True Beauty has the vibes of a more wholesome Peach Girl: fluffy shoujo school melodrama. If that's what you're looking for, this will fit the bill. (Some general spoilers below.)
Without having seen the live drama or read the webtoon, I went into this with few particular expectations other than what the thumbnail and description seemed to suggest: a school drama shoujo with a love triangle. True Beauty met those expectations, but also dove deeper into bullying than I expected and put a greater emphasis on makeup.
Plot:
The plot is sort of The Ugly Duckling meet Cinderella, where the fairy godmother is ✨makeup✨, in a Korean high
...
school setting. Jugyeong starts off as the homely "stepsister" bullied by her school's mean girls. At rock bottom, she runs into Suho, a handsome guy studying to be an actor, who unbeknownst to her has had a very serious brush with bullying via a close friend he lost. Jugyeong happens upon a makeup tutorial, transforms herself, and transfers to another school, where the "Ball" is called the Goddess Contest. Unfortunately, she finds herself facing Sujin, a rival in the contest and another bully - seems a new identity isn't enough to escape those. But she also finds friends and allies in her art pals, Chaerin and Sua, and a music major, Seojun, who becomes the third point in Jugyeong's love triangle with Suho.
Characters:
This is where True Beauty shines. Despite only having 12(?) episodes, you can really feel Jugyeong's pain at being bullied and her fear of being victimized again, her insecurity that under her makeup, she's unlovable. But she's more than her trauma, fear, and insecurities - she loves horror manhwa and movies, metal music, and is passionate about her art. She has a satisfying character arc in coming to accept that she *is* lovable and finding the strength to stand up for herself and trust her friends.
Suho gets significant development as well, as he comes to terms with what happened to his close friend who was bullied and his own fears of having it happen again without him being able to do anything. Jugyeong reminds him of that friend, and their intersecting hobbies along with that lead to a budding friendship (and maybe more). He sees her as a person and not just a pretty face, and he's one of the few characters who knows Jugyeong's secret - which makes her doubt he could ever be attracted to her. I do wish his estrangement from his other former friend Seojun had gotten more development, but they did make good progress in finding some reconciliation over the course of 12 short episodes.
Seojun himself doesn't get a ton of development, but what's there is interesting. Hs sister Gowoon finds herself in a similar position to where Jugyeong started, and when Jugyeong steps in to show Gowoon the magic of ✨makeup✨, Seojun as a loving brother also finds himself appreciative of Jugyeong. This kicks off Seojun's own journey of getting to know Jugyeong - finding her kind, as well as skilled and passionate in her art. His own internal journey finds him ignoring his talent for music in favor of more practical plans, but over the course of the show, as Jugyeong and Suho and those around him pursue their dreams, Seojun seems to build inspiration as well. (I'd love to see more of the story, with these characters pursuing their career goals and dealing with the ins and outs of their industries. But maybe I'm spoiled by Oshi no Ko. 😅)
The mean girl Sujin gets some development too, coming from an abusive household, with Suho having been her break from all that (and leading to a crush on him). These pressures make her lash out, both from the stress of her home life and her possessiveness of Suho. She goes to great lengths to take it out on Jugyeong (Sae from Peach Girl vibes!), and while she has her comeuppance and realizes she's been lashing out, there's no real redemption arc for her (not that there needs to be, but it would be something I'd love to see).
Jugyeong's friendship with Chaerin and Sua is heartwarming to watch as she worries they won't want her once they see her bare face, but then she's uplifted by the sincerity of their friendship. These characters aren't very developed (it's a short series), but we do get some heartwarming moments with them.
Animation:
The animation worked for the series and didn't take away from the story.
Music:
The opening is peppy girl pop that after the first listen was a bit too high energy for me, so I skipped it. But it fit the show, as did the rest of the music (which I didn't skip 😅).
Overall:
With a title like "True Beauty," a message seems expected. The show definitely covers the effects of bullying. The message about true beauty, though? Ultimately Jugyeong accepts that Suho and her friends can love her for who she is, regardless of what her bare face looks like. But the show doesn't cram down your throat any body positivity type of message that you're beautiful with or without makeup, which is up to each viewer whether they find that realistic or a shortcoming.
If the twelfth episode was the finale, then it did feel a bit rushed toward the end. However, the show did get a satisfying enough ending (HFN or Happy For Now). Overall, the show was an enjoyable fluffy melodrama to watch if you'd like a more wholesome Peach Girl type of anime.
Oct 23, 2024
Yeosin Gangnim
(Anime)
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True Beauty has the vibes of a more wholesome Peach Girl: fluffy shoujo school melodrama. If that's what you're looking for, this will fit the bill. (Some general spoilers below.)
Without having seen the live drama or read the webtoon, I went into this with few particular expectations other than what the thumbnail and description seemed to suggest: a school drama shoujo with a love triangle. True Beauty met those expectations, but also dove deeper into bullying than I expected and put a greater emphasis on makeup. Plot: The plot is sort of The Ugly Duckling meet Cinderella, where the fairy godmother is ✨makeup✨, in a Korean high ... |
