While browsing the Bookoff in West Shinjuku, Seba and I found a Malice Mizer special magazine. We bought it for Yukiro… but not before snapping photos for you!

Boy, did Mana and Gackt look young in the early 1990s.

The magazine’s a dream for fans. Filled with pretty, colored drawings of the band.

Mana has a bit of a Sailor Moon vibe.

Inspired by the Gekka No Yasoukyaku PV (music video).

Sleek stage outfits.

And even a funny chibi comic!

Love how the band took glam rock influences and ran with them.

Can you guess how much this spectacular magazine cost?

350 yen — a measly $3.50!

Are you a Malize Mizer fanatic? What do you love best about the Visual Kei band?

Album of the Day: Mylene Farmer – L’Autre (she’s a big influence on the band)

Dir en Grey is back in the USA — touring with The Birthday Massacre! And I’m giving away TWO pairs of tickets to the Irving Plaza concert in New York, on December 12th.

It gets better. Winners also get a poster each, autographed by Dir en Grey.

Ready to enter, for yourself or a NYC friend? Let’s do it! (Photos by Rose, whose Seattle live review caused a bit of a stir.)

1) Click my Google Plus button (it should turn BLUE) >>>

2) Like my Facebook Page, if you haven’t already.

3) Comment on my Facebook Wall, telling me who is your favorite member of Dir en Grey, and why.

Contest ends Dec 7th, 2011 at midnight Pacific Time. Winners chosen by random selection, and must provide a first and last name so that they can pick up the tickets at the door. Arr.

Don’t forget to read the Seattle Dir en Grey show review, and check out all my Visual Kei and Jrock articles.

Have you seen Dir en Grey or The Birthday Massacre? Were you impressed by their live show? Enter the giveaway before you forget… and regret!

Did you miss Miyavi’s world tour last year? No need to cry; the talented Jrock artist is back in the USA this month. And I’m giving away two pairs of tickets for Miyavi’s NYC concert on Halloween!

Two lucky readers will get to take a guest to his October 31st performance at Irving Plaza (tickets are on sale now). How to enter the contest? It’s super easy…

Simply complete these 3 steps:
1) Recommend my blog by clicking this Google Plus One button:

2) Like my Facebook Page by clicking the thumbs up below:

3) Finally, visit my Facebook Page’s Wall and comment, telling me your favorite Miyavi song.

Contest ends Monday, Oct 17th at midnight Pacific Time. Winners chosen by random selection, and must provide a first and last name so that they can pick up the tickets at the door. Arr.

Speaking of Halloween… here are photos of Tokyo in spooky-mode. Like every year, Shinjuku’s Don Quixote has a colorful display.

Claire’s is bursting with cat and devil ears. I can’t believe I still haven’t tried the new Pirate-themed restaurant in Odaiba…

Dollar stores are the best places to pick up Halloween doo-dads.

I decorated my nails with ghostly nail-art stickers and glitter.

Even Tokyo Disneyland is getting into the spirit, with Mad Hatter Mickey Mouse.

The “crane game” machines have toy rabbits dressed up as black cats and pumpkins.

Takashimaya department store has beautifully packaged spooky snacks.

Halloween is the best time of the year, don’t you agree? Last year, I did blog posts about Japanese costumes and pumpkin-flavored food that are worth a revisit.

And what better way to celebrate Halloween… than rocking out with Miyavi? Enter the contest to win passes, and that could be your destiny. Good luck and stay scary!

What are your plans for Halloween this year? Got a costume yet?

Song of the Day: Miyavi vs Kreva – Strong

How I longed to attend this year’s Wave Gotik Treffen (largest Goth music gathering in the world)! In early June, DJ SiSEN, G-suS and other spooky friends flew to Leipzig, Germany for the festivities. Sadly, I couldn’t make it due to travel and scheduling conflicts.

Thankfully, talented photographers Seventh Sin (Jen Hoffert and Holger Karas) were front and center at WGT, and wrote this report on the bands and fashion. Is Lolita on the decline? How is steampunk changing? Keep reading to find out. (All images by Seventh Sin.)

Wave Gotik Treffen 2011 was a special one, as it was the 20th anniversary of a gathering of dark people from all over the world. The percentage of foreigners increases every year; this time, we met people from Japan, China, US, Australia and many European countries. The performing artists also come from all over the globe including a metal band from China. With approximately 50 venues spread throughout Leipzig, people gathered at various far-off places, and so the famous WGT catwalk at the Agra Messepark was sometimes rather deserted.

In addition over 250 bands playing over five days, there were many other things to see and do — including free entrance for WGT visitors to museums, the opera and the symphony. One of the largest cinemas hosted a “Twilight” marathon, and smaller ones played indie films like Goths on the Move. At least two independently-organised art exhibitions took place: SEELENFRESSER Titten + Ärsche + Über-Ich at the Werk II venue and S.C.L.S.: State – Society – Landscapes – Society featuring the work of Laibach and Neue Slovenische Kunst.

Fashion-wise there was no obvious new trends this year, but definitely shifts in the most prevalent outfits. While the whole Lolita theme seems to be decreasing, there is a certain increase in both historical and Victorian dresses as well as Steampunk. The Cyber Goth style seemed to decline at the Agra venue, but this might be due to the fragmentation of the festival into three or more hot spots.

The historical-recreation fraction of the Treffen still is mostly a DIY trend, although there are a few specialty brands available that serve this community. The dresses seem to get more elaborate as over the time the sewing skills increase.

In addition to the labels vending at the market, there were some new, smaller labels handing out advertisements: Dark Fusion Boutique, USA, Royal Black, Austria, and Steampunk II, Elfenrausch, Germany.

The increasing number of Steampunks could be sorted into two categories. There were many people using brands like Lip Service to create their basic Steampunk outfit and then “spicing it up” with custom accessories. Others relied mostly on self made items, sometimes overdoing with props and add ons, although the level of ingenuity in the Steampunk community continues to amaze.

Music was widespread through all genres and there were some extraordinary acts on stage this time. Due to our responsibilities as photographers we couldn’t see them all, but at least we were able to sneak in visits to some of our favorites. (Above: Das Ich, who have played at Midnight Mess in Tokyo.)

In the infamous Moritzbastei I was able to stand at the very front row of a Gothika show.

Andro San gave an amazing performance in his pretty red kimono, while Yoshi was more sexy than ever.

The incomparable Diamanda Galas. (Yukiro reviewed her Swedish performance.)

Another inspiring show was Monica Richards project Infrawarrior, with new musicians and an amazing audio-visual concept with ritualistic influences. The presence of Monica and her main dancer Lucretia was amazing and mind shaking, and fortunately, we were able to capture a visual impression.

Even with a reported 23,000 visitors, Wave Gothic Treffen is still “THE” place to gather and find all of our friends, sometimes without even trying. We literally bumped into many people, including SiSen and G-suS from Tokyo on the opera house steps moments before the doors opened to Diamanda Galas. We saw J-Goth Amiyu a few times, including while crawling home at the end of a wonderful but exhausting five days of dark music, culture and friends.

Thank you to Holger and Jen for the scoop! I recommend that you check out the book Black Celebration – 20 years WGT, edited by Jennifer Hoffert and Alexander Nym, which was presented at several readings. “Black Celebration” is a bilingual (German/English) volume with anecdotes, memories and images from two decades of dark underground culture in Leipzig. Contributing authors include musicians such as Bruno Kramm of Das Ich; the images vary from black and white analog in the nineties to full-color digital photography. Hand numbered copies (limited to 300) are still available, but only directly from the publisher, Ploettner Verlag.

Hungry for more visual inspiration? You can go back in time to my 2009 report about WGT. I also featured Seventh Sin photography in this post about Japan Goth fashion and nightlife.

Which were your favorite looks from the photos below? Do you agree with the writers that Lolita is now less popular in Europe? I hear the fashion is thriving in Australia…

Song of the Day: Gothika – Fata Morgana Android