My Latest Obsession: Jirai Kei 地雷系 

hey i’ve lived in Japan for about 5 years now and you’re right that not everyone who dresses jirai participates in that lifestyle. But going to the square in kabukicho, the one near APA hotel, you can see that a lot of jirai girls drink heavily and pass out there, i’ve seen some genuinely tweak out too. and unfortunately many of them are homeless and live out of suitcases in kabukicho, usually capsule hotels so that’s why they need a capsule wardrobe. these girls usually come from osaka or kobe trying to make a better life in tokyo and it doesn’t always pan out. like i said, not everyone is like this, but the jirai girls i’ve encountered are typically not in the best situation. the MCM bag is also useful utility wise and fits their aesthetic (girly with a twist because of the studs), but it’s also not as expensive as like dior or chanel which is what successful hostesses usually carry.

The silhouette reminds me so much of 2000s horror game girls

I was really iffy on the style and the controversies around it - but once I heard more about it from users and thought about its origins (basically youths who are unable to access mental health resources using the style as a form of escapism), I realized it was a way of expressing oneself that organically grew from girls who would be called “landmine” due to their struggles, and not a way of trying to stylize and make “edgy, unstable girls” seem cool (or rather, their struggles and lifestyles seem desirable). And that’s pretty rad as someone who is Menhera/participates in the Menhera community in my own way.

I feel like Jirai Kei is the successor to Gyaru, both in terms of its popularity and that it came from Kabukicho and was originally started by / inspired by hostesses and SWs. At Gyaru's height of popularity, it wasn't uncommon for prominent gyaru in the community to live the party lifestyle, were hostesses/SWs or had their lifestyle funded by sugar daddies. However, since the fashion became so popular and elements of it merged with the mainstream, of course not everyone was part of that lifestyle - there were plenty of people who just liked the fashion on its own, or adopted more innocent aspects of the lifestyle like para dance etc. It's interesting also that some formerly gyaru brands like Liz Lisa / Dear My Love have now moved on to making Jirai Kei styles.

I think lolita fashion in it's first years was very limited in its color palette. When I first was introduced in the early 2000s it was black, white, pink, blue and red -- and now you can find any color and multiple cuts. When I first saw Jirai Kei I thought it was too similar to Himekaji to take off. (I was wrong)

Headdresses are honestly not that uncommon actually!!~ but yes bows are the most popular! And shoes wise bubbles and co are the most popular! Imagine black shoes, high platform (10cm+) and pretty falt instead of high heal like♡

LARME is a magazine that has a conglomerate of styles. It is not necessarily a style. It is more about selling pieces itself than selling a style. Most recent LARME issues have a lot of jirai and tenshi items in them, as well as some Y3K pieces. It aims to sell trendy pieces and brands

The MCM backpack became popular in the style because they were status symbol with girls that visited host clubs. The mcm bag signaled that you had money because it was a luxury brand that there wasn't a lot dupes for.

i genuinely feel like this style has been around for a lot longer Yes maybe the style-name and kind of lifestyle association has only been really determined in 2019/2020 but ive been in the online artist space for almost 15 years and im pretty sure people have been drawing their OCs in similar fashion or fanart using this style since atleast 2014... when the pastelgoth style kinda started mixing with j-fashion on platforms like tumblr back then it was obviously more like, "borrowed a sweet lolita blouse and combined it with a gothic lolita skirt" and everything was a lot more DIY since style-specific items diddnt exist, but people have been styling their outfits like this for a lot longer

For anyone looking for plus sized jirai kei, DearMyLove is a great brand! I believe their sizes go up to 4L

It's so cool seeing lolitas get into landmine. I feel like it is definitely a more casual and even sometimes cheaper version of it and a lot of lolita pieces fit well in it.

I’ve been hunting down jirai kei content everywhere I can’t express how excited i was to see this notification, Jirai kei being so new did make it hard for me to become inspired and the inevitable confrontation of wearing it scared me off but i keep coming back

First of all, glad you're enjoying jirai kei! Much like with any alt fashion, there's going to be negative stereotypes associated with it, but the fashion has truly grown far past it's controversial origins. At the end of the day, it's just cute clothes to wear and have fun with. Also, in regards to plus size jirai, as a plus size person who wears jirai I swear by Dear My Love Whip, which is DML's plus size sub brand and have many of the same designs from DML just with more sizing options. The measurements go all the way up to 6L, which is what I typically wear, and usually I have no issues with fitting into their garments though obviously certain cuts are more forgiving than others. Just carefully read the measurements before buying and you're good to go. I also know of a couple other plus size brands like Majoretty and Taberunosky, but I've yet to get anything from these brands as they seem to max out just a bit lower than what I need. All and all, if you're plus sized and wanting to get into jirai, you have options! Edit: Forgot to mention DML's new sub brand Dear My Love Emily! It's a brand new Jirai Lolita brand that bridges the gap between the two styles (think jirai and old school had a baby) and goes all the way up to 6L! I just got my first pieces from them and I'm excited to wear them.

Btw for anyone who is interested in jirai kei- I've seen comments on tiktok saying its only for people with mental issues, and even tho its important to know that mental health plays its roll in this fashion.. STILL EVERYONE CAN WEAR IT! and don't listen to "then you should wear dark girly" comments because dark girly is literally just the white washed version of jirai, like "don't say kawaii fashion!!! Say cute!!"

i LOVE jirai kei and have been slowly thrifting a capsule wardrobe for the style!! the style is so cute and although some may romanticize the 'mental illness' aspect of it, i treat it more like menhera and how that style raises mental health awareness in japan.

I noticed this winter that jirai kei was v trendy in Laforêt and shibuya 109, there were so many jirai kei stores that I never saw before (that and tenshi kawaii shops they were everywhere in Laforêt)! I liked the style but I thought it would never fit me either, it was totally my friend's style though and she had an adequate size for the clothes they displayed...however I got myself a Liz Lisa coat, which can fit the style I guess

I love wood panneling... You look good in Jirai Kei. At almost 63 I'm too old for it.

I've been following jirai-kei from afar since around 2021 but never got to wear it because I'm a bit put off by how fast fashion-y the quality is. I'd love to hear some brands recommendations with better quality

This style seems to be piercing friendly which is fun.

Mochipan's website also has a JiraiKei outfit for plussizes from xl to 4xl. :3 she currently only has a skirt and top.

Hatsune Miku seems almost perfect for Jirai Kei with her pigtails and cute fashion!

Aww ! I'm glad that you are liking it so far ♡ I also appreciate that you always keep things positive. There is so much negativity in regards to Jirai Kei at times but you make it feel accessible and fun

I had seen the clothes before cybrgrl's videos, but after watching those I really fell in love with the style. Sadly I'd need to find some plus sized brands that had _actual_ plus sizes before I committed, but i adore the cuts of the blouses and the look of the skirts!

You look lovely, Lor! I have spent my whole life in black with a color or white; glad to see I'm finally in fashion, lol

I have known about jirai kei for almost 2 years now and have been wearing it for over 6 months. From what I’ve seen just traveling to Japan the style isn’t that associated with the “Kabukicho lifestyle” if you’re outside of Kabukicho and it’s very common in areas like Shibuya/Harajuku or if you were to go to a vkei or idol concert. It’s most commonly popular among young girls and teens so it’s a very easy style to get into and isn’t always associated with negative things. I noticed it getting increasingly more popular in the west in the past year but from what I’ve observed in Japan (correct me if I’m wrong) it seems to be growing out of popularity. When I was there April of last year I saw many more girls wearing it than just November of the same year which I think is interesting. Jirai kei is an easy and fun style to get into especially coming from a gothic lolita who doesn’t have the money to buy lolita pieces or the confidence to wear them out. I’ve worn jirai kei to conventions, interviews, and even my graduation and have gotten good responses.

I used to wear Jirai kei last year. I wanted to try a more feminine and dark alt fashion. I’m also a gyaru and felt intrigued by jirai’s makeup because of its similar droopy eye shape that is also prevalent in gyaru make. I primarily bought Jirai clothes from dear my love whip as a US 3x and I had to purchase their 6L size. Also measure yourself and compare it to the individual measurements on their website bc different styles may vary in how it’ll fit you. I ended up leaving Jirai bc I got fed up with how much colorism and fatphobia are at play. And the filters used by so many Jirai girls lighten your skin ☠️ I couldn’t do it anymore. I hope that it can grow to be more inclusive as it evolves.

Love how you explain aspects of the fashion, and also explain tweaks you make (like shoes and makeup) that make it fit your personal style better!

ahhh this white and black color combo looks so cute on you!! :D

I love jirai kei, especially the rose pink + black combo. It's one of those styles that feels 100% authentic to my personality. It gave me fresh ideas to customize my everyday looks that I'd suppose were already on the "verge" of jirai. Kinda a "so that's what my style is called?" eureka moment

I've been waiting for this video! ❤❤

OHHYEAAHH LOVELY LOR VIDEO ON JIRAI KEI 𝓣𝓱𝓮 WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL

Thank you so much! I had no idea about Jirai Kei.

I see jirai kei, I click. I love the miku subcult figure, too!! I actually wear tenshi kaiwai now but jirai will hold a place in my heart 💖

So exited to see you talk about JiraiKei, it's a fashion I've been excited about trying someday! Also, can't wait for NANA 🎉🎉🎉

This fashion is so popular right now it's basically a mainstream fashion, so there's no "rules" on who gets to wear it or not here^_^ I have to agree it is getting very samey, but I hope it becoming more popular overseas will have more people contributing new aspects and new ways to wear it^_^

Oh so my favorite casual style has a name? I loved the video, exploring new fashions is always fun

I love it! It look so good on you.

Just ordered a secondhand blouse from depop! Cant wait to try it on! And that wood panelling is absolutely darling ❤

YEEESSS I'm obsessed with it too, still trying to construct in my wardrobe tho Edit: I love shorts and seeing that cute shirt + short combo made me really happy

welcome to the jirai kei love -jirai kei since 2020

I know nothing about this vein of alternative fashion!! But i am interested to learn because even though I am only wearing Lolita, all us alternative fashion wearers face similar challenges when we have to stand in the face of normies!

Shibuya 109 is full of jirai kei stores lately. It’s a cute style but I’m a bit saddened how it is almost the only alternative style that is popular. It’s a bit overexposed already in Japan and I wish we had a bit more variety in 109.

Omg my fav fashion!!!

love this vid! it seems like this style also takes lots of inspiration from gothic lolita, yami kawaii, and e-girl styles

thanks for a really nice introduction to jerai-kei. i had never heard of this sub-style and am very interested in any style that can blend with my preferred all-black. it's nice to have colour options that are not super-happy/kawaii

I'm really happy to see you liking Jirai-kei! WELCOME. NO ESCAPE NOW >:D anyway - thank you for making this video as honestly, there's still a very limited amount of English-language content on Jirai/Ryousangata on RU-vid. Ignore the gatekeepers, as always and just enjoy yourself. Fair enough with the makeup point, even though the makeup is a very key point to the style, there's plenty of people on the JP + World jirai scene that don't do it either.

A lot of the reason things look the same is because it’s adjacent to Ryousangata. Part of the point is that we all look very similar.

Having no knowledge of this fashion style and going into this blind your descriptions of the fashion motifs have summed up everything I like! Haha. I'm going to do more research later and check out devil inspired again. Thank You. It's just bizarre to me that people find new ways of demonizing clothing and fashion.

i didn't know the name of the style until now! i guess i've been subconsciously into it- i have a top that skirts the edge of fitting into jirai kei that i always want more excuses to wear, but don't have a ton of things that suit it. also have gotten really into kuromi and associated aesthetics since the pandemic-- liked her before, love her now-- and have slowly been shifting my wardrobe to fit things that remind me of her. honestly might eventually pick up some actual jirai pieces in the future when i get the chance!

I love jirai but dislike that most pieces are polyester :( I have sensory issues and it's generally a no-go for me these days.

the eye changing shape thing has always confused im half japanese so i have asian eyes but like one of the most common surgerys in alot of asain is changing eyeshape and or makeup styles that alter it. so ive never seen a issue with it. i think its more just people assuming ethnicity based on looks are kinda the issue. like just cause of my eyeshape the amount of people who stop me on the street to ask me "what i am" is pretty annoying espicclly when its literally phased as "What are you" just cause my eyeshape is slightly different or the amount of times ive been called chinese slurs because people think im chinese because of my eyes

I love jirai kei but the pieces are expensive so I've been trying to find or make pieces that follow the style and is still something versatile in my wardrobe.

The outro with the wood paneling cracked me up 😂

Oh, this is a style I would love to try sometime! I'm goth, but I don't have a lot of more feminine stuff for when that mood hits me. I love lolita as well, but have been, honestly, a little too overwhelmed to even try. Jirai kei, however, is somewhere in between, I feel like, and looks like a style I'd be very comfortable in. Also, reminds me a bit of some of the outfits from Princess Ai, which teenage me absolutely loved

oh no, ur making me wanna dive into jirai kei now lmao

Oooh nana hint ❤ I feel like 6ou can wear everything and look so good in it 😊

oh thank goodness! i could not for the life of me figure out the difference between pastel goth and jirai kei

14:20 I think not. In contrary, I need accessbility to even feel encouraged to participate. I'm an unemployed person with autism and ADHD. I struggle with clothing myself or even buying clothes in the first place. The entire process is hell to me especially through online shopping but the more accessibility and quality there is the more likely I can actually participate in the fashion and make sure I don't wear 10+ year old clothes forever.

This seems so much more accessible than Lolita. I couldn't imagine paying for a lolita coord, but I could imagine buying a whole Jirai Kei wardrobe. Or something.

....I've been looking for jirai kei pieces for months! I can't find any in my size amd region.....

Maybe the thing that’s actually scaring people isn’t actually the wood paneling so much as it is the dark void that is the hallway behind you? In a horror movie that kind of shot would definitely want you to worry someone might be lurking off camera. Perhaps people are subconsciously picking up on that framing and then attributing their fear to the wood paneling?? To be clear I don’t think this filming setup is scary at all and would never have thought of making this comparison without your comment but it’s all I got! I just associate wood paneling with kind of musty finished basements and carpet that should have been replaced 20 years ago… (Also the actual video part of your video was very educational for me, I am too out of the loop to hear about new styles)

The wood panneling reminds me of my grandma's house in the dining room where no one ever eats lol

😂 wood paneling fear that’s a new one. Been seeing this in bjds fashions for a minute and on kuromi had no idea it had a name 😂 i love it tho. As someone who barley ever follows lolita rules anymore I doubt I’ll be participating in the community at all but hey, something else to buy throw into my wardrobe. It fits with my pastel goth bitter sweet stuff. It’s very cute thanks for the info!

I wonder if this sort of "edgy ryousangata" jirai-kei has a name. Recently I've seen content labelled as jirai that was more in line with Harajuku punk - like oversized sweatshirts and punk hardware (like the sort of stuff they sell at Acro Tokyo for instance?). I wonder what the actual state of the subculture is in Japan.

10 years ago when I was first starting to build my wardrobe I owned a ton of stuff from Yumetenbo (Dear My Love mostly but for a while they had Plumprimo as their brand name for plus size stuff, and I wear size 16-20 in US items. A lot of my stuff was pink and black because I like those colours; unfortunately a lot of it has worn out because Yumetenbo cutsews pill like mad and then the fabric gets thin. Yumetenbo had another brand, Diable Baiser, that was popular with women in hostess clubs/sex work, and from what I'm seeing here, jirai-kei is like Dear My Love and Diable Baiser had a baby. You could wear the Dear My Love shirts with lolita just fine, but Diable Baiser did the open shoulders/boob window things that are just not done in lolita. I was soooo annoyed when Rakuten Global Market went under because Yumetenbo doesn't accept non-Japanese credit cards unless you bought thru Rakuten.

I've heard about Jirai Kei, but didn't know much about it. It's a really cute fashion, but idk if I can pull it off (I have short hair and I don't want to wear wigs).

I do wonder what relatively new means, I've been seeing it for 5+ years on twitter by girls/hosts posting s/h pictures (I didn't willingly search them out tho ahhaha I just followed them for the fashion n suddenly I was confronted with scar pictures)

clicked bc i saw yua from the tomorrow i will be someone’s girlfriend drama😭

Please where to get plus size Jirai? I have a big bust and none fit me :(

I obviously only have a parasocial relationship with you, but this style does seem VERY you. Hope we get more videos on this fashion. :)

i'v been wareing jeria kei that tenshi kaiwai...

I've seen people on social media wear jirai kei kinda outfits and call the style ryosangata. Is that the same style? What is the difference (if there is any at all)?

your hair looks really good like this, I wonder if you would like a curved bang instead of straight across?

As someone who has mental health issues(diagnosed depression and undiagnosed BPD) and who wears Jirai, it’s highly offensive to call it “Girly Kei” as it’s not okay to change the name of the fashion that wasn’t started by westerners. Jirai Kei has helped me with expressing my mental health issues and with coping. It’s a fashion, most of the lifestyle is the lifestyle is separate from the fashion.

This style has to be older. I'm playing an otome game from 2011 called Amnesia Memories and there are several side characters dressed in this style.

im sorry but i dont know if youre the sort of person very equipped to handle this sort of subject, i understand what you mean when youre trying to say that the origins of jirai obviously feed into a stereotype and that most of the time ppl just wear it as normal fashion just like anyone else, but you got to admit, doesnt it feel strange to talk about the origins of it being related to s-x workers (not just any sort of person mental struggles, s-x workers who are most likely not really protected on their wellbeing by the state and ostracized) and then being like "but western people dont rlly have to worry about that! other than knowing about it" like it comes across as doing the bare minimum to be justifying the commodification outta movements mostly related to japanese women experiencing grand amounts of sexism and misogyny . just think about it!!!! i love your content but like, you gotta work on your tact maybe not just referring to other outsider perspectives outta it.

I didn't know that this style had a name!!!! I've been calling it century fantasia since it has a lot of historically inspired blouses. This is EXACTLY how I dress!! I love it so much! I'm so glad you made this video, now I won't have to search for hours for that specific white and black blouse I have in my mind I will say I've dressed similar to this for many years, seeing it get popular makes me very happy. I'm not going to follow someone else's rules tho.

This was a great overview for someone who doesn’t follow J-fashion all that closely!

I wish you wouldn't feel obligated to make "informative videos" on topics you don't necessarily know a lot about. You have a vast audience and there's plenty misinformation flying around social media as it is. It's completely ok to be an outsider/beginner/etc, but you can wear this without necessarily making a video about it, because people will take it as facts.

I wonder whats the difference with ryosangata, i saw its like girls that go and see idols and are fans of them but idk TTT

NANA VIDEO!!?>?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I have no hate on Lovely Lor As actually she is my personal favourite EGL Fashion RU-vidr I should find the accuracy factor of this video is bit questionable , It is no surprise that she is EGL fashion expert for many years for sure But its somewhat bit inaccurate for her to interpreting this fashion in rather Westerncentric point of view lens Fashion style that born outside America-sphere simply cannot be or not sounded wise to be interpreted in rather Americacentric lens , because such fashion style really born in the socio cultural that really totally different from America socio cultural scene

O like my eyes or arab eyes

Coming from a jirai, please don’t call the fashion jirai Kei !! (I’m saying this in a respectful way !!! I love ur vids ,,,) as it’s dark girly kei !!!! Jirai Kei is the unhealthy lifestyle often but not always paid with the fashion !

one place you can feel accepted if you self harm or have addiction issues and people have to erase it

this video felt so westernized to me if i'm being honest. dismissing the actual struggle of young Japanese girls being forced into prostitution because it isn't something that happens in the west was really upsetting to hear and kind of cements why this style is gatekept. it isn't just a fashion stereotype it's an actual issue and it's clear that it wasn't treated as such in this video. i usually really like your content but this felt out of touch and like a privileged perspective of an issue that you haven't experienced, especially when you're only citing western sources and a TV show.

i am really unsure as to where you got a lot of your information from... a lot of the things you talk about are inaccurate or you brush over them completely. citing a single TV show and a few western perspectives on a topic that has heavy cultural implications and impact seems really... obtuse? i'm not trying to be rude, but you very clearly were uncomfortable talking about a lot of the origins or the "unsavory" parts of the lifestyle. if it's a topic you've not had experience with, it's okay to say that and just focus on what you know - but it's not okay to say that because it's not an issue you've faced that it's okay to not worry about it... especially on a topic as important and difficult as being coerced into sex work. it's a bit sad when you spend so much time making sure you're not "asian fishing" with makeup but you didn't speak to anyone japanese about the rest of the topics. you're also missing a lot regarding the reclamation that's happening with the word and where "landmine" even comes from and how it's used besides that it's sexist & derogatory....i just feel you were disrespectful here on topics that are much more deserving of heavier and longer thought. it's okay to just want to talk about the fashion itself - the style, how to wear it, brands, why you like it etc. i love seeing people talk about the clothes they love and help people start their own wardrobe... but again, if you don't know something or aren't well informed... don't make a video about it. just say "i know the basics but i'm not someone who is able to talk on this properly, let me point you to xyz resources instead!"

10:49 the way you still call it a "work" when it's clearly involuntary and you yourself said what she * has* to do it is just really upsetting and disturbing for me.

Not the Devil Inspired sponsorship. 🤢

just saying....gatekeeping is not worse than misconstruing a subculture but that persons comment wasnt even gatekeepy they had a valid point

“skin in the game”? Is he talking about Fortnite? 😭

On the wood paneling: I don't know why but it makes me think of serial k!||ers from the 70s. But it also reminds me of my aunt's basement where me and my brother played computer games during Thanksgiving (Self censoring because my last comment disappeared*shrug*)

Having never heard the phrase or fashion, the *mood* of this style is instantly recognizeable. Love it. It carries similar kind of "stigmas" as wearing goth fashion. Good news about gatekeeping mental illness--- literally everyone has mental health, everyone gets destabilized sometimes. Love and Darkness, 🖤🤍🖤

Welcome to Jirai Kei!! I’ve been wearing Jirai for about 2 years and it’s perfect for daily wear compared to Lolita. (I also came from Lolita)