Beauty Pop, Vol. 4

So much development in this one! Kizuhiko starting to fall for Kiri. That just took a turn. The SP becoming a club and having Iori, Kiri, Taro, Aoyama, and Kin joining! Then finding out that Shogo's dad not only knew Kiri's dad but was his rival! That was just a shocker. I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to happen. Kiri already suspects something about kizuhiko. I think she's still going to be with Shogo Narumi

The Scissors Project battle concludes in an interesting little way in this volume. Any fans of Kazuhiki Ochiai will soon discover another side to this scheming, computer-like character. You also get a little glimpse of Kiri's inner fears during the competition after one of the cuts goes a little askew. I personally liked this volume a lot because you discover more things about Kiri and Narumi's fathers, Ochiai shows off a more 'human' side to his persona, and then the volume wraps up by starting off another plot arc with Narumi's sister. Without being too spoiler-ish with this review, if you've liked the antics so far in Beauty Pop then Kiyoko Arai delivers just that. For those who have never read the previous volumes yet, the Beauty Pop series is great for anyone who's into manga series like Ouran High School Host Club, The Wallflower, Goong, and W Juliet. It's light reading with a cast of dynamic characters and a subtle plot. Meaning you enjoy reading the series to discover more about the characters and not because they need to "save the world" or some other sort of ultimate storyline goal. Kiyoko Arai laces any angst moments sparingly within the characters of the series so that you never feel overwhelmed, allowing you to actually sympathize with them rather than have an urge to slap them upside the head. I was hooked on this series after the first few sampler chapters back when Shojo Beat was first promoting it.