I listen to about 85% Japanese music, and even if I’m not directly trying to dress inspired by a Japanese style trend or anime character, I almost always have an anime fan shirt or badge. (b. 2004)
During junior high school, it was my “whole life”. Japan, j-rock, fanfics, larps, and Lafi filled my thoughts and conversations during free time and at school. After high school, I went to Japan a few times for concerts and bought CDs, magazines, and other fan stuff from Johnny’s artists. I never had much money, but all the non-living expenses went into this. (b. 1991)
I immersed myself in all possible j-rock/VK websites on the internet, got to know other fans originally on Xanga, then on Livejournal, and in Finland on IRC Gallery. A few years later, we got quite a few bands to Finland through JrockSuomi, so I ended up going to concerts in Germany and the UK. (b. 1986)
I got to know my best friend through J-pop, kind of by accident. We were supposed to do a group work together and happened to talk about music tastes, and it turned out that I listened to Japanese solo artists and she listened to Japanese idol groups, so she introduced me to that world, and it became a lifelong friendship that has created new relationships for me. (b. 1993)
“We queued for a long time in front of Tavastia. We queued for MUCC’s concert for about 10 hours. We left Savo from Iisalmi by train the previous evening towards Helsinki (my friend wanted to queue even earlier and was CLEARLY offended when the rest of us didn’t agree to sleep in a sleeping bag overnight in the center of Helsinki). (-) I don’t remember much about the concert itself, but we bought a poster! Because the next day we went to Top Ten at the railway station to queue for more autographs. The atmosphere was electric and tense. It was wonderful to meet the artists, praise the previous night’s concert, get autographs, and leave for the journey home in a good mood.” (b. 1991)
In March 2009, An Cafe had a concert at Tavastia in Helsinki. Before that, the band distributed autographs at the Anttila Top Ten section in the station tunnel. I remember agreeing with a friend to go early in the morning to queue at the station tunnel. I woke up sometime in the early morning to catch the first bus from Espoo to Helsinki. I met my friend at Eliel Square from where we “rushed” to the station tunnel, where there was already a long queue in front of Anttila. It turned out that some of the people had spent their night in the station tunnel. After getting the autographs, we headed to queue in front of Tavastia. (b. 1984)
It was very important to take pictures of the tickets and add photos to IRC Gallery. Also, in the MSN Messenger “status” section, I wrote about upcoming concerts, where I was going, so internet friends could know where to meet. It was also just pure bragging. (b. 1991)
I found several visual kei bands through MySpace, such as An Cafe, The Gazette, SuG, LM.C, and Versailles, to name a few. Through MySpace, I also met a friend with whom I went to many j-rock band concerts. We are still friends even though we don’t go to concerts much anymore. (b. 1984)
I discovered several visual kei bands through MySpace, such as An Cafe, The Gazette, SuG, LM.C, and Versailles, to name a few. Through MySpace, I also met a friend with whom I attended many j-rock band concerts. We’re still friends even though we don’t go to concerts much anymore. (b. 1984)
My friend’s older sister (WHOM I WORSHIPED) listened to Dir en Grey, but I only heard them in passing, it didn’t stick with me. I used to listen to Yle X’s top 40 album program every Sunday. I think it aired on Sunday mornings. I turned on the radio and lay in bed, and around number 38 was Dir en Grey’s album “Withering to Death.” The host played the song “Jesus Christ R ‘n’ R.” I remember lying in bed on my back with wide eyes. What was this different, fresh, and above all JAPANESE music? I was a changed woman after that. “Jesus Christ R ‘n’ R” is still my favorite song by Dir en Grey. (b. 1991)
In the early 2000s, we hung out at my friend’s shared apartment, and there I noticed a picture of Dir en Grey’s Kyo created with the DotArt generator on the door. I asked my friend what it was about, and he put on Dir en Grey’s album “Vulgar.” The album made an impression, and I wanted to hear more about this wonderful thing called j-rock. (b. 1984)
However, the Dir en Grey concert at Ankkarock was the most significant experience for me. I was a die-hard Dir en Grey fan. That band was everything to me. I had dyed my hair the same color as the bassist Die, had CDs, DVDs, band shirts, and everything else I could get my hands on. My friend also made several Dir en Grey T-shirts for me. One of them I even wore in my confirmation photo. We went to Ankkarock together with my then-boyfriend and my cousin. The concert was quite early, a short festival gig. But I was ENTHRALLED! (b. 1991)
The second time I went to see Dir en Grey was at Tavastia. I went with a high school friend who also liked the band, even though he wasn’t a big Japan fan otherwise. My mother got angry about that trip because the concert was in the middle of the week, and I had to skip school. (-) Dir en Grey has performed in Finland after that as well, but their music is now so metal and far from my own taste in music that I haven’t wanted to pay almost a hundred euros for a concert ticket out of nostalgia. Maybe next time. For research. (b. 1991)
In addition to anime and manga, I also got acquainted with Vocaloid characters and through them, Japanese music, mainly Vocaloid songs but also to some extent j-pop music. (b. 1999)
I picked up some things from dressing up for everyday outfits, as well as music from various artists. I don’t think of them as Japanese music, just music I like. Vocaloid introduced me to many of them. (b. 2004)
Black Butler and the Vocaloid series “Evillious Chronicles,” specifically “Story of Evil,” have been a big part of how I dress nowadays. I’ve had moments when my interests have varied and circled around, but these two have always remained close to my heart. (b. 2007)
Because of cute fashion, I searched for “kawaii music” on YouTube and found a playlist that included Hoehoe-P (Hatsune Miku vocals) – “Hello how are you” and “Renai Circulation.” That’s when I started listening to Vocaloid music. (b. 2006)
All my friends I’ve met through hobbies, at least partially. VOCALOID has brought me the most friends, and we celebrate their birthday every year. We often see each other, sometimes just to go to cafes or take photos. Often we just hang out at each other’s places playing games or doing nothing. We do everything together from side to side. (b. 2001)
I was probably in 2-3 grade? I started drawing and found tutorials online (in manga style), and one of them was how to draw Hatsune Miku. Then I started listening to Vocaloid music (I still listen to it every day lol). (b. 2003)
All my friends I’ve met through hobbies, at least partially. VOCALOID has brought me the most friends, and we celebrate Hatsune Miku’s birthday every year. (b. 2001)
By chance, during my Nightcore phase in middle school, I happened to listen to Hatsune Miku, and then a friend spotted this and started explaining more about the character and her concept, as well as e.g. “ievan polkka”, which caused a lot of uproar among Finnish Vocaloid fans, as foreign fans thought it was an original Japanese song. I became interested in Hatsune’s concept and that she is a “virtual pop idol”, and I became a Hatsune fan. (b. 1999)
Vocaloids, i.e. Japanese voice banks, and especially Hatsune Miku. I collect Miku stuff, cosplay as her, and of course listen to Vocaloid music. Miku has supported me in life for over 10 years and is still an important part of my everyday life. (b. 1999)
Even Vocaloid was sometimes very important, everything related to it was a must-know and I had to be up-to-date on the latest Vocaloid releases (even though they also involved UTAUloids, fanloids, etc.). My absolute favorite was a fan version of Hatsune Miku called Zatsune Miku. I’m still a Zatsune fan and plan to cosplay her again for nostalgic reasons. My Vocaloid hobby turned from listening to music to collecting figures in adulthood. I’ve collected manga since I first heard of Vampire Knight. (b. 1999)
