/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>42801635
Yes. As the name implies, they went heavy on the visual aspect of their presentations.

>>42801651
Were there common tropes or was it just a wild expression of whatever the band came up with?

isnt vkei still "alive", just not as big as it was in the 90s and 2000s? i'm sure you can still find new bands still doing it.

>>42801665
I remember reading somewhere that some of the older vkei bands say that the newer ones only focus on the visual aspect (odd outfits and whatnot) instead of the musical one, which brings up the question of what type of sound this "original" vkei (questionnable whether or not they are biased from age) had a sound to itself

>>42801694
i don't believe there was a sound for "visual kei". bands like x japan and larc en ciel had drastically different sounds despite being at the peak around the same time. Maybe they are talking about how the bands initially were in it for the music and had a lot of different kinds of styles instead of just jumping onto a trend. This happens everywhere in any kind of genre of music. A perfect comparison would be the big boom of hardcore / screamo bands in the late 2000s in America, lots of people just started a band and did the look to get popular.

>>42801718
I never really put one and one together but reading this makes me think that maybe hardcore and emo bands could be somewhat analog to vkei.
Would you be able to describe the styles (musical and visual) these bands had? I only really know L'arc en Ciel and Malice Mizer at a very superficial level, but any bands you know will work

>>42801663
More often than not they leaned into edgier aesthetics, almost like a parody of goth sometimes. Some bands went for the classic goth kind of look while others went for more bdsm inspired outfits. Of course those aren't the only two options but those are just the ones you see most often.

Crossdressing is also big in it. Pictured here is Mana who was arguably the best to do it at the time.

>>42801694
>which brings up the question of what type of sound this "original" vkei (questionnable whether or not they are biased from age) had a sound to itself

I don't think there was one. While they tended to lean towards rock and its various subgenres, they varied quite a bit in that regard too. At the end of the day it's basically just rock with visual pizazz.

>>42801748
Whoops forgot my picture.

>>42801769
Guy sure was pretty for his time honestly, but I guess that goes for most of the androgynous idol-type faces in popular japanese music
I remember a video of him in an interview about to burst out laughing over something a band member said

>>42801635
For the longest time, bands tried to emulate the visual appeal of X Japan, Luna Sea and the other bands of that time. But the problem was that those originators were focused on music and utilized visuals to complement their artistic vision. The emulators however quickly devolved into cheap garage bands whose sole gimmick was the visuals, which became increasingly extreme to a point where they looked barely human anymore.

Honestly 90% of VK acts are abysmal trash and more akin to stage theater. Some were okay and rarely you found a true gem like Kagrra, who made some beautiful music.

VK was a trend of its time and rather cringe in retrispective.

>>42801735
X Japan did all sorts of music from, glam rock, heavy metal, speed metal, to emotional piano ballads. The majority of their music was "heavy" but they would also come out with full orchestras during some of their songs too due to Yoshiki's influence in classical music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6lKT8REALw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixErlbhu4Tc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6FQ11TfXXQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rwJIeN1M7o

I guess you could draw some comparisons with some of these bands during the 90s but there was never a set sound for what a vkei band should sound like. It just typically dealt with darker and more serious emotional topics.

>>42801787
>The emulators however quickly devolved into cheap garage bands whose sole gimmick was the visuals
Seems like the common denominator in most retellings of how vkei played out.
>rarely you fund a true gem like Kagrra
It'd be silly to ask if you have a favorite song if you give it such high praise, would you send the ones you find the best in your opinion?

>>42801794
>X Japan did all sorts of music(...)
Seems like a band with complete artistic intent in mind, most of the songs you sent sound entirely different and more elaborate than the anisong-type music I hear on what tend to be popular japanese bands
>It just typically dealt with darker and more serious emotional topics
Sure would be nice if i could understand the lyrics without reading a translation huh? But I think I can see that in the few songs I already knew
I don't think I've ever heard a romance song as lovely as Au Revoir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yt9_cH3mxE

>>42801794
I finished listening Sadistic Desire in full. I cannot believe someone could make a song this fascinating, these guys really were something else

Hyde from Larc en Ciel still does music in a new band called Vamps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhedFZP1gco

They don't really sound like anything that would come out of Japan at this point.

>>42801920
For me it was solo Hyde.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WkyB_EaOk0

>>42801920
Wearing the metalcore influences right on their sleeves at this point, feels like i'm listening to nanoir in 2012

>>42801942
Pure violence on those guitars, very nice

What about X Japan and their 30 minute masterpiece?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPKw_V_4pJI

>>42802024
Will definitely give it the proper listen it deserves, a real shame I wouldn't be able to hear this live even if I liked it

I think I came out of this thread interested in vkei far more than I would've thought originally
Thanks to all of you for your input on this topic, especially the anon that brought up X Japan in the first place and explained most things to me.
OP is leaving now, have a good night everynyan

>>42801635
It's the glam metal of Japan, simple as that

>>42801635
It was very easy to weeb spics to pirate things back then and it become viral
Good old times
I like the drums in this song
https://youtu.be/FK3BJXIJerI?t=88

I remember listening to D'espairsRay way back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdwQ0CleNMg

>>42803372
Hell yeah I fucking loved those guys. I was sad to hear when the singer retired due to some throat problem but he is back in a new band now apparently.

>>42801808
>would you send the ones you find the best in your opinion?
Their whole discography is nice. They did very unique mixes of rock with traditional Japanese sounds mixed in. Although they changed their sound a lot over the years, going from punk-ish to very classical sounding with use of heavy guitar riffs etc. Difficult to pick favorites because they also did very atmospheric albums which benefit from listening through headphones in order to not miss the nuances. It sounds like a huge task, but I'd honestly go through their albums in order of release.

Some of their more succesful singles could give indicators

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jasgbX9iwAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ihzxGUWWe0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6eo_8_SF50

>>42803673
>>42803301
i'm sure these bands spawned an entire generation of fujoshi.

old larc en ciel was so comfy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcwkURiSJbk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7LM_lZ91nk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaV8KtB2QTM

>>42801694
wrong, some of the visual kei groups I've seen in the last couple of years are insanely good musically

>>42804327
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b4lH5If-s0

why are these guys even visual kei? there's a huge hardcore scene in japan, i feel that the visual kei does nothing for the band.

>>42804327
You cannot state such a thing and not provide us with examples. Which bands would you say are insanely good musically?

>>42803372
Coll:set is a VK staple
>>42801635
Aside from VK, there was a small movement of bands labeled as Nagoya Kei.
https://youtu.be/YXA7REzrXBo

https://youtu.be/u5utmsvsPU4

https://youtu.be/9-8EJg4Ft5w

https://youtu.be/Krwf2dIQaco

>>42807039
>deadman

I was actually pleasantly surprised to see they got back together not too long ago and are making stuff again.

>>42810522
Really? After all this time? I still have the original CDs I imported back then. Had their whole discography.

If you think it's dead, you're not looking. 2026 will be the biggest year for visual kei in the 21st century, mark my words.

>>42810934
Apparently it's just the singer and the guitarist now but yeah.

>>42810934
https://twitter.com/deadman_fuz

>>42804373
Gotta get them fujobucks. How do you think Nocturnal Bloodlust got popular?
>start out as a normal looking deathcore band
>not popular
>go VK
>instantly shoots up in popularity
>loses 2 of their most dressed up members
>goes back to normal looking band

>>42811086
different fanbases for sure, girls love vk

>>42820560
Why don't they play good B-sides like Love Me and Another live anymore?