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Hi! I've visited this site once and a while and now that I see myself on it more I made an account. Some of my favorite VK bands are Kannivalism, xtripx, 9goats black out, Deathgaze, and Baroque. I've been also getting into more non-visual Japanese bands like Lamp in Terren, People in the box, and Super Beaver. I've never actually read any of the introductions here so this is probably posted all wrong but I'm looking forward to sharing my opinion on stuff here!

So... their new maxi-single ""雨ニ、スピーカー" (Ame ni, Speaker)" will be released at 2017/05/31 (2 types) Limited edition (2160Y) will include CD (2 songs) and DVD including "蒼イ林檎" (Aoi Ringo) PV, multi-angle PV and PV documentary Regular edition (1620Y) will include CD (3 songs) ony [tracklist] 1. 蒼イ林檎 2.SA・KU・RA・N 3. 美しき裏切り者 [regular edition only] their new petit album Vol.2 "人間失格" (Ningen Shikkaku) will be released at 2017/05/31 too (2800Y) [tracklist] 1. 紫餡ノ百合籠 2. < 骰 / 骰 > 3. たんぽぽ畑 4. 秋入梅 5. 後悔謝罪嗚呼融解 6. 排他的被虐人形

I just remember this existed and I wish I didn't:

it was announced at BugLug oneman live "5+君=∞" at 2017/05/07 at Nippon Budoukan, that their new maxi-single (title not yet finalized) will be released at 2017/08/09 their live DVD including scenes of that oneman live at Nippon Budoukan will be released at 2017/09/06 they will hold their oneman live tour "RESTART WITH A NEW LIFE" since 2017/09/03 at Kawasaki CLUB CITTA’ to 2018/02/17 at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST they will hold their free oneman live "自由～ASOVIVA～区域 Revenge" at 2017/08/09 at Yoyogikouen Yagai Stage

TOP 10 ANIME BATTLES..........

Overrated : - Tsuzuku (Mejibray) - Karma (ex Avelcain) - Yuuki (ex Lycaon, Initial'L) - Kamijo Underrated : - Asagi (D) - Kaya - Ryo (9GOATS BLACK OUT) - nigu (ex-cocklobin) - Sou (emmurée)

I recommend not taking the train to Sapporo unless you’re already going to be near there. I’ve made the trip from Tokyo to Sapporo by Shinkansen with a JR pass and it was around 9 hours one way. The Shinkansen train on the northern route isn’t as fast as the Tokyo~Osaka segment, and IIRC somewhere north of Sendai you have to transfer to a regular slow train for the rest of the way. If you’ll be commuting between Kyoto and Tokyo it’s worth getting a JR pass for that. But for Sapporo, it’s best to fly if you can manage it. I’d only take the train to Sapporo if that segment of the trip is falling during a time when you would have a JR pass anyway for other reasons. If you would have to buy a longer JR pass in order to fit in Sapporo, it might better to get a short one and do Sapporo separately as a plane trip on a discount airline. It's better to buy in advance. Lower prices, better ticket numbers. For my favorite band I asked my friends who are also hardcore fans to help me get tickets to see them, but for the other bands I want to see (that my friends don't like) I asked a shopping service. One of the lives I want to see is almost certain to sell out before I arrive. I used White Rabbit Express. They entered the preorder lottery on e-plus for me, shipped the tickets, and I received them safely already. p.s. My trip is in late July, so I will miss you.

I feel like Mako from deadman is pretty underrated. Also, I know he gets (or used to get a lot of shit), but my heart has a soft spot for Sakito from Dué le quartz. Back in the day I felt like Asagi from D was super overrated. I can't stand his voice.

tfw the rarez come in the mail and they're delectable shout out to @hyura

That's a lot! I'm sure you'll have a blast! If a band will allow you to buy or reserve tickets in advance from overseas, I'd do that since day of tickets usually cost more (and you run the risk of them selling out). Or if you know someone in Japan they could purchase them for you. If not, you can just purchase them all at once at a Loppi machine when you touch down. As far as experiencing the night life, if you'll be by yourself, I recommend going to a "snack", which is a bar usually run by an older lady. There will probably be more older gentleman clientele than anything else, but many of them would be more than happy to sing karaoke with you there, buy you some drinks, and maybe take you to a few other local drinking spots in return for your company and some English practice. It might sound sketchy but it's not, and it'll make for some fun memories. Plus the snack will have reasonably priced drinks and different dishes of home cooked Japanese food to compliment them. Edit: I'm not sure what kind of presents are "best". Bangya give anything from alcohol (cheap to expensive), jewelry, fan art/letters, cologne, bags, or whatever else they think the band might like (or talk about wanting on their social media). If there's any kind of food or snacks your home country is famous for (especially if they pair well with alcohol), I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I personally wouldn't bother buying anything too expensive and save your money for fun times when you get here. ^^

Underrated : - Shougo (Anfiel) - Masashi (ex FoLLoW) - Sakurai Yuki (ex Raphael, rice) - Angel-Taka (UCHUSENTAI:NOIZ) - Danchou (Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD) - Keiyuu (Kra) Overrated : - Tsuzuku (Mejibray) - Karma (ex Avelcain) - Yuuki (ex Lycaon, Initial'L) - Kamijo - Subaru (Royz)

I used to live in Tokyo and when I go back for visits I try to stay near Shinjuku station, in that area around Shin-Okubo, Okubo, Nishi-Shinjuku. I think there are a couple of business hotels near Like an Edison for around 7,000 yen per night. Since I like to go for 2 to 3 weeks and stay in Tokyo the whole time, I’ve been getting places on Airbnb so I can have a kitchen. For my next trip I got a studio apartment near Shin-Okubo for about $800 (USD) for 2 weeks. It’s a lot more than normal rent, but cheaper than a business hotel in the area. Airbnb also has some guesthouse-style places with private bedrooms and shared kitchens and bathrooms which are much cheaper. As a resident of Japan I was usually stuck on Willer Bus when I traveled to other cities, but as a tourist I get the JR pass and travel in luxury on the Shinkansen. Worth it. If you’re getting on the Shinkansen in Tokyo and going west/south, try to use Shinagawa station instead of Tokyo station. Shinagawa has a nicer layout and is much easier for transfers, and it has better bentos for sale. Those of you coming to Tokyo from other cities might want to get off in Shinagawa instead of Tokyo too. Outside Tokyo I normally get business hotels on Rakuten, but In Osaka I’ve usually stayed at Hotel Chuo in the Dobutsuen-mae area. That neighborhood is sketchy by Japanese standards, but it’s clean and safe compared to Western cities. This is one of the better hotels in that area. It has private guest rooms and shared bathrooms, and advance bookings are 2600 yen/night for a single. Every time I’ve been there the clientele seems to be a mix of bangya and foreign backpackers. http://www.chuogroup.jp/chuo/english/index.html

I was bored and ... it happened.

MERRY has announced at their live at 5/5 that their new album, "エムオロギー" (M-ology), will be released later this summer. Details tba. They will also hold their nationwide tour, "システム エムオロギー" (system m-ology), from September to February 2018 to commemorate the album's release.

merrygoround is dead by Merry Go Round 1. 同化 (Doka) 2. 失楽 (Shitsuraku) 3. 液状 (Ekijou) 4. 造形 (Zokei) 5. NARCISSE 6. 君は蜜よりも甘く(Kimi wa mitsu yori mo amaku) 7. 赤い絲 (Akai ito) 8. 切断TV (Setsudan TV) 9. ザクロ色の月と狂った恋の旋律 (Zakurairo no tsuki to kurutta koi no senritsu) 10. Beast 11. CHEMICAL CANDY SHOW CASE 12. FISH 13. XX体質 (xxTaitshitsu) 14. 毒蟲 (Dokumushi) 15. 桜の満開の木下で (Sakura no mankita no shita de) 16. SUICIDE DANCE Ladies gentlemen and gays, I present to you the most underrated band of the indies (and major, believe it or not) scene in the 90's: Merry Go Round (otherwise stylized as Merry Go Round, Merrygoround, メリーゴーランド, affectionally refered to as メリーゴ/merigo by japanese fans). I'm sure the rarez queens on here would beg to differ and probably offer up some other band with a bunch of apostrophes and misspent words in their title because Merry Go Round are too popular but NO. They have a point, as anyone worth their weight in Nagoya kei history knows the impact of Merry Go Round on the local scene at the time, but the lasting influence of Merry Go Round isn't as widely known. Here I've come, along with the aid of this thread to help decode the mystery that is Merry Go Round through their swan song best-of release from 2003, merry go round is dead. There's no better time to go into this, as gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy marked the return of Kazuma to the scene, and they are hot off the heels of a fairly large country-wide tour and now a 3man series of lives with DALLE and 101A. Gibkiy continue onward with merigo's legacy of avantgarde experimentation, pushing the boundaries of not only the visual kei scene, but the underground alt-rock scene. Merry Go Round's cult following continues onward long after their eventual demise, over 20 years after they had started in '91—they even have a fan-run “memorial site” in their honour, still updated to this day. At the party zoo event lives, there's been merigo respect sessions, with MUCC members playing in them. Their releases catch a decent value on the secondary market, with their best-of albums easily catching upwards of 8000 yen. Something's in the water with these guys, and I don't think its any coincidence they are still mentioned in the same breath with the major label successes of the Nagoya scene despite their relative obscurity outside of the scene: Laputa, ROUAGE, Merry Go Round. The short answer is that they were legendary in every sense of the word; everything merigo did was fucking iconic. There was a sense of genuine darkness about the band, no one was flashing around their goth clothes for the chicks only to switch it up afterward when they got bored. The twitter thread was quite helpful, as they pinned a lot of influence to Merry Go Round that I didn't otherwise know. They claim that Kyo (DEG) and Daisuke (Kagerou) were quite influenced by Kazuma, and while I don't have anything to back this up, I totally believe it. Kiyoharu and his very obvious influence on like...99% of visual kei aside, Kazuma's edgy antics have clearly played a role on Kyo. He was the first person to rock the metal face piercings-all-over look, which Kyo later donned in the 2000's, coming to a fever pitch in the 2010's with band guys literally filling their faces with as many piercings as possible. Of more importance is the inheritance of an independent and unique being that merigo embodied; they were so unique that even the japanese source had to struggle from talking in hyperbole. Honestly, I'd argue that Kyo's closest comparison point is Kazuma, in terms of avantgarde leanings and their individualist persona that was cultivated through their almost outsider leaning art. They also pin Merry Go Round as the prototype for menhera love songs, whatever the fuck that means; my understanding of Kazuma's lyrics are limited but there's a lot of sex...s&m...sex...S&M! Of equal importance was this new influence of a darker perspective--taking into consideration the misfortunes of the world and informing one's art, which encapsulated a lot of themes which would later pop up in kotekei and the boom of menhera in the 2010s. Kazuma alone is not to credit for this, but along with the early Nagoya's kei scene's influence in ushering in this new era of ~yami~, he made a decent impact on the darker bands that would follow in later years. Throughout their history, even through lineup changes, their brooding energy stayed constant and so did their experimental, post-punk edge. While firmly rooted in the history of the scene, they sounded equally distant and removed from the scene. Whereas other bands mixed in sharp melody and pop sensibilities to the doom and gloom of the time, Merry Go Round nixed conventional song structure altogether. They had the melancholy down pat, but they added an almost relentless sense of repetition. Songs wouldn't move much as compositions, focusing on a guitar motif or rhythm and pushing it to the desired running length. It's a sound that is hard to describe without listening to their songs, but also a sound that varies with time. Notable is a 1997 cover of Bauhaus's “Hair of The Dog”, in which the spacey guitar lead of the original is turned into a fast-flicking, treble-y riff; the rhythm replaced with a syncopated drum beat. Kazuma sings coldly, screaming and cackles hysterically, pushing the frantic energy of the song into maniacal heights. The end result is so fucking merigo that I'd have a hard time believing this wasn't the band's own composition. This speaks to the quality of the re-arrangement of the cover but also their brilliance, in turning the frantic yet restrained energy of the original into a fully realized, uniquely dark visual kei song. The guitar tone and technique are a definite echo of the indies sound at the time, but the chord progressions dubbed over the melody of the original are totally post-punk, dour and dire. It all makes a lot more sense when hearing "Ame to muchi", which is an original composition yet it manages to sound quite close to “Hair of The Dog”. This is a perfect representation of merigo's traditional sound, equally visual and goth. Besides, when was the last time you heard a visual band cover fucking Bauhaus? These two tracks are part of their old sound before '99, which was more typical of mid 90's gloomy-kei and Nagoya bands, but as they went on things got weirder and weirder, peaking with their 2000 full length. Past then, things got a bit more sober and streamlined, with a more rock sound but were still quite distant from the third generation of Nagoya kei, which included the more goth-inclined Lamiel, kein and later Blast and deadman. Merry Go Round - "HAIR OF THE DOG" Bauhaus - "Hair of the Dog" Merry Go Round - "Ame to Muchi" Speaking of all this history, lets get into the band's tea. merigo is messy to say the least, and there's not much I have to add that isn't already on the net, so I'll offer the interesting points. Merry Go Round's history is marked with stuff that doesn't happen at all anymore, including massive lineup changes, being together for 10+ years (believe it or not), falling in and out of major label contracts and a weird discography, with only 1 full length album and a scattering of minis and singles to count for the fajillion years Merry Go Round was a thing. Vocalist Kazuma and ex-Laputa guitarist Hideno were pretty much the only constant in the band's recording history, excluding their pre-demo years. Before '95 was probably a whirlwind, they cycled through 2 guitarists, 2 bassists and a drummer over the course of 4 or so years, with only recorded 1 demo (before their official demo) to show for their early years. None of the members at that time went onto any other bands after their time in merigo and so what went on in those years is entirely unknown, but totally interesting. I'd like to think the band was a volatile group of goths going around Nagoya with violence (a-la X-Japan), crappy music, drugs and S&M orgies but we might never know. The reality of the situation is likely a lot more boring, with Kazuma refusing to let go of his little project despite the financial and personal difficulties that come with trying to get a band going, especially considering it was before visual kei's mainstream popularity in Japan. They found stability after 1995, with their first main lineup's output stretching from '95-'98 before losing their only other composer, the now deceased Junna and drummer Kyo. Hideno then became the sole composer of the band's music, and whether for his personal taste or just overall circumstances, shit got very dark, very quickly. Song lengths could be brief, with weird minute-long voice solos or drag on for seven, eight minutes at a time with their typically minimal instrumentation, leaving Kazuma's croon to fill in the spaces. This was hinted at in their earlier days, as S featured the 12 minute monster “Dokumushi”, one the creepiest songs ever put to tape, which was composed by none other than Hideno. Catchy choruses became even more sparse, as songs were more about mood than melody. The jazz and industrial influence became stronger, with an alt-rock vibe creeping up on them in the later years, replacing the remnants of their old school style. Basically, as an album, merry go round is dead is not much more than an afterthought. There's actual little reason to purchase the album, as its limited 1200 press has ascended it to god rare status and it doesn't show up often or for anything remotely cheap and all the tracks have been released before. That said, most of the stuff from their marder suitcase/Fuji days are impossible to find now. Nothing was done with purpose in terms of arrangement, inclusion of tracks, etc. The track list is mostly chunked from the original releases, with little integration. The first chunk was their new stuff from 2003, then most of the tracks from the 1999 singles, with only 2 other b-sides that went to their 1999 best-of REDDISH COLLECTORS NO DEAD ARTIST. There's a lot of overlap between these compilations, and REDDISH... is a weird enough album that it deserves its own article. There's a lot of repetition in their discography, but also a lot of remixes/re-recordings and little tracks thrown in as interludes. Their first full length is also entirely absent absent here, as well as pretty much anything during their second lineup. The only song unique to merry go round is dead was "NARCISSE", which was later thrown into a marder suitcase V.A comp. The last chunk was a throwback to their older days, with the whole IMPERIAL DRUGS single and “xxTaishitsu” thrown in for whatever reason, as it is the only track solely composed by Junna. The classic “Sakura no mankita no shita de” appears as well, with “Dokumushi” cut down to a slightly more palatable 4 minutes. “SUICIDE DANCE” is the only song composed by Kazuma and ends the album as a throwback to their eaaaaarly days, as the song has been around in some way since their first unofficial demo in the early 90's. In terms of the tracklist contribution, I'd chalk it to who owned the rights for the tracks as well as aesthetic representation. Even if the band wanted to include their stuff from the semi-major days, my guess is that they didn't have the rights to those songs, which were conveniently mostly Junna compositions. So whether by design or coincidentally, it's mostly Hideno composed, reflecting the musical design of the band from 1999-2004. On to the music itself, it is spectacular to say the least. No matter how much you prime yourself to hear something of comparative style to other artists, or rather the inverse—expecting to hear something completely alien, the experience itself is neither. Tracks 1-6 were their post-2001 output, a mix of melancholy ballads and crunching alternative rock numbers. The sense of theatrics is mostly toned down for a primal rock energy. “Shitsuraku” is straight up aie chords played for seven minutes on end with what sounds like Kazuma on xanax. He takes the track towards a lullaby, threatening to pierce that threshold and roar yet it never approaches those heights. “Zokei” is among the best of the new material, with a percussive rhythm accented by dissonant guitar chords and Kazuma totally riding the track with vocals oozing sensuality. These tracks are a perfect example of merigo's penchant for repetition, as there are few diversions from the introductory chords and melodies. Hideno overlays a new motif or two to keep the songs from being mind numbingly repetitive, and it works to keep interest but otherwise keep the tracks hypnotic. “Narcisse” and “Kimi wa mitsu yori mo amaku” are shocking in that they're almost—joyful—ballads, not creepy or brooding (spare the intro to “Kimi...”) and a departure from anything they had done in the past. These were a look into merigo's possible future, a fascinating look at what could have been. I'm not sure it would have been a future we'd have wanted, but thankfully gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy came up 10 years later and swooped up the remnants of Merry Go Round's old craziness instead of letting this acoustic cheese bloom. That said, I like them in the context of the album's melange of mess. Merry Go Round - "Zokei" Then begins the older output (this album goes in reverse chronological order, basically, LOL), the more essential or classic Merry Go Round songs. “Akai ito” is the song that more or less got me hooked on art kei (I was already a Diaura stan, #sorrynotsorry), as the song was so...un-visual. It is a naked and haunting ballad, and it struck me as visual kei style vocals over a sped up Low or Codeine song. The guitar line had the dissonant feel of a darkened post-rock or midwest emo track, and I'm a huge fan of all of that so its safe so say I was shaking in my boots. To this day, it is my favourite Merry Go Round track and I literally melt the second I hear those opening chords. This haunting sound is echoed by “Zakuroiro no tsuki to kurutta koi”, which is in the same stylistic vein but a more drudgy, spacey number. Kazuma kills both with his vocals, dipping in and out of vocal acrobatics, occasionally pushing the border between fascinating and gratuitous but never overstepping his bounds. The template for these ballads is toward the closing of the album, with Merry Go Round's classic “Sakura no mankita no shita de”, which more or less birthed true emo balladry. It is covered in sessions to this day, and from merigo, it is the one track that is remembered from non-fans and fans alike as an iconic bit of Nagoya kei history. “Setsudan TV”, “Beast” and “FISH” are the flipside to the traditional melancholy rock balladry, as the band step into dub, industrial and jazz sounds. “Setsudan TV” is absolutely insane, with a thumping, urgent instrumental, not too far off from a cyberpunk anime soundtrack. Kazuma's vocals are...[redacted]. It's the peak of madness for the album and a track so bizarre it warrants a listen, just for the shock experience. “CHEMICAL CANDY SHOWCASE” is a look into merigo's traditional sound, as its a straightforward, punky rock piece. Merry Go Round - "Akai ito" From the traditional sound to the straight up old school, “xxTaishitsu” brings the vintage heat, as it is one of the older tracks. The looping/glitching vocals from “Setsudan TV” are here in a lower dosage, contributing to the intensely psychedelic vibe of the track. The track comes to a climax with a bizarrely spaced and composed solo, in a much higher pitched voicing than the rest of the track; it's orgasmic to say the least. If you're not air guitar-ing to it, then what kind of a wannabe guitar player are you? From then on comes “Dokumushi”, unfairly cut down from its originally wonderfully messy glory. In fact, the horrific and disturbing effect of the original is almost entirely lost in this 5 minute edit, as the song is made all the more creepy for how long it goes on for. The album ends with “SUICIDE DANCE”, an otherwise unremarkable song for how much it resembles other, better merigo hit songs; however, credit is due as this was the template for pretty much all of Merry Go Round. Merry Go Round - "Dokumushi" (Live) And so the snake swallows its tail, merry go round is dead. Hideno has pretty much fallen off the face of the earth, and that's a real shame. Otherwise, Kazuma's contribution in gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy keep the spirit of the old school alive, and that is testament to the strength of the Nagoya scene. There is nowhere else in vk, aside from the legends of the late 80's-early 90's that musicians have remained active for so long. Peers play with up and coming musicians along with their influences, producing new and dark sounds, equally indebted to the past as they are to the future. Here's to our darkened future, and the merry go round which will spin eternally. gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy trailer References: please note that this is mostly limited to english sources, the gaps in my knowledge could possibly be filled by japanese sources or defunct english pages. please let me know of other additions and translations if possible, do it for the oldies!!! 1.) this awesome nagoya kei intro thread (JP) 2.) western news sources: jame (s/o to the girl who upped the band bio in 2010, it was of great help) vk wikia junna memorial blogs compiled on shattered tranquility 3.) memorial site 4.) yunisan (song credits, lineup information, press numbers)

It was announced at NoGoD oneman live tour final "W/O-U" at 2017/05/06 at Shibuya WWW X that their new maxi-single "Arlequin" will be released at 2017/07/26 (1620Y) it will include 2 new songs and 2 live songs.

Hello people! I've always thought japanese lyrics are under explored by us western fans. So I thought of a little fun way of incentivizing the community on giving their 2 cents and analysis on a weekly chosen song, like: The week song + lyric is posted; people give their analysis/thoughts on its meanings and intricacies; other people like the comments they think are more accurate, or what they think is the best interpretation; the person with the most well received analysis gets to choose the song for the next week; Of course what is described above can be changed to better fit the board or the mods, which I believe would be ideal to handle the thread creation and such (maybe the ORZ could take turns on, or smh like that) one barrier I can see is that, if the song does not have a translation available, could be hard for non speakers to be part of it... what do you guys think? any thoughts?

RAINDIA new single "雨ニ、スピーカー" (Ame ni, Speaker) will be released in 2017/05, although details have no yet been announced. And their new petit album Vol.2 "人間失格" (Ningen Shikkaku) has been announced too. It will contains new and re-recorded songs

Eh...I always thought that RUKA was just an incredibly quiet guy, but that he really enjoyed being around YOMI and laughing about his crazy antics. I remember watching some of 爆烈! ナイトメア episodes back in 2010 (?) and whenever he was on the show, YOMI was clearly trying to make him laugh as much as possible.

Got all my college work done and I'm so fucking relieved!

The full song is available already

lol same I'm beginning to get bored with this season overall too. Like, I'd still watch it, but by the time I'm halfway through Untucked I'm like uhhh ok.

awww... I vaguely remember liking them a few years ago for 10 minutes

9goats <3 I hope that u know about KEEL, Hollowgram, TAG and DALLE all these bands are from vocalist Ryo ex-9goats Welcome to our heaven, enjoy!

Awesome music tastes! Especially Kannivalism and baroque, you are totally cool with me! As long as you showed up and made an intro post here it's all good~ Welcome to the forum and have fun! ^^

Front row for Crystal Lake today✌ but off to the side so i didnt have to worry about all the crowd surfers lmao they were greaaat man. They did matrix and prometheus and black and blue and i forgot what else lol but when they were doing sound check they started playing rollin 😂

Well now, this is almost as gay as More Deep o__o.

I love the fact that guys talk about and have asked to see my mom's boobs while she is at work. Wtf.

Merry never fails to win me over. <3

LIFE HAS MANY DOORS ED-BOY

I'm still trying to convince him (cuz he'd have to take time off work for it which j-guys hate doing...) but for now I've booked a hotel just in case! Lol in that case, I feel like being a mitsu has more perks and you'd probably get better pics. I didn't know so many of you (re: hiroki, frayed) were settled in the Northern Kyoto area. I'm in Shizuoka pref myself, and feel like it's a good in-between location-wise. No bands ever really tour here except BUCK-TICK (bless them) and occasionally Vidoll when they were still around. I think frayed really summed it up what I would have said. To determine whether your train expenses would be more or less than the rail pass, I'd look up the cost of each longer trip you're planning on Hyperdia to compare. Hypermedia is pretty invaluable in general for just getting around. Expenses within the city shouldn't be that much, but if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing, ask train staff or tourist information staff about intercity passes like hiroki suggested. Which bands do you plan on seeing so far? I don't know a lot about where bandomen hang out. I imagine they all have their own regular spots. If they're indies enough they might have after parties they'll invite fans to. In general, I think a lot of Tokyo tourists like going to Shinjuku Goldengai. But Tokyo (and other major cities) have lots of back alleys full of little casual drinking places (yokocho), so maybe just go exploring one night? I also agree that it can be really worth it to talk to foreign bangya. I have more Japanese gya friends than Western gya, but Japanese gya friends tend to just get together for the event and maybe dinner before/after (because Japanese people tend to divide their friendships by interest/situation instead of making general "best friends" in the Western sense), so if you find a Western gya you get along with, you'll probably have more opportunities to hang out outside of just live-going. (Obviously there will be exceptions... one of my best Japanese friends is a former gya of some of the same bands I used to like.) I've made some really good Western gya friends at shows, but then last weekend I tried to chat up a foreign gya and she didn't seem too interested in carrying on a convo so it is what it is. Don't be discouraged though! Yeah, if you have to pick a live, the tour final probably is the best as far as getting info/freebies/turnout goes. At a lot of the smaller live houses on a tour, the crowd interaction and set lists are generally better imho. You also have a better chance at getting saizen. Has Shinjuku really gotten so cheap? I remember 10+ years ago Shinjuku being the last place I wanted to get stranded in because the hotels were so few and expensive. Ikebukuro used to be the cheapest, but I have no idea now, although I really love staying at Ikebukuro DICE internet cafe sometimes since they provide free towels/showers, and the shower room is really nice... Almost like a hotel. Also if you are going long distance/ensei-ing and you don't want to pay for a hotel, if you book a return bus back that night after the live you can save yourself a good wad of cash. Do you buy them serious gifts? I remember when I still bought band gifts it was mostly those little boxes of alcohol or other silly gag gifts that we'd plaster some purikura we took before the show all over. (Is putting your purikura on gifts even still a thing? IDEK now.) Once one a band member was complaining about another band member he was rooming with locking him out so he could watch some porn, so a couple of us pitched in gave him a booze/porn package of his own.

overrated: isshi (kaggra,) that squealing hoe (x-japan) kyo (sukekiyo, dir en grey) criminally underrated: hime (ex-Melvel, now in Yumeleep)

Just the casual anxiety/depression knocking at my door hehe

I didn't even know that was possible... XD yes we need to do that asap. maybe the more technically inclined individuals on the staff can figure it out for us @Zeus @nostalgia

Pour one out for the MH chat The staff really need to embed discord onto the MH site. There's a way to do it

I really like this idea! Since I translate lyrics myself, I always like to see what others make of the lyrics, rather than just me making my own interpretations. I think this will help others gain interest in discussing more about them, even if only a little. But as @Zeus mentioned, having someone fluent in Japanese is essential for doing something like this as there's so much to discuss about how it's written in the original language before getting into the translation. But of course, that depends on how poetic the lyrics are. I think it's even better to have two people fluent in Japanese, or at least know a decent amount of Japanese, in analyzing lyrics just because there can be so many different interpretations. I think that'll help bring up interesting discussions. I am honestly interested in starting up something like this, but am afraid that I can't offer too much time as I have so many other things currently going on in my life. Bi-weekly or monthly might be manageable though. Another thing is that I'm not SUPER fluent in Japanese (but i think i know a decent enough amount), which is why I think it's a good idea to have another person take part who's also knowledgeable in Japanese. Getting access to lyrics will certainly be an issue as not everybody will be interested in the lyrics I have in hand. And not everybody who DOES have access to them is willing to share them, etc. But we can still start somewhere with what we have. Thinking more about this, I can also see how a lyric analysis can go hand in hand with a PV analysis, if the song has one, which might be really interesting as well~

late spring/cold summer months Warmer summer months:

i've been listening to this on repeat for the last few days. good stuff

Voted Akuta but I like Kazuki and Ryoga a lot too. Honorable mentions: Emiru (whatever his name is in Yeti) from AICLE/Yeti. Sou from Lolita 23Q/Remming Ryuuji during his Soroban days was great too Yuuki in early Lycaon days as well. He started singing high pitched and whiny and I stopped liking him. Yuu from 176Biz/Betty/ZUCK I also really like Yumehito's voice when he sang for AYABIE, kinda short lived. Oh and of course Icchi from Canzel. I don't really listen to UNiTE because I don't like Yui's voice that much.

Surprisingly, no one mentioned the king of art-kei vocals yet, my boy temari: I have a knack for vocalists who can actually pull off rap sections in vk songs without sounding like shit, so I'd like to mention Maru (ex-bis) and Yoshito (ex-xTRiPx) they also doesn't sound like your usual annoying high-pitched vocalists, having a more raspy tone, which is also a plus in my book: On a more classic vk shouter note, I think Mikaru really deserves a mention. The guy is a beast, wish he'd stop wasting his talents in shit like glams: last but not least, the one I think has the most range bar none on the scene. One of the few I actually believe had vocal training before starting a career, or something like that. Megamasso's Inzargi:

Well, I enjoyed his DeG penned songs (Hotarubi, Umbrella, Fukai, Raison d'etre) so we'll see what he is coming up with this project.

They can't break up until they do Mode Of Missa :U

I could have lived without ever seeing that photo.

these guuuuuuys