Ranka Lee's Kira Pose

About

Kira! (キラッ☆) is a trademark hand gesture used by Ranka Lee, a fictional pop idol from the popular TV anime series Macross Frontier^[1]. In one of her songs called “Interstellar Flight”, Ranka juts the \m/ sign (“I love you” in sign language) next to her face and yells “Kira!” which means “glittery” or “shiny”. Both the Kira pose and the dance in its entirety have been reiterated through MADs and dance videos on the web.

Origin

In Episode 12 of the series, Ranka Lee swoops into a live battlefield in a mecha equipped with PA speakers and sings her debut song “Interstellar Flight” while in the mid-air. Watching her from below, everyone suddenly stops fighting because there’s a live concert. Ranka does her Kira pose twice during the performance, overshadowing all the serious biz happening on the battlefield with her super-cuteness. It’s a highly unrealistic situation, but who cares, it is cute.

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Nakajima Megumi singing “Interstellar Flight” on Japanese TV

“Interstellar Flight” (星間飛行 / Seikan Hikou) is originally sung by Nakajima Megumi, who also does the voice of Ranka Lee character. As the TV series ran through the summer of 2008, Macross fans began uploading lipdub versions on Nico Nico Douga^[2] and subsequently on YouTube. Almost always performed in anime/schoolgirl costumes, Ranka’s Kira pose quickly gained momentum among cosplay fans and schoolgirls.

MAD & Participatory Videos

Other users on Nico Nico Douga and YouTube created MAD-type music videos set to the song, featuring popular icons from other manga/anime and internets. Drawing & posting fan illustrations of the Kira pose also became a popular fad on Pixiv^[3], a Japanese online community for artists.

History & Evolution of “Peace Sign”

On a related note, here’s an introduction to the history and evolution of “peace signs” in Asian cultures:

External references

^[1] Wikipedia -- Macross Frontier

^[2] Nico Nico Douga -- キ ラ ッ ☆

^[3]Pixiv