HIZAKI and Kaya at Anime Boston 2024

Note: Due to the time-sensitive nature of our coverage, this article will be published to the main Anime Herald site on June 5. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Interviewer: Seth Burn

• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

Anime Herald: What does beauty mean to you?

Kaya: For me, beauty is necessary for life. We get nutrients from food. Beauty gives me nutrients for my heart.

Anime Herald: What does beauty mean to you?

Kaya: For me, beauty is necessary for life. We get nutrients from food. Beauty gives me nutrients for my heart.

HIZAKI: (In English) Nice Question.

(In Japanese) For me, living is “The search for beauty.”

Anime-Zing Radio: What inspired your style?

HIZAKI: Ever since I was little I loved lace, and fluff, and frills.

Kaya: It’s the same for me. Ever since I was little I sought out beautiful things.

Anime Herald: Kaya, in 2009 you joked that you are very expensive and very high maintenance. Is that still true?

Kaya: (Laughs) I would like to think that is still the case.

Anime-Zing Radio: What inspired you to pursue music?

HIZAKI: For me, it started with classical music when I was younger. Later, I got interested in Japanese rock. After that, American metal like Metallica. That was some of the music that inspired me when I was growing up.

Kaya: I wasn’t interested in becoming a musician, as much as I wanted to become a singer. I fell in love with Japanese singers.

Anime Herald: What were some of the classical musicians who inspired you?

HIZAKI: At first it was Mozart and Beethoven. More recently, Vivaldi. It changes as time goes on?

Anime-Zing Radio: How do you feel about the influence anime has had on Western culture, promoting Japanese music to North American fans?

HIZAKI: I think it’s great. I was in the United States last year. I’m happy to be back, here at Anime Boston. Looking out into the hallways it’s clear that the people here love anime and Japanese culture. Going forward, I’d love to see it continue to grow, particularly for the visual kei subculture.

Anime Herald: How has visual kei evolved over the past few decades?

Kaya: I think visual kei is always evolving.

Having said that, I think a lot of the younger generation is really cool. It’s really great to see how they’ve taken visual kei and made it their own. Looking back at our predecessors, they were really cool. The next generation is really cool. The singer for “Versailles” always says “That’s what visual kei is about. Self-expression.” I think it’s good to see it continue to evolve. That’s why we like it.

HIZAKI: If you look at things like KPOP, they’re spreading all over the world. Not just in Japan or the US. As visual kei artists, we need to keep up. We need to continue to grow all over the world and not lose out to them.

Anime-Zing Radio: Can you explain what visual kei is?

Kaya: Like I said, it’s a style that allows for free expression. Because of that, you can find heavier metal bands, lighter pop bands, all within visual kei.

HIZAKI: One of most fun things about visual kei is that it gives the listeners a chance to find what they love. Whether it’s a band whose visual style you enjoy, or sounds a way you enjoy. The fact that each person can find that is indicative of what visual kei is.

Anime-Zing Radio: I wish more US bands did that.

HIZAKI: Just using ourselves as an example. If you prefer more feminine visuals, we’re great choices for that. If you’re looking for something else, there’s probably something for you in visual kei.

Anime Herald: Before there was visual kei, there was David Bowie. Bowie was a huge fan of androgyny, of not being defined by masculinity or femininity. Does that concept appeal to you at all? Do you think there are any visual kei bands carrying the androgynous legend as it were?

Kaya: I think that it has increased as time has passed. I think now we’re much more comfortable with gender being borderless. There are no strict definitions for what it means. There’s an Italian band Måneskin. That’s just one example of many. I think that’s a good thing. In visual kei it’s increasingly becoming genderless and borderless and free.

HIZAKI: Unfortunately things like homophobia and racism, things that separate us from one another, are everywhere. I’d like to think that we’re moving towards a future where those things don’t matter and that they don’t separate us. I think that would be a more peaceful world.

Kaya: Having said that, there are bands that are super macho or super feminine, and that’s great too. Like HIZAKI said, there’s more choices now. I think that’s what great. We get to choose for ourselves.

Anime-Zing Radio: I think it’s amazing with visual kei that people can focus on the music and the artist and not on gender or race. They can focus on what you create, and not just who you are.

Kaya: We’ve been lucky enough to be able to travel. We’ve experienced the ways that places can be very different. Obviously, there are still terrible things happening, wars. But it really is my hope that we can reach that peaceful safe place for everyone.

Anime Herald: Are there any good or bad travel stories that you would like to share?

Kaya: I haven’t really had many negative experiences. I really love to travel. I’ve noticed we have a lot of passionate fans in Latin America. They’re very loud, and not shy about letting us know how they appreciate our music. Recently I was in Chile and the fans were really going for it. It felt good.

HIZAKI: I don’t know if it’s a bad part of it, it’s just a part of it. Being on tour, there’s a lot of travel. 20-hour flights. 40-hours on a bus. I personally don’t mind it, but some other people don’t like it as much, and we’ll get into fights because we’re tired. That’s just part of being an artist.

It’s funny. Even with band members, we’ve known each other for many years. A tour will end and we’ll feel like, “Is this the kind of person you are? I feel like I’m meeting you for the first time and learning something new about you.”

Anime-Zing Radio: How did the two of you meet and decide to work together?

Kaya: Probably (Jasmine) You, the former bassist for Versailles. He’s passed away. He knew HIZAKI. They knew each other, being of similar age, and into similar music. They knew each other, which is how we met.

Anime Herald: What advice would you give to younger artists entering the business? What wisdom would you like to impart?

HIZAKI: If I had to pick one thing to pass on as a message, it’s “Get out there. Go travel. Leave the boundaries of your own country.”

Back when I started, it was initially around Japan. As I got older, I got to travel internationally. It changed the way I think. If you don’t, your thinking can become narrow and limited. Having the opportunity to meet people, seeing and learning about other cultures. In Japan, we’re very timely. Things are scheduled and on time. Traveling to other places and performing, you learn that other places aren’t as timely. Learning that other places are a little looser on timing was a great experience.

Even bad things. Learning that there are places at war allows me to make music to try and help them feel better. My advice is to travel and to learn about other people.

Anime-Zing Radio: What advice would you give to people who want to explore visual kei, but might be afraid to because of where they live or their circumstances?

Kaya: I don’t think this is limited to visual kei. Try it anyway. If you want to get into visual kei, try makeup, or a new piece of clothing. Try something. The point is to stop just thinking about it and actually do it. That’s not just for visual kei. That’s for anything.

I think people hold themselves back. You need to have the bravery to take a step forward and actually do it. The only way you are going to learn is by messing it up. So just give it a try.

Anime Herald: Do either of you watch anime or read manga? If so, what are some of your favorites from growing up or current favorites?

Kaya: I love manga.

HIZAKI: I like both. There was a while when I didn’t watch or read any. More recently, when I travel, I like to use some of the time to watch anime. With the growth of Netflix, it’s become more accessible. Recently I’ve been consuming more.

Anime Herald: Anything in particular?

Kaya: Saint Seiya.

HIZAKI: The live-action Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac).

Kaya: As we all know Akira Toriyama recently passed away. Seeing all of his works come back out into the mainstream, it hit home how instrumental he was in spreading Japan’s kawaii and anime cultures globally.

Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Quest. I didn’t realize how surrounded by his works I was, as a child. I wasn’t aware of how much it was part of my life when I was younger until now. I think that it’s great.

I think that he’s sort of the father of spreading Japanese culture to the level it has. As someone who is also spreading Japanese culture, to the US and the world, if we could have a small fraction of the impact he had, that would be great.

HIZAKI: In general I tend to watch whatever is popular. That’s not just for anime. For movies and music. I like to consume whatever is part of the zeitgeist.

Anime-Zing Radio: How do you feel about the influence of social media? When you first started the internet wasn’t as prominent. It was tougher to get discovered by an international audience.

HIZAKI: I agree there’s definitely a huge impact. Social media, the internet. I think it’s been great. I think it’s a wonderful thing that it’s made, not just our music, but everything more accessible for people. When I was a child, I dreamed of playing a live concert. I never thought that that dream would come true. I think it’s because of the internet and social media that I was able to fulfill that dream. That’s a wonderful thing. I think going forward there’s going to be more virtual content, which will make things more available and accessible for more people. That’s a great thing.

Anime Herald: What are some of the culinary highlights from your international music career?

HIZAKI: I have to say, that after doing an international tour, there’s something special about coming home to Japanese cuisine. It just hits different.

Kaya: There’s one memory that I have from 2008. I was in Los Angeles. Since then I’ve tried to travel somewhere every year. That year I was in Los Angeles. I ordered some tea. “Oh man, it was so sweet.” Japanese tea doesn’t usually have sugar. I remember it was so sweet.

HIZAKI: I remember having a steak in Texas. It was wild.

Anime-Zing Radio: How is the anime culture different between the US and what you’ve experienced in Japan?

Kaya: Interestingly, we don’t have a lot of experience going to these conventions in Japan. One of the biggest things we’ve noticed is the quality of the cosplay in Japan is very high. They spend a lot of time and money to create fancy and intricate costumes. Here in the US people are more free with it. You can tell they are cosplaying something because they love it. They aren’t trying to do professional-level costumes. They are just enjoying something that they love.

HIZAKI: In Japan, anime conventions have a lot of rules. They are pretty strict. We don’t have a lot of chances to meet with fans. That’s just not the way they do conventions in Japan. It would be nice if we were able to chat with people.

Culturally in general, Japan is more concerned with how you appear to other people. In that sense, people here are a bit more free. People are wearing the costumes because they love it. They’re expressing themselves through something they enjoy. I think it would be nice if the conventions in Japan weren’t so stiff and strict.

You can find HIZAKI on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Here are Versailles and Jupiter as well.

You can find Kaya on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Alternatively, you can go to Kaya’s website, or YouTube channel, or Schwarz Stein.

Special thanks to Anime Boston and Chaotic Harmony for making this interview possible.