Read on Twitter
A History of Visual Kei and Jyushi: THREAD
I've seen a lot of Hypnosis Mic fans misunderstand what visual kei is and even misrepresenting the entire subculture by equating it 1:1 with Western genres. Here's a thread on the history of vkei + how it relates to Jyushi's character!
I've seen a lot of Hypnosis Mic fans misunderstand what visual kei is and even misrepresenting the entire subculture by equating it 1:1 with Western genres. Here's a thread on the history of vkei + how it relates to Jyushi's character!
This thread will have 3 parts:
1. History
2. Culture
3. Recommendations
Also, I won't be able to include every notable band I know of so please don't come after me if I didn't include your honmei
1. History
2. Culture
3. Recommendations
Also, I won't be able to include every notable band I know of so please don't come after me if I didn't include your honmei
A disclaimer: I am not Japanese. However, I have been a visual kei fan for nearly half my life, and have followed its development over the past decade, and read up on its history. I do not consider myself an expert, but simply wish to clear up any misunderstandings.
First of all, VISUAL KEI IS NOT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
- Glam rock
- Emo
- Punk
- Alt rock
or whatever else. There are *correlations* and influences, but visual kei is very distinct on its own.
- Glam rock
- Emo
- Punk
- Alt rock
or whatever else. There are *correlations* and influences, but visual kei is very distinct on its own.
As a subculture, pioneers were bands like X JAPAN, D'ERLANGER, DEAD END and Buck-Tick in the late 80s. They drew inspiration from glam rock, punk etc and made it their own. Visual (duh) aesthetics played a huge part: extravagant costumes & makeup + gravity-defying hairstyles.
However, visual kei wasn't even its original name! Originally termed okeshou kei (お化粧系, makeup style), 'visual kei' was coined by magazine editor Seiichi Hoshiko, who was inspired by X JAPAN's slogan of "PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE CRIME OF VISUAL SHOCK". http://jrocknews.com/2018/01/interviewing-man-coined-term-visual-kei-seiichi-hoshiko.html
Before that however was also 名古屋系(Nagoya kei) which was more influenced by death metal, goth etc and therefore had darker, toned-down visuals and a greater focus on complex musical compositions and arrangements. Notable bands include lynch., Fanatic Crisis and Kuroyume.
Nowadays however, the term nagoya kei has mostly died out with visual kei being a huge umbrella term instead, and a lot of what usually defined nagoya kei (dark visuals, heavy music, complex compositions) has spread far outside of Nagoya as well.
The 90s also saw the rise of bands that remain hugely popular even today, with some having gone mainstream and completely disavow visual kei (eg L'Arc~en~Ciel) while some continue to be associated with visual kei (eg Dir en Grey, LUNA SEA and MUCC).
Moving on, vkei gradually dwindled in popularity as X JAPAN disbanded in 1997. Guitarist hide continued to have a successful but short-lived solo career, as he passed away a year later. To this day though, he remains an inspiration for countless bandmen (バンドメン, vk musicians)
The early to mid 2000s however saw the rise of what is commonly termed neo-visual kei. Featuring a greater variety of musical genres (even dance, pop, and hiphop) and less extravagant hair and makeup (but still relatively heavy), it was a marked change from their predecessors.
Some of the vkei acts I liked from that time include the GazettE, Miyavi, SCREW, and vistlip. They often perform(ed) rock music with nu-metal and hard rock influences, and visually had darker aesthetics...
...but in recent times many have toned down their looks considerably (eg modified suits or streetwear instead of extravagant costumes) and greatly diversified their musical styles. Miyavi is arguably no longer even considered visual kei.
Also, a genre of vkei which doesn't really have its own name (afaik) is characterized by classical French/Gothic aesthetics, and highly theatrical performances. Acts of this subgenre include Malice Mizer (the pioneer of this style in the 90s), Moi dix Mois, Versailles and Kaya...
...but take note that there isn't actually a specific musical genre that defines this substyle of visual kei! For example, Malice Mizer and Moi dix Mois usually perform(ed) gothic and art rock, Versailles symphonic and power metal, and Kaya synthpop and electronica.
Next, a wildly popular subgenre that emerged from the mid-late 2000s was オシャレ系 (oshare kei, fashionable style). Typified by bright, colourful Harajuku fashion and cheerful pop-rock, dance-rock etc music, some of the most famous bands are An Cafe, SuG and LM.C.
Another subgenre of vkei from mid 2000s to mid 2010s is 和風系 (wafu kei), with a heavy emphasis on traditional Japanese costumes and influences in their music. Some notable bands are Kagrra, (the comma is a part of their name), Kiryu and Zin.
The late 2000s and early 2010s continued many of the trends as seen before. Many bands began to perform overseas, and some even performed anime OP/EDs. Some of the biggest 2010s' bands who usually perform harder rock songs include FEST VAINQUEUR, Pentagon, Mejibray and DIAURA...
While towards the キラキラ (kirakira, sparkling) end of the spectrum that were generally considered softer and 'poppier' were bands like Lezard, DIV, Purple Stone, and ViV.
Of course, none of these bands were limited to just one genre or aesthetic. Bands of the past decade often experiment(ed) with genres and have/had many different influences peppered throughout their songs, although most were still under the umbrella of rock music.
The 2010s also saw the rapid rise and fall of countless indie bands - due to market saturation, many found it hard to remain relevant and popular. They might go on to reform bands with other bandmen or with different concepts, but commonly disbanded within 3~ or so years.
A good number of high profile bands mentioned have also disbanded (or gone on 'indefinite hiatus') within the past 2 years alone. It would, frankly, be difficult to find many bands enjoying longevity and relevance the same way that early bands have had.
It's not all doom and gloom though! There re still a good number of younger bands that enjoy popularity and remain relevant in an uncertain and changing time for visual kei, and even reinventing what vkei is. Some are 0.1g no Gosan, ACME, Kebyo, and yes - Leetspeak monsters!
A few more younger, current bands I know of, because they deserve the spotlight and I'm sick and tired of people saying that only old-school vkei is good and modern vkei is dead. Here's Xaa Xaa, Rides in ReVellion, Amai Bouryoku and Kizu!
If you haven't noticed by now, all these bands are fully male. Vkei is unfortunately extremely male-dominated, with female bands (or even members in general) being few and far between. I can really only think of exist trace, DANGER GANG, GANGLION and Aldious for all-female bands.
While subverting gender roles is a part of visual kei (thus the crossdressing/sexualized costumes, makeup, hair etc), there's a fair amount of misogyny and homophobia within the system that I'm not equipped to discuss in full.
For Jyushi's character, I feel that he was inspired in part by Nagoya kei, but mostly 2000s visual kei that was often dominated by PS Company, one of the biggest companies of the time.
Although PS Company has dwindled in recent years, their roster of bands included the GazettE, SuG, SCREW, Alice Nine, ViViD, Kagrra,, Miyavi and more - all names that would be familiar to any visual kei fan.
Their styles influenced a lot of current visual kei, so it's no surprise that Jyushi's appearance and persona are also based off these trends (more will be discussed in the 2nd part of this thread).
