TheBistroButcher666

I don't expect developers to give up just yet, I know that the DRM restrictions came as a shock to console gamers but it's been the norm with PC for a few years now. I know Microsoft is back peddling now but I imagine in the future they'll be more careful when implementing new DRM restrictions on consoles. It'll come as simple software updates and gradually become the norm for consoles. Honestly I didn't think the restrictions where that surprising and it makes sense from a publisher perspective. Publishers only make back most of their profit in the first few weeks of a release, after that it's all lost to aftermarket sales. That's why we started seeing a rise in DLCs because it was a chance for them to regain some of that profit they would have never got due to the aftermarket. I read an interesting article that had pointed out the possibility of game prices reducing for console due to the fact that publishers would be guaranteed revenue after the first few weeks of release. Haaa agreed. Anyway, I'm a PC gamer and used to being restricted from reselling my PC games. This has been the norm in the PC world for many years now, having to deal with pushing publishers forcing you to install buggy and awful DRM software on your machine just to play a game. While sure my PC cost twice as much as a console and requires more work to build and maintain than a console. In the end it's processing power and utility makes consoles not worth it at all. Then again not everyone is techy enough to build and maintain their own PC and usually just buy some out of the box DELL machine that can barely run Chrome with two tabs opened.

I went to the Seattle Reddit meet up with a bunch of my friends. It was super fun! Bonfire on the beach, lots of food and lots of fun! Being a city full of engineers, this guy brought a home made picture booth. The whole thing looked like it was slapped together and going to fall apart any second but here's a picture of it because describing it won't do it justice. http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q77/s720x720/1010760_10151682106401826_746878075_n.jpg It worked great though! I have larger high quality photos and these ones are just the compressed ones that are on my Facebook page. If you want to creep the imgur gallery, you can check it out here ~ http://imgur.com/a/Ctn5b

It's being sold only at their lives from what I understand. Hopefully my friend can grab me a copy of it this weekend when she goes and sees them

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh snaps I just listened to this song and it's so good

I used to use them and never had problems, I would receive free gift items all the time too but I keep seeing these stories pop up more and more. Man what the heck happened.

He could just be high or buzzed. He's a rock star livin the high life am I right!? hyuk-hyuk-hyuk ~ He's a singer/artist and could just be awkward. I hang out with artsy people every week and we're all awkward mouth breathers and perhaps off stage he's just an awkward mouth breather 8D I tried to keep it as vague as possible 8D

You can make a game out of Grieva releases. Which song(s) did the tear up and rehash into this release? Either way, I like it

His hair looks like a wig haaaaa....

I was really shocked to see a B'z flyer posted in a local dive bar a few months ago. I'm like, wait B'z North American tour and hardly any press from weeaboos :C

Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Me too! My friend code! 4098-3113-2403

I think if someone is a fan of indie Visual Kei, then they really should give Dir en grey a chance. If the fans are what is turning you off, seriously just ignore all the batshit nonsense that comes from the fanbase. However their influence is just undeniable when you listen to some indie bands, whether it's the kote kei indie rawk they pushed out in their early days or the br00tal faux metal they do now. The influences they had and still have and will probably have for many more years to come is just undeniable. Also if you don't like Dir en grey at the end of it all, I think that's fine. I don't love everything that band does either, especially some of their newer material. Yet if you're avoiding trying the band because of the fanbase you really shouldn't do that. Give it a chance, completely disregard the fans and what people say and just listen to them. @evilcoconut ~ That's why I haven't listened to anymore from X aside from their popular songs everyone knows. My thing with them is they're okay powerheavyhair metal and I can just listen to a Western band that does it better. I get that most of their popularity is probably due to the fact that they're probably the first popular Japanese metal band that had such an outrageous mind blowing style, especially for the mainstream Japanese music at least.

Most of us moved on with our lives and it's why the group split up. We still like Japanese music, keep in touch and regularly hang out but our interests have diminished as other new things have come into our lives that take precedence. I guess part of growing up and turning into an old person. Also about people judging, that was the impression I had when I met some Mana fans a few years ago at a convention. I don't care about fashion or having a style but definitely felt some unwelcoming vibes from the Lolitas when I showed up in my boring old jeans and a metal T-shirt. I don't care if other people like fashion, I think it's cool but I don't like it when they look down on us fashionless nerds :C Oh and your cosplay is really good! Work had the images blocked but now I can finally view them, your Hisui cosplay is soooo awesome :U

Grieva will definitely have to start producing their own music and stop rehashing old Dir en grey songs if they want to be successful in the long run. ...Unless they start rehashing other old successful 90s band. ....Plz do KEY PARTY bands next lolololol....

Some bands get their outfits for free or discounted by a clothing brand that wants to promote itself through the band. One example I remember is Chemical Pictures received a set of free outfits from a clothing brand, the catch was they had to work a weekend or something in the store. Essentially promoting the clothing and something like that. Basically the band and the clothing store get something out of it. How many people here have bought something from SEX POT REVENGE, Algonquins or h.Naoto? Did you find out about those brands through VK? So it obviously works right and I think that's probably where some of these guys are getting their outfits from. I guessing the poor no name bands probably make their outfits and everything themselves but even the not so well known Indie bands seem to get kick backs from clothing brands.

Tanuki is a message board Japanese fans use. It’s full of gossip, rumours and various stories about bandmen and their shenanigans. The thing about Tanuki is you should only believe about 10% of what you read since a lot of it is just BS. Though occasionally cellphone photos, screen shots and other things will pop up proving some of the stories you read. It can be hilarious but I find it gets dull after awhile, especially when it’s just angry jealous little girls raging because they found photos of a bandmen with his girlfriend. Or the boring old stories and screenshots of a bandmen trying to get money out of someone.

Exactly. To clarify since the passive aggressive remarks are towards those that may have criticized their favourite bishonen. I liked Kamijo in Lareine and even early Versailles releases. Just because I disliked his output after Jubilee and criticized it doesn't mean I hate the dude and everything he does. He's great when he does his sappy romantic rock ballads, not when he tries to be a metal vocalist.

I don't think it's childish, especially since Ikna makes a good point that people cosplay actors. That doesn't seem any different than cosplaying a VK bandmen. VK bandmen often times are portraying a character anyway and that's what actors do right? So again I don't think it's weird or silly at all. Plus it's a good way at a convention to show people, hey I like VK! Come and talk to me about your favourite artists! At least that's another way to look at VK cosplay. A good way to show you like this stuff and hopefully able to meet other fans. I don't go to the local anime convention we have here in Seattle, so I can't really comment on the state of the "VK scene" in Seattle. Though one year I remember the Jrock panel room had folks ranging from Toshiya cosplay, boring old jeans and a Tshirt (me) and Naruto cosplay. So I wouldn't go so far as to say your local VK/Jrock scene is dead because of low number of cosplayers, there could be number of fans but they're just blending in with the crowd and you don't know it. There used to be a successful Jrock Seattle group that met up monthly but that kinda fell apart. Yet during that time I made the coolest and bestest friends and it was a great way to meet other fans. If you want to meet other fans in your area, why not try hosting a monthly or bi-monthly meet up and see who comes. Maybe you'll meet more people that you didn't know that could be fans. Also it's rad when people come up with their own VK inspired style but it sucks when they're jerks about it.

I did not know you could skin foobar lololololol. I have the default haha. ~ edit ~ Okay okay, I know you have the same keyboard as I do. I can't get the display to show foobar though, it works with iTunes and Winamp but not foobar. Any idea how to get it to work? I googled it and it says that it's a setting within foobar but the instructions were kinda vague.

Cosplaying as VK bandmen probably has to do with the fact that most VK fans normally were anime fans first. So it doesn't surprise me if the cosplay culture from anime fandom spills over with VK fans.

I don't cosplay but I always appreciate good cosplay though. I really dig detail and accurate stuff, whether it's VK, anime, comic books, League of Legends or Game of Thrones. Always cool to see just how detailed people will get. One year I had thought about doing a Kon (La'Mule) cosplay because it wouldn't have been so hard. Just getting a wig and making the net I guess would have been hard.

I will listen to both even though I think I will like Jupiter better because I like metal. Unless Zin is god awful.