As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of modern Japanese culture. I enjoy anime and manga. I enjoy the cuisine and experimental side of cooking that some of the more recent chefs and cooks from Japan are employing. I enjoy the sense of fashion modern pop and alt clothes represent. And I really am a big fan of the music scene from Japan. Of the genres of Japanese music I listen to, the one that sticks out in my head the most is the J-rock scene. Not just because of the sheer energy that pours out of each note they play, but also because of the visual story the bands portray with their performances and the elaborate costumes they adorn themselves with to get their style out there for all to see. I am talking about Visual Kei.

Visual Kei literally mean "visual style" in English. Depending on whom you ask, you can get any number of responses as to what VK really is, but to simplify here, I will state visual kei is a subgenre of the J-rock music scene (sort of how glam rock was to rock in the United States). The movement of VK has been going on strong in Japan for many years, since at least the early '80s, popularized by classic J-rock bands like X Japan, D'erlanger, and Color. The elaborate set pieces, makeup, hairstyles, and costumes worn by the band members are meant to also relay a sense of story to their fans. From my point of view, on a marketing basis, it also makes it a great way to get people to talk about your style and maybe introduce new people to what you are representing.

At Anime Expo 2010, the Visual Kei panel is something I hoped would do that for more people here in the United States, or at least Los Angeles. So I was eager to attend the panel and hope to get some insight as to what they would be discussing there for fans of the VK style and how they could possibly introduce this form of music to others. Instead, what was presented at the VK panel was five fan girls who seemed about as disorganized and random as their seeming ages suggested. How they presented themselves and the art form of VK was simply unbearable. I could barely sit through it for most of the panel. In fact, I had to walk away and just recollect my thoughts.

I understand what these five young ladies were trying to do. And I understand their passion for what is their favorite form of music, possibly their favorite form of entertainment. But if you want to put on a panel like this and maybe get more people to join you in your liking of VK, you cannot come off as being nothing more than an immature fan girl. I could actually stand it if they were all fan girl in their presentation, but the lack of organization at the panel just made it seem like they put it together just for shits and giggles. To their credit, they were in fact very knowledgeable about the VK movement and style. But without a clear delivery of the message, they just came across as highly immature.

It's a shame really. With the amount of knowledge they all possess on VK, they really could do a lot of good for the movement here in the United States. However, until they learn to get organized and possibly tone themselves down a bit more, I just think they are propagating the stereotype many people have on us fans that enjoy this form of art. Hopefully, by next year, if they decide to hold this panel again, they will have learned from this year to be a better messenger.

For a sampling of what the Visual Kei move is, please see the following videos to get an idea what it encompasses.