Sentaa Guy

First Appearance: Men's Egg October 2003

Last Appearance: Men's Egg November 2004

Other Sources: Ego System (~2003-2004)

Without a doubt the most flamboyant and short lived gyaruo style. These guys wore wild make-up and women's clothes, imitating their manba girlfriends without shame despite the magazine poking fun at them for it. It's undoubtedly the most gender subversive gyaruo trend- but like all gyaruo styles, a lot of guys still did it to get laid.

October 2003

The very first mention of Sentaa Guy in Men's Egg is the October 2003 issue. Presenting quite differently to how the look came to evolve at its end, the main thing distinguishing Sentaa Guy from other gyaruo at this point is their deep tan and bleached hair. The cover has a small introduction: "CENTER GUY - What do you think of guys decked out in gal clothes?"

First we're introduced to the Men's Egg team covering this spot. Ryujin, a Sentaa Guy Watcher. Satomi Yamamoto, a reader model. Takamichi, a former club member. Ryujin is stated to be the member who coined the term "Center Guy".

What are Sentaa Guys' favourite brands?

My Tane, Bong, Burberry, Alba Rosa, My Favourite Tiara.

What is the Sentaa Guy's habitat?

Sentaa Gai, Shibuya Clubs, Harajuku, Shibuya 109. The writer remarks that there is a My Tane shop in Harajuku so you can find Sentaa Guy there, too.

What do people think of Sentaa Guy?

35% voted 'It's ok if it suits you', while 'Lame' received 26% of votes. The most positive answers were from 'typical gal types' who like Alba Rosa.

"You know how some people get more and more tattoos after they get one, and before they know it they're covered in them? It's kind of like that, isn't it?" - Takamichi, on men wearing women's gyaru brands.

The models featured are: Miichi Kobayashi, Makoto Nakatsugawa, Ooya Kiyusuke, Yusuke Ooyane.

Miichi: The reason I started wearing this fashion is because my girlfriend was a gyaru. She asked me to wear it, so I started wearing it." Yusuke: In my case, everyone was wearing it at the clubs and stuff, so I thought I'd wear it too... You see it in stores and on the streets, right? Yusuke: Yeah. I wear it all the time. Don't you think the design is youthful and cool? Writer: Also, you like tight-fitting clothes. Yusuke:I somehow find myself fitting in with gal-style clothes. I'm more of a gyaru than a gyaruo. (laugh) And If I had to categorize myself, I'd say I'm an Ogyaru (Dirty gyaru)! (laugh) Writer: I think that's going too far. Yusuke: No, these hair extensions are popular with gyaru girls.

January 2004

The tail end of 2003 is silent on sentaa guy as far as Men's Egg is concerned. The next time Sentaa Guy gets a mention is in a single page model call for street snap reader models in the January 2004 issue. This date marked photo on the right gives us an example of what Sentaa Guy looked like at this point, but hopefully there are some photos in Ego System in this gap too because the next time Men's Egg so much as whispers about Sentaa Guy is March- when the style has already evolved to its final form.

After this, a small room snap section shows a single Sentaa Guy looking very different to the original Sentaa Guys in October 2003.

March is the big one, where Sentaa Guys get an exclusive street snap feature.

April is next and features Sentaa Guy hair/make and styling more than any other issue.

In May, a regular article named 'Harosen' (Hello Sentaa Guy) begins.

Harosen - June 2004

Naoki Umeda (Umeshan) in Ego System, June 2004.

Harosen - July 2004

Harosen - August 2004

Harosen - September 2004

Ego System, September 2004.

Harosen - October 2004

It's a short-lived trend lasting just a year, and in November 2004, Men's Egg declares it over with a feature on graduating sentaa guy titled 'Goodbye Sentaa Guy'. "From now on, I'm aiming for onii kei style!" the tagline announces. The page showcases before and after shots of sentaa guy who have toned down their look. I read that gyaruo graduate from Sentaa Guy at age 20, which checks out with my findings.

One of the reader models, Tomonyan, reflects on a fond memory of Alba Rosa shirts being tight fitted because of his muscles and states his reason for leaving sentaa guy is that ordinary people will look down on him. Horitake, another model, states his wife Abo-chan will continue to be manba. He reminisces on grooming his leg hair. Another guy, Yaataku, 'who pretends to be 19 when he's 20' states that he still loves sentaa guy style, and his chances of pulling women will decrease when he graduates. The general consensus is that graduating from sentaa guy is to keep up with shifting trends and step into adulthood. I also got a strong impression that the editor in chief of Men's Egg just find the style pretty stupid and is eager to usher in onii-kei as the next fashion wave. Naoki Umeda was allegedly a sentaa guy and got his start as a reader model in Men's Egg and was disappointed at having to move with the times.

There was some mild crossover with vkei in this time. Aikaryu (2000-2007) had at least one gyaru look, and Raphael members parodied gyaru on a TV appearance.