Comic World News

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Eye of the Beholder

From time to time, I worry that my focus is a little sh�jo heavy. I feel like I�m forever talking about manga targeted at teen girls (though knowing full well that they aren�t the only members of the audience). But looking back through the past few months of archives of this column, I realize that it�s been a while since I�ve indulged in serious sh�jo gush.

So I feel perfectly justified in devoting an entire installment to how much I love Kiyoko Arai�s Beauty Pop (Viz).

Essential to the book�s appeal is its heroine. In this case, it�s Kiri Koshiba, and she just doesn�t give a damn. She�s the daughter of a low-rent hair stylist and a high-end make-up artist, and while she�s got a way with a pair of scissors, she isn�t especially ambitious. Manga is populated with extremes � the painfully shy or the desperately outgoing. Kiri is a refreshing change in that she�s supremely indifferent to the opinions of others. Having been raised in the beauty industry (even the fringes of it), you�d think she might be more invested in her own appearance. That�s not the case; she dresses for comfort instead of effect, and while she�s cute (because� duh, it�s manga), it�s nothing she cultivates.

That doesn�t mean she disapproves of vanity in others. When someone crosses her path who really wants to look her best, Kiri calmly and confidently goes into action, giving them a look that maximizes their assets. She�s at her best when the subject is at a disadvantage � when their appearance is keeping them down. Kiri is all about enhancing confidence instead of stamping out imperfections.

Naturally, she disapproves of one of the more bizarre student organizations you�re likely to run across in manga, The Scissors Project. A trio of makeover artists including smug hair stylist Shogo Narumi, daffy nail artist Kei Minami, and cosmetics expert Kazuhiko Ochiai (who has a frighteningly comprehensive memory for gossip), they choose classmates in need of beautification for very public improvement. Unlike Kiri, they�re in it for the glory. It�s not about the aesthetically disadvantaged young person they beautify; it�s about the adulation of the masses. Oh, and they plan to dominate Japan�s beauty industry.

They�re princes, in other words. Kiri doesn�t resent them for that; she just� doesn�t give a damn. But Narumi�s ego and competitiveness immediately lead him to perceive her as a rival, and things deteriorate from there. Kiri is dragged into a public makeover battle against the Scissors Project, which only fuels Narumi�s resentment of the talented stylist. Amusingly enough, Kiri still doesn�t care. She�s client-focused, not ego-driven.

And the other members of the Scissors Project rather like her. To be fair, Kei likes anyone who won�t ask him to share his snacks. As long as he can recreate Mount Fuji on somebody�s fingernail and still have time to snag the new chip release at the carry-out, he�s happy. Ochiai�s feelings are a bit more complex. Curiosity is his natural state, keeping a database of information on his classmates, but his interest in Kiri seems to go deeper, much to his consternation.

So in addition to a rivalry she doesn�t acknowledge, Kiri is in the middle of a love polygon she doesn�t recognize. Just about no manga character evinces Narumi�s level of dislike for a sh�jo heroine without eventually revealing his true feelings. Kiri�s closest friend, brainy Kanako Aoymama, has a crush on Ochiai. And Arai keeps introducing Kiri�s childhood friends to complicate matters further. One is irritating Iori Minamoto, an aromatherapist who grew up in New York, returning to fawn over Kiri and butcher the language of his birth. The other is Kenichiro Seki, a lanky massage therapist whose distinguishing characteristics are a tendency to apologize excessively and wear a tank-style t-shirt. (It�s the first time I remember seeing that garment in a sh�jo romantic comedy.)

It�s a relatively big cast for a story in this category, especially when you factor in parents, rivals and makeover recipients. Arai manages the crowd pretty well, and there aren�t too many clunkers in the group. It�s a bit hard to see Kiri as the fulcrum of a big romantic swirl, since she�s so indifferent, but that shouldn�t keep the people around her from freaking out over it.

I like the art, too. It�s of the clean-and-cute school of sh�jo. I do wish Arai would devote more detail, in pictures and words, to the makeover projects. There are conflicting impulses at work � the desire to have the transformations retain their impact by concealing the subject until the final reveal, and the benefits of working more information into the narrative. The dramatic reveals generally win, and I can�t help but think the makeovers would be more interesting if the balance leaned in the other direction.

But for a series about appearance, it�s nowhere near as shallow as you might expect. There�s a lot of concentration on individual ambition, whether it�s Kiri�s desire to hone her skills or Narumi�s urge for global coiffure conquest. And when a series focuses on a group of creatively talented kids pursuing their dreams, it�s fairly sure bet that I�ll be sticking around to see what happens.