Line #54 Music/LArcEnCiel


1	L'arc-en-Ciel is a Japanese AlternativeRock band from Osaka, formed in 1991. Founded by bassist tetsuya and vocalist/guitarist Music/{{Hyde}} (not to be confused with the late Music/{{hide\|toMatsumoto}} of Music/XJapan), with then-rhythm guitarist HIRO and then-drummer PERO, they had a successful start in their hometown in 1992. In the same year, both HIRO and PERO left; they were replaced by current rhythm guitarist ken and drummer sakura. in 1997, sakura was expelled from the band due to being arrested for marijuana possession; That same year, he was later replaced with current drummer yukihiro.
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3	They were initially signed to Danger Crue Records, but after releasing their debut album, ''Dune'' in 1993, in 1994 they signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan under the [=Ki/oon=] division. and, eventually, becoming one of the best-selling and most prolific musical acts in the Japanese rock music scene.
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5	!Members (All members use StageNames):
6	!!Current Members:
7	* Music/{{hyde}}: Vocals, guitar (1991-present)
8	* tetsuya: Bass guitar (1991-present)
9	* yukihiro: Drums (1997-present, became an official member in 1998)
10	* ken: Guitar, backing vocals (1992-present)
11	!!Former Members:
12	* [[OldShame sakura]]: Drums (1993-1997)
13	* HIRO (1991-1992)
14	* PERO (1991-1992)
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16	!Discography:
17	!!Studio albums
18	* ''Dune'' (1993)
19	* ''Tierra'' (1994)
20	* ''Heavenly'' (1995)
21	* ''True'' (1996)
22	* ''Heart'' (1998)
23	* ''Ark'' (1999)
24	* ''Ray'' (1999)
25	* ''Real'' (2000)
26	* ''Smile'' (2004)
27	* ''Awake'' (2005)
28	* ''Kiss'' (2007)
29	* ''Butterfly'' (2012)
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31	----
32	!L'arc-en-Ciel and their works provide examples of the following tropes:
33	* AllLowercaseLetters: averted with their name, but played straight with the members' stage names.
34	* AmbiguousGender: Zig-zagged in recent years, but more or less played straight in their early days.
35	* AerithAndBob: yukihiro, tetsuya, ken, and '''hyde'''
36	* BerserkButton: VisualKei. They're highly notorious among Visual Kei fans (and some fans of non-Visual rock for that matter) for pretty much being the only band that ''openly loathes'' Visual Kei,[[labelnote:]]There are a few other bands (such as Music/{{Sigh}}) that have expressed dislike for Visual Kei, though most of the time it is usually due to stylistic preferences as opposed to actively hating the entire genre on principle, which L'arc is highly notorious for.[[/labelnote]]. despite having been Visual Kei[[labelnote:]]Even until now they show off clothing, hair and makeup typical of many VK acts[[/labelnote]] and maintaining connections with avowed Visual artists, and despite ''their own singer'' being in a Visual Kei project and ''even'' going as far as ''imitating artists from the scene'' '''''onstage''''' with L'Arc.
37	* BolivianArmyEnding: The music video for the song [[Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka "Driver's High"]] ends with the band [[spoiler: driving their car off a cliff to evade the police, ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' style.]]
38	* CostumePorn: Has become a near-constant element of their visual style, which leads fans to wonder how far they have distanced themselves from Visual Kei in the first place.
39	* CoverVersion: Of Music/MarilynManson's "Irresponsible Hate Anthem"
40	* DisproportionateRetribution: sakura can be argued to be a case of this. Seeing as there were ''open methamphetamine users'' in the Visual scene (and elsewhere in the rock/metal scene) at the time of his marijuana bust, bands releasing songs about the joys of ''heroin,'' and similar, that he and L'Arc caught so much hell for a ''[[ValuesDissonance bag of pot]]'' just seems, [[NeverLiveitDown especially over 15 years later]], incredibly pointless and disproportionate. (There has been some thinking that it wouldn't have been quite so big a deal if [=LeC=] hadn't been providing the ED credits song for [[Manga/RurouniKenshin one of the most popular shonen properties in history]] at that very moment.)
41	* DudeLooksLikeALady: All of them, at one point or another.
42	* {{Expy}}: No, hyde is NOT an expy of Music/{{hide\|toMatsumoto}}, but a blatant copy of his contemporary at the time, vocalist Atsushi Sakurai of Music/BuckTick. He has also took on the image of Music/DirEnGrey vocalist Kyo, and in recent years, seems to be impersonating Music/{{Miyavi}}.
43	* GenreRoulette
44	* GratuitousEnglish: [[Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka ''Crash into the Rolling Morning Flash I'm the Coolest Driver's High'']]
45	** [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 ''Let's get started, Ready Steady Go!'']]
46	** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 ''My life I trade it for your pain'']]
47	** [[WebVideo/GameGrumps ''DO YOU EAT THE CRAFF? Me tuuu...'']]
48	** [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa ''We'll say goodbye lost heaven!'']]
49	** [[Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit ''I want to shine on you!'']]
50	** [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheSacredStarOfMilos ''Good Luck My Way, smile at me!'']]
51	** [[Manga/EdensZero ''Forever!'']]
52	* LighterAndSofter: Than their contemporaries.
53	* LongRunnerLineup: The band's lineup has been mostly stable ever since yukihiro became an official member in 1998.
54	* ManlyTears: Hyde is prone to crying rather easily, so much so there was even a comedy skit on a Japanese variety show poking fun at him for the habit. He has also visibly teared up during several concerts.
55	* ProtestSong: They have a few, mostly due to hyde, who tends to go this direction in his solo work as well:
56	** ''bravery'' is a protest of the Japanese media and of gossip about the band.
57	** ''Pieces'' and its PV use a cursed knife that drives people to murder as allegory to protest the CycleOfRevenge (the knife is the cycle, if someone just resisted its pull to kill...)
58	** ''As One'' from ''Awake,'' is an anti-war protest song and ReligionRantSong pleading for people to stop waiting to be saved and to seek peace and unity for themselves.
59	** ''Existence,'' also from the ''Awake'' album, is an anti-war protest song themed around the suffering of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
60	** ''Hoshizora,'' also from the ''Awake'' album, is hyde's lament of war inspired by the UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki and by the child victims of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror in Afghanistan and Iraq.
61	* RemixAlbum: Their special album ''P'UNK IS NOT DEAD'' is a compilation of punk remix versions of their own songs (where they pose as their [[FakeBand alter ego]] "P'UNK EN CIEL").
62	* SnowMeansLove: ''[[http://www.kiwi-musume.com/lyrics/larcenciel/snowdrop.html Snow Drop]]''
63	-->''Fate is strange, isn't it? That time that has stopped and rusted''\
64	''Brings morning to even this world''\
65	''As we start to walk, the warm snow falls on us''\
66	''As if we were blessed lalalulala lalalulala lalalulala''\
67	''It was as if you had put on a white veil''
68	* SpiritualSuccessor: [[DoesThisRemindYouofAnything They played alternative rock in the 1990s]] [[Music/{{Nirvana}} and popularized it in a scene which was dominated primarily by hair metal and thrash metal worshippers]].
69	** They are also becoming this to Music/MarilynManson due to their vocalist taking on an over-the-top GothicMetal slant.
70	* TropeMakers: Oshare Kei.
71	* UrExample: Of post-Visual Kei.
72	* VisualKei: Played straight, inverted, subverted, and ''subverted again'' like hell. Again, EXACTLY how far they have distanced themselves from the subculture is debatable, but they still put effort into sporting extravagant visual styles and wild hair, as well as maintaining connections with other VK artists.
73	* OlderThanTheyLook: Hyde can easily be mistaken for being decades younger than his actual age. Tetsuya is also very youthful looking.

Context Music / LArcEnCiel