VK Themes I Don't Understand (Can Someone Explain)

[jduv86 224]

These are themes that I've noticed in many VK bands that I don't know why they are so popular? Can someone help me figure it out? ALSO, if you have any other themes that you're curious about that appear in VK, put them in here and maybe we can shine light on the mystery!

 

So here's my questions:

 

What is the obsession with Alice in Wonderland?

What is the obsession with vampire themes?

 

I'm sure there is more things I've noticed, I'm having a block right now though. lol.

[Licio123 181]

The French language. Every VK band has a french titled song, lol

[nullmoon 784]

The world. So many songs have 'kono sekai...' in them!

[sai 868]

Vampire themes are my favourite because like 99% of VK bands pull them off so poorly and it just adds to overal cheesiness of the song/scene ahahaha (except Kamijo who won after his glorious battle which resulted in his euphoric song "Death of Asagi").

 

Well since VK IS and always will be something "mysterious" (at least, that's what most bands try to go for, but see previous paragraph for how this usually turns out), vampire themes and themes like Alice in Wonderland are quite a perfect fit to achieve that idea, at least, that's how I saw it.

[Zeus 7997]

eins zwei drei vier

[paradoxal 2948]

And one thing I've always wondered is that whole nazi theme. There are too many songs that start with Hitler speaking XD

[Senedjem 510]

What happened to the moon and why is everyone crying for it

[237Q 154]

my opinions about nazi and alice in wonderland in vk (bullshit alert) :

The nazi theme is what I believe to have been popularized by early vk bands whose purpose actually was to -shock- the public by bringing up something considered a taboo, especially when the memories were still pretty fresh. Unlike in many countries, wearing and showing nazistic symbols (as the swastika, the hand gesture, the "heil" shout etc) is not illegal, as Japan was, even though a member of the Axis, not a nazi country to the extent Germany was. Basically Japanese mostly took the "innocent" parts of the ideology (for example believing they're the "superior race among asians"/"the master race of the orient") and managed to avoid doing what Hitler became so infamous for. (Basically even though a member of the Axis, Japan was a "safe country" for jewish people. In fact, a Japanese consul in Lithuania Sugihara Chiune has helped around 6000 jews escape the holocaust by giving them the permissions to find refuge in Japan.) So with all this in mind, the nazi theme vk bands use is not so much of a big deal in Japan as it seems to be when you're looking at it through the "western eyes". And to be honest, the theme of WW2 in general is really fascinating, so I can understand artists' fixation on it. (If i have made some mistakes concerning the history, please do correct me, as I am not by any means an expert on this field)

 

As for Alice in wonderland, I'm not really sure what to think but this is my general belief:

-Visual kei was made to and is supposed to illustrate "a fall into another world", to make people feel free to express their imagination and creativity,  to help those who are stuck in (and fight) the "ol' boring everyday". It's also about questioning yourself and the world and growing emotionally through pushing the limits of what is considered "normal"

-Alice in wonderland is about a girl who falls into another world (dreamworld - wonderland), meets various incredible creatures and through undergoing physical changes (growing up and growing down (??) kind of randomly) questions herself and the real world, realizes the truths behind the reality through the unreal and fantasy.

-So basically I believe visual kei as a movement (or genre, whatever you call it) is kind of trying to recreate Alice's inner world of self development, rather than simply trying to copy the characters and happenings of the fantasy world (even though even when they do exactly that it makes me really happy and all fuzzy inside as it is by far my favorite fantasy world in literature) 

[Biopanda 2675]

Alternatively, Alice in Wonderland is just incredibly popular and has been adapted into just about every kind of media possible(live action movies, animated movies, manga, anime, musicals, plays and of course... porn). It's a rather varied world with a theme of "anything goes", which allows for a whole lot of room to work in.

 

That being said, the only purely Alice In Wonderland themed band that I know of isn't a VK band so...

[violetchain 912]

I think the nazi stuff is just an attempt to be edgy and shocking, just like it was for Western punk bands. I'm sure there are some VK bands that are just copying older groups as well.

 

A lot of Japanese rock musicians were influenced by Sid Vicious and/or the Sex Pistols, and well:

 

Also, Siouxsie Sioux:

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Everything mentioned in this thread is literally what makes vkei good so I'm not sure what's going on???

[jduv86 224]

It's not that it is a problem. It's just I want to know the origin of some of these trends. 

[JukaForever 758]

These are themes that I've noticed in many VK bands that I don't know why they are so popular? Can someone help me figure it out? ALSO, if you have any other themes that you're curious about that appear in VK, put them in here and maybe we can shine light on the mystery!

 

So here's my questions:

 

What is the obsession with Alice in Wonderland?

What is the obsession with vampire themes?

 

I'm sure there is more things I've noticed, I'm having a block right now though. lol.

 

 

I am not a hundred percent sure about alice in wonderland stuff. My best guess is probably have to due with the concept of an innocent girl in an unknown mysterious world...but that depends on the bands though. What band actually heavily relies on this concept?

 

 

The vampire thing has to do with never ending life and how shitty that is especially when you have developed some meaningful relationships with other mortals. The thought of continually losing a loved one, and you can't do anything about it, makes it a curse. Turn them into a vampire themselves? But that only leads them to the same path as the vampire and would only mean they would have to go through the same ordeal as the vampire. Out of this is the appreciation of mortal life which ties in to the rose. Like a rose, mortals will have a bloom during their lifespan and eventually die away after. This thought is much more noble way to have had an existence and brings about longing to eventually join the people they have loved in the afterlife. But that is wishful thinking as they are vampires and are immortal. Lastly, all these concepts lead to one thing and that is the appreciation of life and those that you love while you are still alive. Also, possibly just a Japanese way of thinking, it is better to just have an ending in life and be content with everything you have gone through than to continue without a sense of fulfillment until you die away.

 

I am only speaking from my experience (and probably over thinking) of vampirism with Versailles which has more themes about undead.

 

 

Edit: Can somebody possibly explain kiryu?

[lichtlune 915]

What happened to the moon and why is everyone crying for it

???

 

Maybe it has something to do with how a wolf cries at the moon?

[jduv86 224]

^ Why is Kuroyume telling Miss Moonlight to cry for the moon?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkCaglF29R8

 

I am not a hundred percent sure about alice in wonderland stuff. My best guess is probably have to due with the concept of an innocent girl in an unknown mysterious world...but that depends on the bands though. What band actually heavily relies on this concept?

 

 

Not a specific band, but it seems to be a common theme for songs or titles D "yami no kuni no alice" , Viored "Far off memory of Alice", and tons more to do with alice. Plus Alice Nine who have their Alice in Wonderland mini and I think there is another band that has Alice in Wonderland or some take on it...and there are jpop references like SNOW "Nightmare" music video... 

[237Q 154]

Alice in wonderland theme is really extremely common, this is just what comes out when I search for alice in my vk music folder (and I don't even have that much music). Some are release names, some are song names

Keke-Cosmike Alice Wonderland

The Gallo-Alice in world's end; Alice in dead end

Dolly-Alice in dizzypit

Hime ichigo-Re:alice; dear from Alice

Juliette-Retro classic alice

Buck-tick - Alice in wonder underground

Cindykate-Alice

R-shitei-Alice Shinjuu

Elm-Okashi na kuni no Alice

 

----I'm not even going to try searching for other keywords, as I think this makes Alice theme pretty relevant

 

Btw Dolly was heavily inspired by Alice in wonderland in general, especially the white rabbit

[Pretsy 1343]

I've always wondered that why most *edgy* vk bands (especially old school bands) are fascinated with "Abortion" as a theme (for eg. Kuroyume's "Chuuzetsu", Dir's "Mazohyst of Decadence"...and basically most of Madeth Gray'll's songs)

 

also, BDSM theme cannot be unseen in vk tbqh (you can imagine already some examples - like say, Malice Mizer's ILLUMINATI?)

 

Also, I suggest that we should compile speech samples used by Vk acts, considering that there are tons of them (not only Nazi-like ones lol) like for eg. Dir en grey sampling  Charles Augustus Lindbergh in MASK intro, Girugamesh sampling Lenin's ""Comrades, soldiers of Red army,- English, American and French capitalists are fighting Russia" -speech in Mouja no Koushin AND Baiser's yet questionable samples in "Mechanixx"

[JukaForever 758]

Aww, no actual band centered around alice in wonderland. I haven't read the actual book myself but just recalling the scenes from the cartoon, there are easily so many deeper meaning themes in that story.

 

Alternatively, Alice in Wonderland is just incredibly popular and has been adapted into just about every kind of media possible(live action movies, animated movies, manga, anime, musicals, plays and of course... porn). It's a rather varied world with a theme of "anything goes", which allows for a whole lot of room to work in.

 

That being said, the only purely Alice In Wonderland themed band that I know of isn't a VK band so...

 

They look VK though? and sound nice, I am going to try and check them out later.

 

 

I guess certain themes just allows for easier song making and to sing about poetically that can come in various interpretations which make them popular.

[Igyou_Hime 80]

I'm kind of curious though, how many bands did the vampire theme before Malice Mizer? I feel like they started the mania.... and now they're everywhere

Also, at first (when I thought Malice Mizer had vampire monopoly in visual kei) I thought it was really cool and "special", but now all the vampires just makes me meeeh. Except Buck-Tick's Romance, since they're not visual kei I think the image of Atsushi as some sort of vampire felt cool. He didn't go all out with a cape and fangs XD He just looked handsome.

 

And the nazi theme, isn't that because Japan loves uniforms? I find it highly amusing that so many bands has been seen in nazi related uniforms or other items, and everyone loves it. While, if that would happen in the west, everyone would go hysterical and call the bands nazist etc.

[Biopanda 2675]

Aww, no actual band centered around alice in wonderland. I haven't read the actual book myself but just recalling the scenes from the cartoon, there are easily so many deeper meaning themes in that story.

 

 

They look VK though? and sound nice, I am going to try and check them out later.

 

 

I guess certain themes just allows for easier song making and to sing about poetically that can come in various interpretations which make them popular.

Many Japanese metal bands just really happen to look VK for some unknown reason XD

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Laputa used militaristic speech samples in "舌" as well, and D'espairsRay made up their own in "Fascism." 

[CAT5 9075]

What's with all of the Stalin dick-worship?

[Ikna 1225]

^ Maybe a reference to the Stalin? (the band). Wasn't there somethign about how much Japan hated Stalin which is the reason many bands used his name and communist imagery to piss off the public? Millitary themes in general were for shoking people. It's not unique to either Visual kei or Punk, but could also be found in the Metal scene. See japanese Metal bands like Rommel, Rosenfeld, Harkenkreuz or Mein Kampf. The obsession with Nazi themes predated Visual kei. But I noticed that it almost vanished completely in the last years.

As cliché, cheesy and sometimes embarassing some of the Visual kei fave themes are, I still love them. Some themes seem to have survived after 20 or even 30 years, others have vanished and some themes seem to be new (I can't think now of any that started to become a trend in the recent years. I can mostly only speak for Visual kei trends from ca. 1994 to 2005. But I am sure there are some new themes.)

In the 90s for example there was a huge obsession with anything that dealt with murder, suicide, mental illness and criminality. You were not cool and trve enough if you didn't have at least one song that incorporated it. Even some of the lighter soft Visual kei bands could have songs with titles that had words like "mad", "insane" or "crazy" in it. And the infamous "edgy" indie VK bands were known for their outrageous use of clichés and stereotypes of the mentally ill (straight jackets, making strange movements and facial expressions in front of the camera, asylums, bloody bandages everywhere, our bandmen curling hysterical on the floor and spout like dogs). The amount of songs using words like ”Psychopath“, ”Madness“ and ”Suicide“ were the hit. Also Kuroyume had a song about autism, which was pretty cliché. I heard rumors about japanese people criticizing it as highly offensive too.

Another popular thing was medical fetish and eroguro. The whole blood stains, bandages, eye patches and body horror thing. I really love it, especially doctor outfits. I generally have a huge soft spot for all of that medical fetish stuff and I love people, who play around with the mad doctor/scientist trope. Some would call it iryou kei, but I am personally not sure how much that theme justifies to be it's own kind of style. If it was a thing, then ”vampire kei" or ”aristocrat kei” would be real things too. Also the amount of old bands who had at least one doctor outfit/costume was pretty high back then. Dir en grey did it (well, Kyo at least for Cage), Malice Mizer, some indie bands like Beata, La'Mule (see inspire PV), etc. And then we have all the bands associated to be iryou kei, who mainly use the doctor/medical costumes.

Other terms I have noticed that are very popular and have some connection to topics like murder, death and also sex are: Deathtopia (seriously, why did so many bands used to have song called like that?), S+M, Crime and Punishment (mostly in Japanese, Tsumi to Batsu), Masochism, Knife, Schizophrenia, Miserable…

[Pretsy 1343]

 

 

Also Kuroyume had a song about autism, which was pretty cliché. I heard rumors about japanese people criticizing it as highly offensive too

Well they are not really rumors, considering that complains from Autism-related organizations in Japan cited the song (AND  

) to be "totally offensive and tasteless", and thus the song was banned from later pressings of "Romance of  Scarlet" + various other releases (including PV releases, so you might consider the PV to be quite "rare") - you can notice it right away in say, their reunion pressings for example.

 

 

 

Deathtopia (seriously, why did so many bands used to have song called like that?)

Considering that AUTO-MOD was "the pioneer" of the title usage (and the band being very influential for vk oyajis etc.), the title is pretty much a scene-related play on "Dystopia"

 

Other than that, drugs are also a pretty big topic in vk - considering that it goes quite well along with such disturbing themes as (Ikna mentioned) for eg. crimes (like for instance, vaguely referenced Junko Furuta case (Ruki didn't really have a proper take on this subject) in Gazette's "Taion")), murderers (even the most famous, American ones like Ed Gein get referenced in various vk songs quite often), mental illnesses, abortion, etc. 

 

The most popular vk example in terms of drugs? How about this? (before someone starts to bash me for using "way too mainstream" examples, you can already figure some "underground" examples by yourselves )

[Sakura Seven 593]

What was that one VK band who used a terrorist beheading video for a back-drop and caused a shitton of outrage?

So punk.