The quick definition of koteosa

Koteosa (コテオサ) refers to two waves of visual kei bands. Primarily, those from 2004~2007 who wore costumes that mixed kote kei (コテ系) silhouettes with osare kei (オサレ系) colors, and played music with distinct, abrupt switches between heavy rock and poppy choruses. And retroactively, 2002~2003 bands who sublimated street fashion, jazzy rhythms, and irreverent personas into kote kei (コテ系)—though in real-time they were simply considered 1st wave osare kei (オサレ系).

A brief history of koteosa

1st wave koteosa (2002~2003)

The story of koteosa starts in 2002, with the founding of osare kei (オサレ系) by baroque (バロック), a new subgenre that rejected the unwritten laws of kote kei (コテ系) (the most common subgenre at the time). The bands who took part in the new subgenre integrated street fashion into their costumes, became less self-serious, and replaced their elaborate worldviews with 4th-wall-breaking irony.

The popularity of baroque (バロック), along with a sentiment among fans that kote kei (コテ系) was oversaturated, led to an “osare kei syndrome” where one kote band after another suddenly pivoted to osare. They abruptly changed their costumes, adopted new personas, and began playing simple, ironic music. Even bands signed to Matina, “the kote kei label,” were swept up in this trend.

One of the well-known cases was Shulla, who started as a typical kote kei (コテ系) band (and even appeared on Matina omnibuses) but in 2002 replaced their all-black PVC costumes with street fashion and released a cheeky song about sneezing. The composition itself was not a far cry from their existing kote songs, but the change in tone was bewildering for fans.

At the time, these traits were all associated with “osare” in the vein of baroque (バロック). And so fans in 2002 interpreted this as Shulla switching from kote kei (コテ系) to osare kei (オサレ系).

But by 2004, the definition of osare kei (オサレ系) itself shifted. baroque (バロック) had long since abandoned the subgenre, and cheerful newcomers like AN CAFE (アンティック-珈琲店-) pulled it in a cute, colorful, and cheerful direction. These happier 2nd wave osare bands are the ones we most strongly associate with the subgenre today.

As the osare subgenre became associated with brightness, some 1st wave osare bands (like Kra and Charlotte (しゃるろっと)) became brighter along with it. But it became increasingly clear that for others, like Shulla or NIGHTMARE (ナイトメア), the label “osare” no longer made sense. Those bands were not as dark or self-serious as kote kei (コテ系) had been, nor were they as colorful and happy as osare kei (オサレ系) had become.

We can thus recognize in hindsight that some of those 1st wave osare kei (オサレ系) bands were actually more akin to a “0th” wave of koteosa—a specific blend of what kote kei was and what osare kei had become.

Not every 1st wave osare band can be called koteosa in hindsight. As a rule of thumb, the label can be applied to those who adopted street fashion (hats, bandanas, and glasses, etc.) into their costumes but retained unsettling makeup; those who adopted vocal tics, jazzy rhythms, and abruptly-changing compositions, but retained darkly twisted themes and lyrics; those who retained some DNA from their kote pasts.

2nd wave koteosa (2004~)

The “0th” wave of koteosa included Shulla, NIGHTMARE (ナイトメア), VIDOLL (ヴィドール), the GazettE (ガゼット), and others, who by 2004 were among the most popular visual kei bands. And in turn, they inspired a wave of new bands who similarly took elements from both kote and osare, but were not identifiable as either.

These bands, such as lolita23q (少女-ロリヰタ-23区) and AYABIE (アヤビエ), were the first for whom the phrase koteosa was coined. It was only then, around 2004, that some of the 1st period osare bands were reevaluated as having actually been “0th” wave koteosa.

Because koteosa occupies a ”specific space between extremes,” it is hard to concretely and succinctly define. But the picture becomes clearer by examining a few bands:

For example, lolita23q (少女-ロリヰタ-23区) displayed several osare kei (オサレ系) tropes in their 2004 single Ishoku OTHELLO (異色オセロ): kanji + katakana song title; self-designed jacket with checked pattern and retro font; reference to board games; and so on. But instead of layered street fashion, they wore purpose-designed costumes that might be mistaken for kote kei (コテ系) were it not for the bright colors and cute accessories.

The title track had a unique flavor too: the chorus was bright and poppy like osare kei (オサレ系), but the rest was more aggressive. And, crucially, there were repeated, abrupt breaks into heavier sections, during which the crowd was meant to rush the stage when the song was performed live.

The same was true of aicle。 (愛狂います。) and their 2007 PV, Kyuukei Mugenrensakou ~MIZUTAMA~ (球形無限連鎖~ミズタマ~). Their costumes were kote-esque (vinyl, pleather, straps, feathers, oversized lapels, etc) but vibrantly colorful, and the song had poppy choruses but violently switched to heavy rock designed for headbanging or rushing.

Compare those to Himeyuri (ひめゆり), a band from the same generation who self-declared themselves as osare kei (オサレ系). In their 2007 MV Sennen no Koi -Still waiting- (千年の恋 -Still waiting-), they wore costumes closer to the street fashion roots of osare—polka dot fabrics, fuzzy hats, arm warmers, pearl necklaces, glasses—and the song was upbeat with no heaviness.

Compare those again to Fairy Tale...Gothic by Metis Gretel, a kote kei (コテ系) band from the same generation. Their costumes included accents of bright colors but were primarily dark and gothic; and the song was aggressive throughout with a chorus that was melodic but not poppy.

These four roughly demonstrate what differentiates koteosa bands: they tended to wear costumes that were kote-esque in structure but osare-esque in color; and played music which was more aggressive than osare, but with poppier choruses than kote, and a more abrupt structure than both.

Another key aspect of koteosa bands from this time was that their songs were purpose-built for specific live participation. They codified much of the current concert culture of visual kei through the repeated use of specific music patterns—fans could listen to a new koteosa song for the first time and instinctually know when to headbang, rush, or pump their fists.

Although these examples are fairly clear, the true nature of koteosa is that it is a “sliding scale” between kote and osare, and classification sometimes comes down to a gut feeling. For instance, IROKUI。 (イロクイ。) was usually called koteosa, and although they looked the part, their songs tended to sound like typical osare. Similarly, Phantasmagoria was sometimes called koteosa, but many would classify them as kote instead.

After the emergence of koteosa around 2004 (and reevaluation of early bands as “0th” wave koteosa), it became the predominant subgenre in visual kei. Or rather, bands from all subgenres adopted tenets of koteosa into their costumes and songs. In fact, by the end of the decade, almost all popular bands from UNDER CODE PRODUCTION, Speed-disk, and PS COMPANY could placed somewhere on the sliding scale of koteosa.

This presents a problem: if everyone is koteosa, is anyone really koteosa? And indeed, koteosa is generally viewed as having been “long dead” by 2010. From that time onward, bands who may have once been called koteosa were generally placed into other categories or simply viewed as non-denominational/orthodox visual kei.

Since then, the only bands that truly fall under the banner of koteosa are those who explicitly aim to replicate that style, such as 0.1g no Gosan (0.1gの誤算) or C1NEMA (シネマ).

Why is it called koteosa?

The term koteosa (コテオサ) {kote [kei] + osa[re kei]} arose around 2004 as it became clear that the most popular bands were somewhere “in between” kote kei and osare kei. It then evolved into a specific style of its own.

Around the same time, AN CAFE (アンティック-珈琲店-) took osare kei in a happy direction; some 1st wave osare bands followed them, but others retained an air of darkness. As such, some bands who had previously been called osare in 2002 (like NIGHTMARE (ナイトメア)) were re-evaluated as “0th” wave koteosa from 2004 on.

What are the other names for koteosa?

The subgenre is most commonly referred to as just koteosa (without a “kei” suffix). There's no reason for this other than convenience—but given that it is by far the more common way to refer to the subgenre, we have chosen to stick with that convention on vkgy.

However, it is perfectly acceptable to use the “full name” of koteosa kei (コテオサ系) {kote [kei] + osa[re kei] style}.

Other permutations of the name have been used occasionally, especially in the early days of the subgenre. These include osakote (オサコテ) {osa[re kei] + kote [kei]}, koteoshare (コテオシャレ) {kote [kei] + osare [kei]}, etc.

Osare kei ended around 2010 and was followed by kirakira kei (キラキラ系). Since then, some people have floated the idea of so-called “kirakote kei (キラコテ系) {kira[kira kei] + kote [kei] style}.” However, there have been almost no bands that would comfortably fit under that banner, and its definition would be impossibly vague. Any such bands can simply be called koteosa.

C1NEMA (シネマ) refers to themselves as “koteosa・core (コテオサ・コア) {koteosa + [hard]core}.” This is essentially a mixture of koteosa and loud kei (ラウド系) and is not currently viewed as a wider subgenre.

What does koteosa look like?

“0th” wave: cheeky and less self-serious in expression (but not necessarily happy); ready-made pieces from alternative fashion brands; osare-esque silhouettes, but with tattered elements; matte fabrics with polka dots, stripes, checkerboard, plaid; glasses, pearl necklaces; somewhat off-putting makeup (e.g. white contacts or black smeared lipstick); odd or immature poses.

1st wave: costumes in kote-esque silhouettes with osare-esque colors; often color-coordinated to each member; layered shiny fabrics; lace frills; laced corsets; conspicuously large lapels; gold trim and filigree; beauty makeup with cute (albeit unusual) touches, like bright red eyeshadow; somewhat more mature in poses and expressions.

What does koteosa sound like?

“0th” wave: essentially like 1st wave osare kei; kote kei bands integrating Shiver-esque compositions and/or Kagerou (蜉蝣)-esque vocal tics; less conceptual and more ironic/realistic/funny lyrics; elements of Japanese jazz.

1st wave: bright, melodic, poppy choruses; surrounding music that is slightly heavier than typical osare kei, but not necessarily heavy; abrupt transitions between multiple styles in one song; sections that are much heavier and designed for specific audience participation during lives.

Is koteosa a legitimate visual kei subgenre?

Yes, but it has two distinct forms, and can be applied to virtually any band depending on your perspective.

Koteosa alignments

Pop choruses surrounded by rock.

Neither concerned with worldview nor realism.

Purpose-designed costumes that may integrate fashion.

More concerned with live participation than prowess.

Very interactive at lives, but 4th wall is maintained.

Rarely at one emotional extreme or the other.

Energetic and only sometimes manic.

Neither concerned with appearing mature, nor childish.

When was koteosa active?

1st wave: 2002~2003

2nd wave: 2004~2010

What are the representative koteosa bands?

“0th” wave: NIGHTMARE (ナイトメア), Shulla

1st wave: VIDOLL (ヴィドール), aicle。 (愛狂います。), Lolita23q (少女-ロリヰタ-23区)

Modern: PENTAGON (ペンタゴン), 0.1g no Gosan (0.1gの誤算)

Edit History

• 2025-02-12: corrected links to NIGHTMARE
• 2025-03-02: typos
• 2025-03-02: typo in chart