L'Arc-en-Ciel, stylized as L'Arc~en~Ciel), also known as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band, formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist tetsuya and vocalist hyde. Following the departure of original members hiro and pero, guitarist ken and drummer sakura were recruited to replace them in 1992 and 1993, respectively. While they first got their start as a visual kei band, L'Arc-en-Ciel have not had any association with the movement since their major label debut in 1994. Sakura left the band in 1997 and was replaced by yukihiro in January 1998, completing the current line-up.
The Pillows are a Japanese alternative rock band formed in 1989. The group has released 22 studio albums, several EPs and compilations, and over 40 singles. Outside Japan, they are best known as the group responsible for the soundtrack to the FLCL anime series.
X Japan is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive sound with an emphasis on ballads. Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western glam.
Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon and released one studio album and six singles—beginning with their 1999 eponymous debut single before moving to the Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases. While their debut single sold close to a million copies, the group took a mixture of pop and alternate/contemporary approach to its music which attracted core followers, but subsequently faced commercially slow sales.
Luna Sea is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of makeup and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and influential bands in the visual kei movement. Throughout the mid-1990s they used significantly less makeup, and after a one-year break in 1997, came back with a more mainstream alternative rock style and toned down their on-stage attire. They disbanded in 2000. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Luna Sea at number 90 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.
Hideto Matsumoto, known professionally as hide, was a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1987 to 1997 and a solo artist from 1993 onward. He also formed the United States-based rock supergroup Zilch in 1996.
NEWS is a Japanese boy band consisting of Keiichiro Koyama, Takahisa Masuda and Shigeaki Kato. Formed in 2003 by Johnny Kitagawa as a nine-member group under the label Johnny's Entertainment, NEWS released a promotional single "NEWS Nippon", which was used for the World Cup of Volleyball Championships. In 2004, Takahiro Moriuchi left the group and the remaining eight members released their debut single, "Kibō: Yell", which debuted atop the Oricon charts.
Hiroshi Morie, known exclusively by his stage name Heath, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan. He joined the group in August 1992, replacing Taiji Sawada who left earlier in the year. Heath stayed with X Japan until their dissolution in 1997 and reunited with the band in 2007.
Art of Life is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 25, 1993, by Atlantic Records. The album consists solely of the 29-minute-long orchestrated title track, which was written and composed by Yoshiki entirely in English and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It topped the Oricon chart and has sold over 600,000 copies. The album is the band's first after changing their name from simply "X" and the first to feature bassist Heath.
Art of Life Live is an X Japan live album released on March 18, 1998. It is composed solely of one song, "Art of Life". Mostly recorded on December 31, 1993 at the Tokyo Dome. The album reached number 20 on the Oricon chart. This same performance was released on DVD and VHS, as Art of Life 1993.12.31 Tokyo Dome, five years later.
"The Last Song" is an X Japan single released on March 18, 1998, shortly after the band's breakup in late 1997.
Complete II is a box set released October 1, 2005. On ten CDs and nine DVDs it collects all studio and live albums, and all DVDs that X Japan released after changing their name from X, along with two DVDs containing previously unreleased and rare material from the band's earlier career. It reached number 92 on the Oricon chart.
Aoi Yoru is an X Japan live DVD released on July 25, 2007. It contains the band's performance at the Tokyo Dome on December 30, 1994. A DVD containing the concert from the following night was released on the same day, along with a limited edition, containing both concerts and additional material.
Shiroi Yoru is an X Japan live DVD released on July 25, 2007. It contains the band's performance at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1994. A DVD containing the concert from the previous night was released on the same day, along with a limited edition, containing both concerts and additional material.
Kingdom is the sixth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda. It was released on January 30, 2008, a week after her single anytime. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts with sales of 421,302. It remained on the charts for thirty-three weeks. The album was released in four editions: CD, CD+DVD, CD+2DVD and CD+2DVD+Poster, with limited editions of all versions carrying the bonus track Black Cherry.
X Japan Returns 1993.12.30 is an X Japan live DVD, released on February 29, 2008. It contains the band's performance at the Tokyo Dome on December 30, 1993. A DVD containing the concert from the following night was released on the same day, along with a limited edition containing both concerts and additional material.
X Japan Returns 1993.12.31 is an X Japan live DVD, released on February 29, 2008. It contains the band's performance at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1993. A DVD containing the concert from the previous night was released on the same day, along with a limited edition containing both concerts and additional material. This performance of "Art of Life" was previously released on the Art of Life 1993.12.31 Tokyo Dome DVD.
20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot is a concert tour by Japanese rock band Luna Sea. The tour is the first set of regular concerts given by the band in ten years since their Final Act concerts in December 2000, following a one night reunion concert in 2007 and a performance at the hide memorial summit in 2008.
Tree: Live Tour 2014, also known as the Tree Tour, was the seventh Japanese concert tour by South Korean pop duo Tohoshinki, and was launched in support of their seventh Japanese studio album Tree (2014). It was first announced by the duo in November 2013, during the last show of their fanclub event tour, The Mission II. The theme of the tour was the Tree of Life, in which Tohoshinki, two beings born from the tree of life, use their spirit to save humanity from darkness.
Koda Kumi Live Tour 2019 re(Live) -Black Cherry- is a live concert video released by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi on March 11, 2020. It was released the same day as her live DVD Koda Kumi Live Tour 2019 re(Live) -Japonesque-, since both concerts were performed alongside each other during her 2019 touring. The DVD charted at No. 10 on the Oricon weekly charts, while the Blu-ray charted at No. 15.
