Mana
showed up in full visual kei regalia, a black lace dress, teased spiky
hair and white makeup. As loudly as his clothes spoke, Mana's voice was
so soft to be almost indecipherable and it took four trasnaltors to get
his sparse words out at a Saturday interview session. "My philosophy of
life is basically doing what i like to do," he said in one of his
longer quotes. "I just have music inside myself, and I want to bring it
out." Much of the reason for Mana's appearance in California was to
promote a 2006 tour of the U.S., which will bring one of Japan's most
unique stars into territory where his music and style may be unknown.
"I've never done anything in America before - I don't know what to
expect. I hope that if as many people as possible show up, that would
make me very happy." From the reaction of fans to previous visual kei
band performances at anime conventions, there are more female fans than
males for Mana's style of music, but the performer has a different
opinion. 'A lot of the visual kei performers are men, but I don't agree
that a lot of the fans are women. In Europe, the audience was 50-50."
While
Mana said some of the sound of his music came from the classical music
he heard from his father in law, he admitted that the gothic sounds
come from old vampire movies. His fashion style is something different,
something very personal. "There are a number of people who have copied
me, but I'm going for my own unique style. I don't care what others
do." Visual kei is more of a general concept than a school of art, and
each band has its own way of expressing itself, he noted. But that
style has its echoes in the rise of the gothic lolita style for women,
and Mana was asked if he's had an impact on that movement. "I do think
there's deep influence on lolita fashon and on the lifestyle. It's
interesting to see and it does make me happy."
Mana
showed up in full visual kei regalia, a black lace dress, teased spiky
hair and white makeup. As loudly as his clothes spoke, Mana's voice was
so soft to be almost indecipherable and it took four trasnaltors to get
his sparse words out at a Saturday interview session. "My philosophy of
life is basically doing what i like to do," he said in one of his
longer quotes. "I just have music inside myself, and I want to bring it
out." Much of the reason for Mana's appearance in California was to
promote a 2006 tour of the U.S., which will bring one of Japan's most
unique stars into territory where his music and style may be unknown.
"I've never done anything in America before - I don't know what to
expect. I hope that if as many people as possible show up, that would
make me very happy." From the reaction of fans to previous visual kei
band performances at anime conventions, there are more female fans than
males for Mana's style of music, but the performer has a different
opinion. 'A lot of the visual kei performers are men, but I don't agree
that a lot of the fans are women. In Europe, the audience was 50-50."
