Just a random question I got today from a friend who “caught me” listening to japanese rock. If someone would ask you who are the “big old three” classic bands when it comes to jrock/vk, which ones would it be?
I would personally say DeG, Mucc and Gazette. I would love to insert Glay instead of Gazette and I know this is super personally there are not many Glay fans here, but Gazette still takes the spot. And you? Is my answer “generic” and boring?
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Buck-tick, x Japan, luna sea
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DIR EN GREY, X Japan, Buck-Tick.
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Old is so subjective. I don’t know if you’d go proto-kei with DEAD END, X JAPAN, D’ERLANGER or not. Top four is realistically more appropriate since you literally can’t leave BUCK-TICK out.
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Really depends on the definition of old.
I’d probably go with the “younger” ones and say Dir en Grey, The GazettE and Malice Mizer (or more to my personal taste D’espairsRay instead of MM).
But “X, Luna Sea, Buck-Tick” is also completely valid answer.
But since I joined in 2004 I’d go with the first one.
Btw, I think generic and boring is the correct way to answer that kind of question 
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X, Luna Sea, Glay and L’arc have made the biggest business over the years, and while Buck-Tick could’ve gone in for sentimental reasons, I’ve sort of seen them as slightly pre-dating vk as well as starting out and venturing out of it – and lasting for much longer than the aforementioned bands who were nearly contemporaneous.
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At this point, I feel like 80/90s are ancient, 2000s is old. Just how time works
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Lord don’t say that shit.
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Since now im not an usual jrock enjoyer, I’m an ancient jrock researcher… sounds cool
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Three are difficult to pick but if four of all time that have influenced the scene massively, it’s X JAPAN, LUNA SEA, GLAY, and L’Arc-en-Ciel.
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Ok i’ll join!
2000s; Dir en grey, The GazettE, Naitomea
Kote Kei; Buck-Tick, Luna Sea, l’Arc
(Malice Mizer is their own thing imho)
Visual Shock Era: X, and idk maybe D’erlanger, Dead End, but idk this time very well
For 2010s i’d guess maybe… Royz, Mejibray, ahhh Daizystripper?
But these are all not “my favourite / best” bands, just trying to guess a ‘big 3’ which in my mind means most permeation, consistency, and recognizability. No Osare, no Nagoya, just middle of the road, who runs the middle to the most attention?
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I think it depends on how old we are, and how long we are in the subject? My personal old but gold was back in 2007, but for younger people mucc or gazette are the peak of the old school scene. A decade after I will surely see people who will call xaa-xaa or dadaroma “that nice old band we should recommend to the beginners”… and my aging brain will be mumbling about the young friends who will never understand how beautiful is b-t’s angelic conversation 
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It depends on how you define the ‘big three’. But here’s my offering:
Buck-Tick, Malice Mizer, Dir en grey
Each of them changed the genre, have been highly influential and are still crazy popular.
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We’re all interpreting the question differently (which is why i’m enjoying this thread) - it seems like your answer is to a question like “who challenged/inspired the most artists the most?”
Bc there’s just about zero overlap in the sound/style of those three, but they all make crazy changes from one album to the next, never sound like anyone else, and seem to have the most bands calling their inspirations
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80s~90s X Japan, Buck Tick, Luna Sea
90s Malice Mizer, L’arc~en~ciel, La’cryma Christi
00s Dir en grey, Gazette, Mucc
10s Royz, Mejibray, DID?
and that’s all my brain can muster atm 
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Plastic Tree is THE TREE!
btw, the “big old tree” of J-Rock/Visual Kei isn’t just about “bands” popularity, it’s split by eras, styles, and the massive shift in global cultural influence from the world before the internet, through the early online chaos, and into the hyperconnected now.
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I’d also say b-t, luna sea and x japan. I’d also squeeze l’arc in there if i could get a 4th in.
the big three to me would mean something like legendary status.
As popular and inspirational as deg, mucc, gazette are, they’re not at the same level. And they’re not that old either, lol.
BOOWY, B-T and LUNA SEA
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Where do the four heavenly kings fit into this topic?
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Which one is the mongoose