Name: 宇宙を翔ける友へ 伝説のバンド「X」の生と死
Rating: 4.67 (3 reviews)

1,105 reviews461 followers

December 31, 2024

It's strange to me to think that this time last year I had never even heard of the band X Japan. I have now spent many hours Googling, watching and of course listening and have barely scratched the surface. There are many interesting books I would love to read about this band and its members, although this is complicated by the lack of English translation. I read a version of this book by Taiji that was fan translated, and I am aware that there were parts missing and that some sentences landed clunkily - however it seems likely that one of the two languages they were working with was more of a challenge for them - and that they are not being paid for their efforts. The overall job was good and allowed me to learn much more about the band and of course, Taiji specifically.

Taiji was the bassist for X Japan until 1992. His views on the early days of the band, as well as the times right up until he quit were very interesting. I'm fascinated by the alchemy of certain bands, the way a certain combination of people seem to amplify the best of each other and everything works together in this beautiful synchronicity. Like with any relationship, it's often these strengths and the way they challenge each other that eventually leads to some sort of implosion.
He describes each member vividly. He focuses the most on Hide - as he is my favourite member, this was welcome. It made for emotional reading, especially his panic after Hide's death and his frantic search to find the funeral home where his body was. Taiji seems to have had the most reverence for Hide and was perhaps most in synch with his approach to music.

Hide(left) and Taiji
He speaks of how the surviving members of the band spoke generally about music in the days after his death - unable to bring themselves to talk about this death that they hadn't yet begun to process. Despite the conflicts between many of them, they were all united in their grief.

The translations I read did not include the chapters covering Taiji's more difficult periods, including being homeless. I would like to read these segments at some point.
And of course, this book was published about ten years before he died. There are details about his death that are still unanswered today. There are four days that are not properly accounted for, and an autopsy was not done. His clinical records were 'lost'. His partner has written a book about these events that I would also like to read if I can. I have a great deal of sympathy for her loss and the questions around his death, which must make grieving all the more difficult.

The review I have written here is fairly brief - I have had fun choosing the pictures to go in it. I had a more difficult time writing the text -- it is tricky to review something I read that was missing some chapters, and even more so to touch upon subjects without giving a breakdown of the long history of a very busy, complicated band, so I apologise for the sparse details. I would love for an in-depth biography of the entire history of the band to be written and then translated into English. I would buy it in a heartbeat!