Naoto Yanagi has only had one real problem his whole life: No matter how good he is at anything, Mikoto Kujou is much better. Worse, she never notices they’re competing. She’s just better. And after years of this one sided game, Naoto has had enough. By the time they’re in high school, he decides that the only way to beat her is to make her fall in love with him, and then break her heart by rejecting her. Not that he has any success there either, and by the time they’re in college, he has moved to “If you marry me, I win”. So how much more he can advance his “game” before he realizes he may be in love with her?

If what caught your attention in Beauty Pop was Kiri’s absolute disinterest in love and romantic overtures, you’re going to love Mikoto. No matter what Naoto does, she just never registers that he is wooing her, to his everlasting frustration. There aren’t many surprises, as you can see the ending coming a mile away, but just seeing Naoto stumble in his attempts to woo Mikoto while insisting he’s definitely not in love with her is enough to bring a smile to your face.

Hikari Takaya wants nothing in life more than being a beautician like her mother, because she always saw her mom making people beautiful. To be able to do that, she moves to Tokyo to study at the HANA Beauty School, while also spending time with You, her high school boyfriend, who is attending a prep school to get ready for college. Things get a bit complicated when she meets Shiga, a fellow student, and soon she finds herself in a very strange love square: Not only between Shiga and You, but also between her social life and her dream.

To Be… focuses a lot more on the realities of studying to become a beautician, rather than in the makeovers themselves, and Hikari is a lot more sentimental than Kiri, but they both have the same messages: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone can be beautiful if they believe in themselves. To Be… delves a bit into the reality of school and the difference between a high school student’s expectations and what really happens in college, as well as how even the most loving couples can have problems when their goals don’t quite line up.

Kyoutaro Kiriyama enrolled into Yumemino Private Academy’s Beautician Department because he wants to become a hairstylist like his grandfather. While others might make fun of his passion, he wants nothing more than to bring out the inner beauty of people around him, so he is dedicated to his craft. Sure, he finds some troubles in the form of Aito Samejima, the most notorious female delinquent in school, who seems to be determined to make his life hell, but other than that, he is happy. Which is why he is really surprised when Samejima approaches him and shyly asks him to make her a beautiful Idol.

Hime Doll is a very interesting tale of how looks affect how we see people, and what we think of them. It has less conflict than Beauty Pop, because it’s shorter, but it still delves into the idea that one shouldn’t judge others harshly at first glance. More importantly, that if one wants to change their life, a good beginning is to change their looks: Dress for the job you want, not for the one you have. All in all, it’s a good manga that will bring a smile to the face of any reader.

When your love life is completely destroyed, and you have nowhere else to turn to, there’s still hope. According to an urban legend, there’s a “Love Expert” at a certain school who will help you to fulfill any wish. You just need to send them an email through the school’s webpage, and hope to be chosen for a miracle. Yuri Shinda is one of those hopeful girls, tired of being ignored by her crush, Kozawa. To her surprise, after she sends the mail, she’s approached by a guy named Kazuya, who vows to do everything to make her feel like a new person, someone who will catch Kozawa’s eyes.

Unlike the other entries in this list, Kaikan Styling is a compilation of short stories around the same subject: makeovers and how they can improve the lives of those who get them. And because it focuses more on the people getting the makeovers, rather than in those who give the makeovers, it’s a lot easier to see the consequences of the changes, and how it’s not as simple as “get your hair cut, get over your depression”. Unfortunately, it’s very short, but it rounds out the other manga in this list very well.

Sae is the daughter of a famous model, and thus, she’s often left home alone while her mother works. This hasn’t made her shy or antisocial; to the contrary, she’s got many friends at school, and is quite popular. The only boy who is not blinded by her charm is her classmate Yuuki, who knows that, at times, Sae acts even cuter just to get boys to invite her to have lunch –as she has a big appetite and will eat everything she can in a second. But he knows that she’s a great friend, to the point that she will volunteer to make bentos to help girls confess their feelings, even when she has no cooking skills.

Hatsukoi Lunchbox follows the same idea as Beauty Pop: a team of friends helping their classmates in their romantic problems with their specific abilities. Only that in this case, they use food. And this makes it a bit more interactive because every chapter ends with the exact recipe used, as well as instructions on how to make the bentos look just like the ones in the manga. It’s a sweet story that will make you drool a bit, but will also make you love cooking as much as the characters do.

Yuuri is a high school student who also happens to own a clothes store called “Pretty Hunting”. In that store, she can give free reign to her gift of “beauty healing”. She can make anyone look beautiful and help them improve their lives. Next to her, there’s Makoto, the head hairstylist of “Mars”, who has the same kind of talent. And when they team up, there’s nothing they can’t manage. They help those who come to “Pretty Hunting” and heal not only their broken hearts, but also their self-esteem.

Lovely Lesson is a bit of an oddity. The manga itself is very short, but this is because it has two sequels that follow the same characters and how they help those who come to the store: Lovely Lesson Chuukyuu-hen; and Lovely Lesson: Hair Make-hen, so really, the story has 3 volumes. And while it focuses on makeovers, both Yuuri and Makoto keep telling their clients that the most important thing is not to change for others, but to keep true to themselves. Which, in a fashion-driven manga, is a very good message to have.