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Ao + Aie commentary highlights **I wasnt paying as much attention Aie instantly understood how the commentary worked (with them commenting on youtube and us viewers listening to youtube and watching the e+ stream at the same time). comments were like "wow aie got it instantly when shuuji & kenjiro had no idea the whole time." Ao's response was basically "can you believe i'm the oldest" and they were basically saying he was shuuji and kenjiro's nurse/caretaker Aie, after understanding how the commentary works, "ah, so that's why that's stuck over the camera. otherwise they'd see us fully nude. " ao asked aie about the foam "idk what it is" ao asked aie about the saran wrap "well it's not saran wrap... but like... the bigger version... we had other plans for it but ditched it and well mako had some time on his hands so " ao asking about the mic and aie's just like "oh no the ones on the right and left dont do anything. just for decoration " ao asked if it was ok for him to actually reveal that and "yeah of course i mean if you LOOK with your EYES you can SEE that only the middle mic is hooked up!!" Aie and Ao talking about COMPLEX' be my baby at one point??? this song just follows me and turtels everywhere i guess Even though it was announced in advance when the commentary would be Shuuji apparently called Ao in the middle of it and it cut off the stream at one point lmao Ao continuing to call shuuji うちの石井 ("my ishii") and お石井 (o-ishii, adding o to the beginning of a name was something they did back in the day for ladies) mako flailing around ao: he must not have stiff shoulders at all if he did there's nO WAY he'd be able to do that aie: hmm yeah he must do a lot of stretching ao: shuuji does a lot of stretching too actually before lives he's just perpetually stretching A propaganda truck started driving around in the background and you just heard the ANGRY YELLING in the background lmao uber eats guy walked in by accident and ao's reaction was simply to ask staff "was he hot?" (I believe the consensus was yes) ao "the red lighting... it really... it eliminates your wrinkles... i recommend it..." after deadman finished ao was like "well i'm full on deadman already is there really more to watch??? really?? lmao" and during cali gari he kept going CAN WE FINISH YET? ao and aie talking about food (mostly boiled eggs) for the first song or two of cali gari lmao ao "I really dont want to do old songs anymore" aie " ME TOO" like aie deadman doesnt have any new songs what are you supposed to do cali gari's release is next month and they havent even started 2 of the songs aie and ao proceed to crack up over how this schedule is impossible ao telling more stories and tru facts that he probably shouldnt i honestly forgot what he had been talking about though so cant elaborate ao "if corona continues i need to get better at talking to myself for streams, huh" ao and aie get stopped by the police for questioning on like a weekly basis apparently. Aie "If i have my guitar they dont stop me but if i dont then ALWAYS" ao "what the heck it doesnt matter if i have my guitar or not!!" ao apparently has a VERY CLEAR vision of what oto sex 2020 will be the end

Mana-sama sold him that ice cream x (Gackt planted the tree. My second fanfiction ever.)

I have a lot. I really enjoy vids with live footage in them or a different recording of the song, more a reason to binge PVs on youtube... I'm a big proponent of the old schools ones!! This PV never fails to get me emotional. I think Nawa's one of those songs I can listen to on repeat and never get sick of.. Best song by the best band evar. Kiyoharu's expressions are kind of ridiculous here which makes this my favorite PV by them. Random tambourine + 90s flowing cloth backdrop + licking lips one too many times + seductive looks into the camera Jakura's kind of a recent find for me, the early 2000's vibes are strong in this one. Sooo good. 1:10 .... chills

I like to listen to music, try to draw or cry a lot, altough i hate crying infront of anyone so i usually try to be alone. The only person i really open all my heart to is my mom, but sometimes i am afraig to push too much on to her shoulders, so i keep things for myself. Also about talking to people, i am a person who is always afraid of annoying someone, or ending up being missunderstood. I am so sorry for you. I went trough 1 or 2 years of bullying, by girls that had been my best friends before. It was awful. i feel you. being angry and sad often goes hand in hand for me.

ex-Sick² Dr.大志 (Hiroshi) has formed a new solo project "ろっしー (Rossy)" . his new full album "ろっしーanるーれっと (Rossy-an Roulette)" release [track list] 1.宇宙人も恐れるほど大胆に世界を変える (Uchuubito mo Osoreru Hodo Daitan ni Sekai wo Kaeru) 2.profitable 3.ぱにぱに (Panipani) 4.らぶろっしー (Love Rossy) 5.meaningless 6.うらはら (Urahara) 7.らぶトゥギャザー (Love Together) 8.等身大beautiful (Toushindai beautiful) 9.出会いのタイミング (Deai no Timing) 10.らぶサンキュー (Love Thank You) 11.友達以下恋人以上 (Tomodachi Ika Koibito Ijou)

There were some years i listened to Kpop, some years active following up on everything some years just runing through the same old stuff. Its easy on the ears, you get easy into a new song, because of how much they sound the same. The thing i noticed how i got used to this over time of listening. They always have that obligatory rap part inside somewhere. i personally think its the most noticable thing, even if you have no idea about music you will notice that at one point every group needed a rapper. Eitherway we all know the music is generic crap. The fandoms are hell (apparently some groups have nice fandoms) I am tired of seeing fancams on twitter everywhere. Visual wise they all look the same. Plastic surgery everywhere Sexualising minors I could go on with the stuff that annoys me on kpop, but lets stop it I am just waiting for the third generation groups to finally get some nice scandals. (i mean second generations kpop had some shit going on) The only thing i still listen to sometimes are Wonder Girls. Oh, yes, also thanks to those JO1 guys the kpop fandom kept attacking the jpop fandom for a while on twitter. It was fun. Last but not least, i think KPop has some actually good singers out there, Its just hard to know when they have to sing and perform some crazy dance performance at the same time. Or they get like 3 words inside the whole song. They have dancers that are good, but that doesn't mean they can sing. They have good rappers, but that doesn't mean they can dance. Also i remember seeing some live stuff from bts and don't get me wrong, but it was crap. First off, those microphones that are around your head are mostly shit eitherway, second they wasnt able to keep the singing up during the dancing, which didn't surpise me in the least. Ah. sorry it got long and like always i feel its chaotic

I've been wanting to discuss this topic for a long time. Fundamentally since, in the last ten years or so, the ratio of what in this forum has been called "formulaic VK stuff" has increased considerably, which, on the other hand it is closely linked to a phenomenon that has also recently appeared, and that in this forum has been called "idol kei". Of course, as many here quote repeatedly, the abandonment of adolescence does not cease to be a powerful motive in this situation, since it makes the condition of possibility (necessary, though not sufficient) so that one can remove the veils of idealization deposited on certain music or artist (and realize how badly done or executed some productions were; for me an example of it was Ryohei-era ayabie). Finally, in the verge of the end of the decade, another reason is my concern about the fate of the VK in the 2020's, considering that since the second half of the '10 has not thrown some real "quality" or "novelty", something that can be established at the level of "classic", as it actually happened with some releases put out in the period of 2008-2013. It is not easy to discuss all these issues, I imagine, for several issues: perhaps it can hurt the emotions of some users of this forum who, in fact, are very comfortable enjoying the said idealization of certain artists. On the other hand, talking about this with some minimum measure of ownership requires a listening by a broad repertoire of VK, which has at least something from each of its eras (at least the "classics"). And also, it requires some knowledge (at least intuition) about aspects related to composition, instrumental performance, recording, live performance, the dynamics of the consumer market, etc. As, to my pleasant surprise, I have found in this forum people who speak (or at least try) from this knowledge, is that I come to open this thread here in MH. Anyway, I hope that no one is deprived of writing here, contributing from what he/she has and his/her interests. I think that it is best to start on by discussing some basic concepts, instead of directly delving into anything else: 1) What are the indicators that make a song "ghostwritten" for you? And that it is not? 2) What are the indicators that make a band "idol kei"? And that it is not? 3) Where would you put its birth date? 4) Do they qualify as "good music" or not? Do you enjoy them? Do not? 5) Does it seem to you that this certain music goes "against" (to put it somehow) of certain "well-being" of the scene, or of the music itself? 6) Why are you still listening to VK in the 2010s? Are your reasons the same as before? What does it give you that other music does not give you? I read you!

1 SAD SEXUALLY 2 SAD SEXUALLY PED OH FEEL YAAAA

SHiSHi never dissapoints me. Finally good fucking music besides MC, Raku, MIMIC, and whatever I'm into rn.

lmao that would be great ao was like so convinced "it HAS GOT TO BE THIS there's no other option" so i hope it lives up to siri x alexa

Awesome, thank you for the summary. Can't wait for Oto Sex 2020 to be just suggestive Siri and Alexa noises.

the fact is that all of their remakes are better than their original versions and i will give irrefutable proof that you just can not compete with right here: a) more modern recording quality. cutting edge modern editing & recording techinques used by the creme de la creme of western metal and japanese metal alike b) deeper voice. kyo's screams have never sounded better. he is the japanese mike patton and he DESERVES to show it off because other bands can't compete with that twisted madness c) old songs are too visual kei. there i said it. you may not like it but its true: now finally these songs are dope enough to actually listen to with your friends who listen to real metal because there are CRAZY riffs and hardcore vocals that don't sound visual kei d) more poetic lyrics. compare the lyrics for the original tsumi to batsu to the lyrics of tsumi to kisei? yeah.... enough said i think. don't need to elaborate e) they play them live. honestly - compare the amount of times the band has played the original versions of these songs live after the remakes came out to the amount of times they've played the new versions live. it's obvious even the band KNOWS that these remakes are doper. better. and also more intense & that's why they play them live just my opinion... i dont know why you guys insist on doubting these guys. they gave us sustain the untruth ffs!

*cracks knuckles* well... 👀 Okay I am not going to put anyone in these forums through k-pop mvs (though I am well qualified to do so I'll refrain) but *will* share the one k-pop MV that got me into k-pop after years of being "eek" about it. (ironically my ~ult bias~ which would be the kpop equivalent of a honmei turned out to be the white haired guy lol.) Now moving on to less k-poppy stuff... To be honest I am uninspired now (blaming it entirely on whoever made my mind go to k-pop MVs.) but ... some of my favorite MVs lately would be not-particularly-outstanding-just-emotional things like Colorful World by Kariya Seira and melt by TK/suis ; Guess sometimes I like "everything an artist puts out" because they are just so charismatic and/or creative like Alice Vicious or Sayuri or Shishido Kavka etc. Or because they are purely 100% amazing (thats amazarashi) 😞 ... I wish I didn't sound that biased but honestly the only Japanese video aside from these that I remember vividly in the last ~2 years was that one where the SCANDAL girls came out. Maybe I'm that out of the loop in Japanese MVs lol In general hmm ... American/British PVs interest me more. I guess the production values are better which in turn makes the whole thing better. But k-pop beats it all remember the MV that made Ayabambi worldwide famous? A k-pop group did that recently, dumbed down with bad music, by the way. When it comes to vk these days I was reminded of Dance My Generation which is great, which in turn reminds me that Pentagon and Golden Bomber had some amazing PVs. On The Other Hand my faves were never ... exactly known for great PVs (HAHAHAHAHHA ... the understatement), so no recommendations here lol. (for proof, here's the best of Shounenki and Nightmare honestly.) For what it's worth sometimes I really like Miyavi's PVs though that's ... not vk (does Ashita Genki ni Naare count in prime 2020?) ... Anyway, where were we? K-pop MVs! Thanks

Lol to be honest I'm beginning to feel we have a discussion like this here monthly, only with a few different words maybe To answer the beginning question well obvious... VK bands often don't last more than 2 or 3 years, so yeah it's not like you can just go back after years and your old fav is still kicking. There is going to be at least a drummer in jail for doing drugs or fighting in a bar or hospitalized or something lol. Which brings us to it: VK is, well, usually not very gentlemanly. It's not the kind of culture you'd want to show your (japanese) kids or anything, so it's prone to not being very popular in general I guess ; and whenever it did get popular, that was because a few bands and bandomen took upon themselves to spread the word even worldwidely (which is a lot of work in itself and not one many bandomen would be up for honestly) and then they started appearing in variety shows and whatnot, which is ... what kpop stars do every single day. They wake up to plastic surgery, handcreams (trust me those feel marshmallow-y), learning english (which in itself is a bit easier for Koreans I feel due to sounds and letters ...), global marketing strategies, perfect waifu/husbando image tm and variety shows with groups they are (not so) buddy-buddy with. It's just, well, a lot of marketing. Besides, k-pop sounds all the same which is positive for it as a "culture", while calling vk a "genre" means lumping X Japan and Purple Stone in the same box. And of course, well, not everyone who likes one would like the other. Now on a more personal level I have never been a "typical visual kei fan" , as I never liked bands such as Malice Mizer / X Japan / Dir en Grey / old L'arc en Ciel / the Gazette / (insert here any ~cool~ popular vk bands), I just liked some bands I heard in anime first (particularly Nightmare but also the occasional SID/PIERROT/MUCC/abingbon boys school ...?) OR knew through friends who liked "bigger" bands and acts, (such as alice nine/Miyavi idk) which is how I first knew about visual kei while never being a "typical fan". And I guess many weeb kids are/were on the same boat lol which is why there is a lot of "turnover" ; it's not like they can go on gigs with a lot of bands so they can get to know other bands and buy cheki and live-exclusive albums and merch or anything, so yeah once their fav bands are gone (no matter how big they are/were,) they're done with it. Because, again, there is no "global marketing strategy" unlike, say, k-pop, so less accessible materials = you tend to be less obsessed about it and/or know less bands = more turnover as there is nothing to take that place (and, again, saying "if you like X Japan you may like Purple Stone lol" is ... not a thing. ) it requires a lot more effort in a sense so, unless you're reeeeeally obsessed with the whole cultural aspect of it (which is... very localized anyway,) you're prone to getting over it - and, well, the rebellious emo phase (fortunately) doesn't last forever for everyone I guess. (not saying everyone who likes vk is ANGSTY but yeah it takes an appreciation of an alternative aesthetic which is usually ... something you like when you are young ??). As for me I am definitely in that boat - I don't think I have ever considered myself a vk fan though if you ask me I'll say "oh yeah, I know it, it's ok", I've probably heard most popular bands at least and I was definitely a Nightmare fan by most standards for quite some time In short, I guess I liked vk for the rock but also for the hand elephants and Mana variety shows, in which sense kpop definitely pales in comparision but I'll still take kpop over RAHFJSNDNNRRK *guttural noises* anyway. 🙊 Edit: It's worth mentioning I got back to vk because I was bored&unemployed and my kpop faves made a MV with Golden Bomber Jun as I translated Japanese videos for the fanbase, so of course I knew everything that was going on and I was rather surprised vk in itself was Still A Thing. So in my case that was The Call Of The Bandomen and not the other way around ironically

And they disbanded on August 10th. Translation of their message

Bräymen new mini-album "lost park" will be released at 2020/08/12 (2200yen) [tracklist] 01. Utopia 02. KaraKuri 03. Palette 04. OverHeat 05. Haze

Hearing something off in DEG lives is very common, lol

Visual Kei PVs are probably one of the reasons why I love VK so Goddamn much. I'm always wanting a triple, heaping helping of all the cheesy Kote VK PV cliches such as: Staring into the camera while flipping their hair Awkward attempts at dancing Breaking something that's made of glass Broken English White people being used as exotic props (Let's save the racial dynamic discussion for another thread onegai) A little bit 'o fan service My favorite songs playlist on Youtube is not just for my favorite songs but also serves as where I keep my favorite PVs too! Because a good PV elevates the song, I do believe. Here's a hilarious, old school classic that never fails to make me laugh! BY-SEXUAL are so underrated Missalina Rei hold a special place in my heart as a truly unique group that could do extremely silly and serious songs with ease. This PV always makes me feel better when I'm down! This has been my favorite song for almost 4 years now, and this PV, my favorite for just as long. Despite it looking completely random, the storyline does follow the lyrics... Mostly. The rich visuals, colors, and extravagant European aesthetics within it make for a unique experience, and it was one of the first PVs that got me really into VK and especially Malice Mizer I love me some Sandwich. I adore how lots of Angura Kei PVs are super low budget and just feature the guys messing around and having fun with each other. It's so down to earth and it's nice to see that music is a fun, artsy side project for these guys and not something they care about for the money. I especially love the dancing part of this PV! This PV and song got me into Guniw Tools. I checked them out due to curiosity and their strange and unique DIY/Arthaus vibes sucked me in. The music itself is amazing with its insane genre mashing, but that aside, I love the PVs. I can tell that they're directed by FULL because NOOKICKY and SHILFEE PVs have this same direction to them, especially with the whole "foreign location" aspect. This PV seems somewhat jumbled but it actually follows the lyrical theme of being a critical look at Christmas traditions. This Pura PV has a very special place in my heart. The first time I ever saw it was when I discovered that it was a hidden PV on the Premium Best disc, with its early 2000s DVD menu and 240p quality in all of its nostalgic glory. It was the first time I ever saw it, but it also felt like I simultaneously have grown up with it by my side. I also love the PV for just how nonchalantly it treats its weird imagery. Ryutaro shoving a battery into a literal tuna mackerel and listening to the "music" in it(???), all of the falling shoes which are foreshadowing for the members being barefoot at the end of the PV, the sky portal and flying fish at the end of the PV... I have so many questions yet they never get answers. However, I do believe that is the beauty of this piece of art. As always, Plastic Tree don't spell it out for you, you have to tackle the themes for yourself. I'm far from stupid but I'm still struggling to figure out what the Tuna Mackerel Walkman is supposed to symbolize. The sounds of nature? Hmm...

This thread is a living internet museum really.

I love PVs, it's so great to discover all the ones you guys picked! I just discovered Hysteric Panic and I'm very thankful for that, I love it haha! I absolutely adore all of WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA's PVs. It's hard to pick just one but I guess Ikkyu-san will do, as it was the first one I saw from her and it made me instantly fall in love with her universe: Much of the same can be said for MONDO GROSSO but I'll pick Labyrinth: ... and Charisma.com. But my favorite is moyamoyashite: I have a big soft spot for KIRINJI's Jikanga Nai: Anyway, as can be seen from all the ones I've mentioned, even though I do enjoy watching simple PVs just centered around the band playing, they usually don't make it to my favorites. It's interesting because it didn't use to be that way. There are many simple PVs from MUCC and Plastic Tree that I love, and they are simply that. But the nicest "it's just the band playing but in extremely cool lighting" PV I can name is THE NOVEMBERS' Bad Dream. What a great song, too. The ultimate PV to me will be, always and forever, MAXIMUM THE HORMONE's eponymous. It's just everything I love about them into one song and one music video hehehe It's actually been a while since I've watched visual kei PVs, I guess I gotta get back to it. Which is why most of what I listed is J-pop (aside from the past 2). But what would be this topic without someone mentioning the GazettE's Taion, right?

I LOVE Lareine Fuyu Tokyo PV. I adore that budget vintage Paris vaudeville aesthetic, I wish they'd have used it more in their other PVs. It's the kind of extra I love. Also:

Needless pedantry tbh. When laymen say "Production", they are not referring to the sole process of recording tracks. That's just disconnected from how people talk. Furthermore, "production" -- the assembly -- of the product can be as loose or strict as you want it to be in a given context (i.e. a modern record producer and their role in music production).

It’s amazing that pretty much all of music has been compressed to shit for the last 20 years or so and some of us still can’t deal with it. Like Arche is just the worse. Loud and sterile like the band is playing in a giant room with aluminum walls.

To be perfectly honest K-Pop music or industry in general isnt my cup of tea. But neither I hate them. My only problem is the fans. Some of them really goes overboard or too much. Hell even one of my friends said she would be super happy just to kiss her idol's armpit. Like wtf, seriously? I mean, based on what I learn, most of them only care about the visual a.k.a handsome or pretty idols. Which is FOR ME is kinda weird, because music isnt for their ears anymore, but eyes. Note: I know not all of the fans behave like that, but I swear some of my friends are.

They didn’t fuck up Fukai because it was played straight for the most part. All they did was use the alternate lyrics from like 2004. Kiri to Mayu 2012 is my favorite remake because all the parts are there, just rearranged in a way that’s more interesting than usual. As for Clever Sleazoid, I find Kyo to be the only real problem this time around. A lot of his parts sound rushed/crammed in with no real regard for the change in phrasing in the switch to Japanese. The “witherwither” part sounds less goofy, but why is it where it is?

2020 Clever is just hits different and we don't like it. DEG attempt at remaking their own songs have always been hit or miss. And Clever is one of those misses for sure. Actually most of their remakes after they turned bit into Ooga Booga sounds are mostly misses for me. There are lots of beats but lack of harmony. Lucky they didn't ruin Fukai the last time. I actually like that one.

Talking about SHAZNA/Izam - there's also this rather unfortunately titled endorsement:

I'm far from an old hand in the fandom but I think I know what you're getting at. I’m actually gonna invert the question order because my thought process caused 2 to lead to 1: 2) From my perspective, Idol Kei is made up of Kawaii af Oshare Kei bands that don’t have a special sound to them and sound like they could’ve been mass-produced. They're really successful despite being run of the mill and may just be industry plants. I don’t want to name names because it's just conjecture and they could be innocent. One of the biggest indicators, to me, is a lack of previous band history, i.e this is either their first or second band they’ve been a part of. It’s usually never more. It’s especially telling if they never had some dumbass high school garage band that was… Well, doing something. Or in the rare exceptions like Lunacy, showing some real promise and raw talent that just needs to be polished up. Tangent note, I’ve noticed in the VK fandom that we’re anal af about listing out a member’s previous band history. I’ve seen people write out band histories that span like 10 different bands for each member in forums and comments sections. Could this be a by-product of wanting to see the artistic process and evolution, or to check for industry plants? Well, that’s just conjecture... 1) That leads me to here. Stuff that makes me think, “Huh, is a debut band like this really making stuff that sounds this polished already? And damn, they kinda sound just like [some other band that sounds generic]” makes me wonder if they really did write it. One big indicator that a band isn’t ghostwritten is when the band members have a history that I can follow around. When I follow that history, I can usually find patterns in songwriting that trace to one member. Such as a love for that new wave sound he grew up with as a teen or a jazz influence from his formal lessons. Also, artistic evolution is a big indicator of a band being 100% "real", if you will, such as incorporating different genre elements as time goes by or being able to hear their music evolve as the members gain more experience with writing and performing songs. 3) That’s… Tricky. I’d go back as far as the early 2000s when An cafe existed, but were they really that manufactured? Maybe later then, but then I wouldn’t really know what year exactly. The jury’s out on this one 4) As biased as I am to old school stuff and underground stuff that sounds like it was recorded on the vocalist’s bootleg Chinese Yak-Bak, I still listen to new school stuff, occasionally even bands that I think could be ghost written. It's cute and danceable, and it's usually written competently so it's not technically bad. Besides, sometimes I just need a break from the concept pieces and experimental songs from angura bands I love, ya know? Nothing wrong with that. 5) Every genre and scene deals with ghostwriting, even ones where literally all you write are the lyrics (big lol @ rap ghostwriting considering that in this day and age you can just read the writing on the wi-fi router and slap a trap beat over it to make a hit), I think VK won’t be negatively impacted by this by too much. Besides, it's not like these sickeningly saccharine sweet boy groups claim to be high art or some shit. There’s so much more that could seriously shoot VK in the foot, like continuing cute but ancient industry practices until the whole damn industry collapses. 6) I listen to lots more than just Visual Kei, but it’s still my #1 ever since I discovered it a few years ago. I wrote a long-ass paragraph on this in another thread but here’s a TL;DR: - Jrock chords, baby, I want that shit injected into my bloodstream. They are actually really different from the Western pop chords. I’m no music major so I’ll spare you the half-assed music theory lesson and simply compare them in layman’s terms. Jrock chords are like a “question and answer” type of progression that resolves itself in an intrinsically… pleasant manner? It provides the question to the answer, simply. Western pop is like a “whole statement” type of progression, it’s meant to add more statements on to it. - I love the looks a lot, they make the PVs so much more fun to watch! VK to me is more than looking pretty, it’s about expressing the meaning of the music through the use of visuals, using it as a compliment to the lyrics or even just with the actual song structure. - I like how the lyrics are so much more subtle than in English. I know that it's a by-product of how Japanese is as a language when compared to English, but even still, I'm gonna argue this one because I have translated songs (mostly in my head these days) before and their subtle meanings don't get completely lost in translation, the thought process still stays intact in English. It’s actually kind of ruined English songs for me in all honesty because now many sound like “Hurr-Durr, I have to actually tell you how to feel about what I just said instead of letting you interpret it or understand the implications”. I could go on a rant about this shit. But let’s just say an English artist would say “I killed myself then everyone was sad” and a Japanese artist would say “[I was] erased from this earth, a fact that your tears tried to blur out”. I understand that being vague is upsetting to some but I feel like spelling it out so bluntly like so many western artists do is insulting to the listener’s intelligence. Or at least my intelligence…

Thought this could be amusing. Feel free to only limit it to albums-only or singles-only if a band's discography would be too large otherwise, or even just limit it to trying to describe the band itself as poorly as possible. I'll start: 1. castlevania: harmony of dissonance 2. castlevania 3. castlevania bloodlines 4. castlevania symphony of the night

キザノホマレ from Animal Crossing / どうぶつの森 In the English version he talks about "a band" and in the OG AC he's a 'jock' type despite the make up and skirt lol. But in JP version he talks about his kaisan'd band and subtlety flirts with the player & animals like a proper bandman. I mean it is a Japanese property so the ref isn't completely surprising, but I still didn't expect being called 'my sweet/darling beloved' by an animal in a nintendo game. (Or the implication that there's some seedy romance drama going on in town between multiple animals with him lol)

when Yoshiki was in British news because his scarf landed on the queen's shoulder during some horse racing event. half the publications called him "scarf lady"

If we're gonna do video games, Shin Megami Tensei is well known for using japanese youth subculture as an inspiration and Persona 2 (1999 and 2000) happens to be pretty heavy on the VK. One character is a struggling bandman and another one is a gothy girl who sports a classic kotekote era hairstyle (I think Nao from La'mule is most famous for wearing it but you see it on a lot of other guys as well) : Bonus video :

1) Not like there's proof in VK, but the speed at which some bands pump out releases and the repetition/overuse of riffs and other elements can be a sign of ghostwriting. Also, when you see kids in the scene who aren't that good playing on stage yet are credited for what they play makes me wonder if they really did write it. 2) I think the whole scene is idol kei now. The way bands are put together, managed and marketed is very idol-ish. I'd say VK bands that are less "idol" would be those who put out releases less often, don't focus their sales on cheki and spend more time touring than doing fan-meet events. 3) When was the first instore? Not sure when VK evolved into what it is today, but I'm sure it was a while ago. 4) What is good music? I think there is good music and bad music in VK, just like in any other genre. And personal enjoyment does not atone for quality. I may not enjoy Morrie, Sukekiyo or Kiyoharu's works, but it is undeniably good music. Whereas I may like a lot of indie artists I consider to be musically mediocre. All in all, if I didn't enjoy VK I wouldn't be here. 5) VK does not rely that heavily on the music genre to survive. As long as there's scantly dressed pretty men wooing teen fans into spending their yen, the "well-being" of the scene is preserved. As overseas fans, we focus mainly on the music, because it is really all we can focus on, out of all VK has to offer as a scene. In Japan it is slightly different. You could enjoy the social experience, the fan events, the fashionable aspect, idk. 6) Because I have shitty music taste? LOL. I can't remember how I even got so hooked on this scene. It gives me versatility in a way many western rock artists don't. Bands don't always stick to a genre and blend a lot of styles to find their own. I don't know much about music theory but I know Japan uses a distinct... scale? for writing their music and I find it pleasant to my ears. I also tend to focus a lot on bass and vocals. For the first, I've found more interesting bass-lines in Japan than overseas, where it tends to be a filler instrument. And for the latter... Have you seen those "sounds just like Ruki" comments on various YouTube videos? Well, they do, because Japanese men tend to have a similar vocal range that just happens to tickle my fancy. There's also the thing that with Japanese I can easily ignore corny lyrics because I simply do not fully understand them. I don't look them up either, I can live without knowing if I'm being insulted. I come from the pop/rock scene, never really went through a western punk/metal phase in my teens year. I grew on 80's rock and 90's pop and I got used to catchy sounds accompanied by guitars, and it's what I look for in VK; poppy choruses with clean vocals and harsh instrumentals + lyrics I don't have to feel embarrassed about. Something that western metal and pop often fail to give me. The visuals aren't really that important to me, since I never watch PVs, but the androgynous beauty pleases me a lot when I do want to watch it tbh. As a big plus, I greatly enjoy the whole VK culture in Japan. I gotta say I love going to a small gig without being pushed around by huge dudes or drowning in the stench of weed and going to instore events and such.

Shinya makes a weird sound?!

Perhaps we could move the discussion about ghostwriting to this thread. Recently I've been watching the topic pop up very often, so maybe many of you guys would like to talk about it. Maybe we could start by each one making up a list of the artists or songs or whatever stuff you consider useful to explain to somebody how ghostwritten music looks like and how not-ghostwritten music differentiates from it. In my case, I think I caught a nice example while yesterday looking up for old classic I've never had the chance to try. It was the case for baroque. The contrast between their A-sides before disbanding and after their comeback screams idolization so loud that I couldn't believe my ears. One doesn't need critical music-listening skills to appreciate, in one hand, in the pre-come-back songs, the experimental nature of the trashy and psychedelic arrengments in every song (and what amazes me the most is that these songs, as A-sides, where intended to serve for promotional, commercial, issues!); and in the other hand, the almost complete submission of every musical arrange, and even their looks, to a very well-known, standarized, Johnny'sesque aesthetic, in order to appeal to the recent younger fandom. The differences are so abysmal, and kinda scary, imo... from early century neo-Tokyo punks, to creamy-sweaty-ribbon-shotacon manga characters... Anyway, and don't willing to enter into much musical details, further than what can be clearly seen in the example above, I think an indication of not-ghostwritten could be the lack of imitation of a song style as a whole. Let's say, a not-ghostwritten song would be one that, although you could clearly identify well-known music trends in it (a punk sound, a nu metal sound, etc.), or even previously famous artists signature arrangments (a Sugizoesque kind of solo, etc.), still sounds fresh while displaying said features in a way that you definitely know it wasn't heard/seen before. Inspiration is always there, nobody creates something from nothingness itself, but that doesn't mean you can't make your own version of it and through that create something unique. Here are some songs that I returned to after a long time not listening to them. After being triggered with the whole baroque thing, I started to look up for '01~'05 releases, and hell... say what we know, VK was always about dragging otaku girls into fandom while displaying androgynous looks, so it always had a commercial approach inherent to it, and also bandomen were all chinpira prostitutes who knowed little about playing actual music, blabla... all of that is true to an extent, but those facts shouldn't deny that there actually was people trying to express themselves in their own way, even if the results where amateur and unpolished, and even if they signed a major contract and started to make their sound and appearance more appealing to mainstream...