gothic

The LunaBell Can Get You Right into That Halloween Spirit

/ Homicidol Maniac

Oh, it’s a quieter day in idol? And there’s still a whole huge backlog to get through? Let’s do that!

Last week! It was a lot! Some things I just didn’t get around to; others I deliberately held up for timing reasons. This is one of those, as getting seasonal beats right feels like the least I can do. Remember how Suzu Hinata kicked around a little after petit pas! broke up, and where she landed ultimately involved a solo musical project that, by the standards of how a lot of idols decide to style themselves, was pretty much right on par?

Well, she’s back, and this time it’s to wish you a very happy Halloween! Continue reading →

Maybe This Will Pique Your Interest in Aphrodite

/ Homicidol Maniac

Or, Wherein Maniac finally publishes a thing that’s a few months old.

We seem to be in one of those semi-regular doldrums period for idol, don’t we? I thought it was just a blip at first, given that summer singles were still popping up here and there, but no, it’s real. There’s like nothing new! And at these times, it’s helpful to take a look at new things. After all, mid-to-late spring is a big time for idol debuts; likewise, there are usually so many debuts that “catching up” means “see you in several months.” Silver lining: It makes for a manageable editorial calendar!

However, normal, useful, interesting idol stuff can get lost in the churning gluts of idol activity, and it can be just as useful to play catch up at opportune moments as well. Take for example Aphrodite, who are neither new nor particularly unfamiliar, neither in these parts nor if you pay any kind of attention to chika idol. This post was originally going to be an Aphrodite Digest! Why? Because they were doing lots of stuff! In April!

Yes, “lots of stuff” refers directly to a membership shake-up (of course) and going on one of those single-per-month-for-three-months things, which itself culminated in: Continue reading →

It’s Friday, So We May as Well Enjoy More STARMARIE

/ Homicidol Maniac

I swear it, while I may occasionally look in on STARMARIE’s YouTube channel to see if/when/what they have in terms of new stuff (it’s often a lot!), I don’t deliberately have this thing for them on Friday or over the weekend; things just kind of work out that way.

In this case, just kind of building on the last (and recent) bit of video, this is “Galaxies visible from the rooftop”:

Continue reading →

STARMARIE Released a New Album and It Pre-sounds Pretty Cool

/ Homicidol Maniac / 1 Comment

Gosh darnit, I sometimes feel like the only person in this country who gives a crap about my favorite gothic noir idols, and I had no idea that this album was happening! Or, rather, happened yesterday!

Here’s the trailer with full track listing and heaviness:

It’s called FANTASY THEATER, because yes. Continue reading →

Warp Your Reality with JyuJyu’s New MV

/ Homicidol Maniac / 3 Comments

I love this exact time of the year, with idols getting their spring releases out there and infesting YouTube with all kinds of madness.

Case in point, JyuJyu with the lead track off of their “black thread” single; we’ve heard the song before, and it’s fun, but the video’s one Lament Configuration or VHS tape short of taking us completely into a nightmare realm:


Thanks again, Terry!

Continue reading →

Not Just Any Standard, the World Standard

/ Homicidol Maniac / 1 Comment

Who’s up for another gothic shot in the arm? I know I could stand for a little gloom.

Here’s the latest from The World Standard, Wa-suta, who have actually made a cameo appearance here in the original TIF Megathread courtesy of @ramenshuriken but fell by the wayside since:

Continue reading →

By Way of a New Song, You’re about to Learn a Lot More about STARMARIE

/ Homicidol Maniac / 5 Comments

I was cruising J-pop Idols for some info, and the top item in their home page feed is an entry on STARMARIE. That is, the same STARMARIE that I finally got around to posting about a couple of weeks ago. Was this … was this newer material?

You bet!

They even joined Soundcloud just to share it! And then took it down! Continue reading →

Let’s Finally Get Down to STARMARIE!

/ Homicidol Maniac / 2 Comments

I promised a while ago that I’d get around to sharing one of the oldest idol projects in our collective interest, and it’s a pretty calm Sunday until the iCON DOLL LOUNGE stuff starts to trickle out, so hey, let’s take a look at STARMARIE.

First, a very long live video (which is what reminded me):

Continue reading →