Visual kei

Visual kei
Fans cosplaying as members of visual kei band Malice Mizer
Stylistic origins	Glam rock shock rock heavy metal punk rock gothic rock progressive rock alternative rock electronic pop
Cultural origins	Early 1980s, Japan
Subgenres
Eroguro kei
Local scenes
Nagoya
Other topics
Japanese popular culture Japanese street fashion

Visual kei (Japanese: ヴィジュアル系 or ビジュアル系, Hepburn: Vijuaru kei or Bijuaru kei, lit. "Visual Style"^[1]), abbreviated v-kei (V系, Bui kei), is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of Bounce wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it "revolves around the creation of a band's unique worldview and/or stylistic beauty through visual expressions in the form of makeup and fashion".^[2] While visual kei bands can be of any music genre, it is generally associated with glam rock, punk rock, and heavy metal.^[3][4]

Visual kei was pioneered by groups such as X Japan, Dead End, Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, and Color, and gained further notoriety in the 1990s through the success of groups like Luna Sea, Glay, L'Arc-en-Ciel, and Malice Mizer. The movement's success continued through the 2000s with Gackt and more musically broad bands such as Dir En Grey, the Gazette, Alice Nine, Girugamesh, and Versailles, a period which some critics term "neo-visual kei" (ネオ・ヴィジュアル系). Many acts tone-down their appearance upon achieving mainstream success, calling into question whether they are still to be considered visual kei.