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And it died sometime in the 2010's.
As a kid in the early 2000's I once read about kogal and ganguro in a magazine. At that point at least the kogal craze was pretty much over, but I couldn't help but look at the gals and think they had a very unique style and like they were genuinely having fun looking the way they did.
Fast forward to 2012, and the year that I got more seriously interested in gyaru. This time it wasn't with the eyes of a kid anymore but with the eyes of a teen, and even then you could feel like the subculture was getting on its last legs in Japan. That's why a couple of years later it ultimately ceased to be.
As many people interested in gyaru know, it did get a revival in the 2020's, probably due to the heavy nostalgia for early 2000's things. However times have changed, and gyaru isn't the only subculture "looking gyaru" anymore. To be honest these days it's very difficult to tell who is gyaru and who is not, because people keep saying it's not about the clothes, and the extravagant makeup isn't exclusive to gyaru anymore.
If the early gals rebelled against beauty standards in Japan at the time (natural or no makeup, pale skin and modest clothing), the gals of today basically just follow what trends everyone else is doing (either that or everyone else stole the image of gals).
This isn't meant to mock reiwa gals, what I'm trying to say is simply that the foundation for gyaru has changed. They don't offer anything specifically gyaru anymore, and the only rebellion they could be considered doing is tied to the industry of work that many gals are in.
To tell the truth I don't even think this is happening because of the phenomenon of watering down subcultures. I just think society have changed so much that parts of the styles that was once considered extreme, have became such a common sight that the borders between those engaging in these subcultures, and the regular public are being erased.
You can fight me on this topic but this i what I think. Having seen how the subculture has changed during the years I'd say that it was only fully alive and rebelling in the late 90's and intermittently during the 00's. Tendencies to this can be seen with other J-fashion subcultures too but that's for another time.
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⋆｡ﾟ☁︎⋆｡ LG ﾟ☾ ⋆｡ﾟ
no no, you're absolutely correct. I'm not the expert of gyaru, I'm interested in it, but I also see this happening with other subcultures. Basically, all of them. everything which gets revived (rebooted), or becomes mainstream. back then I felt that things have soul. people do it because of passion. now? people do it, because others do it. or, money. huge example here is the animecon. before 2020, everyone who went to cons, was a freak in the eyes of the "normal" people((those high school bullies with no originality)). now there's crowds on top of crowds, coming to cons, but..only a very few of them seem to actually enjoy or know what they're coming to . many go to it, as if it was yet another event that the masses attend to. many of them don't even watch anime or any series. maybe one. cosplays are either purchased, or commissioned, so people can show off, get the most pictures, compliments etc. and when you walk up to them "hey, I love this character too! they're.....and in episode 6...." and they have ZERO idea about the character.
same with fandoms and fanart and fan creations. it's either an online shop trap, buy my merch, buy this and that, or you find out that xy fanartist literally wishes to the death of other shippers, or fans of xy character and starts drama.
it just feels fake and soulless in the end of the day. mainstream is the death of originality or...idk how's the saying.