qotka

Not sure how active I'll be, but hopefully a bit at least.
 
Name: Takadanobabaalien/マコ
Age: 26
Years studied: 2 years in Tokyo, been trying to motivate myself to do self studies but I don't have the discipline. 
Estimated level: Upper intermediate
Knowledge of Hiragana/Katakana: All
Kanji: I can read about 800-900 kanji.
What is your main goal with studying Japanese?: I want to get fluent at some point. 
What materials have you used before?: I've used tons of books, completed 6-7 books while in Japan. We used Minna no nihongo for the first year and then we went on with another series. I'll post the name once I get home and can see them. I used nihongo soumatome as well, it's very good. 

Name: violetchain
Age: 26
Years studied: 3 years in university as an elective, self-study on and off since then
Estimated level: Moderate? (I should technically be better than I am, but I'm very rusty, and I wasn't all that good at speaking even when I was taking formal classes)
Knowledge of Hiragana/Katakana: All
Kanji: Maybe 150? I studied about 200~250 in school, I think, but the amount I can actually identify and read without a popup dictionary is not anywhere near where it should be.
What is your main goal with studying Japanese?: ( What do you want to work on most? Reading? Writing? Conversational? Business? Vocabulary? Grammar?) I just want to improve my overall understanding because I'm interested in the music, movies, etc. I don't really have any dreams of living in Japan or working there. I've forgotten a lot of grammar, and my conversation skills are sorely lacking recently, so I think those are the two main areas. I think my reading and vocab have improved substantially over the years because I read artist blogs, scan through Twitter, translate lyrics, etc., but pretty much everything else is not very good.
What materials have you used before?: ( Books, websites, audio etc) I write for a website where I need to gather and translate information from Japanese sources, which helps a lot with forcing me to practice reading each day, I use Rikaichan and Rikaikun all the time, and I have a kanji book and lecture notes from school that I use sometimes when I get really inspired to study. I've also played around with Lang-8, but I'm not really good at blogging or small talk, so I always end up spending way more time correcting English entries than writing in Japanese, which kind of defeats the purpose...

@plastic_rainbowThank you for getting this started. I'm still working on setting everything up and could use some help from someone with more experience in Japanese if you'd like to help!
 
I should introduce myself haha
 
Name: Tomina / Mina
Age: 27
Years studied: 1 year in school + 3 years off and on self study
Estimated level: Beginner ( I got super rusty since college)
Knowledge of Hiragana/Katakana: all
Kanji: probably only 20
What is your main goal with studying Japanese?: To increase my vocabulary and practice conversational skills.
What materials have you used before?: I've used Yokosou in university but since studying alone I have loosely practiced with friends. I pretty much find out a word I use daily and add it to an app called study blue to practice with flash cards and I use various websites in combination with Genki elementary to practice grammar and conjugation 

I guess I'll be the first one to introduce myself? Thank you @togzfor starting this club btw! I have been thinking about creating one myself as well~ ^^ (it works a lot better than just having that one single thread)
 
Name: plastic_rainbow
Age: 23
Years studied: 3 years of formal Japanese classes at University, the rest is self-taught so a total of 5 years probably
Estimated level: I'd say moderate to advanced. I've gotten rusty ever since I left uni. :/
Knowledge of Hiragana/Katakana: All
Kanji: 1500-2000 characters I think? That doesn't mean I can write them all tho lol, but I will usually recognize them if I see them.
What is your main goal with studying Japanese?: Be able to read faster and comprehend the contents cuz lawd that takes so much time. I want to reach at a level where I can read Japanese novels because even reading manga is still quite hard for me.
What materials have you used before?: Genki Elementary + Intermediate, and a few other books which I can't remember the titles of. Some of them came with audio cds. I also tried Lang-8 for a while.
 
Well, nice to meet you all!
よろしく！^^/

Welcome fellow Mucker!  
I'm sure you'll find plenty of discussions to join here.

*reaches back in time and slaps self from 5 years ago*
 
This line-up doesn't make much sense and by my description, this would probably sound like a hot mess.
 
Just give me:
 
THE NOVEMBERS + Abe Fuyumi sharing vocal duties with Kobayashi
 
or
 
toe + Ichiko Aoba on vocals.

Japan's most talented and popular pop star (next to Utada Hikaru), Namie Amuro is gonna retire in 2018 after 25 (!) years. Japan is officially beyond repair.
A new album and tour will be released next year. Her full announcement can be read below.
 
 
     

Welcome fellow Mucker!  
I'm sure you'll find plenty of discussions to join here.

Hello ^^/ My name is Sebastian and I am new here of course haha. 
I am a little new to the world of Visual Kei and J-Rock but it feels safe to say that MUCC is my favourite band. I just really love Tatsurou's voice (´•ω•｀)♡
I would have to say my favourite album is MyakuHaku but I also really love some of their older songs. I will try to list a few of my favourite songs; Aka, Suimin, HATEЯ, and Himitsu. But that is just a few lol. 
 
Aside from MUCC I really love MALICE MIZER, my favourite era is the Klaha era but I do love some of the songs from the Gackt and Tetsu eras. And because of MALICE MIZER I decided to check out Közi and I just fell in love with some of the bands he has also been in ^^ 
 
Anyway lol I will end the post here ₍₍ (ง ˙ω˙)ว ⁾⁾

Tracklist
 
Disc 1: Shin Homura Uta
 
1. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
2. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
3. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
4. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
5. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
6. ママ (Mama)
7. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
8. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
9. およげ!たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ-In its true light- (Mae e -In its true light-)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 (Suisou)
16. 大嫌い2006 (Daikirai 2006)
 
Disc 2: Homura Uta ~Remaster~
 
01. ホムラウタ (Homura Uta)
02. 絶望 (Zetsubou)
03. 幸せの終着 (Shiawase no Shuuchaku)
04. 君に幸あれ (Kimi ni Sachiare)
05. 僕が本当の僕に耐えきれず造った本当の僕 (Boku ga Hontou no Boku ni Taekirezu Tsukutta Hontou no Boku)
06. ママ (Mama)
07. 暗闇に咲く花 (Kurayami ni Saku Hana)
08. 嘘で歪む心臓 (Uso de Yugamu Shinzou)
09. およげ！たいやきくん (Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun)
10. 前へ (Mae e)
11. 黒煙 (Kokuen)
12. スイミン (Suimin)
13. 帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)
14. ズタズタ (Zutazuta)
15. 水槽 Sg ver (Suisou Sg ver)
 
| Classics are made to be tempered with
 
Here's one band that hasn't been getting a lot of rest in 2017. 新葬ラ謳 (Shin Homura Uta) includes two versions of MUCC's 葬ラ謳 (Homura Uta) - a remastered one and a shiny, new re-recorded one. It was released along with 新痛絶 (Shin Tsuuzetsu) as part of the band's 20 year anniversary extravaganza, its announcement coming in contiguity with their '哀愁とアンティークと痛みも葬る (Aishuu to Antique to Itami mo Homoru)' summer tour, in which they exclusively performed materials from their first two EPs and first two full length studio albums. There isn't much to say about the remastered version, so this review will focus on the new recording.
 
This release is not just about paying a nostalgic tribute to their past or reliving it. Revised 葬ラ謳 is as vibrant and relevant as the original was 15 years ago; not much has changed on the surface, yet everything sounds different. It's a great example for an album that has evolved in a similar way language does, with its tracks going through years of being performed live, re-recorded, and remixed; the result is something anyone who speaks visual-kei can understand, but with noticeable changes.
 
葬ラ謳 was a fairly commercially successful album. It was first released in September 2002 as a limited edition that sold out quickly; a regular edition came the next month, and a reissue of the limited edition came in 2004. This album had a story to tell - a story of distilled anguish, pain, sorrow, loss and all those other heart-wrenching emotions and experiences that have been driving people to create art throughout history. In that sense, they never offered anything revolutionary; they were just good storytellers who used heaps of murky sound and raw energy to create something people could relate to. It is also clear that grunge, alternative rock and even nu metal were among their many interests at that point, and they were learning them carefully and experimenting with them as best as they could.
 
In 2017, the same album tells a completely different story. The muddy sound is replaced with a polished presentation, which might strike some v-kei veterans as 'lacking depth' or even 'less than genuine'. It’s true that nothing can replace those pain-driven shrieks in the original “絶望 (Zetsubou)” or “ズタズタ (Zutazuta)” that sound like someone’s soul being run over by an 18-wheeler. But this is just where the potency of the new recording lies; it doesn’t try to recreate the original, it uses it as a foundation to create something new. It doesn’t only show the experience the band has gained in the past 15 years, developing both in terms of musical skills and delivery, which can clearly be heard in Tatsuro’s crisp vocals and Satochi’s precise drumming. 新葬ラ謳 is a story that couldn’t have been told the way it is without the band’s (sometimes questionable) musical endeavors over the years and could be seen as a journey journal of sorts - one that doesn't leave out even newfound quirks, like in “前へ (Mae e)", which now includes an auto-tuned reggae moment brought to you by music nerd Miya. “前へ” was re-recorded in 2014 for the “ENDER ENDER” single, and it shows that nothing is sacred in the name of nostalgia - everything can be torn, mixed, glued on, and tempered with for the sake of trying out new things. Many of the other changes are smaller and rather conservative, like a new verse in “帰らぬ人 (Kaeranu Hito)” and an altered enunciation of the lyrics on many of the tracks, but they're enough to turn 新葬ラ謳 into something worth listening to in an of itself, even for those familiar with the original release. People who have been listening to this album for years will have a lot of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ while listening to this.  
 
This solid and clean rendition of a classic wasn’t only a chance to play around the border of nostalgia, self-cover, and re-imagine, but also a great way to introduce old material to new fans. MUCC have always been open to adapt to trends, experiment, and evolve, which means they’ve gained new listeners with every release (and probably lost some along the way). A crowd that’s been around since カルマ (Karma), SHANGRI-LA, or THE END OF THE WORLD will not necessarily bother checking out their older releases unless they keep them alive and relevant, which is something they’ve succeeded in by re-recording both 痛絶 and 葬ラ謳 and taking them on tour. This 2-CD package will probably be the first thing I’ll recommend to anyone interested in listening to the band for the first time or exploring their older materials, as well as to more old-school listeners who have been out of the loop for the past couple of years and have been wondering what they’re up to nowadays.
 
 
Support your jrawk poets: the [limited] and [regular] editions are available to order!

Confession: I bought the limited edition of MUCC's Shin Tsuuzetsu because I fell in love with the creepy cage doll design and it had a lenticular jacket. Can't stop looking at it.
 
 

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.

Oooh this looks like fun!
 
Qotka's 2017 list:
 
 

Finally got around to listening to some J-music this year, here we go.
 
Last updated:  12-28
(I tried to keep this mostly limited to albums/mini albums but a couple of singles that were worth mentioning made their way in.)

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.

Agreed. My POV is that of a woman who's been to enough 'regular' concerts to appreciate the unique situation in vkei. 
 
What I'm saying is that if you take away this property of vkei, you leave a whole group of people with almost ZERO OPTIONS to enjoy live rock/metal music freely (something most men can do at most rock concerts in the world - including vkei concerts in Europe/America, when those happen) - the fact that they can do it surely can't be a bad thing?
 
Not saying there aren't problems in the scene, but this particular angle is very important in my opinion.

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. 
 
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. 

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 
 
while we're on this topic, i also don't get:
- why there's still the weird division dictating that guys must be into vk as "ongen-gyao" who only collect cds, and girls only go to lives to swoon over hot bandmen
- why the former is somehow usually conceived as more superior to the latter.... almost every guy who's an armchair connoisseur of vk i've encountered exudes the insufferable air of making themselves sound like consumers of vk who are more sophisticated than "those bangyas over there" aka the "necessary evil" that keeps the scene afloat
- 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
 ...and i can go on.
 
basically i feel that people (mostly guys, but also girls who are concerned with being viewed a certain way) who actually have the money to spare AND want to participate are given pause because of these problematic assumptions. i've been saizen for bands (mostly very small) and have no problems with the girls or the bandmen themselves so i can't help thinking a lot of these strange ideas are self-imposed. people should just enjoy the scene in whatever way they want (yes, even if you're a guy who go to lives to fantasize about bandmen - what's wrong with that??), instead of losing sleep over what the bangyas in the same row are potentially gossiping about you.

my friends don't feed into the ignorant gay comments, LOL save it for another thread because we all know the answer to why that is a stupid argument
 
as for why some band throw men only lives, it because the atmosphere for some bands is radically different between their male and female fans. i think this applies a lot for bands who are on the cusp of visual, so women's only lives might have more people engaging in certain furitsuke with a more "respectful" atmosphere whereas the mens lives are probably set up to be more wild, unhinged, "western style" live experiences. This is pretty similar to how gender is portrayed in the scene, with gyao tending to be more there to have fun rather than closely following typical gya conventions (worrying about how pretty their dresses are for their fav guitarist at kamite to see them from 4th row). On the flipside, some bands with male fans (check any DEG live report) can grind female fans (and even some dudes) the wrong way.
 
 

this. i've spoken to enough gya who would notice any minute change in a song arrangement and analyze lyrics/the meaning behind something artistic (or "artistic") a band has put out.
 
but sure, some of them are in it for the fantasy, and that's awesome too. don't see much of a difference between dudes who don't know a lot about music and flail over cool guitar solos/how badass this and that musician is and gya who react pretty much the same about pretty bandoman.
 
 

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

The majority of the japanese fans are indeed girls/women, that being said - there still exists male fans. They're called ギャ男 (gyao, slang for bangya + boy). I have some japanese gyao friends who I've been to lives with and it's usually very fun. Of course it all depends on the band as well, I've never seen nokubura live but from what I've heard they have a big male audience for a vk band (probably because of their heavy music), when I attended a Avelcain boys only live one of my gyao friends told me most guys there was gay (he's gay himself as well), and for some reason I think that's the case a lot of the time. Also the fact that boys only live exists proves that there is indeed male fans. 
 
But to answer your question: yes, most japanese men (and women) dislike visual kei. It's a small and niched scene. 

@doomboxStarting with Leetspeak Monsters I was highly in AWE when I heard this song, I literally didn't know what to do with myself....It was everywhere the costumes were like wait what this isn't Halloween Kei then the Rap came in and I was liek "WHAT!" What is going on here..... And my friend looked at me like what is that face for it was good (she doesn't even listen to VK haha) and I'm like it was good just so different from what I would've expected? Just surprised the whole way through! LOVE IT!
 
@CAT5Never heard of Angelnori but I reallly enjoyed the song and I'll have to check out some more of her. I love Angelic voices and the instrumentals that accompany them so Thank You!
 
@qotkaI didn't even know about her but that ending was very raw and was probably the best ending she could've had for it. Filled with so much emotion...<3
 
@Seimeisenboth albums of Mucc I've never even listened to till the new version came out so I was surprised in general but I have to say that my favorite song, besides loving the whole thing was the new version of "Kurayami Ni Saku Hana" Just Brilliant<3
 
 
 
@plastic_rainbowI've never even listened to Marco before but @emmnyreview on new and up and coming bands made me think I was missing out on some people so if you have any favorites by them please let me know so I can check them out! This song was nice BTW!
 
And who is Lical???????? it was so good but I've never even heard of them..... Are they new?
 
@fitear1590UGHHHHh This new song was beautiful by them and I can see that Unite. reference seeing as I love them too. i thought this may be the best song Anfiel has put out thus far to me!

yassss i knew mucc would nail 3月5日
the rest doesn't sound too offensive either, waiting to hear the full versions.
ok no i just listened to the whole thing and LM.C are being very offensive there.

Tracklist:
1. Massive Passive
2. 色彩 (Album Ver.)
3. ハレルヤ
4. End of Refrain
5. Loop
6.たりない
7. さよならワルツ
8. Q and A (Album Ver.)
9. 失う
10. Ego-izm
11. Reset
12. Self
 
| Ambivalence in its purest form
 
siraph may have the soul, but la la larks has the voice, and as long as Yumi Uchimura can sing I feel obligated to sample whatever project she is in. Culture Vulture is the debut album half a decade in the making - la la larks emerged from the ashes of school food punishment in 2012 - and this is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I've matured enough to appreciate la la larks for what it is instead of what it is not. On the other hand, if an album takes five years to make, I expect a damn good album. la la larks isn't the only band on the block anymore, and competition breeds incentive, so the only expectation I had was that they would give it their all.
 
Listening to Culture Vulture is ambivalence in its purest form. I want to rip la la larks for releasing such little music for the last five years, but I also want to dig into them for having released half of Culture Vulture already. It's two shakes away from falling into the Chinese Democracy category, lacking the feeling of having been toyed with for too long, but already I feel like I've heard this years ago. It is a great album, engineered to perfection, and the experience only intensifies with great audio equipment, but the recipe may as well be printed on the back. I raved about "ego-izm" when it was released as a single, but every other track in that vein feels like an alternate, less effective take. Things get good when la la larks unshackle themselves from their oppressive, self-imposed pop constraints for the tracks such as "loop" or the jazzy ballad "たりない", which have grown to be two of my favorites. It's the biggest indication that there's more to this band than pop songs that would double as juicy anime cash-ins, but they hardly ever show it.
 
Perhaps I haven't changed after all and just want Yumi to throw me a bone. Her voice over dissonant noise and reverb is addictive, and we get close with the deceptive opening of the last track "Self", but close is not enough. Culture Vulture could have taken more risks and been more unpredictable. I'm looking for a figurative wink and nod towards the darker, more contemplative moments similar to sfp's "loop, share", "deviswitch", or even la la larks' "earworm"! It would have done wonders to invigorate my interest.
 
I like it, but I wonder how much of that was engineered and how much of it is my honest opinion. In chasing the goal of creating their perfect pop album, la la larks gives us no indication of how close they are to the apex of their sound. I can clearly hear the talent in every member, but no one does anything that wows me musically. The album never reaches critical mass or picks up a pace faster than a jog, and that turns the tail end of this journey into a slog. When their direct competition made it a point to make a statement with their first release, I'm left disappointed that it took so long to create an album that left such an underwhelming impact.

But what did you really expect when you crystallize school food punishment's two eras into two bands and pit them against each other?
 
 
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