Bad Managers and Marvelous Bands

Before becoming acquainted with Eurobeat and Trance music due to my involvement in gyaru, I was in love with the sparse amount of Jrock and Jpop music that I could get my hands on. It was a hard time back then as resources were limited for Japanese music online.

 Malice Mizer was one of the bands I fell in love with as their outfits were quite majestic and the vocals of the frontman, GACKT, were captivating. Though their songs have continued to entice listeners, they had long since disbanded; Malice Mizer later disbanded and the former frontman, GACKT, embarked on his solo career in 1999. 

During the early 2000s, I found myself in a public library on the southside of Chicago looking up lyrics to my favorite songs and later using the computers at high school to do so. I had learned at the time with the limited translated resources and knowledge available that people were upset with GACKT for leaving Malice Mizer. Not all bands last and not all band members stay throughout the entirety of their group's existence (Malice Mizer having had several vocalists). From my findings, fans of the band seemed upset that he seemed unreasonable with the matters of his band and that he left his bandmates behind.

Frustrations

Years later, I would read about the issues concerning the band as a business. It turned out that if GACKT was being "unreasonable", and that the feud between the remaining members of the band and GACKT wass stoked and possibly miscontrued, there was a reason for this. Besides some tension with the members, there was a manager/managing company for the band and their fan club that mismanaged funds and profits from their lives.  While the manager was living a life of luxury filled with luxury goods, the members struggled and weren't seeing the profits from their efforts and likenesses. 

On top of the squandered funds, Mana, the lead of the band, felt that they could not speak up due to their professional relationship and was being financially compensated. Other members stayed silent due to the manager's temper, afraid to make her upset despite her taking advantage of them financially. This silence and not sticking up for the band upset GACKT, causing his departure and frustration. 

If you enjoy this content, leave a commnet, share, and consider donating at paypal lishamisha22@gmail.com or via cashapp $lishamisha22 . 

Is Gyaru Racist?

Lately, one of the biggest topics in the gyaru community, outside of the validity of newer gyaru substyles like tropical gyaru and the blunders and controversy of a project that eggmag has been disappointing us all with, is "gyaru fashion is racist." Not just the extreme manba fashion from the early 2000s, but as a whole movement.

Japan- Gyaru Beginnings

For a quick history lesson on this particular subculture and its fashion, there were girls who rebelled against Japan's beauty norms of pale, white skin, being modest, quiet and subservient by tanning, being materialistic, and partying. As time passed, girls involved with the style seemed to want to outdo each other, or to just push the limits, to stand out even more. This brought upon changes of the next popular accessories and clothes, to bleached/dyed hair, and affected the makeup and also their intensity of their tans. Some of the notable trendsetters and icons at this time were Buriteri and the gyaru circle Angeleek. 

Gaijin Gyaru Community Debates

Some people don't see the more extreme elements of the subculture as problematic at all and shut down healthy, polite discussions, to people who are doing their best to educate others on how the more extreme versions can come across to Black/African American people. That the usage of box braids and dark foundation is blatantly insensitive and there should be no excuse whatsoever. I have even come across a creator that have reached out to a popular Japanese gyaru about her darker foundation usage only to be blocked. 

For Black people who cannot pass for any other ethnicity, I can see how jarring and bizarre the fashion can come across. Why are they so DARK? Whats with the makeup? Why are they choosing to do THIS? But does tanning as a fashion statement in a homogenous society automatically equate to hating black people when dark skin has had historical contexts of being associated with being poor and of the working class and was avoided by richer individuals? Or is that reserved for the more extreme styles of gyaru fashion? Does it become more complicated with Japanese folklore of the Yamauba, the name for a mountain hag where the word "yamanba" comes from?

American Historical Context

In 19th century America, there were White people who painted themselves black, had overdrawn mouths and made a mockery of Black people as a form of entertainment. Black people were still seen as subhuman, buffoonish and stupid compared to their White counterparts. These shows were called minstrel  and there was a lot of blatantly racist art that dehumanized black people. 

These actors were not going against any fashion trends or creating their own, but to portray African American people for comedic purposes. These forms of entertainment lost popularity during the civil rights movement in the 1950's-60s.

2020+ and Changes

After posting a little more on Tiktok after such a hiatus, a manba makeup and fashion enthusiast reached out to me. I was informed that the new standard for Gaijin Gyaru was to not tan too dark and those that were not black or of a darker complexion naturally were to not overdo it with darker foundations; to be mindful and respectful of Black people. Looking back on the the kurogyaru wave during the Japanese Black Diamond era, I did notice that the girls in the group were tan, but not overly dark, save for a few young women. 

As the number of gyaru fashion practitioners has died down overseas and a lot of the girls having become shirogyaru (white gyaru) and choosing that over tanning, does the label of it being racist still apply? If the tanning trends lessen, and there are more shirogyaru because paler skin falls in line with the mainstream view of standard beauty, wouldn't that be just as insensitive to people with naturally darker skin or those who tan easier than others?

Sunk Cost Fallacy

 I really wasted my own time trying to be on good terms with people who hated me, wanted others to do so too, and liked seeing me disrespected and frustrated. I wasted my own time working on a few (not all) projects where the goals were constantly shifting out of reach, the budget to pay me was nearly non existent though there were investors and new equipment for the group, and projects/benefits that were dangled in front of me I “hadn’t worked hard enough l for it yet” despite making appearances to the least important events I was informed about and creating content etc.  

I thought that putting in more work, extending myself to be there for others would actually work… because that’s what I was told and I held on to that belief. But, at the end of the day, I was important enough for them to be so concerned about me. 

Anyway…Because once people are set on what they think, even if they didn’t ask questions or ask for all parties to talk about the issue together or are discouraged in doing so, they are set on it no matter what. They may like the drama and actually don’t like you. 

A human flaw or just something that could be helpful in not wasting your time? 

But yea, stick with people that actually want you to be in their life. You can’t change their minds because they don’t want to. (And maybe they actually didn’t like you and live for the drama.)If* they change their mind, they may feel too embarrassed to bring it up. People telling you to try harder when you’re getting snubbed only want to delight in you making a fool of yourself and wasting your time. Just like me, you’ll take this advice because this person was a trusted person in your life and you shouldn’t disregard that and think for yourself. You’ll stay, thinking “this too shall pass” and the next time shared will be better. You’ll be wasting some time or even years on a project that may not be paying you well or at all and getting no benefits or even losing tons of them, staying with people that don’t care about you to your face, or even being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t even want to be with you yet just want to take notes about what you’re into or and your reputation especially if they can’t use you up anymore. 

This is : sunk cost fallacy: you continue to stay or have stayed because you put in so much effort (time, money) and continue to do so without concerning yourself with the tangible benefits you could be getting now and in the future. Maybe there were false promises and excuses and you don’t want to come across as “selfish” while being exploited. After all, you want to be seen as supportive of the mission, not self centered and greedy. 

If a person is concerned about the situation being mutually beneficial (that just beneficial for themselves only), they’d weigh the options: are they getting paid adequately enough for the job (than putting in a lot of labor for nothing)? Is their partner or friend putting in substantial and reciprocal effort? And so on. 

People who are opportunistic (a word I learned from a Chicago Artist that now works for Marvel who made some appearances at some of my and LA’s events in the past), people who only see something as a means to an end, those overly concerned with their image/ego and being better than others also fall into the time wastage of sunk cost fallacy! They want to maintain an image of a “winner” than being perceived as “flawed”, “weak”, “loser” in any way so it’s guaranteed that they’d continue because they cannot stop. 

Kawaii Gyaru Themed Wallpaper pt 3

 Here is the third installment for gyaru themed wallpapers. The theme for these themes (wowzers, thats a lot of "th" words...) is pretty in pink!

Nokia Phone
Technological nostalgia with a pretty twist. 

Quilted Cushion

SailorMoon

Now, some wallpapers with a hint of pink. 

Pretty Dark Chocolate

Black Pink

Simplistic Black Lace on Pink Background

I do not own these images, but curated them from submissions on the web. 

Sept. 19, Break Ups!

 This month has been interesting. I can focus on a few things now and give my time to people who appreciate what I do. I finally took a bit of time to relax, and tend to a few things that needed to get done… to make more time for my hobbies. :) 

So, what’s been on my mind recently?

Breakups and New Beginnings 

Not all breakups are simple and amicable, or easy. I’ve been watching a lot of TikTok recently. lol 

It can be hard going through one, especially if it’s a first long term relationship or the breakup might be messy. Maybe the two aren’t a good fit. Maybe someone tried too hard and the other not enough. Maybe one person thought they could see other people and the other did not want that. There can be all the tears and sobbing and wanting that person back with impromptu declarations of “changing”. Or, two people just drift apart and accept it. 

 At the end of the day, nothing worked out and it’s time for something else to fill in the space!

There can be a plethora of factors that can lead to a break up (and a lot of feelings that can be birthed from it!), but instead of settling for someone who’s not your type and being miserable, check out some of the activities that can take your mind off things. 

I’d love to say some cliche things, but every situation is truly different. Sometimes people hold the blame for another’s actions and others would rather destroy your world, friendships and career than mutter a simple “sorry”. Sometimes people are chill instead. 

On my Twitter account, I’ll be posting some activities that you can do if you find yourself in a romantic (or friendship) breakup! 

If you have something to share, you can share your stories or thoughts below. 

August 30

 Its already the last few days of August. This year is flying by so much. I had some good news earlier this year, and someone took it not so well. Its wild that some people would want to cozy up to you and then not be happy for you and in turn want you to be miserable alongside them. But, it was to be expected of them. 

Outside of that, I have been enjoying TikTok recently! I had an account for a few years to watch a few things here and there, but have recently started contributing content that I archive on my Youtube channel. It has been fun and a little more manageable for me than when I became a Youtube Partner back in 2010-2011.

I have some things I need to edit a bit before posting, and it makes me really excited!

Stay tuned!

GAL REVO

GAL Revo, short for Gyaru Revolution, by Miyu Yoshida is now available as a website! 

GAL REVO was founded in February 2014. We are the largest source for digital Gyaru magazines, as well as to archive other things GAL. We aim to provide HD & watermark free scans.

I have been a subscriber of Gal Revo for many years, becoming quite impressed with Miyu's sharing of a large variety of gyaru fashion magazines. She is the proud owner of an extensive, drool worthy collection of trendy Japanese gyaru fashion magazines, possibly out of all the gaijin gyaru.  And with her ig accounts as well as a brand newnwebsite, you can enjoy these scans as well, whether at home or on the go. 

Check them out here! 

Stay inspired!  

Brow Blindness

As a formerly fuzzy browed gal finding myself in love with gyaru fashion, I found the importance of shaping and designing a brow look for myself that worked.  

I happened upon a trend on TikTok recently called “Brow Blindness”; a phenomenon where you are so used to your former brow that you don’t recognize how thick or oddly shaped they are! A few people have shared some of their looks, being able to laugh at themselves and showcase how great their brows have gotten over time.

TheLanarenee 

Her brows are impeccable now 💖

Janelle on TikTok looks quite flabbergasted at her old brows

Strongest of brows

Strong, but doesn’t overpower her features 

Dinero wishes someone would have informed her that her brows weren’t working for her. 

Before

After
Aren’t her red locks GORGEOUS?!

I can definitely relate as my natural brows had several transitions since I’ve became gyaru. Here are a few pictures of my old brows.

The arch is plucked… can’t you tell? 

What kind of shape is this?! 

Have you had brow blindness? What did your brows look like before you found the best shape for yourself?

Acen 2024

 Acen 2024 came and went, and it was a hot one this year. It seems like there was a larger influx of people who came out to enjoy anime and manga festivities. 

I saw many cosplays and some fashionistas that I was enamored with which is always delightful.

Here are some of my favorites:

Met a cute couple <3

Mothers Day

 Happy (late) Mother’s Day to the Mom’s out there. 💖

For some people, it’s not a fun day filled with gifting or receiving roses and cute cards, as some moms may have passed or were abusive to their children. Maybe some moms experienced a miscarriage, lost a child, or may have been abused by their children. 

Hopefully, there can still be some joy found. 

Gyaru Spotlight: Ari Marie

 This (cross posted) Gyaru Spotlight is for Ari Marie! 

I met her around 2010 or so when she applied to a nago-sa project co-founded by me and LA. We didn’t give her a clear cut answer as the Chicago nago-sa/gyaru project was having internal issues that needed to be resolved first and foremost. Our bad for not being upfront about that when you applied.