When you hear the term “gal/gyaru” mentioned, what is the first thing that comes to mind? In Japanese, it’s a term for a women’s fashion subculture that had its heyday in the 2000s, but has gradually declined ever since. According to the generally accepted definition, gals are characterized by non-conformist fashion or that rebels against the Japanese standards of their society and beauty in the days when women were expected to be housewives and conform to pale-skinned, dark-haired Asian beauty standards.
So, in the early 2010s, the fashion of the girls was characterized mainly by a tanned skin and very elongated and decorated artificial nails. When it comes to a gal’s appearance, makeup usually consists of black eyeliner, false eyelashes, and sometimes white eyeshadow or a hint of that color on the inner or outer corners of the eyes, making them appear bigger.
And why are we telling you all this? Well, it turns out that the author Minori Chigusarecognized by manga such as “Jitsu wa Imouto Deshita.: Saikin Giri no Otouto no Kyourikan ga Yatara Chikai Wake” and “Kokoro Irozuku Koi ga Shitai“, recently went viral due to a Valentine’s illustration that he shared through his Twitter account:
- «The gal girl made your favorite chocolate for Valentine’s Day for the first time», wrote the publication.
Does this girl look like a gal to you? It seems that a variety of women in Japan didn’t find it as such, as they wrote comments like:
- «The choker, the headband, the vinyl shirt and the black shorts that highlight the curves, none of that is a girl. They don’t even have their hair short, their bangs up, or their interior color different».
- «And what the hell is gal? Have you ever seen a real woman?».
- «Why gals get chokers in anime has always been a mystery to me. She’s also wearing leggings that are completely out of style. Do you really think a woman would dress like that? A girl would not display herself in this way, precisely because what they take care of the most is her image».
- «Where did you get the idea that gal girls wear chokers? I have never seen a real girl wear them in my life».
- «Is seriously? Shorts under the skirt? Do you really think that’s a gal?».
- «This is not a girl, this is just an otaku venting his fantasies. But surely they will say, “if you don’t like it, don’t watch it”, like how retarded they are».
- «Headband? Choker? Shorts? And you say that she is a gal? I guess that’s why they say anime is fiction».
- «In fact, gals would never say a phrase like “If you don’t like it, I’ll eat it.” A characteristic of the gals is their high self-confidence».
- «Why do all the creepy otakus draw schoolgirls with chokers? Do you think they are dogs?».
- «I agree with the reason why this image is criticized, the author has no respect for real gals».
- «I am the person who knows the least about fashion, but even I know that girls don’t dress like in the image».
- «She looks like one of the girls from BanG Dream!, and you would never think that she is a gal».
- «I didn’t know there was a standard for girls, but I guess the anime has been in charge of distorting it».
The most interesting thing, however, is that the author is quite young, as revealed in a Twitter post from three years ago, where she pointed out that, at that time, she was a student. This means that he really must know high school gals, and he wasn’t making up any concept.
Fountain: Yaraon!
The entry They criticize an artist for ‘not knowing how to draw gals’ was first published on Kudasai.
