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lb:gyaru [2026-05-09 05:31:36] – [Personal...thing] ninjasrlb:gyaru [2026-05-11 05:20:40] (current) – [Personal Discovery] ninjasr
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 ===== Personal Discovery ===== ===== Personal Discovery =====
 <section sakura> <section sakura>
-My first experience with gyaru was through anime and...the //**other one**// – how most Westerners encounter them. My reaction to them was mostly neutral though...as in, it didn't really lead anywhere.+My first experience with gyaru was through anime((:fn:>Specifically, I think that the first anime where I encountered a ‘gal’ was <cite>Hajimete no Gal</cite>, which also introduced me to the term. Though prior to that I encountered other gyaru-adjacent characters (like [[lb:toaru:misaka]]). I don't think any specific anime pushed me to learn more about them though.)) and...the //**other one**// – how most Westerners encounter them. My reaction to them was mostly neutral though...as in, it didn't really lead anywhere.
  
 I thought it was weird, but kinda interesting. But I'd gradually learn more...not through anime, but through Wikipedia of all things. I thought it was weird, but kinda interesting. But I'd gradually learn more...not through anime, but through Wikipedia of all things.
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 But then I got into [[lb:parapara]]. I think it started through [[lb:eurobeat]]. I kept looking for more and then started hearing weird references. Then I got recommended ParaPara...and that's where it all went downhill. But then I got into [[lb:parapara]]. I think it started through [[lb:eurobeat]]. I kept looking for more and then started hearing weird references. Then I got recommended ParaPara...and that's where it all went downhill.
  
-From ParaPara, I started looking into the rest of the subculture and, well, here we are today.+From ParaPara, I started looking into the rest of the subculture and, well, here we are today. Actually, ParaPara might be //the// reason I'm interested in gyaru. Gyaru went from just some fiction trope and museum artifact, to being something more concrete.
 </section> </section>
 +===== Gyaru Types & Subtypes =====
 +<div callout>This section is not yet complete.</div>
 +In this section I'll list the different kinds of gyaru to the best of my ability. My information will mostly be derived from [[lb:Galture]] and my own observations.
 +
 +Those with a skull icon (<span icon>🕱</span>) are those which are extinct, as far as I can tell.
 +
 +I'm going to try to organize it according to lineage, so you can roughly see how stuff evolved from one to the other. I'll also be adding references a little later.
 +
 +  ** **Proto-Gyaru** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +  .. According to Galture, the earliest the term 『ギャル』 had been used in Japan to refer to <q :en sakura>vibrant and lively young women</q> was the 1970s.((:fn:>It's here that I'm starting to wonder if it really is fair to say that gyaru started in ‘the late 80s’. Ah well, I'll deal with that later.))
 +  ** **Amlers** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +  .. Amlers are girls who wanted to copy Namie Amuro. For those not in the know, she's one of the biggest Japanese idols...//ever//. Namie Amuro is considered the 初代ギャルのカリスマ(Original Charisma Gal) and is probably responsible for starting the subculture.
 +  .. This had apparently started around 1995.((:fn:>Though I'd personally still put the origin of Gyaru in the 80s, even if it only crystallized in 1995. Maybe. I'll have to rethink some of the conclusions I came to.))
 +  .. Amuro-san is from Okinawa, so she had tan skin and, as an idol, wore bold makeup and interesting fashion. So girls across Japan had started copying those aspects.
 +  .. Amlers are either proto-gyaru or they were the first gyaru. Assuming there weren't some earlier types of gyaru that I'm just not aware of.
 +  ** **Kogal** <span icon>🕱</span>((:fn:>The original Kogals are extinct, probably.))
 +  .. コギャル(Kogals/Kogyaru) are where almost all modern gyaru types ultimately descend from.
 +  .. Kogals were highschool girls who (probably) took their Amler fashion instincts with them to school. They were the rebellious ones, tanning their skin (!), shortening their skirts (scandalous!), wearing heavy makeup (shocking!), loose socks (how is this even allowed??). Though it's apparently not known exactly where the term ‘Kogal’ comes from. Galture mentions that it was probably used by club staff to refer to the girls who weren't allowed to come into the clubs. Meaning that the ‘Ko’ means something like ‘kid’ or ‘child’.
 +  .. These types were so influential that the modern pop-culture image of gyaru appears to be frozen here. Well, there's just the one issue: from what I can tell, they didn't seem to dye their hair. So that came from later gyaru.
 +  .. These types also probably invented [[lb:gyaru-moji]].
 +  .. Whether they're extinct or not is probably something that could be debated. I'd argue that outside of anime, the original Kogals are probably just extinct. Modern Kogals exist of course.
 +  .. Galture also mentions (as a fun-fact) that there were 『マゴギャル』(Magogals). The term referred to gals who were younger than the Kogals (highschoolers)...so middle-school girls who were gyaru. The term ‘magogal’ probably literally means ‘grandchild gal’.
 +    ** **Ganguro** <span icon>🕱?</span>
 +    .. Kogals who grew up grew up to become **ガングロ**. They lasted from 1998 to around 2000.
 +    .. The term ‘ganguro’ originates from the shortening of the Japanese “to darken ones face by tanning’.
 +    .. These gyaru are the ones who started dyeing their hair blond, silver. They wore clothing with a lot of bright colors and hibiscus patterns. They also attached rhinestones and tear stickers under their eyes. Hawaiian patterns and neon colors were mainstream.
 +    .. This may also be when purikura started becoming a thing?
 +    .. Basically all kurogyaru that follow descend in some form from the Ganguro.
 +      ** **Gonguro** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +      .. Ganguro who tanned their skin even darker.
 +        ** **Bachiguro** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +        .. Those who tanned their skin //even// darker.
 +      ** **Yamanba** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +      .. Yamanba are described by Galture as the more extreme version of the Ganguro. They had Gonguro skin, <q :en>explosive</q> hairstyles and painted the upper areas around their eyes white.
 +        ** **Manba** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +        .. According to Galture, the main difference between them and Yamanba was that they painted the entire area around their eyes white, rather than just the upper parts.
 +          ** **Serenba** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +          .. Part of the Manba counter-attack in 2004. Serenba were ‘Celebrity’ inspired, meaning they wore more high-class items, had a slightly calmer appearance and more ‘adult’ fashion.
 +          ** **Coconba** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +          .. Part of the Manba counter-attack in 2004. Coconba were manba who favored fashion from the brand COCOLULU.
 +          ** **Romanba** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +          .. Part of the Manba counter-attack in 2004. These were ‘lolita’/‘gyaru’ hybrids, possibly being the first gyaru to wear lolita fashion.
 +          ** **Banba** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +          .. Part of the Manba counter-attack in 2004. ‘Barbie’ manba liked to imitate barbie-esque aesthetics. That's all that Galture says about them, not just me being lazy for the time-being.
 +      ** **Retro Gals** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +      .. From what I can gather, these were ganguro who wore more 60s-inspired fashion and were possibly more influenced by shop clerks than magazines.
 +      .. Galture notes that these were the forerunners of the later onee-style gals.
 +    ** **Ayu-Style Shiro-Gyaru** <span icon>🕱</span>
 +    .. Gyaru who were greatly influenced by the //Second// Charisma Gal: Ayumi Hamasaki, after the year 2000.
 +    .. This is where something of a tectonic shift occurred among gyaru, as the split between Kuro and Shiro was cemented. Not only did this produce two distinct categories of gyaru, but it also allowed girls who...y'know, didn't want to tan their skin, to join in the subculture.
 +    .. Ayu-Style Shiro-Gyaru wore clothing with leopard or camouflage patterns.((:fn:>Leopard patterns are still heavily associated with gyaru today.)) They also liked cropped tops, jeans and other things I'm too lazy to name right now. Decorating nails and their belongings (like phones) also started here.
 +    .. Galture also implies that revealing the belly button (so crop tops; midrif-baring) started with the Ayu-Style gyaru.
 +    .. Apparently the Ganguro were almost wiped out by the wave of shirogyaru.
 +      ** **Agejou** <span icon>🕱?</span>
 ===== Societal Observations ===== ===== Societal Observations =====
 In this (work-in-progress) section, I'll note a few of my observations about gyaru culture and the way it interacts with greater Japanese society. For now just a few small notes. In this (work-in-progress) section, I'll note a few of my observations about gyaru culture and the way it interacts with greater Japanese society. For now just a few small notes.
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 <div passage> <div passage>
-The main gyaru types nowadays are: +The main gyaru types nowadays are:((:fn:>These are mostly based on the makeup descriptions from Galture.)) 
-  ** **Modern Kuro-Gyaru**+  ** **Modern Kuro-Gyaru**((:ref:galture-reiwa>[[https://galture.com/en/history/reiwa-gal.html|Galture - Reiwa Gyaru]]))((:ref:galture-kuro-make>[[https://galture.com/en/makeup/reiwa-kurogal.html|Galture - Kuro-Gyaru Makeup]]))((:fn:>Listed first for no particular reason.))((:fn:>Galture also briefly mentions a third category of gyaru between Kuro and Shiro called ラテギャル(Latte Gal). These are described as girls with <q :en>Gals with a healthy skin tone</q>.))
   .. The modern incarnation of the Kuro-Gyaru. Tan skin yes, slightly bolder style than Shiro-Gyaru, but more reserved than the original Kuro-Gyaru. Women in their twenties. Primarily represented by the magazine Egg.   .. The modern incarnation of the Kuro-Gyaru. Tan skin yes, slightly bolder style than Shiro-Gyaru, but more reserved than the original Kuro-Gyaru. Women in their twenties. Primarily represented by the magazine Egg.
-  ** **Modern Shiro-Gyaru**+  ** **Modern Shiro-Gyaru**((:ref:galture-shiro-make>[[https://galture.com/en/makeup/reiwa-shirogal.html|Galture - Shiro-Gyaru Makeup]]))
   .. The modern Shiro-Gyaru. The dominant type. Onee-Gyaru and ‘Reiwa’ Gyaru are both different flavors of Shiro-Gyaru. They tend to have a more ‘reserved’ and ‘cleaner’ look, meaning white skin, more reserved makeup and fashion and so on.   .. The modern Shiro-Gyaru. The dominant type. Onee-Gyaru and ‘Reiwa’ Gyaru are both different flavors of Shiro-Gyaru. They tend to have a more ‘reserved’ and ‘cleaner’ look, meaning white skin, more reserved makeup and fashion and so on.
-  ** **‘Reiwa’ Gyaru**+  ** **‘Reiwa’ Gyaru**((:ref:galture-reiwa))
   .. Galture identified this. They are the most modern of the Gyaru and don't have any particular unifying trait. There's a greater emphasis on individuality and a lower emphasis on belonging to particular cliques. We can consider these the ‘chameleon’ Gyaru, because they're the hardest to explicitly identify as such.   .. Galture identified this. They are the most modern of the Gyaru and don't have any particular unifying trait. There's a greater emphasis on individuality and a lower emphasis on belonging to particular cliques. We can consider these the ‘chameleon’ Gyaru, because they're the hardest to explicitly identify as such.
-  ** **Onee-Gyaru**+  .. The term (as used by Galture) basically refers to all the modern gyaru collectively, though I'm using it in a slightly more narrow sense. It's possible that I'll later change this classification. 
 +  ** **Onee-Gyaru**((:ref:galture-onee-make>[[https://galture.com/en/makeup/reiwa-anegal.html|Galture – Onee-Gyaru Makeup]]))
   .. More ‘grown-up’ gyaru. Primarily women in the workforce, in their mid-late twenties or early thirties.    .. More ‘grown-up’ gyaru. Primarily women in the workforce, in their mid-late twenties or early thirties. 
 I'm getting these from the Galture website (linked below), which is a website run by a gyaru or former gyaru.((:fn:>I never asked if she still considers herself a gyaru or not.)) The above are simplifications which I may have to edit later. I'm getting these from the Galture website (linked below), which is a website run by a gyaru or former gyaru.((:fn:>I never asked if she still considers herself a gyaru or not.)) The above are simplifications which I may have to edit later.
lb/gyaru.1778304696.txt.gz · Last modified: 2026-05-09 05:31:36 by ninjasr

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