I actually hesitate to post this one because I don’t want all three brain cells of the visual kei Twitter consciousness to run with this hot take out of proportion. But it’s one that I also think is worth considering, and as always you know I try to come with some proof and justification for my thoughts.
Anyway, my unpopular opinion is that Kisaki didn’t steal Kyo’s girlfriend.
Now you’re like “this is unpopular” but stick with me to the end. I’m going places. This rumor started because a few observations were tied together and this seemed like the logical conclusion to draw. Let’s go through them:
- Kisaki and Kyo were in several bands together.
- Kisaki and Kyo’s last band together was La:Sadie’s.
- Let’s assume there was some infidelity involving Kyo and his ex around the end of La:Sadie’s and the beginning of Dir en grey.
- It’s been mentioned that “it was the guitarist from one of his older bands” that was responsible for this. Kisaki does play bass guitar.
- They never worked together in another unit again.
I am including 3) because the early lyrics of Dir en grey suggest that Kyo was going through significant emotional trauma. From the lyrics of JEALOUS to the lyrical content of like 85% of GAUZE (which centers around love, loss, and emotions), whatever happened to Kyo was having an effect on him for quite some time.
While it does seem like it all comes together to put the crosshairs on Kisaki, let’s assume for a second that it’s not him. Who else could it be? I went searching and found another guitarist that not only fits the bill, but is far more likely to be the dick donor.
Let’s step back even further and go to a time before La:Sadie’s…to a band named Visnu. Visnu is one of Kyo’s older bands circa 1993. He formed this band with guitarist Seine (聖音), bassist Rei (麗) and drummer Masa. At some point Rei was replaced with eye (目). If you step back to Gesshoku, you can also throw guitarist Shuji into the mix. If you also consider the session band Haijin Kurobarazoku (廃人黒薔薇族), you can include guitarist #4 (ふぉー).
Any further than that has incomplete information and is a bit of a stretch to consider with what I’m about to say, so let’s consider this as our potential candidates. After Masquerade, Kyo went to form La:Sadie’s and #4 (ふぉー) and Seine (聖音) went on to form STELLA MARIA. STELLA MARIA and La:Sadie’s were active at around the same time and members had been in past bands, so it’s not an unreasonable stretch to assume that these bands were close. In fact, they even performed together at least once:
Eagle eyed fans will notice that this particular concert was within the last month or so of La:Sadie’s activity. It’s also the last concert that La:Sadie’s and STELLA MARIA played together. DIR EN GREY and STELLA MARIA played exactly one concert together, and this isn’t going to torpedo the point I’m making either. In fact, it makes it even stronger.
Also note that at no point did I say that we know that it happened before La:Sadie’s disbanded. I said it happened around the end of La:Sadie’s and the beginning of Dir en grey. This particular concert at CLUB QUATTRO happened after the demo recording of “Karma / Aoi Tsuki”, but before the release of MISSA and JEALOUS. In fact, these two concerts are only two months apart!
So if you are a bit flexible with the timeline and you’ve been following the clues so far, then you too might have come to the conclusion that the mystery man in question is Seine (聖音). He’s been in the most bands with Kyo (spanning several years in fact) so no doubt they were friends at one point. There were plenty of opportunities for Kyo, Kyo’s ex, Kisaki, and Seine to be in close proximity, on and off the stage. He’s a guitarist. He fits every point in the description we can come up with.
Considering that STELLA MARIA didn’t disband until 1999/06, it’s actually quite interesting that DIR EN GREY and STELLA MARIA never played more than one concert together. It’s entirely possible that The Infidelity happened sometime after this concert, with seeds being planted for several weeks to months prior to that. Kyo wasn’t really cruising down Heartbreak Highway until MISSA anyway - the lyrics to I’ll and Erode pop into my mind instantly - and then sometime after GAUZE I guess he got over it, because the lyrics to MACABRE are much more diverse in nature.
As to why I think La:Sadie’s broke up…I think it’s because KISAKI didn’t want to go major and the others did. Dir en grey went from new indie band to signed to a major label and working with YOSHIKI in two years. The intent to get big was always there for them. Kisaki, on the other hand, has been in so many indie bands featuring members that have gone on to be famous in their own right. He even ran UCP - a label dedicated to finding indie talent! He had multiple chances to go major and he never took them, so I can only conclude it’s because that’s not what he wanted.
There are also some clues on vk.gy that suggest this to be the case:
If they were already planning on winding down activities, then there’s no need for infidelity to be the reason behind the band’s dissolution. Which means there’s no reason to assume it happened strictly before Dir en grey. Which means that there’s very little reason to assume that it’s Kisaki. No need for conspiracies when simple explanations will do.
NOW TWITTER AND REDDIT, PLEASE DO NOT GO WITCH HUNT SEINE FOR SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED BEFORE MOST OF US WERE INTO THE SCENE. IT’S WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE NOW. I AM MERELY WRITING THIS TO BLUNT THE RUMOR THAT KISAKI STOLE KYO’S GIRLFRIEND AND PRESENT A REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE. DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. OR DON’T. I’M NOT YOUR MOTHER.