Spicy.
Between the band’s statement and Aoi’s, sounds like he just went off the rails somewhat. Evidently there’s some dispute between them as to whether he actually left the band last year or not. Sounds like things were left kind of ambiguous or at the very least not done ‘properly’, hence the disagreement about whether he’s been ‘removed’ from the band or left of his own volition.
Oh well. Shit happens. Curious to see whether their plans for new activities do still go ahead after all.
So Reita’s passing was the final straw, and after talking about leaving so many times, Aoi saw no reason to continue here. The promise to keep gazette alive wasn’t one he took upon himself, and that’s fair.
I can’t imagine a three piece gazette. The music had already been sounding stale for a while, and I don’t want them to force something that doesn’t make sense. Will all of these developments bring some innovation to their sound? I can’t imagine that, but I’d love to be proven wrong.
I just don’t want them to drag something along for the sake of it, especially if it’s destroying them inside and out. Reita probably never wanted his final statement to become a burden for the other members.
I’m in the same boat. And i just can’t help but feel like the day Reita died, so did the band.
I imagine that it’s a tough call on all sides. On one hand, I could imagine the remaining members not wanting to call it quits in such an ugly and messy way… and wanting the legacy and the vision of the band to persevere beyond all of this. And on the other hand, I could also imagine them seeing this as devastating to the point of being unsalvageable. It’s rough.
My heart really goes out to all members of the band, regardless of who may or may not be at fault. We may never know the truth of the matter, but I’m sure that all of the parties involved feel that they’re right and justified in their actions. I highly doubt that any of them invisioned themselves being at this junction, but life has a way of throwing us all into situations that we’re not necessarily prepared to deal with.
Part of me thinks they just shouldn’t have been doing what happened yesterday. But that’s just a part, the one that can’t understand no matter what happened exactly, why they did this. There’s way more in me that goes into different directions and since we don’t know it’s just one thought out of countless.
That is how I feel about everything as well. I’m pretty certain there have been mistakes on all sides.
I just wished they’d taken another turn, each of them but what happened happened and can’t be erased. I try to come to terms with what that means for me personally and is something that takes a toll on me right now. It will take time and I just wished (besides wishing this all never happened) it were already over and I had settled on something.
Yeah that was SUPER weird. 46 year old man can have a girlfriend. Thats very normal. I dont understand what is the problem here and why they sharing it?
According to what I know there’s never been anything for any of them.
To me that feels like going together with that “seem available for the gyaru” VK crap. Now coming up with these pictures when he’s been kicked out to get these gyaru against him.
I’ve heard that the way the official statement is phrased basically might result in no other label signing him on. And if that’s true, it feels like this goes far beyond just removing him from the band and not agreeing to the monetary aspect but to put him in his place (not talking about the members but the company).
Btw. because someone asked about it, I think, I came across this tweet.
Aoi said he was on 傷病手当金 (sickness leave). This is a legal type of leave in Japan where an employee has a doctor certify that they’re unable to work. The person’s insurance then pays 2/3 of their salary for some period (usually up to 6 months).
Interesting if true.
If what was preventing the band’s progress was a legit sickness leave and the others members were pressuring him to rejoin that would paint a different picture. But I doubt something like that could happen. If Aoi needs to recover I think the other members would wait for that.
There are many interesting parts.
”我々は the GazettE を存続させるべく、三度にわたり直接の対話を求めましたが、全て拒絶され、代理人を通さなければ連絡すら取れない状態が続きました”
”We, The Gazette, wanting to keep the band alive, wanted to talk to him (Aoi) directly - but he rejected us and unless we hired a third party/representative/agent, we weren’t even able to contact him.”
AOI on X ”私は、昨年4月に、the GazettEの他のメンバーに対し、同年9月末日をもってバンドを脱退する意向を伝えており、同日をもって既に the GazettE を脱退しておりました。したがって、除名処分によって脱退したのではありません”
”I, last year in april, told the other Gazette members, that I wanted to leave the band in September the same year - so I had already told that I wanted to leave the band. Therefore, I was not “removed from the band”.
Continuing AOI「この度、the GazettE のウェブサイトにおいて、私の認識と大きく異なる内容での一方的なリリースがなされてしまい、大変残念に思っています。不当なバンド活動の放棄・妨害活動や、背信行為とされるような行為をしたことは一切ありません
”This time, the information that is released on the The Gazette website is very different from my understanding of the situation, and I feel extremely disappointed by it. I haven’t done anything wrong such as obstructing band activities or betrayed them.”
Maybe it would have been better to just use google translate… but anyway, this is turning out to be “drama” on a whole other level.
It really feels that the best for them would be leave companies, management, PR, etc. aside and talk everything between the four of them…but at this point may be complicated.
i think the leak was done to “show” that he wasn’t really too sick to work, like as in “see? hes just faking sick, look at how he’s out having fun”
Well, maybe. But if he had mental health issues he could go out and have a regular life and still be affected in a way that made him unable to work.
If his mental health issues are real and linked to the band, the photos mean nothing. In general, without context as they are, the pics mean nothing. That can change over time as we may be able to know more but the fact that tailing someone for this and publishing them is distasteful to many can’t be changed.
This is sad, not shocking. Even though I’m not a super fan, I did like their music. I wonder what Aoi was saying about Reita.
yes i’m not saying i agree with the sentiment. i saw people reacting that way in the quote retweets and it seemed to me like the leaker, or whoever’s behind it, anticipated that kind of reaction
Yeah, I get it. I was clearly to harm Aoi’s image and rile up people’s specuation and to that end it’s 100% successful.
…unless it’s a flase flag operation by Aoi to paint the label and the others as creepy-PI-hiring-stalkers 
Definitely Aoi has been struggling since Reita’s death. I would also agree that he has been somewhat of a Diva. However, what he says in the article makes sense. His idea to keep the GazettE alive IS with all 5 members. But when 1 member is not present anymore, then how can we (GazettE) make decisions without Reita. In his mind, it didn’t feel right making decisions without Reita which is why he likely wanted to disband or leave. So unfortunately sad since this likely ruined their relationships with one another.
I can not find the information even after some digging in japanese.
It is possible that they are taking down tweets etc regarding it. My guess is that it might be related to how Reita passed away 
But oh man what a fate for this band… Who could have imagined this when they released bangers 10 years ago.
Except that they are no longer just a band. They have become a huge machine run by a record label with professional obligations. And that ties in with what Aoi says. Not to mention that The GazettE revolves mainly around Ruki, who has a stranglehold on just about everything related to the band’s songwriting and musical direction.
I would bet my life that this is why Aoi wanted to leave the band a few years ago, but stayed for the sake of the band and the other members. Except that since Reita’s death, things are no longer the same.
If I remember correctly Ruki composed every songs of the last album ? Like Aoi must feel there is no space for his songs and his creativity anymore.