Anime

message 1: by [deleted user] (new)

Jul 12, 2009 11:32PM

Gackt Camui (神威楽斗, Kamui Gakuto) is an Okinawan musician, composer, lyricist, poet, author, actor, designer and model. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his work with Malice Mizer and after leaving Malice Mizer started his career as a solo artist. Besides Japanese, he has performed in English, French, Korean, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Gackt Camui was born in Okinawa, Japan, on July 4 ( precise year not known ). His website only mentions a month and day. His father was a music teacher primarily playing the trumpet and his mother was also a teacher. According to Gackt's autobiography, he was a mischievous child and enjoyed taking risks; at age of seven he nearly drowned while swimming off the coast of Okinawa. After this near-death experience, he claimed to have the ability to see and speak with deceased family members, a notion which was dismissed by his parents. At the age of ten, Gackt was hospitalized with a gastrointestinal condition and had to remain at the hospital for a prolonged time. He made the acquaintance of several terminally ill children, some of whom died during his stay.

Gackt's musical education began at age three, when his parents initiated his classical piano education, which he grew tired of four years later. It would take another four years until his parents allowed him to quit. Gackt is known for being very competitive, and when he learned that a friend was also learning piano it led to Gackt taking up the piano again so he could be better. Having only listened to classical and enka while growing up, Gackt didn't become interested in rock music until he was a young adult. He cites Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" as being particularly inspiring, and went on to master modern percussion and guitar.

In 1995, Gackt joined Malice Mizer as the group's vocalist, lyricist and pianist. The band released several successful singles along with two albums with Gackt, entitled Voyage ~Sans Retour~ and the highly popular Merveilles. It was through his time in Malice Mizer that he really grew popular and his vocal skills as an artist were developed. He also created a strong friendship bond with the members, especially their drummer, Kami.

At the immediate start of 1999, Gackt left Malice Mizer. Five months after Gackt's departure, Kami died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Gackt was unable to attend the funeral and did not find out until a week afterwards. He dedicated two songs to his memory ("U+K" and "Emu ~For my dear~") and visits his grave each year, also visiting his parents.

Gackt launched his solo career on May 12, 1999 with the release of the EP Mizerable. Several albums, singles and videos (on VHS and DVD) have since followed. Gackt's music has also been featured as theme songs for anime and video games multiple times, examples being New Fist of the North Star, Bujingai and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, amongst others. He has also provided voice acting, motion capturing and his likeness for such works on several occasions and co-wrote and co-starred in the 2003 movie Moon Child, which also features Hyde (vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel) and Taiwanese-American singer Wang Lee Hom. Also in 2003, Gackt published his autobiography, Jihaku and for Caparison Guitars, he has designed two guitars, named "Mercury" and "Venus".

Since January 7, 2007, Gackt has been playing the warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fūrinkazan.[9:] Gackt's single "Returner ~Yami no Shūen~", was released on June 20, 2007, and was the first in his career (both solo and in a band) to reach the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts.[10:] Gackt has provided the voice for Malthazar in the Japanese release of the film Arthur and the Minimoys[11:] and in October 2007, his back catalog became available in the iTunes Store.

On December 19, Gackt released an album titled 0079-0088. It contains eight tracks, which had either previously been used on the soundtracks of the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam movies or were covers of earlier songs from the Gundam franchise. It was created as a tribute to the creator of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino, for his birthday. Gackt recently performed on the 58th Kōhaku Uta Gassen, the annual New Year's Eve special by NHK. and is currently recording new material. He has stated in an interview that he may decide to retire in 2010 depending upon how he is feeling at the time and the state of his health.

On May 21, 2008, Gackt released the DVD, Amakakeru Ryu no Gotoku. This is a documentary/commentary on his time spent making the drama, Fūrinkazan.

Gackt's new single titled "Jesus" was released on November 26, 2008. It is his first single release in over a year. On January 28, Gackt released his twenty-seventh single, "Ghost". Ghost is the opening for the Japanese version of The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

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message 2: by Kiku (new)

Jul 13, 2009 09:17AM