jaymee

Don't know if this really counts, but some of the crap these kids spam the band guys' Instagram pages with, lol.

These kids are ridic cute but daaaaamn half of them have ridiculous DNQ/kira kira names. 
 
Every now and then you find kids in Japan that you are pretty sure their ex-gya parents named after a j-rocker. I've met a least 3 kiddos named Gakuto, one Kamijo, and a couple of boys named Taiji and Yura.

I think the main “guy” in the song has two versions of himself. One is the cannibal/killer/homosexual, and the other is his “normal” side, Boy A.
 
I think he is in conflict with himself, where he does not want to be the cannibal/killer/homosexual, but can’t help himself. This side of him/conflict with himself is always there, “in the room”, even when he wants to be “normal” with another man/love interest. He wants to tell the man/love interest about this side of him and the impending danger it will put them in. However, eventually his secret will come out (“the best before” date), as he cannot fight off his dark side.
 
I also believe he somehow wants his love interest or their relationship to help fight off/kill this side of him (inside the mirror), and accept his homosexuality so that he will be saved and may live normally without this other self. But it seems like at the end, although he has hope that he can somehow overcome this side of himself, they are both sucked into the mirror (the dark side of him). 
 
In that case, "sin will wash sin away" could be the hope that love could lead to self-acceptance, like the "sin" of homosexuality will wash away his other cannibal/killer sins.
But then eventually "sin will wash sin away" changes to mean that he has washed away his "sin" of homosexuality by killing another homosexual person (a metaphor for killing his dark, homosexual side).
 
I have a feeling that Rousseau’s illusion may refer to Rousseau’s philosophy that everything in love is an illusion.
But I find it interesting that although there isn't set term like "Rousseau's illusion" in Japanese, there is a term called "sojii illusion", which means capgras delusion. In capgras delusion, a person believes someone has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Combining both could have been a deliberate play on words.
 
I think Rousseau's illusion fits with the first part of the song, where he believes love will fix everything, but in the end he falls prey to a form of capgras delusion, where he sees the dark side of himself replaced with an imposter/his love interest.
 
(Also just incase it comes across as unclear, I don't personally believe homosexuality is a sin, but it seems like the main guy in the video has been conditioned to believe it is.)
 
 

I think the main “guy” in the song has two versions of himself. One is the cannibal/killer/homosexual, and the other is his “normal” side, Boy A.
 
I think he is in conflict with himself, where he does not want to be the cannibal/killer/homosexual, but can’t help himself. This side of him/conflict with himself is always there, “in the room”, even when he wants to be “normal” with another man/love interest. He wants to tell the man/love interest about this side of him and the impending danger it will put them in. However, eventually his secret will come out (“the best before” date), as he cannot fight off his dark side.
 
I also believe he somehow wants his love interest or their relationship to help fight off/kill this side of him (inside the mirror), and accept his homosexuality so that he will be saved and may live normally without this other self. But it seems like at the end, although he has hope that he can somehow overcome this side of himself, they are both sucked into the mirror (the dark side of him). 
 
In that case, "sin will wash sin away" could be the hope that love could lead to self-acceptance, like the "sin" of homosexuality will wash away his other cannibal/killer sins.
But then eventually "sin will wash sin away" changes to mean that he has washed away his "sin" of homosexuality by killing another homosexual person (a metaphor for killing his dark, homosexual side).
 
I have a feeling that Rousseau’s illusion may refer to Rousseau’s philosophy that everything in love is an illusion.
But I find it interesting that although there isn't set term like "Rousseau's illusion" in Japanese, there is a term called "sojii illusion", which means capgras delusion. In capgras delusion, a person believes someone has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Combining both could have been a deliberate play on words.
 
I think Rousseau's illusion fits with the first part of the song, where he believes love will fix everything, but in the end he falls prey to a form of capgras delusion, where he sees the dark side of himself replaced with an imposter/his love interest.
 
(Also just incase it comes across as unclear, I don't personally believe homosexuality is a sin, but it seems like the main guy in the video has been conditioned to believe it is.)
 
 

I don't know how it was in the 90s, and PIERROT was never my "main" band during my bangya days, but I know that over time Dir has lost a lot of its original fan base according to some of my best (Japanese) friends that used to be Dir bangya.
 
I think it's a combination of the musical/visual change and their original fans getting older and moving on. Like over time many of the original fans have stopped going, and there hasn't been enough new fans (v-kei bangya or otherwise) coming in to take their place.
 
Generally I think much like Janne Da Arc, PIERROT was better at bridging the visual and non-visual fandom during their heyday/before mainstream visual kei completely "died". I originally got into PIERROT via v-kei, but my husband originally started listening to them because of an old middle school classmate and hasn't ever been a fan of any other v-kei bands. PIERROT seems to have a lot of fans like that.
 
At the PIERROT reunion live they even had a "daycare" to babysit kids while their parents attended the show(s).
 
Dir en grey is definitely more well-known internationally, though. I don't know about in Japan with people outside the scene, however.
 
I agree there was probably some novelty in their reunion so they could still fill such a large venue, but I think even if PIERROT were to do a proper activity restart now, they would still play bigger venues than Dir does currently, like Luna Sea and GLAY do. (Maybe not as big as that.)
 
Just my two yen, though. I'm not personally involved in either scene. (Like I don't go see any of the PIERROT members side projects and my Dir bangya friends have moved on/I was never into them after Vulgar.)

TRICERATOPS. Well, not really a discovery as I've been aware of them since the early 2000s, but I never bothered to check them out. And prior to getting into them this summer my only experience with the band was their cover of UNICORN's HIGE TO BOIN on one of the UNICORN tribute albums. Anyway, they're freaking great. I'm a sucker for good pop rock, and they have written a lot of it.
 
 

I think the main “guy” in the song has two versions of himself. One is the cannibal/killer/homosexual, and the other is his “normal” side, Boy A.
 
I think he is in conflict with himself, where he does not want to be the cannibal/killer/homosexual, but can’t help himself. This side of him/conflict with himself is always there, “in the room”, even when he wants to be “normal” with another man/love interest. He wants to tell the man/love interest about this side of him and the impending danger it will put them in. However, eventually his secret will come out (“the best before” date), as he cannot fight off his dark side.
 
I also believe he somehow wants his love interest or their relationship to help fight off/kill this side of him (inside the mirror), and accept his homosexuality so that he will be saved and may live normally without this other self. But it seems like at the end, although he has hope that he can somehow overcome this side of himself, they are both sucked into the mirror (the dark side of him). 
 
In that case, "sin will wash sin away" could be the hope that love could lead to self-acceptance, like the "sin" of homosexuality will wash away his other cannibal/killer sins.
But then eventually "sin will wash sin away" changes to mean that he has washed away his "sin" of homosexuality by killing another homosexual person (a metaphor for killing his dark, homosexual side).
 
I have a feeling that Rousseau’s illusion may refer to Rousseau’s philosophy that everything in love is an illusion.
But I find it interesting that although there isn't set term like "Rousseau's illusion" in Japanese, there is a term called "sojii illusion", which means capgras delusion. In capgras delusion, a person believes someone has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Combining both could have been a deliberate play on words.
 
I think Rousseau's illusion fits with the first part of the song, where he believes love will fix everything, but in the end he falls prey to a form of capgras delusion, where he sees the dark side of himself replaced with an imposter/his love interest.
 
(Also just incase it comes across as unclear, I don't personally believe homosexuality is a sin, but it seems like the main guy in the video has been conditioned to believe it is.)
 
 

I think the main “guy” in the song has two versions of himself. One is the cannibal/killer/homosexual, and the other is his “normal” side, Boy A.
 
I think he is in conflict with himself, where he does not want to be the cannibal/killer/homosexual, but can’t help himself. This side of him/conflict with himself is always there, “in the room”, even when he wants to be “normal” with another man/love interest. He wants to tell the man/love interest about this side of him and the impending danger it will put them in. However, eventually his secret will come out (“the best before” date), as he cannot fight off his dark side.
 
I also believe he somehow wants his love interest or their relationship to help fight off/kill this side of him (inside the mirror), and accept his homosexuality so that he will be saved and may live normally without this other self. But it seems like at the end, although he has hope that he can somehow overcome this side of himself, they are both sucked into the mirror (the dark side of him). 
 
In that case, "sin will wash sin away" could be the hope that love could lead to self-acceptance, like the "sin" of homosexuality will wash away his other cannibal/killer sins.
But then eventually "sin will wash sin away" changes to mean that he has washed away his "sin" of homosexuality by killing another homosexual person (a metaphor for killing his dark, homosexual side).
 
I have a feeling that Rousseau’s illusion may refer to Rousseau’s philosophy that everything in love is an illusion.
But I find it interesting that although there isn't set term like "Rousseau's illusion" in Japanese, there is a term called "sojii illusion", which means capgras delusion. In capgras delusion, a person believes someone has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Combining both could have been a deliberate play on words.
 
I think Rousseau's illusion fits with the first part of the song, where he believes love will fix everything, but in the end he falls prey to a form of capgras delusion, where he sees the dark side of himself replaced with an imposter/his love interest.
 
(Also just incase it comes across as unclear, I don't personally believe homosexuality is a sin, but it seems like the main guy in the video has been conditioned to believe it is.)
 
 

I think the main “guy” in the song has two versions of himself. One is the cannibal/killer/homosexual, and the other is his “normal” side, Boy A.
 
I think he is in conflict with himself, where he does not want to be the cannibal/killer/homosexual, but can’t help himself. This side of him/conflict with himself is always there, “in the room”, even when he wants to be “normal” with another man/love interest. He wants to tell the man/love interest about this side of him and the impending danger it will put them in. However, eventually his secret will come out (“the best before” date), as he cannot fight off his dark side.
 
I also believe he somehow wants his love interest or their relationship to help fight off/kill this side of him (inside the mirror), and accept his homosexuality so that he will be saved and may live normally without this other self. But it seems like at the end, although he has hope that he can somehow overcome this side of himself, they are both sucked into the mirror (the dark side of him). 
 
In that case, "sin will wash sin away" could be the hope that love could lead to self-acceptance, like the "sin" of homosexuality will wash away his other cannibal/killer sins.
But then eventually "sin will wash sin away" changes to mean that he has washed away his "sin" of homosexuality by killing another homosexual person (a metaphor for killing his dark, homosexual side).
 
I have a feeling that Rousseau’s illusion may refer to Rousseau’s philosophy that everything in love is an illusion.
But I find it interesting that although there isn't set term like "Rousseau's illusion" in Japanese, there is a term called "sojii illusion", which means capgras delusion. In capgras delusion, a person believes someone has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Combining both could have been a deliberate play on words.
 
I think Rousseau's illusion fits with the first part of the song, where he believes love will fix everything, but in the end he falls prey to a form of capgras delusion, where he sees the dark side of himself replaced with an imposter/his love interest.
 
(Also just incase it comes across as unclear, I don't personally believe homosexuality is a sin, but it seems like the main guy in the video has been conditioned to believe it is.)
 
 

I think the main “guy” in the song has two versions of himself. One is the cannibal/killer/homosexual, and the other is his “normal” side, Boy A.
 
I think he is in conflict with himself, where he does not want to be the cannibal/killer/homosexual, but can’t help himself. This side of him/conflict with himself is always there, “in the room”, even when he wants to be “normal” with another man/love interest. He wants to tell the man/love interest about this side of him and the impending danger it will put them in. However, eventually his secret will come out (“the best before” date), as he cannot fight off his dark side.
 
I also believe he somehow wants his love interest or their relationship to help fight off/kill this side of him (inside the mirror), and accept his homosexuality so that he will be saved and may live normally without this other self. But it seems like at the end, although he has hope that he can somehow overcome this side of himself, they are both sucked into the mirror (the dark side of him). 
 
In that case, "sin will wash sin away" could be the hope that love could lead to self-acceptance, like the "sin" of homosexuality will wash away his other cannibal/killer sins.
But then eventually "sin will wash sin away" changes to mean that he has washed away his "sin" of homosexuality by killing another homosexual person (a metaphor for killing his dark, homosexual side).
 
I have a feeling that Rousseau’s illusion may refer to Rousseau’s philosophy that everything in love is an illusion.
But I find it interesting that although there isn't set term like "Rousseau's illusion" in Japanese, there is a term called "sojii illusion", which means capgras delusion. In capgras delusion, a person believes someone has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Combining both could have been a deliberate play on words.
 
I think Rousseau's illusion fits with the first part of the song, where he believes love will fix everything, but in the end he falls prey to a form of capgras delusion, where he sees the dark side of himself replaced with an imposter/his love interest.
 
(Also just incase it comes across as unclear, I don't personally believe homosexuality is a sin, but it seems like the main guy in the video has been conditioned to believe it is.)
 
 

C'mon nobody has posted this infamous one yet? XD
 
Janne Da Arc - FREEDOM
 
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm15736727
 
Daybreak good morning! neguse de tobinoru Subway
Working discord atama sage-ppanashi no hibi
Doesn’t my life suck? Nothing is free.
I want freedom.
Mou nanimo umaku ikanai
 
Showtime Sweet Honey Kyou wa itoshii kimi no birthday
Happening “I’m sorry?” FURI nige JOUDAN ja nai ze!
Give me a break! What should I do?
Help me! Oh! My good!
Ikanaide Be my baby DISUKAUNTO kurai shite
Hey! Let’s go!
Stand up! Wake up! & Look up! Speak up!
Ai o shitte kizutuite
Start up! Speed up! & Make up! Grade-up!
Kyou mo sei ippai ikiteru kedo
Shiawase-tte ittai nani na no?
 
Shake out Fade out ITAZURA MEERU sae Silent
Party Love game Karaburi no arisama
Doesn’t my life suck? Nothing is free.
I want freedom.

Ajikinai Everyday INSUTANTO (instant)  no ai demo OK
Stand up! Wake up! & Look up! Speak up!
Ato dorekurai I carry on cry
Start up! Speed up! & Make up! Grade-up!
Chotto mada ame yami sou ni nai
Stand up! Wake up! & Look up! Speak up!
Jinsei nante ame nochi hare
Start up! Speed up! & Make up! Grade-up!
Ippai shippai furikaesu do
Doushite ganbatteru n darou?
 
Only Venus. Heavenly Venus. On my Venus dakishimete
Only Venus. Heavenly Venus. On my Venus. Please tell me
Only Venus. Heavenly Venus. On my Venus. Kuchizukete
Only Venus. Heavenly Venus. On my Venus. Far away.
Only Venus. Heavenly Venus. On my Venus. Oshiete yo

Mirai wa dare ni demo kaerareru mono na no?
Give me a break! What should I do?
Help me! Oh! My good!
Ajikinai Everyday KIIPOINTO (key point) wa up to date
Hay Let’s Go!

Stand up! Wake up! & Look up! Speak up!
Taiyou ni te o kazashite
Start up! Speed up! & Make up! Grade-up!
Kyou mo seippai ikite miyou
Stand up! Wake up! & Look up! Speak up!
Jinsei nante ame nochi hare
Start up! Speed up! & Make up! Grade-up!
Ippai shippai o kurikaeshite
Itsu no hi ka niji watarou

Wake up! Brand-new self!

Loving this thread! So much to check out!
 
You don't know how stoked I was that Purity Ring played Tokyo this year. Megan was so nice to come out and hang with fans afterward, too.

Loving this thread! So much to check out!
 
You don't know how stoked I was that Purity Ring played Tokyo this year. Megan was so nice to come out and hang with fans afterward, too.

My first favorites were Malice Mizer and Baiser. I was OBSESSED with Malice Mizer until they went on a permanent hiatus. I'm still sad I'll never see them live, but I did get a small bit of closure being Kozi and Yu~ki perform as guests with Moi Dix Mois. I don't feel like Malice's sound has aged well, so I rarely listen to their CDs anymore nor would I call them my fave now, but every now and then I like to play Ma Cherie or Bara no Seidou and get wrapped up in the nostalgia.
 
I think there was less choice in having a "first favorite" back then, because at the time fans mostly had to rely on foreign gya or music enthusiasts in Japan to share it via Napster/IRC. So whatever you got your hands on was likely to become your "first favorite". Or you might go through the scans that were on Paradoxical Reality and then try to find songs of whatever bands looked interesting via music sharing platforms.
 
 

Also, because I don't think it was mentioned yet...
 
Bansuke randomly disappearing after Baroque got back together. When the members finally found him, he claimed his sudden departure was due to health issues, and refused to meet the members in person.
 
Everything about DEViL KiTTY, which was the butt of like every joke in the early 00s. (Apparently the vocalist has rebranded this band and they sound decent now..? IDK)
 
 
 

Most of them have been covered, but I'll leave this one... Daishi's (Psycho le Cemu/SiXX)'s sudden marriage announcement to Ami Tokito, a popular gravure model almost half his age. Because Ami leaked that they'd registered their marriage to some friends that apparently weren't trustworthy enough, a sports newspaper got wind of it and Daishi had to do quick damage control.
 
Hilariously the news got leaked the day after their tour final last year, where Daishi had apologized about his past misgivings (his drug arrest that had shot PLC's chances of ever becoming a huge major band) and that he'd matured some. (Apparently not.) I imagine the members were like "wtf" not this shit again, and generally their surprised congratulatory blog posts that followed were delightfully passive aggressive.
 
Then some PLC gya decided to "get revenge" at their upcoming taiban by not supporting him/not wearing blue glow bracelets. I think in general no1curr that he got married since he's 41 and all of the other members are (secretly) married, but the way it came out was in really poor taste.

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've attended a show with Eiji and I didn't get any supremacist vibes from him. So I'd like to call bullshit on that. Probably just some foreign fangirl who got rejected and then decided he was a racist.

Does Wataru choking a woman count?

but guys tbh the biggest wtf has to be everything malice mizer related
why did they break up what happened to kami (We know the alleged COD but STILL) what happened to klaha why'd gackt ACTUALLY leave (he basically blamed it on their money whore ways but there is no bigger money/fame/attention whore than gackt so i'd easier believe that mana is actually a 3000 year old space alien) is mana actually dada's son (my fav)

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. 

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. 

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. ^^

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. 

could it be MOAMETAL though?..
 
because that's like the only Moa I know of.