History UsefulNotes / VisualKei

Also in 1997, one of the most high-profile drug busts of the scene (though with an ex-VisualKei band, L'Arc-en-Ciel) happened - Sakura, the drummer, was busted for cannabis possession, though it was likely he was just the unlucky one as opposed to the only one. He was kicked from the band and replaced with Yukihiro, as the full disapproval of Japanese society on someone caught in the act of using drugs descended upon L'Arc as a band: their albums and other productions were boycotted and removed from record stores, they were denied venue privileges, and similar, until he was removed.

* DeadHorseGenre: Subverted. The genre went down in flames as such around 1994-1995, with most of the HardRock / HeavyMetal /HairMetal bands either collapsing or undergoing GenreShift (e.g. Music/XJapan and Music/LunaSea becoming toned down GothRock and GothicMetal and falling into another genre, Music/LArcEnCiel going Oshare and PostVisual, [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]] doing "digital kei" and Eroguro, with acts that didn't GenreShift such as Music/TokyoYankees and Music/TaijiSawada's D.T.R. either going on hiatus or becoming highly unpopular). It stayed as such until around 2006-08, when a confluence of events from fans discovering videos of early Visual Shock bands and bands' old eras on Youtube, artists getting tired of Eroguro and Oshare dominating the scene, HeavyMetal, HardRock, and even HairMetal gaining popularity again with rock and metal hardness above Oshare but still ''listenable'' regaining popularity among overseas fans and retaining it in the underground, bands from the era surviving, and more all combined to revive large parts of the genre as Neo-Visual Shock or Neo-Visual.

While Oshare brought some genre diversity (Oshare artists could be anything from PopPunk to elecronica to even HipHop or rap) to Visual Kei, and became, for better or worse, the face of "mainstream" and "label signed" VK from then through TheNewTens, it also became TheScrappy and FlameBait much the same as HairMetal did in the West. As in, while there are many talented Oshare bands (such as Music/LArcEnCiel and L.MC) and many artists who went through Oshare/host style fashion periods, the style unfortunately became associated with an intense amount of FollowTheLeader, mediocre musicianship yet lots of fangirls and money surrounding it, and with a codified, fixed set of appearance rules ("look like a pretty young host" or "be kawaii"). It became, therefore, acceptable to mock for metal fans, for those interested in other styles, and pretty much the rest of Visual Kei as a result - while yet being the most "popular" and "easily signable" genre.

* TheScrappy: [[Music/LArcEnCiel L'Arc~en~Ciel]], not only because of their [[BerserkButton open dislike for any association with Visual kei]], but also for being the TropeMaker and TropeCodifier for Oshare kei (specifically, Host Oshare), which is the Visual subgenre that both Visual and non-Visual fans are most likely to hate/poke fun at/not take seriously.

* CastFullOfGay: Oshare bands that market to YaoiFangirls are ''notorious'' for ''pretending'' to be this, so much that it has made people [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny insist that legitimately gay or bisexual men in Visual don't exist.]]

While Oshare brought some genre diversity (Oshare artists could be anything from PopPunk to elecronica to even HipHop or rap) to Visual Kei, and became, for better or worse, the face of "mainstream" and "label signed" VK from then through TheNewTens, it also became TheScrappy and FlameBait much the same as HairMetal did in the West. As in, while there are many talented Oshare bands (such as Music/LArcEnCiel and L.MC) and many artists who went through Oshare/host style fashion periods, the style unfortunately became associated with an intense amount of FollowTheLeader, mediocre musicianship yet lots of fangirls and money surrounding it, and with a codified, fixed set of appearance rules ("look like a pretty young host" or "be kawaii"). It became, therefore, an AcceptableTarget for metal fans, for those interested in other styles, and pretty much the rest of Visual Kei as a result - while yet being the most "popular" and "easily signable" genre.

* AnimeHair: Spiked dreadlocks, fanned mohawks, devilocks, teased hair, MegaTwintails, multicolored hair...Along with Neo-Visual Shock and Lolita, digital kei is home to some of the craziest hairstyles in Visual kei.

While Oshare brought some genre diversity (Oshare artists could be anything from PopPunk to elecronica to even HipHop or rap) to Visual Kei, and became, for better or worse, the face of "mainstream" and "label signed" VK from then through TheNewTens, it also became TheScrappy and FlameBait much the same as HairMetal did in the West, for a major application of SturgeonsLaw. As in, while there are many talented Oshare bands (such as Music/LArcEnCiel and L.MC) and many artists who went through Oshare/host style fashion periods, the style unfortunately became associated with an intense amount of FollowTheLeader, mediocre musicianship yet lots of fangirls and money surrounding it, and with a codified, fixed set of appearance rules ("look like a pretty young host" or "be kawaii"). It became, therefore, an AcceptableTarget for metal fans, for those interested in other styles, and pretty much the rest of Visual Kei as a result - while yet being the most "popular" and "easily signable" genre.

* {{TrollingCreator}}: The point of being Eroguro, as mentioned above, is trolling normal society, specifically ApatheticCitizens and MoralGuardians, with graphic violence, sexual imagery, TooMuchInformation, and whatever else will upset them. Some bands and fans take this UpToEleven and troll their own audience or other bands' fandoms' with everything from StylisticSuck to internet trolling.

Angura (a contraction of "underground") is a niche subgenre of Visual Kei that generally has FolkRock / FolkMetal leanings. It developed from Visual Shock with bands appropriating the Kabuki-esque theatrics of the genre and expressing it in a more authentic manner, largely eschewing the Western-inspired parts and emphasizing the Japanese aspects of the style. Band members often wear kimono, and traditional Kabuki or {{Geisha}} style makeup and hair. Some bands take the genre UpToEleven by including musicians who are professionals in playing traditional Japanese instruments. Thematically, bands can range from a traditional and accessible "Cool Japan" concept, to outright PatrioticFervor extolling the glory days of Imperial Japan and its [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy militaristic honor culture]].

* TropeCodifier: Music/{{Kagrra}} and Music/WagakkiBand. The latter takes the genre UpToEleven by including a full professional folk ensemble as part of their lineup.

* CutenessOverload: The point of both kawaii and host Oshare is to be so overwhelmingly cute and positive that it TastesLikeDiabetes.

* InternetJerk: You wouldn't think a subgenre based on TastesLikeDiabetes would have such issues. Unfortunately, online Oshare Kei fandom is a CrapsaccharineWorld. Gets especially bad when Oshare fans flame metalheads or vice versa, because only the most rabid fans out of both communities want to engage in a FlameWar (the sane people and insane but nice people are tired of them), so the most abusive behavior is often a given.

The increase in popularity of Music/{{Vocaloid}} as both a music-making and visual tool among Visual and Post-Visual artists arguably helped in increasing the popularity of digital kei. Famed J-metal composer Yuyoyuppe, best known as "that Megurine Luka guy", is one such artist. Possibly the most visible performing live band of digital kei, aside from Music/TheGazette, is Music/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas.

* {{Biseinen}}: Almost all Neo Visual Shock artists are this to some degree. Even the older ones.

* 1 - The beginning of {{Bishonen}} / {{Biseinen}} or {{Bifauxnen}} but still obviously male or female. Most of Music/DirEnGrey after their fashion shift, Yoshiki from 1996 onward with some occasional skips to 2 post 2008, and pretty much anyone doing the "wealthy rockstar" look lands here.
* 2 - Solid {{Bishonen}} / {{Biseinen}}, with heavy makeup for both genders, and some possible ventures into tertiary characteristics (outright feminine clothing for men, or masculine clothing for women) to invoke some ViewerGenderConfusion. At this point, you can't usually tell by looking at face alone. Good examples would be Kamijo of Music/{{Versailles}} and Dir En Grey from 2001-2004.
* 3 - {{Bishonen}} or {{Biseinen}} or {{Bifauxnen}}'s end, going into slight to moderate ambiguity. Facial makeup, hair, clothes are either solidly ambiguous/unisex, or they are masculine on women or feminine on men. What separates this from 5 is that it is not the artist's continuous image nor is it truly "passable" as actual crossdressing, and what separates it from 4 is that the artist still somehow appears male looking feminine or female looking masculine - not entirely genderless or "neither" or "both." Yoshiki's "princess mode" style from 1987-1993 would place him here.

* {{Biseinen}}: Almost all Visual Shock artists are this to some degree

* {{Bishonen}} and {{Biseinen}}

* ProjectedMan: How the Music/{{Vocaloid}}s Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Len[=/=]Rin, Luka, Gakupo, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters etc]]... have had "live" shows.

Angura is generally a FolkRock / FolkMetal subgenre, that spawned out of PatrioticFervor and an interest in TheOldWays. It has its roots in Visual Shock somewhat, as there were some right-wing and "old Japanese traditional" sentiments there, and it really took the "Kabuki" part of Visual Shock and ran with it more than anything else, rejecting the Western-inspired parts aside from their preferred genres of HeavyMetal or HardRock. Band members often wear kimono, and traditional Kabuki or {{Geisha}} style makeup and hair, and use of borderline fascist or UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan glorifying lyrics and imagery is not unknown. Some bands take the genre UpToEleven by including musicians who are professionals in playing traditional Japanese instruments.

** For those who ''aren't'' fascist right-wingers, being piled in with/assumed to be bigoted, racist right-wingers simply because they happen to like traditional Japanese styling or have a military theme.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: As folk acts, Angura bands generally celebrate Japan. No matter what.
* PatrioticFervor: Not as awful as NSBM or redneck country or similar, in that some Angura bands are willing to acknowledge Japanese war atrocities or the like, and that the whole genre isn't composed of racist fascists or neocon rightwingers, but if you want to find rightwingers and outright racist fascists in Visual Kei instead of I Don't Cares/moderates/leftists/anarchists, this is where you generally look.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Many (if not most) Angura bands are simply such because of RuleOfCool and that they like kimonos and {{geisha}} and {{samurai}} aesthetics, and could care less for the rightwing or fascist attitudes others in the subgenre fall into.

Branching off from Visual Shock and Eroguro kei in TheNineties, Nagoya kei, so named because the {{Trope Codifier}}s (Music/{{Deathgaze}}, Music/{{Lynch}}, Music/{{Kuroyume}}) were from Nagoya, is an underground genre of Visual Kei that is characterized by an aggressive HardcorePunk sound (with the occasional PowerBallad) and elements of NuMetal such as downtuned guitars, [[SopranoAndGravel a mix of baritone singing and screams]], electronic sounds and equal prominence of all instruments. Artistically, Nagoya kei primarily focuses on a stripped-down but stylish, "wealthy {{Goth}}ic metalhead" appearance with a mostly black-and-white palette. It differs from Eroguro kei in that despite the overall DarkerAndEdgier look and sound of Nagoya kei, the overall aesthetic has a more or less realistic, gritty bend as opposed to the highly stylized excesses of Eroguro.

* NuMetal: The genre of choice, if not HardcorePunk, {{Deathcore}} or PostHardcore.

* InternetJerk: It's ''everywhere.'' Once people learned how easy it was and is to start a fight, the genre and bands related to it became a favorite hangout for {{troll}}s, and similar. This is not helped by that the ''genre itself'' inherently supports one of the most bitter conflicts within Visual: IHatePastMe versus IJustWantToBeSpecial, as it features people who truly, deeply, ''bitterly'' hate Visual and people affiliated to it at points, yet also attracts people who ''like'' Visual or who are still into elements of it.

Music/MaliceMizer debuted in 1992, but didn't go big until they signed Music/{{Gackt}} in 1995. When they did, they instantly rose to being one of the very top and most influential acts in Visual Kei, and they arguably defined this era - they acquired almost as many FollowTheLeader bands as Rosenfeld and Music/XJapan did, and even existing bands began to adopt a more Gothic style because of them - Music/BuckTick, for example, took on a darker GothRock tone and began to succeed with it. Cyberpunk and cybergoth also made some major inroads - as "digital kei," and similar names, it was the primary style of [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]]'s solo career - [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly if a primary style could]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot have even been attached to it]] - which was, at the time, even eclipsing that of the band where he'd first become famous.

VisualKei's re-emergence as a powerful force in Japanese music began in the late 1990s, in the wake of the various tragedies and controversies that plagued the scene. Formed in 1997, from the ashes of underground alternative rock band La:Sadie's, [[GenreBusting experimental]] metal band Music/DirEnGrey made headlines in the scene by entering the Oricon Top 10 charts with two independently produced songs. Shortly afterward, they would gain the attention of [[Music/YoshikiHayashi Yoshiki]], who produced most of their early releases, and later on, the international metal community, for their [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly eclectic fusion of musical styles and influences]] that ranged from radio-friendly alternative rock to full-on grindcore and nu metal (death metal/deathcore in recent years).

The 2000's also saw the rise and eventual recognition of female VisualKei artists. Post-GothicMetal outfit Music/YouseiTeikoku, fronted by voice actress/singer Creator/YuiItsuki has gained recognition in the {{Anime}} scene for their contributions to several well-known titles, the best-known of these being the first opening track to the anime ''Manga/FutureDiary''. {{Metalcore}} band Music/ExistTrace challenged the conventions of VisualKei by being the most successful all-female Visual act in the scene, both in Japan and on an international level. Other all-female bands, such as Music/{{Aldious}}, Music/{{DESTROSE}} and Music/DangerGang would also enjoy some commercial success. In the mid-2000s, Music/KanonWakeshima, a baroque pop artist and fashion model, revived Lolita kei as a commercially successful subset of Visual Kei. [[TheMentor Produced]] by Mana of Malice Mizer, she rose to stardom with her [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly unusual sound]] and stunning image. Her [[SignatureSong song]] "Still Doll" was used as the ending for the hit anime ''Manga/VampireKnight''; it would later become one of the most recognizable Gothic pop songs in modern Japanese music. Another Lolita artist, Music/{{Kana}} brought Lolita kei to even greater prominence with her active participation in Japanese mainstream culture, being an [[RenaissanceMan artist, toy designer, model, singer and actress]].

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly - The Lolita kei sound is a fusion of ProgressiveRock or ProgressiveMetal mixed with ClassicalMusic, though some examples draw inspiration from styles other than classical.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Fuck yes.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Or at least blonde.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Or at least brown.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Or at least blonde.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: 0 (for instrumentals) to 9 usually, with the usual range being 6-8 with most bands having at least one 1-4 PowerBallad, while also having enough ExplicitContent or angsty, depressing or outright violent themes or similar to at least have a couple sevens to nines.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 4-9 on average, with most bands having the PowerBallad at some points to peg lower than 4 (e.g. X Japan's ''Endless Rain''). The more rock bands are usually 6-7 at most, with the more thrashy metal (early X, Sex Machineguns) closer to 7-9.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: 0-11. The genre is ''so'' expansive it can include everything from instrumentalists to bands that are a near-endless stream of pure ExplicitContent.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 3-6 for the more pop-rockish/punkish bands, around 7-10 for the metal or metalcore bands.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: 9-11 AT LEAST, as an EnforcedTrope for the genre. ''Possibly'' a more "cute" "ero" band could do a 7 or 8 with a lot of DoubleEntendre for the "ero" part, or a band that is balanced between both ero and guro could do a song that focuses more on angst or sorrow than on brutal and graphic violence to land at a 6 or 7 (e.g. Music/DirEnGrey's ''Ain't Afraid To Die''), but the great majority of Eroguro band output ''is'' 9 through 11 for obvious reasons.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Usually a 6-11 because of the genre's emphasis on bands that are ''at least'' metalcore or darkwave.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Anywhere from a 2 to a 6 usually. If they go over into more ExplicitContent, it's generally more toward sex than violence or angst or explicit references to drugs, although Music/LArcEnCiel actually subverted this with its WarIsHell anti-war songs such as ''Hoshizora'' and ''Existence.''
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally, as an EnforcedTrope, Oshare ''cannot'' go above a 6 or 7 because then it risks becoming too "metal" or "unlistenable" for its average audience. L'Arc~en~Ciel subverted it with a few songs that peg at 7 (most of them being on the ''Awake'' album) but it's rare for any Oshare band to get higher than 6.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Generally 0 (for frequent instrumentals) to 6. Most Lolita kei work is ''not'' highly sexual or incredibly graphically violent (with the exception of Music/MaliceMizer's ''Illuminati'' which is, along with its PV, one of Visual Kei's first 10 works, being an 11 at its time, and Malice Mizer in general being a fusion of Lolita and Eroguro), and a lot of symbolism and longing/sadness is more common than outright suicidality or such.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 1 to 9, occasionally 10, sometimes by the ''same band,'' as this genre welcomes both quiet classical type interludes and the ''[[UpToEleven absolute extremes]]'' of speed and technicality in Visual Kei (some of the best guitar/bass shredders, drummers, pianists/keyboardists, etc. in the scene are Lolita or ex-Lolita artists). In fact, with its classical emphasis, it tends to draw "the best of the best" on a technical level unless they really wish to go into another genre, meaning that most bands are more than capable of doing both quiet instrumentals and then shredding just as well as Music/{{Dragonforce}} or any Big Four thrash band.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Around 3-8 depending on band and song, though some of the more Fascist-leaning bands can approach a 10 or 11 for the same reason NSBM does.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally at least a 5 or 6 through 9.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Generally 6-10 for a fair amount of ExplicitContent, generally relating to angst, drugs, war/violence, suicide, and sometimes sex.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 5-11.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Post-Visual spans the entire scale, from a 1 to an 11. On average, Post-Visual songs are around 5-6, with the more metallic acts averaging at around 7-8.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Same as Visual Shock: also 0 (for instrumentals) to 9 usually, with the usual range being 6-8 with most bands having at least one 1-4 PowerBallad, while also having enough ExplicitContent or angsty, depressing or outright violent themes or similar to at least have a couple sevens to nines.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 4-9 on average, with most bands having the PowerBallad at some points to peg lower than 4. The more rock bands (the reunited X and Buck-Tick, Luna Sea), are usually 6-7 at most with occasional jumps into 8 songs or solos, with the more thrashy metal (the reunited Music/TokyoYankees, the new bands DEZERT and TSP) closer to 7-9.

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: 0-10, occasionally 11. It totally depends on the artist.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 3-5 for the more SynthPop[=-=]oriented acts, 6-9 for acts with a more {{industrial}} sound. 10-11 for brostep and noise-influenced bands.

* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic: Mostly averted. Save for the [[AnimeHair wild and colorful hairstyles]], most digital kei artists don't appear too different from {{Idol Singer}}s, indie rockers or nightclub [=DJs=], and their music isn't particularly harsh either. Occasionally inverted and/or subverted by industrial and noise-influenced artists, and inverted by [[TropeMaker hide]], who had a couple of "cute" visual style phases yet only rarely went below a 6 on the MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness in instrumentals.

On May 2, 1998, [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]] died via hanging himself, in a result of circumstances that to this day are still not entirely understood (though it is generally agreed to have been an accidental death in some parts, a suicide in others, and [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment may the two never meet, anywhere near you]]). An alcohol-poisoning level of alcohol was present in his blood, according to a later coroner's report, along with possible evidence of methamphetamine use.

* DeadHorseGenre: There are signs that Oshare is on its way out - [=L'Arc-en-Ciel=] appears to be headed towards a more metal-oriented direction, and Music/AbingdonBoysSchool gravitated towards metal as well. Oshare's place in the scene is also threatened by the ever-increasing number of disgruntled metal fans who demand for heavier material and more unorthodox styles, a trend made evident by the neo-Visual Shock movement and the renewed popularity of Post-Visual kei and Eroguro kei. Also, most of the EDM and electronic artists that used to start out as kawaii Oshare are populating digital kei, as it more matches their actual styles.[[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment It might be too early to tell, however]]...

Gender attitudes began to become enlightened a bit more. While the amount of female and female-fronted bands still remained fairly low on the radar, the troglodyte attitudes of HairMetal began to scale back with its loss of popularity [[SocietyMarchesOn and as the times themselves got better for women in Japan in general.]], and things seemed to change for the better in regard to this.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: {{Music/hide|toMatsumoto}} has been promoting digital kei since his first attempts at reaching out to the Western metal scene in the mid-1990s and has had significant success during that era, and he was the person who named and pretty much defined the style in Japan aside from Imai Hisashi of Music/BuckTick. Had he not suffered AuthorExistenceFailure, digital kei would have easily been one of the most notable Visual styles among non-Visual fans...

* {{GIFT}}: Averted for the first round, as the genre came into existence in TheEighties. The Internet as such didn't exist until TheNineties and didn't penetrate much into Japan until around the late 90s - most fights of that era were [[BarBrawl IRL bar fights]]. When the genre resurrected as Neo-Visual Shock, it kicked in in full force.

* {{GIFT}}: One of the best places to find it in action within Visual Kei, precisely because almost everyone involved ''wants'' to be as potentially offensive as possible, and in some cases, this goes beyond throwing around triggers and CrossingTheLineTwice and back again to offend moralizers and the like into [[ItsPersonal personal abuse]] and cyberbullying.

* {{GIFT}}: You wouldn't think a subgenre based on TastesLikeDiabetes would have such issues. Unfortunately, online Oshare Kei fandom is a CrapsaccharineWorld. Gets especially bad when Oshare fans flame metalheads or vice versa, because only the most rabid fans out of both communities want to engage in a FlameWar (the sane people and insane but nice people are tired of them), so the most abusive behavior is often a given.

* {{Kawaiiko}}: The kawaii side of Oshare.

* {{GIFT}}: The issue here is TheBeautifulElite meets SeriousBusiness. Quite a few people who have brand outfits, perfect makeup, and the like ''aren't'' interested in helping others improve and get to their point - but in harshly mocking them at best, and threatening their lives at worst. It even sometimes expands to hating on people ''in other genres'' for "not being real" or for "looking awful," even if the other genre is one that allows for their appearance.

* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Averted and defied with extreme prejudice - Lolita kei frowns upon ''anything and everything'' that can be seen as musically simple and derivative, to the point where being a "real" Lolita Kei artist means having an awesome fashion sense ''and'' superb musical skills to boot.

* {{Bishonen}}: Though not as YaoiFangirl-oriented as Oshare or as waif-ish as Visual Shock artists, the Post-Visual scene is still pretty much populated by young and handsome musicians, though they are most likely not simply pretty faces...
** That said, Post-Visual is, aside from Visual Shock and Neo-Visual Shock, the place where you're most likely to find older artists (e.g. older than 35-40), overweight or physically disfigured artists, married or otherwise unavailable artists, or others who avert, subvert, and invert the age limits and appearance/lifestyle standards found in other genres.

* {{GIFT}}: It's ''everywhere.'' Once people learned how easy it was and is to start a fight, the genre and bands related to it became a favorite hangout for {{troll}}s, and similar. This is not helped by that the ''genre itself'' inherently supports one of the most bitter conflicts within Visual: IHatePastMe versus IJustWantToBeSpecial, as it features people who truly, deeply, ''bitterly'' hate Visual and people affiliated to it at points, yet also attracts people who ''like'' Visual or who are still into elements of it.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Post-Visual spans the entire scale, from a 1 to an 11. On average, Post-Visual songs are around 5-6, with the more metallic acts averaging at around 7-8.

* {{GIFT}}: One of the worst places to find it, ''especially'' in regard to X Japan's fandom both in Japan and in the West, which presents nearly almost ''every'' group of people known to get into massive conflict, ironically passing the band's [[BarBrawl old reputation]] onto the fans on the internet. Conflicts can become [[ItsPersonal personal]] ''very'' quickly, there are active cyberstalkers and the like as well as garden-variety {{troll}}s It's not a friendly or safe place for ''many'' people as a result, and is quickly earning a reputation as a place where bullies and trolls run the show - despite that there's quite a lot of people who ''don't'' want to fight and want to peacefully coexist and be a part of the fandom. Other bands in the genre's fandoms have ''some'' problems with it, as well, but not as many people to cause problems and not as many "factions" based around various controversies.

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: Many, many, MANY bands. Music/XJapan, Music/LunaSea, Music/{{Kuroyume}}, Music/TokyoYankees, and more all reunited over the TurnOfTheMillennium or TheNewTens. Other bands, such as Glay, Music/{{Loudness}} and Music/BuckTick, never even broke up. Loudness, X Japan, and Tokyo Yankees all had to work around the loss of influential members to manage their reunions/stay together. Golden Bat/Grand Slam broke up, but reunites for occasional gigs.

Japanese society in general severely frowned upon drugs aside from alcohol and tobacco, which meant attitudes toward drugs were pretty much the mixed bag they are presently, though they did ''not'' reflect Japanese society as a whole (aside from stimulants such as amphetamines being the most popular drugs, (addiction and overuse of which would bite the scene in the ass ''hard'' once people began to severely go off the rails and die) as opposed to cannabis, though cannabis was popular when it could be acquired. Opiates and hallucinogens were less common but made their own appearances both in parties and in music and lyrics. Lyrics about drugs were, obviously, common, though they often required large doses of LoopholeAbuse, {{Rules Lawyer}}ing, and outright bribery (among other strategies) to succeed in GettingCrapPastTheRadar.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses

The yankii/bosozoku element tended to drop off of newer VK, at least directly, by this point, with the change toward Goth as a more popular genre and with their own style (for the most part - some HR/HM fans remained, ''especially'' those loyal to specific bands or artists) veering away from HardRock[=/=]HeavyMetal into {{rap}}.

On May 2, 1998, [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]] died via hanging himself, in a result of circumstances that to this day are still not entirely understood (though it is generally agreed to have been an accidental death in some parts, a suicide in others, and [[InternetBackdraft may the two never meet, anywhere near you]]). An alcohol-poisoning level of alcohol was present in his blood, according to a later coroner's report, along with possible evidence of methamphetamine use.

* FlameWar: Somewhat infamous for it, due to at least one band that falls into the category having literally dozens of ways to start InternetBackdraft due to more controversies than can be counted. Other bands that fall into the genre often don't have as many (mostly due to being new bands and/or having small enough fanbases that TheLawOfFanJackassery protects them) but any band with a sizable fandom that is a LongRunner likely has had at least a few flamewars.

* {{Bishoujo}}: An EnforcedTrope in the genre.
** {{Bifauxnen}}: One of the style choices for Lolita kei artists who do not want to dress up in full drag, the other being straight-up "badass Aristocrat".

* AutoTune: The subgenre that introduced it to Visual before its wide acceptance across almost all other subgenres. Being the "patient zero" for the spread of autotune is one reason the subgenre became a HateSink for pretty much the rest of visual kei.

* DeadHorseGenre: There are signs that Oshare is on its way out - [=L'Arc-en-Ciel=] appears to be headed towards a more metal-oriented direction, and Music/AbingdonBoysSchool gravitated towards metal as well. Oshare's place in the scene is also threatened by the ever-increasing number of disgruntled metal fans who demand for heavier material and more unorthodox styles, a trend made evident by the neo-Visual Shock movement and the renewed popularity of Post-Visual kei and Eroguro kei. Also, most of the EDM and electronic artists that used to start out as kawaii Oshare are populating digital kei, as it more matches their actual styles.[[RuleofCautiousEditingJudgement It might be too early to tell, however]]...