my favorite gyaru resources!! a masterblog

hi hi~! its time for another gyaru blog~!

if youve been interested in j-fashion at all, then you know its always caught between being easy to find resources and mind-numbingly difficult.

sure, things like pinterest, tiktok, and tumblr have an insane amount of content on them, but how many times have you seen the same photo? or the same magazine scan? im sure you cant even remember by now! when getting into j-fashion, its important to keep your stream of content fresh for your own sanity. gyaru is no different! 

however, every resource is not created equal! i like to follow a simple rule when weeding out good and bad sources: if it feels like someone is talking out of their ass, then move on! its important to use discernment when reading something, including this blog... who knows? i could be an evil faceless normie who wants to slander the good name of gyaru MUAHAHAHA!! okay, im joking, i would never do that to you. but still! always use your best judgement, and dont waste time on stuff that feels poorly made or just flat out wrong.

but sadly, it can be pretty slim pickings here at times, especially on the english-speaking side of the web. plus, gyaru was at its peak during the early days of the internet so theres tons of stuff that is just simply lost to time. so sometimes, we have to take what we can get. even if that means cherry picking bits of information from certain sources (cough cough... the gyaru wiki... cough)...

in this blog, im going to create a masterlist (or masterblog, if you will) of my favorite gyaru resources! except not really, because theres going to be some that i only tolerate. im going to list them in descending order from most accessible to least accessible, so if youre a seasoned gyaru and wanna get to the juicy stuff: the closer to the bottom, the better!

i plan to keep adding to this blog for as long as i can, since im always finding new stuff that i find useful. feel free to come back any time you want and peruse!

each resource will be linked with an x or otherwise underlined or bolded, so hopefully that makes it easier to click around and save some links!

~

MOST ACCESSIBLE:

tiktok, tumblr, instagram, pinterest

i think these go without saying since we live in a social media centric world, but the easiest way to find gyaru resources is on social media. notice that i said easiest, not the best. honestly, i dont think any resource is truly the "best", so i recommend that you abandon any notion that one thing is truly the "best". anyway, it's the easiest because it takes a simple search and you get tons of results immediately. but remember what i said about people lying out of their asses and faceless normies? tiktok in particular is full of that. i have my own gripes with how tiktok treats gyaru as a whole, but theres so much good on it that all i'll say is that discernment is key. i really love the users @cinnagal, @nuki3opatra_, @otknoharuka, and @goblinize for education/tutorials! you can also find veteran gals and egg models on tiktok as well! instagram can be great for finding other gals (lots of veteran gals and models use it), and following gyaru fashion brands and publications (new egg in particular!). tumblr and pinterest are great for archival purposes. youll find tons of magazine scans and even the odd archived post from a gal in the 2000's. tumblr is also great for following blogs that post moodboards, old web stuff (stamps, blinkies, etc), gifs, and fashion content. i love the user m0ney, who posts vintage japanese and korean street snaps, pics from old flickr accounts, and more! they arent explicitly a gyaru blog, but i find them very helpful in the same way as FRUiTS magazine below. otherwise, go on a deep dive thru the gyaru tag and similar. pinterest requires you to do your own digging, but here is my personal board for your viewing pleasure!

r/actualgyaru - x

this technically counts as social media, but i think it serves its own separate purpose. this is a great subreddit with tons of knowledgeable people! theyre always sharing tips, tricks, resources of their own. its also a great place to ask for concrit on make and coords. all in all, super helpful! however, it is reddit. and redditors be redditoring. so be prepared for a little drama and infighting. but as far as subreddits go, its not that bad.

youtube - x, x, x, x

youtube can be great for finding more modern gyaru videos, such as video essays explaining gyaru, makeup and hair tutorials, and music! in the link collection i have 4 helpful playlists: the first two are old school gal videos, the third is gyaru make (the entire KAWAII PATEEN channel is a GOLDMINE), and the fourth is gyaru hair! if youre trying to get started as a gal, i recommend taking a look at these! besides playlists, i have a few specific videos that are great resources: 

⊹₊ ♡ ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GYARU 🌺 the history behind it & it's substyles 🎀 ✧･ by wickedbunniez

wickedbunniez has a few gyaru videos on their channel, but this one is great for those who want more information about the substyles! the history aspect doesnt go quite as deep as some other videos, but there is still quite a bit of good, solid information!

History of Gyaru (Gal) | Aritch (otknokusorina) by Otknoharuka

you may notice that this video is made by one of the creators i listed in the tiktok section! haruka is one of my favorite gals for education, tips, basically anything pertaining to gyaru. she's so incredibly knowledgable and just a great person to look to for all things gyaru.

Beginner Guide to Gyaru: History of Gal by Hime Hime Star

Hime Hime Star's entire gyaru series is insanely well written and researched, and i 100% recommend it! they put a lot of heart into their videos, and theyve been a great help ever since i was a baby gal.

everything you need to know about the history of gyaru and the predatory male-media culture by blissfulfaerie

this is one of my FAVORITE videos! its very important for us to talk about the more unsavory aspects of gyaru (i plan on writing a blog about that at some point), and this video is a very frank and honest discussion about it.

Hello Lizzie Bee's blog - x

if you are a gaijin gal, Lizzie is going to become your best friend. her blog is by far one of the most comprehensive, informative, well-constructed blogs known to man. she updates regularly and is a gyaru for-lifer, so she's written about anything you could possibly imagine in relation to gyaru. her blog is basically required reading for all gaijin gyaru!

LESS ACCESSIBLE, BUT DOABLE:

The Gyaru Wiki - x

it feels like a crime to put this above Galture, but my reasoning is its a lot more approachable for the english-speaking crowd. its also often the first place beginner/baby gals find themselves searching for information, so i feel like its earned a spot on my list for that reason. the information on the wiki isnt terrible, but you run the risk of inconsistency amongst the articles since it is a user-made wiki, meaning it relies on contribution from the users. some articles' information is more accurate than others, and some are better written than others so once again, discernment is crucial here. however, like other wikis, they cite their sources and those are amazing to look through. you can find old gyarusa websites, magazine sites, and more through the references section! 

Galture - x

this is by far my favorite gyaru resource! its in japanese (which is why i put it below the wiki), but if you use chrome as your browser, that can be easily resolved via google translate. since its google translate, the translations can be a bit iffy but its not difficult to read! they have a wealth of information, with dedicated sections about fashion, culture, models/magazines, and gyaruo. each section has tons of articles to read through, as well as tons of articles about substyles. if you can get past the language barrier, this will for sure become a favorite of yours as well!

History of Gyaru by Era | What is a "Gyaru"? by Miho Ito - x

this is a now defunct blog post via KLD, a second-hand store in japan. its a great resource for learning the history of gyaru and features a detailed timeline. its where i got my information about paragals, so definitely check it out if youve taken an interest in it! like Galture, it is in japanese so a translator will be a great help if you dont speak japanese. and for my friends interested in styles like jirai, they have blog posts about that too!

GalRevo - x

this is the only magazine archive that exists to me, to be honest. its insanely comprehensive, and i feel like it just speaks for itself. PLEASE check it out!

egg magazine archives - x

this isnt the only egg magazine archive by any means, egg magazine is probably the most well preserved of all gyaru magazines, but i still really like it! its very easy to navigate and the scans are very high quality. 

FRUiTS magazine archives - x, x, x

this might be a bit of a controversial pick, since FRUiTS focuses on harajuku fashion and gyaru is from shibuya. but! i think that even if the street snaps arent explicitly of gyaru fashion, theres still a fair bit of inspiration that can be found here. the outfits are INCREDIBLE and i take some inspiration from them for my own coords.

Cute! Girls of town street snaps - x

for all my Amagyaru and Himekaji friends, this is a treasure trove! their watermark is iconic so youve probably seen them before and didnt realize it. linked is their Ameblo, but they also can be easily found on places like tumblr, pinterest, and twitter! this is a great resource if you need inspo for make or coords.

the old egg magazine website - x

i love the old egg magazine website, not so much for the information it provides (especially because i view it via the wayback machine so its all outdated and useless), but because its a total blast from the past! i also love that the nature of the wayback machine allows stuff to still be functional and that you can visit other webpages. you can still access the models blogs, read user comments, and look at peoples profiles! since it is the wayback machine, some pages are better archived than others (i.e. some are more visually appealing), but they can still be read with google translate. the link i provide is just at a random spot, so you are totally able to go backwards or forwards in time as you please! i would also like to note that this is the old website domain (eggegg.jp is the current one), so once you get far enough, the domain changes ownership and it has nothing to do with egg or gyaru at that point.

LEAST ACCESSIBLE:

thrifting (mercari jp, buyee, sheer dumb luck)

i was tempted to put this at the very bottom, but i figured it wasnt completely impossible to find stuff this way, so i kept it higher. thrifting for clothes and accessories can be pretty easy, but thrifting for resources is an entirely different ball game. basically, it takes a lot of sifting through mercarci jp and buyee to find physical magazines (especially when it comes to the more popular publications). its even more difficult to find para para cd's and tapes, as well as music. i chalk it up to sheer dumb luck to find either at reasonable prices or at all, but as i said, it isnt impossible! it just takes a bit of grinding!

The Internet Archive

once again, no specific link for this one. things like the old egg magazine site link back to the internet archive, but thats because i knew what i was looking for. knowing what youre looking for is key when it comes to using IA! you can find magazine scans, basically anything you can think of as long as some kind internet user has archived it and uploaded it. like thrifting, it just takes being really specific in your search and some work!

Ameba blogs (Ameblo)

think of Ameba like MySpace: it technically still exists, but different than what it used to be. this is a japanese blogging site, and was popular amongst gals. from my understanding, it went through some changes at some point and sadly, some blogs are completely lost to time. however, it is possible to hunt down old gyaru blogs! The Gyaru Wiki links to a few (i recommend looking in the members section of gyarusa articles, here is one Ameblo i found by Kyon from Angeleek!), but some posts on pinterest link to Ameblo's too (like this one). if you can find them, Ameblo is a great resource and give you a personal glimpse at a gals life. however, i want to make something very clear. THESE BLOGS CAN BE INCREDIBLY PERSONAL, SO BE RESPECTFUL. some are still active today and many of the gals have retired, and use them as personal blogs. DO NOT HARASS ANYONE WHOS AMEBLO YOU MANAGE TO FIND. LEAVE NO TRACE!

LANGUAGE RESOURCES:

kogals online - x

a cute neocities page with some gyaru-go resources! also includes some magazine archives!

Slang Words Every Gyaru Should Know by xlicious - x

includes social media terms i didnt mention in my terms & vocab blog!

Gyaru-go | The Language Of The Mysterious and Elusive Creature: The Gal by Tofugu, Rachel B - x

contains good information about general japanese slang and gyaru-go, as well as some good language examples!

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿Gyaru Vocabulary✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･*! by pastelhimegal - x

a good resource for gyaru vocab with some helpful visual aids!

20 Japanese Slang Words to Learn by 2023 by Mochifika: Japanese with Akari - x

this is a great resource for japanese speakers or students looking to improve their skills, Akari is a great teacher!

ギャル文字一覧 - x

a resource on gyaru-moji!

~

i hope this blog was helpful! like i said, i plan to keep updating this every once in a while. if you have resources of your own, please dont hesitate to share them and let me know if you want them included! i was going to post a blog about different substyles first, but i figured this was better so people can read up about substyles through these sources and to open up some discussion! so, the next blog will 100% be about the substyles. if you have topic suggestions, id love to hear them! and if you like, please check out my gyaru discord inquiry!

chat again soon~!

kiss kiss~ ☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu