Mana's Beautiful World is Forever
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Concerto~Aesthetic Bloodline~ by JVM Roses Blood Symphony My Translation
Friday, September 8, 2023
MALICE MIZER 25th Anniversary 25 Questions for Mana
Thursday, September 7, 2023
MALICE MIZER 25th Anniversary 25 Questions for Közi
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
MALICE MIZER 25th Anniversary 25 Questions for Yu~ki
Five years ago I was able to experience something that I never thought would be possible. A concert of a lifetime. Given to us by three musicians who have put their all into the band that they created, MALICE MIZER. Being able to experience their world was a dream come true. That experience was Deep Sanctuary VI. And now that it is 30 years from when they started that world, I present something from the pamphlet from that concert.
25 Questions for Yu~ki
1. What do you think of that many fans still crave MALICE MIZER?
Honor of honors.
2. Of the songs of MALICE MIZER, what song is the one that has a feeling of honor?
A story of malice and tragedy that intersects as many as the number of melodies. (Bara ni Irodora Reta Akui to Higeki no Makuake)
3. Please tell us what you felt was good as MALICE MIZER.
One view of the world.
4. What if you dared to give one regret during the activities of MALICE MIZER?
All the chaos and confusion into the fog of time.
5. What work remains in your impressions of the MALICE MIZER era other than music activities?
Illness of family members.
6. Among the many photo shoots you went to during the MALICE MIZER era, which one did you like the most, which site shot is it?
Eroticism dyed in fresh blood.
7. Can you tell me now, please tell me a secret of the MALICE MIZER activity period?
Yu~ki in emptyness.
8. Have you ever had any significant changes since your days in MALICE MIZER?
My adaptation to this world.
9. Conversely, please tell me what you haven't changed here at all.
My self-quest.
10. What if you were to talk to yoursef during the MALICE MIZER era? (looking back)
It is an eternal moment.
11. Now what are you doing when you are blissful?
I'm between delusion and reality.
12. What is the most annoying event?
An act as a justifiable act.
13. Recently you are addicted, you would like to recommend to fans, please tell me the items?
Moonlight baths.
14. Please let me know what work that remained (thought of) in your mind recently?
Plastic surgery.
15. Recently, please tell us what music you thought was nice.
Heart sound.
16. What do you see Mana as?
Genius.
17. What is Közi seen as?
Que sera sera.
18. What is Kami seen as?
Emotion.
19. What is Tetsu seen as?
Intelligence.
20. What is Gackt seen as?
Belief.
21. What is Klaha seen as?
Lyrics.
22. What is Gaz seen as?
(He was) active.
23. Please tell us what is the theme of what you want to challenge such things from now on?
Ground of sadness.
24. Please tell us the current answer to the proposition that MALICE MIZER had raised?
Love ~Labyrinth to regression~
25. Finally, what is MALICE MIZER for?
Fate ~The sight I saw someday~
Friday, March 17, 2023
Mana Sweat!! File 1
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Interview with Alice Kobayashi, KERA Magazine 26, November 2000
Thursday, November 24, 2022
Monday, March 28, 2022
Venus Fort, Shopping, Food and Cars!
Monday, March 21, 2022
Ryux Kuruchi~Oichi~Video Translation
Friday, March 18, 2022
Mana's Showa 50 Male Interview
Just for Mana's birthday, I've translated another interview. This time it is the article that appeared in Showa 50 Male, Vol.011, released June 11, 2021 (昭和50年男Vol.011). I decided to only translate the main body of the article. I believe most of the text in the purple boxes is informational, about Mana's career. As I've stated before, I'm not a trained translator so please pardon any typo's. And now, the interview.
♱♱♱♱♱♱♱♱♱♱
An unprecedented visual kei boom has arrived!
Mana talks
The truth of the band that overturned common sense
A visual kei that shocked the music scene in the latter half of the 90's with a gorgeous look that transcended the boundaries of men and women. I was there. We approach the break situation.
Interview / text: Tetsuo Yamaguchi
Before the category "Visual Kei" (V Kei) was born, the "makeup band" culture that was underground.
The support base had been expanding since the early 1990s, and popular bands in the indie world such as PENICILLIN, ROUAGE, and Laputa made their major debut in 1996, and they became an over-ground presence. And in 1997, MALICE MIZER, Fanatic Crisis, La'cryma Christi, and SHAZNA, who will be called "Visual Four Heavenly Kings", became major players.
SHAZNA's major debut single "Melty Love" recorded a huge hit with sales of 880,000 copies, and V-kei developed into a social phenomenon. By the way, GLAY's best of album "REVIEW-BEST OF GLAY" won the 1st place in the Oricon annual album ranking of this year. There are probably many men in 1975 who bought a CD and sang at karaoke.
Among the four V-kei heavenly kings who swept the scene in 1997, MALICE MIZER was the most original. Hard rock and heavy metal were the royal road lines in the V-kei at that time, and it was a fairly rigid world, including fierce action on the stage.
Under such circumstances, Malice Mizer emerged as a distinctly different existence in the scene at that time, such as Gothic and aesthetic visual images and songs reminiscent of medieval Europe, and gorgeous stage sets. Therefore, they were called "Ultimate Visual Kei" and "The Ultimate Visual Kei". Like many people, the author, who was a student at the time, was the one who was surprised to hear "What the hell!!" when he first saw MALICE MIZER.
I told Mana, the guitarist who led MALICE MIZER, about that, and he said with a soft smile, " I was shocked by that".
"MALICE MIZER had the theme of breaking the concept of rock. I wanted to do something new in music and visuals, so if I was trapped there, nothing would start. That's why it was formed with the consciousness of an art group rather than a band. Until then, the visual scene was a sports club, but MALICE MIZER was a literary one. I didn't often hang out with anyone. That's partly because I didn't have that kind of constitution (laughs) "
Aiming to be a group of artists who are not bound by the concept of Rock
First of all, we look back on 1997, which is the theme of this time (for the magazine issue) and the year when they made their major debut. "I think I went to shoot a promotional video for the French major debut single for about a week. I think I was busy starting from there, but going to the majors didn't change the flow suddenly. That's because it was a major (label) after making a run-up in indie music. It was a well-established theory that when you go to a major (label), there are various instructions from the record company, but in the case of MALICE MIZER, all of our opinions passed. "
MALICE MIZER had a completely self-produced music video that was rare at that time. Mana was the leader and held the wheel, but at the root of it was a thorough DIY spirit.
"In the indie era, when taking an artist photo, we searched for a location by ourselves, and when we put an advertisement in a magazine, we did the block copy without asking the designer. I basically didn't have the idea to leave it to others".
"For example, a three-band battle against a band, everyone hates top batters. But then, I wanted to do our match first. We were preparing the set ourselves, so we had a reverse rehearsal (rehearsal was in the reverse order of performing, so MALICE MIZER would rehearse last and play first). Then, you can set it during the rehearsal. So I put the pillars of the Parthenon Temple, the trees, the chairs of the European gardening set, etc. I carried all the (stage) sets by myself, so the tour was divided into two high ace units. One for equipment and one for (stage) set. "
The indie era when the uniqueness was immediately accepted was not so (did not happen immediately).
"If they tried (wanted) to listen to rock music, I think there was rejection. But I didn't want to worry about that kind of opinion. When I do something new, criticism always happens. Someone who thinks strangely. I was confused because I wanted to invite people who thought that they had never seen such a world to a world of fantasy and extraordinary life. "
The light and shadow of the unprecedented boom felt by the final weapon of V-kei
In 1997, the name "Visual Kei" entered the living room. But, as always, it's a big boom and at the same time it's distorted. Let's touch the light and shadow that Mana felt in the unprecedented Visual Kei boom.
"At MALICE MIZER Lives, I used to say 'Cosplay is welcome'. Cosplay has become global thing now, but at that time both were underground. I had a desire to do it. Along with that, I also wanted to make Gothic culture take root in Japan. Instead of just wearing flashy costumes, I also added fashion culture to it. I wanted to, so in 1999 I launched a brand called Moi-même-Moitié and launched Gothic & Lolita. As a result, I thought it would take root. "
The V-kei break connected all cultures and the people who gathered there, and became a big movement. Against such light, It seems that Mana has no negative thoughts, that the shadow part does not come to mind.
Only - this was upended. "When I was in high school, I was in a punk band, wearing a red mohawk and a studded leather jacket. As soon as I graduated from high school, I left my hometown, so people knew me at the time. From the point of view of those people, seeing me dressed as a woman to express the world view of MALICE MIZER, 'What?' they probably thought. Various speculations spread, 'Son, what happened ...?' It seems that my parents were confused in various ways (LOL). Was that the only problem? When my band was born, there was a feeling that V-kei had become established as a culture. Many bands were still in turmoil, and some of them are bands that performed live at Nippon Budokan. However, it was a lonely situation, that we (MALICE MIZER) had not been reached (by other bands) by the end of 90's.
"From that time, I thought that there would be no band that exceeds MALICE MIZER in the future. Since we came out, who were proud of being the 'ultimate weapon of Visual Kei', that a band that exceeds that impact would (also) come out. I wonder if it can't be helped that it hasn't been done. "
(I believe Mana was talking about there wasn't a major band in the same vein as MALICE MIZER. X-Japan, and other bands like them were major bands but they did not create a performance on stage.)
During Mana's in-debut, Mana repeatedly said, "I don't really care about things around me." This was Mana's apology, which included Mana's self, but in the world today, it may be too buzzing, how many likes, and the opinions and reactions around Mana. .. The Japanese may have a habit of following to the right for a long time, but there may be places where the Internet society where everything is visualized is accelerating it. That's why Mana, who can thoroughly persevere in what Mana likes and what Mana believes, looks strong and beautiful.
"I'm still wearing dark makeup, blue lipstick, and what I'm doing hasn't changed for 30 years, and I'm not going to change it. It's my favorite thing, so I feel like I'm doing it forever."











