Shibuya, which had at the time become synonymous with fashion, was claimed to be a sacred area for women’s fashion, with popular brands such as EGOIST, COCOLULU, MeJane, and Jassie clogging the streets.
Shopstaff that would make a huge impact on potential buyers and exuded the brand would be referred to as “charisma clerks.”
Clothing and accessories worn by “charisma clerks” essentially sold like hotcakes and of course managed to make a significant impact on the brand’s sales.Following that, not just store clerks but also names like “charisma beautician” and “charisma presenter” began to arise, and those with clout in each profession began to be referred to as “charisma.”
“Charisma” is a Greek term that refers to supernatural powers, individuals who have a lot of power, and beautiful people who attract people.
Para Para originated in Japan in the late 1980s, and the popularity of it from 1999 to 2001 was the third boom. It’s a type of dance that “dances” to Eurobeat music at clubs and discos in which the hands and arms move uniquely while the legs move left and right, which is called a “2 step”.
It was frequently featured on TV and magazines, such as dancing to the song “Night of Fire”, and it was well known to the general public who did not go to clubs, etc. It was even more popular during the Ganguro boom.
A half-hearted girl/woman. Pagyaru is commonly referred to a girl/woman that has a Gyaru mind but isn’t there in terms of appearance, unlike a True Gyaru. It’s said that there are three core aspects that make a girl/woman a True Gyaru. Women ages 18-34 were interviewed, in which it was determined that out of 3 sets of 10 items, if a woman had 1-3 elements out of each item per set, they were considered Pagyaru and if they had 4 or more of each item per set, they were True Gyaru.
Based on the survey conducted in 2011, 12.8% were qualified as True Gyaru while 55.5% were qualified as Pagyaru (more on this in another blog post coming soon!).
Choberigu is an abbreviation for “super very good” and is an interjection used to mean “best”. It’s a word that has both “super” and “berry”, but it’s not the word that is used only when something really good happens. Its antonym of course is Choberiba which is–as you can probably guess–”super very bad” which meant “worst”, using the same word combination. Its origin is unknown however it did win a buzzword award back in 1996.