As an heterosexual male 53 here... I have been "in love" with male bands all my life, like maiden, crue, helloween and thousand more... now I am mostly listen to asian female bands like Nemophila, Koiai, East of Eden, Atarashi Gakko, Rolling Quartz, others not fully female like Maximum The Hormone... and definetly I am totally in love with them... of course I am not blind and they being beautiful females is a plus, but also I am "in love" with guys like Maynard Keenan and Mike Patton which I consider ugly as f... so, it is a nice plus being a band with nice looking females, but overall is the full package, not only being females... if Nemophila were a bunch of guys, with same music I would love them anyway...

My favorite band at the moment, male or female, is Band-Maid. I initially avoided them because the thumbnail shown on KZbin for the video "Thrill" led me to believe they were just another idol group. When I finally clicked on that thumbnail I was blown away. I wouldn't care about them if they weren't fantastic musicians with the ability to melt your face one moment then back off and play smooth and easy the next. I also appreciate "The Gap"... their maid appearance in tension with their play style. Sexuality doesn't enter the equation for me, if they played naked but had no skill I wouldn't care.

Esthetic can be just as off putting as attractive. It's a great way to get attention, and Japanese bands really lean into an aesthetic that no other country really does so it stands out automatically. But while that visual gets you to click, it's the music/live performance that will keep the listener there and create a fan in the process. Japan is a culture that feeds on performance and flashy visuals in all media so why would metal music be different? There ARE male groups who do this same thing and succeed (like Jikuka) but there again, you need something to keep the listener's attention once the theatrics wear off. I feel like this is why "gimmick" acts fail so quickly in the US, they just don't have the talent to back up the initial promise of something different. It's more about the laugh and less about the music and it shows.

I'd love to bring them into schools in the UK to inspire home-grown talent ! None of my colleagues at work were willing to even turn out to see a rock band - ignoring the origin.

It's a UK 65 YO "oldie" here ! Don't do social media and found this gem during the lockdown. I sadly treated BM as a gimmick for weeks before hearing THRILL... then I was sold. 1. I got tired of listening to drug addled men gripping about their lives. That said I still listen to BMTH and others due to enjoying the results of their hard work and creativity. 2. Too old to be attracted by superficial "looks" they have to impress with their talent and dedication to the job - being an attractive personality must help. 3. Having seen Bridear live here in the UK - their performance was hard to fault - Kimi sounded a wee bit jet-lagged and tired - but they were due to record a live album later that week in London..... 4. Don't know any Japanese male rock bands - LoL ! 5. They all seem to be having fun ! Hanabie are as mad as a box of frogs - Luv It ! 6. Band-Maid - Bridear - Hanabie - Lovebites - Nemophila - Trident - - In Alphabetical Order Only ! Plus a bit of Ado - Babymetal - Garnidelia - Milet - ReoL - Saki 7. Haru and her bass (Bridear) are my absolute favourite - she's just great, Hettsu gets a mention for her awesome crowd interaction live... Kanami is just so wonderfully humble and talented ! Most of the time I'm listening at work using headphones so appearance is irrelevant.... noise cancelling isn't !! I have no idea how "successful" these bands are financially. HTH

What an interesting topic, I have been asking myself a lot about these recently, but the whole answer would be too long about eastern culture, not only in Japan, so I will just answer the questions. But before, a litte previous note: I think there are different cases which we cannot compare, depending on the concept of the band. For instance, my favourite band is Roselia. I cannot imagine a similar male band, since their concept is so intrinsically femenine, that it would make no sense. It must be an all female band, no option. On the other hand, take Nemophila: the kind of music they do, their style... everything is so generic that you could create a male band doing the same, and I would like them the same way. Maybe some songs like their last "Beautiful days" show a perspective that men usually wouldn't do, but in general, I think they would be equally appreciated if they were men. Now the questions: Do you think there is any credibility to the argument that if these bands were male, they would not have the same level of success or popularity? / Do you think if these bands were male, you would be as excited about them as a fan? It depends on the case. Some of them like Nemophila or Hagane, I think it would be very similar. But in some cases like the BangDream! factory, like Raise a Suilen or Roselia, I think that the fact of beign women is crucial. Do you think gender could be playing a part in the popularity of these bands, beyond physical attraction? Of course. The glamour, the kind of lyrics they sing, their image, dresses... There are several things that can be a plus. What is the elusive quality that these female artists possess that has led to such a dedicated fanbase? For decades, men like me have missed women so much in the rock scene. I remember those old "good"(?) days were we just saw Doro, Lita Ford or Vixen... not much more. Now it's wonderful to watch so many talented, powerful, and of course sometimes beautiful women playing rock. Are the fanbases of all-male Japanese rock and metal bands as dedicated as those of all-female bands? / What are the demographics of the fanbases of all-male Japanese rock and metal bands? I don't know many male japanese fans right now (even when I have really tried to find them!), so I cannot say. But in my case, if I really like a musician, I wouldn't care, so I think so. What are your current favorite bands? Roselia, Hagane and Nemophila, above all. Are there any new Japanese artists or bands you recommend? I am very interested in Koiai, a band where we can see Hazuki, from Nemophila, playing together with the guitar-monster Li-sa-X. The new Hagane, with Junna is also a promising master band for the upcoming years, we'll see. Thanks for your wonderful and interesting channel. I have just discovered it, and of course, suscription was mandatory ;)

It's almost a year since I was watching some old Lollapalooza videos recalling the days when music was a very important part of my life. It was not unusual for me to see 20 shows a year. As my favorite bands (Rush, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Iron Maiden...) retired or faded away and my favorite rockers passed one by one, so did my love of music. Nu-metal just isn't my thing and I have never really liked pop or rap aside from a few songs. So. I just listened to the same old songs and albums. Although I still love the music, the thrill was gone. But then a KZbin algorithm suggested a Band-Maid video. I was not used to seeing an all female rock group so I thought I would just give it a quick listen. I honestly thought, well this can't be that good but I'll at least give it a try. What happened when I heard the first songs from Band-Maid was like a complete musical overload in my brain. I thought YES! This is what I have been missing. I immediately started listening to more and more bands. The fact that this music was being performed by young women was quite the surprise for a 60 year old American rocker but it was a great to see. Not because I find them attractive but because they were all supremely skilled musicians and their song writing skills are off the chart. Female Japanese rockers have rekindled my love of music and I am forever grateful to them for that. For the first time in many years, I look forward to what music is to come from these great bands.

And about appearance: 1) I like to look at women more 2) If you are a rock or metal band, you have to wear themed costumes, it is a show after all 3) Appearance is only partially important, talent is important. One of the most popular Japanese singers has never been seen, but her popularity is growing in both Japan and the West.

I listen to both female and male rock and metal Japanese bands. And gender doesn't matter. I listen to Japanese music because they have preserved and developed rock and metal, mixing them with other genres, which I also love. Their music is innovative, and that's what makes it interesting. Everyone is tired of old cliches and templates. This is the reason why I stopped listening to Western music, except for a few bands.

I've been listening to Japanese music for quite some time now and I'd like to add a few things: 1) Music education is very widespread in Japan, music theory and basic instrument playing are taught in elementary school, in high school students join extracurricular clubs, boys mostly go to sports, and girls to music. There are also many special schools, such as the Yamaha Corporation school chain. 2) The Japanese show business has very strict rules regarding drugs and inappropriate behavior. If you get caught once, you're done for, you'll never get into show business again. 3) They practice a lot, for example, Kanami from BM practices guitar for 4 hours every day, in addition to all her other activities. She even fainted at a concert in Chicago, from physical exhaustion. You don't see such a work ethic very often.

Would Peter be alive if he went to the hospital instead of being with Tito?

I think one of my favorite all male Japanese rock groups is Ningen Isu. They're old school - from the 80's. But I like their style and sound. It takes me back to the rock music childhood and teen years. As for a female group I didn't see, I'd have to say I didn't see Hagane. But I could have missed them. They had a breakup but and have new members. Probably the most notable is Junna on drums. Personally, my favorite all female group out of Japan is Band-Maid. Surprise, surprise, right? I see there a lot of fanboys in the comments. Which is fine. Band-Maid is the epitome of a talented rock group with members that actually like each other. Regardless, I've pretty much listened to every band you showed in your video. They're all talented and have great music. I have come to believe that Japan is saving rock music from dying out. There are some great bands that pop up from time to time in the US and Europe but nothing like what's currently coming out of Japan. I seriously respect the Japanese rock scene. There is talent everywhere. Male groups, female groups, mixed groups. Even groups that include traditional Japanese instruments with hard rock/metal (most prominent example: Wagakki Band). There's a lot to choose from from all music genres.

I realize I'm writing this two years after you uploaded this video, so you (Psychology of Rock) probably won't see this but I just put this out in the ether. When I first heard Band-Maid, I was reluctant. Up to that point, I had only ever been fans of a few all girl rock groups. The maid costumes definitely felt like a gimmick to me. But when I listened to them, I thought "wow, that guitarist is pretty good." The I thought "wow, that bass player is good too." Then I thought "man, that drummer is killing it." After watching a few of their videos, my love affair for Band-Maid began. The story of how they all got together and the sheer talent of every member is the stuff of legend.

When it comes to female rock power, we can happily travel further back in rock history. When the first self-titled album by the american rock band THE RUNAWAYS was released in 1976 with the young female musicians Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandie West, this band line-up was only short-lived for a number of reasons. Despite this, they sparked real enthusiasm and great cheers outside of their homeland in another country with this album and their concerts there. Ladies and gentlemen, THE RUNAWAYS experienced this in JAPAN and could not believe what they experienced there 😉

LOVEBITES transcends gender, genre, and geography. Yes, they are gorgeous and mature, intelligent women, not merely cute or "kawaii". Their (English) lyrics resonate globally and their acclaimed musicianship places them at the very top of their craft. They are unique among almost all Japanese bands in choosing to sing primarily in English. This is a very difficult and daunting task for most native Japanese speakers. It reflects their vision, determination, and depth of character as wise women whose message, as well as their music, will establish their global legacy for generations to come.

Do you think having co-writers contributes to the overall meaning of the song? Also, signing with a record label?

I also listen to some male or mixed gender bands such as Sokoninaru. I believe that the appeal in these all-female bands lies in several directions: 1) they have the power of the underdog, very much like the final girl in horror movies, there is something immensely appealing about seeing someone succeed against all odds 2) particularly for eastern asian all female rock bands (drinking boys and girls choir would be an example from South Korea) this is one of the few avenues they have to succeed in a generally very male dominated society. For this reason, they always give 1000% and their shows are just a pleasure to see. 3) for me, having made music for the past 45 years on an amateur basis, it is interesting to see that these bands very often use the higher tonal ranges in vocals and instruments and a much larger melodic range, while western metal and punk bands prefer the lower ranges, so that the music very often seems more like a growl than a song (which is also fun, when you're in the mood for it); this higher range and great melodies is something I find refreshing; I have often heard people say that for instance bands such as Band Maid sound like the rock bands they remember from their youth. This must in parts explain the large fanbase that some of these bands have in older men 4) I think the attraction they pose as females only plays a subordinate role here; when I think of western female bands this is also only a minor factor; you might have an initial crush, but you stay for the music.

I can only speak for myself: I enjoy the remarkable talent being displayed in the music and on stage by these Asian female artists. Their approach to metal/rock/etc., is refreshing as well as their upfront attitude about being feminine, strong, determined, humble and tough. Their personalities are a big plus as well (in particular, BAND-MAID for me). I have never been one to be a part of a fandom per se - that is until I was drawn in to the individuals of, yes, BAND-MAID. So wonderfully humble and real and upper tier musicians. Too wordy? Sorry. I love innovative music while still being able to relate, hum to and enjoy. Many of the current bands today are pushing the standards to a much higher technical level and, I believe, most of these groups responsible for music evolving are the Asian female bands of today.

It's very ironic that many Band-Maid fans claim they don't care whether a band is made up of Japanese women, yet the comments section of any video by English speakers about all-female Japanese bands is filled with Band-Maid fans. Hanabie has more monthly Spotify listeners than Band-Maid, even though they're far less well-known in Japan, suggesting that Hanabie has far more English-speaking fans than Band-Maid. However, you rarely see Hanabie fans commenting on these videos, whereas the top comments are always from Band-Maid fans. Very interesting.

I am a 60 year old male. My favorites are Lovebites, Nemophila, Saki, Koiai, and korean Rolling Quartz and DIH. These bands remind me of my youth. They have the same youthful energy and joy of discovery I sensed in the great rock bands in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Today, rock music in the west is dead. Old tired cliches circulated over and over again. Strangely, using the same ingredients, the japanese girl bands create fresh and enegising music. There is a some kind of new angle and approach. The music is alive. Why not male bands? Getting older, I have less and less tolerance for the childish tough guy act most (younger) men play. I value sincerity, openness and warmth these girl bands radiate. They don’t take themselves too seriously, but can fool and joke freely. And that is why they can connect so well with their audiences. Most males are too busy keeping up appearances to really connect, or relax. No more testosterone induced showing off for me, thank you. Of course looks and sex appeal play a role, but if the music and playing was bad or even mediocre, I would not waste a second on these bands. The world is full of beautiful women, but the level of musicianship which eg. Lovebites displays, is extremely rare. They are popular because of their talent and hard work. Looks is just a bonus.

As a fan of many Japanese all-female rock bands the first thing that matters is that they are excellent bands and hit the spot inside me that back in the day was hit by mostly male rock and metal bands. It is also my opinion that most of the more interesting rock and metal (and pop for that matter) is being made in Japan. With regards to them being all female it is nice to see the cute factor and the bright costumes as it brings something new and a welcome change from just denim and leather but this is more of a secondary bonus rather than the main attraction, which is the quality of the music. There are plenty of cute bands that do not get my attention because the music is not to my taste. As a final point I think that female Japanese bands are being promoted much more than the male bands so they are more likely to be noticed. Finally there are also some very good Japanese bands that have both male and female members that are equally loved, such as Saiseiga and Sokoninaru because they are also superb.

While it is probably true being beautiful females has drawn people in, it’s their talent that keeps us coming back. I’ll put it this way, there’s a lot of hot pop stars but the music is atrocious so I don’t listen to it.

I am a 50 Year Old metalhead. I grew up with Iron maiden, Helloween, metallica, Megadeth, slayer, Dream Theater, Fates warning, skyclad and other bands. Lovebites easily on my top 5 all time metal bands.

Something I witnessed in Japan blew my tiny English Brain. I flew to Japan in 2023 to follow Band-Maid on tour for a few weeks (I saw four shows in nine days). At one point I got to Sapporo the day before the Maids were to play and went to check out where the venue was. When I got there a punk band was loading in. I decided to buy a ticket. The Band-Maid shows were (as usual) about 85-90% males with an average age of at least 50. This punk gig (two all male bands playing) the audience was about 75-80% female with an average age of about 18. Yes, a huge portion of the crowd were under 18 young females. Many attending on their own. Some in large 'gangs' lol! The girl in front of me was 13 if she was a day. The crowd went totally nuts. One band was crowd surfing on wooden boards about the size of two doors while playing a song. There was a bar and absolutely no security. Everyone was safe and well behaved, I didn't see any under age drinking either. It made this old punk (I'm 58) VERY happy to see youngsters rocking out to punk rock! But the crowd demographics really did blow my brain. The older ages and mainly male audiences at Band-Maid concerts is understandable due to the music they play - us old fogies remember that music from our youths. But young Japanese girls into punk? Who knew lol!

i was a huge metalhead nerd growing up,however the last 3 years ive been so obsessed over bluegrass and been learning the style.i love all music but the grass calls to me the most not sure why

Why isnt the BY FAR most popular one in this video?

I've pretty much abandoned western metal and rock in favour of Japanese music. For me, the reasons are clear. Initially, it's the novelty of something fresh and different. That's great. Japanese bands deliver surprises - especially bands like Maximum the Hormone and Nemophila. Very unpredictable. When the novelty wears off, what I found with the all-women bands is that the music is very positive. Western metal is full of immature macho posing; trite imagery of battles, demons, corpses and wolves; relentless angst and pessimism and pantomime sneering. The music we get from Japanese women is positive, fun and emotionally engaging. Western metal is largely emotionally constipated and has no idea how to have fun. We frequently see comments on the Japanese female band MVs from men saying that the music or the performance had brought them to tears. I've experienced it myself. When did we last get that emotionally engaged with music by Metallica, Gojira, Killswitch Engage or whatever? Of course, there will always be some fans who have nothing more to contribute than "You're cute" or "Marry me", but whatever. When did we last watch a male western metal band give a performance that was just fun and a joy to watch and hear? I want blast beats, shredding, and crushing riffs, but I don't want to be depressed. Also, I love a good pop hook. Bands like KOIAI, Nemophila, Bridear and Trident deliver catchy tunes as well as heavy music and virtuosity. They're not afraid to play pop-rock if they feel like it, and I'm not afraid to sing and dance along with it. So there. I could live without the costumes and uniforms favoured by people like Lovebites, Band-Maid and Trident, but that's a minor detail and I can't say it puts me off. It's certainly less silly than the ridiculous sartorial gag that always put me off watching Slipknot.

the LOVEBIES have quickly become my favourite band of all time, the reason is the music they play and their incredible talent, the fact that they are also beautiful girls is just an added bonus, in JPOP and KPOP there are lots of beautiful girls but I don't care and I don't look at them 😊

I think being female could really make a difference in their popularity. Rock as a genre is really old now and has always been dominated by men. Over several decades. And rock was loosing popularity and is kind of stuck in it's evolution over time. Rock is mainly associated with old people today. But then having a female singer makes a difference in sound and tone colour / timbre, it is different from what we already know. And their appearence sets the music in a new kind of context. For example Lovebites play pretty 'old school' heavy metal, but imagine you heard a Lovebites song as it is but played by wasp or iron maiden etc., would it still be the same experience? The all female bands do have aspects we haven't heard or seen before and male rock bands aren't as dominating as in the past.

Terminal Band-Maid fan here (meaning till the day I die). KZbin kept recommending me the Thrill MV and I kept avoiding it, thinking "this would be a bunch a cute Japanese girls who didn't know how to play with Alvin like pitched voices". So, one fateful day I relented and click play... "Wow, they sound good" but I wasn't still sold on the idea. "Let's look for a live video" I found Play, that version with the sick solo intro by MISA. I'm still looking for pieces of my jaw, it hit the floor so hard it broke. So yes, they may be cute, dress funny and be a novelty to male bands but they play so fucking hard and good... What's not to love.

The topic is discussed often within the western jmetal fanbase. These female bands get compared to legacy metal acts in the west because there is no western equivalent. Females playing like men, that is the hook. japan and specifically japanese women able to pull off very well. That is just one aspect to the appeal. the hair metal we never knew we wanted.

I think apart from KZbin reactors featuring all-female bands, all-male bands are a lot bigger domestically. Unfortunately, not many female would like to support visually appealing all-female bands whether with or without talent. Inevitably majority of fans end up being male. And having devoted male/and some female fans is the only way for them to survive in my honest opinion. All female bands vs female fronted bands also seem to have slightly different sound scape in general. It could be because the brain of female songwriters and male songwriters work differently at creative level. I don't know. I'm female as well, and I don't really care whether the musicians are female or male, all different and some I love better than others.

1rst of all, check out One Okay Rock, X Japan, Luna Sea, Seikima 11, Luna Sea, Ningen Isu. 2nd, men don't like to listen to hoary women so much. Some like to have sex with hoary women but not many like to listen to them. These Japanese Women are just what most single men would like to bring home to mom. Dads love to take their daughters to their concerts. They do not proselytize hoary lifestyles wallowing in drugs and barely disguised Evil. Read - The - Lyrics, this doesn't seem to get a mention from you. Japan - one of the most depressed populations in the world with a very brutal work culture produced "Kawaii". Centuries of warfare between prefectures and forever natural disasters with entertainers passing down their skills and genes. Personally I have zero interest in Beyonce or Taylor Swift. Carol King and Karen Carpenter o$iPhone interest to me. When women sing songs about positive spirituality and act like they believe in God they become very fascinating to men and women. Very refreshing as America is pushing true Satan worship in music, disguised as hedonism. Just examine the Diddy Combs Child Rape Syndicate backed by Hollywood if you doubt me.

As an old western male I've seen and heard lots of rock and metal since my youth (beginning with Cream, Deep Purple and many many more). But I never had heard female rock bands at the same level of skill as for example Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai and all the other "guitar heroes". Yes, there were some female bands too - but very very few. And now, as an old man, I discovered the Japanese female rock- and metal scene (during covid lockdown) - and I was simply blown away! I never had heard that high level music of young female musicians. It is not that they are just "talented", but some of them a real musical virtuosos and geniuses! By now I could easily name some 30 to 50 names of outstanding Japanese female rock and metal musicians; just to name some: Miyako from Lovebites who at the same time is a concert level pianist AND a world class metal guitarist AND a marvelous composer. I have never seen something like this. Or Junna (now HAGANE member): I've seen lots of amazingly skilled drummers (male and female), but never someone so entertaining and full of joy and energy like this little lady (some 150 cm). I'm really grateful to have met her in person for exchanging some words on her European tour with Fate Gear in summer 2023. And I could go on and on: there are so many surprisingly skilled female musicians in Japan (And Asia altogether) that by now I almost listen exclusively to their music. My personal highlights of course are Lovebites and Nemophila; and recently I'm somewhat "addicted" to the new formed HAGANE. You should listen to them if you haven't done yet. With the extensively skilled composer and "guitar goddess" Sakura, the rocksolid bassist Sayaka and the new members Junna (drums) and Nagi with her really "magical voice" they play metal that hit me right in my heart. A wonderful experience - since the days of my youth I never had this feeling again listening to rock and metal. Reading the comments of people who watch their music videos (Tengagoken for example almost reached 1 million views after 4 or 5 months) I found myself in good company with respect to the feelings that HAGANE are able to induce in their audience. I hope I could have given some reasons why "old white males" of the Western World are now admiring female Japanese rock and metal bands!

Japanese Male Metal and Rock bands are a bigger beast than the Japanese Female Metal and Rock bands. Let's get you started with some of the older bands like Malice Mizer, X Japan, L'Arc-en-Ciel, Dir en Grey, Glay, Siam Shade. Then we move on to bands in the last decade like coldrain, One OK Rock, SID, SiM, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, UVERworld, Asian Kung-fu Generation. Listen to their music, watch their lives, and see what makes the Male and Female bands different. In terms of their fandom, it's actually going to be a big surprise to a lot of westerners, but they have a slightly higher ratio of female to male fans. What I find fascinating is that the Western fans treat the female Japanese metal and rock bands as some second coming, not realizing that these bands are catering to a missing niche Western fans are looking for that modern Western Metal and Rock is missing.

I noticed on your channel when discussing Japanese female rock/metal groups you never mention the group that started it all ie babymetal ? Question for you is why not ? Not metal/rock enough ? Other pre or misconceptions. If you want a band that polorizes that's one to focus on

But in one certain aspect it did not quite work as expected. Their female japanese fans in general did not dare to go to metal concerts. They bought the CDs but very few female fans dared to go to their japanese concerts. In Europe their never was such a problem, they had women for a long time in many roles. But not in Japan. They needed sufficient Background to meet with female friends to go to concerts. Today, especially after they became the new Babymetal they even hve many girls in their concerts. In 2013 there were no limitations . There were extremly small girls that came with their parents. But if we look at the Tickets for their first European and UK Arena Tour, there is an "ab 6" on the Tickets. While the first true maximum was 10 ( together with parents), previously the age was more like 5 to 85. Even in their clothes there was an extreme difference. At first Koba was obviously a bit Gothic Loloita inspired but then he lost any interest in their uniforms and his female assistants took over together with the girls. They used tull Shirts and an armor Motive and these were so useable that Koba Determined that they would do all Interviews and PR dates in their uniform, which also had the advantages that no one would recognize them in their normal Streit clothes. While their female fans often come in Cosplay. And their current costumes are for a female Group extremly conservative. But the japanese Labels saw that in their first years they had a nearly exklusiv fanbase in japanese cpncerts, although there Choreo was from the begin targeted for their female fans.

Old guy (66) here...and working (often as a pro with music being my sole income) musician for the better part of that. While I have a pretty wide range of musical genre preferences , I tend towards pretty aggressive stuff. My favorite band on the planet for a few years now? Nemophila. Much of that has strictly to do with their jaw-dropping musicianship. But I also find myself drawn to their incredible chemistry and charisma. The whole band has that going, and I've described Mayu (singer/frontwoman...and recently rhythm guitarist) as a "weapon of mass charisma." Their live shows have never failed to deliver that rare "I am in the presence of greatness" vibe. But on reflection (and your video isn't the first time I've reflected on this point), I think less of that has to do with gender and their physical appearance than with the band's ability to project their chemistry to an audience. Yes, they're good looking, but like several other band mentioned, they don't present a sexualized image or even a non-sexualized _female_ image as a marketing tool. They don'd present themselves as a "girl band," just as a _band_. They are first and foremost interested in being perceived as serious, capable musicians. As mentioned, this is more the standard approach among bands in this niche (either all-female or coed bands like Unlucky Morpheus, Asterism, or Saiseiga). Even the "outfit bands" - you know what I mean: bands with themed, semi-matching outfits like Band-Maid, Lovebites, Hagane, or the Zillion Mode bands (FullMooN, Empress, Sirius...) - don't sex it up with their outfits. These aren't pop idol units. There are some exceptions, and this the above really only applies to Japanese bands, as other Asian scenes in other countries/cultures often have a very different presentation standard for female acts. Oh, and there's the near-uncategorizeable wonderfulness of Hanabie., whose "Harajukucore" look and sound is hugely about style and fashion (and their look is internally-developed mostly by bassist Hettsu), but who not only aren't really sexualized but are also one of the most musically innovative things going in modern metal. I gas on about the above because I think it's an important factor to my personal liking for so many of these bands: it's easy to view them as colleagues, as fellow "serious" (pretentious term, but that's not how I intend it!) musicians. They're not playing up their femaleness as a marketing tool while still often acknowledging that it can get people to notice them...and then hopefully give their _music_ a chance. And once you DO give them that chance, you quickly realize that so many of them are very, very good musicians indeed. I live in Sapporo and go to shows here, and travel down to Tokyo a lot to attend shows; I myself play mostly fusion these days...a different scene. I'm talking about shows I go to be in the audience. The all-female and female-fronted bands have a pretty strongly male-skewed domestic live audience...most shows are at least 90/10. That actually skews _less_ in a sausage-fest direction when there are male bands on the bill and for bills with solely male bands (or bands with only the occasional non-front-person female member). Another important point: there are also a lot of otaku fans: guys who are _heavily_ into certain bands. You may or may not see these guys at shows for even very similar music to their favorites...but they will travel to multiple stops on their faves' tours and buy every available piece of merch if they have the dosh. For the more (domestically) popular bands in this niche, a large portion of the audience will be their otaku...which of course skews things for analysis purposes. This is kind of an idol phenomenon that has carried over into this scene. Which brings me to some of my new faves. A couple newer acts I've taken to are icontinew (prog-informed modern metal, but with a bit of a deliberate nudge in a poppier direction on the last couple tracks), KOIAI (heavily prog-flavored but still chill...and with possibly the most insane, world-class technical chops of _any_ of these bands), and PaleNeØ (complex modern metal with some versatile songwriting). Also flying a bit under the radar of even a lot of Western fans of Japanese "girl's metal" are some underground alt-idol units. A lot of Western fans will know Broken By the Scream or Necronomidol, but while they may know the latter's leader Himari Tsukashiro's solo spin-off Isiliel (black metal)the tend not to know of units like Maleficium (five themed personas singing over death metal), LyricHolic Opera Company (kind what you'd expect from the name...and very heavy), or THE+BETH (way, way heavier live than their videos). Jump in!

Japan music market is very diverse and these wonderful bands you mentationed might not be the audience most favorite. In other words, very competitive. So my observation is that to sruvive they are more willing to go anywhere for their fans. Bandmaid is great example, they survived because of western reception. Now days dynamics is changing due to interest with Japanese entertaiment contents and artists, west will be discovering more from Japan. Still these ladies are great pioneer for sure. To me, regardless of west or east, Bandmaid is my goto band anytime anyday. 🕊🕊🕊🕊

It's a complicated thing. It's certainly true that as a straight guy who loves music, good music performed by attractive women is something I really enjoy. Why wouldn't I? Is attractiveness the reason to listen to a band/artist, though? No, I don't think so. If the music is crap, it doesn't matter if you've got 5 clones of Helen of Troy up there. Maybe I'll leave the TV on while their music video is playing, but it'll be on mute and I won't be buying any of their music. The rise of the "girls bands" is partly because it is something new, and that makes it noteworthy. We're seeing more bands in western metal that are female fronted, if not all women, but there's still some strange reluctance among many of these western examples to be overtly feminine.* I don't know if there's something behind that, some need to be seen as "one of the guys" in order to be taken seriously or something, but I think the Asian willingness to leverage their femininity amplifies that noteworthiness, like how BAND-MAID talks about "The Gap." In the end, I think the only place it truly matters is when it affects the instrument, and that only happens at the vocalist. Men and women sound different, y'know? At least in a broad and general sense. I'd still love BAND-MAID if it were Miku, Saiki and 3 dudes, but once you replace the singers with people of the opposite sex that's no longer quite the same band. That said, there is definitely something cool - which, again, I think ties into it being noteworthy - about seeing these amazingly talented women kick so much musical butt in genres they're not usually known for. To sort of circle back, as someone who has always loved the sound of the female voice, from all sorts of not-metal or rock genres, there were never enough Wendy O's or Stevie Nicks' for my taste. That makes this new female rock/metal revolution a real win-win in my books, and while I don't think it's _necessary_ to a lot of the enjoyment here, I don't think you can completely separate the two things, either. *that's not to say anything about their music. There are some fantastic all-women western metal bands out there, like Crypta, Burning Witches, Dogma, Konvent, Witch Club Satan, just name a few off the top of my head. Hah, funny how the brain works sometimes. Just noticed the last 4 all have nuns or witches associations. Guess that's how I have them mentally filed.

What is the elusive quality that these female artists possess that has led to such a dedicated fanbase? I think everything can be summed up as "the new old". I'm going to use Band-Maid as reference, but it can be applied to others. A dedicated fan base needs some substance that is outside novelty, and I think we can all agree that is the music. The music is the core, it needs to speak to us on a level other contemporary music does not. Band-Maid's music brings the nostalgia from decades ago, into today. It smells of good old days. When we listened to music at that time, we were explorers. Everything was new, and each song or album gave us something we hadn't seen or heard before. The musicians were cool and could be idolized, because they were the vessels of this awesome new world. Fast forward some decades, and contemporary is not giving us this feeling of exploration. Enter Band-Maid. The sound that we associate with those times of exploration is back again, but it is wrapped in a package that we haven't experienced before. It is both familiar and excitingly new at the same time. We can be explorers again! The sound is fresh and the artists are something we haven't really experienced like we did back in the days. It is the new old. Japanese women? Doing what we love? What is this new world? I want to explore this. The language is not a barrier, it is adding flair. The musicians are not just cool, they are adorable too. New feelings to explore, new vibe to dive into. It is really like being back in our youths when everything was exciting and new. My favorite bands: Band-Maid is currently at #1. Hanabie is another Japanese all female band I enjoy, and I have watched them live! Interestingly enough I haven't latched onto any others, and that is because of my particular taste in music. Another recent obsession is the American death metal band Misery Index. Discovered them in May. Watched them live in August. Sometimes music just click, regardless of package.

I'm an old school male metal head in my mid 50s. I've always preferred female singers. I enjoy rock and metal more than other forms of music, but I listen to a wide range of styles. As I became more disillusioned with the music I was exposed to I started looking for indie and often foreign artists. I stumbled across Ninjen Isu some years ago and from there found artists like Band-Maid and Wakagi Band. That lead to discovering other female lead or entirely female bands from Japan. I love Band-Maid, Hanabie, Nemophila and some others. I might not like them as much with a male lead. I would never have given Atarashii Gakko the time of day if they were a boy band, but now I'm hooked. Something I think that is very important about the Japanese artists for me can be seen in Kanami's recent PRS guitar video. The constant drive to do their best, be positive, raise the whole group up, etc. Atarashii Gakko basically does a Nike commercial for Woo Go and it's an uplifting and realistic pep talk for kids instead of just rampant consumerism. There are only so many Ann Wilsons, Amy Lees, Maria Brinks, etc in the world. If I can find more out there singing with some balls and a positive message I'll take it. Even if some of it might be a bit contrived, Japan seems to be doing that atm.

For the japanese Metal industry 2014 was the essential date. Babymetal had their first concert in Europe. They were booked for a 2-4.000 stage but since Gimme Chocolate went viral and Metallica wrote a Review abot them Sonicsphere shuffledthe time tables a bit and put them on the main Stage right before the main acts. You can expect how shocked the fans were when they suddenly had a 16 year old girl in front of them together with her 2 14 year old friends and a Corps painted Band behind them. The british Fans were feared. If they did not like a band Urine filled bottles happened, but not this time. When they were finished the Call was we want more. They played infront of 40.000 to 50.000 guests. The dealer had suddenly a run on Babymetal Merch, they sold better than Metallica. For a pure japanese project this was unexpected. Very fast they became the internationally most succesful japanese Band. While therevwere Groups in Japan thatvwere bigger, they are internationally the best known japanese Group. You have to understand the japanese music marketbis pretty isolated. It is the second biggest music market in the world but normally they sell only in Japan. No other Band sells more products outside of Japan. And this was recognized by the japanese industry pretty fast. In fact Band Maid had the problem that their Label wanted to terminate their contract at that time. The Terminator Letters were already printer, when they suddenly observed a drastic jump in accesses on their webpage. They were sure it must be hackers, till they realized that these were all accesses from outside of Japan.

For me the visual appearances is a bonus but not the main point that makes female bands from Japan more interesting than male ones. I think in Japan male voices often are not so nice to listen to, while female have more texture and color and timbre. And female bands are less testosterone driven and don't have this kind of macho appeal male bands usually have (not only in Japan). As someone already commented: female bands tend to radiate joy and seem to have more fun (you can add BABYMETAL to your list as a prime example - they are my favorite japanese band btw). I listen to a lot of female singers (not Metal), my favorites atm being Sheena Ringo, Ado (female, but no one knows who she's looking so the visual appeal is not at play here) and Ayano Kaneko. My best new discoveries in the rock genre this year are NEK! (Japan) and SIXIWANZI (China).

We are talking about hooks in music, that is true for all art and entertainment and when ever you are "selling" something. Being beautiful and female is two good hooks especially in a "maskulin" genre. There is another related hook to notice and I will use a Japanese term kwai, this is part of why bands like the Warning or the Hanson brothers, or Michael Jakson hooks an audience in the beginning of their careers. As a teenager in the eighties the feel of these bands makes me think of hair metal and glam.

Your videos are always interesting and on the point. In this case there are so many point's I could write an essay about it, but i will try to make it short. First of all I find J-rock very aggressive, which does not make it bad but very often too much. I think hard core metal fans are head banging their hair off. Now, I am a heterosexual male, but I never put gender on music, so in my case it could be males playing as well it does not matter. Concerning the fanbase I judge from comments that males very often comment the looks of female bands. There are those that don´t comment their femininity at all ( I my self does not consider female Japanese rock bands feminine). So in conclusion I am not appealed specially by female rock bands and hardly at all by Japanese ones. For some time now (4 years) There is only one band that utterly impresses me, and that is The Warning. Come male or female bands, TW is it! It was The Warning that made "Show me" ok. I think Japanese rock has to much of a "von oben"-attitude. As I said in the beginning I could write an essay but I have to stop here.

I was attracted to LB and BM primarily to their sound. Initially they looked like a JPop band to me by watching pictures on YT videos and I wanted nothing with it. As soon as I heard Thrill and Holy War I was hooked. I listen to a lot of female fronted bands like Nightwish and Epica therefore I had no issues with it. And these two bands ( Lovebites especially) are at the upper echelons of musicianship.(Both Miyako and Midori appeared on NAMM to showcase equipment makers) Also, both bands were not created by some producer or an agency, but they were organically created by their members. The only strange thing for me is why they are not more famous. For me Miku Kobato is the role model of perseverance and hard work. She started from zero and managed to create a rock band with global audience with Japanese lyrics

I became a fan of female Japanese rock through Band-Maid. "Thrill" kept popping into my KZbin suggestions, but the thumbnail of 5 girls in short skirted maid outfits was off-putting. I have nothing against female rockers, and I'm a fan of the Deal sisters and The Breeders. I now enjoy Hanabie and Nemophila, both excellent bands. What drew me to Band-Maid was the music: I broke down and watched "Thrill" and thought it was pretty good and a few more videos were suggested: "Blooming", "Real Existence", "Don't You Tell ME", and then "Onset". "Onset" was a revelation, a piece as fine as anything RUSH had ever done, and I did not believe they could top it. But a year later the they released the "From Now On" video and was awestruck. They did it again! Band-Maid keeps exceeding my expectations; "The one" from the Epic Narratives album is the song doing this for me now. The music is complex and original, the composition and lyrics are as high a level as any male band. But here is where I think gender does make a difference. I have been listening to rock music since the Beatles, the Stones, Pink Floyd, etc. and it's mostly been music written by males, from a male perspective. When Band-Maid started writing their own songs is when they really took off. They were writing songs from a female perspective. Songs like "Puzzle", ""Daydreaming", Endless Story", "About Us", and "Page" couldn't have been written by men. Miku Kobato's and Saiki Atsumi's lyrics tell their stories from a feminine perspective. Nemophila's "Oiran" is a song that would ring falsely if written and performed by men. "Oiran" is not only uniquely feminine, it's also uniquely Japanese, a westerner couldn't write a song about a subject matter deeply rooted in Japanese culture. In sum, gender is part of what makes all female Japanese rock so popular, but being Japanese is also part of what makes female Japanese rock so unique. Listen to Hanabie's "Pardon Me I have to go now", and note their inclusion of traditional Japanese instruments along with their criticism of Japanese business culture.

My interest in Japanese all-female bands stems from the realisation that after about 60 years of listening to music in the UK (so mainly uK and north american music) (I was born around the same time that rock'n'roll first developed) nearly my entire music collection (on various formats) consisted mainly of all-male bands, with a few women as solo artists or as the only woman in a mixed-gender band. What all-female bands I could find were either cover bands, or to put it politely, amateurish. So I started looking further afield - found some interesting Scandinavian women as solo artists and a couple of bands but not much else. Then a page I followed on F*c*book shared a track by PASSCODE. Knocked me over - I hadn't heard anything like it before, so I did some more research, found BabyMetal and eventually Band-Maid, Scandal and a couple of other all-female bands. Then I started digging further and further and found that Japan had been producing all-female bands since the 1960s and many of them were good, better than their western counterparts. I started a YT playlist and then another which have now listed about 400 bands that are or were all-female Japanese bands. So much talent, so many genres, such much to explore. Are they all wonderful with highly skilled musicians - erm no. But even the high school bands who play fun pop-punk are still enjoyable to listen to. And then you discover this is a small segment of the huge Japanese music industry. Too big to explore in any depth. I've found genres I didn't know existed and hybrid or mixed-genre bands, all thanks to hearing PASSCODE - who I still listen to sometimes. Do looks play a part in my interest, not really, Japanese female musicians are (probably) typical of Japanese women in general. I wouldn't listen to a band based only on their looks.

My personal impress is that even the culture is more rigid in Japan all this bands are not promoted under a gender war or toxic female activism, they sing for all and the lyrics had mostly a universal character...