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IRYOU KEI/医療系
(this is copy pasted from my blog :D. soz if bad writing.)
Welcome to me ranting about my favourite subtype of v-kei!! I was making a post about every v-kei subtype, but i realised i cannot contain my love for iryou kei within that post- that's why i'm making a separate entry about iryou kei, and i'm only going to put a brief summary about it in the other post. The sources for this post will be in the “every v-kei subtype” post coming soon! The iryou kei playlist linked further down is going to be a wip until that post is out too.
Iryou kei translates to “medical type”, and the visuals are typically focused on the horror conventions associated with hospitals, nurses/ doctors and medical equipment. It's quite a niche subculture outside of japan, and the iryou concept is typically only used by (non-iryou) bands for a short period of time, so actual iryou kei bands are rare. Iryou kei visuals are usually used to explore a fetishised view on injury and recovery. In my opinion, iryou kei is used to explore a unique sort of mental decay or a sickness, as well as a lack of control over one’s body or mind.
Staple outfits associated with iryou kei are usually white, though they are sometimes blue. The most basic component of an iryou kei outfit is a white lab coat, often splattered in blood- in fact, most iryou kei bands wear blood splattered clothing. Clothes may be suits or short dresses- many clothes are covered by a lab coat anyway. Many bandmen wear bandages as accessories, whether to cover fake wounds or as a head piece, as well as using face masks, red crosses and decorative scrub caps.
The sound of iryou kei is usually punk, messy, unorganised and loud, and has been described as “avant-garde and experimental to align with the unsettling visual themes”. In my opinion, this sound sort of reflects the previously mentioned “mental decay” vibe.
While i’m only going to talk about a few bands here, please do check out all the bands below!!
LuLu is considered a pioneer in iryou kei as they truly made iryou kei a core component of their image- they’re described as “affixing “Doctor” to each member’s name, referring to shows as “examinations” and incorporating medical themes into song titles and lyrics”. Another notable iryou band is +isolation, who are well known due to their art depicting their members and their sound, which is exactly what i think of when i think of iryou music. Also, GE+IM is well known within the iryou scene for being the only band keeping iryou kei alive for quite a while.
Iryou kei playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTjPHa0gBtM&list=PLxvZC7eIzKj9XXEHoNAxaUS2hoJuhSQxj
Iryou Kei Bands: lyrica, beata, zxs, 2nd effect, kuro juuji, persona, mikeneko byouin (x2), mercuro (x3), lulu (x2), +isolation (x3), la’mule (x7), forestier (x5), ge+im
Non-Iryou Kei Bands: madmans esprit (x7), malice mizer, kane to juusei (x2), plastic tree
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