Featured List 10 Types of J-Music Fans

[Zeus 7997]

10 Types of J-Music Fans

 

 

 

 

The Casual

That moment when you actually try to talk about visual kei with someone.

 

Quote

The Casual's knowledge is primarily limited to bands featured as anime tie-ins. Tends to believe all J-Rock is Anime Music and that visual kei is "gay". He might dig GLAY or have "Ready Steady Go" on his MP3 player, but that's about it. Don't expect a long conversation about the ethics of visual kei with them, but you might be able to take them to a Dir en grey concert once in a blue moon.

 

Pros: Potentially interested in learning more.

Cons: Unfamiliar with anything else an artist may have done.

 

 

 

 

The Expat

I'm into plush dolls. Native women are so overrated...
 

Quote

After discovering Japanese music, The Expat believes that their native country's music is "horrible" and "lesser in every way". No one else back home "understands". The Expat hates listening to "American-sounding" rock and metal, but can't draw comparisons to relevant American bands because he doesn't listen to them. Instead he'll drone on and on about how Japanese people are naturally more poetic and musically talented than every other country in the world. Secretly wishes they were Japanese but will settle for an Asian girlfriend.

 

Pros: Did you need that ameblo post translated? They know a guy...

Cons: Will probably find a way to make every music discussion about j-music.

 

 

 

 

The Hoarder

The visual kei ward will be fresh af bby

 

Quote

With libraries large enough to start their own blog of obscure Japanese music, The Hoarder take everything as long as it's free, even if they may never listen to it. They have downloads over a year old that they still haven't made time to unpack. They are allergic to files with no metadata tags and their worst fear is encountering a file with a password that they no longer remember. They are likely obsessed with having all the limited editions/multi-types/fan club only items no one else has. Measures everything in megabytes.

 

Pros: They definitely have that super rare live distro file you've been looking for in flac.

Cons: It's just on their hard drive from 2001 packed up in storage.

 

 

 

 

The Otaku

How otakus share rarez

 

Quote

The Otaku are the kind of music fans that got started on the indie, rock, and jazz scenes of Japanese music. Many of The Otaku believe visual kei to be inferior, cookie-cutter, boy-band music. To be one, you must know the song and dance around gaining access to private servers, basic Japanese, and all the rules of sharing and re-sharing. Failure will get you blacklisted. They have been a scattered force since The Fall of JMR but they used to be an active, influential source in shaping many a music fan's taste.

 

Pros: Deep and knowledgeable about music, may have variety in taste, love spreading music

Cons: Can be very difficult to find common ground musically, don't like sharing, neurotic habits

 

 

 

 

The Historian

Visual kei alone would take up half the chart but historians disagree on how many different sub -keis there should be.
 

Quote

The Historian know the history of nearly everybody remotely connected to the scene, from their high school garage bands that released 2.4923 songs, to the intricate differences among all 8 types of the latest Kiryu maxi-single. Why it is important to know the difference between Vice†Risk and Vice∞Risk escapes most people, but these guys have it down to a science. If you need to know the difference between iryou kei and koteosa, these are your guys. If it seems like someone has more fun organizing and maintaining information about music than actually listening to it, odds are they're a historian.

 

Pros: A walking encyclopedia of obscure musical knowledge

Cons: Doesn't know anything about anyone you would care about

 

 

 

 

The Elitist

Start by listening to some real music n00b

 

Quote

Also known as the I-don't-personally-know-this-artist-but-I'm-going-to-speak-for-them-because-my-opinion-is-the-only-opinion-that-matters fan, The Elitist thinks every artist sucks except the artists they like, and often bemoans why no one ever listens to "good music". They are a fan of extremes and something is either godlike or total crap. You must like an artist since their first demo tape to be considered equal to them and allowed to speak of said artist at any point in time.

 

Pros: Actually has dope music taste (on occasion)

Cons: Spends too much time being an asshole, too selective, not open to new things

 

 

 

 

The Shadow

Is it safe to come out?
 

Quote

Rarer than a unicorn, The Shadow is a mythical creature with no predictable music sense or fashion taste. They are able to avoid the negative stereotypes that comes with being a fan because they work hard to blend in. They are knowledgeable about enough bands to appear as The Casual and maintain social acceptance, but The Shadow possesses a much deeper inventory of J-Music than you would expect. They could be among you, waiting for the right time to strike.

 

Pros: The coolest peeps in the scene for sure.

Cons: Rarely ever advertise themselves as a J-Music fan

 

 

 

The Bangya

Believe it or not they're sitting in assigned order.

 

Quote

The Bangya in general are those who love everything about the visual kei movement. It's a way of life for them. Bangya are female fans while bangyao are male fans. They are a little obsessed, but the term bangya does not have a negative connotation. They have dedicated spots at every live, visual kei slang, proper live etiquette about how to share the front row, and will be at as many insutos and ibentos as their schedule humanly allows. The most devoted of them will even support their band member in...ways.

 

Pros: They actually support the movement.

Cons: Describe going to lives as 参戦 (lit. "going to war").

 

 

 

 

The Hype Beast

This new visual kei band's releasing a 7-TYPE live distributed 30 copy single campaign based on the days of the week all recorded, mixed, and mastered in the same day! Pre-ordered all seven already!

 

Quote

The Hype Beast makes it their personal mission in life to defend every new band, no matter how derivative. Known for jumping on hype trains from promo images, well before music is even released. The band won't need to release a preview before The Hype Beast throws down the cash for the single. The Hype Beast will know every single indie band coming out this week and the next, their singles, song titles, promo images, and release schedules well before you can even ask "who"?

 

Pros: They're on top of everything that's happening

 

Cons: Listens to Instigate the Grief and THE RUDIE SATAN PARK for pleasure.

 

 

 

The Tanuki

qurl you won't believe what i just found about about satsuki...

 

Quote

The Tanuki are those fans obsessed with all the drama about their favorite band men. They're the ones that will sign onto 2chan with 7 different anonymous accounts to verify that a certain band member has VD. Sometimes it seems like they like to talk shit more than enjoy the music, but not all of them are like this. The Tanuki are on top of the tiniest of details concerning visual kei fans but lack credible sources. Most of what they know is gossip, but every once in a while they'll surprise you with some saucy legit information. Keep one handy if there's someone you absolutely must keep tabs on.

 

Pros: They got all the details about everyone

Cons: All but one of them are a lie (and they might not know which)

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the read! Are there any you think I missed? Comment and leave them below.

[CAT5 9075]

LOOOOOOOOOOL. Looks like I'm a cross between otaku and hoarder, ahaha. Well, I used to be in any case.

[Chi 2624]

im hoarder x otaku x tanuki

the best worst combination

 

as expected from a god, @Zeus saw right through my tanukiness

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I'm def causal trash

[Tokage 5930]

Mom, dad..... I'm a hoarder.....

[yakihiko 1480]

I believe that I'm a half blood Hoader and Historian.

That Shin photo surrounded by censored face girls, now I know where he is after ViViD :/

[emmny 4139]

bangya and tanuki (surprise!) 

oh and a shadow for the most part irl, i never mention japanese music.

[Nisimaldar 153]

Shadow - even though I'm very familiar with the pose shown in the gif depicting the casual. I'm able to apply this pose frequently while browsing mh.

[chemicalpictures 1888]

LOL. I'm definitely a Shadow, MH is the only place I ever mention anything about japanese music or anything related. In the outer world I'm just a regular dude doing regular shit... to each their own, I think

[nullmoon 784]

Another Shadow here!

[nullmoon 784]

Great idea by the way. It would be good to see something like 'things you love/hate about J-music fans'

[Atreides 454]

I'm a mix between shadow and historian I think.  I don't tend to tell anyone outside of the Jsphere my tastes in music, and I do have an extensive knowledge of western music also to cover my tracks.  However, I like to research band history etc..  Still, there's a ton I don't know.

[platy 3018]

A mix between historian and shadow, although I'm not afraid to tell anyone I'm into J-music. I like  and know enough western groups that I can get by. I'm a n00b historian, maybe in ten years I'll become one of the elite historians who bores everyone by starting a sentence with 'Lemme tell you about the roots of that band/genre/subgenre...'

(I have a small amount of Tanuki in me)

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

i feel like i'm either all over the place or i don't fit enough in some of the categories.

perhaps i'm a little bit of a hoarder, otaku, and shadow.

 

edit: also, nice review banner of yuumei's art!

[colorful人生 2777]

I'm a hoarder facing withdrawal symptoms mid-rehab and an absolute hype beast.

I'm very much a shadow irl because I'm all over the place... I love all genres... I don't just listen to that "hollerin music" (Southern interpretation of any vein of hardcore metal stuffs)

[Biopanda 2675]

All of them.

[TetsuAkira 289]

I'm a casual hoarder, I hoard well known releases. 

[doombox 4421]

I relate to almost all of these a bit but I'm somewhere between casual, hype beast, and shadow. 

[PsychoΔelica 648]

So many shadows here. lol

[LIDL 692]

I am not sure which one is me ?

[indigo 389]

Yep, I'm probably the elitist shadow...

 

I recognize some traits of elitism in me. I'm very open-minded about genres but I have come to a point in my life where I'm able to tell whether I like or dislike a song in max. 20 seconds. I know pretty well what I want. I can spend time and listen to other people's music on dubtrack.fm and the likes but I know when I hear a crappy song. Now where the shadow part comes in is that I don't just go around preaching about what's in my opinion good music or not. Spewing shit like that helps nobody. I can keep my inner asshole in a leash. But I kinda hate that "elitist" part of myself.

[mahoujin 395]

I'm definitely the historian and the hype beast. I guess I'm the hoarder, but I'm not so bad that I don't listen to everything I've downloaded at least once when I download it. 

[violetchain 912]

I'm casual when it comes to VK - I only really know the most popular bands, and even then I only listen to full albums by a select few. Open to learning more, but I rarely ever seek out new bands.

 

For Japanese music in general, probably a Casual Shadow. I'm not picky about genres, but I usually get obsessed with just a few bands at a time and move through a bunch of their releases. I search around for new stuff every now and then to make sure I don't miss anything super exciting, and I'm quick to snatch any individual songs or videos that catch my interest, but I don't listen to full releases by very many artists.

[Biopanda 2675]

So many shadows here. lol

Everyone frontin as shadow cus zess-sempai says they're the coolest

[beni 2149]

A lovely mix of the first three I'd say: Casual, Expat and Hoarder. God that sounds awful, lmao.