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Gackt

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Gackt
File:Gackt0000.jpg
Background information
OriginOkinawa, Japan
Years active1994–present
WebsiteDears

Gackt M.S. Camui (ガクト; but most often written in Latin alphabet, even in Japan) is a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, and one time drummer for the band Cains:Feel. It was his time spent fronting Malice Mizer that brought him national, and global recognition.

He plays the trumpet, tuba, horn, euphonium, trombone, piano, guitar, drums, bass, other standard orchestral instruments, and most traditional Japanese instruments.

Gackt can speak Japanese, English, Mandarin, Korean, and French, with varying degrees of fluency.

Life

Early life

Gackt has never officially released his real name or birth date but during his 2004 tour, a video was shown that cited his birthdate as July 4, 1973. Since his Malice Mizer era, Gackt jokingly claims to have been a vampire born on July 4, 1540.

Gackt was born in Okinawa, Japan, to very strict traditionalist parents. At the age of seven, he nearly drowned in the sea of Okinawa. According to his autobiography, 自白(Jihaku), Gackt developed paranormal abilities after being saved, seeing things and people that others could not. As a result, he was sent into isolation at a mental hospital. In the same autobiography, Gackt claimed that he did not want to have children so he wouldn't pass these problems on to them. He graduated highschool in 1992.

Gackt is and has always been extremely competitive and has stated, "It's not that I want to win; it's just that I don't want to lose." His parents, both musicians, began his formal lessons in classical piano when he was three, even though it was physically impossible for him to play at that early age. After many years of having no real interest in these lessons, his competitive nature made him want to master the piano after seeing a friend play better than him. His musical preference later shifted to brass instruments after seeing his father play the trumpet. When Gackt turned seventeen, his taste in music changed from classical to rock. As a result of this, he began learning to play instruments that deviated from the classical standards of music, eventually focusing on contemporary rock.

Solo career

After leaving Malice Mizer, Gackt began a solo career with a band he created called "GacktJOB", which consisted of several members including You (violin/rhythm guitar), Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura (lead guitar/effects), Masa (rhythm guitar), Ren (bass), Toshi (drums), Yosh (choreographer/dancer), and Igao (keyboards). GacktJOB later added Ryuichi Ryu Nishida on drums and Ju-ken on bass. Gackt's live concerts often included homoerotic play (fan service) with some of these members. Despite being labeled half the time as "pop," very few of his songs are of that genre. It's been desputed as a 50-50 or 60-40 on whether he's more Rock or Ballad.

Other Mediums

In addition to music, Gackt has been involved as an actor in various TV commercials (usually playing himself), and in the Japanese drama Hero's Hero. He also co-wrote and co-starred in the hit vampire movie Moon Child with HYDE, vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel.

Gackt is also officially an author, having written Moonchild: Requiem, and several as-yet unpublished short stories. In 2003 he published his autobiography titled Jihaku, in which he displayed deep thoughts and described events that had a profound impact on his life. Gackt has worked as a runway model for his favorite designer, Yoshiyuki Konishi; designed his own stage-wear and clothing line; and opened his own private, members-only restaurant and bar, Tamaly Bar, complete with his own personal and family recipies.

Gackt was also involved in the PlayStation 2 game Bujingai, for which he performed some of the voices as well as doing motion capture for the game's protagonist, Lau Wong, who is a redheaded vision of Gackt himself. He has also appeared in Japanese commercials for the hit game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and his name appeared on a dog tag in the game. Other voice-over work of Gackt's included the character 'Seiji' from the anime New Fist of the North Star (Shin Hokuto no Ken), as well as singing the opening and ending theme songs. He also performed the ending theme 「月の詩」, ("Tsuki no Uta") for the anime Texhnolyze.

Rumors on the internet cite Gackt as the model for the Final Fantasy VIII lead character Squall Leonhart. In the game, Squall is wearing a jacket identical to one Gackt wore in his Malice Mizer days. Said rumors state that the designer of Squall Leonhart was a big fan, but Gackt has never been officially credited. Tetsuya Nomura, the character designer for Squall Leonhart, has stated that American actor River Phoenix was the basis for Squall, and that the jacket was intended to test the Playstations capabilities.

However, a character with his likeness will appear in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. The character will be created using video-capture and digitally inserted into the game instead of the more traditional animation. Although having little direct involvement in the game, his character is revealed through various G Reports hidden throughout the game. Gackt's identity in Dirge of Cerberus is thus known as G, the prototype to Shin-Ra's super-soldier, Sephiroth (or codename S).

In early 2005 he was asked to write and perform the theme songs for the Gundam movie Zeta Gundam: A New Translation, a movie eagerly anticipated by the anime community. The songs were 'Metamorphoze' and a rearrangement of a previously released song, 「君が待っているから」 ("Kimi ga Matteiru kara").

Gackt's next single, Redemption, is also the theme for Dirge of Cerberus, and was released alongside the game (and its soundtrack) in January for Japan.

GacktJOB

GacktJOB is Gackt's group of support members. Current members include:

  • You (violin, guitar)
  • Chachamaru (茶々丸) (bandleader, backing vocals, & guitar)
  • Ju-ken (bass)
  • Ryu (drums)
  • Igao (keyboard)
  • Yosh (choreographer)

Former members include:

  • Ren (bass) currently in band LinClover
  • Masa (rhythm guitar) who was in the band Spiky and is currently in DizzyDrive
  • Toshi (drums) currently the drummer for Spiky


Discography

In several cases, the Japanese titles are given first, followed by the romaji titles in square brackets.

Albums

Singles

VHS

  • (1999.06.30) Mizérable Single Box
  • (1999.12.08) Video Vanilla
  • (2000.06.18) Video Mirror.OASIS
  • (2000.10.04) MARS 空からの訪問者〜回想〜 [MARS Sora Kara No Homounsha–Kaisou– ]
  • (2000.11.27 ) MARS 空からの訪問者〜回想〜 (Lawson Special Backstage Report)
  • (2000.12.16) PLATINUM BOX 〜Ⅰ〜
  • (2001.06.21) 再生と終焉 [Saisei to Shuen]
  • (2001.09.28) Requiem et Réminiscence〜終焉と静寂〜 [Requiem et Réminiscence–Shuen to Seijaku–]
  • (2001.10.24) Requiem et Réminiscence〜終焉と静寂〜 (Lawson Special Backstage Report)
  • seven (2001) - exclusive Dears-only content
  • (2002.11.27) 微風 [Soyokaze] (1 March 2002) - includes the short film, Life
  • 心海 2002.6.6〜7.10 LIVE TOUR DOCUMENTS [Shinkai]
  • (2003.03.19) Gackt Live Tour 2002 下弦の月〜聖夜の調〜 [Kagen no Tsuki –Seiya no Shirabe–]
  • (2003.08.06) ⽉光 [Gekkou]
  • (2003.09.18) Gackt Live Tour 2003 上弦の月〜最終章〜 [Jougen no Tsuki –Saishusho–]
  • (2004.09.15) Gackt Live Tour 2004 THE SIXTH DAY & SEVENTH NIGHT 〜FINAL〜

DVD

  • (2000.11.20) MARS 空からの訪問者〜回想〜 特別編 [MARS Sora Kara No Homounsha–Kaisou– Tokubetsuhen]
  • (2001.11.30) Requiem et Réminiscence〜終焉と静寂〜 特別編 [Requiem et Réminiscence–Shuen to Seijaku– Tokubetsuhen]
  • (2001.12.21) PLATINUM BOX 〜Ⅱ〜
  • (2002.12.21) PLATINUM BOX 〜Ⅲ〜
  • (2003.03.19) Gackt Live Tour 2002 下弦の月〜聖夜の調〜 [Kagen no Tsuki –Seiya no Shirabe–]
  • (2003.08.06) 月光 [Gekkou] — includes special footage of Gackt's joke for Ren's birthday on the Dears FC trip to Hawaii
  • (2003.09.18) Gackt Live Tour 2003 上弦の月〜最終章〜 [Jougen no Tsuki –Saishusho–]
  • (2003.12.16) PLATINUM BOX 〜Ⅳ〜
  • (2004.09.15) Gackt Live Tour 2004 THE SIXTH DAY & SEVENTH NIGHT 〜FINAL〜
  • (2004.12.14) PLATINUM BOX 〜Ⅴ〜
  • (2005.12.05) PLATINUM BOX 〜Ⅵ〜
  • (2006.03.29) LIVE TOUR 2005 DIABOLOS –Aien no Shi to Seiya no Namida–
  • (2006.8.23) Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 -Red-
  • (2006.8.23) Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 -Blue-
  • Moon Child DVD (Gackts movie)

Each PLATINUM BOX set is produced as limited editions and contain a Gackt collectible inside. These are designed to have the appearance of a fine bound book. Illegal copies or bootlegs of the boxsets come in cheaper cardboard cases, or regular plastic DVD harcases, and do not contain the collectable.

Official

Unofficial Websites

Other websites

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