Been a while since I’ve wanted to pit two styles against each other, and what better than to start with Agejo and Mori Girl? Granted, Mori Girl isn’t necessarily a Gyaru substyle BUT it still had its influences; Technically speaking, Mori Girl done right can translate into the elusive Boho Gyaru (not necessarily a substyle but still fitting with the flower girl OG trend, except matched with the timing of the shirogyaru boom leading to himekaji’s popularity and eventually the mote trend). Let’s get started!
[PS: Shoutout to one of my followers on Instagram – I remember asking about what topics to write about for the blog when I started back in March and got a message regarding Boho Gyaru. This is as close as I can get, for now, so hope you enjoy this read!🌸]
The magazine 小悪魔ageha basically created the agejo style. Even though the magazine itself is primarily targeted at hostess clubs, it has gained a wide range of readers. An agejo’s motto isn’t to be popular or loved, and instead simply aims to “live like herself”, and according to the magazine, mori hair is characterized and portrayed as a “weapon to protect herself”. Maybe not so oddly enough, an agejo has elements from both a yankee and a Gal – which we’ll get to later in this article. Then there’s the Mori girl, which is seen in a contrasting fashion, however, it also seems to have the idea of self-identity.
The magazine Koakuma Ageha (published by Inforest) is the simplest definition of a fashion magazine whose main target is hostess clubs. Ageha models are called “agemo”, and women with ageha style are called “agejo”. However, the reality is that “agemo” and ageha readers are not exclusively limited to just hostesses. As for models, many of the current agemo and agemo graduates have no career in a cabaret club. Readers are by no means limited to being cabaret club girls or “black clothes,” (a.k.a. men who work in cabaret clubs), and are widely supported by women who resonate with 小悪魔ageha-like fashion and lifestyle, regardless of the entertainment/night business.
The content of the magazine is completely incompatible with the preconceived notion that it is simply a magazine for hostess clubs. Hairstyles and makeup techniques are standard articles, but there are no articles on how to get good grades at cabaret clubs. On the other hand, negative elements such as “darkness in our hearts” and “disease” are sometimes dealt with in special features. In fact, you can see that 小悪魔ageha is a lifestyle with the keyword: to be yourself.
In “COMIC ageha” released at the end of 2007, the biographies of the models were made into comics. In order to know what kind of people are being picked up as agemo in the first place, let’s list their titles and careers, and where applicable, their aspirations: