...the reverse side of beauty..//..Mantified

I've been popping around the intrawebz...when I've stumbled upon some really really ancient videos of the GazettE. Music? Not as awesome as what they've got nowadays, and contains too much LOL factor. Style? Oh. My. God......No. Reita, that really isn't a good look, despite using the same nose band! And blonde hair really doesn't suit Aoi! Some of Ruki's actions are practically eeewwwwww (even though for him to come up with such stuff is normal in his case). And Uruha...*shudder*

I'm not slating them down. It's just a weird shock in some of these videos. Hahaha.



Machibuke no Kouen de probably looks the most "natural" out of all of them. The way they look (other than Reita) didn't shock me as much. You can sense Aoi's innocence in 1:25 and 1:32 - kind of kawaii in a way (and I normally don't even think of him as kawaii). But you can definitely already see Uruha's girlishness in 1:36 - sort of glad he's kept that aura around him when posing for other things, even in the seated shot in 2:31. Reita...eewww...(sorry dear!) Ruki's style isn't bad, and I kind of like the way he's made up. I think Yune could probably compete with Uruha in facial expressions and girlie smoky eyes. And the song itself isn't bad - very 90s feel, especially in the chorus. But I suspect that because Ruki's just made the transition from drummer to vocalist, the way he sings hasn't quite matured yet.



Senchimentaru Onigokko isn't a very nice song in my opinion. And despite the fact that I like red, Ruki's suit looks icky (oh those glasses!). I can't quite decide whether I actually like Aoi's black lipstick, despite his ability to look cooler than Marilyn Manson. But I love the video concept - the dark look, the grunge...and the way the song changes tone from this weird repetitive audio to something a little more interesting in 3:01 is definitely a plus.



Doro Darake no Seishun really does look like the most amateur video out of all of these I'm posting, despite the interesting visuals. Uruha my look like a cute (yet pervy looking, LOL at the person who made that comment on YouTube) school girl in a skirt, but that face pulling in 1:50 has minused like...30 points from him (hahaha). I'm glad he's left the face pulling to Ruki now...Oh God, that blonde hair on Aoi...blonde definitely isn't his colour! And I'm glad they've ditched the "let's jump together!" act in favour of head banging. The only reason worth watching this video (other than to see Uruha's bishojo-ness in a skirt) is the group's finger and roly-poly dance! And Aoi and Reita's poke fest in 4:43...

*still ends up nose bleeding from watching Uru - oh that hair and that pretty figure!*

*ahem* Moving on!



You can barely see their faces in Juu Nana Sai (literal meaning is "Seventeen Years Old" - for once I understood the title just from the romaji!). But overall, I like this ballad, and if the song could be reworked into their current standards - to the likes of Without A Trace and Nakigahara, I'm certain this could be a fantastically beautiful heartbreaking song when sung in a live.

Yes, they've certainly come a long, long, long way. I won't be putting the old stuff into my playlist (because most of these sound awful), but I have to applaud them for their improvement and long standing achievements to the present date. And to such a previously non-rocker like me to be converted into a Gazrock enthusiast.

*holler* GAZROCK IS NOT DEAD.

Well, it's been nearly 2 months since I've touched down in Singapore. Though there are some good stuff going on, I still prefer Hong Kong. For way, way, way...too many reasons.

The food here is awesome though!

Other than that, I've been updating on Project 365 everyday since January 1st. It's been great at documenting some of the stuff I've been doing here so far. I can't wait to see and feel what happens when I actually do complete 365.

My 365 blog here!