Sacrificed for Fame - The depravity of Kogyaru Magazine

 ちゃおっす It's Spacy!

So hello, wait is this a repost? Didn't you already do a deep dive into Kogyaru? Yes I did, and It was called 'a deep dive into Kogyaru' but this is an even deeper dive, as recently, I realised my criticism and my own research was truly surface level, and that Kogyaru and not just Kogyaru itself, but the parents of these models are truly engaging in some deranged activities.

I attempted to write this blog post many times but I found myself looking like next level hater, and I felt a lot of my criticisms fell to the waste-side due to the fact I was loosing my shit saying how much I rlly hated KOGYARU, so today, I will be calm, composed and demure.

And I don't usually preface this during the intro, but this is no negativity towards the Kogyaru models themselves, those are children, and I believe these children are being used, and I will explain the ways I believe this in said post. I also want to point out before you read this, these are all my theories and opinions, mixed in with some facts.

And now,  we will explore the history and problems regarding Kogyaru

The word 'kogyaru' is obviously associated with high schoolers, however, none of these Kogyaru models are high schoolers, so why are they called 'kogyaru' that's because 'Kogyaru' in the context of these children actually means Kodomo Gyaru (子供ギャル) with Kodomo meaning 'kid' . This is just something I wanted to preface before I start, as this was mentioned by the producer in an interview I will most likely be mentioning a bit later

The origins

Now, In my original blog post regarding Kogyaru, I chose to start the beginnings of Kogyaru around the start of the magazine and talked about the activities of the models prior to Kogyaru magazine existing at all, but I want to start somewhere different today and lay out how KOGYARU as a magazine was always doomed to exist.

Juna

Juna, Yes, EGG model Juna,

Asakura Juna (朝倉 樹菜), Born June 14th 2009 is who we can consider, the original kogyaru. Juna was probably the first 'elementary school gyaru' to really blow up and earn some fame. When Juna was in 4th grade, she started to admire gals and started doing gyaru in 5th grade. Juna opened her tik tok account in 2018, and started making youtube videos in 2020. In 2021, she stared on a TV show called 'Kon'ya Kurabete Mita' which was a HOT TOPIC, and attracted the attention of guess who? EGG magazine who she started work later that year. This is the start of it all. A kid gyaru caused lots of attention in the media, and EGG, seeing this, decided to capitalise on that effect and started the slippery slope into the existence of KOGYARU

My friend reading this, who is the target demographic of EGG magazines? Or should I say, who should be the target demographic of EGG? If you answered 'teenage girls' you'd be mostly correct. So my friend, let me ask you another question, If EGG is supposed to be for teenage girls.... why did EGG magazine have a whole section dedicated to showing off a bunch of random gyaru children in their December 2022 mook? This is the kind of stuff you really only see in Mama Gyaru magazines, it's not even all that common in older sister magazines (or at least the ones i've read like Jelly and Blenda), so for EGG to be showing off a bunch of random children, there had to be something fishy going on, and that fishy smell in the air is the beginnings of KOGYARU.

2022 is really where Kogyaru began, Juna had just become an exclusive Model for EGG at just 13 in July 2022, with her first appearance in EGG being that December Volume, and this is around the time you see a strange influx of much younger models as well, and this isn't me lying, 3/4 previous EGG model grand Prix winners have been 14yrs old. But that side tangent isn't exactly relevant, just something for you to think about.

We first kinda start seeing Kogyaru appear in youtube videos, in small snippets in the magazine, in music videos like Bad Gals, KOGYARU models are making their appearance as these, cute mini gyaru girls. Lots of these kids were actually already online, mainly as kid influencers (which is a whole other breed of degeneracy in itself), some of them were promoting brands, some of them seemed to be kiddy blog pages where mommies would follow, and that seems to be the biggest demographic target of Kogyaru, mothers, specifically mothers who used to be gyaru.

The foundations for where Kogyaru was being built had already been erected by the time the magazine was announced in April 2023. And when I think of a reason WHY theyre doing this, I think said reason is very obvious, these children are the future of EGG, not gyaru specifically, but EGG magazine, and BAD GALS as a song that represents the historical continuity of gals being bad asf, from Heisei era to gals in the present gals, in the current Reiwa era, and them passing that torch on to the future gals of the NEXT era of EGG models, you can see EGG is using BAD GALS as an opportunity to metaphorically pass the torch onto the new era and keep that spirit of gyaru alive in a new generation of young gals

.... just kidding

A Blatant Money Grab

in reality, the capitalisation formula Juna created, they perfected when they made the BAD GALS mv, it's all shock value.

WOW GYARU KIDS NO FUCKIN WAY.

It created discourse

It creates chatter

and

It makes people interested, and that's what Juna originally did, but EGG magazine took this to the next level, and using the fame they received from BAD GALS, they formed KOGYARU to capitalise on the kid gyaru craze even further.

This is what the producer of Kogyaru, Hitomi Iba stated herself, so from the get go, KOGYARU's main existence has been a cash grab, self admittedly.

And what's very interesting about KOGYARU magazine and Hitomi Iba, the producer herself, is that EGG actually rejected the project multiple times, out of fear of blurring the branding itself and the 'media becoming younger' which in my opinion, is exactly what is happening.

Iba then goes on to explain in this bunshun interview I am referencing, the selection process for KOGYARU magazine models, which are mostly done through social media DM's.

Unsurprisingly, it's the parents who ask to audition their child for KOGYARU, 

What Hitomi Iba says next reinforced an idea I held about KOGYARU, when she explains she tries to analyse how much the child actually wants to be there, she says 'when I meet them, their eyes don't sparkle, and I sometimes get the feeling that they'd rather go outside and play than put on makeup. After all, they're elementary school students, so I want them to do what they like, and I want models who really love gal girls'

So what was the idea you had about KOGYARU? In my opinion, a lot of these KOGYARU models like gyaru, they like dressing up, they like the hair and the make up and the having fun, going to Disney world and the photoshoots, and that may be what it's like for many child celebs, people who have had fame when they're too young to really yearn for it, so by the time they become adults, they feel burnt out, and this has happened to many child stars and I don't count out the possibility of it happening to these KOGYARU models. A lot of these kids have ambitions of becoming EGG models in an era where being a full time model is not what it was during the good ol days of EGG they were observing from their parents old gyaru volumes. And if you can't tell, I'm actually doubling down on a previous statement I made where I said Kogyaru felt fake and staged, and I will also explain that, later.... can you count how many times I've said that 😭

There are many more important things to dissect about this interview with the main one being KOGYARU's attempts to target western audiences, and what that led them to.

Hitomi Iba is asked in her interview why all the texts on the web magazines are in english, and Hitomi Iba recognises the fact that a lot of attention Kogyaru receive is international attention, so they use their web magazine covers to attract western audiences. They also attempt to attract western audiences in many ways, whether that be english subtitles on their tik toks, instagram reels or youtube shorts, KOGYARU is clearly doing whatever it can to win over english speaking audiences... but it's not really working.

We're going to skip forward a bit from the formation of KOGYARU magazine to one cold muthafukin day in early December 2023.

Let's set the scene, you're looking all gyaru and cute today like you always are, you're scrolling through your instagram stories, not rlly paying too much attention, and you're scrolling through EGG's story and see a new music video drop....

you click, and the first thing you see is a 9yr old in gyaru and rapping about how cute she is and how her randoseru has so many stickers.

You immediately slam your phone down and think to yourself 'jesus fuck'

Because that is exactly what I DID when I first learned about the monstrosity of SHIRANKEDO.

KOGYARU started doing their promotions, mainly through tik tok, and this is the start of the tension between western audiences and KOGYARU magazine. Many western observers and non gyaru's could not understand why any sane parent or even person, would allow their child to present the way these KOGYARU models did, and as much as I loved gyaru and wanted to explain and defend gyaru to non gals, but I didn't have it in my heart to defend satan's solider AKA KOGYARU MAGAZINE so I never did. Model Ryua and her mother, adresssed these comments, specifically from international observers in a bunshun interview in April 2023, with Ryua's mother stating the comments left her feeling depressed (no not Ryua, it left her mother, think about this carefully)

Scathing comments from evil stinky gaijins continued to flood KOGYARU's tik tok page, till it was too much and KOGYARU needed to respond to send those stinky gaijins back to their place, and this culminated in the release of SHIRANKEDO.

Now, SHIRANKEDO is a pretty tame song in itself, it's all like 'Kawaii handmade randoseru, look at my cute backpack full of stickers, i'm so adorable, cute and gyaru, IM A KAWAII GYARU, who gives you the right to tell my parents to stop exploiting me for cash... anyway IM A KAWAII GYARU BACKPACK STICKERS' 

I put a lot of effort into summarising this so u don't need to give KOGYARU another stream, applaud for me at the end however we aren't done just yet.

Affectively, the whole song is a cute lil anthem, then they decide to at a sneaky diss, effectively using these children as a mouth piece to divert valid criticism from their parents, unfortunately for them I don't view the opinions of 9yr olds as valid so i'm going to ignore it completely and point out the fact that these parents, are sad, extremely sad and hypocritical wimps.

You post your children online for money, put them in revealing outfits and turn them into mini influencers for grown men to prey on them, but when you pose with them for their daily instagram post to keep your dirty pockets full, your face is blurred out? So you deserve the right to anonymity but not the child you are exploiting for views? Are you some sort of sick fuck? Let's see your face, be brave ad put yourself out there just like you're putting your CHILD out there for adults to pray upon her, and give everyone who points this out to you the middle finger too! Pedos can stay, but people who tell me to be a responsible parent, as Robespierre would say TO THE GUILLOTINE!!!

SHIRANKEDO was used as a shield to protect the adults in charge of managing these girls while treating people who show valid concern as haters.

Now, let me talk about somethings I want to double down/take back on.

I previously stated KOGYARU doesn't do ANYTHING to protect these girls, thats not exactly true, apparently they delete negative comments, but if they weren't so engagement thirsty, they would turn OFF their comments and DMs entirely. Second thing I will also admit to is not properly mentioning even now that SHIRANKEDO is also a response to criticism from Japanese netizens as well, who say things like 'this is a disgrace to Japan' and doing exactly what I did and tell the parents to show their goddamned faces. In another interview, Hitomi Iba recognises that.... okay hold on

Hitomi Iba understands people overseas are worried about the girls as, and I can confirm this word is said, child pornography laws and much stricter overseas are compared to Japan, so, okay.

And the last thing I will double down on was saying Kogyaru was fake.

I did already say why I do not think this anymore, I don't believe KOGYARU is completely fake, but i do believe it is a lot more inauthentic then they present it as.

The presentation of these children as having perfect outfits and perfect makeup is dishonest to the target audience of KOGYARU, who they claim are also elementary school children, but it's really their parents, and I will quote something from a draft I wrote

"Look at this 10yr old girls make up, she isn't doing this shit herself, how are you're lashes perfect? who is plucking your brows? how is your base flawless? sister you are 10, not even 'Makeup by Jack' in 2017 could get his lashes straight 99% of the time (if you don't get the reference feel free to look it up now)

But my point is, this is not authentic. I mean, even the kogyaru idol, Juna's, make up looked like something done by an 11yr old before she got involved in EGG, she used to post her make up where she has 1 droop on 1 eye and a wing with no droop on the other, before she gets heavily involved with egg around 2021, she just has dyed highlights and that's it, but as soon she she starts getting involved in EGG her look changed a lot...all this shit is paid for, their hair dyed at salons, they most likely don't do their own make up, they clearly don't pick out their own clothing, but the biggest thing for me is that, these girls, never post by themselves.

It's obvious someone is posting their pics for them, it's obvious someone is always taking their pictures, these kids post everyday, EVERYDAY, always doing something, whether that be at a festival, in full make up and hair do, or sitting in their house, in full make up and hair do, or doing what regular children do... like going to an Ayumi Hamasaki concert... in full make up and hair do, you get my point."

What I'm essentially trying to convey is that these girls most likely, do genuinely enjoy doing gyaru, they enjoy playing dress up, but that is exactly what I believe it to actually be, dress up. I think if KOGYARU was really interested in spreading gyaru for elementary school aged children, they would be letting these girls do their own make-up and picking out their own outfits, which they clearly are not, but the way these KOGYARU models present themselves is very obviously, for the camera, even on their personal instagram accounts, its for the views, because this is what gets people's attentions, and like I said, KOGYARU is just a blatant money grab, so these kids parents and KOGYARU media seem to be doing whatever will bring them the most views and money rather doing what is actually gyaru, which is why i simply think it is inauthentic. 

I mean, when I was like 9-10 I begged my mum to take me to claires to buy a little kid makeup kit for like £10, but that was a one time occasion, these parents are spending around £100 monthly to maintain this 'gyaru lifestyle' for a kid who isn't even in middle school yet....?

And I also think it's very interesting to look through some of these kids pages and find out they only started posting about their 'gyaru lifestyle' around the time KOGYARU magazine was firing up, it's not a coincidence at all

Now that I have finished doubling down I want to address my next point.

KOGYARU's lies.

Blatant Dishonesty

KOGYARU, are liars. 

In this same interview, Hitomi Iba states that 

"Of course, there are certainly concerns when it comes to dyeing their hair and putting on makeup. That's why the parents of all the models are careful to avoid dyeing their hair all the way to the roots to avoid damaging their scalp, and to make sure they take good care of their skin"

Yeah this is a lie.

12yr old 'model' Rara's roots have very clearly been dyed multiple times, this is also similar for the 10yr old model Nagi, who is the younger sister of EGG exclusive model Yua, her roots have very obviously been dyed, and I think the fact that KOGYARU would very confidently say something that can be easily discredited means you should take a lot of quotes I have referenced above with a pinch of salt.

You can ALSO see how 10yr old model Yuna, 2 days ago at the time of writing, has also had her roots dyed, and so does Yuna's 7yr old sister, who to my analysis, has had her hair dyed 4 times and is also already promoting this kid gyaru lifestyle, because exploiting 1 kid doesn't full em coffers does it?

But overall, I'm not here to criticise KOGYARU for telling small porkies, no, KOGYARU's lies try to paint them and their parents as putting their concern for these children's health over the material benefit of their careers and I think that BULLSHIT!

As you may remember, I mentioned how Rara's roots have been dyed multiple times, yes you did, now do you remember in my first post about KOGYARU that it was also Rara who mentioned bleaching her hair is painful? Rara was originally 10 in said interview, now she is 12. 

I want to introduce you to a new character in this story, Imopi.

Imopi is an 11 year old KOGYARU 'model' who like many other KOGYARU 'models' started 'doing gyaru' around the time KOGYARU announced it will start publishing (take that how you will)

I believe Impoi stands out in many ways, the fact her hair is completely bleach blonde (roots included), the inspiration from Ayu, the belly button piercing she's had since she was nine and many-

That part, this girl has had a belly button piercing since she was nine.....

And let me tell you I've met girls with septum piercings, nose piercings, lip piercings, tongue piercings, if there was a place on their face they could pierce, it would be there, but you know what all of those girls were? DOUBLE DIGITS.

WHO PIERCED THIS GIRLS BELLY BUTTON?

And I think this increasing slide we're seeing from more KOGYARU 'models', ie, belly button piercings, even longer nails, even younger girls having their hair dyed, dying roots despite them claiming not to do that, is a further slide into degeneracy as KOGYARU gets ever more popular, they want more of the look now, they want to appear more shocking for more attention, and by that, have betrayed their own words.

I will circle back to Rara for the 3rd time as I mentioned before in my original blog post about KOGYARU, Rara is from Kumamoto prefecture, which is in the Kyushu region of Japan, Japan's most southern region. Making your child travel up and down and around the country for modelling jobs and magazine shoots, TV show appearances before they're even a teenager shows how willing and deliberate all of this is, Kumamoto Prefecture to Tokyo is around 1170km, that is around the same distance from London to Berlin,Germany, and for my Americans, that is around the same distance as Atlanta Georgia to Chicago, Illinois, (driving distance) and this isn't just Rara, its other models as well, and I support young girls with dreams and ambitions, but I don't support stupidity, and this is next level idiocy in my opinion.

You've been reading 4 a while, so here's this cute cat with a fuckass bob to cleanse ur brain for a bit

The Media

The content that KOGYARU make itself.... its weird, like it's strange, most recently they posted a clickbait youtube video saying Noapi had an older boyfriend... that older boyfriend being a 24yr old man who wasn't her boyfriend, but rather a Men's EGG model who is her mentor/co workers/older brother figure, probably since men's egg models don't have much to be doing anyway but.... why would you pedobait people into watching your youtube videos like that? It attracts a certain audience to KOGYARU that you do not want around young children, example.... PEDOPHILES. The same pedophiles that roam free in their comment sections because they delete the hate comments towards the parents but don't do anything about the grown men ogling over a hoard of CHILDREN.

I've even seen examples of the parents (who manage their social media) replying to the comments of people with obviously bad intentions.

KOGYARU's weird obsession with these kids relationships is very disturbing as well, I haven't even mentioned the kogyaruo's yet, but these little gyaru boys also do exist.

The 'main KOGYARU couple' used to be Ryua and a boy named Chuke, they had lots of content together and even had a magazine cover together, and to be honest, I'm not a prude or an idiot who doesn't believe that kids can willingly form a type of romantic 'relationship', I remember there being a girl in my primary school called Gabriella who had a huge crush on a boy for the entire 7yrs of Primary school and everyone said they were dating since the crush was mutual, but from the whole backstory I gave you, it's pretty obvious kids under the age of like.... 13 aren't very capable of forming romantic connections, much less full blown romantic relationships, so the concept of this 'KOGYARU couple' to me is personally a whole bunch of bull crap, maybe they're trying to make their own mini Tsubasa Masuwaka & Naoki Umeda ultimate gyaru couple, but it seemed more like a ploy for attention. And to add to the weirdness of this whole couples stuff, In the most recent (September 2024) web Cover, they interview Ryua on how she feels about her ex-boyfriend?..... 

The fixation on the 'love lives' of a bunch of children solely for the content of purpose is incredibly weird, and maybe the parents realised this and had the relationship called off, maybe Ryua and Chuke decided they didn't wanna play fake boyfriend and girlfriend so mummy and daddy could get their tips, or maybe Ryua and Chuke really did love each other but broke up for the betterment of each other, which is obviously what the parents claimed, but you know, they claim everything is real and authentic with this KOGYARU nonsense so I took this with a baggie of salt.

It also seems like KOGYARU are planning another music project so if I kill myself this may be a reason

And of course, criticism of KOGYARU's content isn't limited to what they post on youtube, but also what they post on tik tok, on their own social media and to be honest, that isn't much better.

Like letting your 6-7yr old daughter pose with a bottle of alcohol

And when talking about Media, I think this is where it is time to mention EGG's concerns about KOGYARU's effect on gyaru media, and how their fears on KOGYARU confusing the branding was so prophetically proven to be accurate.

THESE GIRLS ARE EVERYWHERE, they're on EGG, they're on their OWN channel, they're in EGG mvs, they're in EGG magazines, they're on NUTS youtube channel, they're on NUTS instagram posts, they're with LOALO models, theyre in adverts, clothing brand collabs and this is one of the biggest bone I have to pick with the creators of KOGYARU, as by being extremely money and attention hungry, they created a space for young children in a media and subculture that was not made for them, and by KOGYARU blowing up now and having more followers then EGG, and NUTS, and even Koakuma Ageha, you can no longer enjoy mainstream gyaru media without seeing a bunch of these children, and this has had effects on EGG magazine too. Before the Reiwa era, there is only 1 model I can think of who worked in a gyaru magazine before they turned 15, and that was Nicole Abe (who modelled for ranzuki at 14, going on 15 in 2008), most of those new models were always 15-17, but for some reason, now, a larger majority of these new models are all 14, the 3 finalist for the previous grand prix were all 14, and I think that is a scary thing that Juna's fame somewhat normalised, all these tweens and kids getting involved in EGG and gyaru media because EGG welcomes them with open arms.

I mean these KOGYARU models even get like, full on features in EGG magazines. It's like these kids are taking over gyaru and I sound like a bitter and prickly old woman since gyaru was created by kids but i'm not talking 15yr olds i'm talking 10yr olds, 9yr olds, sometimes even 6 and 7yr olds, and as an adult teenager (feels funny to say), I get sick of EGG shoving these kids everywhere because it will bring them views.

I think one reason I previously stated that KOGYARU did not protect these minors properly is because I feared their faces and KOGYARU content would be used in, indecent ways, and I was proven correct, by the fact that the cover of Ryua and Chuke was used as the cover for a google image linked to a potential scam porn website, and thats the problem with KOGYARU, it doesn't matter if u delete the hate comments, the media and the content you put out of these kids are there FOREVER and can be used in ways you can't control, so maybe I should triple down on taking back part of my claim that KOGYARU wasn't protecting these kids.

Exploiting

Compared to my original criticisms of KOGYARU, I gave KOGYARU model's parents and KOGYARU themselves a bit more benefit of the doubt so people don't treat my opinion as fact. I remember people calling the OG post an 'article' in a repost and that could be a language barrier but I wouldn't describe discussion blogs as 'articles' as I feel like that turns my biased opinion into facts which they aren't, I'm not a journalist who writes exposé's, I haven't exposed anything actually, I have no inside scoop, I haven't investigated KOGYARU, I really am just a depressed and unemployed gyal writing this in bed, but this is a side tangent, so why am I giving KOGYARU the benefit of the doubt? I feel like last time I somewhat insinuated that these girls were, forced to do gyaru? That this whole KOGYARU nonsense was all just an act, but I honestly don't believe that, so how is KOGYARU exploiting may you ask? KOGYARU is an exploitative entity because the main actors, are children. And that's it. KOGYARU is putting these children out there, for views, and that is exploitative. I believe this whole situation is very similar to the concept of teen kpop idols.

Yes, these kids want to be idols, they train, they put in the effort, but kpop as an industry is exploitative of minors, they overwork their employees, their idols, their staff, they suffer mistreatment and sometimes are not paid, and even if, the idols enjoy the fame and the stardom and the bright costumes and the music and award shows, you can't remove that element of exploitation from the kpop industry, and to be honest, you can't do that with any form of industry, but there are certain industries, such as entertainment industries like modelling, like music, like film and acting, that young children would benefit, from simply not being in. And being a celeb at such a young age, is dangerous for these children. Burning out is easy and the fact that so many people are willing to put these children in front of cameras for the whole world to see them, just for the betterment of their own business, for attention and notoriety.

What I fear for these KOGYARU models is the long term effects of this all, and those long term effects have sadly shown themself in the OG kodomo gyaru, Juna.

During a Bunshun interview, Juna talked about how being a gyaru model so young impacted her life. In the heartbreaking interview, Juna talks about how her elementary school allowed for Juna to dye her hair and be a model, but when she entered junior high (or middle school) a few months before becoming an exclusive model for EGG, the school refused to accept Juna if she did not dye her hair back to its natural colour.

This conflicted directly with Juna's dreams and career as a gyaru model, and after long negotiations with the school, they agreed to let Juna study there, but in isolation

"Junior high school is stricter than elementary school, and at first it was said that you can't even enter the school, but after several discussions, you can now take classes.

However, I can't get involved with other students, so I take a class alone in a separate room, eat school lunch alone, clean alone, and go home. I can't do subjects to study with a large number of people such as physical education and music. I don't know what's going on while I'm at school, so there are a lot of things to worry about...it's hard not to be able to get involved with friends. The entrance and the floor of the classroom are different, and I can't go to see them. It's hard because I have to clean the whole classroom alone... As a result of discussing with the school, we came to the conclusion that the classroom will be divided because it may have a negative impact on other students. This is the way we were both convinced, but as a parent, I'm also worried about taking classes alone all the time. It's a difficult problem."

While at school, Juna is alone, and isolated

'hmm. I want to take a class with everyone. If that's the case, I'm told to make my hair black, but I can't give up on that. But I think if I continue to study alone, my heart will be sad.'

And this is the possible future for many KOGYARU models. I remember when I originally wrote this back in February I actually had to take a step away from my Laptop because I felt so defeated reading how sad being isolated from her peers made Juna feel, and this is the main reason why I hate the concept of elementary school gals. Juna is the kodomo gyaru ICON, it's crazy to think that Juna is what Tsuabasa Masuwaka was to gals back in the mid 2000s, to now these kids in the 2020s but that is exactly what this is. And ofc i'm not a dumb dumb, gyaru magazines aren't the same as the kpop industry, small scale niche fashion magazines aren't the same as the multibillion dollar luxury fashion and modelling industries that have long histories of sexual abuse and exploitation of minors and refugees, but that was more like an example, not that they're equals in terms of anything.

Circling back to Juna, this interview was followed up by another interview after the 1st one, where Juna states she feels tired trying to balance work and school as is actively missing school due to the shooting of EGG magazines. Juna also states she starts school at noon because she is physically too tired to get up in the mornings. She was not allowed to participate in school festivals, school trips and other large school gathering because of her hair dye, and even tried to spray paint her hair black just to be able to participate with her school peers, but this ended up not working out and she decided to miss her school trip instead.

It's important to note that Juna lives in a small town meaning there isn't the option of going to a different school that allows dyed hair without a long commute, Juna is also a human and has friends from elementary school she wants to attend school with so they opted out of online school.

Juna's father also talked about how Juna doesn't smile and seems depressed when returning from school, and how he worries for her mental wellbeing, not being able to talk to her friends in school. 

Juna's hair, as of September 2024, is currently black if it's important to input

And I must preface, Juna isn't the only gyaru kid that has gone through this, it also happened to a famous gyaruo 'host' named Ryucharo-kun who is also around the same age is Juna (if not a bit older) and many people had similar responses to this kid host gyaruo boy as they did to KOGYARU, which are, what the fuck are these parents thinking?

I also know that gyaru magazines have hired girls who are 14,15,16 in the past and made them do questionable things as well, such as how Erika sang THAT line in Gal is mind, or how EGG made 17yr old Kaecha do a lingere gravure shoot very recently, thats all deplorable behaviour in itself, but I believe kids over a certain age are more able to understand the lifestyle theyre signing up to, 16yr olds, 17yr olds are already on the path to what they want to do in the future, if being a gyaru model is that then so be it, but a bunch of 6-12yr olds who at that age shouldn't have any real responsibilities, and definitely don't need to be online social media influencers, there is a stark difference between them.

JS 4 and Under

I know I talked a bit about 6 and 7yr olds but I never actually bothered to expand on that, especially when the main KOGYARU models are more like 10-12.

Yes there are more like 2 layers to KOGYARU, the models you see more often, the faces of KOGYARU lets call them, then we have like..... the models who aren't really the face of the magazine. Think of it like, Sakurina and Momoeri, Sayaka Araki, Rin, Shizuka Muto Satomi Yukawa and Riho Nishiyama were the face of Koakuma Ageha during its hey-day, but models like, Guri and Gura Yoshikawa, Himena Ousaki, Hozunyamu were all models you would know and recognise in the book, but would never get their own cover, these models are called dokumo or reader models but that isn't exactly the case with all of these children so I won't refer to them as that.

But if you dig a little deeper into KOGYARU, you can find so many of these kids, who are all in 4th grade (by japanese school standards) or lower involved in KOGYARU and I think thats so disturbing? 

These kids are often very overlooked and sometimes tend to be the siblings of more popular KOGYARU models like Yuna's little sister. And what drives me more crazy than seeing a bunch of 9-6yr old gyaru models is the fact there are so many of them? I've been researching KOGYARU for like.... 4-6 days now, and I just find even more each time I start digging. KOGYARU is a huge organisation  and I don't think many people have been able to grasp how many little kids are part of it.

And now, what does the title mean? 'Sacrificed for fame' who is being sacrificed?

It's the children themselves.

The concept of KOGYARU, it's operation, everything about KOGYARU, from the exposure to the effort it takes to maintain these kids lifestyles, so the fact that the people who are doing the heaviest lifting are actually the children themselves, its like you've sacrificed the kids to the fame and attention you know they are going to receive.

And the fact that KOGYARU magazine has over 400,000 followers on instagram shows that everything they predicted about KOGYARU is correct.

There is so much more about KOGYARU I could talk about, but i'm not going to for the sake of my own sanity, I do want to link this tik tok video which talks about more of the disgusting actions KOGYARU has committed, but today, that is all.

So in the end, what do I actually think about KOGYARU? What do, you think about KOGYARU?

I'll tell you what I think.

KOGYARU is terrifying.

It's scary

The fact that almost half a million people are tuned in to watch a bunch of elementary school kids dress up as gals, I don't get why people want to see a bunch of kids dress up and present older then they actually are, KOGYARU's main audience isn't actually kids their age, its obvious it's not. And I find it scary that KOGYARU is weasling it's way to become the a Reiwa face of gyaru. KOGYARU is disturbing, KOGYARU should not exist, because KOGYARU holds no benefit to gyaru as a culture itself, but exists to serve as a piggy bank for the higher ups who approved of this shit. KOGYARU, and the type of controversies that surround it are so disturbing, from the pole dancing nonsense, to the pedobaiting for views, KOGYARU should simply not exist, I have 99 problems and KOGYARU has caused about 34 of them. How many more parents will be willing to throw their kids into the lion's cage that is KOGYARU?....

I have come to the end of this blog post

Thank you for reading, if you're wondering why my thumbnail is a bit different, it's because I want to avoid using the childrens faces as much as possible, and I know they have social media on twitter which is my main platform so.....

- bye bye, Spacy