Visual Kei in and outside of Japan

[Reizoko 0]

Before I start with this, let me tell you that this post might become long, so prepare to read a long text or feel free to leave if you don't feel like reading.

This thread is supposed to be about the way people in Japan/Japanese people see Visual Kei as opposed to how it's seen outside of Japan, by people like us.

I used to like Visual Kei back in 06/07 and certainly had my weeaboo moments back then, trying to dress veekay and stuff, although it didn't last that long. My interested faded with time and for the last couple of years I've only been listening to exactly 1 Visual Kei band, which is Versailles, probably due to the fact that about ７0% of the music I listened to in the past couple of years is Power Metal and similar music. When I graduated High school in '09 I decided to major in Japanese Studies in University and me liking Visual Kei in the past certainly was a factor that led me to do this, although before starting University I knew that Visual Kei is basically not popular in Japan and that studying Japanese Studies will have nothing to do with Visual Kei. Even so I wanted to know more about the country where Visual Kei originally comes from.

From October 11 till March 12 I studied abroad in Japan and I don't know if it was destiny (haha) or just some random coincidence that I indirectly came in contact with Visual Kei over there　without ever planning to. For the first couple of months I had no contact with it whatsoever, but at around Christmas time something that I would have never imagined happened: I was scouted by a Host Club. I don't even know why. At that time my hair was too long to look hostish and my cloths looked NOTHING like a host at all. So anyway, after thinking about it I decided to go to the job interview because this was an opportunity that I certainly wouldn't get a second time. Before the interview I even went to a styling salon with a manager of the Club to have my hair done there. As mentioned before, I didn't really look that hostish because my hair was too long...But whatever.

In the end I didn't get the job because it's illegal to work as a host with an exchange student Visa.

Anyway,　this experience got me interested in Mizushôbai.

I wanted to get to know people who do this kind of work and talk to them, so I logged on mixi, joined some Host/Hostess/Kyabajo and so on communities and started to get to know people, even in real life.

What I immediately noticed when looking at profiles of those people on mixi is that a lot of them (let's say about 60% to maybe 70%) like Visual Kei.　Which is not that surprising considering the fact that Visual Kei hairstyle has similarities to Host hairstyle.

Another thing I noticed after getting to know a couple of people is that they have a different relation to Visual Kei as opposed to foreign fans. While foreign fans tend to see themselves as 'visual', 'visu', 'vk' (call it however you like) I've not met a single Japanese person that does so. They much rather just say things like 'I like Visual Kei', but that's about it. From what I've experienced so far, there doesn't really exist a 'Visual Kei subculture' in Japan (or if it does, it is really, really small) while it does in foreign countries.

There is a subculture that can somewhat be related to Visual Kei though, which is Gyaru　and Gyaruo. But even if you are Gyaru or Gyaruo, it doesn't automatically mean that you like Visual Kei. There's tons of them that don't, but probably more than 50% of them do like it.

To sum it up, my experience is that foreign fans who like Visual Kei want to be just like the bands and try to be 'visual', while Japanese Visual Kei fans do not consider themselves 'visual', even those that have similarities to Visual Kei in their looks (Host, Gyaruo).

Another thing that I noticed is that the term J-Rock is used differently in and outside of Japan. While outside of Japan it's mostly used for Visual Kei Bands I've never heard a Japanese person use the word J-Rock to refer to a Visual Kei Band. Visual Kei bands are called Visual Kei (surprise!), most of the time shortened to 'VKei' in Japan while J-Rock is used for...Well, Bands that actually make rock music. And let's be honest, there's a ton of Visual Kei bands that do NOT make rock music and are still considered J-Rock outside of japan.

Ok, I think that's about it. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Have foreign fans 'misinterpreted' Visual Kei and created something that has nothing to do with the actual Japanese Visual Kei? Why does this gap exist?

Please note that most of what I wrote is my personal experience and not any kind of absolute truth, so if you have made different experiences, feel free to share them.