. He helped her pick them up, and admired her taste in the author Shūgorō Yamamoto. For Kanako, it was love at first sight, and ever since that day she has wished that Kazuhiko would talk to her again. Kiri, overhearing this, tells Kanako that she will give Kanako some magic.
The next day, crowds of students gather for the Scissors Projects' performance, including Kiri, who is dragged there by Taro. Kei, on stage, announces that the boys have already chosen a suitable girl to be their Makeover Princess, choosing a second year girl called Megumi Kawahara. Kiri and Taro arrive just in time to watch Shogo cutting Megumi's hair. Megumi steps forward with her new look and the audience all admires her, calling her cute and pretty. Shogo spots Kiri in the audience and the two make eye contact. Shogo scoffs, and Kiri pretends she wasn't looking.
Later, as the Scissors Project boys head to leave the now empty auditorium, a pretty girl appoaches them down the steps. Kazuhiko, usually able to identify anyone, cannot identify her at all. When she then says Kazuhiko's name, he then realizes she is Kanako, now transformed by Kiri's scissors. She tells Kazuhiko that now the magic of her new appearance has given her so much confidence, she felt a change in herself that will, in future, help her learn to be a better judge of character. She then walks away. As she does, Shogo mentally admires Kanako's hair, wondering who was the hairstylist. Further down the hall, Kanako tackle-hugs Kiri, thanking her for giving her the confidence she needed.
Appearances[]
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| Kiri Koshiba (1st Appearance) |
Shogo Narumi (1st Appearance) |
Minami Kei (1st Appearance) |
Kazuhiko Ochiai (1st Appearance) |
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| Taro Komatsu (1st Appearance) |
Kanako Aoyama (1st Appearance) |
Shampoo (1st Appearance) |