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What is kote kei?

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inartistic
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OmoideNoKage
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The quick definition of kote kei

Kote kei (コテ系) bands are what many people consider to be typical visual kei: bands from roughly 1996 and later who have a dark, fantastical worldview, and wear dark, over-the-top costumes. They play trashy rock that is influenced by Japanese metal, kurofuku kei (黒服系), and Nagoya kei (名古屋系), usually with an emphasis on screaming and unusual vocals.

A brief history of kote kei

Two very important figures in the start of kote kei were bassist KISAKI and vocalist Kyo (京). In the early 1990s, both were in a string of bands that belonged to a wide range of genres: KISAKI in positive punk, kurofuku kei (黒服系), and so on; and Kyo (京) in punk, Nagoya kei (名古屋系), and so on.

By 1995, both musicians had built up rabid personal fanbases around Osaka (大阪) due to their charisma.

The two joined forces in 1995, with a session band called Haijin Kurobarazoku (廃人黒薔薇族). Despite being a session act, its guerilla lives were immediately sold out with 1,000+ attendees. Based on the session's success, the two formed an official band at the end of the year: La:Sadie's.

La:Sadie's was an embodiment of the two musicians' wide range of influences, and displayed many traits that are now hallmarks of kote kei: all-black costumes with lace, feathers, vinyl, masks, gauze, and blood-dripping eye makeup; theatrical performances with crosses, chains, roses, and mannequins; and songs that were speedy and full of shouting, with obscure lyrics about violence and insanity.

Of course, La:Sadie's was not the first band to use any of these aesthetic trappings, or the first band to play such music. Deshabillz, for example, formed years earlier and has songs which are very near to the classic kote style. But La:Sadie's were one of the first to combine so many disparate references with such abandon.

And La:Sadie's had another strength that set them apart: KISAKI's marketing acuity. Under his direction, they pioneered schemes such as thematically-connected artwork, and multi-type releases with different coupling tracks (a practice now standard in visual kei). They also connected with graphic designer AKI OKAMURA, whose work not only crafted images of otherworldly places, but also gave the band an air of legitimacy.

La:Sadie's blazed out after about a year, but KISAKI established a label, Matina, and the others formed a new band, Dir en grey. The follow-up band took the core of La:Sadie's, expanded it, and rocketed even higher in popularity. In fact, in 1998, they were the first band in history to hold a live at the famous Budoukan (武道館) venue while still indie.

Dir en grey combined inspiration from greats like Kuroyume (黒夢), D'ERLANGER, DEAD END, LUNA SEA, and X JAPAN; and they were signed to Free-Will, but produced by YOSHIKI of EXTASY RECORDS for their major debut. While major, they maintained their extreme visuals and sound, but also produced accessible songs like -I'll-.

In other words, they carried DNA of from the best sides of visual kei, which made them not only a blueprint for kote kei, but an ultimate realization of visual kei itself.

Kote kei, then, is a shameless blending of visual kei tropes into one dark, overly-decorated package, as exemplified by La:Sadie's and perfected by Dir en grey. It distills down influences from visual kei monsters of the early 1990s, and the greats of the 1980s. It is grotesque, violent, purposely shocking, and never concerned with going too far: more is always more.

A crucial aspect of kote kei is so-called chuunibyou (中二病) {second year syndrome}, a phrase that describes teenagers going through their 2nd year of junior high, and their tendency to have self-aggrandizing and narcissistic worldviews. In other words, kote kei often feels over-the-top to the point of being a bit embarrassing to outside viewers; it is not subtle, or intellectual, or stylish, or “cool,” except to those who are already outsiders of society.

While Dir en grey acted as a tastemaker from the major side, KISAKI had been leading the indie scene from his label Matina since its formation in 1997. In total, it was home to about 50 bands, including early kote kei stars MIRAGE, Madeth gray'll, and DAS:VASSER. The label was so associated with kote kei that the alternate phrase “Matina kei (Matina系) {Matina style}” was sometimes used to describe the subgenre.

Of course, Matina wasn't the only important label during this period. While it ruled Osaka (大阪), the Tokyo (東京) based label KEY PARTY was home to some of the most unique vkei bands, like the super-iconic Aliene Ma'riage. And in Aichi (愛知), Soleil managed innumerable bands, including the blood-soaked kote star La'Mule.

By the early 2000s, kote kei had become the “default” visual kei band. Those three labels alone were home to about 100 bands in total, and there were many more kote kei bands outside them. As one might imagine, this glut of conceptually-similar bands led to a decline in popularity of the subgenre. By 2002, KEY PARTY, Soleil, and Matina had all ended activity.

By 2002, even Dir en grey had begun an exit from kote kei toward what we now know as loud kei (ラウド系) (and they left visual kei in total by 2006). Kote kei did not “die,” but transformed into something less distinct and closer to koteosa (コテオサ) (which then itself became the new “default visual kei”). It was further reduced by the emergence of several new subgenres.

This evolution in subgenres can be traced through KISAKI's next label, UNDER CODE PRODUCTION, which formed in 2003 and saw its initial kote kei lineup evolve into the trendsetters of koteosa (コテオサ) by 2005. That subgenre itself ended around 2010, but pure kote kei remained as the default classification of any dark band who didn't fit into other subgenres.

Those who got into visual kei around 1990 typically consider kurofuku kei (黒服系) to be “the visual kei.” For the general Japanese public, it's probably soft visual (ソフビ). But for fans from 2000 onward (and almost all Western fans), it's kote kei that is “the visual kei.”

In fact, the small wave of “old school visual kei revival bands” from the late 2010s all reference this exact period.

Outside of those revival bands, kote kei doesn't look quite like it once did. But as long as dark, costumey, over-the-top bands exist, kote kei will too.

Why is it called kote kei?

Kote kei (コテ系) sort of translates to “over-the-top style.”

The original (but lesser used) name for the subgenre was kotekote kei (コテコテ系), with kotekote (コテコテ) being an mimetic word that indicates something is done “thickly,” or “heavily,” or “gaudily” (for example, a soup that is too rich with fat, or a face with makeup too-heavily applied).

So “over-the-top style” is not a 1:1 translation, but the closest English phrase that captures the same meaning without causing confusion.

What are the other names for kote kei?

The original/full name for the subgenre is kotekote kei (コテコテ系), but the shorter version is almost always used instead.

Because kote (鏝) is also the word for “iron,” translators will sometimes mistakenly call the subgenre “iron style” in English.

The alternate name kotevi (コテヴィ) {kote vi[sual]} is sometimes used (especially in older media), and may appear with or without the “kei” suffix. Less often, the alternate spelling kotebi (コテビ) is used.

What does kote kei look like?

Kote kei bands should give a “dark” impression and be heavily decorated, but lots of variation is allowed within that. They wear costumes (as opposed to store-bought fashion) with complicated silhouettes and mixed materials like vinyl, leather, lace, cotton, and gauze. The predominant color is black, although other colors may appear as accents—however, they are almost never colorful. Costumes may hint at some exotic place/period, but never resolve to a specific historical reference.

Photoshoots are often in worn-down buildings, abandoned natural settings, otherworldly sets, or vaguely spooky backdrops. They are rarely realistic or futuristic. Props like feathers, crosses, chains, roses, ivy, masks, mannequins, cages, and dolls are common. Members usually pose oddly, and often have a hand near their face. Expressions tend to be stern, scary, or manic, but never goofy, happy, or shouting.

Members tend to wear lip makeup with a feminine shape, but their overall appearance is rarely “pretty,” and never “cute.” Makeup may be smeared, but is done with aesthetics in mind; it should feel “oddly beautiful” but “too strange to be real.” White facepaint may be used, but in a less obvious way than shironuri kei (白塗り系). Vocalists often draw blood drips from one eye.

What does kote kei sound like?

Rough, aggressive, odd, and sadistic in sound and performance. Sometimes clumsy compositions that are more about emotion than technique—they may feel “satisfying but not filling.” Vocalists are rarely “singers” and are unlikely to appeal to mass audiences; they rely on shouts, screams, and strange sounds. May hint at LUNA SEA, D'ERLANGER, Kuroyume (黒夢), or DEAD END, but rarely fall cleanly within one genre.

Works are melodramatic and indulgent: they may feature long intro tracks with sound effects, random 10 minute piano ballads, hidden tracks, songs played in reverse, songs that end abruptly, spoken word tracks, etc.

Is kote kei a legitimate visual kei subgenre?

Yes; it is probably the “most visual kei” subgenre.

Kote kei alignments

Always rock.

Complete concepts with wholistic worldview.

Purpose-designed costumes.

Not known for technique.

Boundary with audience is part of concept.

Always angry, sad, or negative.

Frequently manic but audience may be stoic.

Known for chuunibyou.

When was kote kei active?

It started around 1996, although all of its tropes existed prior. It was most active around 2000, but declined sharply after 2002. However, it is still one of the most common subgenres as of 2025.

What are the representative kote kei bands?

Representative: La:Sadie's, DIR EN GREY (~2004), Matina bands

Others: La'Mule, Madeth gray'll, Aliene Ma'riage, Syndrome

Revival: GRIEVA (グリーヴァ), La'veil MizeriA, Marvelous Cruelty, Misanthrope

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What is kote kei?

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i would argue that in kote kei the boundary with the audience is less than nagoya kei, isn't kote kei where furitsuke comes from? this is the subgenre with crazy headbanging and ritualistic audience behavior

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This will come up in a later article, but I think it's generally agreed that osare kei (オサレ系) was the subgenre that broke the wall between band and audience. I'm not sure that there's conceptually any difference between Nagoya kei (名古屋系) and kote kei (コテ系) in that regard. Furitsuke as we know it today developed around koteosa (コテオサ) but then became common across the genre.

So I'm not sure I agree, but if you find some sources that explain otherwise, please feel free to share them on Discord and I will adjust as necessary. Thank you!

What is kote kei?

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I love kote bands with bad vocals and poor performance 🖤

What is kote kei?

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ive been looking forward to when would the kote kei article come out!!! its my fav subgenre ever and its nearly all i listen to atm

What is kote kei?

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Great explanations!

What is kote kei?

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i love kote kei so much

What is kote kei?

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woah this is very well made and explained

What is kote kei?

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dir hasn't left the vk scene "permanently" in 2006. yes, kaoru said something edgy here and there, but in a interview from somewhere around 2014-16 hes also said that;"thats where(vk) they started/come from and theyll remain a such band".

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Thanks for the feedback. You're right; I'll revise that line so it doesn't sound as if they left visual kei forever.

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