vkgy is only for visual kei, but a range of bands may be added if they meet the requirements outlined in this section and conform to the internal definitions outlined later on this page.

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• visual kei bands

  may be added if they: [1] meet our definition of visual kei as outlined on this page; and [2a] are Japanese, or [2b] meet the requirements for foreign bands outlined in this section.

• AI-generated bands

  may not be added under any circumstance.

• 2D bands, doujin bands

  may be added if they: [1a] explicitly claim to be visual kei in a way that meets our definition of claims, or [1b] are associated with an anime/manga that explicitly claims to be about visual kei; and [2] have character artwork and/or release artwork which is widely recognized as vkei; and [3] have purchasable releases.

• foreign bands

  may be added if they: [1] have official photography; and [2] have costumes which are widely recognized as visual kei; and [3] have performed live at professional venues; and [4] have purchasable releases; and [5] explicitly claim to be visual kei in a way that meets our definition of claims.

• idols

  may be added if they: [1a] fall under scenarios 5, 6, or 7 outlined in our guide to visual kei idols, or [1b] have the exact same name as a vkei band (as recognized in our definitions) who was active around the same time, or [1c] belong to a label that primarily serves visual kei bands. For all idols except scenario 7, they: [2] must explicitly claim to be visual kei in a way that meets our definition of claims; and [3] are subject to the content restrictions outlined on this page.

• Misshitsu kei bands, pikopiko kei bands, shironuri kei bands

  may be added if they: [1a] have a musician who is an official member of a band which is unambiguously recognized as vkei per our definitions, or [1b] belong to a label that primarily specializes in vkei per our definitions, or [1c] performed a majority of the time, for at least 1 year, with bands who are unambiguously recognized as vkei per our definitions. Addditionally, [2] they are subject to the content restrictions outlined on this page.

• okeshou kei bands

  may be added if they: [1] at least active between 1985 and 1989; and [2] have a member who was later an official member of a band which is widely recognized as vkei per our definitions. Alternatively, they may be added if they: [1] at least active between 1990 and 1995; and [2a] belonged to a label that primarily specialized in vkei per our definitions, or [2b] performed a majority of the time, for at least 1 year, with bands who are widely recognized as vkei per our definitions.

• one-time sessions

  may be added if they: [1] feature a musician who is an official member of a formal band; and [2] said band is widely recognized as vkei; and [3] said band was active within 5 years of the session.

• parody bands

  may be added if they: [1] have official photography; and [2a] either have costumes which are widely recognized as visual kei, or [2b] have at least one member who is official member of a vkei band; and [3] have purchasable relases.

• soft visual bands

  may be added if they: [1a] explicitly claim to be visual kei in a way that meets our definition of claims, or [1b] have a musician who is an official member of a band which is widely recognized as vkei per our definitions, or [1c] belong to a label that primarily specializes in vkei per our definitions, or [1d] perform a majority of the time, for a majority of their career, with bands who are widely recognized as vkei per our definitions, or [1e] have a page on grassthread and/or VISUNAVI. Soft visual bands [2] may not be identified by image alone.

• non-visual bands

  may be added if they: [1a] are widely recognized as vkei per our definitions, or [1b] have a musician who is an official member of a band which is widely recognized as vkei per our definitions, or [1c] belong to a label that primarily specializes in vkei per our definitions, or [1d] perform a majority of the time, for a majority of their career, with explicitly vkei bands, or [1d] have the exact same name as a vkei band (as recognized in our definitions) who was active in the same area, at the same time.

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In any of the above cases, the band must be tagged appropriately, and only certain information about them should be added. See: content restrictions for certain bands.

These are the criteria that we use for categorization at vkgy. These are in-house definitions, and may not align with the personal views of readers/artists.

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• visual kei bands are those outlined in our guide to visual kei. They do not have set rules describing their looks, but [1] are generally more extreme or eye-catching than peers in similar genres. They also do not have set rules describing their sound, but [2] generally play some form of rock with melodic choruses. They are best typified by [3] an almost exclusive participation within the visual kei industry. Alternatively, they may be [1] Japanese bands who [2] claim to be visual kei.
• claims of being visual kei are considered valid only if they meet the following criteria: [1] they are explicit (“we are visual kei inspired” is not valid); and [2] they are public (claims made in a DM are not valid); and [3] they are prominent (e.g. hastags or Tunecore descriptions are not valid); and [4] they represent the entire band (a single member's claim is not valid, unless said member is the leader of the band).
• widely recognized as visual kei means that [1] a majority of Japanese fans [2a] recognize said band as visual kei or [2b] recognize said band as having once been visual kei, and [3] there is little controversy or argument about said recognition.
• non-visual bands are all bands who are not visual kei. There are no set rules describing their looks or their music, but they primarily exist outside of the visual scene.
• all visual kei subgenres recognized by vkgy are defined in our guide.

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• AI bands feature music that is AI-generated and/or fictional characters who are AI-generated.
• “angura” bands are not a recognized classification on vkgy, for reasons outlined in our guide. They typically fall under more specific subgenres like Misshitsu kei (密室系), pikopiko kei (ピコピコ系), and/or shironuri kei (白塗り系).
• 2D/doujin bands [1a] feature fictional or illustrated characters, or [1b] feature no visual representation of the members; and [2] rely on vocaloid and/or digital instruments. They rarely perform live, and often sell releases at events such as Comiket.
• female member bands [1] feature at least one member who self-describes as a woman. Please note that any trans musicians must publicly declare themselves as trans or as a different gender before having their gender marker changed on vkgy. (Pronouns are not sufficient evidence, as Japanese pronouns are not 1:1 with English, and are often used by vkei musicians as a “character performance” rather than an indication of actual gender.)
• foreign member bands are those who [1a] are active primarily outside of Japan or [1b] have at least one member who publicly self-describes as non-Japanese. (We do not otherwise question the heritage, race, or culture of musicians, nor do we track “half” heritage.)
• formerly visual bands are those who [1] were at one time widely recognized as visual kei per our defintion, but [2a] later formally announced that they are not visual kei or [2b] were active outside of the visual kei scene for more than 1 year. (We do not make any special distinction for bands that were non-visual and then became visual, or for bands who switched multiple times.)
• idols are [1a] groups or individuals that self-describe as idols, or [1b] groups comprised entirely of vocalists/dancers.
• okeshou kei bands meet the defintion outlined in our guide to okeshou kei. In short, they [1] were active before visual kei existed, and [2] were part of the heavy metal, punk, positive punk, hardrock, or beatrock genres; and [3] wore costumes, makeup, and/or hairstyles that were more extreme than their peers. [4] Note: being an “inspiration” to vkei bands is not sufficient.
• sessions are bands that [1a] perform live, or [1b] release studio recordings, but [2] are not considered to be official bands by their members. Their lineups are often highly unstable.
• one-time sessions [1a] perform fewer than 4 times, or [1b] never perform but appear on a release. They often play covers.
• continuous sessions [1] perform 4 or more times, over any period of time. They often perform original songs, and frequently act as precursors to formal bands.
• parody bands [1] exist only for comedic or promotional purposes. They are often comprised of non-musicians (typically comedians) or non-visual musicians.
• “partially visual” and similar descriptors are not recognized by vkgy. Such bands are either visual or non-visual.
• “proto visual” and similar descriptors are not recognized by vkgy. Such bands fall under genres other than visual kei. Some may be described as okeshou kei (お化粧系).
• special projects [1] self-describe as special projects, time-limited projects, or units. We do not make any distinction between those descriptors, or between projects and sessions.
• soft visual bands meet the definition outlined in our guide to soft visual kei. In short, they [1] look “less visual” than other visual kei bands, but [2] still participate in the visual kei scene.

• For any bands not covered in the allowed types outlined above, no profiles, releases, or other data may be added. Omnibuses featuring such bands should use (omnibus) ((オムニバス)) as the artist, with the display name for that track set to the appropriate artist name. Such profiles created by mistake, or created before these rules were implemented, should be reported and deleted.
• For foreign bands: all normal data may be added so long as they are widely recognized as visual kei. However, we explicitly claim that such profiles are not complete or up-to-date.
• For formerly visual bands: all normal data may be added. However, news articles may be added only if the band disbands, revives, or switches back to being a visual band, or if one of its members passes away.
• For idols: a note must be added to the bio detailing their claim of being visual kei, or some other explanation for their inclusion. The following may be added: formation and disbandment dates; city; pronunciation; official links; name, position, and band history for any members who are related to vkei; a group photo; and individual photos for any members who are related to vkei. Do not add releases, videos, detailed biography information, live schedules, or news articles. Exceptions may be made in cases of relevance to vkei (such as releasing a cover of a vkei song). We explicitly claim that such profiles are not complete or up-to-date.
• For Misshitsu kei, pikopiko kei, or shironuri kei bands: those who are widely recognized as vkei may have all information added as normal. For those who are not widely recognized as vkei, but considered vkei by a significant portion of Japanese fans, all information may be added except news articles. For all others, no profile or data should be added.
• For okeshou kei bands: all data may be added except news articles, unless said news article is about a significant event such as death. We explicitly claim that such profiles are not complete or up-to-date.
• For one-time sessions, continuous sessions, and 2D/doujin bands bands, all information may be added as usual, but no news articles should be created (except in the case of changing to a formal band).
• For parody bands and soft visual bands, all information may be added as usual, and news articles may be created so long as the band is unambiguously vkei.

It's often unclear whether or not a band is visual, but our database requires a “yes” or “no” answer. Because of this, we sometimes get things wrong. In these cases, please take the following actions:

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• Carefully read the above criteria and definitions, as well as our guide to visual kei.
• Vote on the non-visual tag as you see fit. This is the ultimate decider in whether a band is marked as non-visual, or not.
• Discuss your reasoning on Discord, but keep it civil, respectful, and factual.
• Report our mistake, and include sources that corroborate your viewpoint.
• Do not fight about classification, even if someone is “wrong.” It is unproductive and lowers the mood of the community.
• Remember that your opinion is your own, and you are allowed to hold it even if vkgy disagrees.

Why these rules exist

The boundaries between “visual kei” and “not visual kei” are often unclear. This is especially true of bands who were active just before the term “visual kei” saw wide usage; and of bands active during the “visual boom” era when non-visual bands co-opted the movement; and of modern bands who may only be active in digital spaces.

These factors, along with the fact that visual kei itself allows a wide range of expression, mean that many bands could be called “maybe sort of vkei” or “vkei-ish” without actually participating in the scene. The definition of “visual kei” may be a moving target, but these definitions and guidelines help us set clearer boundaries.

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How these rules help us

Although we understand why users want to add complete information about all j-rock bands, it muddies the purpose of vkgy. It should always be clear, even to first-time visitors, that vkgy is for visual kei. Our guidelines help us achieve that goal.

Furthermore, one our strengths is the ability of our editors to fact-check each other. Because 95% of us are uninterested in the wider j-rock and j-music scenes, we can not adequately fact check non-visual profiles. Removing those profiles helps us avoid errors which could harm our reputation.

Finally, visual kei has unique characteristics that are not found in other scenes (such as release “press” and “type” being considered different attributes). Our system is built with those quirks in mind, and making it more generic for the purposes of serving non-visual bands would be unfair to our subject.