The Agejo Rabbithole - Koakuma Ageha Throughout the Years - 2008
Welcome to a long and probably will be continuing post of the Agejo rabbithole. Where I force myself to flip through as many copies of Koakuma Ageha and document things I note in the magazines. The trends of Koakuma Ageha have changed over the years, and I'm going to do my best to cover as many issues as possible. I only have so few magazines, so many of my research is thanks to internet archive, galrevo, etc.
I also don't read fluent Japanese, so a lot of my items will be around the looks, clothing, etc, that I see.
I'm going to end up doing this by year, and add months as I find them. I'll end up noting which month I start with first out of the year, as that is going to probably have the most comments, and other months will note any changes I've noticed or seasonal points. Hope that makes sense!
Locating January-July 2008 still...
August 2008 - First Issue Reviewed.
Bear with me, I'm writing this with cold hands so there's spelling errors galore.
It's still the summer season, so I'm not surprised to find a lot more clothing that fits the warmer weather. There's definitely some summery dresses, sometimes a bohemian vibe sprinkled in. Very bright colors and white color wise tops, dresses, rompers, etc. Of course, animal print makes its way in, and I already notice a lip service dress! I've recently been doing a lot more looking into lip service.
Something I notice is that many of these coordinates look very simple, but the pattern usage, small accessories, and hair styling really helps build the look together. I'm always so impressed with how big the hair can get. It makes me want to try and master the sujimori look myself with my natural hair. I also am noticing a lot of open toed heels, and they're not super platform-y.
Also I'm noticing the cohesiveness of patterns. If there's a one piece with a graphic or even a graphic tea, the accessories don't have mismatched patterns tat clash. I think the minimal accessorizing fits really good here.
Comments on some of the specific models and their fashion choices (it seems I'm flipping through a day of the week and each outfit has a specific point. ) Also if I have a name wrong you can correct me!
- Shizuka - Amazing as always, she's the one I noticed with the lip service dress. She's so good at utilizing her hair styles and accessorizing to tie her outfits together. A lot of her "point" pieces are the shoes or accessories, which I think is very cool. I know I personally put outfits together based on my main piece, but this is very inspiriting to try other pieces.
- Sayaka - I feel like she really gives the "still reads as a hostess but she's not working" in her fits ,especially with the one pieces. A lot of her point pieces are jewelry, which is interesting to me as I usually am drawn to her choice of dresses. Also LOVING the blue one piece here. (It's golds infinity.... of I will never find that second hand. LOL)
- Sakurina - Versatile diva. She's pulling together a lot of different colors and vibes. I'm also realizing so far every model's "point" has been a non main piece item... very inspiring.
- Riho - Though her outfits are not fully my favorite (the little black dress code is very cute though!) I really like her darker hair. Riho has the last "over the top pattern" in styling imo, but she'sable to pull it off well, which reminds us all maybe we don't need the crazy patterned items.
- Nemu - Like Sayaka, still gives hostess but is off duty but you know she's a hostess. I really like her in the blue dress and with the chain one piece. I'm also starting to pick up on a trend of instead of thigh highs, sometimes they use heeled boots (... gladiator boots I think? I did not go to fashion school so I am not the best with the terms" to help not make a leg look "too long". It somehow works very well. I also really like that chain one piece... and once again... blue... LOVING blue looks.
- Rina - These looks are so cute and refreshing! Lots of fun colors but not too too crazy i pattern mashing (aside from the piece with the minnie mouse top.) I do love when the older models have a more youthful style, it's so cute. I really love how she styled the plaid shorts, though they're multicolored, sticking with the lighter solid colors in the shirt and shoes help bring it all together. It's so cute!
- Sayo - More bright colors like Rina, but I feel like she's coordinated them in more with my taste. More gladiator heels. I really like the ANAP USA top, and how it's styled very simply. I think this is the trend overall where models take a more busy piece and accessorize simply to not be too-too much here.
- Rin - Insert my extreme excitement for Rin here!!!!!!! Rin!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 I personally feel like Rin is able to pull off many different styles, but as she is younger in this volume (only 20!) she's definitely wearing the cuter younger styles. Including a REALLY cute MA*RS dress that I honestly should get myself now that I've seen her wear it (LOL.....). Her vibes are very girly, like very early stereotypical pinterest agejo, but also has some more bohemian vibes at times, as well as just more simple... cutesy... god she can do EVERYTHING. I'm also noticing the darker eyes which def give a doll-ier vibe, which I know she was well loved for her dolly look.
- Clare(?) / Kurea - Her style is simple, and I feel like this is a very good way to do more casual looks while keeping the.... pinterest agejo style (I've been calling the stereo typical looks this.). Her hair color is also very cute and the cut is also very cute. I also think her longer kyaba dress (aside from the almost open back) is like something I might be able to get away with in the office. Maybe. Risky.
- Keiko - This is like... quintessentially hime gal. This is tuning. Gorgeous. No notes from me really. I do really like Jesus Diamante, and that type of Hime Gal is like... the older sister of the Ma*RS Hime gal if that makes sense. Also speaking of modern day gaijin gals I think pull this off... Marley (pinkhimegal on insta) is like very modern day Jesus Diamante Hime gal. If you want some good modern day references, Marley is so stunning and also SO sweet!!
- Mika - My thoughts are very similar to Sayo's comments above. I do think an open toe shoe with the jeans having the scrunch at the bottom is not my favorite look. It makes the legs look shorter than they usually are.
- Maria - I feel like these looks though similar to other gals, are refreshing to see. I wish I could put the correct words to them, but it really feels like she knows what she is going. I feel like the black/red/white colorway is really cool, and is usually associated with Rokku gyaru, but this still feels like... agejo, if that makes sense. I love the styling with the white and black striped onepiece with the glitter vest.
- Nanako - I think maybe this just isn't my personal style, but she is very cute! I think though she's going for a more casual cute style, it's not really appealing to me. Some of the styling of hair accessories feels like it's a last minute thought and it's not super cohesive, but I fear my bias may be also just... I don't vibe with these looks. It is noticed she is aligned with La Pafait, and I personally have been slowly.. un-vibing? with the brand.
- Ako and Nami - This is similar to the styling of Rina, with the bright and refreshing colors. It feels very summery resort vibes for their outfits. For a moment I thought this was the twins but realized the ages were not very twin ages... so unsure of context right now why they're together.
- Shoulders: are out! Which makes sense. I know I personally am trying to get more comfortable with my shoulders being out, and it seems like a lot of gals in the models are doing it. I think because I usually have covers on my legs I feel like I should be covering up my arms to proportion-ize the look (also it's cold lol). Though, these gals also have their legs out a lot too. It's November here so it's extremely cold, so I'll probably hold off for now, but maybe something to experiment in the summer.
- I also think a LOT of these gals use invisible bras for their looks. where are the bra straps?! How do you all hide those? I've tried the invisible bra before and just couldn't get it to work... but maybe I'll have to try more in the future (or maybe it's just... they're too big even though I don't think they are?? I am a C cup which in American standards NEVER SEEMED THAT BIG?????? But also I am not a model so it's ok if y'all see 'em I guess. LOL.
- Seeing lolita brands in here is ... in a way not surprisingly for Hime, but I'm curious if they still followed lolita guidelines in lolita branded items. Clare/Kurea I can't super tell if she has a petticoat inher picture... but also I can't see the full dress to tell. I think the princessy look really suits her tho!! Esp with the short hair.
- This could be either just... the magazine photos or the trends, but the agejo models definitely seem tanner, which makes me happy as I have been trying to keep up the tan myself. Having a tan makes pastel colors pop in such a nice way. It's so cute!
- I'm also trying to decipher how blonde these gals actually are. This links to my confusion of the Prisila wig photos are LiYe looks more yellow in the magazine and stock photos than it does in real life. I also suffer from blonde blindness where a true blonde to me is a REALLY light blonde. I think if anything, these gals are doing warmer colors of blonde which looks super good. I love a nice golden blonde, even if it's seen as "brassy".
- I notice some gals don't do their top liner on their full like... lid line? Like they don't always take it to the inner corer. This might be fun for my to play with, because it definitely gives a bigger eye effect. there's also some eyelid tape tutorials, which doesn't apply to me, but makes sense. I do also see some gals do the inner corner, it gives them a more elongated eye effect, more sultry.
- The eyeshadow itself is pretty simple, which is good for beginners as you only really need to have a warm shade of a pink/orange/brown and a nice shimmer shade for highlighting.
- Droops are much different in the gal make here compared to what a lot of gaijin gals do. I know galrevo actually posted on reddit with some other mag examples (ane ageha) For Agejo, I think it makes more sense to keep it simple.
- Also not every gal is doing an under eye highlight (aegyosal), and if there is an under eye highlights, the eye fat itself isn't super defined.
- The lashes are there but also not suuuper drastic. Make has always been much more simple but still is there, and its still noticeable. I think for these looks you can also get away without using bottom lashes and using mascara if your droop isn't too big and you have longer bottom lashes. Sayaka also has a lash less look where she has long enough top lashes she can get away with it.
- Blush is so light it almost feels nonexistent. If there is a blush, most of it seems to be a very light pink or peachy/orange that's almost non noticeable in application. I'm wondering if part of this is also photo editing. Lip color is also very light, not concealer lips, but almost like... a tinge of pink or peach.
- There's also a section on nose contouring. These gals are much softer on the nose contour, it's still apparent, but almost like its natural. there's also no apparent nose stripe that other styles would have.
- I have a pretty defined nose, but I always note I need to contour it after applying foundation, as the shadows just aren't as prominent. I think no matter the nose, contouring helps.
- I know a lot of people say these looks aren't gyaru enough... but I feel like they are. They're definitely much different than current day koakuma ageha make, and even looking at the models in these magainzes today (Sakurina, Shizuka, Rin), this makeup really does read much gyaru to me compared to their current day makeup. I think the tan and hair color also ends up tying it all together as... oh this is not just a regular gal.
- Strip Cabaret
- This I've noted a small amount of lists pop up more often. Feels similar to golds infinity pieces at times. But also has pieces that are more in that red/black/white floral print range too but I assume that's in later years
- Pink Princess
- This is not one I recall seeing. Some pieces Rin is wearing seems closer to Jesus Diamante, but then also some stray away from it.
- Maev
- Not a lot of items, Sakurina was wearing them which fits more of her style.
- Fairy Teary - Accesssorys
- Salus - Shoes
- Zugu - Shoes
- Release
- Cute Kyaba dresses, in the 70-100 dollar range. they don't scream like... super exciting to me.
- Verge Verge
- This is. Expensive. I mean. I guess there were some brands that it happens with.
- AJR
- More ex... wait this might be Angel R. This would make sence if this is aonther name for Angel R. If it's not and AJR is a different Kyaba Dress
- Prisila
- Love Prisila Wigs, it's a staple. You can actually get some these pieces still today off of their website! Wahoo! They are pricey. I've noticed the prices today are a biiiiit cheaper. I think Rin is wearing the J-806 which on the magazine retails 9,975 yen, but today it's only 7,920 yen. Interesting.
- Malibu
- Now this intrigued me. I haven't really heard of Malibu wigs before, I've only heard of Prisila. Now I did immediately go to their website and it seems though active, their wigs for hostesses are no longer sold.
September 2008
You know... the Magic Monroe dresses are so cute... but I can never find any... It's a shame.
It starts with cosmetics rankings, and I'm noticing that the current lash choice feels like there are clusters, but not like... super thick manhua or triangle clusters, but it's not the full wispy look.
Also I forget gel liner exists... I always stick to liquid liners myself. I also find it interesting how simple the eyeshadow pallets are. It's really easy for gals to just get one basic palette and make it work. Also lots of MAC mentions, which is funny as I feel like I don't hear about it too much here these days. though, for a lot of makeup, I don't really think the brand matters these days.
As I noted in August, the lipsticks are very nude tones, and if there's any pink aspects, it comes from the choice of gloss.
Then the ranking turns into skincare and also some nutrition aspects. I tend to personally ignore these as health is very specific to people and I'd rather listen to a doctor, or find what works for me on my own LOL. Though I didn't realize a cocktail drip was a thing... what ????? I think for my sanity. I will not look further into it.
In the ranking of things that sold, I was not surprised to see some luxury items pop in ,as I feel like that's just known in the kyabajo space is that there are going to be luxury aspects. I feel like it's more apparent today though. I also found it interesting that one of the dresses that Shizuka wore in the August edition made it on the list! (The lipservice card dress... mayhaps I'll look aorund and see if i can pick one up for a mohegan trip next month lol...) Makes you realize that these models do have influence!
Also I'm noticing a little bit of MA*RS here and there, but I feel like I see Lip Service mentioned a bit more these days lol.
There's a story on dealing with love issues and augh.... it helps remind me that we are all going though it. I also noted Riho's issues with falling in love with customers and how her work is pseudoromance, and issues can come out of it. It's interesting.
Fashion wise, lots more black, and capris are slowly coming. I even saw Rin in some thigh high socks! I know here in the United States, the weather is still quite similar to August, so I wasn't expecing too much change of fashion!
In terms of the Ageha Shop , Mentions of Swallowtail is coming through. If I remember ,they also had some kyabajo dress ads in the 2011 items I've looked at. Very much vibing more with Pink Princess.
Compared to August, not much changes.
October 2008 -
Hair wise? Not many changes. It's as big as ever.
Now... October brings the boots... oh the boots... Knee high and thigh high. Fur stoles and scarves are also coming into place which makes sense. Rin has also changed up her style for a 7 days of outfits! It's still Rin, but she's bringing out more darker colors and adding in boots and tights as it gets colder. But still very much Rin. The right most look also feels more simpler in makeup and less dolly style, but still good.
Overall, the darker colors are coming into play and the brighter summer colors are being retired for now. In Keiko's case, she's bringing out the cute Jesus Diamante coat which is super cute. Nanako's styling is also much cuter and I feel works better for the fall/wintery vibes.
There's a section on the models talking about various facial exercises and body exercises they do to help keep their image. I guess if it works for them I see why they'd share it :)
I think in general, a lot of the monthly changes will be slight between models, especially in their makeup. I feel like it depends on their personal vibe and what type of look is trending. It's also october here, so there's a few Halloween items here and there.
For the Ageha shop; nothing too much.
November 2008 - Coming... eventually
The more I look at Rin the more I'm like "she is just doing whatever she wants with her makeup." I feel like she definitely loves the big dolly look for sure, but like in the image above, it felt more toned down, and now in a make tutorial she's going for a heavier eye make! It's cute! I'm also noting in general it seems the tans are slightly fading, which I mean, it is winter, maybe it's not as much of a priority / people aren't going out in the sun as much.
We've also got a section talking about the luxury goods, prada, chanel, cartier, louis vuitton. I know for me I really don't care of these but it makes sense they're mentioned.
I also really liked the style differences between Momoeri and Riho, as each model has their own vibe and it's just like... man... it's so cute to see how they handle things! The rounds were casual, girly, folk(?)... Feromin?? Feminine??? and in Kyaba Dresses. I think Riho has more of a ... personal vibe (colors, siohoeyyes) she goes for, while Momoeri is a bit more diverse. But, both are very cute!
then, we have Sayaka, Sakurina, and Momoeri(I believe?) sharing different looks from a rock, swwet, and sexy side! Which honestly I feel like is a great way to further drill down agejo, you have sexy agejo, sweet agejo, rock agejo... and ofc you can label them various substyle names.... but it's still... so complex... LOL.
There's also some cute girls talk themed shoot. Tough it's short, I love cute little themed shoots and seeing how the models are styles. I love the cute fluffy pigtails!!
With the fashion, coats and boots are definitely in now since it's colder. I also love the look of a short coat with a minishirt and boots! I'm noticing more MA*RS comin in, but it's the plaids, the houndstooth, none of the various prints. Hats are also in! With hair poofing outwards to still show that big hair.
I really like this coat since I also own coats with similar closures (alba rosa coats), but this fit is much different than mine. I must now run away from this page before I try to buy a bunch of new coats.
The magazine then gets into some stores from the age-mos, and it's always good to read, and then whoa!!! Sayaka's graduation!! It's fun to see how she's developed during her time modeling for the magazine, and even in the small bits and pieces I've seen her modeling for other magazines! I'd say "wish you the best!" but this is years ago and as far as I am aware she still is still doing wellLOL!
Onto lashes! I definitely keel like the lashes are still in the wispier side. I also note a lot of lashes are longer in the middle vs the outer corner. I actually am considering playing around with some lashes like this now... I also have no idea how these gals get decent lower lashes. I was trying to buy some in a mercari haul and it was like... oddly impossible. I also realized I am understanding Japanese juuust a little to understand if a lash is a bottom lash or not when I read diamond lash packaging though! LOL
Also interesting that there's a ranking on lower lash placement. It seems its popular to put the lash distance wise from the inner corner. the top ranking is 5cm away. I think this makes sense with how little of a droop there is in most of these makeup looks.
Hair tutorials are showing a lot of looks that utilize curlers and I'm really considering working more with Sujimori. I know in later issues you start seeing a lot more prisila wigs, but I do note that it's been commented that the western gals of today like a full helmet head of prisilas. I know I'm personally considering dying my hair as close to LiYe as possible as I want to try and utilize the true potential of the half wig!
For the Ageha Shop - I've noticed Allure coming in, except this time the R is in the right position. In later productions I noticed the brand name changed. I've always been trying to see if ANYTHING of that brand will ever show up. Clumzy is also a new brand I'm noticing. Lots more Maev and Strip Cabaret, and VergeVerge is gone (I mean... it was much more expensive compared to the other items listed here). I haven't noted pricing before, but if back in the day 100 yen = 1 usd, most of these main pieces were in the 50-70 USD range. Tje Kyaba dresses are the higher ones, with some being tup to 150 USD, but then also some in the 50-60 USD range too. Still pretty sure AJR = AngelR. If you wanted boots, Salus and carrys were the way to go.
Also in my flipping of the ads, it's interesting to see brands that are just not talked about... non existent... maybe the brands didn't last that long or the dresses disintegrated.
To finish this off, after reading August - November I kept looking at Shizuka specifically and being like "It feels like she's doing a younger version of course but something is really making her look different." I ended pulled up more recent photos and thought she looked more similar to her 2010s look in 2025 than in 2008. I realized it is the brows. A lot of the models are doing more arched brows, very angular. Later issues and more popular today, the agejos start flattening their brows which gives a different effect. It makes me realize once again how important brows are.
December 2008 -
Great, lost all my work trying to upload a picture of Rin! LMAO... I wrote "she can do no wrong" and she broke my blog. Let me rewrite what I was thinking:
1) Cover is very cutesy hime vibes
2) Lots of body talk for the first like. 20 pages
3) I realized at this point Sayaka did not graduate as a model but a kyabajo. Also her roomwear outfit made me feel a bit more gal in my random t-shirt and sweats LOL
4) I'm figuring out there's 3 substyles of Agejo/Ageha Kei, "Sexy Agejo", "Cute Agejo", and "Rock Agejo". BEFORE YOU TELL ME HIME AND ROKKU EXIST... I think yes they do but its not fully the same. This is why labels are hard.
Sayaka, Riho, and Shizuka give off the sexy vibes in their 7 day outfit series, Sakurina gives a rock vibe (as she is typically a rokku reference).
Rin's looks are very cute this time around. I now attempt to put the images in for you all to see without breaking the blog:
- e-studio (the first e-studio listed at least, the red one) had a straight hairs bob with a little big of volume for number 2, which was kind of shocking, but the more I thought about it, I guess if you have short hair, you only can do so much.
- there is definitely a love for the side part, and that gives it a lot of volume, though the rest of the hair may differ, they love that poof.
- I will say, the middle part looks are my favorite, how do they get the hair to look so effortless when you know there is a lot of effort. Wow.
- It seems like having straight across bands is not as common, most bangs are either long or swept to the side, which I know I rely on my bangs a LOT lol. Mayhaps I must look into this more.
- Airu is really pretty, she definitely gives me "sexy agejo" vibes.
- Makoto is very cute, I feel like she almost gives more kurogyaru in her look, which excites me for her looks in the future!
- Erika is really pretty... no false eyelashes... very interested to see how her makeup looks evolve! She is also on the older end which makes me happy :) This loos feels like it's going for a cuter look, but she still reads more sexy agejo to me.
- Ramu(sp?) Is a good model for the hime gals, quintessential himegal for sure.
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