エゴサ[egosa]
Hi how are you doing? It’s getting warmer and warmer in Japan, and this shall end Spring. That’s so fast. Around my place, the cherry blossoms were good last week, but not anymore. That’s also fast.
Anyway, I am here to make a new post.
If you happen to be an artist like an idol, a singer, a manga-ka (comic artist), an actor, a blogger or like that. Do you want to see how famous you are or simply how people feel about you or what you are doing? Screw up your courage, and do google your name or you will see.
This is, you can say, エゴサ[egosa] to mean egosearching. エゴサ is an abbreviation of エゴサーチ[ego search]. This is actually one of the vogue words last year 2016, but it started from about 10 years ago. The fact that egosearching has become remarkable like this, is because lots of people are depending on the net, I suppose so.
Well, when I started out this blog, I used to think like, ah I want more people to come to read. Fortunately, people dropped by or visited here, and sometime said something. That made me happy. Some of my posts got trackbacked by someone, and I went to see how they did. I have not seen such a bad thing as far as I am aware, but oh hell, what if I got insulted elsewhere? I am gonna google my name, bangin…
No way. There is no point. You can’t do anything if you care. So what is the point in egosearching? You know, it’s a good thing to know how you are evaluated, so when people do egosearching, they want to know that. Accept such a nice complement like, ah his song is beautiful or her cosplays are so cool, they want to feel good. But if you happend to encount such a bad thing like, I don’t like his blog, what do you say?
Once you found it, you got obssessed with that. So you do egosearching more and more…it is said that this is one of net addiction, or インターネット依存症[internet izonshou]. Please come off it. No good things come out. Even if you accept such a bad evaluation about you, and improve yourself, someone else would point out something else. It never ends. Going to lose yourself. Here is a good explanation.
This is a good example. A donkey and one old couple. Both get on the donkey, they would say, oh poor donkey! It feels heavy! So the old man gets on, they would say, oh poor old woman, just the old guy feels comfortable! The old woman get on, they would say the other way around. Neither gets on, are they stupid? Don’t they know how to get on a donkey?
SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!?
See? Nothing can satisfy all. No matter how good film comes out, all the people on the earth never get satisfied. In real life, there are so many contradictions. You finish the work for the day, and going to leave. Behind you they would say like, is he serious? Isn’t he helping the others? You trying to help the others, they would say like, ah is he working for the extra payment of overwork?
In real life or on the net, all we need is スルースキル[through skill]. We say スルー[through] to mean to ignore or pretend not to see. スルースキル means such a technique of ignorance. Just take up good things and don’t care about bad things. Because they would tell you directly if it is not really really good. Like you are not always on time or your hair is messy for the interview. Not behind you, but directly. Let’s tell. We humans can speak.
ねえ…普通なんか言わないの？
Speaking of スルースキル, I so admire Kotomine Kirei from Fate/Zero. There is a scene the naked Gilgamesh is in front of him with an arrogant looking. Kirei never points out. Is he sure? Seriously, how do you try not to say something when a naked guy is sitting in front of you? Kirei has a great スルースキル, you know.
シャフ度 [Shafudo]
I have lost my password to log in here. How long have I left my blog? Well, what shall I say first…okay, hi I am bangin, Japanese cosplayer, and the owner of this blog, Japanese words of anime fans, by anime fans, for anime fans. I shall introduce you those words which stem from anime or Japan’s subculture. I mean, they are otakish words, you know.
Anyway, I almost forgot to write in English. No no, my English is sucks in the first place. Takes much time to make a post. Well, days ago I got an e-mail from someone who asked me to make a post here. Oh no, thank you. Somone is still following my blog! Then I do, for sure.
If you are following any anime series from the anime production, Shaft[シャフト], you might have found one thing. It always happens, frequently happens. She looks down…he looks down…and they have an exultant look or that kind of look. Yes, that is シャフ度[shafudo], or shaft angle. シャフ[shafu] is from Shaft, and 度[do] means angle. In this case, 度 is technically 角度[kakudo] or angle. Whenever you are aware of this angle, you are watching anime by Shaft.
Speaking of Shaft anime, I can think of Bakemonogatari[化物語], Arakawa Under the Bridge[荒川アンダーザブリッジ], Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei[さよなら絶望先生], or Dempa Onna and Seishun Otoko[電波女と青春男]…but wait, Revolutionary Shoujo Utena[少女革命ウテナ] is also made by Shaft. 懐かしいね！
シャフ度 can be frequently seen in the anime series by Director Teruyuki Shimbou[新房照之] who has been working for Shaft. Especially, it seems like this started from Bakemonogatari.
It’s always so hard, isn’t it? Shadow and light are so hard. This is important when we talk about シャフ度. Not only looking down, but you have to bend down backwards like an arc. This is easy to say, but hard to do!
Come to think of it, there’s one more Shaft’s technique. That’s 黒板ネタ[kokuban neta]. 黒板[kokuban] is a blackboard and ネタ[neta] is a topic or just a troll. You see this on the blackboard in the classroom. The board is full of off-topic words or nonsense. This is the idea Shaft often uses. Well, I feel we always need to fill in the blank on the blackboard, no?
てへぺろ [Tehepero](๑≧౪≦)てへぺろ
Hi everyone. Oh no, I have left my blog for too long. I even forgot to write in English! Does anyone help me with my terrible English? My blog has been 終わコン[owacon], you know. So many nice comments from the viewers! What am I doing! I’ve got to do something!
Let’s get going, anyway. I swear myself that I could post one or two more topics to introduce a new word. Today I gotta introduce…let’s see…
What about てへぺろ[tehepero]? I know most of you guys are frowning because this term has been already in the mainstream. Well, let me explain even that. If you can type てへぺろ, please do that. Maybe you would see some emoticons like (๑≧౪≦) or (｡･ ω<)ゞ. てへぺろ itself has no point, but this is to express how shyly you are smiling at yourself. Especially this is mostly used when you goof up or make a tiny mistake. When you spill water, what would you do? When you accidentally put the papers through the shredder, how are you going to remove your blush? Let’s smile shyly and stick out your tongue.
てへっ[tehe] is to describe such a shy smile in order to cover your mistake. I think you can see this in shoujo manga or something like that. A pretty girl is smiling with てへっ. Also, please watch out. If she sticked out her tongue, you could see ぺろ[pero] written next to her. Both are onomatopoetic words. てへぺろ is a hybrid of these two words. So if you cover your mistake, let’s say (｡･ ω<)ゞてへぺろ♡. Don’t be shy.
So who started this term? Yes, her name is Youko Higasa[日笠 陽子], who voices Mio in K-ON! In the radio program she featured, she used to say てへぺろ. The other seiyus started to copy that, and then most K-ON fans followed that…eventually, てへぺろ got in to the mainstream. Today, even non-anime fans are using てへぺろ. In 2009, てへぺろ was at the top of the current words among anime fans, but this has been common among general people 2011 onwards.
What? Only young and cute girls can use it? Don’t say that. Once again, don’t be shy! If you softly knock your forahead with てへぺろ, that would be much better.
[Cosplay] Vocaloid!
Hi, everyone how’s the things? I am doing alright. OMG, now it’s December? This year is going to end soon…alas, how come time flies? I go to work, cosplay, and meet people…these things repeat and repeat. Oh come to think of it, I met up the blogger who comes to my blog, tasukihoneybunny in October. Well, we met up in Ikebukuro and had dinner. Thank you for the meeting, I enjoyed. I like to meet people from everywhere because whatever they talk about is new to me. I am all ears.^^
So, let’s start today’s entry. I have never been interested in Vocaloids, but sometimes I have to learn and try new things even if I am not willing to. Yes, vocaloids are quite a good example. The vocaloids I have known are Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Len&Lin, Megurine Luka, Meiko, and Kaito. What is vocaloid? Now there is no need to explain, but if you are interested or would like to know about it more, you can check here. It’s a singing voice synthesizer programmed by YAMAHA. You can compose a song and make a vocaloid sing your song. The vocaloids have a decent singing voice even though it sounds like a robot to me. Of course you can get your vocaloid to sing whatever you want it to sing.
Of course, this vocaloid things are amazingly popular among cosplayers. The interesting point is, costumes are different depending upon the song. Some of them are very gorgeous and cool. You know, I can’t even count the number of the songs. It’s really countless. One of my internet friends, Hinano told me she likes Megurine Luka. I wonder if she still follows. Anyway, I had to learn some songs in case I speak to new cosplayers or go to karaoke with my cosplaying buddies. The vocaloid I have cosplayed is this.
This is Kamui Gakupo which is voiced by Japanese V-kei singer, Gackt. This cosplay was very challenging and difficult. The character is hard to understand because once again, the theme is different depending upon the song. The song I tried with my friend is Ryu no naku hakoniwa yori 龍ノ啼ク箱庭拠リ[From the miniature garden where the dragon howls]. This costume is so heavy that it was hard to move and strike a pose. The wig is also heavy! What is this? I am like アゲ嬢[agejou]! 何これアゲ嬢みたい! If nothing else, this costume somehow reminds me of takaradsuka. It’s so elegant…
This photosession took place at the museum and the rose garden. The photographer Maah-san brought the cosplayer he associates, and she cosplayed Megurne Luka. She is a really nice cosplayer, and I think she makes a wonderful Luka. The museum was a bit too dark, but Maah-san tried his best. I would like to say thank you to the two. Also, as for the rose garden, it was a bit pity because it was too early for roses. Even that, the photographer Yoru-san did a great job. Read the rest of this entry »
僕と契約して○○になってよ！[boku to keiyaku shite xxx ni natteyo!]
It’s December, and this year is going to end soon. Looking back, so many things have happened…good things and bad things. Of course, I mustn’t forget about the terrible earthquake. But luckily, I am alive and doing okay.
I have cosplayed so much, maybe too much. Of course I shouldn’t forget what I am supposed to do here in my blog, yes I’ve got to introduce a new term, haven’t I? Okay, let’s start. Because I am a cosplayer, we are aware of what series are the most popular. Tigar and Bunny, Ao no Exorcist, and Uta no Prince-sama(I want to cosplay Tokiya) were really popular. Also, there is an unforgettable series, isn’t it? Yes, that is 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ [Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika]. 魔法少女 [Mahou Shoujo] means a wizarding girl. Yes, there are a lot of anime which follow mahou shoujo, but Magika is absolutely particular. You’ll see what I mean if you watch it.
Put aside the outstanding storyline, let’s review the history of mahou shoujo anime series. Mahou shoujo is, needless to say, a genre of moe bishoujo anime, and always attracts a lot of fans. A cute girl who can conjure is charismatic for most girls and always grabs men’s hearts. Long time ago, in such an anime just the heroine is a mahou shoujo. If you think of mahou shoujo anime, would there be more than two or three mahou shoujo? But when I was a kid, only the heroine was a mahou shoujo, and she always helps people with her magical power. Speaking of such a heroine I might say Sally from 魔法使いサリー [Mahoutsukai Sally], or Mami from エスパー魔美 [Esper Mami](she is a psychic, though). They go to people who need help, and save them. For what purpose do they use magical power? That is to help people.
But in the next generation, mahou shoujo evolved out of what they used to be. There are more than two mahou shoujo in the series. They would quest the world and use magical power to fight against the evil. Yes, I would definitely think of Magic Knight Rayearth in which three wizarding girls quest. Before, what a mahou shoujo has in her hand is mostly a broomstick or a wand, but they might have a weapon like a sword or a bow and an arrow. Mahou shoujo not only help people but fight for justice. Speaking of which, Mahou shoujo Lyrical Nanoha has more than two wizarding girls although just Nanoha is in the title. Meanwhile, there is a type of genre called 戦闘美少女[sentoubishoujo] or a fighting girl. In this genre, there are always girls who battle with evil. Maybe they can use magical power. Like I mentioned Magic Knight Rayearth, they could be either Mahou shoujo or Sentou bishoujo. I shall leave it to you. Sailor Moon or Precure could be both. Anyway, why are there more than two wizarding girls after 1990’s? I assume that most girls wish they could fight like boys and adore a strong friendship such as One Piece. So this genre is something most girls want to follow. If the series have several unique girls, it might last very long like Precure or Oja Majo Doremi. Even my niece really loves Precure series.
Having said that, here is a definitely different type of Mahou shoujo, yes, that is 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ [Mahou shoujo Madoka Magika]. I don’t want to give away any spoilers in case you haven’t watched this anime, but there are two terms to introduce. Both coming from the episodes, so please mind spoilers. The heroine, Kaname Madoka is a normal school girl who has a gentle dad, mom, and a younger brother. One day, a new girl named Akemi Homura transfers to her class and for some reason she warns Madoka not to be a mahou shoujo. Soon after, Madoka encounters a cute creature named Kyuubee, and it says 僕と契約して魔法少女になってよ！[boku to keiyaku shite mahou shoujo ni natteyo!] or why don’t you have a contract with me and become a mahou shoujo? This contract is too fateful, but if you have a contract with Kyuubee, you can grant one wish of yours. But you have to be a mahou shoujo. Once you become a mahou shoujo, your daily life would end. Kyuubee doesn’t explain what will happen to a mahou shoujo. Yes, he is so cruel though he doesn’t even care. In this way, lots of mahou shoujo have sacrifised their own lives. That is why Kyuubee’ line got so popular out of the series. You can replace mahou shoujo by anything else.
Meanwhile, there is one more thing which made this anime so popular. That is what happens in episode 3, meaning Mami’s death. Yes, she dies in the middle of the battle. It happens in one moment; the monster bites off Mami’s head when she gets careless. Here comes another term, マミる[mami-ru] meaning this kind of situation. Don’t let your guard down, otherwise you would die in a moment.
So far we have seen encouragement, friendship, and justice in mahou shoujo anime, however, everything is not necessarily good. Fighting against evil is very dangerous. Magical power is not only to save people but to use for your own. You can make your wish come true, but you have to give up so many things once you become a mahou shoujo. Little girls would say like I want to be like Cure White when I’m grown-up, but mahou shoujo is a steep and horrible world. If you want to keep your daily life, don’t get yourself into such an extraordinary world. In many ways, this anime is absolutely a new type of mahou shoujo anime. So what type of mahou shoujo would come next?
Lastly, since I am a cosplayer, I have to say this; 僕と契約してコスプレイヤーになってよ！[Why don’t you have a contract with me and become a cosplayer?] No, don’t get a contract!
ママ友 [mamatomo]
Here comes a rainy season in Japan, which means it’s been humid and muggy. I don’t like it. Though I like hydragea. How’s in your country? Anyway, I need to make a post as I shouldn’t leave my blog.
Now, there is a remarkable TV drama series named 名前をなくした女神[Goddesses who lost their names]. Most of my friends are following this soap opera, and even my elder sister got hooked. This drama features five mothers who battles in the society. You might be thinking of women who are actually working, but no. I mean, they are mothers who face confilct in the mothers’ community. The more I watch this drama, the more I feel scary. Does this kind of thing really happen?
The key word in this drama is ママ友[mamatomo] which means mom buddy. If you happen to be a mother, you would have a child who goes to school. Sometimes you need to go to school to talk to the teachers or to pick up your child. So you would see other mothers. You would have to make friends with them because your child and their children are friends. You are mothers who can share joy and pain to raise a child, and in order to let your child have fun, you need to join such a community by mothers…but that is a prelude to the hell.
The lead is Yuko who has a gentle husband and a good boy. Seemingly, there seems to be no problem in her family. But as her son goes to school, she has to experience such a stressful relationship of other mothers. The most troublesome thing is rumor. Once someone starts a rumor about you, it would be a nightmare. That would spread out in one day, and next day you would be an outcast. In the episode 1, there is a mother who blogs for her family. After she uploads her child’s photo on her blog, someone takes it for the child porno. To much worse, not only her child, but his classmate is in the photo, she is terribly accused of by mamatomos. So she becomes an outcast, and in the end she tries to kill herself.
Sounds far-fetched? No, this kind of thing happens. I just asked my elder sister as she has a son. At the school her son goes, mothers have to show ID to pick up their children. Also, they are not allowed to upload any photos of other children. No one says so, but that is a rule. You shouldn’t talk about your family too much, you mustn’t show off something, and blah blah blah…
Oh no, it is very tedious. If I were a woman, I wouldn’t endure something like this. The world of mamatomo is so awful. What does this title, “Goddesses who lost their names” stand for? In this drama, mothers never call their names each other, but use their children’s names. For example, if your son’s name is Terry, you would be called テリ―君ママ[Terry-kun mama]. If your daughter’ name is Sally, you would be called サリーちゃんママ[Sally-chan mama]. This really happens. Even my elder sister is called like this way.
There are other sayings in addition to ママ友. オタ友[otatomo] is otaku buddy, ネトゲ友達[netoge tomodachi] or online game buddy, コス友[costomo] or cosplay buddy. Some of my friends use リア友[riatomo] in order to categorize your friends. リア[ria] of リア友[riatomo] stands for real, which means friends you hang around with no specific interests. For example, your childhood mates or classmates. In other words, they are not your friends while you place in your community. Suppose here are two friends of yours. One is a person who can share your otakish interest, and the other can’t understand that kind of thing. I am not gonna say which one is your true friend, but do you think you can decide? オタ友[otatomo] is a friend only when you want to talk about your otakish hobby. In other words, he is not your friend anymore without it. Personally, I do not like this way. So long as they know who I am, they are all my friends. I am an otaku, and a cosplayer. As long as they accept the real me, I don’t care who they are. I mean, they are cosplayers or not, otaku or not. It doesn’t matter. I just want to look for such friends. True friends do not require such a thing, I believe.
キョロ充 [kyoroju]
Even though otaku coin a new term, some of those words might get into a common society, and get generalized so that people use. I think リア充[riajyu] or 死亡フラグ[shibou flag] are good examples. Now I can hear these words coming from general people. But otaku always go ahead of them and coin a new word, that is キョロ充[kyorojyu]. Sounds similar to リア充, but not really. What does it mean?
If you happen to be a student, would you see a classmate who is isolated at class? Although he is in the group, he seems to be isolated…and he doesn’t even realise. And behind his back, everybody else is insulting him…When a lunch time comes, he is coming to join the group. But actually no one wants him to come. In this way, wherever he goes he always look for a group to join, always look for someone he knows. That is キョロ充[kyoroju]. キョロ stems from キョロキョロしている[kyoro kyoro shiteiru] or shifty eye. In other words, he is always busy looking around to find someone.
He feels nervous unless he is in the group, and doesn’t want to be alone. That is why he always looks for a group to place himself. But why does he have to look for always? How come no one comes to him? Yes, キョロ充 sarcastically points out he is a boring person. There is no fun in talking to him, that is why no one comes to him. Once again, would you see someone like him at class or have you seen before?
Having said that, when I heard this term I laughed at myself. Because I could see who I used to be. In fact I was always isolated in the class when I was a student. Junior high, high-school, I was always like an outcast. The teachers used to say like I have no sociability. Yes that’s true. Well, I just tried to do better every time the classmates were changed. I wanted to catch up with the classmates so that I could have fun with them. But I didn’t understand what they were talking about, it could be a trendy fashion or something like that. Anyway, it didn’t interest me. But even that, I tried to catch up with the gossip or what was going on. I even pretended to enjoy myself although I didn’t. Next day, I saw someone else took my place as if he was a replacement. No, there was no my place in the first place. They just figured out that I didn’t fit.
I gave up. And after all, the teachers said you are not sociable at all. What should I do? How can I be more sociable? There was no where to go at school. I was trying to find a place where I can relax.
My cosplay friends
Now I am a cosplayer as you may know. Finally I could find such a place because I have my cosplay buddies. I don’t have to pretend to enjoy myself because I really enjoy myself. Surrounded by my good friends, I can say I am happy now. It took much time to find, but there is a place even for someone like me. Even though we cosplayers don’t come out of the closet, we can have fun. I don’t know if this is リア充 or not, but I do think the important thing is, that you are happy or not. So long as you are happy, everything is alright even if the place where you are is not something most people understand. You can say オタ充[otaju] to mean your otaku life is enjoyable. Yes, when I log in my blog, I can see you. When I upload my cosplay photos, I have feedback from you. It makes me very happy. My life is good, I can say. What’s wrong with オタ充? オタ充で何が悪いの？＾＾
There is no point in being キョロ充. I am sure there is a place for you, and you will have it even if it takes time. Because even I could find.
三択恋愛 [santaku ren’ai]
If you seriously love someone in your favorite anime or manga, and happen to wish you could get married to him(or her), that would be ２次元コンプレックス[nijigen complex]. However, if you always pursue someone in bishoujo games or otome games, the love shall be called 三択恋愛[santaku ren’ai]. The real love story is complicated. There are numerous choices at times, I mean, what to say or when to tell. If you made a mistake, you wouldn’t be able to get your sweetheart. In real life, you sometimes have such a hard time not only in love, but friendship or work. If you and your friend happen to have a fight, what would you do now? Are you going to apologize or keep ignoring your friend? Ring or e-mail? What are you gonna say? If you have a presentation at work, what would you do now? Keep talking or ask opinions?
In this way, you need to choose a right option if you have to, otherwise you can’t move on. I wish it could be more simple and easier because I am not a type of person who can always get through. But at least there are love stories which have only three options so you just choose one. Even if you fail, you can start over again and again. That is 三択恋愛[santaku ren’ai]. 三択[santaku] means three choices and 恋愛[ren’ai] means love. Where could we have 三択恋愛? Yes, in bishoujo games or otome games. In case you have never played it, I shall explain. In this type of game, you are surrounded by several pretty girls(bishoujo) or good-looking boys(bishounen). And you can pursue your favorite in order to have a happy ending. After you finish, you can start over to pursue another target. As the story goes on, you are required to choose a option from time to time. Whatever you choose would affect the result of your date. If you choose a right one, it would be okay. If not, you wouldn’t be able to move on so you have to start over. If you ask me, it is pretty simple if there are only three options. Look at below example.
Now you are in the karaoke booth with the boy you pursue. After you sang a song, he said, “Wow you looked different when you were singing.” And what are you going to say?
a. Because I was thinking about you.
b. I should pretend to be a singer, shouldn’t I?
c. I am kind of emotional, you know.
Okay let’s go a. And what is he going to say?
“Well…you know, then why don’t you sing once again? ” Great, it worked. He is blushing, see? In this way, you just choose a right choice. I wish I could say I am experienced, but actually in 三択恋愛. orz
chikan otoko
This term became famous as an internet slang among vippers in 2ch around 2004. At that time, the story about 痴漢男[chikan otoko] or Groper was mentioned by someone, and at first it seemed to be just a comment but they created the love story. The storyline seemed to be like 電車男[densha otoko] or Train Man. It boils down that a 20-year-old guy who loves anime and insects is misunderstood as a groper by a young lady. It turns out to be just a misunderstanding, but he has a crush on her…But he has no experience of women, but 三択恋愛.
We are human beings so it’s no wonder we make a mistake. Whichever it is love or human relationship, just one mistake could destroy everything. I had something like that before. We need to be careful when we are required to choose an option. Because real life is not a game.
ゴスロリ [gosurori]
- “]
- from Shimotsuma Monogatari[下妻物語]
Gothic Lolita is a kind of unique fashion style that originated in 1980’s, and linked to shoujo manga, Japanese rock bands, fujoshi, or even cosplayers. We usually say ゴスロリ[gosurori], but actually it is an abbreviation of ゴシックロリータ[Gothic Lolita]. The symbol mark is †[daggar]. Sometimes it puzzles me. Is this English? Because some people frown upon me when I mention Gothic Lolita. Even among English speakers, Gothic Lolita is like an otakish word?
Even if you haven’t heard of this fashion, it might ring a bell to you when you see it; a handsome dress features rococo or Victrian style and fabulous lace or frill. Leather boots and shoes with over knee socks(yes, makes 絶対領域[zettai ryouiki]). A headdress with a huge ribbon. Holding a big teddy bear or a huge lace parasol. Make-up is also important; blue or black lipsticks, fake eyelashes, loud mascara, color contacts, or even tattoo. This kind of fashion seems to embody destruction, aestheticism, darkness, heresy, death, or virginity.
Gothic is a kind of European style in the Middle Ages, and inspired lots of art including architecture or literature. Having said that, Gothic Lolita was born in Japan, so it is not technically a fashion from Europe, but those symbolism I have mentioned still remain. Lolita is…you know, such an immature girl or to love such a girl(shoujo). We say ロリコン[lolicon] or ロリータコンプレックス[Lolita complex]. But, Gothic Lolita is a combination of Gothic and a shoujo, so it seems to be different from lolicon. All in all, Gothic Lolita would embody a fin-de-siecle(decadant) girl in the Middle Ages. Does it make sense?
和ゴス
I am not familiar with Gothic Lolita, but to my surprise there are several variations in this style. For example, 黒ロリ[kuro loli] is to dress up in a black outfit, and 白ロリ[shiro loli] is to do so in a white outfit. 甘ロリ[ama loli] also known as sweet loli features pink stuff such as rose, strawberry or hearts. Looks like a princess. 和ゴス[wa-goth] is gothic with Japanese fashion(wearing kimono or that kind of thing). ダークゴス[dark goth] is more violent than 黒ロリ, like using eye-patches or bandages. Leather can be seen in Dark Goth, so well, Riku in Kingdom Hearts or most characters in Final Fantasy 7 could be called ダークゴス. Not really?
Meanwhile there was quite a famous rock band in 1980’s, that is AUTO-MOD. All of the members would dress up in such a gorgeous outfit with loud make-up. This kind of style got a lot of fangirls. At the concert hall, so many fangirls trying to copy their fashion, got together. Have you ever heard of Visual-kei[ビジュアル系]? Yes, it started around that time. Since AUTO-MOD got famous, some more Visual-kei rock bands such as BUCK-TICK, X-JAPAN, or LUNA SEA started to be famous as well. When I was a high school student, L’Arc～en～Ciel, SHAZNA, GLAY, or MALICE MIZER(Gackt worked as a vocalist) were quite popular. Those fangirls were called バンギャ[bangya]. I guess it is an abbreviation of バンドギャル[band gyaru], ギャル is a bit rude way to mean a young girl. Whereas I was not aware, Visual-kei became popular out of Japan 2000 onwards.
MALICE MIZER
Gothic Lolita used to be a fashion style for girls, but it changed since Rozen Maiden came out in 2002. Because of this anime, Gothic Lolita started to be popular among otaku. Technically, Rozen Maiden is not really ゴスロリ although it quite looks like. Gothic style in shoujo manga actually has been popular for a long time. I can think of other shoujo manga like Angel Sanctuary. What about うみねこのなく頃に[Umi neko no naku koro ni]?
In Europe, Gothic Lolita is very popular. Even though it was born in Japan, it is influenced by European style as I mentioned. Even that, it seemed to be Japanese style for them. Before, I saw a TV-show in which a French girl tried Gothic Lolita because she was a big fan of Japan. She wanted to go out in Gothic fashion, but her mother stopped her in the end…To me, Gothic Lolita is kind of cosplay, but not really. Difficult to say. If you happen to be in Tokyo, go to Harajuku[原宿] or you will see a lot of Goth girls.
I have never been a fan of Gothic Lolita, but…I like the costumes. If I cosplay, I would do Kamui Gakupo in 刹月華[setsugetsuka]. I think this is 和ゴス[wa-goth]. Looks cool, don’t you think?
Δ [sankakkei]
Keisuke Honda
World Cup is over(I mean, for Japan). But this is not why I haven’t blogged for more than a week. Just I was busy, I am sorry. Now in Japan it is amid a rainy season. Actually we had squall today, and I always carry an umbrella with me when I go to work. I don’t remember how many times I got soaked last month. I hope it will be fine soon.
So I was going to make another entry for internet slangs, but I just found a funny term so as to make one post, that is Δ[sankakkei]. I know you call it triangle in English, but we say 三角形[sankakkei]. When we see this mark in real life, it would be either in a math class or a result of the test. I mean, I don’t know how it is in your country, but we use ○[maru] to mean correct, ×[batsu] stands for wrong, and Δ[sankaku] means neither. Or close to the right answer, but not really so you have just one point although full point is two.
Anyway, when this comes to internet slang, the meaning would change for sure. Please look at the pronounciation of Δ[sankakkei] carefully. You can divide it into two parts, san and kakkei.
Sankakkei → san, kakkee → さん、かっけー →○○さん、カッコいい[xxx-san, kakkoii] or xxx-san, cool → Δ
See? I assume most of you know what さん[san] means. さん is a kind of honorifics, and the most common. Some bloggers speak to me like bangin-san[バンギンさん]. This is perfectly correct. かっこいい[kakkoii] means cool, and かっけー[kakkee] is a bit more casual way to say かっこいい. You can say like お～、かっけー！[Woo, it’s sooo cool!] It reminds me of パネェ[panee].
What is so special about this? Seemingly, it sounds like appreciating someone, but actually Δ is a way of mocking or joking. Having said that, it might be a really good way to flatter. Like パネェ, 2ch bugs use this kind of saying on purpose to make a fun of someone. Both パネェ and かっけー used to sound like such a delinquent boy[ヤンキー]. If you add ッス[ssu] at the end, it would sound more like it. banginさん、パネェっす！You don’t have to copy this, of course. こんなのマネしないでね、いい日本語じゃないから（笑） As I said, ○○さん、かっけー also means appreciation. However, if you see （棒）[bou], watch out, that means 棒読み[bouyomi]. There is no sound of appreciation; banginさん、かっけー（棒）[you don’t think I am cool at all actually].
In February 2008, someone commented on 2ch to announce he was going to murder. His online name was 愛知[aichi] so that 2ch bugs started to joke him saying 愛知Δ. Because of this, Δ has become famous everywhere on the net. For some reason, Japanese soccer player, 本田圭祐[Keisuke Honda] was targeted. It is said that the way he is is quite arrogant and eccentric. In such a time, Nikkei online business made an article to introduce 本田Δ[honda sankakkei], but actually this became wildfire because the article merely described a part of 2ch.
Honda Δ
After that, a few more marks came up. □[shikakkei] means ○○氏、かっけー[xxx-shi, kakkee]. 氏[shi] is also a kind of honorifics, and more polite than さん[san], but sounds too formal. It sounds like newspaper or TV news. （÷）[kakkowaru] means カッコわるい[kakkowarui] or not cool. ÷[waru] means to break in a mathmatic way. bangin（÷） means banginさん、カッコわるい. Oh no please please don’t say that! ><
No matter how arrogant Honda behaves, he got a few scores during the last World Cup. Because of his performance, Δ has changed its nuance in a good way.
Japanese words of anime fans, by anime fans, for anime fans 