jaymee

i bet the 3 rerecorded are 腐海 / THE ⅢD EMPIRE / Beautiful Dirt

A re-recording of "Garden" would be amazing, but I pigs would fly before it ever happened, I'm sure.

Sho is super talented and was an avid VK fan long before Golden Bomber came on the scene. Seriously the amount of instruments he can play probably rivals Gackt at this point. No one else in GB has musical talent tho lol
 
Better him to present than some nobody current band or Yoshiki, who would turn it into an X bragging special.

Gackt
 

 
 
I remember sometime in the 2000s Gackt had some really bad breakout prone skin that even thick layers of make-up couldn't hide as TV display/quality improved.

Kaya:
 

 

 

some Kamijo
 

 

 

 
(obviously wearing makeup in that last one, but it's an ooold casual look anyway)

I'd like to take YOSHIKI's quote and add my own context.
 
This is the key. Visual kei was born out of Japan by those who felt like they didn't fit in anywhere in Japan. YOSHIKI isn't going to say that visual kei can't exist world wide because that's not good for his bottom line, but there's a very good reason why it hasn't taken off outside Japan. It has less to do with looks, singing capability, or chosen musical direction, and more to do with anti-conformity and rebelliousness within and against a homogeneous society. No other country faces the same mix of societal pressures and obligations the way the Japanese do, and as these pressures change over time visual kei changes over time too. This is in contrast to musicians from Western countries who want to emulate the style and look to their favorite and popular artists first. It's the difference between taking a picture, and taking a picture of that picture, and taking a picture of that picture. The farther away one gets away from the source and the conditions that cause that source, the less authentic the final product is.

 

I fully agree with this. So many bands follow trends because it's the thing to do, but at some point a trend started as a unique idea. Much as I expect musicians to look within themselves and put their feelings into music, I expect inspiring Western visual kei musicians to do the same thing with their looks. The looks are supposed to be an expression of how one feels, not a style of the decade to phone in and gain legitimacy.

I do think Western visual kei is a thing that can happen but the form it would assume would be so different we wouldn't even recognize it by looks alone. My ideal Western visual kei band would be identifiable with the sound alone. We would hear them and just know where those influences came from instead of the "lol i like visual kei and pocky" archetype that usually translates over first.

I'm done ranting.


 

I don't mind non-Japanese bands attempting to look/"sound" visual kei, but the problem is that more often than not it's usually more inferior than even the most inferior of offerings Japanese visual kei has to offer. I don't really listen to YOHIO nor follow the online drama that surrounds any topic about him, but he seems to at least be doing VK right from a visual and musical perspective. (Irregardless if his music is your cup of tea or not.)
 
But honestly most older VK musicians don't even care for the slew of bands who are currently "popular" now, let alone some random foreigner person. Yoshiki, despite his other misgivings, is at least still actively open to supporting and the idea of new talent so his answer doesn't surprise me. 

I don't mind non-Japanese bands attempting to look/"sound" visual kei, but the problem is that more often than not it's usually more inferior than even the most inferior of offerings Japanese visual kei has to offer. I don't really listen to YOHIO nor follow the online drama that surrounds any topic about him, but he seems to at least be doing VK right from a visual and musical perspective. (Irregardless if his music is your cup of tea or not.)
 
But honestly most older VK musicians don't even care for the slew of bands who are currently "popular" now, let alone some random foreigner person. Yoshiki, despite his other misgivings, is at least still actively open to supporting and the idea of new talent so his answer doesn't surprise me. 

One of the elderly bandsmen I deeply respect told me recently, that he felt quite uncomfortable when he saw western bands trying to be visual kei. It makes him feel like the japanese visual kei is  ダサい too. Well, sometimes it really is. 

The titles I suggest below are a bit subjective in terms of adult or mature. So hopefully, some of these have the elements you're looking for. I'll put a brief description for each but it's best to watch a couple eps since my explanation don't do justice.
 
Black Lagoon - If you like gun action, crime syndicates , mobs, and a society that works under subjective morality, then give this a shot. The violence levels are above the norms and there are a lot of comedy that doesn't have the typical anime expressions. Somewhat a Cowboy Bebop-ish. All adult main cast thankfully.
 
Jormungand - A team of mercenaries and ex-military specialists led by an arms dealer on a quest for world peace, if that makes any sense. So yes, another gun blazing anime. This show is somewhere on my top 10 list. I really like the depiction of a child soldier here and you got a cast of mostly adults. It has a similar style to Black Lagoon when it comes to characters.
 
Speed Grapher - This anime is quite depraved and sick because debauchery one of the main themes of this series. Your main character is a cameraman that's got a fetish for taking pictures of dead bodies. He sneaks into a secret cult where only rich and famous are allowed, and in that cult is where people indulge in their desires in depraved levels. The thing I like most about this series is the villain. He's sympathetic and does one of the most satisfying things in the series climax that justifies his actions.
 
Blue Gender - One of the few mecha anime that's brutally violent. Think of it as Starship Troopers but not awfully written.
 
Bubblegum Crisis - An oldie from the 80s, good one though. Cyberpunk themed. I'm not sure if the 80s had different standards for content but it was gory at times. Can't really say it's an adult type of show but borderline mature.
 
Moonlight Mile - Two men with a goal of being astronauts and womanizing.
 
Scum's Wish
 
Guardian of the Spirit
 
Baccano!
 
Mardock Scramble (movie trilogy)
 
Yosuga no Sora
 
 
Sorry, I'll edit this post when I have time. Need to sleep now.

To me it sounds like 乱される.
Corrupted / thrown into confusion by the scent of roses
 
 

This is my entire FB feed ATM and not a huge K-pop fan but even I can't deny how good this is.
 
(Unrelated)
 
SEVDALIZA is a constant on my playlist D:
 
 

when did sm get better music producers/music video directors/better fucking budgets wtf I am slayed

I love finding good deals like that!
 
I know, it is crazy. I know all the hard song lives on the left are going to be too good tho. And for the ones on the right it's like... "Well you're already going to be there, so..."  #yolo #noregrets 

I think this is the main reason why so many people don't want to have kids nowadays. The man doesn't earn enough to support the whole family, so the woman has to work, as well... and capitalism is just pushing people to work too hard, so they can't even take care of their family well.
 
I also agree with you both about the overpopulation, all these issues are probably caused by this... the planet needs less people and not giving birth is one of the humane methods to make the population smaller, but the society is still influenced by the past, some people don't realize that and just continue their old ways of thinking.

London Grammar - Truth is a Beautiful Thing
PVRIS - All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell

letter, rain falls down and dessin d'combres are free CD's.
 
The rest I bought at bookoff and closet child at ikebukuro ^^" 
 
 

Psycho le Cemu without make-up/very light make-up:
 
Daishi
 
 
AYA

 
Yura-sama (on the left)
 

 
seek and Daishi
 

 
Daishi, Lida, and seek
 

 
Old Synectics photo set of the rest of the band post Daishi's arrest (top: Lida and AYA, bottom: Yura-sama and seek)
 

 
Recent pic
 

 
Also recent, PLC appeared on a variety TV show and they did a "what if PLC looked like normal businesspeople" segment (seek, Lida, Daishi, Yura-sama, AYA)
 

 

A re-recording of "Garden" would be amazing, but I pigs would fly before it ever happened, I'm sure.

Yeah, there are a growing number of DINKs (Dual Income No Kids) like my husband and I. With lower take home incomes for men forcing women to work as well,  people getting married later or not at all, and women or men just generally wanting to bow out of this social pressure, not a lot of the younger generation is eager to take on the task. Just the work culture here alone is enough to make you dead inside if you let it.

Oh man, I remember friends telling me how babysitting isn't a thing in Japan. My best friend who is Japanese is stressed because she's not sure she ever wants children or even to get married. She absolutely hates the idea of becoming a housewife although she admires them because of her mother. I know she's definitely not the only J-girl friend of mine in that boat. One of my J-dude friends and I talked about how he thinks the social pressure is so unfair on women and how it ends up affecting everyone, and how better options for childcare need to exist. I think that unfortunately influenced his decision not to become an English teacher despite having the qualifications and taking a higher paying corporate job. 
 
 

I was somewhat on the fence in my teens about not wanting children. I'm in my 30s now and over the years have gradually moved into the "never having kids" zone. The only exception being that should I ever change my mind (not likely but just entertaining the possibility) I would adopt. But, at this point I don't even want that.
 
There are few j-guys that don't want kids, and my husband and I are both only children. The social pressure to have kids here is insane with the declining birthrate and all... Because of outside peer pressure sometimes my husband entertains the thought of having children, tho he pretty much reverts to "ah hell no" status the rare times we babysit for our friends' kids. He tires out easily and gets irritated when he doesn't get a full night's sleep and his free time is taken away from him, so I figure he'd get stressed/sick of parenting really fast. Also ultimately in Japan, the child rearing responsibility would fall fully on me, and so he doesn't try and force that burden on me knowing I'm not interested. However, we discussed all of this before marriage, and still check in that we're on the same page from time to time.
 
Reasons I don't want kids:
 
- I just don't want them
I actually like kids, but only in measured doses. I don't have a ton of free time as it is, and I know I would be miserable having to give that up for someone else. I also enjoy having the freedom to travel, going to lives, go out with friends, etc. with what little free time I do have, and that would be hard to do with kids since babysitting (like calling a babysitter) is an foreign concept to most Japanese people and the in-laws don't live nearby. My (girl)friends with kids hardly ever go out, hardly ever have any time away from their kids alone with their husbands, never have time to care for themselves, their houses are always a mess, and it just feels like they live the same day over and over. Their roles are limited to "mommy". Also they hardly ever sleep and look tired all the time. I mean they're happy so I'm happy for them, but it's just not the life for me. My husband and I have two cats. They provide the same cuteness and affection and are only a fraction of the work.
 
- They're expensive
I would have to work completely from home (instead of partly), and even then for the first couple of years childcare is pretty much a full time job in itself, so I doubt I'd get much done. My husband doesn't make enough money for me to quit my job. (Thanks crippling student loan debt D: )
 
- Overpopulation
This is the biggest one, even if we did actually want kids. There are already too many people on the planet and we're killing it. The way things are going, it's unlikely the earth won't succumb to global warming or war over lack of resources before any potential kids would grow old and pass on. I couldn't have them knowing that, just for vanity's sake of having a mini me or two running around.

Deciding not to have kids is frustrating because most doctors will refuse to tie your tubes or do anything permanent if you're young and/or haven't had kids yet, because they always assume you will change your mind.
 

Been on repeat since they came out D:
 
 
 

Who needs kids when you can have cats.