What kind of guy makes high school girls swoon?

The Harajuku Kawaii Lab researches trends among teenage girls. Dentsu Inc. Business Creation Center's Ayaka Asami hosted a roundtable discussion with singer-songwriter erica, popular among junior and senior high school girls, and nao, former member of I WiSH and music producer, alongside three modern high school girls.

In Part 2, we delve into the real dating lives of modern high school girls alongside erica, who is supported by junior and senior high school girls as the "confession song charismatic girl."

❤ Are Boys Getting More Feminine!?

Asami: Have any of you ever confessed your feelings?

High School Girls A & B: Yes!

High School Girl C: I haven't.

High School Girl B: In middle school, I sat next to this guy. He'd had a crush on someone else for ages, but while I was giving him relationship advice, I ended up falling for him myself. I liked him for about a year. After our 9th grade school trip... I confessed, but it was kind of a teasing way of saying it.

Asami: You teased him to make him say it?

High School Girl B: That guy had tried to get with the girl he liked many times, and he got rejected again during the 9th grade school trip. By chance, when I was walking home alone with him, I asked, "Did she reject you?" and he cried, "Yeah..." So I said, "Hey, can I ask you something? Does it have to be her?"

erica: "Is it really him you want?" I'm stealing that for the lyrics of a song I'm writing!

High School Girl B: Yes (laughs). "Does it have to be that guy?" "Hmm, it has to be that guy." "Why? Seriously, it has to be him? Not me?" "Huh? What do you mean?"

erica: Did you look him in the eye?

High School Girl B: While riding double on a bike, (puts her arm around his waist) like this. Rumors were going around that I might like that guy, so I asked, "Haven't you heard those rumors?" "Huh, is that true?" "What would you do if it were true?"—all in question form.

Finally, she asked, "Wait, is this a confession?" At that moment, I should've said, "I still like you," but I answered, "I used to like you." Then she asked, "What about now?" And that's when we got home. It ended with "What about now?"

erica: What happened after that?

High School Girl B: Nothing happened. We just stayed friends like normal. We never actually dated.

erica: Maybe you were friends for too long?

High School Girl B: That could be it. We became the kind of friends who could talk about anything.

erica: But something's bound to happen around the coming-of-age ceremony, right?

High School Girl B: I was determined to turn things around before the coming-of-age ceremony (laughs).

erica: I totally get the situation. It's bittersweet.

 

Asami: How did A-chan confess?

High School Girl A: I got dumped by someone I dated in middle school, and when I started high school, I confessed to them again. But they said, "I'm sorry, I still can't..." I just can't forget that person.

Asami: Why did you break up in junior high?

High School Girl A: When we were dating, I got jealous. I didn't tell him directly, but he seemed to notice my jealousy. He broke up with me saying, "I don't want to make you suffer anymore, so I'm sorry."

erica: It's not "because I don't want to make you suffer," it's "I won't make you suffer anymore," right?! That guy has zero intention of changing. Did you get pretty jealous a lot?

High School Girl A: I did get jealous sometimes, but I never told him.

erica: How did you figure that out?

High School Girl A: It was because of my female friend. She seemed to like him, and she was lying and exaggerating stories to try to break us up... Guys are so simple-minded, they believe it right away.

erica: Didn't you blame that girl? Like, "She put some weird ideas in his head"?

High School Girl A: I didn't. I'm not the type to say that. Plus, when he broke up with me, he didn't say anything either. Just "Sorry."

nao: That's a misunderstanding.

erica: You did the right thing by not saying anything. Even when you're dating, misunderstandings happen.

Asami: That's true. Misunderstandings, missed connections... That's exactly why you have to be clear, right?

High School Girl C: These days, guys don't really speak up clearly either, do they?

High School Girl B:That's no good. Nowadays, "feminization" is on the rise.

Asami: You think they're getting more effeminate?

High School Girl B: Seriously, it's no good. They don't speak up, they just mumble. If you have an idea, just say it yourself! Why not? Just say it without overthinking! Why do they overthink like that? When we go out together, it's like, "What should we do? What should we do? You decide!" Like, "Aren't guys supposed to decide that normally? " What is wrong with this world!? That's how far this feminization has progressed . I think it's because there aren't any wild, leading types around anymore.

nao: Shouldn't you play erica's confession song for the guy?

High School Girl C: Yeah, they should definitely listen to it.

erica: In the album "Confession Songs ~Songs for You~," only the song "Still in Love" (*) was based on a man's problem. He said, "I can't forget my ex-girlfriend." But from a woman's perspective, even if he apologizes for the past and wants to get back together, isn't it terrifying to think it might just happen again? That's why I made it to convey the message: "Show it through actions, not just words."

※"Still in Love": Released as a digital single in July 2013. Reached #4 on Recochoku Daily and #10 on Weekly charts.
　

❤ Twin Outfits and C ute Boys. A High School Girl's View of Today's Boys' Daily Lives

erica: Guys do cross-dressing too, and haven't you noticed how seriously guys take Halloween lately? I feel like guys are starting to develop an aesthetic sense. Like working out, using toner, and stuff.

Asami:Twin outfits (※) are catching on with guys too, right? You see groups of guys walking around theme parks in matching twin outfits.

High School Girl C: Totally!

※Twin-coordinated outfits: Close friends wearing matching clothes and accessories head-to-toe, creating a look like twins. While "couple outfits" are often used for couples or spouses, "twin-coordinated outfits" are mainly used for female friends. The motivation is often how photogenic it looks on SNS, and it's widely enjoyed by male friends, siblings, and even real twins.

High School Girl B: Also, they take selfies withthe "inner cam" (※).

※Front camera (uchi-kame): The inner camera on smartphones or mobile phones. The outer camera is called the "rear camera" (soto-kame).

　

erica: Selfies, right? The other day, I saw a college-aged guy doing a TwitCasting live stream alone on the station platform. He kept filming the whole time, whether he was getting on or off the train . People were commenting on the stream, saying things like "cute" or "pretty." Girls were commenting on the stream about the guy.

Asami: Yeah, he was getting comments like "cute," right?

※TwitCasting / Cast: Short for TwitCasting. Huge among teens. A service that links with SNS accounts like Twitter or Facebook, allowing users to easily live-stream their own videos to an unspecified audience or watch others' videos via smartphone or computer. Viewers can post comments on the live stream they're watching, and streamers can read viewers' comments while broadcasting. They can respond verbally to written comments on the spot (within the video stream), enabling real-time, two-way communication.

　

erica: The other day, a young staff member showed me her LINE chat with a guy, but he keeps sending messages that make zero sense. They're completely meaningless...

High School Girl C: Like where they went to eat or who they met up with.

erica: Exactly. Like, "Oh crap, gotta do something," and they'll just throw in something visual.

Asami: Isn't that a common pattern in girls' LINE chats?

nao: Maybe that guy just wants attention?

High School Girl A:There are more and more " kamacho " guys these days .

※Kamacho: Abbreviation for "kamatte chōdai" (Please pay attention to me).

High School Girl C: Some guys read shoujo manga too.

High School Girl B: Like 'non-no' and stuff. Because they like Tsubasa Honda or whatever.

Asami: Do boys exchange beauty tips with each other?

High School Girl B: They're not that into beauty (laughs). At school, they're always playing games.

High School Girl A: They don't go home right after school. They wait until the game's over.

erica: You know those games where you set a time with your team?

High School Girl B: My little brother says, "I gotta go now," so I ask, "Where are you going?" and he says, "Gaming."

High School Girl A: That kind of "going," huh.

erica: Like meeting up in the game (*). When I went back home, my guy friends were meeting up in a game. They'd say, "It's not just my problem."

※Meeting up in the game: This refers to online meetups. Players can arrange to meet at a specific time and place using the game's online communication system, even if they're not physically together in real life or with someone other than the player. They can then play together.

High School Girl B: Like, "I have to be there."

erica: "Because the item I have is super strong, I have to go for everyone's sake."

nao: Not sure if that's cool or not (laugh).

❤When industries change, LOVE changes!? Getting fluttery over feminized men

Asami: What kind of guys make you girls swoon?

High School Girl B: I tend to notice older guys, not people my age. Like, this assistant director I met at a shoot recently—he was super cool. He was carrying stuff around, so at first I thought he was just staff. Then rehearsal started, and suddenly he grabbed the clapperboard and said, "Action!" I was like, "Wait, he's not staff?" And it totally threw me off—it was so different from my image of directors. That gap totally got me.

High School Girl C: The guy I fell for is about five years older. It's cool how he knows things I don't just because he's older.

erica: You fall for someone because of their personality or talent, right?

High School Girl A: I absolutely adore this 22-year-old shop staff member. Not just as a fan, but in a "I want to date him" kind of way.

Asami: What do you like about him?

High School Girl A:He's kind of... feminine?

High School Girl B: The type of guy this girl likes is the same. She likes guys who are a bit feminine. That staff member is a bit socially awkward.

※Communication-challenged: Short for communication disorder, but as an abbreviation it's used to mean someone or a situation where communication is difficult, moving away from the original academic definition.

High School Girl A: He's the type who doesn't want to leave the house... a shut-in. A total shut-in.

erica: What do you do when you're shut in?

High School Girl A: Apparently, he watches manga and videos.

High School Girl B: Their way of speaking has this kinda feminine vibe, too.

nao: So it's kind of soft-spoken?

High School Girl A:It's not like a "manly!" vibe, but I kinda like it.

Asami: What made you like them?

High School Girl A: When I went shopping at the store, he came over to talk to me while I was looking at clothes, and it was love at first sight. I asked his name, found him on Twitter, but didn't follow him. I didn't want him to see me as just a fan, and I wanted him to follow me back...

Later, there was an event at the shop where you could take purikura with the staff. When we took purikura together, he asked me to send him the image. I didn't want to send it as a reply, so I asked, "Is DM okay?" That's how we started following each other. Since then, we've kept exchanging DMs.

※Reply: Short for "Reply." On Twitter, it refers to sending a personal message visible to others by including "@[the other person's account name]" in your tweet. While the word "Reply" itself means "to respond," it doesn't necessarily mean replying to someone's tweet.
　

※DM: Short for Direct Message. You can send a DM to someone you mutually follow.

　

Everyone: That's cool!

erica: Don't you have any purikura?

High School Girl A: We do.

erica: Isn't that cool? Super cute too.

nao: Cute.

High School Girl A:I like cute-looking faces.

erica: So now, is it slender hands that make your heart flutter?

Asami: I think it's like, "When industries change, so does LOVE."In the era when industrial production was mainstream, people swooned over rugged male hands. Then, when office workers became mainstream, people started swooning over gestures like loosening a tie.

As times progress, maybe girls' heart-fluttering points are changing again. Like those boyish models high school girls say they like lately—I think it's shifting toward a more androgynous feel.

High School Girl B: Since guys have become more feminine, I guess girls have no choice but to keep changing too. Maybe more girls feel like they want to do something for that femininity.