If you have somehow stumbled upon this site, and aren't part of the Jfashion panel for Otakon; my apologies for this crappily done webpage. This is for research purposes only.
I'm doing links listings in chronological order; focusing on Yamanba to Ganguro types.
Ganguro/Gongal/Kogal/Manba Overview This is a REALLY wonderful sight which has many photos and a basic history, origins, and brief explanation of culture.
Fringe Groups Page (scroll down)
note: This website claims that the Yamanba fad died out in 2001, but in fact it only went out of style for a short time and is now currently experiencing a revival.
Yamanba Timeline Chronologically follows Ganguro/Yamanba Trend, until 2001, where it died out for a short time.
Here’s a quote from the page I found it on (http://www.harmful.org/homedespot/newtdr/currentpage.htm):
“last week i showed some scans of 1999-2000 yamanbas from EGG magazine. like most people, i thought this fad had died out. but in fact, the NEW issue of EGG (july 2004) is pretty much a cover-to-cover report of yamanba revial. they're called MANBAS now, and the new look is half- Michael Alig - raver- Club - Kid - circa - 1994, and half motorcycle gangster Bosozoku/Yanki thug. as if this is not an absurd enough combination, keep in mind that these 'new looks' are just slathered ON TOP of the existing Al Jolson -as - Barbie -as - Drag Queen aesthetic that made this movement so infamous in the first place!anyway, long story short, the 2004 manbas make the 2000 ones look very tame. so therefore i've posted even more fucking scans than last time. you will not find this shit anywhere else on the web. toot, toot.my take on the whole subculture, which i am totally pulling out of my ass, is this:Originally it was all about looking like malibu barbie. which in its own way is wonderful: mainstream icon produces super underground-culture which horrifies the mainstream -- sort of like if you found out that Mickey Mouse was the inspiration for Black Metal.
the most interesting thing about the whole phenomenon: they're unbelivably insular, even compared to other subcultures. everything they do is to impress the 40 or so other manbas on the whole planet. so among manbas, there is this tremendous sense of us-against-the-world solidarity, i think.
but at the same time, the whole reason the look keeps getting more and more weird is that they are ruthlessly competing with each other-- who will take it farther? who will be more outrageous? who can show up the other girls?
so there are 2 factors (solidarity and competition) working together that seem at first glance to be opposites. this seems impossible and yet it's been driving the movement for years.
weird and interesting.”
I hope that this is enough! ^^;
