Terms used in the Japanese VK scene
This is a quite unusual translation XDD
I've started translating Golden Bomber's †ザ・V系っぽい曲† and there are quite a lot of Japanese VK terms in there. I've already known most of them, but there are some I still don't get x___X" (ドマイナー盤? help? x___X)
Well, I then searched google for a glossary of terms, and came accross this and this.
And now... I've translated the first one! :D Some are not translated, I just didn't really get them or I was just too tired to do them XD"
I don't know if something like this already exists in English, because most of it is really Japan specific... most ppl still don't even know what furi is etc D:
But please do with it what you want! :D Best would be if you spread this so that more ppl know a little more about the Japanese VK scene :D
Enjoy~
(I hope LJ cut works x__X")
First of all, some terms you need to know to understand everything (sorted by importance):
バンギャ || BANGYA
BANGYARU→BANGYA→GYA
An abbreviation for BANDO GYARU (= Band girl). It is the Japanese equivalent to "fangirl", but it is only used for fans of Visual kei bands! It depends on the person whether they want to refer to themselves as a bangya or not since it does have some negative connotations. However, the abbreviation "gya" is commonly and usually used when referring to fans, even to oneself.
盤・盤土・盤度 || ban・ bando・bando
盤 ban = record, tray, shallow bowl.
土 do = soil, earth.
度 do = time (as in "the first time")
Slang term for "band". You will usually only see 盤 though.
Note: The kanji don't make sense. Their reading just fits the sound of the words.
麺・麺婆 || men・menbaa
麺 men = noodles
婆 baa = old woman, hag
Slang term for "member"
Note: The kanji don't make sense. Their reading just fits the sound of the words.
本命 || honmei
Means "favourite".
(大)本命盤 || (tai)honmei-ban
Your favourite band. With the 大 in front of honmei it's your favourite favourite band.
(大)本命麺 || (tai)honmei-men
your favourite member. With the 大 in front of honmei it's your favourite favourite member.
神盤 || kamiban
An artist who "died" (not necessarily literally though). A term used to describe bands who broke up.
It means: they are not active anymore, but they keep living in my heart.
羅犬 (らいぬ) || rainu
A word that comes from the word "raivu". It means live (raivu) = concert.
アンコ || anko
An abbreviation for Ankooru (Encore). Encore is shouted when the live is seemingly over. However, it is usual for a band to appear on stage again after the fans shouted encore.
While in Europe fans shout it for a minute and then give up, it is usual at Japanese concerts to shout until the band appears on stage again without break.
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Furitsuke specific terms
振り付け || furitsuke (furi)
Handmovements / choreography. This is very very typical for Japanese Visual kei lives. It is usually only done at Visual kei lives but it also depends on the band whether you do it or not. A common generalization is that the more indie and oshare a band is, the more you do furi. Furitsuke slowly takes on in the west as well. Some bands show how the furi is done to the audience and the fans adapt it.
Some songs have very specific furi and you have to learn how to do it, otherwise you'll be lost and the furi part is over before you realize how the choreography works. However, there are lots of movements that you just know are coming right now, depending on the sound of the song.
I will write more about furi in a seperate post though.
土下座ヘドバン || dogeza HEDOBAN (= kneeling down headbang)
You really kneel down to the floor and then headbang.
逆ダイ || Gyaku-DAI (= reverse-dive)
That's when you raise your fist but turn it inside out at the same time and also at the same time you throw your head downwards (like headbanging) and pull your arm down. It's a bit hard to describe, sorry.
ヘドバン || HEDOBAN
An abbr. for headbanging. Japanese fans really give their all when headbanging. Sometimes the vocal shouts "atama! atama!" (atama = head) when a headbanging part in a song comes up.
拳・拳盤 || kobushi・kobushi-ban
Raising the fist (kobushi = fist)
A kind of furi (hand movement) that suits death vocals. You pointedly shake your fist back and forth.
メンコ || MENKO
abbr. for MEMBAA KOORU = member call
I include this here because usually saki is done when calling the member's name.
咲き || saki (bloom)
Extending both hands and calling the name of your favourite member.
looks like this → ヽ(゜∀゜)ノ～♪
It means "Emabrace me!". It is usually done eg. inbetween songs, when the men appear on stage or when the concert is over and they leave the stage.
咲き声 || sakigoe (= blooming voice)
When you do saki and call the name of a member in a high pitched voice. Usually it's perceived as very annoying by western fans, but Japanese fans try to be cute and to be heard by the men this way.
咲く || saku (to bloom)
the verb for saki.
ソロ || Solo
In terms of furi, this is when you extend your arms and cross them. Then you wriggle with your fingers and move your arms up and down. This is done during a guitar or bass solo. If you do this, you turn into the direction of the men who is doing the solo and point towards them.
手バン || te-BAN
Derived from "headbang" (tebang = handbang).
It's a very common movement. You shake your hands alternately back and forth to the beat of the music.
手扇子 || tesensu (hand folding fan)
It's difficult to describe. Usually done when a song changes into a slower tempo. You do wave like movements above your head with your arms, turning them inside out.
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A
上がる || agaru
Retiring from being a fan
安置・アンチ(あんち) || Anchi → anti
Used for bands you hate. Though it is usually used with "anti fan", so someone who doesn't like a band.
煽り(あおり) || Aori (= agitation)
This is something that especially the vocal does. When they say things like "Jump! Jump!" or "Come on!" and so on to stir up the fans.
アー写 || A-sha
An abbreviation for "Artist photos"
(there's also the word 写メ (sha-ME) which means a pic posted in a blog by mobile phone)
B
バンギャ男(お) || BANGYAo
The male version of BANGYA. Also GYAo.
物販 || buppan
Merchandise sold at a live.
D
ダイホ || DAIHO
An abbr. for "Diamond Hall", a live house
ダイブ || DIVE
Stage diving
デスヴォ || DESUVO (= Death Voice)
A low, growling like sound.
It can be used to shout a member’s name when the band doesn’t like sakigoe.
ド上 || DOkami
The edge of the kamite (right hand side of the stage)
ドセン || DOSEN
being right in front of the vocal
ド下手 || DOshimote
The edge of the shimote (left hand side of the stage)
E
ex (いーえっくす)
Used for band members that formerly have been in another band. When they join a new band, the "ex" band is usually indicated after their names to show people that they have already been in another band.
F
不安 || fuan
lit. = anxiety, worries, but it sounds (almost) the same as "fan" and it’s probably also pronounced as “fan”
It’s a slang word for a “fan”.
フライヤー || FURAIYA (= flyer)
Sometimes men themselves hand them out, especially dominor bands. But you can find tons of them in CD shops. You get them for free, of course.
古株 ||Furukabu (= veteran)
A term to describe someone who likes old VKei bands like X-Japan or Luna sea.
H
箱 || hako (= box)
Means "live house", usually a small one.
梅ホリ・梅堀 || UmeHORI
HOLIDAY OSAKA
A live house in Osaka/Umeda
I
池(いけ) || ike (lit. = pond)
Means a pretty person. maybe you know the word "ikemen"... well, it's the same, but not only for guys. Can be used for band members and fans.
インスト || Insto
Abbreviation for "Instore Event"
It's an event where you can talk with the band, hand shake, get autographs and take pictures.
They take place to commemorate the sale of a new CD and usually take place in a CD shop where you can also directly buy the CD.
Only indie bands usually do this. When a band becomes famous they will probably stop doing that.
K
上手 || Kamite
The right hand side of the stage from the pov of the fans
顔不安 || kao fuan (lit. = face anxiety)
Kao fan = Face fan ... A fan who likes bands only for their looks
コテ || KOTE
An abbr. for KOTEKOTE (= heavy, thick)
Someone who dresses up mainly in black with Punk and Heavy metal clothes.
The face is painted white and the lips are black, also fake blood is used.
M
モッシュ || MOSH
Jumping left and right to the rhythm. A mosh is a bit different at Japanese VK lives from the “mosh” that is generally known in the western world. Usually fans won’t really mosh like we know it, but they will jump criss-cross and in the end, miraculously, stand in the same spot where they stood before the mosh started.
盲目 || moumoku (= blindness)
When you can think of nothing else but your favourite member. Think of the phrase “love is blind”.
N
名ホリ・名堀 || naHORI
HOLIDAY NAGOYA. A live house in Nagoya.
日武 || nibu = Nihon Budokan
沼 || numa (lit. = swamp)
The opposite of ike (pond). It means a ugly person. Of course it's considered quite rude, so don't use it for other people.
O
汚バンギャ || O-BANGYA (the kanji means "dirty, unclean"
An abbreviation for an o-ba-san BANGYARU (= an old fan, maybe in their 30ies, 40ies). Because this is a quite rude word, it's not used much, only to refer to oneself.
オフィ・オヒ || OFI
An abbr. for Official Homepage. In the west the abbreviation is usually OHP (Official HomePage)
オフィ画 || Ofi-ga
An abbr. for the pictures (画像) that are used on the official homepage. This includes profile pictures and pics the members use in their blog.
オキニ || OKINI
The term originates from "o-ki ni iri", which means "being pleased with something" or "favourite".
A term to describe a fangirl who is liked by the members. One cannot really be sure whether a fan is really liked by the members though. Rumors will arise like "Isn't she a okini of this and that?" etc.
オキラ || OKIRA
Originates from "o-kirai", "to hate something".
The opposite of OKINI. It means to be disliked by the members. Probably when you have behaved badly at a live and the members notice it.
音源 || Onben (=sound source)
It's used to describe a CD.
音源ギャ || onben GYA
A fan who doesn't go to lives. A fan who only collects CDs and DVDs.
オサ・オサレ || OSA・OSARE
It means "oshare" (= fashion-conscious, stylish).
Oshare kei is also a related style to Visual kei, just usually more colorful or cutesy.
S
咲き禁盤 || saki kin-ban
A term to describe bands who have prohibited doing saki. Usually darker bands that are far from cute or oshare.
晒す || sarasu (= to expose)
Presenting personal information from a person you hate to the public in the internet. Usually used against tsunagari.
新ホリ・新堀 || ShinHORI
HOLIDAY SHINJUKU. A really small live house in Tokyo, Shinjuku district.
新規 || shinki (=novelty)
Someone who recently began to like Vkei.
シャウト || Shout
集会 || shuukai (meeting, assembly)
When fans who like a band meet to have fun. A fan meeting so to say.
背ダイ || seiDAI (back diving)
When someone who is in the front row jumps backwards to do the diving
整番 || seiban
an abbr. for "seiribangou" (=reference number) on the live ticket you get. Numbers are usually given after the first come first serve system. If the band has a fanclub, fanclub ticket numbers will be lower than generally sold ticket numbers. Sometimes ticket numbers are also alloted through a lottery system and you will get a number by random.
セトリ || SETORI
An abbr. for Settorisuto (= setlist)
(総)仕切り || (sou)shikiri (= general divison)
This is done at events with several bands. On such lives, there are usually fans who are always in the first row. They are fans who went to the bands lives from the beginning of their career and they have the authority to be in the first row, so to say. To make sure that no one else gets in the first row, there is usually someone who keeps track of who's in the first row. There might be one person who keeps track for the whole event or there is one person for every single band.
It is considered very rude if you break this rule. You can ask whether you're allowed into the first row, but usally it's not done and not granted.
柵乗り || saku nori (= climbing the fence [this saku has nothing to do with the saku from before])
At small lives, when fans in the front row step on the fence and do the saki etc.
柵超え || saku koe (= cross the fence)
Done at small live houses.
T
潰し || tsubushi (smashing)
When you kick and hit people you don't like at a live. So... Don't do it.
W
w || warau
This is used on the internet a lot, and not only in the VK scene. It's the japanese equivalent to "lol". It comes from "warau" which means "laugh".
Y
横蟻 || yokoari (ari is written with the kanji for "ant" w)
Yokohama Arena
Z
雑食 || zasshoku (= omnivorous w)
It means liking multiple bands.