History Main / VisualKei

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* NiceHat: A common fashion accessory. Use was pioneered by Toll from Music/BuckTick and Music/TaijiSawada from Music/XJapan (at the time X), and now the NiceHat is almost as ubiquitous as showing hair, especially for bandmen who have day jobs, are balding, or have other reasons that none of the hair tropes can be put into effect.

* Eroguro Kei: Combines [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence ero and guro together]], in the veins of Music/AliceCooper and Music/MarilynManson taken UpToEleven; a lot of emphasis on both HotterAndSexier and BloodierAndGorier, combining fetishes with {{Gorn}}, NauseaFuel and NightmareFuel. cali≠gari is considered to be the pioneer of eroguro kei. Other notable bands include MUCC, Merry, and Music/DirEnGrey was once this before they toned down their visuals (though it didn't take long before they returned to being eroguro with the release of ''UROBOROS''). Music/TheGazette is this all throughout their career.

* Music/DirEnGrey - Japan's most acclaimed and most successful Visual Kei group, and arguably one of the [[UpToEleven most]] [[GenreBusting unique]] bands in the modern Visual scene. In the mid-2000s, they have opted for a post-Visual image, but since 2008 they have returned to experimenting with VK. Outside VK, they are known for being the SpiritualSuccessor to Music/FaithNoMore. Also see:

* AxCrazy: Some bands (generally Eroguro or Visual Shock bands, but Nagoya Kei sometimes as well) take posing as this trope UpToEleven, at least for specific members, and many songs go around people with the theme.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: As with many forms of rock, it is generally agreed upon that dead artists (especially very popular or talented ones) are better than their living counterparts; consequently, many of them have achieved legendary status, even among non-rock fans. Taken UpToEleven in Visual Kei, where bands see their members as highly important that, should one of them (typically someone very popular or with exceptional talent) pass away, it would be nigh-impossible to find someone of equal skill or influence to take his place, resulting in many bands listing them as "eternal members" and/or [[NeverLiveItDown carrying on as if they were still alive]], with a [[ReplacementScrappy substitute musician]] ([[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute preferably an expy]]) filling in for their absence. Often, the death of one member is a valid reason for a band to break up, go on hiatus, or change into darker styles. Famous examples include Music/{{hide|toMatsumoto}} and Music/{{Taiji|Sawada}} of Music/XJapan for old VK, and Jasmine You of Music/{{Versailles}} for modern VK.

* GratuitousRape: Fairly common as a lyrical or art theme among Visual Shock bands and [[UpToEleven more so]] among Eroguro bands, owing to ShockRock and HeavyMetal's "acceptance" of rape for shock value. Some examples can include the OldShame that is Music/XJapan's cover for ''Vanishing Vision,'' the entire band concepts and names of Gilles De Rais and Rapes, and Dir en grey's video for ''Obscure,'' ''Agitated Screams of Maggots,'' and ''Different Sense,'' among ''many'' other examples. What usually differs this from RapeAsDrama (also used) is that there is ''no reason aside being shocking'' for the (usually graphic) rape imagery or use of the word "rape.''

** In some cases, the bands themselves are a source of MindScrew, due to their bizarre appearance (relative to most HardRock[=/=]HeavyMetal acts anyway) and to an extent, their videos and live performances. Nagoya and Eroguro bands tend to invoke MindScrew more than other bands, but in a particular case of an entire band being MindScrew incarnate, there is the post-Visual Kei band Music/DirEnGrey, who have taken NightmareFuel, SurrealHorror and TrueArtIsIncomprehensible UpToEleven through their songs, videos, and live performances ([[WidgetSeries and elsewhere for that matter]]). Another band, Kuroyume, approaches the same level of craziness - but whether they kickstarted the whole MindScrew thing in Visual Kei or not is highly debatable

** In the case of an ''entire band'' being an OldShame, there is the 80 s band Rosenfeld, which took PuttingOnTheReich UpToEleven, to the point where it was almost impossible to tell if they were just very skilled insulting StealthParody of Nazis or if they had ''actual Nazi sympathies.'' Had they just dropped or toned down the Nazi image, they would have been seen as one of the pioneers of Visual Kei (''especially'' since there is some debate as to whether they or Music/XJapan copied some of their hairstyles, their non-Nazi musical stylings, etcetera from each other). Instead, they faded into obscurity as anything but a flag for elitism or trolling when they pop up in a discussion of early Visual Kei.

* PromotedFanboy: One of the reasons Visual Kei came into existence was the amount of Music/{{Kiss}} fanboys that decided to take their favorite band's tropes UpToEleven. Music/XJapan and SEIKIMA-II were such bands. As the scene developed, many fanboys (and some fangirls) developed musical acts and bands of their own, [[AscendedFanboy and in some cases were actually signed or even took over for the artists they admired]].

** Taken UpToEleven by Music/DirEnGrey, with rearranged songs being considerably harder than the originals (some even going as high as 10 or 11 in terms of hardness). They've also released ''The Unraveling'', an entire EP of rearranged songs, save for the title track.

* TheTysonZone: Almost everyone within Visual Kei and the genre itself qualifies (and this was what, for a very long time, enabled Visual artists to avoid arrests, public shaming, and other issues), but there's some artists that are ''uniquely'' famous for it. Specifically, ''[[UpToEleven almost everyone]]'' in X Japan except for Heath and Sugizo (''especially'' Yoshiki and hide), ''everyone'' in Dir en grey, Gackt, Hyde, Kisaki, and Miyavi (until he got married and settled down somewhat) ''all'' are in the zone.

* {{Bishonen}} and {{Biseinen}}: Almost all Visual Kei artists to some degree, at least onstage. Arguably an EnforcedTrope in some underground circles.

** Many bands of the scene are often compared to western bands: Music/XJapan to Music/JudasPriest, Music/DirEnGrey to Music/FaithNoMore, Music/TheGazette to Music/{{Deftones}} and Music/{{Rammstein}}, Music/{{Versailles}} to Music/{{Nightwish}}, Music/AnCafe to Music/{{blur}} and Music/{{Oasis}}, Music/BloodStainChild to Music/InFlames, Music/{{Loudness}} to Music/{{Metallica}} and Music/{{Megadeth}}, Music/{{Deathgaze}} to Music/{{Sepultura}} and so on...

* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'': One of the characters you can pick up in your LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters journey (and one that is arguably fairly plot-important) is Nikki, a Visual Kei bandleader and guitarist who is equal parts shoutout to [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]] (he's a redhead with eye makeup very much like hide's, and plays a yellow heart guitar) and Nikki Sixx from Music/MotleyCrue. In the Japanese version he was named Slash instead of Nikki, which made him a shoutout to the Music/GunsNRoses guitarist and to hide.

!!Visual Kei labels and associated organizations:

!!Bands and solo artists:

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

[[AC: Productions for which Visual Kei or post-Visual Kei artists/bands have created music/soundtracks]] (please list in this section if the band existed ''before'' the anime or manga or film - if the band was ''created'' for the production, it belongs in one of the above categories)

* Music/{{Vocaloid}}, arguably. Some Vocaloid characters are directly based on and voiced by ''actual'' Visual artists, like Gackpo/Gakupo (designed after and voiced by Music/{{Gackt}}) and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Yohioloid]].

!!The Visual Kei musicians and the Visual Kei scene provides or has provided examples of the following tropes:

* DoesNotLikeGuns: While this trope does ''not'' apply to PV's or lyrics or fashion where (usually flash-paper non) guns make frequent appearances, it ''does'' apply in RealLife to the scene, which is partially why, despite all of the violence that was in the scene in TheEighties, few people actually died as a result (and those who did were not usually shot) and why the homicide rate is still fairly low enough that outright murder in the scene is shocking and newsworthy when it does occur. Due to Japan's strict anti-firearm laws and the personal distaste for firearms most people in the scene have being a dual version of this trope, Visual Kei has managed to fairly successfully avoid major issues with RealLife gun violence.

* EpicRocking: The bands that lean toward PowerMetal or progressive rock/progressive metal usually have a song like this, although the crowning example that ''no one'' has so far dethroned is Music/XJapan's ''Art of Life.'' Music/{{Versailles}} has come close with the full edition of ''The Revenant Choir,'' though. Also, almost all of the more metal leaning bands will have a long solo at one point or another (usually guitar, but sometimes drums, or even bass with an especially talented bassist).

* CutenessOverload: Being "kawaii" is important in Oshare and in some parts of Lolita. This can often be the result, sometimes to the extent of TastesLikeDiabetes.

* Angura Kei: characterised by an emphasis on traditional Japanese culture, with band members often wearing kimonos, and occasionally Geisha style makeup. HeavyMetal and HardRock are the most favoured genres. Example bands of this style would be Music/{{Kagrra}}, Music/WagakkiBand, Onmyouza and Heisei Isshin. Music/{{Miyavi}} went through a phase as this and still has some elements of it. Band-Maid released one EP as Band-Maiko, the band members playing the part of Geishas in training.

* Angura Kei: characterised by an emphasis on traditional Japanese culture, with band members often wearing kimonos, and occasionally Geisha style makeup. HeavyMetal and HardRock are the most favoured genres. Example bands of this style would be Music/{{Kagrra}}, Music/WagakkiBand, Onmyouza and Heisei Isshin. Music/{{Miyavi}} went through a phase as this and still has some elements of it.

* ContemptibleCover: Most common among Visual Shock and Eroguro bands, though it mostly tends to be Contemptible PerformanceVideo now. Also sometimes subverted by [[MinimalisticCoverArt solid black covers]] or, by "GrotesqueCute" covers.

** A lot of bands have had a ContemptibleCover or other art (whether it be a poster or an entire PV) that they ''really'' want everyone to forget about. The worst is when an actually good or important production was overshadowed by the OldShame of the awful art - as in the case with Music/XJapan's ''Vanishing Vision,'' one of their first and best albums with some of their rarest work - but which has an infamous cover of drawn and photoshopped ''rape'' being depicted as erotic. The album will likely never be rereleased by the band, but its musical value ensures fans keep spreading it via piracy - which spreads the cover along with the music.

* Visual Shock (aka Veteran Kei): The arguable parent subgenre from which the others branched out, as pioneered by Music/XJapan and the other Extasy Records bands, Music/BuckTick, DEAD END, and COLOR in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ThrashMetal band ''Sex Machineguns'' also belongs here. (It also includes Music/SeikimaII, though simply because SEIKIMA-II fits nowhere else). 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 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.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: The scene's love for ExplicitContent pretty much ensures any given band will be at least a 6-7, with many being far higher and very few being lower. Some of the Visual Shock bands and others who did PowerBallads or SillyLoveSongs can peg lower with those. Eroguro bands are 9 to 11 on principle. Oshare kei rarely rises above a 4.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Visual Kei bands can range anywhere from one to eleven, often with this kind of variance among a single band's discography. Generally (though this is very much a generalization), Angura, Nagoya, and Eroguro bands tend to be higher, whereas Lolita and Oshare bands tend to be softer. Visual Shock and Kote Kei bands, on the other hand, often tend far more toward having this variance in their own discography - good examples being Music/XJapan, a Visual Shock era band which has songs that range from one to eight or nine, Tokyo Yankees, another Visual Shock band with songs at the higher ranges of the scale, and Matenrou Opera, a NewTens Kote Kei band with songs ranging from two to eight.
** A few bands, most notably Music/DirEnGrey and Music/TheGazette did [[UpToEleven everything]] from a 1 to an 11.

[[caption-width-right:350: A fine group of... [[AmbiguousGender men?]]]]

* AppealToWealth: Being financially successful is often seen as the proof of "success" within the scene, and the few artists who do become wealthy are celebrated as the very best. There's heavy pressure to present as richer than one is and to engage in ConspicuousConsumption as a result, to "prove" one deserves respect.

* Music/BandMaid

* Music/{{Blood}} [[note]] also see Music/{{Kiwamu}}[[/note]]

* [=CaliGari=] - disbanded in 2003 and continued activities in 2009, their vocalist formed [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/石井秀仁 GOATBED]]

* In ''VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder'', Aoba (and to a lesser extent, Mizuki) is a big fan of the real-life Visual Kei band [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/石井秀仁 GOATBED]] (who produced the soundtrack for the games, see below). They even made a special appeareance as [[RogerRabbitEffect guest stars]] alongside the main cast in one of the Drama CD.

* VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder - the games' ElectronicMusic soundtrack was produced by [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/石井秀仁 GOATBED]]

* [=CaliGari=] - disbanded in 2003 and continued activities in 2009, their vocalist formed [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E4%BA%95%E7%A7%80%E4%BB%81 GOATBED]]

* In ''VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder'', Aoba (and to a lesser extent, Mizuki) is a big fan of the real-life Visual Kei band [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E4%BA%95%E7%A7%80%E4%BB%81 GOATBED]] (who produced the soundtrack for the games, see below). They even made a special appeareance as [[RogerRabbitEffect guest stars]] alongside the main cast in one of the Drama CD.

* VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder - the games' ElectronicMusic soundtrack was produced by [[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%B3%E4%BA%95%E7%A7%80%E4%BB%81 GOATBED]]

* RevolvingDoorBand: The Visual scene is ''just as notorious'' as DeathMetal for the sheer number of breakups and lineup changes that have happened to bands throughout its history, to the point where ''the number of band members ditched is greater than the number of songs produced''. These unstable lineups seem to be due to reasons similar to Western death metal, such as: a) CreativeDifferences between the members, b) musicians getting burned out or getting busted for drugs/criminal activity or suffering AuthorExistenceFailure or similar misfortunes, and c) a crippling shortage of professional musicians capable of performing and ''actually staying with'' bands, despite a ''massive'' surplus of talent left over from disbanded and unpopular acts. Some bands ditch members for no reason at all -- Anti Feminism, a 90's Visual Shock band, had more than 50 different members joining it since its inception; [[IAmTheBand its founder and only constant member]], Kenzi, [[WordOfGod stated]] that the band has no official lineup.

* Music/{{Disacode}} - Fronted by female singer Akira and from 2013 onwards, the line-up is now an almost [[DistaffCounterpart all-female]] PowerTrio comprising of Akira, Marcy and TheOneGuy Shin. Used to be a GenderEqualEnsemble from 2010 to 2013, when male guitarist Daichi left.

* GossipEvolution: Tanuki, a splitoff from the Japanese 2Channel ImageBoard, originally created to discuss Visual Kei. It managed to become a discussion of Visual Kei and the hard rock / heavy metal ''artists'' that cross over with the community and ''each other'' by their {{groupie|Brigade}}s, {{m|oneyDearBoy}}itsukano, assorted [[DaydreamBeliever fantasists]] and haters, and [[PolishTheTurd eventually]] [[AttentionWhore themselves]] and [[GreenEyedMonster their]] [[TheRival competitors]]. Sadly, this means that much information that is not, to some degree, BlatantLies or AstroTurf has at least undergone this to some degree. Others have launched via MemeticMutation.

* OneMarioLimit: Yoshiki, Hide/hide, Gackt, Miyavi, Kiyoharu, and quite a few other StageNames and real names are SO attached to the people who became famous for them that people who are NamesTheSame are advised to change or add something to the name (e.g. people named Hideto have gone with Music/{{Hyde}} or [[Music/{{D}} hide-zou]] instead of hide) to avoid name confusion, lots of anger and drama from being seen as derivative off of fame, being assumed to be dead, or other undesirable outcomes.

* BadassBiker: Visual Shock was a near-direct descendant of ''bosozoku'' and ''yankii'' style and fashion of TheEighties at ''many'' points. While [[Music/TaijiSawada Taiji]] of Music/XJapan and Music/Loudness (among many others) was the most famous example, there were many, many others, although most of them either disappeared, disbanded, or went back to being more "ordinary" rock or metal artists by the middle of TheNineties.

* DoubleEntendre: Common with the earlier works or "marketable" works of Visual Shock bands, mostly done as a form of GettingCrapPastTheRadar or RefugeInAudacity. Still in use by Oshare bands, for similar reasons of marketability. Averted by Eroguro bands, which generally are far more direct with sexual and violent imagery and lyrics.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Visual Kei artists are near-experts at it. A few of the strategies include RulesLawyer skills, DoubleEntendre, LastSecondWordSwap, UnusualEuphemism... and if nothing else works, [[RefugeInAudacity flinging ''so'' much crap at the radar at once some of it gets past by sheer force of will]].

* IndecipherableLyrics: Often found among Eroguro and Nagoya bands, and pretty much any band that heavily uses GratuitousEnglish or certain substances. Also used to obscure the actual words of songs in a form of GettingCrapPastTheRadar.