For those of you who do not know who Gackt is, it’s really not that difficult to explain. He’s a Japanese musician. One who’s been around the music industry for almost twenty years now. If you know him, you don’t need me to tell you more about who he is. If you don’t, bear with me. I will tell you why his fans appreciate him. Regardless, at the end of the article there will be a few songs waiting for you and you will be the ones to decide if you like them or not.
I was around sixteen years old when I discovered Gackt and, through his music, I stepped towards a small part of the Japanese culture. I say “small” because my interest faded in time. But I will get there later on. Back then, I liked writing about anything and everything. I started using the internet more and I got to speak with people belonging to different cultures. I will never forget those times. One thing led to another, so to say, and my love for what is new led my gaze towards the Land of the Rising Sun. I discovered, among others, X Japan and Malice Mizer. Gackt was the vocalist of the latter. I was hooked, plain and simple. I don’t remember what the first song I’ve listened was, but Gackt’s music remained in my playlist for years after that.
So, why “love” him? Love, in this case, equals admiration… that’s how I see it. I believe that “love” holds a different weight for each and every fan. We don’t know his real name, we don’t know exactly when he was born (1973 is the year which usually pops up) and most of his personal life is shrouded in mystery. Which is perfectly fine with us. Get over that and you are left 
with the artist. He was so different than everything I had known until then. I couldn’t understand a thing, but I loved his music, it touched my soul. What’s more, I was beyond impressed that he could actually sing live. And his voice seems even more beautiful when he does. Later on, I looked up the translations and I admit, I was impressed by what I found. The lyrics are just as beautiful as the music.
It’s not exactly a surprise for me that a lot of people do not understand our taste in music. It’s simply not promoted in Europe or in the USA. Not enough for easy access to it. Of course, now we have access to internet, so it isn’t all that difficult to keep track with an artist’s work. But still… at 19, I had a very important exam and I had to speak about the music I enjoy and its influence on me. It was the perfect topic for me. I spoke about various groups or solo artists from various cultures. Among them, Japanese music (having Gackt in mind). And I saw the change in the professor’s demeanor. It was like she couldn’t understand why I would listen that. From what I’ve read over the internet, a lot of people are quick to judge Japanese musicians because their style is quite different from what we are used to see. What we should keep in mind is that no culture is better than another. They are simply different, all with their strong points and flaws.
Coming back to Gackt, I love his shows. I’ll tell you from the start, they are not for innocent eyes. He can’t dance… at all. But he is still extremely sexy, energetic and passionate, offering the crowd what it wants to see and hear. He is so passionate it’s insane. Don’t believe me? He fainted more than once and/or had to be taken to the hospital because he worked too hard. He’s cocky and funny. I remember watching interviews with him from early 2000’s; Gackt was trying to be all smooth, mysterious and confident – bordering on arrogance – when, to me at least, he looked quite awkward. Especially when he was trying to suppress a smile. And what a gorgeous smile he has.
Fans know that Gackt doesn’t put his personal life in the spotlight. Those who want to know him better, can read his autobiography, Jihaku (Confession), which is also available in English. You will learn about his childhood, his likes and dislikes, pain and joy, his divorce and family and – all in all – his view on life at that time. Basically, you get a glimpse of the man behind make-up, contacts lenses and arrogance. And you might be surprised of what you are going to find.
Finally, to wrap this up, why DO we love him? He’s talented, confident, handsome, sexy, a great friend to those who actually get to him, funny, complex. Because, perhaps the most important reason, he seduced us with his voice, with all the emotions he has always poured in his songs and, through them, in our hearts. As I said in the beginning, there was a period of time when my interest in his work faded away. But his music drew me back. No matter how many years go by, it still fascinates me. While I don’t listen to his songs as often as I used to, I still love them and I still hold the same respect for the one who sings them for us.
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Of course, each fan has his or her reasons. I went to this group and asked “why do you love Gackt?”. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to those who answered. Here are pieces from their replies:
-“Wow. Beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair. He looks fantastic.” Later I was at my cousin’s home and was looking on the internet. Youtube and listen to Vanilla. I was moved.
–Thi Anh Mai Le: At first I wasn’t a fan of his… cause visual key was a bit… uncommon, but he was really famous back in that time in Germany’s Otaku-culture. So I started to listen to his music. My very frist: Mizerable and Mindforest. -…- I started to search for more cute Gackt videos…. and… there was a ton of it in Youtube! OMG back then… he was so innocent… so cute and at the same time he was so cool… I mean… he tried to be the super cold badass… but sometimes he couldn´t resist to laugh or smile… he got such a killer smile!!! I loooove the charming innocent wannabe icy little Gackt-sama. But I love him now also! He works so hard! Singing, acting, supporting and so on and so on! I’m a big fan but I can’t follow his steps because there are so many projects… and he still surprises me!
-When I was in middle school, I had only heard his music, I never knew what he looked like. But I loved his voice very much. It 
took me one year to find out who sang the song I liked. And, of course, once I saw what he looked like, I liked what I saw. So, basically, I fell in love with his voice first, I loved his songs before I even knew his name or what he looked like. -…- Gackt has made me cry, and laugh over the years, with his music, and those really funny videos he’s made. He’s an amazing person, and he has all of my respect, and love. I’m his fan now, and I’ll always be a fan of his. -…- My love for him started with just one song, and just his voice years ago. I can’t really think of how to put my feeling and thoughts into words, but I guess all of you know how I feel about him, since most of you probably feel the same for him as I do, but who knows.
-I’m an aestheticist and Gackt (both Malice Mizer and solo career) has an amazing aesthetic sense. Then I began listening to his music and suddenly I fell in love.
–Ursu Ana Maria: Sincerely, I didn’t even notice when I became a fan… it started by searching a random song, and when I heard one of his songs (Last Song), I started crying because his voice calmed and made me feel at ease. Then I wanted to know more… I felt in love with him and Japan… He means a lot to me… my life is better because of him it has been 7 years already since I am a fan… and I didn’t even notice when time has passed…. if I want to stop listening to him… I can’t.
-Because he has great… AWESOME songs; the lyrics are sweet and deep… a lot of feelings… Gackt is an inspiring person… Just listening to what he says, and you will understand that. Because he is awesome. He can do everything… and to choose one song… not possible, because all of them are so amazing… First song I heard was Redemption, and then I searched to find Gackt songs, because I thought it was really awesome… I was in love with his music and him.
-I became a fan of GACKT in 2009, when one of my other idols, Michael Jackson, had passed away. That night I was on YouTube and saw that one of my YouTube friends had some of his videos on her page and I started to listen to them and found his voice really soothing. I really didn’t become a hardcore fan until July 14th of 2009 when my grandma passed away on my birthday that I really got to really listen to him and I have been a fan ever since.
-I became his fan when I was in high school, while I was exploring j-music and my brother downloaded Japanese artist’s discography and one of them was Gackt. The first song I heard was kimi ga matteiru kara. And I was like “what a beautiful voice“. At first, I had no idea what Gackt looked like, so when I looked for pictures, *WOW!* what a beautiful man. Then I continued listening to him (even malice mizer era ^_^v) and for every song I kept on researching an English translation and I really love those meanings, so deep and there is something with it and the way he creates because there is the “passion” which I’m really looking for, plus the emotions of his music were really heartwarming… and, because of that, every time I draw I’m always listening to him because Gackt is a very inspiring man.
-The year was 2006. The summer before I started my first year of high school. I was at a friend’s house and we were hanging out in her room, talking about whatever young teenagers talk about. Then my friend turns to me and says “Hey, I have something I want you to listen to”… I said sure, why not. So she went to her computer and all of a sudden this beautiful male voice invaded my ears. The song was Secret Garden and clearly not in English, but I didn’t care about that part. It was like I didn’t need to know the translation to understand the lyrics. I saw the world the song painted in my mind. And it was beautiful. Like each musical note was a different path in a forest in which you wouldn’t mind being lost. -…- I became a fan because through his voice, his music, I am able to escape the world and go into my very own “secret garden”.
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I cannot choose a favourite song, but I do love Last Song, Saikai Story and Lost Angels (just to name a few). And I will also leave you with a couple of articles: Sakurasou and Fragrance.
What are your reasons?
by Elena Atudosiei & Fans (Lovers)
I first fell in love with Gackt-sama due to his beautiful voice and face! Later, as I began to learn Japanese (with the help of his music), got translations, and learned more about him, I realized that deep down, there was a connection that neither of us ever realized was there (and, of course, he still doesn’t realize LOL), but it exists. I know that probably sounds like a crazed love-struck fan, but his lyrics spoke to me even before I knew what they meant. I cried when I first heard Lapis and Emu ~For My Dear~ and as I read more and more about him from Jihaku, I came to find that we had a lot in common and have come to feel as though I’ve known him for a long time, perhaps from another life? Okay, that probably sounds weird and now I feel like I’m rambling, but I think, as fans, we feel connected with this mysterious man who has captured out hearts, souls, and minds.
I know only a few words and phrases in Japanese, but didn’t stop to learn more. I might, though, it’s never too late. I think it’s beautiful when artists inspire so many people to learn something new (something about literature, a language or bits and pieces about a different culture). Personally, I don’t believe in reincarnation, but you never know. Music, art in general, has this gift of bringing people together, as if it doesn’t care about time or space. That’s probably where this connection people feel comes from. Thank you for the message!
[…] Why Fans Love Gackt | eLitere on Fragrance […]
The romanian translation of the article:
http://romaniangackt.blogspot.ro/2014/05/articol-de-ce-il-iubim-pe-gackt.html
Thank you! :*
http://romanianloveforgackt.tumblr.com/post/113422447685/articol-de-ce-il-iubim-pe-gackt
We meet again, tumblr, old friend 🙂 Mă gândesc să fac și eu o pagină pentru eLitere pe tumblr. We’ll see.
Din pacate, am fost nevoita sa mut blog-ul principal pe privat, si pentru publicul larg, il mut pe tumblr.
De ce? Ce s-a intamplat? Oriunde ar fi, spor!
Au facut modificari pe blog, si ca sa nu risc sa mi-l inchida, l-am trecut pe privat.
I became a Fan and in Love with GACKT because he saved my life from Suicide with his Beautiful song FLOWER which came out in 2009 which was a really difficult time in mylife bbecause my family fell apart and my entire life I’d suffered from being a terminally ill child and already coming from a broken family; I locked myself away in my room for 3 years. And its weird because I don’t think I found the his song, because I had given up on my and I feel like that particular song looked for and found me because I remember being
on YouTube but I wasn’t watching anything remotely Japanese but no matter what i looked up every time in the “recommended for you list” GACKT – FLOWER kept popping up so i kinda got tired of it popping up so i decided to give it a chance and when i listened to it, I suddenly didn’t feel Alone anymore like he was showing me that I wasn’t just suffering Alone anymore but like he was suffering along with me and I felt for the first time in my life that I had a friend and I’ve been a fan ever since. Because if it weren’t for GACKT I wouldn’t even be alive or graduated high school.
There’s not much I can say, Vinni. I love that song, but I never thought that it could have such a great impact on someone. Then again, music never fails to speak to us regardless of time and language barriers. I truly hope that your life is better now, that your strength won’t fail you. Don’t give up, enjoy and create what makes you happy.
i cannot put words to the emotions he and his songs evoke in me, for i feel that words would only cheapen them. he really is an amazing person and artist.
Is there any particular song you would like to find on eLitere? I can’t decide what to choose for the next article dedicated to Gackt’s music.
This article also appeared on http://paper.li/darth_x_sin/1322169566?edition_id=df90c0e0-96de-11e5-9023-002590a5ba2d
Now this is a lovely surprise. 🙂
Yes, It was the same feeling for me when I saw your article there. 😀