Origins of the cheki culture in vkei

Japanese Music
1

So I am on Mercari, minding my own business and looking for vkei merchandise. One thing that I noticed is that I could barely see any chekis before 2010 – it was mostly trading photo cards. My earliest cheki is from 2011 by Called Plan. So I went to ChatGPT to help me figure out where all the chekis were before 2010, as the Instax camera was released around 1998.

ChatGPT found an interesting article in Japanese from 2019 because another person started thinking about it, did a research and here we are – チェキはどこから来たの？ - 踊ってから考える

Basically, cheki did seem to appear around 2010 as a vkei trope. Some bands sold them before 2010 as can be seen here https://archive.visunavi.com/date/2006/11/page/11/?utm_source=chatgpt.com, but overall it wasn’t as popular.

So if there’s somebody who lived through the last 3 decades of visual kei could share more knowledge about this, that would be interesting :slight_smile:

2 Likes
2

Have cheki been replaced by those acrylic stands because I see them everywhere.

3

My best guess is it probably really originated with idol culture and then spread to vk, perhaps someone who is more into chika idol groups would know?

I first started buying cheki probably around 2012 off of mbok. The earliest ones I have are from Matenrou Opera’s Gilia tour in 2008.

1 Like
4

I find it so interesting that is is an specifically VK trope. I would have expected it to be transfered from the underground idol scene but it really fits late 2000s vk economy.

5

I don’t think any merch could really replace cheki at this point. Cheki are the easiest to produce, literally on the spot, and probably the most profitable.

5 Likes
6

As ANOMIE said, cheki is so inexpensive and can generate so much added value it’s irreplaceable. Acrylic stands really are everywhere but I’m under the impression it’s limited to bigger or more stablished bands.

3 Likes
7

I feel the acrylic stands are not really here to say as main merch for the future…they feel more generic/mass production and more expensive to do and buy…while the chekis are kind of much more unique/personalized/aforable/profitable. Like, I can imagine one person buying one stand of their fav member, but maybe dozens of chekis.

3 Likes
8

I definitely like the addition of those acrylic stands because the checkies get very easily and fast sold out. Especially for oversea tours for an audience who hardly has a chance otherwise to get any kind of merch those acrylic stands give them the chance to get something with a photo of their favourites member.

1 Like
9

Cheki were absolutely a thing in the 00s already. They were even brought from JP to EU as tour merch. And I know it was specifically because of the excellent profit margins (they were maybe 50 yen or less to make, and you could sell them for 500). The acrylic stands are profitable and trendy right now, but the ease & profit margins are absolutely nothing in comparison.

2 Likes
10

I remember that Polaroid were a thing befor cheki. The change surely has to do something with Polaroid stopping producing films in 2008.

1 Like
11

I think in the 90s, the bands had Bromides on time, so something more close to photo cards instead cheki.

Aren’t cheki basically just Polaroids?

1 Like
12

As I know cheki are Instax from Fujifilm and if I remember right back in the days the size was that typical Polaroid size und suddenly there were chekis used in that thin size we all know so well. But I have to admit, that it’s a time I had no interest in stuff like that.

1 Like
13

Strictly speaking cheki only refers to the fujifilm ones as Masuha said, but it’s become a pretty generic word. Like thermos or something. Polaroid enthusiasts might be more specific that they are using the original brand.

(This is also the sense I use the word. I have no idea if 00s cheki were cheki [tm] in the technical sense, but just that they were instant pictures typically taken on the day of a live.)

1 Like