MH FEATURED POLL #9: What are your favorite styles of Visual Kei?

[CAT5 9075]

Multiple choice poll. What are your favorite subgenres of Visual Kei?

 

Poll suggested by . To submit a poll, P.M. @CAT5 with your poll question, choices, and state whether it's mutiple choice or not.

[Dark Kinma 960]

Nagoya kei, I think we can love this genre only with DEADMAN, they are for me the one who representative this genre more than lynch or Deathgaze.

 

Other, because I think we does create DeG Kei because they are above everything.

[DogManX 179]

Nagoya Kei and Eroguro Kei. Well actually Deathgaze can be classified as Eroguro too (as well as early Dir en grey). Just love the dark, aggressive, melancholic sounds.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Eroguro & Nagoya & Kote all the way~

[Bear 1817]

Music-wise it's a battle between angura, eroguro and nagoya, and image-wise it's eroguro. I guess.

[Elazmus 1873]

Eroguro life

[beni 2149]

Tried describing the subgenres as accurate as possible but obviously, bands can cross into more than one category and some genres can even be described differently.

I would, personally, pick all of them. xD But if I have to cut it down, it'd have to be Iryou Kei, Soft Kei and Tanbi Kei. I love how unique the Iryou visuals are because there aren't that many bands that choose to appear in this way. Also picked Soft Kei because most of my favourite bands can now be categorised in this subgenre. And the elegant section too because the music is usually rather dramatic, which I really like. And as a bonus, the vocalist usually always sounds so beautiful, contrasting with the hard sound of the genre. And those clothes, so stunning!! It's no secret I'm a fan of any man who cross-dresses hehe. I've noticed there's not much love for my old favourites, Oshare and Koteosa Kei D:

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

They're all so beautiful and perfect--I can't choose :<<<<<

 

 

No oshare though.

[Tokage 5930]

I will never, EVER stop defending angura, nagoya and eroguro kei

[doombox 4421]

Basically anything that doesn't involve Oshare or a variation of it. Anything that relies that heavily on current fashion trends doesn't really have a soul musically for me.

 

Also learned something from this poll as I never knew the term was "kurofuku kei", I always heard it simply as "kuro kei", but I suppose that was an abbreviated term possibly. 

[paradoxal 2948]

[x] Others

 

host kei 5ever

[PsychoΔelica 648]

My fav genre is the one that Metronome, Floppy, Adapter and GalapagosS belong to. I'm see them being classified as Angura but if I remember right there was some other subgenre. Love the heavy electronic stuff and uniform costumes ♥

Also I like kurofuku because of BT and Nagoya Kei because of Deadman, the Studs and Lynch. 

[doombox 4421]

My fav genre is the one that Metronome, Floppy, Adapter and GalapagosS belong to. I'm see them being classified as Angura but if I remember right there was some other subgenre. 

Do you mean something like Denshi (electronic) kei, or shironuri (white face paint) kei? I've heard them called all of the above.

[Sakura Seven 593]

no art kei option 

 

close thread

[PsychoΔelica 648]

Do you mean something like Denshi (electronic) kei, or shironuri (white face paint) kei? I've heard them called all of the above.

I think it's called piko piko kei. 

[beni 2149]

Do you mean something like Denshi (electronic) kei, or shironuri (white face paint) kei? I've heard them called all of the above.

 

I was also thinking of Denshi Kei when reading -k∆-'s text. can't believe I forgot electro ones -.- Too many subgenres doh.

 

I think it's called piko piko kei. 

 

Both shironuri and piko piko kei are new to me. The latter sounds way too cute. : 3

[Keiyuu 745]

Voted for Kote Kei, Kurofuku Kei, Nagoya Kei and Soft Kei.. although some of the given examples don't really fit into these subgenres. (Kote Kei - late Dir En Grey and Lareine, seriously?)

[hyura 465]

I voted for Nagoya, Kurofuku and Kote.

 

Still. The examples seem a little off for the most part?

I'm not usually one to play the 'you use genres wrong' card, especially when it comes to those loose subgenres of vk but many things in this poll seem weird to me.

Not sure about ones like 'Iyrou kei' or 'Tanbi' kei as I don't see them used at all for the most part, but 'Nagoya kei' for example has been a style of music for quite a long time and the examples don't quite hit the nail on the head. Most people would propably associate it with influential early acts such as 黒夢, Laputa or ROUAGE or the popular second wave nagoya bands (like deadman or Phobia for example). Deathgaze and lynch are both bands from nagoya and do have the dark aesthetics of the genre but the music they play propably isn't really what comes to mind when hearing the term.

 

And I feel similarily about labeling kagerou a 'kurofuku' band next to BT because whenever I saw it used as a 'genre' it was used to refer to very early bands, like LUNA SEA for example, kagerou kinda seem out of place there.

Also, how are late Dir en grey kotekote? (one might even argue if they qualify as vk at all)

 

I know 'soft visual' as a word to describe the countless mid-90s pop acts (think GLAY, Dear Loving or any popular band of that time after signing a major contract) and even referred to as a dead genre. However... SID propably fits in nicely.

[doombox 4421]

I think it's called piko piko kei. 

Interesting. I've only heard pikopiko in reference to pop groups like Perfume. Or pikoreamo (piko+screamo) for the electro-core bands like Crossfaith. But now that you say that I see no reason why it couldn't include visual bands too.

[beni 2149]

I was worried about doing this by myself due to what Keiyuu and hyura have talked about. So I'd like to just defend my choices seeing as I'll only regret not trying.

 

Voted for Kote Kei, Kurofuku Kei, Nagoya Kei and Soft Kei.. although some of the given examples don't really fit into these subgenres. (Kote Kei - late Dir En Grey and Lareine, seriously?)

 

I mean early when I said late. This is because, not only did I personally see this by their attire they used to wear in the beginning of their career, but also various articles have used them as this particular subgenre mostly. As I've always said, a lot of bands will fit into more than just one subgenre, since bands usually change their style and sound over time. So I decided on using band examples most people will known about. Ones which might not be the most obvious choice to those with a lot more knowledge on this, but popular enough ones everyone would be able to have in their minds when reading the list, since pictures weren't included. I already knew others would most likey disagree, but I purposely made the descriptions short and to the point so that it was simple and quick to read. I was expecting everyone'd know which their favourites would fit into so even if I left out quite a bit of info and options, I hoped it'd be acceptable instead of a long ass list of every subgenre there is. That's why I kept the option 'other' in so everyone can have a say if they disagree.

 

I voted for Nagoya, Kurofuku and Kote.

 

Still. The examples seem a little off for the most part?

I'm not usually one to play the 'you use genres wrong' card, especially when it comes to those loose subgenres of vk but many things in this poll seem weird to me.

Not sure about ones like 'Iyrou kei' or 'Tanbi' kei as I don't see them used at all for the most part, but 'Nagoya kei' for example has been a style of music for quite a long time and the examples don't quite hit the nail on the head. Most people would propably associate it with influential early acts such as 黒夢, Laputa or ROUAGE or the popular second wave nagoya bands (like deadman or Phobia for example). Deathgaze and lynch are both bands from nagoya and do have the dark aesthetics of the genre but the music they play propably isn't really what comes to mind when hearing the term.

 

And I feel similarily about labeling kagerou a 'kurofuku' band next to BT because whenever I saw it used as a 'genre' it was used to refer to very early bands, like LUNA SEA for example, kagerou kinda seem out of place there.

Also, how are late Dir en grey kotekote? (one might even argue if they qualify as vk at all)

 

I know 'soft visual' as a word to describe the countless mid-90s pop acts (think GLAY, Dear Loving or any popular band of that time after signing a major contract) and even referred to as a dead genre. However... SID propably fits in nicely.

 

Tanbi was one I had never seen before but I put it in their anyway because that was the definition of 'renaissance Europe influenced' which I thought is very popular. And because this ties in with the acts around Mana's and Versailles' work, I felt like it'd be wrong to not have it in. So I just grouped them, thinking that'd be easier for everyone. I've only realised now that maybe I was looking into the visual styles more, so I apologise for that. However, I did do research before doing this and I found loads of subgenres I've never even heard of, and ones where it had a different meaning each time since articles contradicted one another, making it difficult to 'hit the nail on the head.' Take Koteosa Kei as an example of this; one article said that the GazettE was this type of band. I decided to keep it simple with what I went with since I was confused with this one, so went for saying it's the darker version of Oshare Kei, which it can be described as. And as I said above with using bands which aren't exactly the most obvious choice for the subgenre, I picked bands I thought were well known here so it was easier to visualize and understand. I agree LUNA SEA fits into the Kurofuku Kei, and the Nagoya Kei have better band examples as you've said. I was even going to use LUNA SEA and deadman at one point. There's just a lot to cover and in a rather short time too. Just wanted to make it simple for a poll but I guess there's a lot to talk about with it so I'm actually happy about that. About Dir En Grey, I probably got mixed up thinking of their style, but I would say they looked old school at first. I just went with what I had thought if the articles agreed, which seems to disagree with each other so I tried my best with being clear. I tried.

[violetchain 912]

I guess kurofuku and "soft"...I typically go for the bands that don't wear much makeup, and I prefer a lighter rock sound (as opposed to metal), like L'Arc, GLAY, etc.

 

Plus "other" for whatever Psycho le Cemu are called.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

These supposed subgenres really have to be the most redundant things ever invented, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of these were just the concoctions of the western internet fanbase very much distant from the actual scene where the fads and developments of visual kei actually take place. 

 

The reason why I think these are super inane and pointless is the fact that all of these bands more or less share the same - unique I would say - musical heritage that kind of makes it obvious that they all come from the same place, but just from different eras. The sheer amount of issues, inconsistencies and differing opinions just makes this insistence on categorising bands within visual kei into various subgenres  a rather pointless exercise because one could hardly ever arrive to an even a half-certain conclusion, no? There is a considerable amount of aesthetic wiggle room possible within the framework of visual kei and that's makes it more or less impossible to label most bands such and such.

 

For example what do you do when Diaura looks somewhat oshare in one shoot and then a little kote in the next? Are we forced to invent a new redundant subgenre based mostly on visuals whenever a band takes cues from different periods and bands within visual kei? Far too many bands could never be set into any of these genres as they had their themes and music fluctuate on a far too broad of a spectrum.

 

Unlike what some here would argue and have foolishly argued in the past, every single band in the history of music can be set to a genre or more specifically, a musical movement. Nothing happens in a vacuum existing outside of the musical tradition of the world. It's just that things aren't as strict as some would make it. Not every quirk makes something so unique and special that it requires a label of its own. Many things are simply just rock music, but then they might also be a part of a certain scene happening in some part of the world where a lot of the rock bands share specific quirks from the same specific tradition. Visual kei I'd say is one of these scenes. Even if a band adopts some metal riffage for aesthetic and keeps their visual kei trappings intact, it's still bloody visual kei. 

 

Things like this lead me to think that all these nonsensical labels and misinformation only work to deter the discussion from more fruitful avenues, like say for example tracing the musical development of visual kei as a whole. What important musical developments took place within the scene and what took place out of it? Can the supposed post-punk influence of visual kei be traced and pointed out? What bands were the first to incorporate riffs from contemporary western metal music, what were the roles of some seminal bands like Kuroyume in shaping the sound and aesthetic and so on. Mite hab been rather off topic but there you go. 

[doombox 4421]

These supposed subgenres really have to be the most redundant things ever invented, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of these were just the concoctions of the western internet fanbase very much distant from the actual scene where the fads and developments of visual kei actually take place. 

 

The reason why I think these are super inane and pointless is the fact that all of these bands more or less share the same - unique I would say - musical heritage that kind of makes it obvious that they all come from the same place, but just from different eras. The sheer amount of issues, inconsistencies and differing opinions just makes this insistence on categorising bands within visual kei into various subgenres  a rather pointless exercise because one could hardly ever arrive to an even a half-certain conclusion, no? There is a considerable amount of aesthetic wiggle room possible within the framework of visual kei and that's makes it more or less impossible to label most bands such and such.

 

For example what do you do when Diaura looks somewhat oshare in one shoot and then a little kote in the next? Are we forced to invent a new redundant subgenre based mostly on visuals whenever a band takes cues from different periods and bands within visual kei? Far too many bands could never be set into any of these genres as they had their themes and music fluctuate on a far too broad of a spectrum.

 

Unlike what some here would argue and have foolishly argued in the past, every single band in the history of music can be set to a genre or more specifically, a musical movement. Nothing happens in a vacuum existing outside of the musical tradition of the world. It's just that things aren't as strict as some would make it. Not every quirk makes something so unique and special that it requires a label of its own. Many things are simply just rock music, but then they might also be a part of a certain scene happening in some part of the world where a lot of the rock bands share specific quirks from the same specific tradition. Visual kei I'd say is one of these scenes. Even if a band adopts some metal riffage for aesthetic and keeps their visual kei trappings intact, it's still bloody visual kei. 

 

Things like this lead me to think that all these nonsensical labels and misinformation only work to deter the discussion from more fruitful avenues, like say for example tracing the musical development of visual kei as a whole. What important musical developments took place within the scene and what took place out of it? Can the supposed post-punk influence of visual kei be traced and pointed out? What bands were the first to incorporate riffs from contemporary western metal music, what were the roles of some seminal bands like Kuroyume in shaping the sound and aesthetic and so on. Mite hab been rather off topic but there you go. 

 

Let's take this from the beginning. If you did a simple japanese language search you'd discover most of these terms are actually used in some fashion. Maybe not as distinctly as foreign fanbase likes to think, but that doesn't make them useless. Maybe just slightly more narrowed than originally intended.

 

In any subgenre in any country.... they are only "pure" in the beginning when they are very small. After they spread they are going to begin crossing over and taking influence from surrounding scenes that they meet along the way. The genres can't help but to cross-pollinate. I don't see how trying to distinguish visual kei genres is any more useless than trying to pigeon hole modern metal or punk or indie rock. They're all all over the place these days. Secondly, certain genres listed have to do with the region they came from, ex. Nagoya kei... a huge portion of the "nagoya kei" bands I listen to are "kurofuku kei" bands as well. Since the location has very little to do with the actual style. The thing is, nagoya kei became it's own thing when bands from that area became known for certain things like dark/heavy music, dark images, and intense live shows. And this doesn't mean any band from nagoya has to follow suit. coldrain for example isn't even a vk band but falls under nagoya kei.

 

Per your example, Diaura then falls under the crossover genre of "koteosa". I don't understand what's hard to understand about crossover bands? They aren't exclusive to visual kei either, I mean metalcore as a genre was born from heavy metal and hardcore punk crossover. But Diaura can't have oshare and kote visuals? hmmm...

 

Over-labeling of genres also isn't a problem exclusive to visual kei, either. I feel like you contradict yourself here. You admit that scenes exist where certain quirks define that scene, then you turn around and say it's all just rock or it's all just visual kei. That's the entire meaning behind a "subgenre" in the first place. Yes, it's all rock, but it can be further defined by certain things, and the argument comes from who defines it and why. People who come from different regions will always argue this. 

 

I fail to see how subgenres detract from the larger exploration of the heritage of visual kei as a whole? That's an entirely different discussion, tbh. Each one of your questions could warrent it's own thread but it's definitely off topic from what's being discussed here, which is simply which subgenres of vk people enjoy. Maybe some people are taking this poll far too seriously...

[fitear1590 2414]

Tanbi/ROSE KEI!

And I'm with Sakura Seven: art kei, because Moran, et al.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

Let's take this from the beginning. First off, in any subgenre in any country.... they are only "pure" in the beginning when they are very small. 

 

 

Usually these developments taking place can be tracked and then it counts as natural development within the scene. No such thing as purity and such was never claimed. 

 

You admit that scenes exist where certain quirks define that scene, then you turn around and say it's all just rock or it's all just visual kei. 

 

 

Rock music is the origin and visual kei is the quirk. Bands sounding a little bit different doesn't warrant a million subgenres, whereas the differences between goth scene post-punk did warrant the added goth for distinction, because there is a substantial difference.  If people really want to set visual kei into some categories then the earlier era poll is the best way to go about it. 

 

The genres can't help but to cross-pollinate. I don't see how trying to distinguish visual kei genres is any more useless than trying to pigeon hole modern metal or punk or indie rock. 

 

 

Here do you mean subgenres within modern metal, punk and indie rock? There's a rather clear cut difference between 70's punk and hardcore that followed, and indie rock is pretty much a very large umberella term that seems to vary in meaning depending on who said it and some of the subgenres within "modern metal" have great actually musical differences incorporating different types of song structures and influences. Fucking nagoya kei has the same insistence on cyclic pop song structures, hair metal heritage soloing and visual kei choruses as all other visual kei, not to mention the visual kei culture of marketing, doing shows,releasing and general ethos are very much the same. The difference in the sound is merely little tinkering with the aesthetic and this can usually be attributed to the members and labels these bands happen to share, because they tend to do that; early "nagoya" bands sound totally different from the later ones for this reason and they just all end up being visual kei that just happens to be from the same city. If having Kuroyume influence is enough to have you classified as Nagoya then bloody hell that's like most of bijuaru. 

 

coldrain for example isn't even a vk band but falls under nagoya kei

 

 

Are they on a visual kei label? Do they share members with visual kei bands? Do they market themselves as visual kei? If none of the above are checked then calling it nagoya kei is fucking stupid and whoever says it is a blithering idiot. 

 

 

dark/heavy music, dark images, and intense live shows. 

 

 

Ooh aah. As if this were so prevalent here and nowhere else that it warrants a subgenre of it's own. Granted, nagoya just might be the most acceptable out of all of these

 

Per your example, Diaura then falls under the crossover genre of "koteosa". I don't understand what's hard to understand about crossover bands? They aren't exclusive to visual kei either, I mean metalcore as a genre was born from heavy metal and hardcore punk crossover. But Diaura can't have oshare and kote visuals? hmmm...

Looking different doesn't warrant your own genre god damn it. There are huge differences between subgenres in metal like metalcore, black metal, heavy metal and those differences are massive. Diaura looks, sounds and functions like a ton of other visual kei bands therefore not warranting a inane distinction that some westerner came up with in her bedroom in Arkansas. 

 

Over-labeling of genres also isn't a problem exclusive to visual kei, either. I feel like you contradict yourself here. You admit that scenes exist where certain quirks define that scene, then you turn around and say it's all just rock or it's all just visual kei. That's the entire meaning behind a "subgenre" in the first place. Yes, it's all rock, but it can be further defined by certain things, and the argument comes from who defines it and why. People who come from different regions will always argue this. 

 

 

 

It's just done smarter anywhere else. Distinctions of sounds in Techno are usually done with cities, labels and eras and they are always consistent. Hip hop does this also by locale and era, then further distinction can be done by naming influences. There's no anywhere elese subgenre like whatever hospital kei that includes a whopping two fucking bands. Also that eroguro is a load of bollocks when the supposed originators have very sparingly had erotic or grotesque themes aside from a handful of songs, and then the two bands mentioned after it have fuckall to do with caligari either aside from being friends with the band.  

 

I fail to see how subgenres detract from the larger exploration of the heritage of visual kei as a whole? That's an entirely different discussion

 

 

How long have you been in the scene, just asking? You seem to have missed all the wank when people try to pigeon hole ( as you put it! ) bands into these vapid subgenres or even make new ones out of thin air! Yet rarely one sees the same energy put into finding the most seminal releases in visual kei and the general knowledge of the origins of the sound visual kei is piss poor, so only if. 

Edited December 1, 2014 by Disposable