Komorebi

Too bad for their fans

Great! I hope it's as good as the first one!

Heard Marco just because they insisted recomended.

Wagakki Band

1 hour ago, WhirlingBlack said:

I think it's pretty easy to spot when someone actually cares about the music and when someone is only there to drool at the band. All it takes is a short conversation on the topic of the bands music. And it's not mutually exclusive at all. I have plenty of female friends who can do both, and as long as I can participate in the discussions about the music and they keep the discussions about the bandmens physique with ones that are interested, I'm all good.

I agree. And I've encountered all kinds of fans from both genres. 

But both the assumption that "female = only in it for the looks" and the usual "go fangirl somewhere else" from men really pisses me off.

And I also wonder if it's one of the reason male fans alienate themselves from the scene since they don't want to be seen as "shallow" by their peers. Especially in a country like Japan where what people think and say of you is a pretty big deal.

42 minutes ago, hiroki said:

 

following seikun's impeccable logic all the bangyas in vk are actually secretly lesbian because there's absolutely no reason why straight girls would be attracted to 'feminine' bandmen 

 

Actually part of my family thinks I'm a lesbian because of this XDD and I've heard other girls having their sexuality questioned based on the type of male artists they follow. It sucks. 

44 minutes ago, hiroki said:

why the two are even mutually exclusive in the first place, as if being into the bandmen themselves somehow diminishes or effaces one's ability to appreciate/talk about music intelligently

This one not only gets on my nerves per se but also leads to some really sexist comments from western male fans who like to make assumptions. "ohh I bet she only listens to NCBL cuz Hiro takes his shirt off, we appreciate how amazingly brootal the band truly is", "oshare bands are for girls" and such. 

1 hour ago, qotka said:

Bangya culture is not just something that keeps vkei afloat. It's communities of (mostly) women who would never get to experience live music the way they do if they went to a 'regular' rock or metal concert. So while it kills the fun for some men who come to the show expecting one thing and getting something different, or prevents men from coming to lives, I think it's an essential part of what vkei is.

I have to agree with this 100%

After attending several VK lives in Japan I almost lost interest in going to concerts in the west. 

As much as I feel sorry for japanese guys not being able to fully enjoy the scene there, I was extremely grateful for being able to stand in saizen AND breathe at the same time. Being pushed around and covered by other people's sweat while being squashed by dudes who are trying to push to the front is NOT an enjoyable experience.

it is kinda sad though, whichever scenario happens, it means there's a fairly large portion of the audience who will not fully enjoy the live. 

1 hour ago, seikun said:

I would say the fanbase in Chile is pretty even between both sexes. Women tend to focus more on looks and how "hot" an VK seems to be whereas men focus more on the music.

LMAO for real? I've seen girls give some pretty interesting insights about the musical aspect and guys fanboying all over Mana's "perfection".

2 hours ago, platy said:

The band members market themselves for women. It's like the female idol industry, I went to a live once and there were only men watching, not a female in sight apart from the group. 

Hot men in make up who seem readily available = mostly female fans

Cute girls who seems readily available = pretty much just dude fans

This. I went to see exist trace  recently and 90% of the fans were male

1 hour ago, lichtlune said:

What have you guys observed from the Visual Kei lives in your countries? 

In Chile i'd say it's about 70% female 30% male for VK bands with cute members (this depends a lot on the band though), a more even ratio for bands with heavier music/90's and early 2000's bands and probably 60% male and 40% female for non-visual rock bands.

I conducted a very informal survey and while women tend to prefer bands with male members, guys listen to both girl bands (exist trace, Scandal, Band Maid etc) and male-bands evenly.

Also, the amount of gay male fans isn't really outstanding compared to other genres, most male fans I know and hang out with have girlfriends.

This is a topic/social phenomenon that actually interests me a lot.

1.) Do you feel that the Japanese culture views this imagery differently from how Occidental cultures do?

Obviously. See my reply to a quote below.

2.) Are you personally offended by it?

Nah. People today get offended by every little thing and THAT's what I find offensive.

3.) Do you feel it is done to convey the same messages as 1930's and 40's political propaganda? Or is it more of an edgy thing that is much less frowned upon in that culture than it is for Western fans?

There's no way they're even thinking about conveying any kind of political message. It's definitely just an edgy thing, or just a theme thing like in Diaura's case. Not all military uniforms are solely related to WWII. Asia has had their own history with dictatorships, military governments and such and probably have historical facts related to  a uniform that are far more important to them than Germany's nazis. 

4.) What's your opinions on using other WWII imagery, be it based on the Nazi party or not?

Why the hell not? It's a part of our history as mankind and if Hollywood can produce a shitload of movies about WWII I don't see why bands can't inspire themselves on it for lyrics and such. Most of those band kids probably aren't smart enough to think about stating a bad message on purpose.

On 10/8/2011 at 11:39 PM, Number Girl said:

a swastika armband is making a statement or it wouldn't be there. I doubt it is something taken lightly in mainstream Japan

It's called a manji and I saw a lot of it while in Japan. Google Maps even uses it as a symbol for "temple". It is taken lightly in mainstream Japan because it always has, it was used there before the Germans gave it another meaning.

Now, manji + uniforms it's most definitely a Nazi reference.

I just got offered a full time job and my first thought was "I'm still going to Japan in April so take it or leave it". Should I set my priorities straight?

Ohh nice for them. 

This is sad news

He still makes a good point about being super hard for indie bands to do it just for art's sake, considering they have to invest a shitload of money in EVERYTHING. Sometimes you just can't keep pulling money out of nowhere just to make art people aren't consuming. 

I'm fluent in three languages and have a very basic level in two more.

I also piss people off to the point of getting blocked.

Would you have sex for money?

Well, seems whoever bet Kiryu would be the one to pull this off just lost LOL

Yeeees! My body's ready for this.

Seeing all the comments on social media makes me wonder why the average visual kai fan still blindly hopes for gigs at provinces when in most countries it's 90% certain it's going to be at the capital, unless you're Germany. 

"Oh, not in my unknown little town. Not gonna go then."

Dude, it's pretty obvious if they go to the UK IT'S GONNA BE LONDON. Plan ahead and be grateful they are going to your country at all or just shush. The band is not going to magically invest more money in more dates within a single country, unless they're Sana or Satauki. 

YAAAAAS FINALLY AN INSTRUMENTAL VERSION

Is it a D CD or Asagi's solo work? Because I'm pretty sure it's either the latter or both.

3 hours ago, gekiai said:

I'm shocked that FB roleplay is still a thing!

 

i would recommend the cursed site starting with the letter 'T' but honestly there's so much drama there and it's practically dead.

 

If you're looking for English rp partners btw, I'd be interested.

 

It is at least in the spanish speaking community, and rather good rp quality too.

Tumblr? Never managed to get into that one, and there's too much drama in every fandom already.

Ohh really? *o*

On 22/8/2017 at 8:20 PM, sheepprincessgara said:

@nekkichi@Seimeisen I use buyee a lot, and they don't charge me that many fees other than domestic shipping fee & using the Buyee standard plan for insurance (if I choose to use it). You can pay for the item and for shipping at the same time, instead of having to wait for a charge 2 payment notif from FJ

Agree, buyee works quite decently.

Wtf? Where's the reference to homophobia?

Janne Da Arc - Gaia

I never manage to finish my fics, which is why I roleplay