monkeybanana4

Making-of before it will go public
 
This is on my throw-away channel that I use for VK stuff, I'll make it a public video some time later, but feel free to watch it now ^^
(Yes I bought the CD, and I had to pay 15 bucks extra because my country decided to check my package because it "was suspicious", so I hope you will all enjoy ^^)
 
Little note, the rip isn't in high quality, but neither the Making-of nor the MV are HD, so I'm not too happy about that TwT

SHiSHi's second single, 「ぐるぐる症候群」(Guruguru shoukougun), will be released on 2020.01.22.
 
Rinne ban (2,000 yen + taxes)/(CD+DVD)
CD
1. ぐるぐる症候群
2. 病みうさぎ2
DVD
1. DVD : ぐるぐる症候群 -MUSIC VIDEO-
2. DVD : ぐるぐる症候群 -MAKING-

Tensei ban (1,500 yen + taxes)/(CD only)
CD
1. ぐるぐる症候群
2. 病みうさぎ2
3. 必殺！ミラクルアルティメット！
 

SHiSHi's second single, 「ぐるぐる症候群」(Guruguru shoukougun), will be released on 2020.01.22.
 
Rinne ban (2,000 yen + taxes)/(CD+DVD)
CD
1. ぐるぐる症候群
2. 病みうさぎ2
DVD
1. DVD : ぐるぐる症候群 -MUSIC VIDEO-
2. DVD : ぐるぐる症候群 -MAKING-

Tensei ban (1,500 yen + taxes)/(CD only)
CD
1. ぐるぐる症候群
2. 病みうさぎ2
3. 必殺！ミラクルアルティメット！
 

^been following them for awhile! 80s slash horror fans will totally dig their stuff too. i bought the survival horror-style game "the glass staircase" but have still yet to play it. hope they will make more survival horror games cuz it looks so good, and i'm a huge fan of the genre.
 
on another note, i don't wanna pour 100+ hours on a persona game again but persona 5 scramble looks amaaaaazing
 
 
 

I came back to see if anyone was discussing the subject further and I realized a I got plenty of reactions, and am finding it kind of funny, so maybe I should explain my point a bit further because it all seemed like a big wall of text without a clear point. I really wasn't saying a lot though, I just ended up addressing different replies without quoting.  
 
All I really wanted to say is, from the point of view of someone who really liked j-rock and despised k-pop for the better part of their lives, you can't really deny that there's always (and by always I mean in the last 20-something years of course because K-pop didn't exist before nor had Korea been too influenced by the US) been some degree of cultural overlap or influencing because that's what pop culture worldwide always does, and it's not really fair to compare or put one against the other as if they're Polar Opposites In A War because it's quite out of context, it's just not how it works. I mean, media and cultural industries do run deeper than that.
 
So Japan started embracing Korea and Korean products because of dramas, AFAIK, and games and manhwa kind of found their way as counterparts (almost counterfeits, really) to whatever Japan had been doing ages before, before K-pop music emerged as one more kind of product. No real artistic appeal, but I did listen to Japanese music way back when BoA started becoming really popular. Japan was all over Namie Amuro or Ayumi Hamasaki and all of a sudden there were (the half-American) Utada Hikaru and BoA in the spotlight as well. And SME was pretty keen on exporting their artists since H.O.T. so after BoA kind of managed to Be It they made TVXQ debut alongside with her. And this is where the MV of Tri-Angle which I mentioned before kicks in. I'm no expert but I believe Japan had been exporting a lot of pop culture to SK for years and that was more a reply. Which was... quite a thing. And by thing I mean quite a cultural appropriation as the kids of nowadays would put. (Final Fantasy? Visual kei? You decide.)
 
 
And it worked, lol, because soon enough (the fandom of TVXQ which was quite hugeee in Japan) Cassiopeia was formed, SNSD and SuJu (and Big Bang, etc) were pretty popular overseas as well and that's when the whole Hallyu 2.0 thing kicked in. So basically SK was just trying to export stuff - really, trying hard, because being so closely dominated by US and Japan-originated products Probably Sucks - and that's how we ended up with the most seemingly random but not really mix of cultural influences in k-pop. Because it worked, it sold, and yeah. Cue seemingly out-of-place Pocky/Pepero game levels of fanservice, colorful hairstyles and clear imitations of whatever j-pop boy/girlgroups were doing. And because there's always been this kind of insurgence of j-rock in j-pop music as well, it's thrown in the mix somehow.
 
So when I did that video, it was more as a joke because I ... kind of started digging deeper for j-rock/visual kei music after years of just listening to ONE OK ROCK or whatever was "pop j-rock" at the time, and I was talking to a friend and we were like, oh, ok, it's definitely being influenced the other way around now. Understandably so, especially because since k-pop made successful breakthroughs into the US market and, with it being the biggest music (actually, general pop culture) market/export in the world, of course it's a huge influence to Japan as well. So we were kidding about how even visual kei PVs nowadays sometimes looked less like 2000s or 90s visual kei PVs and more like k-pop MVs, although they're still distinguishable to the non-casual viewer (but yeah, if you go solely by commonplace stereotypes like "k-pop artists don't create songs/play instruments", "k-pop has no Japanese language music", "k-pop has no foreigners", "K-pop is cuter", "but fanservice" "but makeup" etc... you're just prone to go wrong). As I was saying, pop cultures in general do overlap always, regardless of nationality. That's characteristic of, well, pop culture in a globalized world. But that's really as far as my enlightenment goes, lol.
 
And then you have the western fans of Asian music whose preferences seemed to change, not so much because it did change, much more so because of the shift in East Asian music market and accessibility (I remember it was super hard finding subbed Korean videos back in 2008 so I was much more a NEWS fan than a TVXQ one, although I listened to both - but nowadays it's harder to find Johnnys videos because they're all taken down LOL) and promotion, stuff like that.
 
What you subjectively make out of this is just what you make out of this, bro. I literally don't think I can delve any deeper than this.
 

Heya everyone, name's Ashe!

I've been on and off of this site for years getting information and just laughing at comments and I figured now was the perfect time to join since there's been so much new stuff. Lately I've been listening a lot to these new bands, I'm really really into ザアザア (fight me), DADAROMA, キズ, and gulu gulu. I started listening back when I found The GazettE with their Filth in the Beauty MV, which was years ago... haha. I don't listen to them as much now? Their newer stuff isn't doing it for me anymore. 

I'm really excited to see what's up for 2020 in all of this, I think it'll be cool to see how all of these bands improve. It's been fun watching these newer bands improve exponentially with each single, but it's also not always like that, and they fumble sometimes. 

Usually I like to look at instrumentals in the tracks, I'm really slow with singles and mini albums because I listen to them on loop for a day or so before I formulate my opinion. 

Either way, thanks for having me! 
Hope to have fun interacting with you all!

I agree with you here to an extent. I do think there are functional and dysfunctional ways to raise children and i'm all for informing others on what's healthy and functional, but here's why I think it's no one's business: we simply do not know enough details to judge the matter. Everyone is in an uproar over a soundbite, essentially. We don't know the relationship that T.I. has with his daughter. We don't know anything about their family, their dynamics, or their history. We don't know his daughter's perspective and we barely know anything about T.I.'s perspective. outside of a 15 sec. audio clip. So everyone is making assumptions based on very limited information. Not a wise thing to do in my opinion.
 
I do think that T.I. may have made a mistake by making this public knowledge. But who knows? Maybe it's not a mistake? Maybe the discussions that have spawned out of this are conversations that need to be had?
 
 
This really depends on how you view family, fatherhood, and sex. I can't speak for T.I., but I can tell you that from a Hebraic/Biblical perspective, a daughter is supposed to remain under the protection/covering of her father until she is married, and then she becomes her husband's responsibility. And this has nothing to do with trying to control women, or women being "weak" or "helpless" - certainly not -  it's about protecting that which is valuable. Sex outside of marriage is also viewed as dysfunctional, because it doesn't serve any sustainable purpose and the harm it causes is not worth the pleasure of a 15-second orgasm.
 
Personally, I subscribe to the Hebraic worldview simply because it's functional and it emphasizes unity, harmony, and peace. I've experienced and observed in horror how ideas like feminism/the "independent woman" and unbridled sex have absolutely decimated black families and given rise to nothing but division,chaos, confusion, and pain. Those aren't the only culprits, but they are major contributors. Before blacks started adopting these ideologies, our families were generally intact. Not only does history clearly illustrate this, but almost every black woman I know that was alive before these ideologies started taking root tells me the same thing: "we didn't need no damn feminism". Why? Because the black man and woman worked together, and black men were not lording over their women. Black women did not feel oppressed by their men. The oppression and racism black ppl faced was much more overt back in those days, so we worked together and relied on one another. Because we're all we had. And we realized the strength that came from family and unity. Feminism was largely a movement headed by white women that eventually recruited black women, much to our demise.
 
(note: when I say "independent woman" - i'm referring to the notion that black women (or women in general) don't need a man, because that's destructive. there's absolutely nothing wrong with women being autonomous and being able to fend for themselves tho. in fact, women should be able to. but as i stated earlier, the notion that men and women don't need each other is antithetical to life itself).
 
But I digress. I'm not sure how T.I. views things, but If I were as famous and rich as he is, I'd probably be overprotective too.
 
 
You're not being hostile and and I don't feel attacked at all! I'm just glad that you're willing to discuss and share your opinion. Discussions like this can get pretty intense and heavy, so I have nothing but respect for you for engaging with me in a mature manner and speaking your mind! That's a very brave thing to do, especially on the internet where you have cowards that would sooner attack ppl for having different opinions or go talk shit in private amongst a bunch of yes-men like hoe-ass simps instead of just addressing people directly. Believe it or not, you've got more balls than a lot of grown-ass men . But yeah, Gesu, I got nothing but love for ya!
 
And I feel where you're coming from. I do think we have to have a critical eye towards our past generations, as to learn from their mistakes and not continue to reproduce their dysfunction. But I also think it's wise to take into consideration advice and admonishment from older generations too.
 
Personally, I remember being a kid and pretty much hating my dad. I disagreed with a lot of his ways well into my adulthood. But now as i've gotten older myself, and as i've been seeking to take on a lot of the same responsibilities he did, I'm starting to understand why he did things the way he did. And i'm thankful that I had him as a father. Some things I don't think we can understand until we actually have children ourselves.
 
That said, I do think that there needs to be open and honest dialogue between children and parents, youth and elders. And I think both parties should keep an open ear, and an open heart towards one another. Because gray hair doesn't guarantee wisdom, and youth doesn't guarantee the lack thereof.

A few random thoughts that have been bouncing around my head this past week:
 
#1: People trying to cancel T.I. for essentially being a father. Firstly, it's really no one's business how this man chooses to govern his household. Secondly, there are over 60,000 missing African American girls and women in the U.S., sex-trafficking is at an all-time high, new strands of HIV and STDs are still being discovered, the rate of single-motherhood among African American homes is THROUGH THE ROOF, but T.I. is getting shit for being "overprotective"???? Fuck outta here. We NEED more overprotective parents.
 
#2: The way ppl have responded to this is yet another indicator that society has gone far, far off the rails. But I do think there is a silver-lining to this massive attack on men and masculinity. A lot of ppl have been hurt and traumatized by the abuse and misuse of masculinity. I get it. But swinging the pendulum in the opposite extreme through feminism  and attacking any and everything that is masculine is definitely not the answer. I just hope people wake up and realize that both genders are equal in worth, but different in function. We balance each other. We need each other. You'd think this would be obvious by the fact that all of us are alive because of *GASP* a man, and a woman, but we just complicate things endlessly with vain rhetoric that obscures that reality.
 
#3: I saw someone post this on fb recently and it made me chuckle a bit:

it's obviously satirical, but it wouldn't be so funny if it didn't reflect our reality in some way. I've come across a lot of people (on and offline) that are triggered by new or different viewpoints, and I think it's pretty troublesome...I think it's worse online because ppl will unfriend, unfollow, or block you. It's like everyone creates their own little, self-contained echo-chambers. I don't see how this is helpful to anyone. We live in a big world. With people of all kinds of backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. So what good is it to live in a world like this and not be able to interface with people of different mindsets without getting emotional, defensive, or hostile? Why can't people simply hear each other out and try to understand each other's perspectives? I think the reason is that people simply do not like being uncomfortable. I can understand it. It's uncomfortable to have your beliefs questioned or challenged by others, and probably even moreso for one to question their own beliefs and ideas...and whatever they hold to be true.
 
It's wild to me tho, because ppl would rather get hostile or cut ppl off for having different views before they even try to understand the other person. Which also makes no sense to me, because what if that other person has some wisdom to offer you? What if they could provide some insight that might be resourceful to you? What if they could offer some knowledge that might help you see things in a more well-rounded, or truthful light? So many ppl cut themselves off from this potential out of the fear that they might actually be wrong. Because being wrong doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel...comfortable. But it's ok to be wrong. It's also ok to be corrected. How would you know not to put your hand in a fire if you didn't know what fire felt like?
 
People like that, who avoid the discomfort, stunt their own growth. And i've realized that people ultimately value comfort more than they do truth. And the irony there is this: how is anything outside of the truth truly comfortable? If it's not truth, it's a lie. So it's not actual comfort, It's just an illusion. Many people are comfortable living in delusion. And most of us happily delude ourselves daily. I'm not exempt from this either. I mean, i'm damn sure guilty of this too. But it took my delusions being shattered (which is painful as fuck) to realize that I didn't and still don't know a thing. It took one strong wind for me to realize the house I thought I was "comfortable" in was actually a house built of sand. I had to realize that I didn't know a thing. And how could I? This world is vast and infinite (GITS quote ), and i'm just little ol me. I'm just one speck of dust amongst billions, so who am I to walk around thinking i got everything figured out? It's entirely possible that some of those other specks just might know something that I don't They might just have another piece that I can add to this jigsaw puzzle called life. They might not. But i'm never gonna know if I only interact with the specks of dust that only think things that I agree with, or things that make me feel "comfortable".
 
Anyways, i can ramble on and on. I'll stop here.

Hello! I'm Hoshizora!
 
I speak Japanese and English!
 
I'm Thai and American, except I didn't start looking Thai until I was like 9 lol
 
My birthday is May 4th, like Hiroto from Alice Nine.
 
I don't know why, but Vkei just gives me such a good, unique feeling that nothing else can give me.  It kind of feels like when you have ramen with really good narutomaki in it, or that first bite of sticky rice and mangos... but a lot better.
 
My first J-rock band was Theatre Brook!  I found out about them because I found their song "Uragiri no yuuyake" on youtube one day in September 2018.  After that on December 29th, 2018 I decided I wanted to learn Japanese.  I became fluent in September 2019!
 
And here is how I got into Visual Kei: 
 
On February 23rd, 2019, my friend just decided to show me a picture of Ryuutarou Arimura, literally out of nowhere (I think we were talking about mario or something before then and she changed the topic) It was more like, as soon as I saw Ryuutarou I instantly became obsessed with him before I even heard any of his music (lol)  She said the reason why she showed me the picture of him was because she said something along the lines of "I feel like this is a real life version of L, but this is really the vocalist of a band called Plastic Tree" (btw death note is the only anime ive ever watched)  I was SO surprised to hear that he's 46, I expected him to be about 30, and it's not like I'm never around asians, I have a lot of Thai family, with myself having a lot of Thai blood too..  Regardless of his age I was still obsessed with him and I still showed pictures of him to my mom, all the time, even though he is like, 5 years older than her.   After about...... 3 months of being obsessed with Ryuutarou, I FINALLY decided to listen to one of his songs.  I'm so glad that I wasn't disappointed with them and they're actually some of the best songs I've ever heard.  
 
Now I just tell everyone in my family about Visual Kei all the time.  Everyone except my dad's sister and her kids are used to it.  If I showed my mom or even my grandma a girl in J-rock that actually looks like a girl, she will be like "That's a girl?" lol.. 
 
Well that is how I got into Visual Kei, lol.. and here is how to end this with my favourite J-rock bands:
 
Plastic tree, The GazettE, X Japan, Versailles, L'Arc~en~Ciel.  I of course know way more Jrock bands but those are just my favourites.
 
Thank you for reading this and sorry if it was long!   And also if you want to chat just message me, I would love to have friends here! ^^
 
Also feel free to ask questions

Slothreat gonna release a split cd with nekomanju. The physical cd will be only sold at venues but hopefully we get a worldwide digital release 

THE FIRST BAND I EVER STANNED
 
IT'S BEEN FUCKING YEARS SINCE I'VE LISTENED TO MCR. I'm happy they're coming back, even if only for a one-day revival show.
 
 

Hello, My name is Rizki Ramadhan (Hirate Rizuki), Age 20 years
 
Basic information about me is that I discovered Visual Kei because of comments on songs from Kagekui. They led me to Kagekui which lead me to POIDOL which lead me to Jupiter and the rest is history.
 
I like Azlina, Arlequin, Dir en grey, Munou na Lucid, Nicolas, Gossip, and Etc.
If anyone wants to chat I'm open for conversations from people

Hi. I'm an 18 y/o vkei fan, living in Japan. I like Dir en grey, Sukekiyo, lynch., and the Gazette. I just started listening to MUCC too. I got into vkei this past January, after hearing about Hyde from a kpop guy that likes him a lot. I don't really like either of those people anymore. Currently, I split my time between trying to save up to afford my favorite musician's signature guitar models and attending concerts. I only started attending concerts this past May. My first concert was BUCK-TICK's 2day concert Bestia Locus Solus in Makuhari Messe. Since then, I've attended 2 Gazette concerts, 1 GLAY concert, 1 lynch. concert, and a whooole host of others I purchased tickets to but never went. This month, I'm seeing Dir en grey for the first time! Between now and the end of the year, I'm seeing lynch. (2 more times!), MUCC (& others at Trigger In The box), BUCK-TICK, and Luna Sea. There's more that I have tickets for in 2020, but that's a bit much to list, isn't it?
 
Anyways, I have no specific reason to really join this place. Probably just to lurk, honestly. 

Dressed up for Halloween as a cheap Ai from gulu gulu.  I actually felt really beautiful lol 
 

ダウト (D=OUT) will make their US debut at Nekocon's event which will be held from November 6 to 8, 2020 in Hampton Virginia !
Kouki's solo project Hanamizakura will also perform at this event.
 
 
https://www.nekocon.com/

I love HIZUMI's voice so much that I don't care about anything else

I thought the same thing. The start of the chorus sounds like Shadan. 
I still fucks with it though. It's a good song on its own.

Definitely! Yuu likes to post pics of his cats, including his cat named Kittan!
 
 
Gara has also posted videos and pics of stray cats and even his parents' cat

Because of the recent announcement of MCR’s reunion show, a Spanish-language tweet featured a screenshot from the Mexican telenovela “La rosa de Guadalupe” with the episode title “Soy emo” featured. In that very same episode, there is a poster of Ayabie featured in the protagonist’s artistic bedroom. 

Just my most recent CDJapan package! Very pleased to finally own devils in bedside and Black rain.  
 

 
9GOATS BLACK OUT - devils in bedside
9GOATS BLACK OUT - Black rain
DIR EN GREY - ARCHE
DEVILOOF - 鬼
MEJIBRAY - Emotional 【Karma】