Saturday, March 30, 2019

gesugao

In Japanese, gesugao ゲス顔 means "scum face." In anime, it normally refers to the twisted, grinning expressions characters that are scum, vulgar lowlifes, make when they're enjoying a situation. Savoring the fact they won, often mocking the loser. Or are scheming some evil plan. Or even just throwing slurs at someone they hate.

Generally, gesugao is depicted with the following features:

  • Looking down at the "loser."
  • Grinning, laughing, or putting their tongue out mockingly.
  • One eye slight closed.
  • Pupils drawn smaller than usual.
  • Shadow drawn around the forehead.
Examples of gesugao ゲス顔.
Anime: Kakegurui 賭ケグルイ (Episode 1)

Examples of gesugao

A lot of western fans mistakenly associate gesugao with girls that are either yandere or "sadist," do-S, evil villains with God complexes that think other people are insects compared to them, and scheming bullies or cheaters getting high on the thought of crushing their victims.

Quinella クィネラ, gesugao ゲス顔.
Anime: Sword Art Online: Alicization (Episode 23)
  • You can tell by the fact that you can see Quinella's molars at the ceiling of her mouth that she is, indubitably, looking down at you.

Male Gesugao

However, the term actually applies to either gender, and you're more likely to see an evil dude with a gesugao than a evil girl with gesugao.

Ryuuzaki Tsutomu 竜崎勤, gesugao ゲス顔.
Anime: Tenjou Tenge 天上天下 (Episode 3)
  • Textbook definition of scum. Face and everything.

It just happens nobody cares about the dudes, as usual: people only pay attention when girls do it. So much that it's become practically a kind of fetish and consequently a type of fanservice by now.

They don't need to be laughing like a maniac either. Some gesugao are just grinning like an evil potato-chip-eating bastard.

計画通り
Manga: Death Note (Chapter 53, 悲鳴)

Not Evil Gesugao

Furthermore, sometimes a character does a gesugao and they aren't evil or anything. It can happen as a joke, in comedy anime, when the character gains some petty advantage over someone else, like winning a bet, or discovering some blackmail material, and then they pretentiously grin in gesugao as if they're now the king of the world.

Megumin めぐみん, gesugao ゲス顔.
Anime: Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! この素晴らしい世界に祝福を! (Episode 11, OVA)
  • Here we have Megumin, acting smug for winning a match of rock-paper-scissors.

There are also those characters that aren't villain evil, but are definitely demons.

Raphiel ラフィエル, gesugao ゲス顔.
Anime: Gabriel DropOut, ガヴリールドロップアウト (Episode 1)
  • Raphiel rejoices in humiliating others.

Note: in the often posted meme template know your gaos, gesugao is inaccurately labelled "warped evilness."

Not Smiling Gesugao

Since gesugao just means literally "scum face," and not "grinning face" or anything like that, the point of the term isn't that the character is grinning, but that their face lets it show that they're scum. Even though most of the time gesugao shows up in pleasure, sometimes gesugao shows up in displeasure, specially when the character is annoyed, disgusted. or angry with someone.

In Japanese

Linguistically, gesugao ゲス顔 is the word gesu ゲス which means "scum," as in a low-life, with no dignity, waste of oxygen, human-shaped trash, etc. and the word kao 顔 which means "face," the body part, and thus can also mean "expression."(dic.pixiv.net:ゲス顔)

For why kao turns to gao as suffix, see rendaku 連濁.

  • gesu yarou
    ゲス野郎
    [You] scum!
    [Someone who's] scum.

Another word that follows the same pattern is ahegao アヘ顔, "panting face."

真ゲス

In the anime Yu-gi-oh Zexal 遊☆戯☆王ZEXAL, the character Shingetsu Rei 真月零 displayed a rather extreme gesugao:

The iconic gesugao ゲス顔 of Shingetsu Rei 真月零, known as shingesu 真ゲス.
Anime: Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Zexal 遊☆戯☆王ZEXAL (Episode 96)

This gesugao was so extreme and iconic that it was given its own name: shingesu 真ゲス, "true scum."

References

Faces & Expressions

No comments:

Post a Comment

Leave your komento コメント in this posuto ポスト of this burogu ブログ with your questions about Japanese, doubts or whatever!

All comments are moderated and won't show up until approved. Spam, links to illegal websites, and inappropriate content won't be published.