History Main / VisualKei

* GenreRoulette and GenreShift: Fairly common, especially among the older bands that have lasted. Also a fairly common reason for bands breaking up or changing members. Arguably makes sense due to some deep divisions in the scene, for example, a Black Kote band consisting mostly of hardcore metalheads is not going to be pleased if the singer suddenly decides he wants to go Oshare and claims Avril Lavigne as his greatest inspiration.

* {{Fanservice}}: Pretty much the stock in trade of VisualKei. Started with the original Visual Shock bands (XJapan and BuckTick are masters of fanservice of various forms) and whatever form of fanservice you are looking for, it will generally be provided by some VisualKei band or artist somewhere. Subverted, somewhat, by Lolita artists who do not like to be touched or touch fans, and by Eroguro artists who serve up HighOctaneNightmareFuel and NauseaFuel in equal parts to the FetishFuel.

* DramaticShattering: Fairly common way to do something "shocking." Pioneered primarily by XJapan whose band members liked to smash things onstage and in PerformanceVideos (and [[BarBrawl elsewhere]]).

* EverybodySmokes: Almost everyone, at least to a certain point in time anyway. This trope was in full effect in TheEighties and TheNineties. Some well-known artists began to quit smoking (or at least publicly claim to do so and conceal the habit as they continued on) as of TheOughts and TheNewTens.

** Most bandmen will use forms of DoubleEntendre or other wordplay to communicate being gay/bi/trans or communicate drug use, if asked about such subjects in an interview or other context without actually saying it. This plays into Japanese culture, where admitting, say, that one finds one's own gender attractive would be seen as crass and outre - so to say one is "embarrassed" by their reaction to a man flirting with them, or to vaguely mention "taking pills" to refer to drug use, is a way to convey the meaning without being too public.

* Lolita: This is harder to define, but the general consensus is that bands in this genre have a more goth-rock influenced sound, although soft rock and power metal also feature in. The visuals tend to focus on elegance and the costumes are often more OTT than in other subgenres. Also, Lolita musicians are far more likely to deliberately invoke ViewerGenderConfusion, [[BeyondTheImpossible going out of their way to be as feminine as they possibly can be]].
* Eroguro Kei: Short for Erotic Grotesque. Needless to say, both the sound and visuals could be described as unnatural, and often intended to be shocking and FetishFuel at the same time. The most common genres are rock and metal, but most Eroguro bands put their own spin on their music.
* Nagoya Kei: Is defined by a gloomy, dark or harsh sound, and usually grim visuals. Darker than Lolita and less in-your-face than Eroguro, black is very much a favoured colour, and growled or barked vocals are common. There tends to be less importance placed on visuals in this subgenre than in others.
* Visual Shock: The arguable parent subgenre from which the others branched out, pioneered by XJapan and the other Extasy Records bands, BUCK-TICK, and COLOR in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It contains and can use any and all elements from these subgenres and arguably gave birth to them all, but ViewerGenderConfusion is a near-constant as are EightiesHair, AnimeHair, and YouGottaHaveBlueHair. Few new bands would fall into this genre, though cover bands and the occasional new band that doesn't fit elsewhere may try.

* CoverVersion: Most VisualKei bands start out by covering ([[{{Plagiarism}} or occasionally outright ripping off without credit]]) other VisualKei bands. More established bands will also still do covers, usually as tributes, for cover albums, or as a [[TheAtoner belated form of credit]] for past plagiarism.

* Angura Kei: characterised by an emphasis on traditional Japanese culture, with band members often wearing kimonos, and occasionally Geisha style makeup. HeavyMetal and [[MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness Hard Rock]] are the most favoured genres.
* Kote Kei: arguably the oldest and most established form of VK after genres began to split off from Visual Shock, it is characterised by incredibly striking clothing and hair. A common theme is to have every member of the band dye their hair a different color. There are two main forms, 'Black Kei', which is faster, and 'White kei' which is more melodious.
* Oshare Kei: characterised by a more cheerful sound and brighter aesthetics, with softer colours and materials being favoured. Most bands play pop-punk or soft rock.

* ContemptibleCover: Most common among Visual Shock and Eroguro bands, though it mostly tends to be Contemptible PromotionalVideo now. Also sometimes subverted by solid black covers or, by Lolita bands, "grotesque cute" covers.

* CoverVersion: Most VisualKei bands start out by covering ([[{{Plagiarism}} or occasionally outright ripping off without credit]] other VisualKei bands. More established bands will also still do covers, usually as tributes, for cover albums, or as a [[TheAtoner belated form of credit]] for past plagiarism.

* Angura Kei- characterised by an emphasis on traditional Japanese culture, with band members often wearing kimonos, and occasionally Geisha style makeup. HeavyMetal and [[MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness Hard Rock]] are the most favoured genres.
* Kote Kei- arguably the oldest and most established form of VK, it is characterised by incredibly striking clothing and hair. A common theme is to have every member of the band dye their hair a different color. There are two main forms, 'Black Kei', which is faster, and 'White kei' which is more melodious.
* Oshare Kei- characterised by a more cheerful sound and brighter aesthetics, with softer colours and materials being favoured. Most bands play pop-punk or soft rock.
* Lolita- This is harder to define, but the general consensus is that bands in this genre have a more goth-rock influenced sound, although soft rock and power metal also feature in. The visuals tend to focus on elegance and the costumes are often more OTT than in other subgenres. Also, Lolita musicians are far more likely to deliberately invoke ViewerGenderConfusion, [[BeyondTheImpossible going out of their way to be as feminine as they possibly can be]].
* Eroguro Kei- Short for Erotic Grotesque. Needless to say, both the sound and visuals could be described as unnatural, and often intended to be shocking and FetishFuel at the same time. The most common genres are rock and metal, but most Eroguro bands put their own spin on their music.
* Nagoya Kei- Is defined by a gloomy, dark or harsh sound, and usually grim visuals. Darker than Lolita and less in-your-face than Eroguro, black is very much a favoured colour, and growled or barked vocals are common. There tends to be less importance placed on visuals in this subgenre than in others.

* CarefulWithThatAxe: Some VisualKei vocalists are absolutely famous for this. Kyo from DirEnGrey is the most well known, though he learned from and arguably ripped off from the late Ume from TokyoYankees.
* CompensatedDating: There is an entire subculture in Japanese VK around this. Mitsukano (translated as "honey women") are "bangya" (groupies) who support artists financially and/or in other ways, in trade for sexual involvement and being their "exclusive girlfriend." Tsunagari (referring to usually female groupies who know bandmen either platonically or sexually) are occasionally also asked to "prove" their "love" financially, though this is generally seen as quite rude.

* AlwaysMale: Pretty much, as in most rock genres, though there are a few exceptions: Fiction and Lucifer Luscious Violenoue from older VK, and the modern bands ExistTrace, DESTROSE, and Danger Gang are all female, as is the Youtube XJapan cover band called SOX Japan. There are some individual artists too: the drummer Hina (who works now with the late TaijiSawada's band) is one.

* AccidentalNightmareFuel: Pioneered by the Visual Shock bands (as part of being shocking), taken UpToEleven and becoming the "hat" of Eroguro bands.

* AnimeHair: More common in modern Oshare Kei. Older Visual Kei (especially VisualShock) tended more toward EightiesHair at its most extreme, though the two did merge at points as both anime and VisualKei developed side by side.

* AmbiguousGender: Many VisualKei artists have made this their "hat," as noted above, and some seem to have chosen it as their gender presentation onstage and offstage alike. A couple of examples would be HidetoMatsumoto from XJapan for old VisualKei, and Hizaki from {{Versailles}} for new.

* BarBrawl

* AccidentalNightmareFuel: Pioneered by the Visual Shock bands (as part of being shocking), taken UpToEleven and becoming a sometimes CripplingSpecialization of Eroguro bands.

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Visual kei, or Visual Style, is an artistic movement among Japanese musicians that is characterised by the use of make-up, [[AnimeHair elaborate hair styles]] and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with [[{{Bishonen}} androgynous aesthetics]]. It came about in the early 1980's, spearheaded by bands such as XJapan and BuckTick, and has existed in various forms ever since.

[[caption-width:400: A fine group of men...[[AmbiguousGender right?]]]]

Visual Kei is a sub-genre of J-rock (a term referring to Japanese rock in general), with it's roots in glam-rock, punk, metal and Kabuki Theater. As is usual amongst musical genres, the aesthetics are supposed to be as strong as the music in order to complement and enhance it, and although there have been many trends over the years there is no defining sound. In the current scene, for instance, the most commonly used genre is hard rock (except for within the Oshare subgenre, which favours [[PopPunk pop-punk]]), but there is also horror punk, [[PowerMetal power metal]], [[GothicMetal gothic metal]], [[ElectronicMusic electronic]], pop rock, [[NuMetal nu-metal]], [[{{Industrial}} industrial]] and [[HeavyMetal heavy metal]]. Exactly which genres are used often depends on the time period: In the 80's rock and glam metal were popular; and in the 90's a heavy goth influence came in and many bands developed a softer or more experimental sound, with the use of synth becoming common.

Visual Kei is a sub-genre of J-rock (a term referring to Japanese rock in general), with it's roots in glam-rock, punk, metal and Kabuki Theater. It is usual amongst musical genres, in that the aesthetics are supposed to be as strong as the music in order to complement and enhance it, and that, although there have been many trends over the years, there is no defining sound. In the current scene, for instance, the most commonly used genre is hard rock (except for within the Oshare subgenre, which favours [[PopPunk pop-punk]]), but there is also horror punk, [[PowerMetal power metal]], [[GothicMetal gothic metal]], [[ElectronicMusic electronic]], pop rock, [[NuMetal nu-metal]], [[{{Industrial}} industrial]] and [[HeavyMetal heavy metal]]. Exactly which genres are used often depends on the time period: In the 80's rock and glam metal were popular; and in the 90's a heavy goth influence came in and many bands developed a softer or more experimental sound, with the use of synth becoming common.

Visual kei, or Visual Style, is an artistic movement among Japanese musicians that is characterised by the use of make-up, [[AnimeHair elaborate hair styles]] and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with [[{{Bishonen}} androgynous aesthetics]]. It came about in the early 1980's, spearheaded by bands such as XJapan and Buck Tick, and has existed in various forms ever since.