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I think it's more linked to the mondial decrease of the physical media market and closing of many physical shop (amazon giving the deathblow) than a mere VK endemic thing (Japan lasted very long, in Italy the "music shop apocalypse" started more than a decade ago and it already got to the point that big chains too closed part of their stores), VK scene being small and losing in popularity makes it so VK specialized stores are among the first ones bearing the brunt of it, but it's not the sole cause. Although it also mean VK (and VK music stores) need to learn to evolve fast if it wants to survive, since it's very connected with the physical media market to make their ¥¥¥ (some changes since early 00's are already noticeable tho, so finger crossed the scene survives even if small)

I'm not a fan of kiryu, of cause there are some crazy fan gya are piss because of he's married, but alot of other dislike the video because: 1. According to what I saw on tanuki, his wife is one of the famous gya that's toxic and bitchy towards other fans, and the one who start all this drama? 2.The way he announces he's married, the poop hat is not "I'm shit because I'm married", a lot fans think more like a passive aggressive way to make fun of the fans. Also the way he speak some fans feel like "I'm not part of this drama, why you make fun and scold us, you could just simply announce you are married".

I've been wanting to discuss this topic for a long time. Fundamentally since, in the last ten years or so, the ratio of what in this forum has been called "formulaic VK stuff" has increased considerably, which, on the other hand it is closely linked to a phenomenon that has also recently appeared, and that in this forum has been called "idol kei". Of course, as many here quote repeatedly, the abandonment of adolescence does not cease to be a powerful motive in this situation, since it makes the condition of possibility (necessary, though not sufficient) so that one can remove the veils of idealization deposited on certain music or artist (and realize how badly done or executed some productions were; for me an example of it was Ryohei-era ayabie). Finally, in the verge of the end of the decade, another reason is my concern about the fate of the VK in the 2020's, considering that since the second half of the '10 has not thrown some real "quality" or "novelty", something that can be established at the level of "classic", as it actually happened with some releases put out in the period of 2008-2013. It is not easy to discuss all these issues, I imagine, for several issues: perhaps it can hurt the emotions of some users of this forum who, in fact, are very comfortable enjoying the said idealization of certain artists. On the other hand, talking about this with some minimum measure of ownership requires a listening by a broad repertoire of VK, which has at least something from each of its eras (at least the "classics"). And also, it requires some knowledge (at least intuition) about aspects related to composition, instrumental performance, recording, live performance, the dynamics of the consumer market, etc. As, to my pleasant surprise, I have found in this forum people who speak (or at least try) from this knowledge, is that I come to open this thread here in MH. Anyway, I hope that no one is deprived of writing here, contributing from what he/she has and his/her interests. I think that it is best to start on by discussing some basic concepts, instead of directly delving into anything else: 1) What are the indicators that make a song "ghostwritten" for you? And that it is not? 2) What are the indicators that make a band "idol kei"? And that it is not? 3) Where would you put its birth date? 4) Do they qualify as "good music" or not? Do you enjoy them? Do not? 5) Does it seem to you that this certain music goes "against" (to put it somehow) of certain "well-being" of the scene, or of the music itself? 6) Why are you still listening to VK in the 2010s? Are your reasons the same as before? What does it give you that other music does not give you? I read you!

workaholic icons!!!! future scene legends!!! time to abuse that synth really hardT again!!!!!

their stans are literally mentally ill if their yaoi shonen ((((uwu)))) marrying one of their own kind triggers this shitstorm; I'm glad working his ass off @ BPR pays for hawaii vacations tho ❤️ talk about securing the bag tbh

This. No matter how we look at it from a rational, western point of view, it's easy to understand why a teenager who is constantly fed a fantasy and actually has a relationship of sorts with the artist (sometimes even sex and phone conversations in exchange of money) would get upset. Also, there's lots of artists who get openly jealous if their gyas have actual realtionships outside of the scene, I've heard from a few people that their honmei has asked them not to date or a fellow bandmember has told them not to tell that member about their relationship. So we can't only blame fans for that sort of culture.

Their new mini album "PARADIGM OUT" will be released at 2019/6/26.

These fans are totally missing the point though. Of course he's not just going to announce he's married if he had been forced to do it because the rumors on Tanuki went out of hand? And it's obvious that if you're not part of the drama you shouldn't feel called out, clearly he was only addressing those who played a part in it. I swear I cannot with Japanese fans sometimes, they're so over-sensitive. Also, I have no doubt the chick was some kind of toxic gya, but even if she wasn't, people would've attacked her anyways on the sole basis of having a relantionship with their beloved. I'm a sucker for Tanuki drama, and I'm not even a Kiryu fan, but I genuinly feel bad for Takemasa. No matter what he does, he's gonna get shit for it from fans regardless.

What's up with the poop hat? It makes the video feel so surreal given the context. "So this is what a serious adult making a sincere apology looks like? I've learned something today."

After having released their first album recently, ヴィルシーナ (Verxina) has announced a new single coming in August.

I made this account awhile ago but I never used it because I'm kinda shy. Would like to meet new people who are into jrock and make new friends You can call me Nico Nice to meet you^^

I'd take fart sounds over this

Nothing that I put in bold is recent. Visual kei has been boy band metal for as long as visual kei has existed, just the appeal and the market has changed in and around it. Remember that visual kei takes lots of cues and inspiration from glam metal, which was boy band metal from the 80s. Formulaic visual kei has also been around almost as long as the scene has; it is just the formula has changed as well to adapt to changing markets. Take any decade of music and you can see this in action. I made it through the roughest part of the scene so far (end of 00s to early 10s) where the momentum within the scene seemingly contracted and the fifteen minutes of fame had passed, and that was the most prime moment for the ceiling to fall and the scene to die. It didn't. Thus, I'm not too worried about the "fate of visual kei". Visual kei is resilient and it will adapt into whatever form that it needs to to survive. Us being here 12 years is proof of that. I would be more concerned if your ~flavor~ of visual kei survives the next decade. It won't, but perhaps what rises out of the ashes will still appeal to you? I'm an old head who prefers songs from the 90s and early 00s, but I can find music in every time period that I like! If you still like visual kei in ten years, you'll have new favorites. I guarantee it. But of course, this isn't about the future of visual kei; it's about ghost writing. I'm sure the scene has a few ghost writers, more than one could optimistically hope for and less than one would pessimistically believe. I also have the unpopular opinion that the scene would be taken more seriously as a whole if more bands hired ghost writers. Not to plug my own work here, but my Copy/Paste series is all about finding musical similarities that pop up again and again and it's way too easy to take a currently active band and find a riff they took from a popular band 5 to 6 years ago. A lot of new bands today look to bands of the past for inspiration and it bleeds through to their music, but it's not doing enough to push the scene forward. The homogenization of the scene is doing a lot more to affect the sound of visual kei than everyone tapping the same ghost writer for new material. This kind of homogenization can also be seen in disparate industries like AAA video games and block buster movies, where studios would rather stick with something safe and deliver guaranteed profits rather than try something new, potentially fail, and lose money. I think we are seeing the same thing here, don't you agree? What you bring up at the end of this paragraph is one hell of a revelation, so I'll have to quote it again: I certainly cannot think of a classic from the last decade off the top of my head as easily as I can one from the decade before that, but a lot of that has to do with time. Time, no matter how small, is required for an album to transcend to classic status. Classics are defined by the effect that they have on music that hasn't been made yet, so unless you have magical future seeing powers it's hard to know what will stand the test of time for sure. Classics also have a personal angle to it; something can be a classic to you and not to the scene at large. It can also go in reverse. Albums can be considered classics by consensus, even though very few people may listen to said album on a regular basis (example: Art of Life by X JAPAN is a ~classic~, but when is the last time anyone sat down to listen to all 30 minutes of it?). A lot of albums were also given "classic" status years ago that definitely didn't stand the test of time. illational by THE EIGHT is my favorite example of this, and if your first response is "who is that?" then my point has been proven. I wouldn't worry too much about not having classics from this time period now, because bands are still proving themselves. Come back in five years and I am sure that generating a list will be way easier. You could have asked me this question in 2012 and I would have been completely unable to answer your question. Now, I'm only partially unable To run through these questions rather quickly: I never thought about this, but there could be a few good ones. Bands that pump out release after release and the styles of the release are all over the place. If the band sounds like 3 or 4 people with different musical affinities are writing the music, that's because it probably is. Liner credits can also be a dead giveaway, especially if the band doesn't have any, but bands are also known to lie on those so they aren't always reliable. It's not a perfect definition, but bands that obviously care more about looks than music are definitely idol kei. Visuals are important, but visuals are just a medium to sell music and concepts. If your Photoshop is on point but your music sounds like it was recorded in the gutter, you are "idol kei" in my eyes. If you have a ton of money for intricate outfits, but complain about fans not spending enough money, you're probably "idol kei". If a band has one core member and other members that can be exchanged interchangeably, that would be considered "idol kei" to me. Same day as visual kei was born. I think the argument over whether ghost writers produce "good music" is all subjective. That's why it is in quotes. Logically speaking, someone hired to write and produce mass amounts of music is supposed to be good at their job by definition. Do I approve of ghost writers? Only when they do a good job and I don't think about it. Music is inherently collaborative; I'd rather have band members work with veterans and bounce ideas off of others to come to the best solution rather than DIY the whole process and come out with a diamond in the rough, or potentially something even more disastrous. There are other things about the scene that hurt its well being more directly than having ghost writers. I'm sure most genres have artists that use ghost writers. I'm still listening to visual kei because it provides me with sounds no other scene does. The sounds I like and the bands that follow change, but I'm still attracted to the overall sound. I actually don't care much about visuals at all tbh.

1) What are the indicators that make a song "ghostwritten" for you? And that it is not? I don't think there's any obvious smoking gun that screams "ghostwritten songs!", but there are some bands, like others have already mentioned, that definitely feel like they've had their material 'ghostwritten'. One big factor would be the continuous output of releases in a relatively short amount of time. 2) What are the indicators that make a band "idol kei"? And that it is not? I guess it depends on how you define the term, idol. But, I would say, more or less, the scene has pretty much been inundated with 'idolness' for quite sometime. When you look at the way things are sold (i.e. receiving trading cards or photosets of certain members with CD purchases, buying chekis of a particular member, etc.), it pretty much screams the 'idol' factor. Although, there are certain bands, though, that tend to focus more on selling live goods, chekis, and even food products. VK has been known for providing weirdly, awesome, even grotesque goodies, but I see some bands who lean more on the side of 'goods/products' rather than 'CDs/music'. (Also, I know CDs are considered goods/products. However, in this case, I'm defining goods/products like chekis, photosets, photocards, towels, shirts, etc.) 3) Where would you put its birth date? I'm not sure of an exact date, but as @Komorebi already answered, I think it began when these instore or personal meet-and-greet events launched off. When you go to those events, it mirrors exactly what Japanese idol pop groups do (minus the rock music). You can "meet" your favorite artist and chat with them in exchange for buying their stuff. It's what Japanese idols outside of VK have been doing for much longer. 4) Do they qualify as "good music" or not? Do you enjoy them? Do not? Music, like any other art, is subjective, so I suppose it depends on what the listener enjoys and defines as "good music". Even though I may not listen to certain bands, there is definitely a crowd out there who will continue to support their favorite artists. 5) Does it seem to you that this certain music goes "against" (to put it somehow) of certain "well-being" of the scene, or of the music itself? I think @Komorebi provided a great answer for this question. For fans like most of us on MH, whose butts are firmly parked outside of Japan, we can only listen and focus on the music. It's not a bad thing, and I think music should be examined for the sake of music to expand one's knowledge/tastes/etc. However, when you live in Japan, being in the VK scene is a completely different ballgame. There is an entire social scene that is built into the VK scene. I guess because the scene is 'small' that there are many who become friends since they recognize each other from attending the same lives, instore events, etc. for the same band(s), and it's a way for these dedicated group of friends to spend time together. Also, as mentioned already by @Komorebi, there is also a whole fashion scene related to VK. Even though it's shrunk with many brands shutting down, there are still stores like Sex Pot Revenge that market to people who admire and dress up in the VK fashion style, possibly even wanting to emulate or cosplay as their favorite artist/band member. There are also many girls who dress up in Lolita clothes and really go all out to look nice for lives. In a way, I guess VK, to some, is not so much a music genre, but rather a subculture. So, I think as long as there's androgynous musicians willing to play music and cater to the fanbase, then the VK scene will survive. 6) Why are you still listening to VK in the 2010s? Are your reasons the same as before? What does it give you that other music does not give you? Like @yomii I stopped listening to VK for a few years, but I've recently gotten back into it, and I still thoroughly enjoy it even with all its warts and splotches. I think it's because VK has helped me shape a part of who I am, including my passions (i.e. collecting CDs from mediocre-sounding artists, studying about culture, people, history, and meeting/chatting with people who share the same interests). I also enjoy the fashion of VK and its close ties to it because, in a way, I feel like it's not only the music, but it's also the clothes and makeup that help make the whole scene artistic. So, I find there's plenty to enjoy with both new bands to listen to and older/disbanded bands to still discover. (Wow, I wrote way too much... ^^;)

1) Not like there's proof in VK, but the speed at which some bands pump out releases and the repetition/overuse of riffs and other elements can be a sign of ghostwriting. Also, when you see kids in the scene who aren't that good playing on stage yet are credited for what they play makes me wonder if they really did write it. 2) I think the whole scene is idol kei now. The way bands are put together, managed and marketed is very idol-ish. I'd say VK bands that are less "idol" would be those who put out releases less often, don't focus their sales on cheki and spend more time touring than doing fan-meet events. 3) When was the first instore? Not sure when VK evolved into what it is today, but I'm sure it was a while ago. 4) What is good music? I think there is good music and bad music in VK, just like in any other genre. And personal enjoyment does not atone for quality. I may not enjoy Morrie, Sukekiyo or Kiyoharu's works, but it is undeniably good music. Whereas I may like a lot of indie artists I consider to be musically mediocre. All in all, if I didn't enjoy VK I wouldn't be here. 5) VK does not rely that heavily on the music genre to survive. As long as there's scantly dressed pretty men wooing teen fans into spending their yen, the "well-being" of the scene is preserved. As overseas fans, we focus mainly on the music, because it is really all we can focus on, out of all VK has to offer as a scene. In Japan it is slightly different. You could enjoy the social experience, the fan events, the fashionable aspect, idk. 6) Because I have shitty music taste? LOL. I can't remember how I even got so hooked on this scene. It gives me versatility in a way many western rock artists don't. Bands don't always stick to a genre and blend a lot of styles to find their own. I don't know much about music theory but I know Japan uses a distinct... scale? for writing their music and I find it pleasant to my ears. I also tend to focus a lot on bass and vocals. For the first, I've found more interesting bass-lines in Japan than overseas, where it tends to be a filler instrument. And for the latter... Have you seen those "sounds just like Ruki" comments on various YouTube videos? Well, they do, because Japanese men tend to have a similar vocal range that just happens to tickle my fancy. There's also the thing that with Japanese I can easily ignore corny lyrics because I simply do not fully understand them. I don't look them up either, I can live without knowing if I'm being insulted. I come from the pop/rock scene, never really went through a western punk/metal phase in my teens year. I grew on 80's rock and 90's pop and I got used to catchy sounds accompanied by guitars, and it's what I look for in VK; poppy choruses with clean vocals and harsh instrumentals + lyrics I don't have to feel embarrassed about. Something that western metal and pop often fail to give me. The visuals aren't really that important to me, since I never watch PVs, but the androgynous beauty pleases me a lot when I do want to watch it tbh. As a big plus, I greatly enjoy the whole VK culture in Japan. I gotta say I love going to a small gig without being pushed around by huge dudes or drowning in the stench of weed and going to instore events and such.

prolific queens

Boy these fans is sick in the goddamn head

Again I not a fan of kiryu fan, so I'm not familiar with their fan circle so please correct me if I'm wrong and please taken these tanuki information with a grain of salt. Yes, she were one of the most famous and craziest hardcore gya. She attended to every kiryu show and always at the first row. According to tanuki, It all started with his wife show-off alot of kiryu behind the scene stuff and rarez on her instagram and toxic towards other fans. Yes, I know what you mean, japanese are really sensitive about hidden meaning under the sentence. Even as simple as "Thanks for your meal" can also means "Your meals are terrible"/ "You bored me to death" if you don't express it in proper way. Those fans sucks but as a profession musician for almost two decades, takemase also should dealt with this situation more seriously instead of wearing shit on your head.🤣

wow them psychos in Japan need to chill. Some are talking about wanting to snatch off his mask during a meet up. Bangya be trippin. One of my fave pics from Tanuki (Men-men's real pic edit then Chin man's face edited by some tanuker) https://imgur.com/ooDE3ON also: https://imgur.com/EDx3n45

Visual is dying BPR are going to hell everything is closing and ONLY KIZU WILL SURVIVE THE VISUPOCALYPSEEEEE

I'm very happy for Takemasa, but very sad that he has to behave like this, apologizing as if he had committed a crime when he was just talking about his marriage. That feeling of possession that some fans have is pretty scary. I hope he and his wife are happy.

Surprised BPR left the comments on...they love the drama (gets them views...not sure if anyone else noticed BPR's views slowly sliding off in the past little while could use a boost from some tanooks).

Did he wear a face mask to the ceremony?

I can still tend the rabbits, George? I di'nt mean no harm, George...

legit misread the title as 'shit boy' when i saw it in the sidebar

Their new album『INFINITUM』 will be released on 2019.05.24. You can pre-order it from tomorrow at noon. It will include 13 new songs (one of which is a re-recording of "Kisses") It will also include songs on which they collaborated with other people/bands. The Blu-ray will contain their live on 2018.11.15 and their latest music video Mail-order (2019.05.24) ＜sukekiyo TOUR2019「FORTY」＞ ( from 2019.05.31 to 2019.06.27) 8100 yen 2 Blu-spec CD2 + 1 blu-ray Here are the dates for their new tour : http://sukekiyo-official.jp/news/863/

Curley’s Wife is the Mejibray fandom

That kind of fans needs to calm down a little bit. Is sad how the artists have to being in secret relationships/marriages only because those fans doesn't accept it. And the worse is when they need to speak about it only because have been revealed. Btw (late) congrats to Takemasa and his wife!

Not gonna miss Brand X, not gonna miss that Yada guy at all. I didn't like him. ...And there are several better vk stores imo.

right here : https://v.2ch2.net/test/read.cgi/visualtanuki/1533727291/ His wife or some girl talked about exposing (him/her) and mentions Hawaii (wedding or honeymoon) Then theres about 9 threads full of byangas bitchin. Off topic: were fans this looney when Jun from Golden Bomber got married?

Not that heartbroken tbh, like it’s dramatic and another hit for the scene yeah, but I frankly felt way more comfortable at Jishuban or pretty much anywhere else.

by the way, jrocknews translated everyone's comments here. spoilered in case you don't wanna go to the website: Keita: Leda: Яyu: Sujk:

well all over the world girls fall in love with cool rockers and bangyas do have a real chance to get a relationship with a bandman. honestly, i think if i was living in japan and found out my honmei got married i think i would be really upset! idk how i'd react in such situation... but my honmei is a divorced father luckily but being too offensive is a no-no, we all should be respectful .w.

I hate the culture surrounding the music industry that dictates that it’s some sort of sin that the musicians marry and start families, it’s insane. The fans who are against this are essentially trying to justify a reason as to why these musicians should be denied a basic human right based on their fantasies that they’ve become too invested in. Just enjoy the music, and let the musicians live their lives, it’s a very easy concept

i'd prefer not to translate it without understanding the context fully cuz that might lead to confusion, but well, it's something like "people who have nothing to do with this and are not even fans must stop being noisy"

Ugh, I haven't had this bad pollen allergy symptoms in years. I can't breathe through my nose, my throat is so dry and itchy I can barely breathe through my mouth, my eyes are itchy, my nose is itchy, I've sneezed about 30 times today, I can't smell or taste anything and in the mornings my whole face just hurts. I haven't really had any symptoms in the last few years so I didn't start taking the allergy medicine early enough as I thought I wouldn't need it this year either... Well, hopefully it'll start working soon. Would be nice to actually be able to sleep at nights. Or taste the delicious lasagna that I just made. Why do allergies like this have to exist.

I want those 15 seconds of my attention back

New York Setlist: 99.999 Falling NINTH ODD SMELL GUSH Vortex Venomous Spider's Web THE MORTAL SONO KOE WA MOROKU DOGMA THE SUICIDE CIRCUS INCUBUS UGLY ABHOR GOD Filth in the Beauty Encore: INSIDE BEAST COCKROACH TOMORROW NEVER DIES

Did you watch it on HBO, or did you download it? HBO Nordic is known for their poor quality which resulted in a lot of complaint here in Norway, but I downloaded it and had no problems whatsoever. Used to own an HBO Nordic account, but quit it because the quality was so bad. 1080 downloads are just miles better. And that's the general thought over here. People who streamed it legally on HBO Nordic could barely see shit, while those who downloaded the episode didn't have any issues.

There are two types of people in this world: people who complained that S08E03 was too dark, and those who have properly calibrated TVs and could see what was happening. I would be in the second group because I didn't notice a single issue the entire time and both my girlfriend and I said that the episode was very cinematic. Then again, we were in the perfect setting for it, so I guess we were also lucky ^^;;

By "not liking VK" I'm sure he meant the way the industry operates, not just the costumes.

this boy really out here calling himself pipi,,,,

Preview sounds nice, but can we fucking stop with this "oOh YoU dOn'T kNoW wHaT oUr FaCeS lOoK lIkE yEt #EdGy" thing?

to me, they have one good song. The rest... I a not disappointing at all. I hope to see the members soon in another interresting project.

The setlist is pretty basic but I wasn't expecting anything crazy and unexpected from them. They'll probably change a few songs between the gigs, I hope they add Uragiru Bero, Cockroach or THE SUICIDE CIRCUS

Not that people have settled and shit. Just a small, sexy detail:

So proud that she finally got her big break after 30 years of trying!!!