Line #118 Music/YoshikiHayashi


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvtropesnewyoshiki_5644.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: [[VisualKei "The Work Which Becomes a New Genre Itself..."]]]]
3	[floatboxright:
4	Related acts with which Music/YoshikiHayashi has performed:
5	* L.O.X.
6	* Globe
7	* V2 with Tetsuya Komuro
8	* Music/VioletUK (Yoshiki's solo project)
9	* S.K.I.N ("superband" featuring Music/{{Gackt}}, Music/{{Miyavi}}, and Music/{{Sugizo}}, one performance only
10	* Various collaborations with other artists, everyone from Music/MarilynManson to the Quartet San Francisco to many more...]
11	[floatboxright: Acts once signed to Creator/ExtasyRecords by Yoshiki as a solo producer (NOTE: as it no longer is signing artists, none of these are signed to it as of this time):
12	* Abandoned Pools
13	* Music/DirEnGrey (now Creator/FreeWillRecords in JP and The End Records in the US)
14	* Glay
15	* Kidneythieves
16	* Music/TokyoYankees]
17	Yoshiki Hayashi (who usually goes by his first name, Yoshiki, which is capitalized as YOSHIKI in his solo or band work) is the bandleader, drummer, pianist, occasional guitarist, and co-creator of the rock band Music/XJapan. While a true statement, it's also an understatement - he has also been everything from a product designer and male model to an American music producer known for his work on ''Film/SawIV'', ''Catacombs'', and ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. He is also the founder of the first dedicated VisualKei label, Creator/ExtasyRecords, and has been as such the RecordProducer for a lot of VisualKei bands other than his own, including Music/DirEnGrey and Glay.
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19	Other projects he has been attached to or involved in in some way include Globe, V2, and classical solo performances, including one for the emperor of Japan (the Anniversary Concert). As of 2002 until the reunion of Music/XJapan, he has been doing most work toward his solo project, Music/VioletUK. (Yoshiki is the only current permanent member of Music/VioletUK.) He has also produced work with [[Music/{{Queen}} Roger Taylor]] and [[Music/TheBeatles George Martin]] among others. As of 2012, he has become the composer of note for the 69th and 70th Annual Golden Globes. He has also released two classical albums (''Yoshiki Selection 1 and 2'') with a third (''Yoshiki Classical'') released on US Itunes on August 27, 2013, with an international and physical CD release delayed but completed in October and November due to a controversy with cover art.
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21	Yoshiki is also a video blogger and an executive advisor with Ustream. He posts regularly on Website/{{Twitter}} at @[=YoshikiOfficial=], and does most interaction with other artists and celebrities and even fans there, and on Website/{{Facebook}}. Though he's also on Website/{{Tumblr}}, Instagram, LINE, and Website/GooglePlus. He has also opened a Weibo account for Chinese fans of Music/XJapan, and seems very interested in encouraging peace between Japan and China, having performed multiple times in China and refusing to take a public stance on any contentious political issues.
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23	NOT related to YoyoPlotPoint, though if his film auteur aspirations ever became successful, who knows?
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25	Tropes relating to or included in ComicBook/BloodRedDragon, the ComicBook featuring his AuthorAvatar are to be listed on that page. They are NOT to be listed on this page, which deals with the real artist.
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27	Yoshiki's charitable and awareness efforts have become more widely known over 2011: not only has he worked, through the Yoshiki Foundation, to raise funds and help with the Great East Japan Earthquake relief effort, he also has donated money, band memorabilia, and more for the Thailand floods relief effort, and seems to be very concerned for disaster victims especially in the countries which he has visited or to which Music/XJapan has been on tour.
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29	As of 2013, he began a new solo project of playing "classical" instrumental music, primarily rearranges/remixes of his X Japan and Violet UK music written for classical as opposed to covering classical pieces by historically famous composers, having released one album (the aforementioned ''Yoshiki Classical''/''Yoshiki Melodies Classics'') and performed at the Grammy Museum twice - once in August 2013 and another time - to celebrate the museum exhibit devoted to him and announce many of the dates of his planned 2014 solo classical tour - in February 2014. He then performed twice at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March 2014, creating a viral video of himself playing ''Art of Life'' against a ProjectedMan - ''himself.''
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31	He completed a successful solo classical world tour, with concerts in California, Mexico, Russia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan, and has written yet another song for Music/VioletUK, ''Hero,'' which is the theme for the anime film ''Manga/SaintSeiya: Legend of Sanctuary.'' His band Music/XJapan has performed two sold-out shows in Yokohama Arena September 30th and October 1, 2014, as well as a US show at Madison Square Garden in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity.
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33	(His name is, despite every time you may have heard it (mis)pronounced in mainstream media, properly pronounced closer to "Yosh'key" or "Yosh'ki." (those aren't even the exact pronunciations in Japanese, but for English speakers, they are the closest you can get to correct.) It is ''never, ever'' pronounced "Yosheekee," even if he often lets it go or even does it himself. "Yokashi" is only forgiven for Creator/StanLee, and "Yoshi" will make most people wonder why you're talking about the green dinosaur from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''.
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36	!!'''Provides Examples of:'''
37	* ABloodyMess: The "Fake Blood" story from his old myspace blog. Long story short, he walked out of a photoshoot where he was taking a BloodBath and posing with real scratches and tons of fake blood and bandages and wounds, not knowing a minor car accident had happened nearby. An LAPD officer investigating the car accident saw him, and HilarityEnsues.
38	* AceCustom: Yoshiki's studios (first the one he bought from Bob Rock and remade for his own use, then the new one he bought and was involved with almost every aspect of the creation/setup) are a RealLife version of this: while other musicians and other acts can, obviously, be recorded and produced there, the main utility ''is'' for Yoshiki's solo classical works / Music/VioletUK, and Music/XJapan right down to the acoustics and the space arrangement and similar.
39	* AllDrummersAreAnimals:
40	** Though somewhat averted in that Yoshiki managed to create a combined image of fragility and beauty fused with brutality and power rather than being the "big dumb drummer" stereotype.
41	** Played straight in the 2010 video for ''Jade,'' in which Yoshiki is morphed into a CGI werewolf. A little bit of NinjaPirateZombieRobot and mythology fail also applies there, as he seems to identify more with "vampire" than "werewolf" in most of his image...
42	* AssKickingPose: When he stands on his drums before jumping back behind them (or in more recent performances, holds his sticks in the X shape).
43	* AssShove: There is a photoshoot photo from around the ''Jealousy'' era (early 1990s) that is of him standing under a waterfall, performing one of these on himself with his fingers.
44	* AttractiveBentGender: One of the very first VisualKei artists to do this and absolutely succeed at it. Even now that he looks more masculine, the androgyny he still possesses makes him attractive to some (though not to ''very'' heteronormative people...)
45	* AuthorAppeal: CoolCars have often made their way into videos for the band (such as the 2010 version of Rusty Nail), and quite a few of his photographs. He and Music/XJapan also once sponsored a Le Mans race team in TheNineties. %% * AwkwardlyPlacedBathtub: See BloodBath below. There's a bathtub but that's no bathroom...%% * BadassDriver: Played straight in one Music/VioletUK video.
46	* BloodBath: Once took such a bath in fake blood (while fully clothed) during a photoshoot for Fool's Mate magazine and, in the past with X Japan, has written a song about the TropeMaker UsefulNotes/ElizabethBathory entitled "Rose of Pain". %% * BSODSong: ''Art of Life'' for Music/XJapan. ''Without You'' could also qualify.%% * ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: Yoshiki's Music/VioletUK song ''Blue Butterfly.''
47	* DistressedDude: Combine this with {{Dominatrix}} and you have ''White Poem'' PV and live for Music/XJapan.
48	* DoesntLikeGuns: Yoshiki is notably one of the few Japanese rock musicians who has rarely, if ever, posed with even an obvious prop gun nor used firearms or firearm iconography in his personal imagery. He's posed with knives and other weapons and blood, but the absence of guns (especially since guns are the definition of a shocking image in Japan where they are forbidden by law to all but the police and yakuza) is definitely notable.%% *{{Dominatrix}}: These tend to show up in Yoshiki's work occasionally, out of AuthorAppeal.
49	* DramaticShattering: May very well be the king of this trope. [[TrashTheSet Has done it onstage]], in videos for both Music/XJapan and Music/VioletUK, and [[BarBrawl elsewhere]].
50	* EpicRocking: When he tries, it tends to hurt him very badly, but this is the person who brought Art of Life into being. And who, before his injuries got so severe, would perform it AND the rest of a set during shows.
51	** 12 minute drum solo at the Yokohama live August 15th.
52	** Any given drum solo on the North American tour 2010.
53	* {{Fainting}}: He has fainted onstage and/or before/after shows due to anemia, emotional overload, exhaustion, or faking it onstage for the sake of drama, or some combination of all of the above.
54	* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: He plays into this image so much it has become both a part of his image and MemeticMutation.
55	* GenrePopularizer: VisualKei alongside Music/BuckTick, Music/SeikimaII and D'erlanger, and the first to name VisualKei as such as listed below. Arguably alongside others such as Music/{{Loudness}}, Anthem, and Rosenfeld, Japan's heavy metal scene in the 1980s.
56	* GodivaHair: Accomplished this in ''Nude,'' with extensions added to his already long hair, to make his hair reach his feet.
57	* GriefSong: Tears, which was written for Yoshiki's father who committed suicide when Yoshiki was 10, and then rededicated to hide. Without You, which was written for hide. Also a very common theme in his Music/VioletUK work.%% HamToHamCombat: With Creator/{{Gackt}}.
58	* IAmTheBand: For Music/VioletUK, Yoshiki is the only permanent member.
59	* {{Iconic Item}}s: His acrylic "crystal" drumkit and piano.
60	* InJoke: [[http://a-pinkspider.tumblr.com/post/7831887647/rockn-roll-party-august-8-2007-ok-i-wrote RICE MONSTER!]] Also, the "piano guy." As of TheNewTens, bananas.
61	* KimonoIsTraditional: The Yoshikimono fashion shows/kimonos, which he actually said he got into doing because it is his family's tradition - being kimono makers, and as the oldest son he wanted to give back to his obligation in a way.
62	** Also known for wearing kimono (front-tied ones...) onstage, and for wearing a lot of other traditional costuming - though he usually goes for the female type of it out of androgyny. For example, at X Japan's world tour stop in Bangkok, Thailand, he wore a traditional Thai women's dress.
63	* KungShui: Once caused so much damage via BarBrawl and so much damage while drunk otherwise that he was banned ''by name'' from several Tokyo bars, drinking establishments, hotels, and restaurants, the ban only being removed once he was rich enough to pay for any damages on the spot and famous enough that "having your bar destroyed by Yoshiki" was a ''good'' thing. Also well-known for [[TrashTheSet smashing up the stage]] and grabbing random objects and throwing or running with them...
64	* MaleFrontalNudity: SubvertedTrope: Yoshiki has an infamous photo book entitled "Nude." However, due to the photo book being shot and primarily sold in Japan, which at the time (and currently) insists on at least token censorship for male genitalia, he has a sheet and lighting covering it in every pic where it could possibly be seen. %% * ModestyBedsheet: This was how he covered himself in "Nude."
65	* MoustacheDePlume: ''Inverted,'' his alias of "Hitomi Shiratori."
66	* JustForFun/OneMarioLimit: If you're a Japanese musician named Yoshiki, just ''try'' to not have people confuse you with the most famous one. Even people who were active before/contiguously with when ''this'' Yoshiki became famous (e.g. the guitarist of Guitar Wolf) often get confused.
67	* OneSteveLimit: The above has resulted in many modern artists altering the spelling or capitalization or pronunciation, adding their last names, or otherwise doing something to try to differentiate themselves, ''especially'' if they play the same instruments or are composers.
68	* PopStarComposer: How he first became known in the US outside of existing X Japan fans - he's signed on to several film music and soundtrack projects.
69	* ProjectedMan: Created one of these ''of himself'' for the 2014 South By Southwest Flaunt Magazine party performance - playing ''Art of Life'' in a piano "duel" against it - which became a viral video and likely got him more publicity than anything else in the world at large.
70	* RagingStiffie: The ''mokkori'' pics. Around ten official photos (some being selfies) that tend to circulate on fandom communities.
71	* RatedGForGangsta: His classical solo career seems to be taking this turn, as he wishes to be serious and appeal to a wide demographic, which frequent use of the ClusterFBomb, IntercourseWithYou songs, and ShockRock tropes generally ''don't'' help, at least in the traditional view. Whether he will continue on with the process of remaking his image, or try to fuse classical to rock more as he's mentioned wanting to do (and therefore potentially bring in the rock demographic, while taking the risk of spurning more traditional classical fans), no one knows.
72	* RecordProducer: Creator/ExtasyRecords. Among bands he has produced at one point or another: Music/LunaSea, Music/TokyoYankees, Music/Glay, Abandoned Pools, Kidney Thieves, Music/DirEnGrey.
73	* RockersSmashGuitars: Smashing his drums/drum kit is a pretty common part of Yoshiki's shows...
74	* SecretIdentity: Has had a few. "Gary Yoshiki," and "Hitomi Shiratori" (overlapping with an inversion of MoustacheDePlume) are two of the ones he's used in the past.
75	* ShowerScene: A photoshoot exists where he's taking a shower fully clothed.
76	* SittingSexyOnAPiano: There is a picture from at least one concert of Yoshiki lying back on his piano with his legs spread.
77	* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: Yoshiki's occasional reaction to stumbling upon his haters.
78	* SomethingAboutARose: Yoshiki and Music/XJapan often have a lot of rose motifs. This is also AuthorAppeal for Yoshiki as he has mentioned maintaining a rose garden at his home.
79	* SunglassesAtNight: He wears sunglasses almost all the time, to the point that seeing his eyes is considered rare.
80	* ThreeMinutesOfWrithing: ''White Poem'' for Music/XJapan in both the PV and the live is one example, but he tends to do this either on his drum kit, on the stage, or in the audience at ''any given live show.'' And for more than three minutes, too...
81	%% * TrashTheSet: He was and is one of the more notorious Visual Kei musicians for doing this.
82	* TropeMaker: VisualKei
83	* TropeNamer: VisualKei
84	* {{Uke}}: One of the first VisualKei musicians to either incorporate what would later be considered "typical uke traits" into his persona, or simply to just have a bunch of the traits that would [[OnceOriginalNowCommon later be attributed to stereotypical "ojou" yaoi ukes]].
85	** One of his most famous {{fanservice}} photoshoots is him as uke to Atsushi Sakurai of Music/BuckTick, who is playing the role of seme.%% * VampiresAreSexGods: One of the competitors for this in VisualKei.%% * VerbalTic: Has a tendency to say "I mean" a lot in his sentances in interviewes where he's speaking English.
86	* WorkoutFanservice: There's a pic he posted with him working out, with possibly real scratches still on his chest from a photoshoot.
87	* YouCanBarelyStand: Yoshiki has a habit of playing until he injures himself, playing through injuries, and continuing to play despite severe exhaustion.

Context Music / YoshikiHayashi