Japan-O-Vasion

Third Edition : The Muses of J-Pop Invade! (run for your lives!!)

Holy pop stars otaku! Japanese musicians are just cropping up everywhere these days. You can’t crack open your favorite manga with out catching some artist making a sneaky little cameo, or watch your newest anime without hearing some J-Rocker (or Popper) crooning the background. And have you ever had the sneaking suspicion you’ve seen your video game character in a J-Pop fansite gallery before? No you’re no imagining it, Japanese artists are everywhere, even on that milk carton you’re drinking directly out of. Gross dude, you can make people sick doing that. Didn’t anyone teach you manners?
Okay so maybe Hyde and Yoshiki aren’t on the missing photo of your milk carton, but they might as well be! (And no it’s not because they were kidnapped by crazed fan girls you silly nave!) But Japanese pop and rock stars seem to be everywhere you look now and days. I’ve noticed recently how saturated my mangas, animes, and video games are with Japanese singers. I don’t know if anyone else has notice this interesting (and cute!) trend but if you haven’t I have one question: WHAT ROCK HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER FOR THE PAST YEAR?!
Let me give you all just a brief description of the artists I’ve noticed cameo in my favorite mangas. We’ll start out with the most blatant use of a J-Rock in a manga, Ko Ya-Seong’s Under the Glass Moon. Anyone who’s even peeked at the book and has any working knowledge of Malice Mizer (shame on you if you don’t!) can quickly guess who I’m talking about. Madame Batolli is clearly, undeniably, and unmistakably modeled exclusively after our loveable (*cough* and frightening *cough*) Mana-sama. (I dare not use “Mana-chan” lest he hunt me down and whip me. I’ve seen the Illuminati PV people and I know he won’t cringe from a little bloody work!). Ko Ya-Seong confessed that the Madame was definitely Mana, the former guitarist of Malice Mizer and more recently Moi Dix Mon. When I first saw Madame B. I totally cracked up. I thought it was awesome to see that even in a Korean manga, or mangwa, there was so clearly a J-Rock influence. But as I went on in the series (sadly only two books L ) that J-Rock artists were popping up like daisies all over the place! In the first book on page 32, the Christmas party, check out the hotdog vender and hum this little ditty to yourself, Les Mizerables. BINGO! We have a confirmed Gackt sighting! That’s right my Camui fanatics, it’s your musical god all decked out in his ‘Dark Prince’ outfit from the Mizerable PV. And if you scan page 32 again you’ll catch the elusive Izam, heart inscribed with name included, chatting it up with Madame Batolli. Oh my little lovelies, it doesn’t conclude there. Hohoho, oh no! We still have book two! Unfortunately, with all my J-Pop stalking I could only find you one obvious J-Rocker. Madame Batolli’s forbidden love, Hakuei from Penicillin. On page 68 of volume two, Madame confides in Leila Franks that if a love potion really existed, Hakuei would be her’s already. Aww, poor Hakuei! But Ko Ya-Seong isn’t the only manga-ka spicing up the manga scenes with cameos from J-Pop looking doppelgangers.
Check out The Wallflower by Tomoko Hayakawa sometimes. In her authors blurts she writes she model her four bishonen characters after several Japanese musicians, a couple of which are from the indie band Risk. Granted none of the characters personalities are based on these musicians, just some of their looks. And if you like awkward hijinks, macabre humor, and enough bishonen to give you a nosebleed I suggest a box of tissues and The Wallflower for anyone!
Wait, wait, wait you say? There’s still someone in The Wallflower I’m forgetting? No way I’m forgetting that classic cameo baby! Once more the God of Music, aka Gackt, appears in Wallflower. He appears in volume two during the school festival. First on page 15 where he’s teasing poor Kyohei for causing an explosion. It’s not Kyohei’s fault disaster follows him around constantly! Bad Gackt! Stop picking on Kyohei! But Gackt couldn’t just pop in once and be done with it, no way. Try page 39. He flexes his history muscles and gives us all a quick and creepy fact about the school once being the sight of Edo executions. (It’s because you see dead people isn’t it Gackt? Stop it, you’re creeping me out!)
And while we’re on the subject of Gackt, and because I sold my soul to him for a bag of gummy bears, I have to mention Absolute Boyfriend by Yuu Watase. And I also have to admit that I think Absolute Boyfriend is incredibly adorable! But anyways, back to Gackt, if you’ve ever read Absolute Boyfriend you all know who Night is. And for you who haven’t (first you didn’t know Malice Mizer and now you don’t know about Night?! Shame upon you and your family! Shame, shame, shame, shame! The Gackt Goddess will smite you for your blasphemy against the Camui!) Even though you’ve all probably already figured it out I still have to say it: Night is modeled after Camui Gackt. And isn’t he so hot? I think Night is totally kawaii! And the fact he’s always undressing suddenly is hilarious! I couldn’t stop laughing the first time I read Absolute Boyfriend in Shojo Beat Magazine. I’m addicted now and my sides hurt real bad from all the giggling.
Let me apologize and warn those of you reading on from this point who aren’t Gackt fans. I realize a lot of people out there can’t stand Camui Gackt’s music, voice, movies, face, whatever and I don’t hold it against you. You’re decision, your life, I won’t try and convince you otherwise. Personally I think Camui Gackt is a great singer and I feel inspired by his music. Please just stop reading this right now if you can’t stand another minute of Gackt cause there’s going to be about a gazillion more mentions of him from here on out. For the rest of you who are intrigued or are Gackt fans I encourage you to continue reading this article and join this group started by the Gackt Goddess, Nora-san: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/gacktnights/ . Okay that was my warning / plug for Gackt Nights. Back to my intensive stalking, err, I mean J-Rock spotting.
I haven’t actually seen Gackt or a Gackt look alike in any animes, and if there is go ahead and give me a shout out! But I know of two animes that have Gackt openings and closing. The opening for the Fist of the North Star series is and the closing is Oasis, both by Gackt. As well the closing of Texyholica is Uta no Tsuki, or “Song of the Moon” by Camui Gackt. If I’m missing any just drop me a line and remind me.
Finally we come to video games, one of my favorite topics! I know you guys probably don’t believe me but I am a huge girl gamer. If I had the chance I would so join the Frag Dolls, though I doubt I’d be on par with most of them. I love gaming but I’ll be the first to admit I’m not always the best gamer. But still here’s my record is Bujingai: Forsaken City beaten in four days (most likely something like 26 or 28 hours but I had to take time to go to work, eat, sleep, and go to school so it had to be broken up into four days) without cheats or strategy guide. And wanna know the coolest part? Yep, it had Gackt! The main character of the game, Lau, is not only modeled after Gackt but Gackt did all of Lau’s voice acting and motion capturing. As an added bonus you can collect gold coins throughout the game to unlock certain goodies like an interview with Gackt, the press conference to announce the game’s release, Gackt’s motion capture session, and a clothing change from Lau to Gackt. That’s right Dears, you can play as Gackt! I did and it was so hilarious. I found it very amusing, and a tad bit ridiculous, to be running around defeating Ice Dragons and zombie demons dressed in leather pants, a snake skin shirt (isn‘t it snake skin?), and sunglasses. (Personally I thought it would be really great if they had a second wardrobe change to Gackt’s character Sho from Moon Child. Running around in a white trench coat would have been much more convincing then the actually wardrobe change in the game.)
But I can’t mention video games and Gackt without the obvious gamer double that’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Final Fantasy 8’s Squall Leonheart. Even Gackt thinks he got ripped off. When Gackt calls a game character ‘Gackt Two’ you know it look like him!
So there it is, your quick education in Japanese musician cameos in mangas, animes, and video games. So the next time you think someone looks a lot like your favorite singer it could just be a possibility that it is. So keep your eyes open and your ears. Good luck and good night from your favorite Voodoo Doll, Mysse.
Ps: BTW- I realize that I didn’t Gackt’s name a gazillion times in case you were counting but I mentioned it enough to give me a hand cramp! So nya!