On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What are gyaru?
Topics Discussed
- What the term gyaru/gal means/refers to
- About the word gyaru
- How the word gyaru was used in Dragonball by Master Roshi
- What a kogyaru/kogal is
- About the singer Namie Amuro and her role in popularizing the gyaru subculture
- About Ayumi Hamasaki's influence on the gyaru subculture
- About the supposed but unconfirmed connection between the gyaru subculture and the American TV show Baywatch, as well as Pamela Anderson
- About the iconic "loose socks" (lūzusokkusu)
- About E.G. Smith, the supposed origin of loose socks
- An interesting linguistic quirk about the Japanese term for "loose socks"
- About ganguro and yamanba gyaru and their dark tans
- About ageha gyaru
- The connection between gyaru, eurobeat and parapara
- What eurobeat is
- What parapara is
- Contemporary gyaru
- What gyarugo is
- Examples of popular gyaru slang
- What karipaku means
- What MK5 means
- What ChōSW means
- What sumisu means
- What ATM means
- What gachi means
- What agepoyo/sagepoyo mean
- What doron means
- What tehepero means
- What gekiokopunpunmaru means
- And much more!
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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.
Here are some of the Japanese language articles found when researching the topic of this episode.
Here's some of the English language sources read for this episode.
To check out the "snakes in a well" episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below.
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Japanese Vocabulary List
Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here's some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC.
- Pichipichi
- ぴちぴち (adv-to,vs) (1) (on-mim) bursting with youth and energy (esp. young woman); vivaciously young; spunky; energetic; (adv-to) (2) (on-mim) (fish) jumping around energetically (e.g. when caught in a net); (adj-no) (3) (on-mim) bursting (e.g. seams); tight; (adv-to) (4) (on-mim) splattering (e.g. cooking oil)
We Want Your Questions
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Special Thanks
Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)
Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.
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Full Show Notes
