Hello from Japan

[anakuro 847]

Hi there, I'm an American living in a prefecture so mysterious even many Japanese people don't know where it is located. I go to visual kei lives as often as possible (to the point where I call it my hobby) but with budget and time being an issue I'm a "Saturday only bangya" and even then I normally only get one live in a month unless it's spring/summer/winter break. That being said, last year I managed to go to 33 events whether they were lives or in store events. This year I already somehow have 17~18 planned through May. 

 

Considering this, I have a ridiculous stack of CDs, cheki and flyers in my apartment...

 

I've listened to visual kei bands since about 2007/2008. I often cite baroque as my first band but before them I did listen to POLYSICS (do you even classify them as VK? I never see them playing at VK lives actually... but they certainly do have visual elements..). Now I don't listen to either too much. 

 

The two main bands I follow in Japan are Souiumono and Hana Shounen Baddies.

 

I also follow RUVISH to a lesser extent. I'm a big fan of Yeti but I kind of find them lackluster live (sorry!!) so I don't go see them as often as I could...

 

A few other bands I'm interested in: serial number, GIGAMOUS, rice, cocklobin, Sel'm, THE BEETHOVEN, minus jin-say orchestra, shounenki. 

 

I can speak some Japanese and have met quite a few of the members of bands (Souiumono and baddies the most, then RUVISH and I've gotten a lot of flyers from Shounenki) so I can tell you my impressions of the members as well if you are curious..

 

Besides VK, I've also dabbled in the indie metal scene a bit. 

 

I'm happy to chat about any of the visual kei bands I like or have seen. I might be a bit too chatty. 

 

Nice to meet you all, I hope we will get along

[Rize 1593]

Welcome on the forum anakuro!

Nice to meet you! You're so lucky to be able to see many VK live performances~

I like Shounenki too! Great band! 

 

Anyways, I hope you'll have a good time here and join us sometime in the MH chat!

[Tetora 625]

Nice to meet you.

How come you are living in Japan, and can you tell us more about your prefecture?

[anakuro 847]

Welcome on the forum anakuro!

Nice to meet you! You're so lucky to be able to see many VK live performances~

I like Shounenki too! Great band! 

 

Anyways, I hope you'll have a good time here and join us sometime in the MH chat!

Hello! 

Yeah, I'm definitely fortunate in having been able to get to Japan and go to so many lives! But I worked hard to get here

 

Ahh, shounenki hahaa.. They're nice guys and wiling to do what I call "the gaijin challenge" (approach and talk to foreigners). But sometimes I wonder about them. One time Kou gave me a flyer a 2nd time by accident..and then almost did it again a 3rd time. pfft. I'll be seeing them for the first time in March though, which is exciting considering how many times I've gotten flyers from them...

 

Thank you!

 

Nice to meet you.

How come you are living in Japan, and can you tell us more about your prefecture?

 

 

I am living in Shimane and am your typical English teacher

[Guest Magatsu]

Welcome to this board!!!

 

Did you ever see RICE live? I really love them ^^

[anakuro 847]

Welcome to this board!!!

 

Did you ever see RICE live? I really love them ^^

 

Thanks!

 

I've yet to see rice live! I really like them too I'd like to go once, but I have a feeling I might find them a bit lackluster live like I do Yeti. I prefer lives with headbanging and moshing or at the very least lots of silly furitsuke. Since they are no longer on hiatus it's possible that I'll see them sometime though~

[Guest Magatsu]

Ah I see.

 

And any plans for today? since it's already 5:30 in the morning in  Japan

[anakuro 847]

Ah I see.

 

And any plans for today? since it's already 5:30 in the morning in  Japan

You're telling me, man (didn't eat much + caffeine affecting me more than usual resulted in not being able to sleep, it seems). So, I am pretty sure my plans are sleeping in hah.. 

 

My next live is on the 21st--cocklobin's last live. Then 22nd I'm going to see Sel'm. March and the first week in April will be crazy though

 

And with that I am going to sleep since it is 5:30AM. I'll reply to anyone else at... some point(^-^* )

[Scarlet Obsidian 383]

Hey there, welcome to MH! enjoy your time here

[Messenger84 253]

Welcome on MH.

 

Cocklobin farewell gig..Yay!

[Ito 2438]

Welcome to the forum! We're glad to have you here! Feel free to ask anyone with a red or blue name if you have any questions. Also, since you are part of the scene, any information that you have to share would be greatly appreciated!<br /><br />Also glad to that you are interested in Sel'm, they are easily one of my favorite VK bands.

[hiroki 5521]

Welcome to the forums! I've been to Matsue (in Shimane) before and I really like the laid-back feel of the place. I'm totally *not* a "city" person at all haha. 

[anakuro 847]

 

Hey there, welcome to MH!   enjoy your time here 

 

thank you!

 

Welcome on MH.

 

Cocklobin farewell gig..Yay!

I'm not sure if it's a yay but definitely something I couldn't miss they're really good live but I'm not surprised. Their energy has fizzled out at lives...

 

Welcome to the forum! We're glad to have you here! Feel free to ask anyone with a red or blue name if you have any questions. Also, since you are part of the scene, any information that you have to share would be greatly appreciated!<br /><br />Also glad to that you are interested in Sel'm, they are easily one of my favorite VK bands.

Thanks! Yes I am glad to share any information as an active bangya in the scene

 

I love Sel'm. The first time I saw them I can't remember a single thing about the performance somehow. I just remember that I was really annoyed with their fans.. But the second time I saw them I was in the 2nd row and that is when I became interested in them. My body hurt for 3 days after because of Sel'm!

 

Welcome to the forums! I've been to Matsue (in Shimane) before and I really like the laid-back feel of the place. I'm totally *not* a "city" person at all haha. 

 

Thanks! Wow that's impressive that you've been to Shimane! Did you take a trip to Izumo for the grand shrine at all or was it just Matsue? Unfortunately Matsue is about 2 hours away from where I live... I'd probably be more likely to stay longer if I lived in a city in Shimane (well, Shimane's versions of cities). As it is though I live in a small town in the mountains. You may not be a city person but I'd be interested to see if you'd still enjoy my town if you had to stay here for a bit hahaha... Our big gossip lately is that a drug store opened up right next to the old drug store.

[hiroki 5521]

 

Thanks! Wow that's impressive that you've been to Shimane! Did you take a trip to Izumo for the grand shrine at all or was it just Matsue? Unfortunately Matsue is about 2 hours away from where I live... I'd probably be more likely to stay longer if I lived in a city in Shimane (well, Shimane's versions of cities). As it is though I live in a small town in the mountains. You may not be a city person but I'd be interested to see if you'd still enjoy my town if you had to stay here for a bit hahaha... Our big gossip lately is that a drug store opened up right next to the old drug store.

 

 

I wanted to go to Izumo taisha but it was on the other side of Shimane and I couldn't fit the detour into my schedule. That trip happened during the winter break (iirc) and I had only 1-2 weeks to spare, so unfortunately that wasn't possible in the end. ;_;

 

And, I totally know what you mean by "Shimane's versions of cities", lol I studied at Kyoto University, and while Kyoto is nowhere as secluded as Shimane or some other places I've been to (e.g. the villages in Gifu where I could be cycling for 2 hours and not see a single soul), the downtown area totally pales in comparison to the big metropolitan centers like Tokyo or Osaka. A lot of vk bands skip Kyoto when they tour Kansai too, with most fans preferring to go down to Osaka for lives. I remember there was once I went for a Nightmare concert in Kyoto and there was a kabuki play or something in the adjacent concert hall (which was 4-5x bigger). While we were queuing to enter, streams of old people in their classy outfits strolled by and stared at all of us curiously XD

 

Overall, though, I think I still prefer to live in a quiet place, as long as I can still use Amazon etc. lol. From experience, people in the smaller cities/towns are generally "nicer" (Kyoto people, for instance, are impossibly patient). This is a huge generalization of course. ^^

[anakuro 847]

I wanted to go to Izumo taisha but it was on the other side of Shimane and I couldn't fit the detour into my schedule. That trip happened during the winter break (iirc) and I had only 1-2 weeks to spare, so unfortunately that wasn't possible in the end. ;_;

 

And, I totally know what you mean by "Shimane's versions of cities", lol I studied at Kyoto University, and while Kyoto is nowhere as secluded as Shimane or some other places I've been to (e.g. the villages in Gifu where I could be cycling for 2 hours and not see a single soul), the downtown area totally pales in comparison to the big metropolitan centers like Tokyo or Osaka. A lot of vk bands skip Kyoto when they tour Kansai too, with most fans preferring to go down to Osaka for lives. I remember there was once I went for a Nightmare concert in Kyoto and there was a kabuki play or something in the adjacent concert hall (which was 4-5x bigger). While we were queuing to enter, streams of old people in their classy outfits strolled by and stared at all of us curiously XD

 

Overall, though, I think I still prefer to live in a quiet place, as long as I can still use Amazon etc. lol. From experience, people in the smaller cities/towns are generally "nicer" (Kyoto people, for instance, are impossibly patient). This is a huge generalization of course. ^^

 

Really? I equate Izumo and Matsue to being really close to each other, haha!! But I guess that just goes to show you how spread out Shimane is.. I guess it depends where you were in Matsue.

 

But I've definitely noticed that bands skip Kyoto a lot! I've never been to Kyoto for a live to this day (just Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama and Hiroshima). 

 

Well... you can definitely use amazon in my town. But it's really hard to compare my town to Kyoto. I can't even imagine calling Kyoto quiet considering where I live. Maybe quieter than Osaka and Tokyo, but that's a given. Anyway, I may be slightly bitter about how little my town has to offer (I love my job and the children I teach and that's why I'm still here since I know people are wondering). But if you stay in my town for an extended period of time, it's quite obvious why I've made VK my hobby--I get to escape my town to go to actual cities for it.

[Kawaii_Minpha 194]

Edit: Message deleted

[digi 192]

Hello, and welcome here~

 

Hana Shounen Baddies is the best ever. I love them tons.

[anakuro 847]

Welcome here.

After reading your introduction, i think i'm going to send you a private message soon.

Sounds good I'll be waiting for the PM (I've been chatting in the Souiumono thread, I know you're a fan of nono)

 

 

Hello, and welcome here~

 

Hana Shounen Baddies is the best ever. I love them tons.

 

Hello!

Man, I love baddies so much! They're reaaally nice guys (I joke that Hiroshi is my biggest fan because he is always so excited to see me). 

And they're ridiculously fun live. During Banana they throw stuffed bananas with the crowd (it's such a phenomenon that other members of other bands often run in during that song either on stage or in the crowd to join in).

[digi 192]

 

Hello!

Man, I love baddies so much! They're reaaally nice guys (I joke that Hiroshi is my biggest fan because he is always so excited to see me). 

And they're ridiculously fun live. During Banana they throw stuffed bananas with the crowd (it's such a phenomenon that other members of other bands often run in during that song either on stage or in the crowd to join in).

 

I wouldn't have expected any less, haha. They seem incredibly friendly.

I'd love to go see them live one day ;_;

(they better play banana when I go!!)

[Tokage 5930]

HAHA I KNOW YOU FROM TUMBLR (it's me turtels)

[anakuro 847]

haha hey turtels (uh, i mean tokage) i saw that icon and thought it might be you

[karin-adele 70]

Eeeeyyy hello Misha.

Enjoy your time around here!

[anakuro 847]

lol hey karin

thanks

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

Welcome to MH cool to see more ppl in japan! I'm in tokyo though..

[MoSaicMiSfit 0]

hi! and welcome to MH hope you enjoy your time here  and im going to send you a pm soon