Even though some say that rebellion does not exist in Japan, it remains that visual kei is and always has been a subculture, and it’s TOP of mainstream-ness was a LONG time ago - 1995-2005, to be very generous. It’s been downhill since then, and anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves.
Not only will it never become mainstream, it may well shrink into dissapearance - or rather end up in a niche like 80’s hard rock, with some legacy acts still touring (when alive) and playing to tiny crowds of old fans, and a few young bands who try, in all sincerity, to emulate the old style and sound. But it all remains super confidential, and happens to the total indifference of anyone not in the scene.
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def will never become mainstream overseas, tiktok might help get it a little bit of attraction but otherwise visual kei will die by im thinking atleast 2030 at the latest. I dont want vkei to die but its gonna happen
vkei might become more popular in japan again maybe tho, but i dont think it will hit a new peak tho
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I am sure that statement’s gonna age like milk.
It won’t die, it will just stay underground, or go more underground than it already is
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i think thats a better way to explain it but i really do hope that vkei somehow gets a little bit more popular although i doubt its gonna happen
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My comments in this thread in general is largely what I think of both vk’s “longevity” and, in a way, its potential for mainstreaming.
As @zeus puts it here:
“Visual Kei” has already transformed itself several times since its inception and has survived regardless. Unlike constituent parts/traditions aging out, I don’t think the concept as whole will die but keep evolving.
My thoughts have also started to change on this topic thanks to the increasing “Sheeranification” of Japanese mainstream pop hits… Ok, probably not all music is going the way of Ed Sheeran (the term sounded fun in my head), but my ears are picking up more Western pop influence. Is it the newfound itch to compete with their Korean neighbors and shift from purely domestic (or perhaps appeasing the domestic market who is increasingly looking outside)? Is it the cultural exchange of musical ideas and exoticism around Western melodies? Is it the result of social media as a cross-cultural mixing pot? Is it all of the above?
This to me guarantees something, at least with Visual Kei’s musical DNA, will bubble back up in response as the fresh new “thing”, thus becoming mainstream. It might look different, but counterculture and nostalgia-bait are time immemorial. I should also mention that many talented former vk bandmen are lurking in the shadows as producers, composers, arrangers, and lyricists for anison, vtuber, and idol groups. A return to form could be welcome in the future.
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I keep seeing this. But other than a few examples like Mio from Unite, what are the examples? Specifically the huge mainstream ones.
amazuti official web site Member (ex-Purple Stone)
https://www.spvrk.net/creator (ex-Tensai, UNiTE, CLOWD)
CREATORS | KEYTONE (ex-Guild, 9GOATS) (amazuti are listed here too)
For the underground idols:
Gen (ex-AMONOVA) for the group POLARIS
Miel (ex-DatuRA) for the group ANTHURIUM
Kanade (ex-LONDBOY) for ?
Yoshito Abe (ex-xTRIPx) for Schrodinger’s Dog, First Floor, lateral arc, etc.
The bulk of individuals are still what I would consider for vk adjacent alt-idols (hence underground) as either a composer, instrumental performer, or one of the members themselves. You can usually spot them in YT descriptions.
Working off of stuff I’ve spotted over time, but there’s probably way more that I’m ignoring. Doesn’t include major vk artists who’ve dipped in to composing.
Additional Stuff (that’s potentially applicable, have yet to read through them in full):
can u imagine like miyavi recording a drill VK album instead of his current skolnik caca lol tiktok will be clutching their little ratty korean wiggies
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Vkei will never fade away. But with the world so fragmented, and trends coming and going like the wind, it’s not far from possibility that vkei would come back with a bang, but likely to go obscure shortly after. What I’m getting at is everyone has their own little pond and gimmick, something that only feels special to them so those fans and supporters would keep the scene alive.
When even the natives don’t know much about their own countries bands rather than foreigners it makes me think that there’s a concensus on the paradigm shift of culture worldwide, why the sudden interest is a more important question IMHO, but again it’s live venues that would keep bands going rather than merchandise bought by fans abroad. All in all A very uncertain future for this venerable scene.
But… Will JRock ever become mainstream popular? 
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Mike shinoda was going to do a colab with One Ok Rock on a scrapped album so the future seems brighter to me.
Kendrick lamar/Diru collab oh my god.
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I feel the same way as one or two posts above that in Japan I dont see it as obscure or mainstream but somewhere between like the extreme metal scene, its not something the majority of people are invested in but people know it exists at least. Like i have seen comedy shows where they have made references in jokes to VK and everyone gets it.
As for outside of Japan i dont think itll ever really take off mainly due to the language differences… People just cant always relate to stuff they cant understand, doesnt help that Japanese is so absurdly difficult to learn. Haha. I also feel that most acts that are proper mainstream are usually because they appeal to people not necessarily that invested in music generally so people wouldnt take the time to try and understand the Japanese being presented. I mean look at how few acts out there are proper mainstream (outside their own countries) who do not use English hardly at all. Rammstein is the only metal one I can think of off the top of my head. They fill stadiums so would say that qualifies as mainstream enough??
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One day a chance maybe but I feel it would take a lot of time even then a chance.
The real problem at least when I speak to most people here in my country about vkei is just the language barrier to the music. Some actually people care about what the lyrics mean they don’t wanna be listening to something that they don’t understand. They would think it’s cool and are interested but no one would really follow through with it. Me personally I have no preference but that’s not all the time for others.
The move for some vkei bands mixing into the anime scene is smart I feel like vkei belongs with scenes that are fashion based like: emo, Gothic, cosplay etc…) Hence part of how the vkei scene/ genera came to be in some way. Aside from the music itself, fashion and looks is one of the main things for vkei.
The global scenes I would say that vkei has going for them in my opinion is a bit of the metalcore scene with the rise of: the gazette, dir en grey, deviloof and jiluka. Some of the cosplay scene with acme and D=OUT. Also you have in europe with Versailles, Kamijo and other adjacent bands.
I guess if it wasn’t for the some of reasons mentioned above like language barrier etc… we wouldn’t be having the western/global vkei bands out spawning in other countries. This is one of the reason why they exist and there are sure other reasons.
Overall, honestly the only way I see how this would happen in my opinion is if there is enough global vkei or if that gets popular worldwide then it would be something like how it was in the 80s/ 90s in Japan, but on a that scale would be a slim chance of happening. Not to say it’s impossible but pretty unlikely.
Are there any songs by modern (as in currently active) VK bands that yall think would be palatable for the mainstream today?
Any Nozomi-era unite songs have that utaite appeal to it. I mean I could see them standing toe to toe with MafuMafu and and Soraru.
They just need to release songs more frequently to keep the momentum.
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I should probably clarify that my post is solely about “mainstreamification” (like '90s level significance) in the domestic Japanese market and nothing outside of that, now that I’m reading up more comments about international appeal.
Leading into the question about mainstream palatability NOW, I’ll split it out like this:
Mainstream in Japan: Look at ジグザグ and their last album. They were a meta vk band steeped in the culture, and now they’re about as mainstream-friendly as you can get without stripping off the look. That’s what it takes to be mainstream-friendly domestically. Utaite and/or Vtuber adjacency is second on the rung, like covers and collaborations.
Mainstream in the West: For starters, no non-Japanese band will spearhead this, frankly, as most attempts have been lukewarm at best and the aesthetics don’t mesh, unless we’re talking like some evolved e-boy look mayhaps. For just breaking out on top 100 rock charts, I’m thinking bombastic stuff from like Jiluka, Dexcore, etc. that appeal to the “-core” crowd. It would have to go viral for some reason.
Mainstream Everywhere Else: I can’t think where else this could happen that isn’t funneled through Western popularity first. Maybe the Koreans could take the alt-idol concept for a spin and somehow land on vk-lite. Highly doubt this could happen NOW though.
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You guys, I came back to this thread to say, I have now witnessed what I was just explaining about here happen in reality. It’s called vkeitwt and the youngins there are freaking out and mass-blocking/cancelling bandmen over visual shock 
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Oh god… I know a lot of the stuff you described in your intial post from being in the fandom of a horror show. It was one of the reasons I quite twitter. (Btw there is really a trend of new conservatism in younger generation. Iread an article about this just this morning and it absolutely fits wirh what you described. They frame it as progressive but it’s the opposite).
Do have examples of the cancelling? …Just for my morbid couriousity 
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After searching now, it seems they’ve all deleted the tweets LMAO, but this is one I found that’s leftover
https://x.com/sharpestIvs/status/1446377295208460335
Context: They were cancelling Ai from Gulu Gulu for being a “pedophile”(??) because he embraces aesthetics and archetypes like shota and the likes. People do realize that people who engage in these aesthetics are often times survivors of it or just people who like shock value, right? I can guarantee, as a person with real experiences of that sort of trauma, actual pedos don’t make an aesthetic show of it. Unless they’re shameless or not narcissistic enough to care.
Like there was a 10 tweet long ahh thread with “proof”, I’m not fucking with you
EDIT (again): OH NO WAIT, I FOUND ANOTHER x.com
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Yeah, this plague extends far beyond western vktwt and into other fandoms, hobbies, etc. Everyone’s gung-ho about “purity tests”, and any nuance, cultural context, artistic expression/depiction, etc. is chucked out the window. Amazing how crass jokes and edgelord humor was trending in the late '10s and now we’ve done a total 180°. Not to say that’s any better, but everything tends to coalesce around the extremes… Now I’m starting to “we live in a society” jonkler-speak.
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