✂ profile --
[ Character's Name ] : Billy Iketani
[ Character's Age ] : 17
[ Series ] : Beauty Pop/Stage 2
[ Canon Point ] : Post-Chapter 40, aka after his happy funtiemz with Kiri and her father
[ History ] :
In Beauty Pop, hairstyling is serious business-and Billy is pretty damn serious about it. That’s not until later, though.
First thing to know is that Billy had a Japanese father and an American mother. They were both talented hairstylists, so Billy knew straight from childhood what he wanted to be when he grew up (aka a hairstylist). Needless to say, he was very close with his parents.
Therefore, it was all the more tragic for him when he was fourteen and they died in a car accident.
Fortunately, a friend of theirs, Emi Koshiba, decided to look after him. However, this didn’t stop him from becoming “wild” until the age of fifteen, when he reformed and became a hairstylist. As luck would have it, he turned out to be a natural. By the start of canon, he’s already working for Hollywood and fairly famous in both America and Japan.
To gain some more popularity, he takes on the task of being the hairstylist of a well-known child actress, Julie Macdun. This doesn’t go so well, sadly, as there’s a specific hairstyle she wants. The problem is that Billy can’t understand her (awful) drawing at all.
Along comes Kiri Koshiba, Emi’s daughter who’s come to America to visit. Not only does she know what Julie wants (being just as bad of an artist), she has the talent to do it. This, of course, pisses Billy off to no end.
Afterwards, Yujiro Narumi, president of a salon company, gives him an offer. Essentially, Billy heads to Japan to be the man’s errand boy. In return, Yujiro Narumi will help him rise to fame.
Billy’s first task is to infiltrate the school, which he does successfully via crashing the show of Scissors Project-a hairstyling high school group. He mocks Shougo Narumi, Yujiro Narumi’s son, and challenges Kiri to match his cut. This backfires on him, however. As talented as Billy is, Kiri is even more so and matches his cut with ease.
On the bright side, being a friend of Emi’s and all, he gets to stay with Kiri and her father for free.
Anyhow, he enrolls in her school, spending much of his time annoying everyone else, except for Kiri, who’s rather unflappable. As per Narumi’s father’s orders, he wrecks the SP clubroom and frames Kiri for it.
Unfortunately, Billy doesn’t know when to stop, which becomes his downfall. Unwittingly, he’s revealed as the culprit in a trap set by SP. Realizing that his image in Japan has just been ruined, he decides to head back to America. Before that, though, there’s something he wants to obtain that Kiri owns-the Golden Scissors. He was originally ordered to do so by Narumi’s father, but believes himself to be the only one worthy of them.
--Except Kiri has them with her and catches Billy ransacking her room. When her father, Seiji, comments on why he wants them, he also brings up Billy’s parents. This results in Billy running out of the house/salon.
The next day, he skips school. This isn’t purely because of yesterday’s events, though-it’s also the anniversary of his parents’ deaths. Turning off contact with Narumi’s father and everyone else, he visits their grave. Meanwhile, Seiji tells Kiri about Billy’s parents.
When Billy returns, the two greet him warmly, showing that they’re not angry with him. This, in turn, touches Billy greatly and he starts regarding Kiri quite highly. Aka, going back to America will have to wait.
[ Personality ] :
One of the first things people will notice about Billy is his arrogance. He’s very good at what he does, he knows it, and he’s not afraid to flaunt it. He’s worked hard to get where he is, and he’s had to do on his own (in contrast to Narumi, who unwillingly rode on his father’s coattails). At the same time, he’s very ambitious. He’s a pro, yes, but he could be better. As a result, he aims high and will do anything to reach that objective, which, again, is his motivation for working for Narumi’s father. Even so, he doesn’t truly want to rely on others for that. As he later admits in the series, he always intended on reaching the top with his own skill. Because of this, he’s very proud, and therefore he hates it when “amateurs” can do what he does.
Half the time, he acts rather cheerful and playful, always with a bright smile on his face. He loves to tease Narumi and the others and has no problem with invading people’s personal space. Sometimes he acts somewhat awkward as well-it’s not too uncommon to see him laughing nervously.
--Of course, keyword there is “acts.” At the same moment he’s smiling at someone, he’s likely insulting him/her in his head. There are very few people Billy honestly likes, and everyone else, he couldn’t care less about. He generally views almost everybody around him as idiots. It doesn’t help that not many see past the image of a star that he’s put up for himself, and the ones that do can’t tolerate him. This is why he’s so fond of Kiri, as she doesn’t hold anything against him and treats him kindly.
Simply put, Billy is a jerkass. If you’re someone he’s willing to let part of his façade slip around, be warned. One possibility is that he’ll still act cheerful and whatnot, though he’ll be more likely to mock you or make up things that are obvious-while knowing that they’ll rile you all the same. One example of this is when he refers to his living situation with Kiri in an intimate way, is corrected on his choice of words, and sheepishly comments that “Japanese sure is hard.” Note that he’s speaking otherwise perfect Japanese. As a member of SP put it, he’s not always subtle about it either. In his first meeting with Narumi, he outright insults the other boy in front of an audience of people, believing him to be beneath him. Another possibility is that he’ll generally be deadpan and aloof with an insult here or there-his personality past his smiling mask, one could say. This is how he typically is when no one else is around, as well.
Unfortunately, I can’t say that Billy is someone who has unwavering loyalty towards those he does like-because ultimately, he does steal the scissors from Kiri. However, not only is he conflicted about his orders beforehand, he feels incredibly guilty after he steals the scissors and hates himself for what he’s done. So yes, Billy is actually capable of feeling bad. Later on, this guilt and his fondness towards Kiri drive him to finally act against Narumi’s father. Thus, even though he might not be the most loyal of friends, his attitude is still quite different when it comes to the people he cares about.
In the end, the awkwardness that was mentioned before-it’s not all just an act. Inside, Billy really is a bit of an awkward, spazzy kid, if not more than a little lonely. Stick a cat near him and have fun with his reaction. Affection also makes him feel uncomfortable, albeit in the positive way. For example, at the end of the series, it’s said that he’s too embarrassed to fly to Los Angeles with Kiri’s family and goes on an earlier flight instead. He may be a charmer, but having people honestly care about him is unfamiliar to him.
[ Strengths/Weaknesses ] :
If it’s not extremely obvious by now, Billy is a very talented hairstylist. A prodigy, even. He’s also fairly self-sufficient. Although Emi did look after him somewhat during the past few years, he still had to take care of himself. He’s not afraid to do things on his own or to rely on only himself. It might be a lonely way to live, but as an orphan, it’s what he’s used to.
However, Billy suffers from overconfidence. He doesn’t really know how to be humble and makes most of his enemies that way-and possibly a fool of himself. He can also have a weak will, such as when he chooses to obey Yujiro Narumi, despite feeling conflicted about it. As he puts it, he “couldn’t disobey him,” even though he’s not loyal to the man anymore.
[ Other Important Facts ] :
Blood type is A, and he's allergic to cats. He never states how severe the allergy is, but let’s just say that he reacts very strongly to their presence.
He also wears contacts.