What has happened to Oshare Kei?

[Nyasagi 259]

About oshare vs osare... I read somewhere that people who don't like oshare kei call it osare.

[Gizorz 24]

Sorry but I'm not a fucking idiot, thanks https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E3%82%AA%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AC%E7%B3%BB&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gws_rd=cr

 

Haha cute but you kind of are. Osare is a joke term for oshare so yeah Nyasagi is right. Oshare means someone who's really stylish, osare means someone who thinks they're really stylish, but in fact they're not.

[seikun 317]

I was wondering about this, too. I remember when Oshare-kei was the hit back in 2005 to 2008/9 approximately in my country.

 

I was also wondering if Paradeis's disbandment is somehow related to the "decline" of Oshare-kei...

 

I used to complain about Oshare-kei being so commercial in those days, although there were a few bands I used to like such as HeaRt, Ichigo69, Pawn, and some more.

[JRD 5156]

 

Hate to bring up dead topic, but it was grating at my nerves for a bit. I have never seen the term oshare kei used by any japanese person describing a band before. They usually call bands with a cuter/colorful look オサ. I also have a CD called コテvsオサ and some stickers and a ticket stub along with it. And there was even a band VK band called The オサレ.

[Biopanda 2675]

 

Hate to bring up dead topic, but it was grating at my nerves for a bit. I have never seen the term oshare kei used by any japanese person describing a band before. They usually call bands with a cuter/colorful look オサ. I also have a CD called コテvsオサ and some stickers and a ticket stub along with it. And there was even a band VK band called The オサレ.

I think that's probably just because overseas fans like putting stuff into neat little cubbyholes. I think Japanese fans/bands are a lot less concerned about VK "subgenres" over all. I know that angura-kei is rarely ever used there, but is considered a legit subgenre by foreign fans. I think the same thing goes for koteosa and especially white-kei(they do have sofubi[soft visual], but as far as I know white-kei is a completely foreign-coined term).

[Ikna 1225]

Kote kei is another term foreign fans coined on the net... but what the hell is Koteosa supposed to be? I have seen this from time to time to describe oshare bands... I get that osa probably is taken from oshare (or even osare... ot going to fuel a new discussion if osare exists or not), but why the Kote part? A few people even say Koteosa are Kote bands who are poppy and colorful. But in my opinion Koteosa bands are just "Oshare kei". Okay, Kote kei isn't really a well defined term either. Though funny, If I remember correctly the image above belongs to a video tutorial for visual kei styles and Kote kei is one of them (I think the first pic?)

And then there are things like Iryou kei, Kurofuko kei, Eroguro (kei) and whatnot... the only things I have seen that japanese people indeed use are Nagoya kei and Soft Visual. Also never understood the split into White kei or Black kei and such nonsense. Also does anyone remember when it was totes cool to invent new "subgenres" of visual kei, such as "Debiru kei", "Goschikku kei" (=that's the most stupid one. Weaboo engrish language and indication that those bands are goffick and "edgy"), "Lolita kei" and "Poruno kei". Always funny to see people who actually use them and put random bands into this "genres".

 

[JRD 5156]

Kote is used by Japanese bands and bandgirls. When Panic Channel started out, MEGURU would point out the different sides of the band by calling the dark side kote and the pop side C-H. What you think is kote and what they think is kote is probably different. Yeah that was from a Visual Kei styling vid.

 

 

Koteosa is basically all those bands back then that are labelled wrong by the foreign fans. i.e; J∀CK11, Я苺-アールベリー, Early Ayabie, e.t.c. Look at their costumes vs the costumes of bands which are considered Osa like; ラブCAN, ヒメユリ, Shelly Trip Realize, e.t.c.

 

And if you let's say, Listen to a J∀CK11 song then go listen to ラブCAN song. You can really tell that J∀CK11 isn't as poppy as you think they look. The koteosa bands are heavier than the osa bands, but they sure aren't gonna be heavier than the kote bands.

 

I've never seen any other term for a visual band besides Kote, kotekote, Koteosa, Osa, Soft, Nagoya.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I've heard that bands or their followings occasionally create their own descriptions for their looks. For example, I believe Kagrra, had their own special name for their style, but that was just used amongst fans.

 

I've seen "ikara-kei" used to describe DEViL KiTTY, but that's probably because Yuuga spent too much time on 2-chan.

 

Also, in the picture that Dramaz posted, what was number 5-2? Early Vidoll, CalorZe, HELEN, etc used that kind of makeup style.

[JRD 5156]

密室, I've seriously never heard of it before though :/, but apparently it's real.

 

http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1118537571

 

Someone asking questions about each system and what bands for example and getting an answer.

[chemicalpictures 1888]

 

 

 

On the origin of the "style", many people credit baroque as the creators of oshare, but everytime someone mentions oshare music-wise, this is what comes to my mind, not what baroque made before turning out awesome (I consider the turning point being the release of Chaplin) What you guys think on this point? What defines a band as oshare, the way they look or the music they make? some say bis was oshare, and I completely disagree. But Panic Ch, whom I consider to be the kings of what I think oshare-music is, have a similar look to bis (maybe flashier, but similar). Can we put them is the same category, just because they look alike?

 

And sadly this kind of music is really fuckin dead. Probably because it was a product of it's time, it does sounds outdated in comparison to what's trending today. oshare bands also tend to be preeeetty niche (excluding An Cafe and baroque, if you want to put them in that list...) so I guess new bands try be where the money is today

[JRD 5156]

 

 

 

On the origin of the "style", many people credit baroque as the creators of oshare, but everytime someone mentions oshare music-wise, this is what comes to my mind, not what baroque made before turning out awesome (I consider the turning point being the release of Chaplin) What you guys think on this point? What defines a band as oshare, the way they look or the music they make? some say bis was oshare, and I completely disagree. But Panic Ch, whom I consider to be the kings of what I think oshare-music is, have a similar look to bis (maybe flashier, but similar). Can we put them is the same category, just because they look alike?

 

And sadly this kind of music is really fuckin dead. Probably because it was a product of it's time, it does sounds outdated in comparison to what's trending today. oshare bands also tend to be preeeetty niche (excluding An Cafe and baroque, if you want to put them in that list...) so I guess new bands try be where the money is today

 

Panic Channel Consider their light side "Pop Rock", not osa. MEGURU clearly stated this when they first started out.

[Biopanda 2675]

On the origin of the "style", many people credit baroque as the creators of oshare, but everytime someone mentions oshare music-wise, this is what comes to my mind, not what baroque made before turning out awesome (I consider the turning point being the release of Chaplin) What you guys think on this point? What defines a band as oshare, the way they look or the music they make? some say bis was oshare, and I completely disagree. But Panic Ch, whom I consider to be the kings of what I think oshare-music is, have a similar look to bis (maybe flashier, but similar). Can we put them is the same category, just because they look alike?

The "style" itself has existed long before baroque though, but I don't think it was ever called anything but just "visual kei". Take a look at 

 

or

 

Both of those bands(and many more like them) were active in the mid-to-late 90's and were they to have popped up later, there's no doubt in my mind that they would have been considered oshare.

[seikun 317]

In terms of music and/or lyrics Missalina Rei could have been another source for Oshare-kei...?

[hyura 465]

Oshare kei is really not a genre I know tons about but calling it オサレ or オサ is totally legit, even if you like it. In fact it's much more commonly referred to as オサレ than お洒落. (although yes, it does mean something like 'poseur' appearently.)

 

And yes, I haven't seen a true oshare kei band in years. To me it always meant something along the lines of

-wears streetfashion, including bandanas

-plays poppy punk tunes

-looks happy but never insanely happy

-is pretty asexual

 

And yes. That kind of band doesn't exist anymore. Or at least, not really.

Funny how panic*ch don't want to belong in there because to me they always fitted in perfectly.

 

Does anybody know the バンギャルちゃんの日常 manga? I think it had a great style-guide but I couldn't find a scan of it.

(For anyone interested anyway, look at the episode on 'the VK-ish pv'.)