Malice Mizer

Yu~ki, Mana, Közi: The three consistent members circa 2000.

Well, Malice Mizer was a Visual Kei band, active between 1992 and 2001, and spearheaded by the two guitarists Mana and Közi. However, due to the band's Genre Busting, numerous stylistic changes and, well, outright bizarre stage shows and costumes, defining them beyond that is- difficult. A quote by VK/goth singer Lucifer Luscious Violenoue, who was also active in '90s Japan, goes "We can say there is a genre called Malice Mizer, can't we?" And however you look at it, she isn't too far wrong. Throughout their nine year career Malice Mizer have experimented with many types of music- from goth rock to pop to classical to electronic- and often mixed them together, with very unusual results. They also made heavy use of synthesisers despite having a traditional band set-up, which meant that during many songs one or more of the standard instruments was obsolete, and on numerous occasions the instrumentalists stepped forward to provide heavily distorted backing vocals. The overall effect was diverse and distinctive.

Being a Visual Kei band, Malice Mizer also made use of extravagant stage costumes designed to compliment the music, and in this aspect, they really took things to extremes. Giant angel wings, bondage gear, admiral hats, lederhosen, frilly victorian dresses, imperial Japanese soldier uniforms and clothes tailored to look like plants are just some of the garments various members of the band took to the stage in. A couple of the members also had trademarks: Drummer Kami was, for a while, instantly recognisable for his hip-length hair, and although androgyny was already well established in the VK scene, Mana was one of the first to push it to the point of completely crossdressing. They are also notable for the high spectacle of their live performances, during which they often behaved more like a theatre troupe than a band.

Despite the fact that their musical career was fairly successful, the band themselves did encounter problems, and the two main ones ran more or less in tandem. First, there was the departure of the band's most popular vocalist, Gackt, in 1999, and although the real reasons for it were never publically discussed, it is generally believed that the split was not amiable. Because of this knowledge, a viewpoint blaming Gackt's departure on unreasonable treatment by Mana quickly became established somehow or other, causing a permanent stain on Mana's reputation. Just a few months later, Kami died suddenly of a subarachnoid haemorrhage aged just 26. He was never officially replaced, with numerous support drummers being used in his place from then on. It also took a while to find a replacement for Gackt in Klaha (previously of Pride of Mind), which meant that for several months Malice Mizer was essentially two guitarists and a bassist, making things more difficult still.

In 2001 the band announced they were going on Indefinite Hiatus. To date, they have not reformed and the members have all either launched their own solo projects (Gackt, for instance, is now one of Japan's top entertainers) or faded into obscurity. However, Mana recently announced that an upcoming concert of his solo project, Moi Dix Mois, would feature both Közi and Yu~ki as guest musicians.

Final Lineup

Mana (guitar/bandleader- 1992-2001)
Közi (guitar- 1992-2001)
Yu~ki (bass- 1992-2001)
Klaha (vocals- 2000-2001)

Previous Members

Kami (drums- 1993- 1999) (deceased)
Gackt (vocals- 1995-1999)
Tetsu (vocals- 1992-1994)
Gaz (drums- 1992-1993)

Discography:

Memoire (1994)
Voyage~sans retour~ (1996)
Merveilles (1998)
Shinwa (2000)
Bara no Seidou (2000)

Malice Mizer provides examples of the following tropes:

Author Existence Failure- Kami.
Breakup Breakout- Gackt. Many of the members went on to front new bands and projects, but only Gackt managed to become one of Japan's most famous musicians of all time.
Cloudcuckoolander- Közi wanders in and out of this as he pleases.
Conspicuous Trenchcoat- Not always a trenchcoat, but when Offstage Mana does have a certain look that could be described as 'Spy-chic'
Color Coded for Your Convenience- Although costumes varied greatly, each of the members stuck to a certain color. Mana's was blue, Kami's was pink, Közi mostly wore red, and Yu~ki dressed in yellow or orange. Gackt's color never quite settled, but he was often in black.
Crazy Awesome- Közi. His music, his behaviour, the way he can wear the most ridiculous things and somehow manage to make them look perfectly OK... it all fits. It's also arguable that the band in general is this.
Creative Differences- Tetsu's departure seems to be a rare example of creative differences that actually was creative differences (He didn't really want to be in a visual band), and not code for a big row.
Elegant Gothic Lolita- The general consensus is that it was Mana who kick-started this particular brand of fashion- he owns one of the more popular EGL clothing companies, and he has had it since he late 90's.
Evolving Music- the backing music, rhythm and occasionally even the lyrics of Tetsu era songs have been changed to accomodate Gackt or Klaha's vocals for live performances.
Fan Nickname- Yu~ki= 'The Count'. Subversion in that it might have been Mana who started it.
Genre Busting- The members all had different styles. It showed.
Gratuitous English- Some of the lyrics and song names.
Gratuitous French- the band name is derived from French, as are some of the album and song names.
Impractically Fancy Outfit- enough of them to clothe a small country.
Internet Backdraft- If you bring up Gackt's departure without being extremely careful, you could cause world war three. Implicating another member or insisting that Gackt WAS the band are examples of what not to do if you wish to avoid this.
Love It or Hate It- Tetsu's voice is either so amazing it makes angels weep or reminiscent of a dying cow; Mana is either a delightfully eccentric genius or a source of Nightmare Fuel with added pretentiousness; Even the band in general is either to your taste or not.
Mind Screw- Nps Ngs. The lyrics are notoriously difficult to extract a true meaning from, partially because the English half of the song wasn't all that brilliantly translated, resulting in a minor case of Word Salad Lyrics. This is complicated further by the best known live performance, in which the members dress up in WW 2 regalia and fly the Imperial Japanese flag across the stage, despite the fact that the song doesn't contain any lines that undeniably refer to war (although it does admittedly have a few that could be interpreted as such). Also Gekka no Yasoukyoku (Lyrical subject: Man finds clowns, clowns are cursed lovers, clowns come temporarily to life) and many of the Merveilles era music videos.
Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly- what led to the Genre Busting.
Nightmare Fuel- Mana, to some people.
Obligatory Bondage Song- Illuminati.
One of Us- Gackt (final fantasy cosplay), Mana (a gamer), and Klaha (Apparently a touch socially awkward)
Rapunzel Hair- Half the band in the early years, but Kami is best known for it.
Rock Me, Amadeus- If people could have personal tropes, this would be Mana's. A lot of the music he wrote for Malice Mizer- especially in the final album- feature classical excerpts. This trope is also heavily present in Moi Dix Mois.
Scapegoat Creator- After Gackt's departure, many people began to think of Mana as an egotistic, jealous, slave-driving control freak who had forced Gackt out of the band over something stupidly petty. Mud very much stuck in this case and these days, whenever someone he's working with leaves or a band on his label splits up, people instantly point the finger at Mana and assume he's to blame.
Stage Names- Everyone in the band goes by a moniker or nickname, and to this day, on a few members' real names are known (Kami= Ukyou Kamimura, Tetsu- Tetsu Takano, Klaha is probably Haruna Masaki)
The Stoic- Mana. On stage and in TV interviews, anyway. Also see The Voiceless.
The Band Minus the Face- Although Gackt didn't run the band, he was very popular amongst the fans, and his departure really shook things up.
Attractive Bent Gender- Mana. If you didn't know he wasn't a woman, you would never be able to tell. Not helped by the fact that you don't often get a chance to hear his voice.
The Voiceless- Whether its because he doesn't want his man's voice to mess up his image or whether he just thought it would be a cool idea is anyone's guess, but throughout his career Mana has refused to speak or emote in public, maintaining a fully blank facial expression and communicating mostly by whispering what he wants to say into the ear of the person next to him, who then translates. Not counting the occasions in which he has provided distorted backing vocals, he has only ever slipped up twice.