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JROCK ANIME
Note: This is one of my really long entries again. Hey, we were overdue! ^_~
Most people in Japan today would never even think of relating the rock music and animation franchises, but in the (mostly English-speaking, mostly internet-based) fandoms of the West, there has been an enormous amount of integration between the two. Anime fans speak of their favorite shows and their favorite Japanese musicians in the same sentence. Jrock bands appear at anime conventions all over the United States. Fanfiction writers crossover anime characters with their favorite jrockers. The list goes on and on.
The reason for this? Speaking as someone who "crossed over" into the jrock fandom from the anime one, I'd have to say that it's purely because Japanese is as Japanese does in the Western world. Meaning, anime and jrock fans outside of Asia (and perhaps some even in Asia but not in Japan) are a minority, and searching on Google for "Japan" will eventually lead you to jrock sites as well as anime sites. What I've noticed is that jrock tends to "snatch" people away from anime fandom, and that jrock fans are usually (not always, but this is many times the case) anime fans who have watched all the major series, have been fruitlessly searching for "new" anime to watch, have grown enamored of Japanese culture and the language, and many times, are on the hunt for "bishounen."
Being a male jrock fan myself, I can't say the last reason applies to me, but the vast majority of online anime and jrock fans are female. Visual kei bands, with their "bishounen" look, are major draws for female anime fans who need some new pretty boys to focus their attention on. The exploration of the rest of the jrock world soon follows, and I have noticed remarkable similarities between anime fandom and jrock fandom - cliques and rings, fanfiction, multiple shrines to a particular band member (you hardly ever see that in Western music fandom), and so on and so forth.
As the anime and jrock fandoms are so alike, I decided that it wasn't ALL coincidence and that the two, even though they're not considered as close in Japan as I said above, should meet in the middle SOMEWHERE. Many anime have jrock songs as opening/ending themes (L'Arc~en~Ciel's Blurry Eyes for "DNA^2," Driver's High for "GTO", and Niji and The Fourth Avenue Cafe for "Rurouni Kenshin," Glay's Survival for "Kaikan Phrase," X Japan's X and Forever Love for the "X" movie, etc) but that's only scratching the surface. There are in fact a few anime that have attempted to cash in on the booming music franchise in Japan and feature jrock bands in the main title roles. Below, I've highlighted the main four that I've found.
MACROSS 7
[Note: Macross 7 is my favorite anime and probably my favorite thing in the whole entire world (yes, more than jrock) so this entry might sound a little...biased ^^;]
Concept by: Shoji Kawamori
Number of episodes: 49, movie, 1 unaired episode, 2 specials, OVA
Availability: Fansubs
Claim to fame: last installment in the popular Macross anime saga
Link: [shameless self-plug] My Macross 7 website, Totsugeki Love Heart
The Music: Fire Bomber's music is entirely sung by real life jrock band Humming Bird, with the indomitable Fukuyama Yoshiki on guitar singing Nekki Basara. Fukuyama is an amazing vocalist with some awesome guitar skills. The music style is more a throwback to the older 80's style, but is definitely memorable.
Band: Fire Bomber
Members: Nekki Basara [vocal/guitar], Mylene Jenius [bass], Ray Lovelock [keyboard/leader], Veffidas Feaze [drums]
You'll like Fire Bomber if you like: Red Warriors, Boowy, Siam Shade, B'z, Glay
Song recommendations: Totsugeki Love Heart, Holy Lonely Light, Remember 16, Kimi ni Todoke, Submarine Street, My Friends, Planet Dance, Angel Voice, Light the Light
Out of these four anime, Macross 7 is the only one that is a shounen anime, or directed towards a male audience. It's the continuation of the enormously popular Macross series, which, along with the Gundam franchise, is one of the two most popular sci-fi mecha anime series in Japan. You might know Macross if you ever watched Robotech when you were a little kid. The first part of Robotech was the animation of the original Superdimensional Fortress Macross (they changed the dubbed script to segue into the next part of Robotech which was not related to Macross at all).
Macross 7 is set in the year 2045 and follows the adventures of the band Fire Bomber, a unit struggling to make their name aboard the colony ship Macross 7, sent from the Earth to explore and colonize the center of the galaxy. The band is made up of headstrong guitarist Nekki Basara, his fiery, sarcastic bassist counterpart, Mylene Jenius (the daughter of the mayor and captain of the Macross), keyboardist and leader Ray Lovelock, and the silent Zentradi drummer, Veffidas Feaze. The plot of the anime revolves around Basara's Veritech fighter, the state of the art VF-19 Kai Fire Valkyrie, and what a penniless musician is doing with such a piece of expensive and rare machine, as well as space aliens, epic battles, appearances by many of the SDF Macross/Robotech cast, and of course, great music.
The point that Macross 7 tries to drive home with its jrock band is the ability of music to move the emotions. Macross has long been an anime with music as a central theme, but Macross 7 takes this theme a step further by using music as the "weapon" with which the Macross citizens defeat their enemy. Fire Bomber's songs and Basara's voice are discovered to have the power of "anima spiritia," the most powerful energy in the universe, and while this sounds corny, it makes for some really awesome and emotional music sequences. The story takes you on a truly epic journey of across space, time, and song while the characters discover their own inner strengths and abilities and, most importantly, what music means to them individually. If you're in any way a jrock fan and like mecha anime, Macross 7 is not an anime to be missed.
KAIKAN PHRASE
Concept by: Shinjo Mayu
Number of episodes: 44
Availability: 1-24 fansubbed
Claim to fame: produced RL jrock band Lucifer, whose members all named themselves after their anime counterparts except vocal Makoto
Link: Kaikan Phrase
The Music: If you've heard Lucifer's music, you've pretty much...uh...heard it all. The RL band plays all the music except for the first opening theme, which is Glay's Survival, and the various ending themes (by FEEL, Transtic Nerve and e.MU)
Band: Lucifer
Members: Sakuya [vocal], Atsuro [lead guitar], Yuki [rhythm guitar/leader], Towa [bass], Santa [drums]
You'll like Lucifer if you like: uh...Lucifer? ^^;; I can't think of any band they really sound like...Transtic Nerve or Zeppet Store, perhaps.
Song recommendations: Datenshi Blue, Midnight Crow, Dakishimeru Hoka ni Nani ga Dekirun Darou, Silent Melody, C no Binetsu
Based on the manga of the same name, the Kaikan Phrase ("Ecstasy Phrase") anime is much less blatantly shoujo than its print counterpart, but with its lineup of pretty male band members, shoujo imagery, and many opportunity for yaoi-minded fangirls to run wild with their imaginations, it's definitely a shoujo anime. Unfortunately, there are only 24 episodes fansubbed and it doesn't look like the fansubber who did them is going to finish any time soon. So unless you have some opportunity for getting these either in Hong Kong or Japan, you're out of luck as to the rest of the 44 episodes.
Kaikan Phrase begins with the band Crime, of which Santa and Yuki are members. Santa discovers that his girlfriend, the vocalist of the band, has been cheating on him with the bass player, and he leaves the band in a fit of rage. Yuki leaves with him, and the two of them plot to form their own band, a band which will be the "greatest band Japan has ever seen." After a little wrangling, they manage to snag bassist Towa, who is dissatisfied with his current role as more of a model than a musician in his visual kei band Neon. High school student and kick ass guitarist Atsuro also joins, and his sister Yuka becomes their manager. But what is a shoujo manga without a tall, dark, and handsome "bishounen"? Half-American blue-eyed singer and pianist Sakuya is discovered by Yuki playing piano at a hotel lounge. The members declare Sakuya to be the best pianist and vocalist they've ever heard (no comment from me XD), but Sakuya declares that being in a band is a waste of his time. The band has other troubles as well. Atsuro is kicked out of his house because his parents don't approve of his decision to quit school and join a band. Yuki, Noh performer and the heir to the Todou house, struggles with his filial duty and his role as band leader. And Sakuya, of course, is trying to deal with his tragic past.
More than anything, Kaikan Phrase offers a fascinating look at the underground world of indies jrock. You'll get an inside look at the rise and fall of livehouses, the lengths a band will go to to get a gig, the indies production world, and the rivalries of various bands, though the latter is probably more of a plot device than anything. The members' trials and tribulations as they try to make it big will stir any jrock lovers' sympathies. There's plenty of fan service and angsty bishounen moments for the girls and lots of guitar and bandspeak for the guys, and as long as you don't try to take it too seriously, Kaikan Phrase is a great anime for all.
GRAVITATION
[thanks to Quicksilver and Zoi no Miko with help on this section]
Concept by: Murakami Maki
Number of episodes: 13, OVA
Availability: Fansubbed
Claim to fame: shounen-ai anime and proud of it!
Link: Dare to Dream
The Music: More J-poppish than true jrock, the Graviation music is nonetheless very well done, with a techno edge. The vocalist is outstanding and the arrangements are catchy. Two of the members of Nittle Grasper - Ryuichi and Tohma - are based off two of the members of three-member band "Iceman". The third member of Iceman was the basis for Bad Luck's guitarist, Hiro.
Band: Bad Luck, Nittle Grasper
Members: Bad Luck - Shindou Shuichi [vocal], Nakano Hiroshi [guitar], Fujisaki Suguru [synthesizer]
Nittle Grasper - Sakura Ryuichi [vocal], Ukai Noriko and Seguchi Tohma [keyboard]
You'll like Bad Luck/Nittle Grasper if you like: Aikawa Nanase, Globe, Do As Infinity, Dreams Come True, Kinki Kids, Lazy Knack
Song recommendations: Sleepless Beauty (Nittle Grasper's Trademark), Spicy Marmalade, Shining Collection, The Rage Beat, Glaring Dream
Gravitation is a 13 episode series with a two part OVA, based off a manga of the same name by Maki Murakami, it's basically a love story between a rock singer, Shindou Shuichi, and a writer, Eiri Yuki. The story is heavily shounen-ai, makes no bones about it, and while it's cute at times, has enough angst, drama, and romance to keep the fangirls drooling.
Shuichi wants his band he has formed with his best friend Nakano Hiroshi to be one of the best. The band's called Bad Luck, and Shuichi's having some bad luck at the time, since he's got writer's block and can't write a song he needs, despite having a major show. He happens to run into Eiri Yuki in a park, who gets a hold of the lyrics, and things spiral from there. Yuki is cold, arrogant and very hard to understand, while Shuichi is outgoing, honest, and puppylike. Probably the only ting they share is a sense of determination to get what they want� and they end up wanting each other. Shuichi's idol is a band called Nittle Grasper, which broke up three years prior. Nittle Grasper gets mixed up in the tale because Tohma, his producer, was the keyboardist, and Sakuma Ryuchi, the singer for the band, ends up becoming fascinated with Shuichi after singing once with him to pull him out of a jam. Shuichi and Ryuichi are very similar in personality� both are innocent, but have the capability of transforming into something magical onstage. Ryuichi's more known for this, being the legend.
Gravitation is also an exploration into the side of jrock fangirls always dream about but usually are unable to find any concrete facts on other than the occasional live fanservice. An unmistakibly shounen-ai anime, Gravitation takes the overtones that have always been inherent in jrock, especially visual kei, and turns them into reality. This anime will probably appeal 99% to females, but if you're a guy who likes shounen-ai, this is probably for you also.
WEISS KREUZ
Concept by: Koyasu Takehito/Project Weiss
Number of episodes: 24, OVA, new series "Gluhen" unfinished
Availability: Fansubbed
Claim to fame: singing seiyuu
Link: Aya no Weiss Kreuz Corner
The Music: There is no band in Weiss Kreuz the anime, but the seiyuu who perform the voices of the four Weiss characters formed a short-lived music unit, performing in various concerts and releasing a few CDs, singles, and drama CDs with original songs. Weiss also sings all the opening and ending songs to the anime/OVA.
Band: Weiss
Members: Koyasu Takehito, Seki Tomokazu, Miki Shinchiro, Hiro Yuuki
You'll like Weiss if you like: Weiss the anime. Seiyuu. Uh...yeah.
Song recommendations: Velvet Underworld, Last In My Winds, Shindemo Ii, Honeyrider, Living in the Pleasure World, Suicide Seaside, It's Too Late, Beautiful Alone
If you've been on the internet long enough, you've probably at least heard of Weiss Kreuz, the infamous "flower-shop assassin" anime. While shoujo in character design and plot, Weiss contains action sequences enough to entertain male fans as well. But what I want to do here is not focus on the plot, but the music. As I mentioned above, the anime has nothing to do with either music or a band, but I suppose the seiyuu of Aya, Ken, Youji, and Omi fancy themselves as singers, because they put together a four-man song unit during the course of the show, known as (surprise) Weiss. Though, in my opinion, not all of them can sing, they've managed to put out some great songs with their backup band Mind Dive.
All four of them sing on some of the songs, but there are also individual "image songs" for each of them, playing as their respective anime characters and cosplaying their characters at lives. Most of the Weiss songs are angsty, as befits an angsty anime, but there are a few bouncy, fun ones, and there are some memorable melodies, like Beautiful Alone, that still catch me even today, four years after I first saw the anime and three years after I left the Weiss fandom. It's that kind of anime with that kind of music, I guess. ^_^
You'll probably recognize the name Koyasu Takehito as well. Koyasu formed a band called Zazel after Weiss disbanded and they've released a few CDs in the past few years.
- Gerald -
- Comment -
It's 03:08 a.m., and Kaoru's still playing air guitar.
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