There's way too much to write about onii kei right now, but I got a few scans to put here in the meantime.

This archivist believes that the v-boy trend influenced the start of onii kei, and if we look at the early onii kei styling it's quite believable. It really looks different to how we in today's world think of onii kei.

If you read the sentaa guy page, you'll find that this style quickly squashed sentaa guy and replaced it. A lot of sentaa guy outgrew the fashion or felt pressured to move onto the more mature looking onii kei, and I also got the vibe that the Men's Egg editor was keen to move on from sentaa guy and usher in onii kei.

Not only is onii kei prominent in Men's Egg, but also Men's Knuckle, which was launched as a complementary magazine to delve deeper into the style than Men's Egg would allow.

2004

Men's Knuckle magazine, a rebrand of G-Style (Gigolo Style), begins publication. It starts as an irregular supplement to Men's Egg but quickly evolves into a monthly magazine. It offers a more focused look at onii kei and host culture than Men's Egg.

Men's Egg July 2004

Men's Egg November 2004

2007

Johnny's Entertainment debuts KAT-TUN in March with REAL FACE, and their debut PV has styling that is notably inspired by onii kei. This jpop group is very popular with gyaruo.