Alright everyone~ TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS!! In J-pop and J-rock do you enjoy the curious yet evolving sound of Ayumi Hamasaki or perhaps the spine grippling screamo idea of Dir en Grey?

Whatever the situation may be, why don't we discuss your favorite japanese artists? ^^ It'll be fun, surely.

>> That and I need to post so I don't look so..newbish.

Ciao E:

i dont mind the music so much. but hamasaki ayumi has such a grip on the fashion industry here that i see a clone of her walking down the street every thirty seconds. i'd be the same if every girl in america dressed like britany spears. oh wait.... they do <_<

There are a lot of great soloists and groups emerging in Japan, and they're actually gaining some popularity in the US, which means we may eventually even see a concert of them here. I can't wait to see which artists are good enough to make the international trip, and which one's will have to remain local.

Well, I like L'arc~en~Ciel. :think: I just think their sound is original and I like their music a lot. :P

i listen to lots of different japanese music, and have many favorites... i'm really into i've sound, a group that produces music for anime and games. they have vocalists, some of which are popular like kotoko (most famous for please teacher/twins and kannazuki no miko), mami kawada (baldr force.exe revolution), eiko shimamiya (higurashi no naku koro ni), and more recently- mell (black lagoon). out of the i've sound girls, my favorites would be eiko shimamiya, kotoko, mami, a tie between kaori utatsuki and shiho.

i also love another similar group, ave;new. they also do music for anime and games with different vocalists like i've sound, and a strong electronic jpop type of influence. people who have watched the karin anime might know ave;new- they produce brace;d- who did the opening song.

switching out of super producers~ i'd say i love eri nobuchika, bonnie pink, capsule, supercar, perfume, advantage lucy, art-school, color filter, and haruka shimotsuki. i highly recommend any of these, they aren't as well known as the likes of ayumi hamasaki-etc, so there's a lot of variety!

but yeah-- i really love japanese music, i even used to help out as staff for a site i left a year ago. we had interviews with color filter and advantage lucy too... *_*

Hamasaki Ayumi and Utada Hikaru are my favorites. they're really good!