platy

I've fallen out of the habit of watching PVs, but decided to check out xaa-xaa's latest and it really held my attention. Now I've been on a MV/PV binge.
 
Let's talk PVs! Share your favorites/least favorites/etc. new or old, j-jpop, v-kei, j-rock and k-pop (i guess)
 
I loved the color and style of this MV as well as the song. I don't know how xaa-xaa does it every time. Kazuki is really expressive (well, at least when it comes to showing despair lol)
 
 
 
It reminded me of another one of my favorite mvs by pentagon. I mean the art direction is just  *chef's kiss*
 
 
and speaking of bands who release their best mv just before they disband, SuG's SICK'S is one of my all time favorites
 
 

I've fallen out of the habit of watching PVs, but decided to check out xaa-xaa's latest and it really held my attention. Now I've been on a MV/PV binge.
 
Let's talk PVs! Share your favorites/least favorites/etc. new or old, j-jpop, v-kei, j-rock and k-pop (i guess)
 
I loved the color and style of this MV as well as the song. I don't know how xaa-xaa does it every time. Kazuki is really expressive (well, at least when it comes to showing despair lol)
 
 
 
It reminded me of another one of my favorite mvs by pentagon. I mean the art direction is just  *chef's kiss*
 
 
and speaking of bands who release their best mv just before they disband, SuG's SICK'S is one of my all time favorites
 
 

Like I honestly think the ONE good thing 2020 brought me aside from staying home longer (which was overcompensated by shit .......) was having my fav teen pop singer from my teenage years go full on y2k myspace emo like I've always wanted 😙😋😍🥰🤩😜😛
 
 
Everything else was just dumb mistakes bad health dollar on the high and live concerts on the low tho
(On a less "ew what have I jus listened to", things like this isn't why I like her... this is actually.)

Just listening to the quintessential vk song of the era of Yaoi Paddles today
 
 
My tastes just keep getting worse and worse lmaooo

Hello! I'm Yuan, in my mid-twenties, an art school dropout trying to make it in this hard ass world :^)
 
I used to be really into vk when I was in high school and up to around 5 years ago. I was on Livejournal (the good old dayssss), owned a ton of merch, and went to as many concerts as I could. I had a lot of fun, but a couple years ago, I did a big vk sale, mainly for the money, but also because there were a lot of bands I didn't listen to anymore, namely Alice Nine, and sold their entire discography, which I had diligently collected til then, and many many issues of Shoxx, Neo Genesis, Fool's Mate, etc. Sometimes I regret selling those magazines, especially considering how they've all stopped running... But thankfully I kept most things from my favorite bands! And one day I'll finally complete my collection from Plastic Tree, DEG and Gazette.
 
What has changed since, is that I've lost interest in indie vk, because I just couldn't keep up, although every once in a while there will be a good band that pops up and that will spark my interest. My favorites are BUCK-TICK, Plastic Tree, MUCC, cali≠gari, the GazettE, DIR EN GREY, Deadman, Pierrot, LUNA-SEA, 9GOATS BLACK OUT, MIYAVI, the studs, D'espairsRay, 12012... I guess that covers at least a good general idea. I also listen to a lot of other J-music, and in general, more music than I can name. Other big favorites (from all horizons) include Nujabes, Flying Lotus, Gorillaz, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Thee Oh Sees, toe, Kikagaku Moyo, Shiina Ringo, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Charles Mingus... I'm a big music nerd in general, I've played the piano since I was 5, and listen to a lot of classical, traditional/folk (from all around the world), and experimental music (including noise). It's a big part of my life haha. I love exploring new sounds and expanding my tastes beyond my zones of comfort.
 
I'm also quite invested in visual arts (illustration & animation) as my studies suggested, fashion, cinema, video games, etc. Basically my interests are very broad and I like passionate ramblings. Which is why I love forums! I haven't been on a forum in many years, and I do miss it a lot. I've been reading this one for a while now, and figured it's time to stop being a lurker haha!
 
If curious, esp about my art and/or eventual OOTDs, my @ on most social media is yuanankh (for instance on Twitter and Instagram). I'd love to make new friends, especially since this pandemic has emphasized how important it is to not hesitate to be active online - which I knew already, as I made most of my long-term friends that way anyway.

I can't be sure that I got covid19 but back in February I had just arrived from a trip abroad and also in the city where I work there had been many cases of covid19.  I got extremely ill around that time and found myself taking long breaks laying in the bathroom floor inhaling Vic's VaporRub  cuz I really struggled to breathe. This came and went for about 2 months - I'm fairly healthy and active person but suddenly walking to the train station left me gasping for breath, my sense of taste and smell were turned upside down. Now I'm better, but it feels like my lungs aren't the same as before, it's hard to describe. Thinking that I might have to go through this again or maybe an even worse scenario is terrifying. Do I want narcolepsy or some unknown fucked up side-effect? I don't want that either. 
 
A documentary has just come out on British TV looking at people who ''recovered'' from COVID but have been left with lasting consequences and honestly, I only watched a little because it's just too scary to fathom.
 
Will we ever be able to go clubbing again? Festivals? Cons? Travelling abroad to see family? Thinking about how long lasting the effects of this disease are in our society is so fucking depressing. This is a time where focusing on the now will save your sanity because thinking about the future is just enough to throw you into a deep hole.

You know, I can understand why people are worried about the vaccine. It usually takes many years for a vaccine to be developed and also to be so tested and refined that it does not cause any harm. On the other side, there are some good points for why it's worth to take the risk.
 
The way it looks, Covid will become endemic like the Spanish flu, meaning it cannot be eradicated and remains circulating in populations. It will ravish global human populations until eventually natural herd immunity will be reached. Once there, it will not vanish, but continue to infect people, albeit in smaller numbers. However, that is only if there really is any long-term immunity against the strain. We know people build immunity against H1N1 influenza fairly quickly and that it usually suffices for some time. There is no conclusive evidence that an infection with Covid always leads to the creation of antibodies, nor do we know that immunity lasts longer than a few days. It's very much possible that without a working drug or vaccine people will just constantly re-infect themselves and others with the virus. If that's the case we have to hope natural selection will cause only the less deadly mutations to survive, so that the virus gets weaker over time… but that's pretty much nature sorting things out, meaning many people will die.
 
We seriously don't know enough about the virus yet, so who knows how bad it will be, but I can understand why scientists try hard to find a vaccine. Covid def isn't "just like the flu" and even influenza is very dangerous and can cause long-term problems (including triggering auto-immune diseases). The Spanish Flu, which was a very comparable disease (no vaccine or working drug) killed millions.
 
However, I agree that no one should be forced to take the vaccine if they don't want to, for now… I usually don't hold this view when it comes to vaccines that are very old and therefore mostly safe - in most of the cases it's better to tale that polio or measles vaccine and not endanger everyone else - but a covid vaccine certainly will be very early and experimental. Also there is no guarantee that it will work (longterm). However, if it does help and if they can improve its safety, then sure, maybe in a few years I will take it. In good vaccines there are still potential side-effects, but the likelihood of getting them or that they are worse than the alternative is low, so it's usuallly always a better choice to vaccine than to catch a preventable disease.  It's a matter of personal risk assessment - do you want to risk getting the side effects or do you want to go through the disease (that might kill you)?
 
If we are lucky the virus mutates quickly into a weaker strain and we may not even need a drug or vaccine. In the worst case scenario it will just be like described above and many people will die the next years. Still too early to tell…

Ten years ago when we had the pig flu epidemic they rolled out a vaccine that ended up triggering narcolepsy on kids who had a genetic predisposition for it. So with that in mind, the chances of me getting a vaccine that they're just dying to put out there in the market in order to keep capitalism functioning for fat rich people and and save a few old folks from dying, is, quite frankly, 0.  Under no circumstance would I get it.

Being honest, if a vaccine came out anytime soon I would wait a while before getting it. Of course I'd wanna get it, but I'm scared about the side effects as much as I'm scared of covid. 

Being honest, if a vaccine came out anytime soon I would wait a while before getting it. Of course I'd wanna get it, but I'm scared about the side effects as much as I'm scared of covid. 

Man this whole corona stuff is wild. I'm still taken aback by how much it's changed our culture, and how abrupt it all happened. 
 
Yesterday I went shopping at a Japanese marketplace and suddenly found myself encumbered by a very long line of people waiting to enter the store. We had to spend almost an hour on line to enter the store as they were admitting a small handful of people at once.  Of course, no one was actually social distancing. I had to travel to a different store real quick to use a restroom to which I could only be admitted if it was an emergency. I answered yes and  he allowed me in, gave me hand sanitizer, and told not to touch anything or something. I appreciate these safety protocols, but as a person generally fascinated by society and culture I was pretty intrigued by how suddenly this societal shift has happened. Feels like I'm in the midst of a some apocalyptic dystopian scifi movie scenario and it's absolutely fascinating, yet weird as hell and terrifying. 
 
And I remember before this all happened, one particular friend of mine had followed the story in china since its inception and during that period it didn't even enter my mind that the virus would escalate into the pandemic that it is today which would significantly alter everyone's lives. My friend knew since the very beginning that it would, and he was right. Sometimes you can be so used to seeing other people drastically exaggerate things — which is in part why I think so many people took this for granted. But this isn't just some ephemeral mishap that'll be easy to forget in a decade from now. This is a very sudden global catastrophe with far reaching consequences that hardly any of us anticipated.
 
It's also a good example of how being paranoid rather than being overtly optimistic is sometimes the better option.
 
Also some food for thought. A very significant chunk of people taking surveys have said they either wouldn't plan to get a corona vaccine, or declined to state. In some polls, this number reaches about half. I think that's terrifying. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/just-50-americans-plan-get-covid-19-vaccine-here-s-how-win-over-rest

Can we please bring back the time it was a legit option, to get rid of your husband, by poisoning him with arsen....

~working 8-10 hours a day and my fingers and hands are fucked~
Manager: how much of the pain is work related? Cuz I know you do art as well, u sure that isn't the problem
 
ye if I can even manage 15mins of art a day that will definitely fuck me up. 
 
and no, an uber eats voucher isn't gonna motivate me to work an extra 10 hours a week 

~working 8-10 hours a day and my fingers and hands are fucked~
Manager: how much of the pain is work related? Cuz I know you do art as well, u sure that isn't the problem
 
ye if I can even manage 15mins of art a day that will definitely fuck me up. 
 
and no, an uber eats voucher isn't gonna motivate me to work an extra 10 hours a week 

~working 8-10 hours a day and my fingers and hands are fucked~
Manager: how much of the pain is work related? Cuz I know you do art as well, u sure that isn't the problem
 
ye if I can even manage 15mins of art a day that will definitely fuck me up. 
 
and no, an uber eats voucher isn't gonna motivate me to work an extra 10 hours a week 

~working 8-10 hours a day and my fingers and hands are fucked~
Manager: how much of the pain is work related? Cuz I know you do art as well, u sure that isn't the problem
 
ye if I can even manage 15mins of art a day that will definitely fuck me up. 
 
and no, an uber eats voucher isn't gonna motivate me to work an extra 10 hours a week 

luckily we have sukekiyo to bless us with the good tunes : )

This absolute legend just does not know how to disappoint. Hilarious stuff.

Guys, I've done it. I've achieved the weeb dream. I've been asked if I'm Japanese like 2 times this month. I have no clue how I achieved it when I look 0% East Asian but I did it

Uhhh I have like one whole selfie on my phone that I don't even like that much, so have that lmao

 
I hope to improve my look this year (earrings and hair mainly)

Mother
 
 
Kiryu
 
 

Kiryu
 
 
Adabito wo Kogaranu
 
 

Dear friends!
Join us for 15th Russian J-Rock Convention!
 
The traditional annual event for all the modern japanese music and cosplay fans will take place online on 22 August 2020 at 1.00 pm (GMT +3) via YouTube.

The program includes video cosplay show, J-Rock karaoke, live interviews with guests, retrospective of the highlights and the most entertaining moments from past conventions. The event is planned to be hosted by ^Toshiya^ and Romanov who have been a changeless part of the Convention from the outset.
 
So, this year we thought we’d like to do something in a lighter vein and cancel the competitive form of the event.
The only prize which wll be awarded is Audience Choice Award. The voting will take place via the event’s social networks pages.
 
We are waiting for your video entries in the following categories:
jrock cosplay defile (single/group) asian/western pop (sketch/defile/karaoke) street fashion defile original costume Сreative approach toward video filming is welcomed! Use unusual locations, editing, visual effects, ADR and so on!
Express yourself as loud as you can!
 
You can also record a video message for all our viewers (duration <2min).
Details and requirements for the video you can find on our web-site jrockfest.ru and in VK community: https://vk.com/jrockfest2020
Attention! Video entries are to be received up to 14 August.

Details on our website: http://jrockfest.ru/j-rock-convention-2020-online/
 
See you at J-Rock Convention 2020: ONLINE! (1.00 pm GMT +3)
 

I'm definitely going to miss it. They had bops. 解散 wasn't mentioned, so I hope it's just until the coronavirus is done and over with. You guys might not like EDM, but I do; I also like Mejibray, but I'm not here to shit on two guys who can't even go back to Meji if they wanted to. We all have to accept the fact that Meji is over with, I accepted that all my favorite bands 解散 already, except FULL EFFECT'