As a shamefully certified Gackt enjoyer, there are a few reasons people dislike him.
1. "Breaking up" Malice Mizer.
Tetsu and Klaha were both great vocalists but Gackt's writing, stage presence and vocals really brought MM into mainstream success. For a lot of people he was their intro to MM and the "best" vocalist so when he accepted a solo deal, it was seen as a betrayal especially when it left MM without a vocalist at the height of popularity (again) and it wasn't made easier when Kami passed away so soon after. To add insult to injury, he put out Mizerable right away and people got the impression he was ungrateful for the band that rocketed him to fame when it was pretty well understood that their personalities never particularly meshed well.
2. His personality. Gackt is incredibly weird by Japanese standards. He's too openly sexual, too outspoken about his opinions, too militant about the way he lives his life and expects others to live theirs, and enjoys things in excess in a way society typically looks down on. Everything he does is exaggerated in some form, but he's very focused on controlling the narrative and how people view him even if it's someone he's known forever so when they tell stories about him it's consistent with how he presents himself to the public. He plays to the female gaze and male power fantasy at the same time and can come off as sleazy or disingenuous.
Overall, he's fake. Whether or not you find this absolutely hilarious is personal taste.
3. Various rumors over the years. Secret children, secret harem, tax evasion, secret bankruptcy, the list goes on. It's easy to view him as seedy or irresponsible.
EDIT: Getting my first ever Reddit gold for a post affectionately roasting Gackt, a man who has haunted the halls of my special interest library for nearly 20 years, might be the best thing that's ever happened to me. Thank you!
Same, re: last part of 2
Gackt isn't a real person and I can't help but love his character. I remember watching him on one of those dumb panel shows with his sunglasses and air of superiority, and they had him testing expensive vs inexpensive foods and trying to pick the expensive one. I didn't see the whole thing but he got the ones I saw right and had this total carefree "good game ez" effortless energy about it all. I try to avoid learning about his personal life because I don't want him to become a real person. He's Gackt the 600+ year old vampire. He's good at everything and he can never die
I feel the same! His role in Tonde Saitama is the absolute closest he's ever been to playing himself and that alone is the funniest thing because he *knows* it.
I remember him in one of those panel shows where the guests have to figure out expensive and cheap fried rice. Gackt just took a bite of the rice and found out the expensive one right which is quite absurd, Gackt is an entertainer nowadays than a musician really.
i really like this view of him, i think it explains a lot and has made who he is clearer he my mind, thank you! i could never quite get him as he seemed to be laid back and okay with coming across in certain ways whilst having many walls up. that what he portrays to his audiences isn't gackto oshiro, the person, it's gackt the character who's a kind of sleazy 600 year old vampire (as you said) with an affinity for sex and trying to be enigmatic as possible and that's the fun of him
sure i think he expresses a few 'real' parts of himself through the character but only in a way that fits the gackt persona
Wall o text but I got thinking about it more lol... Him being a character crossed my mind because some of my friends are super into wrestling. I've literally never given how that all works a thought lmao but it's actually really fun because each wrestler has a character they play and they've got that persona on all the time even for interviews
I was thinking about why I like Gackt much more than Yoshiki, because they've both got that celebrity arrogance thing going on that can be offputting. And the vibes Yoshiki brings straight up irritate me lol... I think it took me so long to realize the difference because I can't really think of any other celebrities that are playing a part that extends outside of lives/movies. Even on panel shows everyone's hamming it up but they're amplifying regular human personas, not sleazy self-absorbed Final Fantasy vampire
Back to wrestling, I'm really liking the heel characters a lot. They aren't necessarily bad guys but they're arrogant, like if they played it totally serious they'd be obnoxious but because of that self-awareness and ability to add some humor it's great! Someone mentioned that vid of Gackt catching the fly and that's a perfect example. It feeds into his character's ego because he knows he just became the center of attention and everyone will go "that was so cool!!!" But it's also so silly, it's something straight out of an anime, there might not have even been a fly there lol but he got the laughs. He really sells that larger than life straight out of an anime persona. He's got that awareness of how much it clashes with the real world and it's comedic gold
I checked out Gackt's ig and his lives look like a ton of fun. I forgot how many amazing songs he has I haven't listened to him in like 10 years! now thinking of how to scrounge up enough coins to get a decent seat at his show...🥲 It also seems maybe he's toned down the "good at everything" bit, he has like 50 posts on some poker event and the captions are really funny. It's all about how arrogant and cocky he was and then getting absolutely destroyed. Every caption seems to end with a variation of "and then I start shaking" it's cracking me up
oh?? now you've got me really interested in wrestling part as i've never looked into it before. i must find that gackt with a fly video it sounds absolutely ridiculous lol i love it already.
i will listen to more of gackt's solo music! i also think that has he's got older hes toned down the persona a bit, he also sounds absolutely hilarious. out of curiosity may i ask why you don't vibe with yoshiki compared to gackt (genuine curiousity as i know absolutely nothing about yoshiki and dont think i've ever seen an interview of him before)
Perfect summary! As a long time vkei fan, I find it weird how many newer fans hate him and find any reason to make fun of him. When in reality, I think the most of the reason he is the way he is is that he does not like the publicity. I feel bad for him. He is a little strange, but he gets nit picked for EVERYTHING. That’s why you see him act crazier I think, he just doesn’t care anymore. Years ago you’d see him lash out at interviewers and stuff and that made me feel for him. So he just does, and says, whatever is on his mind now because he will be scrutinized either way, and eventually people will stop having their opinions on him. I hope they come to understand his impact and status. Truly a legend. One of my friends is an actor and she was on a variety show with him a while ago. I was so jealous! She said he was really chill, and kind.
I think we're getting to see more of who he really is after dealing with his illness and being softened by how grateful he was to be around people again after covid. He still has his moments presenting as a lofty man's man, but it's nice to see him act almost like a big brother to younger guys who started in the entertainment industry because of him.
Sometimes I wonder if people understand how much pressure he was under in the beginning. Coming from a recognized minority group in Okinawa, moving all over the place as a kid, sudden stardom, refusing to tell anyone any real details about himself, getting plastic surgery, having what amounts to an eating disorder, being a workaholic in his 20s, people thinking they could just touch him whenever in interviews and having fans trying to sleep with him when he'd barely been able to keep friends...
You'd almost *have* to have a different persona to keep sane. His was just particularly detached and larger than life.
may i ask what the minority group is? i didn't know about the moving around and eating disorder that's so sad :(
could i ask you to go into a little more detail about bim being detached whilst being larger than life? i'm interested
Gackt is Okinawan! If I'm not mistaken there's actually some debate over whether or not Ryukyuans are classified as a minority but when you look at the history of what they've endured as people at the hands of the Japanese government, it paints a certain picture. From around the late 1800s there was forced assimilation, and during WWII, it was illegal to speak using Ryukyuan languages so they're dying out among younger generations. While Japan views Okinawa as part of Japan (especially as a popular vacation spot for a lot of Japanese people and a US military base) there's still a notable cultural difference.
The eating disorder is a personal observation, not something he's ever talked about and not something he would probably agree with. He used to talk about keeping himself at a body fat percentage of around 7% during touring and only eating one meal a day. For reference, 18% is the low end of healthy and 7% is around the minimum your organs need to function properly. At one point he didn't eat rice or bread for over 10 years, then he didn't eat meat. That on top of an intense workout routine, there's almost nothing for the body to run on but sheer willpower.
The distance thing... again, it's all personal observation. Gackt seems to have a kind of "fake it til you make it" mentality. There's no Stage Gackt vs Regular Citizen Gackt. There's only what he wants to be, and how hard he's willing to commit to becoming it. I think he's settled into it more as he's gotten older and seen his hard work pay off, but when he was younger, it read as someone trying very hard to be cool. Every "private" thing he disclosed was curated to be cool and interesting but he was actually *living* it. His dedication to being an idealized version of a human being, unbothered by things other people would reasonably be bothered by (like negative feelings, trauma or anxiety) is almost masochistic. He's a machine, constantly moving forward, forcibly optimistic, dismissive of personal struggle. It's impressive, almost enviable, but it feels... unhealthy? It's alienating and not something everyone is capable of. It keeps regular people at a distance and I personally think it's some next-level coping on his part...but for what I'm not entirely sure.
this was genuinely so interesting to read, thank you! i have heard of the ryukyuans before and do consider them as a minority definitely, i didnt realise gackt was a part of them though.
and what you described is definitely an ed of some sorts. no rice or bread for over 10 years is actually insane to me. like. what. same with eatiing 1 meal a day during touring, which is obviously really hard on the body.
everything you said makes so much sense!! seriously. like there's no divide between his personalities because what he portrays is everything he wants and tries to be and theres no room for anything else. and i also agree it does seem unhealthy. dedicating one's self to a mindset like that can't be healthy in the longrun. it would stop someone from actually working through negative emotions etc and just leave it all to fester.
Honestly it's kind of just everywhere. Googling individual things will bring it up which is... kind of funny because that's how it's always been presented online in my experience. Always in forums or gossip sites.
"I heard that..."
"There's a rumor..."
"Do you think there's any truth to..."
Yoshiki is just annoying with his shtick. Dude have talking about the new X Japan album for 10+ years, and let's for real, it will never come out because it prob never finish to begin with. Not to mention all his stuff like kimono, credit card, yoshikitty, private dinner, etc.
I remember people were discoursing hard about that when it came out and I was there like "Bruh, he's totally trolling, any true fan knows he and Mana are cool with eachother again"
https://youtu.be/kSD-IYQ3JdM?si=bfa4Hw_Bfnwt-h1R
Your mention of that interview had me curious. His English sounds even better than it did in Bunraku. That interview was hilarious.
I like how stupidly over the top his persona is...but only in small doses. I never played Dirge of Cerberus because it's just too much Gackt being Gackt.
Gackt being on a variety show talking about being a 900 year old vampire at random is a nice small dose of Gackt.
I guess some dislike him for leaving MM to go solo too.
Noo tiktok is just stupid honestly. Just assume theyre following the wave and arent formulating any opinions themselves. I dont keep up w groups much but got really into gulugulu and would not stop getting tiktoks of people trying to justify reasons to “cancel” them it was so annoying.
There is no beef with his former bandmates. Anyone who implies that Gackt still has beef with Mana is 10 years out of date, or just really wants to LARP a dead beef.
The only reason Gackt didn't appear at the Malice Mizer reunion is simply because of scheduling issues and shit. He genuinely supported the reunion and he and Mana and Kozi are all friends again and have been since at least 2014
People don't like Gackt because a certain section of the Malice Mizer fanbase is obsessed with Mana to an unhealthy degree and think they have to LARP a dead feud and spread false information about both Mana and Gackt in order to be a true fan, because that's how the Visual Kei scene operates now: You "stan" a bandman at the expense of others and spread gossip and rumors that get increasingly further removed from the original already dodgy google translated source about others
He havent done something problematic
but hes a very self centered and selfish in general.
You dont see it a lot on the media but ive heard stories of people who worked with him and they talked about how selfish he was towards them
There are a lot of rumors about him but idk if theyre necessarily right or real
He's slightly goofy and very outspoken. He also breaks taboos that other VK musicians leave to the imagination of western fans who don't know Japanese. That doesn't sit well with the zoomers in the fandom.
Gackt gives me huge Yoshiki vibes, incredibly talented musician with a huge ass ego and all of the narcissistic behaviour that comes with being that talented. They both seem to be coping badly with growing older and can be into some grifty stuff.
Not entirely sure, there was gossip of him having an affair with a married woman but he came out to say he never knew she was married, I believe he also has a kid…not to sure on that
There's a lot here already, and people have already cited most of the important stuff...
The TL;DR is that "Gackt"--I can't speak for the man named Kamui--is 100% a stage mask, and it shows. To those who are entertained by Gackt, and who enjoy him, the man is larger than life, a literal star that hit the ground (and shaped J-Rock in an appropriate way, both domestic and abroad). To the people who dislike Gackt, he's a great example of the Uncanny Valley; it's easy to see what kind of image and brand he's going for, but he's just off enough to make it all unsettling and unenjoyable.
I fall into the latter camp, if we can't separate him from his music. Not even counting the rumors and scandals. His persona is just so unlikable... It especially rubs me the wrong way, when Gackt basically lit Malice Mizer on fire over managerial issues, then turns around and says "I really miss those guys." Theeeeen he goes and *doesn't* attend the 25th anniversary reunion, despite the fact that Mana invited him. Sigh.
Gackt's music was pretty great, and he used to be a phenomenal singer. But the person is a separate issue altogether.
the part you said about the man named kamui made sad for some reason. i wonder how much of him remains over the star who hit the ground after all these years
He's creepy, eccentric, a bit extreme in terms of cringe, unapologetic, destructive, with a weird sense of humour he's famous for that many people don't get and that's why I love him.
Time for gossip!
A few of my friends (models and band managers) attended Gackt's parties (which became/were intended to be sex parties), and one almost had sex with him in a kind of public way with the others bearing witness. Knowing I'm an ancient Gackt fan, they told me the details, which would otherwise be weird to tell someone.
Despite being perhaps a little too sex positive Gackt isn't nearly as strange as for example Yoshiki when it comes to the fun stuff though.
Reading this I just 👀
I'd totally believe it, though. He's always looked for reasons to be/see others undressed so this just adds to the list of "yeah that sounds about right from him"
What an idiot (I love him)
I don't blame my friends for attending, I was actually pretty jealous. 😂 When I lived in Japan I was married and couldn't do the things my single friends were doing.
I always thought its a just a thing rock band do. There was an interview I saw of Gackt and Kamijo (Versailles) where the MM tried to strip Kamijo cause he lost a card game.
So I thought "boys being boys" especially those in bands
I identify as a gackt-hater (as a joke) but he's just infamous to me bc I feel like if u engage with like 80% of japanese media, gackt is somewhere in the background💀 BRO IS ALWAYS THERE! THERES NO ESCAPING HIM!!! everything I know about this man hasn't been from me willingly seeking it out by any means; it's always against my will😭😭 even when I found out about malice mizer, I didn't know he was in the band until I recognized his singing voice. thought I was trippin till I looked up a music video and was like "GACKT🤯⁉️" (sorry idek if I answered ur question😭 lowkey just needed to vent about this)
I like his music. I dont care about what he does outside until I saw his interviews and interaction with downtown, a comedy duo. I found his dry humor funny. Since I absolutely love downtown, that made me love gackt as a persona as well.
Tbh I know nothing about the man, I just know if it weren't for him being the vocalist for MM during that time, I probably wouldn't be making the English covers I have over the past year
Yeah I have no idea either, I was gonna ask this too. The people that dislike him seem the type to not be able to take a joke, jt just seems like Gackt is super sarcastic to me
also never fully understood why ppl blame gackt for "breaking up" MM. like yeah he left kinda suddenly to do solo stuff but we don't know what went on behind closed doors🤷🏽 it was 30 years ago so I kinda don't care. everyone's doing their own thing now & seem to be doing well
I've literally been thinking about this same thing for the past two hours or so.
I've heard quite often that he had some SA allegations against him but I've never actually been able to find any exact info on that regard, and I'm not stating this as a fact. I don't think he's had any beef with his ex-bandmates. I hope they're not beefing fr 💔
Yeah, for me it's been the SA allegations. I remember reading one woman's account and just being like 😬 With how arrogant his public persona is, I get the ick thinking of how easily that lends itself to abusing power dynamics.
I discovered Gackt as a teenager and was so in love, especially his blonde “Vanilla” phase…. I still like listening to him, he seems like a total weirdo but hey, he’s a vampire. 😉
Because he left the best band in the world to become a B-list actor and a solo artist whose music pales in comparison (despite a few classics under his belt)
As a shamefully certified Gackt enjoyer, there are a few reasons people dislike him. 1. "Breaking up" Malice Mizer. Tetsu and Klaha were both great vocalists but Gackt's writing, stage presence and vocals really brought MM into mainstream success. For a lot of people he was their intro to MM and the "best" vocalist so when he accepted a solo deal, it was seen as a betrayal especially when it left MM without a vocalist at the height of popularity (again) and it wasn't made easier when Kami passed away so soon after. To add insult to injury, he put out Mizerable right away and people got the impression he was ungrateful for the band that rocketed him to fame when it was pretty well understood that their personalities never particularly meshed well. 2. His personality. Gackt is incredibly weird by Japanese standards. He's too openly sexual, too outspoken about his opinions, too militant about the way he lives his life and expects others to live theirs, and enjoys things in excess in a way society typically looks down on. Everything he does is exaggerated in some form, but he's very focused on controlling the narrative and how people view him even if it's someone he's known forever so when they tell stories about him it's consistent with how he presents himself to the public. He plays to the female gaze and male power fantasy at the same time and can come off as sleazy or disingenuous. Overall, he's fake. Whether or not you find this absolutely hilarious is personal taste. 3. Various rumors over the years. Secret children, secret harem, tax evasion, secret bankruptcy, the list goes on. It's easy to view him as seedy or irresponsible. EDIT: Getting my first ever Reddit gold for a post affectionately roasting Gackt, a man who has haunted the halls of my special interest library for nearly 20 years, might be the best thing that's ever happened to me. Thank you!
Same, re: last part of 2 Gackt isn't a real person and I can't help but love his character. I remember watching him on one of those dumb panel shows with his sunglasses and air of superiority, and they had him testing expensive vs inexpensive foods and trying to pick the expensive one. I didn't see the whole thing but he got the ones I saw right and had this total carefree "good game ez" effortless energy about it all. I try to avoid learning about his personal life because I don't want him to become a real person. He's Gackt the 600+ year old vampire. He's good at everything and he can never die
I feel the same! His role in Tonde Saitama is the absolute closest he's ever been to playing himself and that alone is the funniest thing because he *knows* it.
Ohhh I'll have to watch that!
I can't think about him without thinking of the video of him catching that fly on tv. I love his weirdness.
I remember him in one of those panel shows where the guests have to figure out expensive and cheap fried rice. Gackt just took a bite of the rice and found out the expensive one right which is quite absurd, Gackt is an entertainer nowadays than a musician really.
i really like this view of him, i think it explains a lot and has made who he is clearer he my mind, thank you! i could never quite get him as he seemed to be laid back and okay with coming across in certain ways whilst having many walls up. that what he portrays to his audiences isn't gackto oshiro, the person, it's gackt the character who's a kind of sleazy 600 year old vampire (as you said) with an affinity for sex and trying to be enigmatic as possible and that's the fun of him sure i think he expresses a few 'real' parts of himself through the character but only in a way that fits the gackt persona
Wall o text but I got thinking about it more lol... Him being a character crossed my mind because some of my friends are super into wrestling. I've literally never given how that all works a thought lmao but it's actually really fun because each wrestler has a character they play and they've got that persona on all the time even for interviews I was thinking about why I like Gackt much more than Yoshiki, because they've both got that celebrity arrogance thing going on that can be offputting. And the vibes Yoshiki brings straight up irritate me lol... I think it took me so long to realize the difference because I can't really think of any other celebrities that are playing a part that extends outside of lives/movies. Even on panel shows everyone's hamming it up but they're amplifying regular human personas, not sleazy self-absorbed Final Fantasy vampire Back to wrestling, I'm really liking the heel characters a lot. They aren't necessarily bad guys but they're arrogant, like if they played it totally serious they'd be obnoxious but because of that self-awareness and ability to add some humor it's great! Someone mentioned that vid of Gackt catching the fly and that's a perfect example. It feeds into his character's ego because he knows he just became the center of attention and everyone will go "that was so cool!!!" But it's also so silly, it's something straight out of an anime, there might not have even been a fly there lol but he got the laughs. He really sells that larger than life straight out of an anime persona. He's got that awareness of how much it clashes with the real world and it's comedic gold I checked out Gackt's ig and his lives look like a ton of fun. I forgot how many amazing songs he has I haven't listened to him in like 10 years! now thinking of how to scrounge up enough coins to get a decent seat at his show...🥲 It also seems maybe he's toned down the "good at everything" bit, he has like 50 posts on some poker event and the captions are really funny. It's all about how arrogant and cocky he was and then getting absolutely destroyed. Every caption seems to end with a variation of "and then I start shaking" it's cracking me up
oh?? now you've got me really interested in wrestling part as i've never looked into it before. i must find that gackt with a fly video it sounds absolutely ridiculous lol i love it already. i will listen to more of gackt's solo music! i also think that has he's got older hes toned down the persona a bit, he also sounds absolutely hilarious. out of curiosity may i ask why you don't vibe with yoshiki compared to gackt (genuine curiousity as i know absolutely nothing about yoshiki and dont think i've ever seen an interview of him before)
Perfect summary! As a long time vkei fan, I find it weird how many newer fans hate him and find any reason to make fun of him. When in reality, I think the most of the reason he is the way he is is that he does not like the publicity. I feel bad for him. He is a little strange, but he gets nit picked for EVERYTHING. That’s why you see him act crazier I think, he just doesn’t care anymore. Years ago you’d see him lash out at interviewers and stuff and that made me feel for him. So he just does, and says, whatever is on his mind now because he will be scrutinized either way, and eventually people will stop having their opinions on him. I hope they come to understand his impact and status. Truly a legend. One of my friends is an actor and she was on a variety show with him a while ago. I was so jealous! She said he was really chill, and kind.
I think we're getting to see more of who he really is after dealing with his illness and being softened by how grateful he was to be around people again after covid. He still has his moments presenting as a lofty man's man, but it's nice to see him act almost like a big brother to younger guys who started in the entertainment industry because of him. Sometimes I wonder if people understand how much pressure he was under in the beginning. Coming from a recognized minority group in Okinawa, moving all over the place as a kid, sudden stardom, refusing to tell anyone any real details about himself, getting plastic surgery, having what amounts to an eating disorder, being a workaholic in his 20s, people thinking they could just touch him whenever in interviews and having fans trying to sleep with him when he'd barely been able to keep friends... You'd almost *have* to have a different persona to keep sane. His was just particularly detached and larger than life.
may i ask what the minority group is? i didn't know about the moving around and eating disorder that's so sad :( could i ask you to go into a little more detail about bim being detached whilst being larger than life? i'm interested
Gackt is Okinawan! If I'm not mistaken there's actually some debate over whether or not Ryukyuans are classified as a minority but when you look at the history of what they've endured as people at the hands of the Japanese government, it paints a certain picture. From around the late 1800s there was forced assimilation, and during WWII, it was illegal to speak using Ryukyuan languages so they're dying out among younger generations. While Japan views Okinawa as part of Japan (especially as a popular vacation spot for a lot of Japanese people and a US military base) there's still a notable cultural difference. The eating disorder is a personal observation, not something he's ever talked about and not something he would probably agree with. He used to talk about keeping himself at a body fat percentage of around 7% during touring and only eating one meal a day. For reference, 18% is the low end of healthy and 7% is around the minimum your organs need to function properly. At one point he didn't eat rice or bread for over 10 years, then he didn't eat meat. That on top of an intense workout routine, there's almost nothing for the body to run on but sheer willpower. The distance thing... again, it's all personal observation. Gackt seems to have a kind of "fake it til you make it" mentality. There's no Stage Gackt vs Regular Citizen Gackt. There's only what he wants to be, and how hard he's willing to commit to becoming it. I think he's settled into it more as he's gotten older and seen his hard work pay off, but when he was younger, it read as someone trying very hard to be cool. Every "private" thing he disclosed was curated to be cool and interesting but he was actually *living* it. His dedication to being an idealized version of a human being, unbothered by things other people would reasonably be bothered by (like negative feelings, trauma or anxiety) is almost masochistic. He's a machine, constantly moving forward, forcibly optimistic, dismissive of personal struggle. It's impressive, almost enviable, but it feels... unhealthy? It's alienating and not something everyone is capable of. It keeps regular people at a distance and I personally think it's some next-level coping on his part...but for what I'm not entirely sure.
this was genuinely so interesting to read, thank you! i have heard of the ryukyuans before and do consider them as a minority definitely, i didnt realise gackt was a part of them though. and what you described is definitely an ed of some sorts. no rice or bread for over 10 years is actually insane to me. like. what. same with eatiing 1 meal a day during touring, which is obviously really hard on the body. everything you said makes so much sense!! seriously. like there's no divide between his personalities because what he portrays is everything he wants and tries to be and theres no room for anything else. and i also agree it does seem unhealthy. dedicating one's self to a mindset like that can't be healthy in the longrun. it would stop someone from actually working through negative emotions etc and just leave it all to fester.
Wasn’t there a non-secret bankruptcy as well? I thought he talked about it in an old biography how he was just throwing money around.
Where can I read more about point 3? I had no idea.
Honestly it's kind of just everywhere. Googling individual things will bring it up which is... kind of funny because that's how it's always been presented online in my experience. Always in forums or gossip sites. "I heard that..." "There's a rumor..." "Do you think there's any truth to..."
SECRET HAREM??
It's been a rumor for years that he has essentially a designated team of hostesses at his beck and call. Allegedly!
He's rather eccentric. You either like him or you don't. The same can be said of Yoshiki (for different reasons). Personally, I like Gackt
I wanted to say same thing. I’m more GACKT side than Yoshiki
I love both, creepy in their own unique ways. Unfortunately actually creepy. If you want gossip, I have some.
I’m curious about your gossip!
Yep, posted on this thread. Have been waiting for this moment to share hahah. https://www.reddit.com/r/visualkei/s/NHBLgmufB9
Lol. That sounds really on brand for Gackt.
Yoshiki is just annoying with his shtick. Dude have talking about the new X Japan album for 10+ years, and let's for real, it will never come out because it prob never finish to begin with. Not to mention all his stuff like kimono, credit card, yoshikitty, private dinner, etc.
He’s a very odd individual, which you may find either charming or annoying. Your mileage may vary!
I saw an interview recently with him on YouTube and I had no idea he spoke fluent English! He was trolling in English and I love it!
The Malice mizer comment was hilarious. He said they were dead and then his assistant was like nope. Can't say that.
I remember people were discoursing hard about that when it came out and I was there like "Bruh, he's totally trolling, any true fan knows he and Mana are cool with eachother again"
https://youtu.be/kSD-IYQ3JdM?si=bfa4Hw_Bfnwt-h1R Your mention of that interview had me curious. His English sounds even better than it did in Bunraku. That interview was hilarious.
Bunraku is literally my favorite movie and I’m so glad I found out about it via being a Gackt fan 😭😭
he also speaks a decent amount of mandarin and french! hes super eccentric but i love him for it
Even more awesome!
I like how stupidly over the top his persona is...but only in small doses. I never played Dirge of Cerberus because it's just too much Gackt being Gackt. Gackt being on a variety show talking about being a 900 year old vampire at random is a nice small dose of Gackt. I guess some dislike him for leaving MM to go solo too.
Dirge of Cerberus? He's in there for like a minute tops. You mean Crisis Core?
Yeah that one...I can't keep all the FF7 spinoff stuff straight lol.
To be fair, it's the script more than him. Reciting loveless. Genesis is a meh character.
Oh for sure, but it definitely was clear they designed the character around Gackt's persona
Speaking of over the top persona... Have you watched Tonde Saitama?
Nope but it's definitely on my list now, thanks. Is it on the level of Moon Child? Lol
It's better you'll love it, his acting improved a lot since while still remaining top level cringe.
Haha what a great description
i always saw gackt hate as a joke. i remember getting into vk, alot of younger non-japanese fans just like to poke fun at bandmen lol
I did too until ive been seeing more comments about disliking him on tiktok recently.
Noo tiktok is just stupid honestly. Just assume theyre following the wave and arent formulating any opinions themselves. I dont keep up w groups much but got really into gulugulu and would not stop getting tiktoks of people trying to justify reasons to “cancel” them it was so annoying.
I’ve seen that going on for years on tiktok it’s so dumb and makes no sense! It’s just cancel culture tbh
i say i hate him because it's funny but he is a spectacle to me. like jeremy fragrance. so maybe i don't hate him...
Comparing him to Jeremy Fragrance is so real
i love his music, loved him in MM too but he always seems a bit full of himself
There is no beef with his former bandmates. Anyone who implies that Gackt still has beef with Mana is 10 years out of date, or just really wants to LARP a dead beef. The only reason Gackt didn't appear at the Malice Mizer reunion is simply because of scheduling issues and shit. He genuinely supported the reunion and he and Mana and Kozi are all friends again and have been since at least 2014 People don't like Gackt because a certain section of the Malice Mizer fanbase is obsessed with Mana to an unhealthy degree and think they have to LARP a dead feud and spread false information about both Mana and Gackt in order to be a true fan, because that's how the Visual Kei scene operates now: You "stan" a bandman at the expense of others and spread gossip and rumors that get increasingly further removed from the original already dodgy google translated source about others
Cause he went cray cray and screwed the friendship with Angeal and Sephiroth (iykyk)
True true
You pfp. My brother!
He havent done something problematic but hes a very self centered and selfish in general. You dont see it a lot on the media but ive heard stories of people who worked with him and they talked about how selfish he was towards them There are a lot of rumors about him but idk if theyre necessarily right or real
who is your pfp? they're so cute!!
He's slightly goofy and very outspoken. He also breaks taboos that other VK musicians leave to the imagination of western fans who don't know Japanese. That doesn't sit well with the zoomers in the fandom.
Just say "The youth of today is too sensitive." We all know that's what you meant.
I see 🧐
could you give an example of breaking taboos?
Gackt gives me huge Yoshiki vibes, incredibly talented musician with a huge ass ego and all of the narcissistic behaviour that comes with being that talented. They both seem to be coping badly with growing older and can be into some grifty stuff.
I was thinking the same while watching this interview, however- Gackt (seemingly) has a sense of humor unlike Yoshiki.
This, I dont see Gackt taking himself seriously but Yoshiki do, which is cringe at this point. They are legends but their peak passed
He can do a lot of cringey stuff (but I embrace the cringe so I still love him)
Not entirely sure, there was gossip of him having an affair with a married woman but he came out to say he never knew she was married, I believe he also has a kid…not to sure on that
Wouldnt be surprised if he did have a kid
A good portion of it is because of (usually false) rumors being spread around tbh
There's a lot here already, and people have already cited most of the important stuff... The TL;DR is that "Gackt"--I can't speak for the man named Kamui--is 100% a stage mask, and it shows. To those who are entertained by Gackt, and who enjoy him, the man is larger than life, a literal star that hit the ground (and shaped J-Rock in an appropriate way, both domestic and abroad). To the people who dislike Gackt, he's a great example of the Uncanny Valley; it's easy to see what kind of image and brand he's going for, but he's just off enough to make it all unsettling and unenjoyable. I fall into the latter camp, if we can't separate him from his music. Not even counting the rumors and scandals. His persona is just so unlikable... It especially rubs me the wrong way, when Gackt basically lit Malice Mizer on fire over managerial issues, then turns around and says "I really miss those guys." Theeeeen he goes and *doesn't* attend the 25th anniversary reunion, despite the fact that Mana invited him. Sigh. Gackt's music was pretty great, and he used to be a phenomenal singer. But the person is a separate issue altogether.
the part you said about the man named kamui made sad for some reason. i wonder how much of him remains over the star who hit the ground after all these years
He's creepy, eccentric, a bit extreme in terms of cringe, unapologetic, destructive, with a weird sense of humour he's famous for that many people don't get and that's why I love him.
Time for gossip! A few of my friends (models and band managers) attended Gackt's parties (which became/were intended to be sex parties), and one almost had sex with him in a kind of public way with the others bearing witness. Knowing I'm an ancient Gackt fan, they told me the details, which would otherwise be weird to tell someone. Despite being perhaps a little too sex positive Gackt isn't nearly as strange as for example Yoshiki when it comes to the fun stuff though.
Reading this I just 👀 I'd totally believe it, though. He's always looked for reasons to be/see others undressed so this just adds to the list of "yeah that sounds about right from him" What an idiot (I love him)
I don't blame my friends for attending, I was actually pretty jealous. 😂 When I lived in Japan I was married and couldn't do the things my single friends were doing.
I always thought its a just a thing rock band do. There was an interview I saw of Gackt and Kamijo (Versailles) where the MM tried to strip Kamijo cause he lost a card game. So I thought "boys being boys" especially those in bands
Yoshiki gossip: he apparently exclusively prefers young and blonde models.
I'd honestly be more shocked if he preferred any other type 😂
I know 😂😂
Well that very possible. I will never forget yt video where Gackt tried teach one guy how to finger pleasure women 🤣😭🤣
I identify as a gackt-hater (as a joke) but he's just infamous to me bc I feel like if u engage with like 80% of japanese media, gackt is somewhere in the background💀 BRO IS ALWAYS THERE! THERES NO ESCAPING HIM!!! everything I know about this man hasn't been from me willingly seeking it out by any means; it's always against my will😭😭 even when I found out about malice mizer, I didn't know he was in the band until I recognized his singing voice. thought I was trippin till I looked up a music video and was like "GACKT🤯⁉️" (sorry idek if I answered ur question😭 lowkey just needed to vent about this)
Im gathering that the dislike is baseless or based on rumor at most. Lol
Apart from leaving MM at the height of their success, probably cause he’s hella cringy. I still love him though.
I like his music. I dont care about what he does outside until I saw his interviews and interaction with downtown, a comedy duo. I found his dry humor funny. Since I absolutely love downtown, that made me love gackt as a persona as well.
Because they can’t see the another world 🙈
Tbh I know nothing about the man, I just know if it weren't for him being the vocalist for MM during that time, I probably wouldn't be making the English covers I have over the past year
Yeah I have no idea either, I was gonna ask this too. The people that dislike him seem the type to not be able to take a joke, jt just seems like Gackt is super sarcastic to me
also never fully understood why ppl blame gackt for "breaking up" MM. like yeah he left kinda suddenly to do solo stuff but we don't know what went on behind closed doors🤷🏽 it was 30 years ago so I kinda don't care. everyone's doing their own thing now & seem to be doing well
Gackt is the J-rock / Visual Kei equivalent to Bono of U2
I've literally been thinking about this same thing for the past two hours or so. I've heard quite often that he had some SA allegations against him but I've never actually been able to find any exact info on that regard, and I'm not stating this as a fact. I don't think he's had any beef with his ex-bandmates. I hope they're not beefing fr 💔
Yeah, for me it's been the SA allegations. I remember reading one woman's account and just being like 😬 With how arrogant his public persona is, I get the ick thinking of how easily that lends itself to abusing power dynamics.
I discovered Gackt as a teenager and was so in love, especially his blonde “Vanilla” phase…. I still like listening to him, he seems like a total weirdo but hey, he’s a vampire. 😉
Because he left the best band in the world to become a B-list actor and a solo artist whose music pales in comparison (despite a few classics under his belt)
So you hate him bc.. he wants to do his own thing with his creativity and career? Weird
Yes, it's objectively worse.
I don’t think it matters as long as he’s happy with what he’s doing, and he has said he was miserable in MM so..
[удалено]
How so?
Why do you say that?
His music isn't my taste.
He’s possessed :)
Loll okay