True Beauty

Do you like cute anime husbands? Do you like not-weird fan service? Are you a women? Well chances are you will very much enjoy this anime. I am unsure why this does not have a better rating especially in female communities. Honestly, the plot of this was quite good and I absolutely did not have any high expectations. This anime deserves a higher rating. Just to preface: I have never watched the K-Drama before, but I am currently watching. Thus far, it’s mostly accurate to it! It is as good as this anime, and the anime reflects its original roots well. I’m also very happy theyfinished the English dub on Crunchy which is good for those who like sub and dub. Moreover, I recommend this to any Shojo anime lover out there! It’s so good that I am getting my gal pals to watch too!! I I’m also happy that this takes a more mature role, and it NOT fan-service for men! It does a good job portraying the story. This one is def for the ladies, as there are some very cute moments with the characters that is not weird! The Japanese and English voice actors were candy to my ears. Very pleasurable experience!! I think a lot of younger and more mature women will enjoy this, such as women between ages 15-25.

I watched the anime from October 13 through October 18, 2025, and honestly, by the first few episodes I thought — this is not an anime from Japan! ???? Style of art, names, the atmosphere by and large — everything seemed unusual. Then I learned that it is an adaptation from a Korean webtoon (manhwa), and also there exists its live-action version (which I also did not watch). The point is. I did not anticipate I would like it this much. I began watching it around midnight and would view just one episode — and then I would discover that I'd already consumed 5 episodes. That'show much I liked it. It is an anime slice-of-life romantic comedy — packed with emotions, school conflicts, and the old standby love triangle. I normally would only see these kind of stories in fantasy or isekai anime series such as Lookism and I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World, but this one? This one is real, and this one is relatable and gets to the bottom of your emotions. The main character is a teenage girl who is harassed due to not being "pretty enough." Despite her looks, she is treated miserably by individuals at school. She slowly loses faith in herself and goes to the point where she wishes she could be absent. And honestly, I felt a connection to it deep inside. People make opinions about you as soon as they see you. I have not experienced really bad bullying, but I have felt that unfair feeling of being rejected, even when I did nothing wrong. Anyway, back to the story — it is told only from a woman’s point of view, with no fantasy or magic. It is just a simple, emotional story about accepting oneself, knowing one’s worth, and finding inner beauty. The bad character, on the other hand, is someone who looks beautiful but slowly becomes unlikable as her true self is revealed. It's not an unimpeachable story either. I mean, sincerely — regardless of how much makeup you wear on the page, a real best friend would know you, huh? 😂 That part did read somewhat artificially written or lazily. But that did not stop me from enjoying it. When it finished, I could not be sure whether it did end happily or not. It wraps up nicely, but I would have liked more of the lead's romance saga — so yes, I do hope there is to be a Season 2. And I would equally rejoice to someday read the male equivalent to this thought — a "Shonen" genre slice-of-life rom-com handling similar worries from the male protagonist's perspective. I would give this anime a 7, but since I did relate to it personally, I'll give it an 8 out of 10. If you're a girl, there's a 90% chance you'll adore it 💖. And if you're male — only invest time if you do actually do love shojo style and sweet romance.

To start off, I'll say that I read the webtoon and watched the live action before the anime (I didn't like the live action) and I thought that I personally wouldn't like the True Beauty anime. Surprisingly... it turned out to be the opposite. Don't get me wrong, all three mediums have a very similar premise regarding South Korea's obsession with beauty standards. However, one thing that differs from the live action is that the anime is, surprisingly, more faithful to the source material (and doesn't evangelize some characters like the live action did) The plot follows the story of Lim Jugyeong, who is bullied for being'ugly' (something that doesn't surprise me about South Korea considering the bullying idols suffer) and is forced to change schools. During that time, she will learn how to apply makeup through YouTube tutorials. This may seem superficial at first, but it's very relatable to want to fit into the canons of beauty in order to be accepted. Especially at such a vulnerable age as adolescence. During that time, Jugyeong will meet two other characters: Suho (who in the live action feels like a robot) and Seojun (the classic tsundere). Not to mention Sujin (the new bully). From here on there is a very important difference. In the live action, Jugyeong is VERY passive. And I'm not lying. In the anime, at least, she has more moments of determination regarding her desires (along with her constant setbacks). Also, the comedy is much better implemented (I always hated the scene of the noodles in the nose in chapter 2 of the live action or the various exaggerations). In some ways, True Beauty (anime) is not very different from Peach Girl or Hana Yori Dango (having more in common with Peach Girl in terms of manipulation, bullying, and some aspects, like the photography in a Love Hotel or Suho having to fake a romance with Sujin, something that also happened between Sae and Touji). I've said a lot of positive things, but True Beauty is not free of negative things. An example is that the chapters, having a standard length of 18-19 minutes, are quite fast and the resolution of the conflict (chapter 12) was somewhat quick. Also, chapter 13 gives us a different perspective that can be somewhat questionable depending on how you look at it. But well, since they confirmed a season 2, it's possible that that ending was necessary. True Beauty is a very entertaining anime that, despite its superficial message, is at the same time a fairly accurate reflection of beauty standards and the pressure that comes with it, especially in South Korea, a country that deals with problems due to aesthetic pressure and validation. It may not be the most original thing in the world, but it is an anime that will not leave anyone indifferent. If you liked Peach Girl, you will undoubtedly like True Beauty.