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Josh Hartnett - The Josh and Gackt Fan thread!
Laura Organa Solo says: There are several reasons I am making this post. First of all, because sometimes concrete information on Gackt is scarce. It's definitely hard to find all in one place (especially since a couple people on Wikipedia have decided the article is essentially their property). Second, because it can be annoying to sift through fangirls squealing to actually find things out about him. Thirdly, because Gackt is kind of weird, and I feel the need to explain his weirdness to Westerners who haven't been exposed to him constantly for the last few years. :3 Gackt FAQ Who is this Gackt guy?
Gackt Camui, or Kamui Gakuto (神威楽斗) in Japanese is, first and foremost, a Japanese rock musician from Okinawa. 2008 marks the ninth year of his solo career, and in those nine years he has released nine full-length albums , and a bazillion singles.
He writes all of his own music and lyrics, and has produced a lot of his own works as well. He mostly provides vocals and piano (he is a classically trained pianist -- his parents made him start taking lessons when he was four or five), but he can also play guitar, drums (he started out his modern music career as a drummer and ended up singing because his first band needed to record their demo tape and they didn't have a vocalist yet), violin, shamisen (traditional Japanese instrument), biwa (same), and supposedly learned to play brass instruments from his father. Some video examples here , although I'm not sure about the bass. Prior to his solo career, he was the vocalist for a now-defunct visual kei (rock bands with a wild, visual flair) band Malice Mizer, who I think was partly responsible for bringing modern goth culture to Japan. However, he had almost no creative control in Malice Mizer, so I'm not going to discuss them much. Gackt has also been dabbling in a variety of other media, which of course brings us to acting. His first full-length movie was Moon Child , a delightfully pulp John Woo-style action film. I had low expectations before I saw it -- Gackt authored the story (more on this later), and starred in it, as did even more famous Japanese rock musician Hyde (of the band L'Arc~en~Ciel, one of the most consistently popular bands in Japan for the last fifteen years).
Following Moon Child , did some voice acting: one of the main antagonists in New Fist of the North Star (anime mini-series), the main character in a PS2 video game ( Bujingai -- he also did all of the motion capture for the game's animations), and the much-hated, play-quoting antagonist for two more video games -- Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII . The latter were a HUGE deal both in Japan and to gamers world-wide, as the Final Fantasy series is one of the most popular of all time. Aaaand he also wrote two books: an autobiography, Jihaku , and Moon Child Requiem , a fiction novel that details the events of the movie that were glossed over, and from an alternate perspective as well. It explores the racial tension and race relations that the movie touches upon. How old is Gackt? Why do I keep hearing about him being a vampire? Gackt admitted to being born in 1973. Gackt started saying he was a vampire when he was in Malice Mizer as a part of their dramatic gothic image. He does NOT actually think he is a vampire. At this point, it's just something he jokes about. He looks like a woman! Is he gay? To most Japanese, he doesn't really look that much like a woman. In fact, if you look at the majority of Gackt's peers in the music industry, he's actually quite masculine. In Japan, beautiful men have been considered the height of aesthetic beauty for hundreds of years. Beautiful men are a staple of the entertainment industry, and I think it would be safe to wager that more male musicians are enviously pretty than not, because it helps sell their stuff to women of all ages. It's a safe bet that he isn't gay, though. Not only have there been a couple tabloid scandals involving angry ex-girlfriends and disappointed groupies, but has stated a couple times (and I am explaining this loosely because I don't have exact quotes on hand, unfortunately) that relationships bonds between himself and a woman and himself and another man are different, and the latter isn't conducive to a romantic relationship. It's a possibility that he is bi, though. That said, he has done some overtly homoerotic things on stage during the 2000, 2002, and 2003 tours, but I'm pretty sure this is largely to please the majority of his female fanbase because, to put it bluntly, Japanese women love hot gay action . What's the deal with the recurring "moon" theme? It's called The Moon Project and it's the most extensive "concept album" that I think has ever been done. The Moon Project consists of three original albums ( Moon in 2002, Crescent in 2003, and Diabolos in 2005), the three concert tours for each album, the movie Moon Child , and the novel Moon Child requiem . The story begins in Heian-era Japan around 900-1200 AD and continues at least all the way up to 2045. It's REALLY complicated but it's also really amazing. And it's the reason Gackt's concerts in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 have rather large casts of dancers, as each performance portrays something story If you're curious, Eien no Yume's "Moon" page is the best guide to the entirety of The Moon Project, although some of its sections contain spoilers for the movie Moon Child . Coming soon: "Is Gackt a self-centered egoist? Has he had a lot of plastic surgery? Is he a total phony? WTF, he says he can see dead people? Is he the WORST dancer ever?" and answers to more questions like these. More when I am not really tired and have made sure it's okay to have posted this. :disappointed: Recommended Viewing Gackt as Uesugi Kenshin in battle , 2007. As Uesugi Kenshin and performing "Returner" , on the Kouhaku New Year's Special. Performing on Kouhaku is a big deal in the music industry. Utakata no Yume , 2004 "The Sixth Day & Seventh Night" concert opener. One of my favorite performances. Ash , "Diabolos" concert, 2005 Rain , "Waning Moon" concert, 2002. It's rumored that he actually DID pass out after he went off stage here, and there are photos of him being lugged around unconscious. Gackt haters say it's just attention-whoring and melodrama, but thanks to Fernando Chien's MySpace post, we now have more than just Japanese industry people saying "Gackt sleeps three hours a night, trains like crazy, and is a workaholic." Mizérable music video, 1999. It's still one of his best videos. Original post: The Josh and Gackt Fan thread! |
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