Fans cosplaying as members of visual kei band Malice Mizer
Stylistic origins
Glam rock
shock rock
heavy metal
punk rock
gothic rock
progressive rock
alternative rock
electronic
pop
Cultural origins
Early 1980s, Japan
Subgenres
Eroguro kei
Local scenes
Nagoya
Other topics
Japanese popular culture
Japanese street fashion
Visual kei (Japanese: ヴィジュアル系 or ビジュアル系, Hepburn: Vijuaru kei or Bijuaru kei, lit. "Visual Style"[1]), abbreviated v-kei (V系, Bui kei), is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of Bounce wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it "revolves around the creation of a band's unique worldview and/or stylistic beauty through visual expressions in the form of makeup and fashion".[2] While visual kei bands can be of any music genre, it is generally associated with glam rock, punk rock, and heavy metal.[3][4]
Visual kei was pioneered by groups such as X Japan, Dead End, Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, and Color, and gained further notoriety in the 1990s through the success of groups like Luna Sea, Glay, L'Arc-en-Ciel, and Malice Mizer. The movement's success continued through the 2000s with Gackt and more musically broad bands such as Dir En Grey, the Gazette, Alice Nine, Girugamesh, and Versailles, a period which some critics term "neo-visual kei" (ネオ・ヴィジュアル系). Many acts tone-down their appearance upon achieving mainstream success, calling into question whether they are still to be considered visual kei.
^Pfeifle 2013, pp. 75.
^Koji Dejima. "Bounce Di(s)ctionary Number 13 – Visual Kei". Bounce (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 1 March 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
^Arulvarathan, Subha (15 April 2006). "For those about to J-Rock". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
^Minnie, Chi (15 April 2006). "Reliving the Height of Japan's Superlative Visual Rock Band". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
Visualkei (Japanese: ヴィジュアル系 or ビジュアル系, Hepburn: Vijuaru kei or Bijuaru kei, lit. "Visual Style"), abbreviated v-kei (V系, Bui kei), is a category of Japanese...
L'Arc en Ciel, An Cafe, Malice Mizer, and Diaura. Oshare Kei is the opposite side of VisualKei, with bright colors and many pop impressions. This said...
This is a list of visualkei musical groups. This list does not include individual solo musicians. Contents !–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T...
onnagata on Japanese culture has also played an important part in the VisualKei subculture. The subculture emphasizes gender-nonconforming expression...
Nagoya kei (Japanese: 名古屋系, lit. "Nagoya Style") is a subgenre of the Japanese visualkei movement that developed in the early 1990s music scene of Nagoya...
Japanese metal and rock bands gave birth to the movement known as visualkei. Taking visual influence from Western glam rock and glam metal, it was pioneered...
a Japanese bassist and composer best known for being a member of the visualkei rock band The Gazette. He produced his instruments under the Japanese...
Jiluka (Japanese: ジルカ, Hepburn: Jiruka, stylized as JILUKA) is a Japanese visualkei metal band initially formed in May 2013 but restarted in February 2015...
wave of visualkei came to an end at the time of X Japan's lead guitarists death in 1999. A few years later, the second wave called neo- visualkei transpired...
culture include Japanese idol, visualkei, Gothic Lolita, Nagoya kei and gyaru. The cultures such as Japanese idol and visualkei began as youth culture in...
considered separately. Some visualkei bands have a concept or theme relating to ero guro, most notably Cali Gari. Western visualkei fans assumed their theme...
with the top acts selling millions of records. Many metal bands from the visualkei scene toured and gained recognition in the West in the 2000s. The 2010s...
Deviloof is a Japanese visualkei deathcore band formed in 2015. Deviloof was formed on December 12, 2015, by vocalist Keisuke, bassist Daiki and drummer...
Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visualkei rock band active from 1992 to 2001. The band was famous for their music and their live...
story, vampires masquerade as visualkei musicians. Once a year, they gather together in Harajuku at an event known as "Visual Prison". When Ange Yuki travels...
cultures such as gyaru, otaku, visualkei, and Lolita, as well as visual-kei-inspired clothing such as Mori, Fairy Kei, and Decora. The Lolita style spread...
independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visualkei, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western glam. Originally...
aesthetic. In one study on visualkei, 37% of Japanese fan respondents reported having "yaoi or sexual fantasies" about the visualkei stars. Most yaoi fans...
Madmans Esprit is a South Korean black metal band, influenced by visualkei and solo project of vocalist Kyuho, formed in 2010 in Seoul. Kyuho identifies...
1980s, Japanese metal and rock bands gave birth to the movement known as visualkei, represented during its history by bands like X Japan, Buck-Tick, Luna...
Denpa (電波), also denpa-kei (電波系) or denpa-san (電波さん), is a Japanese term for people who may feel disconnected from reality or dissociated from the people...
Look up Kei, kei, or kei- in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Kei or KEI may refer to: Kei (given name) Kei, Cantonese for Ji(姫) Kei, Cantonese for Qi(奇...
impact and influence on Japanese pop culture especially with J-Pop and VisualKei. He also achieved greater superstar status in the region than both Michael...
Global Information