Galo Sengen

About

Galo Sengen (“Galish Man GAL” in English / GAL男宣言 in Japanese) is a 2011 rap music video by the Japanese hip-hop group Policeman.^[9] The animated music video became well-known for its humorous depiction of a Japanese youth culture known as “Gyaruo,” which is characterized by the dark tanned skin, dyed blond hair and appreciation for dance music. In the video, a group of men are satirically portrayed as Super Saiyans, a type of superfighters from the Japanese manga franchise Dragon Ball, who transcend into the state of “galish” or “gyaru,” a slang term derived from the Japanese pronunciation of English word “girl.”

Origin

The video was uploaded by YouTuber POLICEMAN110Tube on January 9th, 2011. In 13 months the video accumulated over 900,000 views with over 8,000 likes and 350 dislikes.

Gyaruo Culture

The video depicts Japanese men referred to as “gyaruo”^[1], a sub-group of Japanese male youth culture known for their dark tanned skin, dyed blond hair and appreciation for dance music. The “Gyaruo” fashion style is rooted in its female counterpart “Gyaru” and precursor “Ganguro,” an alternative women’s fashion trend marked by blonde or orange hair and tanned skin. According to a Japan Times^[10] article from October 2011, the gyaru trend has been in steady decline in Japan after hitting its peak in 2007 but has become increasingly popular overseas in China.

Spread

On January 15th, 2012, a thread on 4chan’s /v/^[5] (video games) board pointed out that Galo Sengen had been confirmed as a banner on the /a/ (anime and manga) board.

The video was posted on FunnyJunk^[7] on June 17th and received over 3,000 views in less than 8 months. On August 4th, the video was submitted to the /r/videos subreddit^[6] by user heroinahood, but received little exposure receiving only 3 up votes prior to being archived. The meme has since spread to Tumblr^[4], deviantArt^[3] and a Facebook^[8] page for Galo Sengen has 526 likes as of February 7th, 2012.

Gal Go Sengen the Game

Officially started on January 9th, 2011. A group of anonymous users from 4chan’s /v/ board gathered together in a Steam group to create GALO SENGEN-The Game. ^[10] The format of the game is planned to be a side-scrolling beat ‘em up game that parodies the Galo Sengen song. On January 11th, 2011 the group posted a thread on 4chan’s /v/ board with a menu demo of the game. ^[11]

Row Row Galo the Powah

On June 3rd, a version of the Galo Sengen video was uploaded by YouTuber SayYesToGiygas that featured kamina glasses edited on to the characters and the song Row Row Fight the Powah mashed up with the original Galo Sengen track.

Notable Examples

Search Interest

Search queries for “galo sengen” have be steadily increasing since May of 2011.

External References