How come Mejibray are more popular than a lot of VK bands from this decade?

[TheZigzagoon 670]

Don't get me wrong I think they're okay, but I don't think they're anything special. Just wondering why are they more popular than most

[saishuu 3220]

people like to reward garbage and seem incapable of finding and enjoying good music

[TheZigzagoon 670]

1 minute ago, saishuu said:

people like to reward garbage and seem incapable of finding and enjoying good music

That was savage af and I loved it XD

[platy 3018]

Because of tzk's and Mia's sex appeal. 

[TheZigzagoon 670]

1 minute ago, platy said:

Because of tzk's and Mia's sex appeal. 

I fail to see MiA in that way since he's so egocentric but Tsuzuku I could see him appealing to the edgy folk

[nekkichi 6043]

same question re: sadie

[frayed 404]

Can’t speak for anyone else, but for me the appeal is they’re a really fun live band and good to their fans. I’ve said it before, but I can get why people don’t like them because I only really “got” the appeal when I went to see them live and had an utter blast. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. That said, personally I think they get additional heat for being popular with some very vocal face fans. 

 

Also of the mind that they got hype from the tart because of who they were; I mean I know back in 2009 everyone was shitting themselves over VanessA (especially Genki) and I couldn’t stop hearing about Toon Factory, at least overseas. So that could have something to do with it. I also don’t know that they’re as popular as people think they are in Japan.

[TheZigzagoon 670]

4 minutes ago, nekkichi said:

same question re: sadie

I've heard of sadie but never given them a listen DX

 

1 minute ago, frayed said:

Can’t speak for anyone else, but for me the appeal is they’re a really fun live band and good to their fans. I’ve said it before, but I can get why people don’t like them because I only really “got” the appeal when I went to see them live and had an utter blast. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. That said, personally I think they get additional heat for being popular with some very vocal face fans. 

 

Also of the mind that they got hype from the tart because of who they were; I mean I know back in 2009 everyone was shitting themselves over VanessA (especially Genki) and I couldn’t stop hearing about Toon Factory, at least overseas. So that could have something to do with it. I also don’t know that they’re as popular as people think they are in Japan.

If the opportunity was presented to me, I would probably go see them live (well, even tho it's looking R.I.P Mejibray) but the fanbase is almost, if not equal to, the cringe that a lot of Gazette fans provide. It makes it hard to like a band when you try follow content but are bombarded with "oh minna san no one can look at Tsuzuku sama because erm he's my kawaii husbando" it just ruins it for me. It may seem petty, but why can't they evaluate them for their music at all? There's more to visual kei than just the looks

[frayed 404]

14 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

If the opportunity was presented to me, I would probably go see them live (well, even tho it's looking R.I.P Mejibray) but the fanbase is almost, if not equal to, the cringe that a lot of Gazette fans provide. It makes it hard to like a band when you try follow content but are bombarded with "oh minna san no one can look at Tsuzuku sama because erm he's my kawaii husbando" it just ruins it for me. It may seem petty, but why can't they evaluate them for their music at all? There's more to visual kei than just the looks

Yeah I completely get that. I think I pretty openly stan Mejibray, but not like that, lol. 

[TheZigzagoon 670]

1 minute ago, frayed said:

Yeah I completely get that. I think I pretty openly stan Mejibray, but not like that, lol. 

There's no problem in that, I just can't stand the fans who full fledged act like the band members are their property of sorts

[frayed 404]

13 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

There's no problem in that, I just can't stand the fans who full fledged act like the band members are their property of sorts

SO MUCH THIS, yes, same. I really hate this attitude. It’s exceedingly festishist imho. 

[TheZigzagoon 670]

3 minutes ago, frayed said:

SO MUCH THIS, yes, same. I really hate this attitude. It’s exceedingly festishist imho. 

Fun story related to this, I once saw in a Gazette group on facebook, a girl called the woman in the 'Shiikureta Haru Kawarenu Haru' PV a "Dirty American whore" because she touched her "husbando Ruki". EVERYONE called her out on her fuckery. It's so disgusting. 

 

Here's the PV 

 

[zombieparadise 487]

22 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

There's no problem in that, I just can't stand the fans who full fledged act like the band members are their property of sorts

If there was one reason to hate this scene, that would be it for me. That attitude reeks of desperation to me and it's so gross.

Re OP: I think people like this band because other people like this band – that and 'edgy'-kei vibes. They're fun for a bit but get stale quick.

[TheZigzagoon 670]

3 minutes ago, zombieparadise said:

If there was one reason to hate this scene, that would be it for me. That attitude reeks of desperation to me and it's so gross.

Re OP: I think people like this band because other people like this band – that and 'edgy'-kei vibes. They're fun for a bit but get stale quick.

I know exactly what you mean, and you can't help but question whether these types of fans have trouble distinguishing the relationships they think they have with band members and their real life relationships. It's quite sad.

 

I personally don't mind Mejibray, I certainly don't think they're that great, and I believe they're one of the most overrated bands out there 

[frayed 404]

11 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

Fun story related to this, I once saw in a Gazette group on facebook, a girl called the woman in the 'Shiikureta Haru Kawarenu Haru' PV a "Dirty American whore" because she touched her "husbando Ruki". EVERYONE called her out on her fuckery. It's so disgusting. 

 

Here's the PV 

 

God yeah, I saw shit like that back in the Livejournal days. It’s ridiculous. People have literally implied that I followed the band because I wanted to sleep with them - meanwhile I’m quietly laughing my ass off as a genderfluid queer ass individual with my fiancée sitting next to me. 

 

It’s honestly like toeing a middle line between fans like that and other fans calling MiA a stuck up frog man or something because they aren’t into him. I wasn’t really that in touch with the overseas fandom because I only got into them when I was living in Japan, and frankly it kind of sucks that now after the hiatus and living here it’s really hard to find sane people to engage with.

[zombieparadise 487]

7 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

I know exactly what you mean, and you can't help but question whether these types of fans have trouble distinguishing the relationships they think they have with band members and their real life relationships. It's quite sad.

 

I personally don't mind Mejibray, I certainly don't think they're that great, and I believe they're one of the most overrated bands out there 

 

I think it's a fair blanket statement to suggest that this scene attracts many 'damaged' individuals. I'll probably take heat for that, but it's so obvious.

I like it for the music and 'originality' of it all personally. Looks are fun, but after listening to this shit for a decade I'm past the stage of imagining bandomen are my friends lol.

[TheZigzagoon 670]

4 minutes ago, frayed said:

God yeah, I saw shit like that back in the Livejournal days. It’s ridiculous. People have literally implied that I followed the band because I wanted to sleep with them - meanwhile I’m quietly laughing my ass off as a genderfluid queer ass individual with my fiancée sitting next to me. 

 

It’s honestly like toeing a middle line between fans like that and other fans calling MiA a stuck up frog man or something because they aren’t into him. I wasn’t really that in touch with the overseas fandom because I only got into them when I was living in Japan, and frankly it kind of sucks that now after the hiatus and living here it’s really hard to find sane people to engage with.

Oh dear god I could not imagine how wild they took the drama in order to say you wanted to sleep with the band XD

 

You see I call MiA egocentric because he gives off that vibe, like his instagram posts are him pouting at himself in the mirror. Maybe I'm wrong and he's doing it because he knows it caters to the fanbase that we've been discussing.

[TheZigzagoon 670]

2 minutes ago, zombieparadise said:

 

I think it's a fair blanket statement to suggest that this scene attracts many 'damaged' individuals. I'll probably take heat for that, but it's so obvious.

I like it for the music and 'originality' of it all personally. Looks are fun, but after listening to this shit for a decade I'm past the stage of imagining bandomen are my friends lol.

I don't personally think Visual Kei as a whole is attracting damaged individuals, I think a lot of music scenes that aren't necessarily mainstream tend to attract the same kind of audience.

 

I like the scene because I think the music sounds good and I like the added bonus of artistic visuals. And I get what you mean, the bands don't know of our individual existence, a lot of fans need to get that impression out of their heads XD

[frayed 404]

6 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

Oh dear god I could not imagine how wild they took the drama in order to say you wanted to sleep with the band XD

 

You see I call MiA egocentric because he gives off that vibe, like his instagram posts are him pouting at himself in the mirror. Maybe I'm wrong and he's doing it because he knows it caters to the fanbase that we've been discussing.

I don’t even really know or care LOL. I’ve had some people throw that shit out there and other people ask if I’m staff. 9_9 It’s all very silly.

 

It’s hard because yeah, it is something he’s seemingly marketing because in person he tries to keep that up because there are these certain expectations of him, but he’s honestly really, REALLY awkward and kind of a dork. In a sweet way. A lot of that is lost in the fact that overseas fans never get the chance to see that side of

him, and some of those that do, because of that prior impression, are really rude to him. It’s unfortunate.

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

I like to think of this band as if people just want to support Misa so they pretend to like his signed act. 

[Himeaimichu 1535]

Well, generic does sell. The most popular stuff does tend to be more or less generic, since they're usually the set standard, and if you stay close to the standard, you're more likely to be liked by fans of the others. 

The same theory actually goes into pop music. 90% of pop music uses the same chord progression, tempo and are written by the same 2 guys because that will be more likely to sell than someone who sounds different. It eliminates business risk.

However, I don't think Mejibray was "made" to sell, I just think they got lucky. They were applicable enough, not too niche, had live energy (Live energy being something that can make or break a band.) and just so happened to be produced by an ex member of Da'vidノ使徒:aL, meaning that they have connections to higher up people, plus the fact that Koichi and Tsuzuku were in VanessA, which had a somewhat notable following, and the fact they had good looks. 

 

The fact they're generic also pretty much explains their cringey fanbase. Because they're not niche and they're popular, they become entry level Vkei, and most people who get into Vkei usually do as a teen or young adult. Not only that, but also, if we're gonna be brutally honest, in the west, teens and young adults make up the majority of Vkei fans. So the fact they're entry level, meaning a lot of their fans are "noobs" and the fact that the majority of their fans are probably in their awkward phase in life.

So really, it's a self-feeding cycle. They're lucky enough to have every single factor in place. Change a few of those, however, and their popularity wouldn't be as big. Say instead of being produced by an ex member of Da'vidノ使徒:aL, they were produced by a relatively unknown person in the Vkei scene who is also less experienced. That would affect the reach of their promotion and how many connections to higher up people. Say they were a bit more niche. That'd affect how many entry level fans they have. Now, imagine if they were less attractive. That'd also put a big damper on things. 

 

tl;dr: They just have all the right factors in place. 

[anadentone 478]

i believe  its because of meto. ADorable little cupcake  makes people interested

[chemicalpictures 1888]

Because they are slightly better than the average musicians, their live performances were honestly interesting, their compositions had somewhat of a signature... there are several reasons, including the one that they didn't suck as much as people want to imply. It's nice to make fun of what teenagers enjoy, specially when you've been around for 10+ years and have seen all kinds of trends going up and down, but that's just us old people being old. And that doesn't take away the fact that meji was a solid band all around...

[ricchubunny 2013]

GazettE is not big deal as well but they got so fuckn popular.... so who knows.....

[blackdoll 907]

 

1. Tsuzuku's vocals 
2. Versatility (excluding ballads),

they went from

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

3. Melodic > metalcore

4. constant releases 

5. Tsuzuku is low key a aphrodisiac 

6. Lyricism? Killing me

 

Just kidding they just made it and other didn't. There is no actual way to explain. I'm glad they did though because i dont have to be paranoid that Tsu going to disapper cause he cant live off of flopping.