Article by EK, October 26 2004

I am one of a new kind of fan of Gackt Camui. I met him through an anime.

Texhnolyze, to be precise. It's an anime by Yoshitoshi ABe and Yasuyuki Ueda, of Serial Experiments Lain. It's one of the darkest, most intriguing things made in recent anime history. And Gackt was commissioned to make the ending song, "Tsuki no Uta".

When I first watched Texhnolyze, I was dreadfully confused, and ready to give up on it as too weird for me. But when the end song started, I just listened. The song was unlike any anime song I had encountered before. The voice was deep and clear, the music was haunting but beautiful. I swore to come back and watch more of Texhnolyze, if only for the end song, it was that cool.

Then I saw the letters. "Gackt C."

I sat up ramrod straight. So THIS is the famous Gackt. My jaw dropped.

Now I've heard of him from before. People at boards I go to gush about Gackt. But since I had no way of knowing what he sounded like, I ignored the ranting. That is, until I encountered "Tsuki no Uta". I was floored. I was changed for life.

Because of that song, I've gone on to make a shrine to Texhnolyze, and I've gone on to be something of a fan of Gackt. I'm still a newbie, I admit. I've only seen the Sixth Day and Seventh Night concert on TV, I haven't downloaded all his songs, I don't know everything there is to know. But I want to. And I hope that makes me at least a newbie fan.

I know that most of the old-timers will cringe at this. I wasn't so into Jpop that I didn't meet him the usual way. I met him the way L'arc en Ciel is usually met by foreigners, oh horror of horrors, through their work in an anime. I'm only a second class citizen.

That's OK.

Some of the older fans are probably cringing that Gackt even chose to get into anime. I don't know about you, but I am dreadfully grateful that he did. Anime is usually the only way I get to meet Jpop artists. And I'm so glad I met this particular Jpop artist. He'll now have more fans, by whatever definition, because of his work in Texhnolyze and Fist of the North Star. The oldies have to accept this new wave of newbie fans, and not think any less of them.

So I am a fan through an anime ending song.

But I am a fan.