YuyoDrift

Ok bros, question of the day:
 
How many of you actually use both hands to take a piss?
 
I got shit from someone for being on my cellphone and using the urinal.
I don't know what bothered me more: the fact that someones jimmies were rustled by my multitasking, or that they broke bro code and fucking pissed in the urinal next to mine lol.
 
 

Ok bros, question of the day:
 
How many of you actually use both hands to take a piss?
 
I got shit from someone for being on my cellphone and using the urinal.
I don't know what bothered me more: the fact that someones jimmies were rustled by my multitasking, or that they broke bro code and fucking pissed in the urinal next to mine lol.
 
 

The last thing I wanted to see opening up my Instagram feed after a month, was my Japanese ex-girlfriend getting married.
I guess I don't have to wonder "what if...." anymore.
I also don't enjoy the fact that I suddenly remembered the phrase "私を殺して" subconsciously .
Yeah.....
 

Sorry for answering ... (Don't know why I said sorry ...)
But I want to tell you one thing that Suicide Silence 's vocal , Mitch Lucker said ,
He said :"Keep listening to music, it gets you through everything. I promise."
I mean musics could be your best friends when you really feel not good ,
Just don't think too much , and put on your earphones !

And honestly no one can really company with you if they didn't understand you from the inside ,
So you must go through BY YOURSELF !   FIGHTING !

JILUKA has done very well to maintain my interest this year, as well as Matenrou Opera since their switch to heavy metal.
Kamijo's experiments have not gone unnoticed either, as Mademoiselle is very reminiscent of the days of Malice Mizer.
 
I am curious to see what FUKI's Unlucky Morpheus has in store, if any, towards the end of this year/beginning of 2018.
Their EP Black Pentagram was just too perfect, as I feel that the project they are working on this time is the best representation of the band thus far.

Agreed.
I thought that they had developers from Guilty Gear/Blazblue help make this game? 
What did people say about the recent open beta that happened? Good or Nah?
 
This game is the only DBZ game in a long time to peak my interest.

We have tons of users here who listen to VK, Jrock, and Jpop.
We also have users who are gamers as well (myself included).
 
Feel free to check the site out, and don't hesitate to partake in any thread you'd like.
We hope you enjoy your stay here, and make some friends as a plus.
 
Welcome to the site!

Welcome to the site .
Take as long as you need to, in order to become well adjusted to our community, as we have a ton of areas for you to explore.
We have some SuG fans on this forum, as well as a thread dedicated to discussing anything SuG related.
You should have no problems making new friends on here, as I'd like to think we aren't that scary lol.
 
Give the forum life a go, and feel free to contact any one of us staff members in either Red or Blue if you have any questions.
I'm sure you'll fit in just fine here though.
Have fun.
 

What's up! Welcome to MH!
Thanks for taking the time to say hello.
 
I have to admit, I've never taken the time to listen to Mucc.
Everyone says they are pretty great though, so I'm sure they must be.
I'm a Malice Mizer fan myself also.
 
Take the time to check out the site, and discover some bands just like Malice Mizer (its gonna be hard lol) to enjoy.
Any questions you have, just ask anyone with a Red or Blue username.

I don't think it's a clear cut division as much as it's a generalization to make the point easier. There's plenty of bangya who are into many bands and have a wide knowledge of the scene, and there are plenty of guys who go to the lives and enjoy them despite not always feeling like circumstances are ideal (I've attended upwards of 100 VK shows, for example.) 
 
It's just that the majority fall into the stereotypes, whether it's self-imposed or formed by the strong consensus culture of Japan I don't know, but once something gets viewed in the public eye as being geared towards a specific audience, the threshold to dare to break that mold gets much higher, especially in a country like Japan where this is strongly discouraged in general.

In an ideal world people wouldn't care, like you say, but we all know that's not how group psychology works.
 
Also, I think it's pretty normal that people who invest a lot of time and money into something, whether accidentally or not, look down on those who settle for less, but fandom elitism is another topic and far from exclusive to the guys either - it goes both ways, it's just that both groups measure dedication by different scales. I know bangya who look down on girls who attend lives of other bands, for example, because it's seen as "treason" towards their main act. Or look down on the fanboys for not supporting the bands at shows more. Just like I know guys who look down on those who don't know and love that one band that was around for three weeks in '93. It's problematic for sure but I think delving deeper into it is taking the thread off topic?
 
If people want to make another thread to discuss the toxic elements of bangya culture or fandom elitism, I'd be all for it, and I think it'd be interesting topics to discuss in a wider sense, but let's try to keep it relevant to the topic of male fans in the VK scene here.
 
@KomorebiI think it's pretty easy to spot when someone actually cares about the music and when someone is only there to drool at the band. All it takes is a short conversation on the topic of the bands music. And it's not mutually exclusive at all. I have plenty of female friends who can do both, and as long as I can participate in the discussions about the music and they keep the discussions about the bandmens physique with ones that are interested, I'm all good.
 

I think that this situation sort of showcases the discrepancy between the western and Japanese fandom, in some ways. We in the west have sort of built up our own subculture surrounding VK that isn't the same as it is in Japan. In Japan, attending VK lives can have connotations that a lot of guys would want to avoid, the informal rules surrounding the lives can also make the shows less enjoyable to men too, as in the whole staying put in your spot, allowing time and space for the girls to fix their hair between each headbang and stuff like that. The western VK fandom treats it more like any other alternative subculture whereas I feel like in Japan it has unhealthy connections with the host ideals. 
 
I went to a VK bar in Tokyo and talked to the bartender and he said that the regular girls scared away other customers on the weekends by refusing to let him serve others, since they "paid for his company" by buying drinks, and they would demand from him to play only the one band they listen to the entire night.
I think for a lot of guys who are into VK, most Japanese men who are into VK are CD-only by the way, as in they don't attend the shows but just buy the music from stores and might occasionally show up to onemans and stand in the back, this doesn't create a fun atmosphere since they would prefer to just hang about and talk shit about music and listen to a dozen different bands. 
 
I realize that the bangya culture is what keeps the bands afloat, but I think it's also this culture that sort of kills the fun for a lot of guys who enjoy the music and enjoy the scene aesthetically but isn't just invested in one band and wants to enjoy some host fantasy with them. And this is why guys have a larger part in the western fandom because ours really isn't connected much to the Japanese one beyond listening to the same bands.
 
To be fair though, quite a few bands try to remedy this by doing those male only shows, and I think that's an awesome thing, although I wish it weren't necessary.
 

ahhh, man

let's be honest.

The idea of visual-kei is to sell a perfect image of somebody that doesn't exist.
Same with all of the pop-idols. This is an industry, first of all, music comes secondary. We have a target audience of 18-year old Japanese girls, most likely obsessed with androgynous male image and who read a lot of josei and shojo manga.. They are not gonna buy music in general - they don't give a shit about that. What you can sell to them is an image.
 
as it was once put:
"No, they’re sexy, but they don’t exist in the same universe as the fans. They don’t have chlamidya, they don’t worry about child support payments, they don’t have girlfriends or baby-mamas. They don’t have a stinky van. The fans don’t want to think about that! They want a dream, (not a man or a woman), they want a higher being, a look out of a fairy-tale. That’s why we do all the makeup and hair. It’s not about the guitars or playing A-flat in a Lydian mode."

In case you didn't notice - it's the same thing with anime. It will always cater to the male audience, because we tend/are willing to spend whatever money we have on our obsession - be it motorbykes or fuck-pillows. And if you take socially awkward males who had no success with women and life in general, and sell them over-sexualized image and play on their instincts - oh boy, you get a really good chunk of revenue. So you can see the similarities with the visual-kei approach here.
 
So, the visual-kei's target audience just does the same - spending whatever they have on their obsession. The difference is that visual-kei found its small (really small) niche of fans who are ready to do that. If we take population in general - it will not work. But it just takes whatever mental image/ideal the fans have, wrap it in a nice way, add a little bit of consumer psychology/evolutionary psychology and neurobiology (yes, it's the thing, I highly recommend reading material on how the last two infuence what we buy and how much we are willing to spend) - and you get your revenue =)
 
Hence, we have a situation, that mostly females go to visual-kei gigs (because it was created for them), mostly (hungry/semi-virgin) males go for female pop-idols' gigs (because it was created for them), and etc. Which is fine.
It's all about money, not the art.

Ya know, my co-worker introduced me to Dance with the Dead about a year ago, and I never looked into it.
It's not until today that I decide to check out some city pop forums, and I stumble across an article that mentions SATELLITE YOUNG, and well .....
 
Here I am lol
 
Gonna check out all your recommendations guys, and maybe even stumble on some new stuff for ya too.

So - I had planned to attend this event, but unfortunately shit (a.k.a. life) came inbetween
 
However! I'd prepared this mix for the occasion, with the intention to present it to the organizers: @WhirlingBlackand @Takadanobabaalien
Even though a physical "release" came to naught, I think it turned out quite nice ...so I figured I'd just go ahead and publish it here in case somebody's interested.
No real theme or anything, just a couple of (IMO) nice tracks
 
 
Tracklist:
 
01. DAZZLE - Sleepless Night ('93) 
02. NALSIST - Ice Crim of Love ('95)
03. ROSES OF DEAD ESSENCES - Fall ('96)
04. SHAZNA - Clear ('94) 
05. DIANA - Shadow ('95)
06. BE FREE - Moon ('96) 
07. CAM-FLAGE - Secret Jealousy ('93)
08. DUXLL - Neo-Spychdelic ('95)
09. BANANA FISH - Winter Tales ('93)
10. GLASSTIQUE "BLUE" - sé・ré・nade... ('92)
11. ZELIACORT - I Can't Stop Loving You ('96)
12. SAKRUN - たとえば××× ('94)
13. ZINX - Too Deserted To Speak ~淋しくて声も出ない~ ('93)
14. EX-ANS - Habit Of Sex ('90)
15. LA~BIAL - Caress ('94)
 

Satellite Young is a Japanese band I recently discovered through a friend, but I feel like since they're synthwave they'd get way more love here. (And since they played SXSW back in March they seem to be gaining a lot more international attention lately.)
 
Their sound captures that period of synthy 80s anime openings/endings so well it's almost hard to believe they're a modern group.
 
Someone upped their entire album, of which I'm pressed to find any track I don't like. My favorite is probably "Ai no Threnody" tho. (20:35)
 
 

Enjoyed the read @emmny. This was very well thought out.
 
As much of a fan of their later work (Kurohata Era) as I am, I have much respect for the '02-'03 era as well.
The composition of this era was very fresh, and it's no lie that Daisuke was a genius when it came to expressing their work through his singing.
 
This band is a must listen for any fan of Nagoya Kei, and anyone who wants to appreciate composition as an art-form.
 

Enjoyed the read @emmny. This was very well thought out.
 
As much of a fan of their later work (Kurohata Era) as I am, I have much respect for the '02-'03 era as well.
The composition of this era was very fresh, and it's no lie that Daisuke was a genius when it came to expressing their work through his singing.
 
This band is a must listen for any fan of Nagoya Kei, and anyone who wants to appreciate composition as an art-form.
 

Saw it myself last week.
It was surprisingly entertaining for what I paid for.
Not too over the top, and the plot was one I have not come across yet.
Main actors were average, and I think that's what helped the film become a great watch, but fall short of being noticed by the masses.
Ending was meh.

Hi everyone
 
I've been listening to JRock for 11 years and was also quite active in another forum in my teenage years. Now, feeling like a JRock grandma already, I've decided to start my comeback. I've never really stopped listening to JRock, but as you get older you grow out of that phase of huge obsession over VK to then....obsess  over other, more adult things Recently I've been getting into Dir en Grey and other bands again, mainly because I spent two weeks in Tokyo last year and went to VK shops in Shinjuku. It was a great experience and awakened a long buried passion! I think it's really sad that all of the "youngsters" are just all about KPop nowadays. Not that KPop is bad or anything, but I've just always been more into Metal and Rock in general, so I just don't get all too excited over it. The VK scene has diminished over the years and is now, sadly, barely existent. I want to change that and keep the spirit alive by talking with you lot about JRock and everything related (or unrelated.)
 
Cannot wait to hear from you guys! See you around!

Man, do the GazettE bring on in the activity on this forum or what haha.
So long as the album does not cater to only one genre like their last one, then I'm all for it.
If they manage to pull off this theme they have, then that is some impressive shit.

First off, I have to say: If English is not your native language, then HOLY CRAP your spelling is fantastic!
 
We appreciate you taking some time and introducing yourself on Monochrome Heaven, as we love to meet all of our lurkers haha.
As the others have mentioned, we hope to see you around on the forums soon. Oh and as @Komorebimentioned, us MH Staff are here if you have any questions.
Welcome!
 

Hey there! I'm AmberCrystal17 but you can call me Amber (not my real name). I have been lurking around on this site for a while now after I found it on a google search and I finally decided to make an account and temporarily come out of lurking to finally introduce myself. I still won't be super active on this site and I probably won't leave comments or make posts, but I might leave the ocassional like (if I even remember to do so).
 
English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes in grammar or spelling or whatever.
 
I was a fan of VK around 2011-2013 before I stopped listening to it for a while for some reason. I only got back into it in 2016 when I looked through a very old playlist full of VK music I had on Youtube.
 
Most of the VK bands and artists I like are well known ones like The Gazette, Dir en Grey, and Versailles, so I'm not really interesting in that aspect. DISREIGN is a band I like too. However, I've been really bad at keeping up with updates and news about them and I'm only really into their music, so I don't know if I want to call myself a fan of them...
 
Well, that's pretty much all I wanted to share that I could come up with. I guess it's time to go back to lurking.

Hi, welcome to MH. Glad you decided to join on the fun. I'm sure you'll still find interesting information and new bands to try out if you look around.
 
You can ask anyone with a red or blue name for help if you need anything, or any of us too  
 
Enjoy the forum, I hope with time you'll feel more at ease.

That is a very good question.
 
What would I have listened to if Glay or Gackt, or even the Pillows, flew past me growing up? What would I have done if JPOP queens like Ayumi, Namie, or even Nanase, not been my gateway to music overseas?
Japanese music is something that has become a core part of my very being, allowing me to learn about the outside world, as well as how the internet works, which in turn, led me to a career in Information Security. I can't imagine something else that could fill its place.
 
If I had to guess, I would venture to say that American Metal would have filled in the void temporarily, before drifting away from that last bit of teenage angst, and succumb to just listening to whatever comes on the radio.
I say that because when I first listened to Japanese music, I purposely went out and taught myself how the internet works, in order to browse forums, blogs, and site's where the P2P sharing wave of the 00's existed, in order to get my hands on as much as I could.
I'm pretty sure that I would not have done this for an American Metal CD that I could just go and buy down the street, and so eventually I'd lose interest.
I'm sure I'd just stream my music at this point, just like everyone else.