Gals!

Gyaru, known in the Western world as "Gals," are the flamboyant, hilariously tanned party girls of Japan who were a hot topic back in the 2000s. Imagine if popular white girls from California spent every afternoon at a Brazilian tanning salon and roamed downtown with flashy hairstyles and clothes that look like a unicorn's salad. And importantly, there’s a manga about them. Surprisingly, it's much better than you'd expect!

At first glance, GALS! seems like your typical ultra-girly shoujo manga from the 2000s. It has the same big bubbly eyes on every female character, a handful of conveniently handsome hunks, and everything about it falls under the category of something that would get you teased if caught reading it in the locker rooms (back in the day, of course). But dismissing this manga for those reasons is a crime. Its complexity and variety of true-to-life topics, wrapped in routine gags and cheesy romantic subplots, are delightful surprises. You might guffaw looking back at the cover thinking, "Something like this is actually something like that?"

GALS! starts out basically like a gag manga. The main character, Ran Kotobuki, self-proclaimed "Queen of Gals," lives solely and proudly for the present with her girlfriends, not caring about the past or future. She couldn't care less about love, complex relationships, or studying; she'd rather focus on picking the perfect outfit, stuffing her face, and wheedling some extra cash from her tight-knit policeman father (who is completely done with her B.S.). She's loud, mean, a hardass when needed, but otherwise a complete dumbass. At first glance, you might wonder, "How the hell is she a shoujo protagonist? Why should I like her?" That's only because you're comparing her to what I call "wet cardboard" protags (found in 95% of shoujo manga), and that's where you're wrong.

Ran and her friends seem perfect on the outside. They're pretty, popular, have mad fashion intellect, and radiate pure moxie and spunk. But the point of the manga is to show young readers that not all which glitters is gold. They're not cookie-cutter bubbly-eyed Queen Bee girls. Each character is flawed and does or says things that might piss you off (and I admit, I got pretty pissed at times), but that's a sign that the story and its characters are GOOD. They act and speak irrationally like real people and later suffer consequences. There's the stubborn, holier-than-thou bitchy type, the clingy insecure type, the wild-child-turned-tamed type, each with their own backstory and struggles. The "romance" in GALS! isn't very orthodox, either. The entire manga is unpredictable for better or worse.

The topics GALS! deals with are the real gem. They range from mundane issues like dealing with exams, personal goals, and work, to darker and serious topics like bullying, stalking, self-harm, suicide, theft, fraud, and even child neglect and abandonment. They're all written and handled very skillfully and responsibly, in my opinion, and the morals shine in contrast to the manga's otherwise glitz and glam nature chronicling the Gals' everyday adventures between school and Shibuya.

I can't let this review slide without noting some disappointments I found in GALS! Firstly, the more darkly-tanned girls (Ganguros) are drawn and treated in an inappropriate manner. I understand this is just one of many Gyaru styles, but here the Ganguros are seen as ugly, disgusting, and unworthy. Why? Because of their dark skin tone and lips. That's literally the ONLY reason why. It raises a lot of red flags showing that no matter how good a manga can be, mangaka are prone to screwing up by cracking jokes solely at a character's appearance. Not great for a manga aimed at children. There's also a slightly uncomfortable minor/adult relationship, unfortunately a main focus, so if that irks you, you could gloss over it like me, but if you can't, pass (though nothing "explicit" happens until the minor is of age).

On a positive note, the art is absolutely gorgeous. Everything is drawn neatly, and the shifts in style between normal and comical are almost seamless. Despite the pages being packed with illustrations and effects, they were never an eyesore. One tiny nitpick was that the eyes are identical on females, making it hard to tell characters apart sometimes. But I love this art style so I can't complain much.

Mihona Fujii clearly knows her stuff and wants to do it right. It's apparent as she regularly went out into Shibuya to observe real-life Gyaru firsthand, documenting her research in the sidebars of the manga itself. These tidbits were neat additions I looked forward to reading alongside the main story. Her effort made the story that much more worthwhile and believable, quite commendable. Fujii loved the culture and wanted to portray it accurately through her characters while still making them fun and relatable. She succeeded since GALS! is now regarded as a Gyaru Bible of sorts.

I wouldn't blame anyone for overlooking GALS! as a mere chick-flick on paper if seen on a shelf or website. We all judge books by their covers, especially in manga. But this is one of those rare instances where you can't let yourself be fooled. I enjoyed it a lot, even though I initially thought it was just another colorful, flashy kiddie manga. GALS! takes the phrase "live, love, laugh" and paints it all in your face until it's ingrained in your soul. It's about having a good time and letting yourself go, living life to the fullest not by being irresponsible, but by believing in yourself, doing what's right, and pushing forward no matter what. There's more to girls than a pretty face, and there's more to GALS! than just hotties, heels, and hibiscus flowers.

I truly enjoyed it initially. I even read the first three volumes at least three times. However, as the story progressed, it started to lose its appeal for me, and by the end of the fourth volume, I completely lost interest and stopped reading. I'm not claiming that it's a bad manga. My disinterest only stemmed from my dissatisfaction with who Ran ended up with. I had been rooting for her to be with Rei. Apart from that, it’s an enjoyable read. It’s filled with comedy and romance.