jaymee

I didn’t look her up or anything before posting, but can’t say it surprises me that she’s a shitty person all around D:

GD some foreign fans are so insensitive.
 

 
Kozi’s talking about how he’d never imagined that his reunion with GAZ would be at his wake and RIP and then you have this dumbass commenting, “Next year (at Deep Sanctuary) sing with Klaha.”
 
And you know it’s def a foreign fan because of the icon and unnatural Japanese. Like gtfo with that shit  

ViViD who? I'm perfectly alright believing this the only Vivid that has ever existed in VK.
 
 

Awesome post! I think generally 2ch VK forums basically just migrated to Tanuki? Like after Tanuki took off there wasn't much of a need of for 2ch any more. I also remember that it wasn't uncommon for some non-VK fan trolls coming into the VK forums on 2ch to insult people/VK and the like, so the desire to get away from non-fans might have also been a partial motivating factor to move off of 2ch completely.
 
The same happened with Mixi. Mixi used to have fan communities where (not only limited to VK) fans would trade goods, buy/sell tickets, etc. but Twitter now serves this purpose and offers more, so Mixi is pretty much dead for that now, at least as far as VK is concerned.
 
Back in the day, I remember a lot of doujin and oekaki/fan art were distributed on personal sites/fan sites, and many had their own BBS to chat and trade. Beyond forums like Tanuki, they were connected by a series of web rings catering to certain interests. (I'm sure anyone over 30 on here who has ever made a webpage on Tripod or Geocities before remembers these types of things.)
 
Also, I feel like most BBS in the Japan never evolved past their ugly layouts because some people still use the old Japanese flip phones (garakei) that don't have "regular" browser support and wouldn't be able to support a forum like MH. Japanese people have always used their phones to connect online over landlines, and long bus and train commutes have no doubt influenced this and the development of better portable gaming devices. When I first moved here in 2005 most people were not hooked up to the internet at home. Even now, schools don't assign a lot of projects requiring internet research and besides university, reports and essays are handwritten and not typed. Heck, even resumes are still painstakingly handwritten except for rare exceptions. Although at least now I'd say most people do have internet at home.
 
I once translated and article about how idol fans communicated and stayed informed pre-official sites, Twitter, and SNS. Because artists could not communicate immediately with their fanbases, and very similar to it, VK fans had to search out and engage in communities to learn information about releases, gigs, etc. So something that has changed is that, while Tanuki is mostly used for gossip and shitposting now, the previous 2ch boards, BBS, and communities were also places to spread information to the larger fanbase. Likewise, I think this is why over time these sites and communities have mostly died out (even in the West), because largely there is no need for them and you can get all the info you need in one or two places.
 
I would love to hear from some other people that remember the old 2ch and communities, tho! I wouldn't be surprised if my memory is fuzzy and I've forgotten some things...

Kamijo has never had the clearest enunciation. ^^;;  It sounds like "mitasareru" (to be satisfied or filled with something) to the ear, but that doesn't make as much sense so I'm going "midasareru" like inertia said. I think imagery-wise when you combine the two it would be the scent of roses is so overpowering it drives him mad (makes him dirty/aroused...) since the whole song is about "dancing" in the darkness...

ViViD who? I'm perfectly alright believing this the only Vivid that has ever existed in VK.
 
 

If this is the best Kisaki can do for a so called Matina all-stars band he should just retire lmao

The town I lived in when I was in Japan was actually JDA's home town (Hirakata) and on a hike, my friend and I stumbled across a shrine. We walked around and saw a wall full of ema (wooden plaques that people write their wishes on), which is super common at shrines. I'm not entirely sure at what the etiquette is for reading them, but just by glancing, I saw a vast majority of them had JDA's name on them. I'm guessing they were wishing for their return. I'm not a fan of them or anything, I just thought this would be a cool story to post for those who were fans.  

ViViD who? I'm perfectly alright believing this the only Vivid that has ever existed in VK.
 
 

I imagine for most of us that have been into VK (or general j-rock fans) for a decent amount, there are certain songs that when you hear them they take you back to a specific memory, whether it was one made while that song or one evoked by that song's lyrics/music. I figured it would be interesting to see what songs have really resonated with you all over the years, so c'mon, play along and post a song/memory associated with that song.
 
I'll go first!
 
The FLARE - "Lyra"
 
My (now) husband and I were planning on taking our first trip to Osaka and it just so happened that The FLARE was scheduled to play one their final tour shows there in the middle of our trip. There weren't a lot of business/budget hotels in Osaka at the time (there still aren't compared to other bigger cities, though there's more hostels and the like than there used to be lol... ) and everything was booked so we had to stay at this run down love hotel each night. I don't remember much about the live itself (even after watching recordings like this off the DVD for that tour) except that the whole atmosphere of it was like being in a trance. That said, I made the poor decision to wear these cute heels instead of something more comfortable and the whole time my feet were in excruciating pain and it was a hella long to walk in the cold to the venue and back and standing in this stairwell for number call. Anyways, this song reminds me of that trip, being young and carefree in love, and the Cafe de Crie we ate at every morning there, but mostly the painful lesson that when it comes to lives comfort > style.

I imagine for most of us that have been into VK (or general j-rock fans) for a decent amount, there are certain songs that when you hear them they take you back to a specific memory, whether it was one made while that song or one evoked by that song's lyrics/music. I figured it would be interesting to see what songs have really resonated with you all over the years, so c'mon, play along and post a song/memory associated with that song.
 
I'll go first!
 
The FLARE - "Lyra"
 
My (now) husband and I were planning on taking our first trip to Osaka and it just so happened that The FLARE was scheduled to play one their final tour shows there in the middle of our trip. There weren't a lot of business/budget hotels in Osaka at the time (there still aren't compared to other bigger cities, though there's more hostels and the like than there used to be lol... ) and everything was booked so we had to stay at this run down love hotel each night. I don't remember much about the live itself (even after watching recordings like this off the DVD for that tour) except that the whole atmosphere of it was like being in a trance. That said, I made the poor decision to wear these cute heels instead of something more comfortable and the whole time my feet were in excruciating pain and it was a hella long to walk in the cold to the venue and back and standing in this stairwell for number call. Anyways, this song reminds me of that trip, being young and carefree in love, and the Cafe de Crie we ate at every morning there, but mostly the painful lesson that when it comes to lives comfort > style.

Preach it, henny!
 

TicketCamp announced earlier this month that it was momentarily suspending its service, but in its latest update today, it says the service will close permanently on May 31, 2018.
 
Until their suspension, TicketCamp was by far the most popular service for buying or reselling tickets, especially for VK and other music concerts.
 
The decision seems to be a result of its recent legal troubles, assumably in light of its recent inaction toward cracking down on ticket scalping.
 
 
I’ve personally been a TicketCamp user for a few years now and until now often bought/sold tickets on it. When first I signed up the rules clearly stated that the site was for personal resell/purchase only, and I felt like (at least for the bands I was reselling/buying for at the time), they were doing a adequate job of weeding out scalpers and other suspicious sellers. But with each passing year, it seemed like they were getting lazier and less was being done about it, to the point that most of the tickets I bought through their app this year arrived from ticket reselling companies (scalpers) in Tokyo. And as you can see in the tweet above, it was really getting out of hand.
 
So I guess while not surprising news, until a new outlet (or old outlet like Yahoo!Auctions, etc.) (re)surfaces, it might be harder to resell or purchase tickets, especially for people overseas. In the meantime, if you are looking for tickets to a show and can’t buy thru Lawson, Pia, or eplus, try Twitter, MerCari (Japanese ver.), or Yahoo!Auctions.
 
I’d link the actual news announcement but I can only see it in app on my phone atm. I did a quick search and didn’t see anything about it, but apologies in advance if there is already a thread for it.
 

Agreed. I appreciated TicketCamp’s buyer protection and their easy to use templates for people not used to buying/selling tix. Twitter is harder because other users may not sell to you if you’re not in their FFs or a regular enough fan. Or if you’re like me and basically use Twitter to trade/buy/sell, it’s easy to miss a good opportunity not being on it 24/7.
 
Like I dunno I hate scalping and all, but scalpers are like cockroaches and they always find another platform to take advantage of other people on, so imho in the grand scheme of things shutting the site down does very little to address the actual problem.

Agreed. I appreciated TicketCamp’s buyer protection and their easy to use templates for people not used to buying/selling tix. Twitter is harder because other users may not sell to you if you’re not in their FFs or a regular enough fan. Or if you’re like me and basically use Twitter to trade/buy/sell, it’s easy to miss a good opportunity not being on it 24/7.
 
Like I dunno I hate scalping and all, but scalpers are like cockroaches and they always find another platform to take advantage of other people on, so imho in the grand scheme of things shutting the site down does very little to address the actual problem.

TicketCamp announced earlier this month that it was momentarily suspending its service, but in its latest update today, it says the service will close permanently on May 31, 2018.
 
Until their suspension, TicketCamp was by far the most popular service for buying or reselling tickets, especially for VK and other music concerts.
 
The decision seems to be a result of its recent legal troubles, assumably in light of its recent inaction toward cracking down on ticket scalping.
 
 
I’ve personally been a TicketCamp user for a few years now and until now often bought/sold tickets on it. When first I signed up the rules clearly stated that the site was for personal resell/purchase only, and I felt like (at least for the bands I was reselling/buying for at the time), they were doing a adequate job of weeding out scalpers and other suspicious sellers. But with each passing year, it seemed like they were getting lazier and less was being done about it, to the point that most of the tickets I bought through their app this year arrived from ticket reselling companies (scalpers) in Tokyo. And as you can see in the tweet above, it was really getting out of hand.
 
So I guess while not surprising news, until a new outlet (or old outlet like Yahoo!Auctions, etc.) (re)surfaces, it might be harder to resell or purchase tickets, especially for people overseas. In the meantime, if you are looking for tickets to a show and can’t buy thru Lawson, Pia, or eplus, try Twitter, MerCari (Japanese ver.), or Yahoo!Auctions.
 
I’d link the actual news announcement but I can only see it in app on my phone atm. I did a quick search and didn’t see anything about it, but apologies in advance if there is already a thread for it.
 

TicketCamp announced earlier this month that it was momentarily suspending its service, but in its latest update today, it says the service will close permanently on May 31, 2018.
 
Until their suspension, TicketCamp was by far the most popular service for buying or reselling tickets, especially for VK and other music concerts.
 
The decision seems to be a result of its recent legal troubles, assumably in light of its recent inaction toward cracking down on ticket scalping.
 
 
I’ve personally been a TicketCamp user for a few years now and until now often bought/sold tickets on it. When first I signed up the rules clearly stated that the site was for personal resell/purchase only, and I felt like (at least for the bands I was reselling/buying for at the time), they were doing a adequate job of weeding out scalpers and other suspicious sellers. But with each passing year, it seemed like they were getting lazier and less was being done about it, to the point that most of the tickets I bought through their app this year arrived from ticket reselling companies (scalpers) in Tokyo. And as you can see in the tweet above, it was really getting out of hand.
 
So I guess while not surprising news, until a new outlet (or old outlet like Yahoo!Auctions, etc.) (re)surfaces, it might be harder to resell or purchase tickets, especially for people overseas. In the meantime, if you are looking for tickets to a show and can’t buy thru Lawson, Pia, or eplus, try Twitter, MerCari (Japanese ver.), or Yahoo!Auctions.
 
I’d link the actual news announcement but I can only see it in app on my phone atm. I did a quick search and didn’t see anything about it, but apologies in advance if there is already a thread for it.
 

RIP Ticketcamp. Super unfortunate, I mean I saw this coming when they shut down sales but.  I understand why it happened, but for the bands I follow, most sales that weren’t Ticketcamp went through Twitter and that was just a mess. 

she's unironically retweeting trump so like what do you expect

GD some foreign fans are so insensitive.
 

 
Kozi’s talking about how he’d never imagined that his reunion with GAZ would be at his wake and RIP and then you have this dumbass commenting, “Next year (at Deep Sanctuary) sing with Klaha.”
 
And you know it’s def a foreign fan because of the icon and unnatural Japanese. Like gtfo with that shit  

GD some foreign fans are so insensitive.
 

 
Kozi’s talking about how he’d never imagined that his reunion with GAZ would be at his wake and RIP and then you have this dumbass commenting, “Next year (at Deep Sanctuary) sing with Klaha.”
 
And you know it’s def a foreign fan because of the icon and unnatural Japanese. Like gtfo with that shit  

Looks like you got a lot of cute stuff! I've been thinking about getting an Instax camera but I think I want it more for the novelty and the cute film than actually putting it to good use, so I've been lukewarm on buying one for the past couple of years.
 
My husband and I don't really exchange presents in the "traditional sense" anymore, but we went on a Christmas date that he paid most of, and while on the date we saw some winter items he could use so I bought that. Yay memories over stuff. ❤️
 
A few weeks before I'd put in an order at Sephora to get some stuff for friends, and added the Kat Von D Saints & Sinners palette to my cart. It has a lot of colors I'll get a lot of use out of at lives/events and the packaging is brilliant. 😍 (image credit @gothicbrat on Reddit)
 

 
My family, for the most part, didn't exchange because we'd already pooled quite a bit of money to attend my mom's wedding the month prior, except for my grandparents, who shopped for themselves and then sent us the bill lol... (But then later gave us double that money as our present.)
 
Overall it was pretty win-win since I didn't have much wrapping or international mailing to do, and Christmas was pretty stress free.

I feel like a Dir en Grey tribute album should have happened around late 00's, during the peak Diru copy cat era.

It was announced at their gig on 2017/12/24 that LUNA SEA will do LUNATIC FEST once again on 2018/06/23&24.
 
The event will be held at Makuhari Messe Hall. 
 
More info will be revealed on 2018/01/17
 
www.lunaticfest.com