Beauty Pop, Vol. 2

This manga gets better every time I read it. This one focuses on Shogo and Kiri working around each other. Shogo Narumi can't stand how nonchalant Kiri is. Their back and forth is just hilarious to read. And I love the bonus story in this one on how Kazuhiko, Shogo, and Kei became friends.

The reviews for this manga are actually rather misleading. They make Iori out to be a sly and underhanded being. Simply put, Iori is an idiot. Half of what he says is in English and he was always proposing to Kiri's mother. Don't think that he is going to be a cool, coniving character. This fact doesn't take away from the book at all, though. I love Beauty Pop. This was the first manga series that I have ever bought (not read, bought).

Kiri and Naru-Naru's contest ends with Kiri performing another superb transformation the girl everyone considered hopeless. A new character shows up, from Kiri's past, Iori, who has vowed to make Kiri love him. He appears to be an aromatheraphy/fragrance expert who looks poised to become another member of the Scissors Project. Kiri's mother Emily also returns from Hollywood. It seems she is a famous make-up artist. She returns because Iori implied that her daughter is being bullied. The volume ends with both Kiri and Naru-Naru performing a makeover on the school nurse and a teacher who are getting married. Again this was another hilarious, engaging volume from Kiyoko Arai. Definitely answered some of my questions from Volume 1, but like any good serial replaced them with new mysteries to solve.